E30 Build

elcornholio

elcornholio

Member
I've been considering restoring an old BMW E30. This would not be my daily driver but it would be something fun to have. It would also be an extreme budget build because I don't really want to spend that much money on something that I'm fairly new to. Any advice? I also don't currently have one and live south of Boston so if you know of anyone wanting to unload one, shoot me a PM. Thanks.
 
topic:elcornholio said:
I've been considering restoring an old BMW E30. This would not be my daily driver but it would be something fun to have. It would also be an extreme budget build because I don't really want to spend that much money on something that I'm fairly new to. Any advice? I also don't currently have one and live south of Boston so if you know of anyone wanting to unload one, shoot me a PM. Thanks.
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I live in the Boston area and live around a bunch of people that have them, I'll keep my eyes pealed for you.
 
^^ lol don't use autotrader. Your best bet is craigslist and forums. There are a couple great e30 specific forums with R3vlimited being the best. They will be able to answer any question you could ever have.
 
13656005:.MASSHOLE. said:
I live in the Boston area and live around a bunch of people that have them, I'll keep my eyes pealed for you.
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13656027:Deezy said:
Click this: autotrader

The deal will come to you, just be patient
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13656386:penguiin said:
^^ lol don't use autotrader. Your best bet is craigslist and forums. There are a couple great e30 specific forums with R3vlimited being the best. They will be able to answer any question you could ever have.
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Thanks, I'll keep my eyes peeled.
 
If you don't even know how to find a car to buy, then you have no idea how to build one.

Also, pick a real car to put money into...
 
819875.jpegE30 Ie gods chariot are great but getting over priced due to popularity. You are probaly going to find ones that are A over priced or B beat to fuck worth doing tho just keep your eye out and remember there is nothing more expensive then a cheep benz... or bmw

that being said here is my daily driver E39 540 6speed
 
13656749:SkiBum. said:
If you don't even know how to find a car to buy, then you have no idea how to build one.

Also, pick a real car to put money into...
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BS, e30s are a good car to learn to work on, theyre just a simple drivers car with little techincal bullshit to get in the way.
 
13656749:SkiBum. said:
If you don't even know how to find a car to buy, then you have no idea how to build one.

Also, pick a real car to put money into...
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I have an audi that I've done some work on but I want a drivers car with an automatic transmission. I was also asking more for specific sites where I could find cars like this. A 2010 A4 is easier to find a good price on than a 80's-90's BMW that's been kept in good condition.
 
13657035:elcornholio said:
I have an audi that I've done some work on but I want a drivers car with an automatic transmission. I was also asking more for specific sites where I could find cars like this. A 2010 A4 is easier to find a good price on than a 80's-90's BMW that's been kept in good condition.
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Not to sure about it but maybe check some e30 specific forums for classified ads, Id imagine enthusiast websites might be your best shot at finding a clean project car.
 
Over the past months I've been swapping an M30 into my 86. Tough to find a clean one that won't be expensive but they're great cars and super easy to work on. There are many websites that have great communities, my go-to one being r3vlimited
 
13657035:elcornholio said:
I have an audi that I've done some work on but I want a drivers car with an automatic transmission. I was also asking more for specific sites where I could find cars like this. A 2010 A4 is easier to find a good price on than a 80's-90's BMW that's been kept in good condition.
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I want a manual, not automatic...
 
just a warning, trying to diagnose engine problems on the obd1 in those cars is a huge pain in the ass. It took forever to find in the tiniest problems in my friends e36
 
The e30 mission is a missiony mission. I've got a homie in Cali who is VERY into the auto culture and spends TONS of time on his project cars including his e30. BMW's are super tight if you have 1the know-how 2the resources and 3 the time.

But to help answer your question, I would search on craigslist daily, as well as what other people said about forums. Stay away from dealers bc you dont want to add all of that bs to your already complicated build process.

Good luck though man! I hope you stick with and end with a fly whip
 
13658452:Cambrewski said:
The e30 mission is a missiony mission. I've got a homie in Cali who is VERY into the auto culture and spends TONS of time on his project cars including his e30. BMW's are super tight if you have 1the know-how 2the resources and 3 the time.

But to help answer your question, I would search on craigslist daily, as well as what other people said about forums. Stay away from dealers bc you dont want to add all of that bs to your already complicated build process.

Good luck though man! I hope you stick with and end with a fly whip
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Thanks. I have a friend that lives and breathes BMW's and is gonna help me through the build.
 
Main thing is, find one without rust. Rust repair is an absolute bitch (gutting a subaru 2.5rs wagon and fulling fixing the rust and turning it into a track car) Know what you are looking at it. Have a plan.

e30's are cheap and easy to work on. Look up problems for you year though and make sure most of the stuff is mechanically sound.

Accept that you will never get your money out of it.
 
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