PJH: 1990 BMW E30 318is Sterling Silver

[PJH318is]

So, as my first post on this forum, it seems appropriate to introduce myself and my car.

About me:
- 25 (this could change over time)
- Car guy in every aspect
- Belgian
- Not afraid to get my hands dirty, very afraid to break stuff due to incompetence

The car in a nutshell:
- 1990 BMW E30 318is
- M42 powered, ofcourse
- 100.000 miles approx.
- SterlingSilver

My E30-addiction first started back in 2008. I joined a belgian car forum and met a lot of nice people, some of them had E30's and drove them on the track, I only had a boring 2003 VW Jetta with about 400k MILES on the oddometer. I went to some meetings, drove a few trackdays and made many pictures. But the E30 always was one of the cars I came across and really caught my attention on forum-events. I passengered on driftdays, enjoyed them on trackdays and photographed many of them -> I fell in love.

I had to have one, so the search started back in 2010. I looked at many cars on the internet, and visited 22 of them in the fleshn some of them over 700 miles from my house. By the time September 2011 came, I had lost hope of finding a good one, that was well maintained and had low mileage. On September 24, 2011, my phone rang and I was notified of a car with a high asking price, low mileage, the colour that I wanted and in very good condition... The day after, I started my car and drove straight to Essen Germany, where I looked, felt and after about 2 hours actually bought the car.





History of the car:
- First bought and registered by an old German industrial, the car was on the road in November 1990.
- The owner drove it until September 2001, when he passed away. The car was enherited by his son, who drove it until 2009 and then stowed it away.
- In September 2011, I bought it.

More about the car:
- Not a lot of rust, but one wheelarch does need some work.
- Not a lot of options, just the sunroof.
- A blue interior, with a white rooflining. (too bad, I wanted a black rooflining).
- 3 small dents

More pictures of when it was bought:








When I bought the car, it came on shit tyres with 14" basketweaves, new rims with winter tyres were bought and put on the car.



The next upgrade was some maintenance, swapping out the old chain-tensioner with an M44 one, and ofcourse all the BMW Logo's were renewed.

[PJH318is]

After some normal driving, the tires where put on as snow fell from the sky. The thermostat was also replaced.





And ofcourse, if you own an E30 and snow starts to fall.... you know oversteer will happen









and a small video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhxVJNO2-iw&feature=player_*****ded

[M3Philipp]

Welcome, and your car looks almost like brand new from the factory.
I wonder why did you use the M44 tensior, instead of the M42 one.
Is the M44 one better?
I would like to see an engine bay photo.

[PJH318is]

Soon after the practise in the snow, a real driftday took place:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrezreuAjCo&feature=player_*****ded

Loads of fun with this little car

Soon after the driftday, the oilpan was taken off and I found some loose bolts. Tightend these and put it all together, ready for the next adventure

Sports seats where also fitted in the car, very hard to find them in blue:


They do add to the car, the extra adjustments come at hand every day as I am fairly big for this car. Now my knee's don't hit the steeringwheel anymore.

Next big upgrade was lowering the car and adding the front is-lip. A nice visual upgrade I think.


During the lowering of the car, a 25% 4.27 LSD was also fitted to the car. More grip, more drifting and faster acceleration

[PJH318is]

So once you have a bit of suspension, some LSD and some seats that hold you -> time for cornering. And what betterp lace to do it, than the Nurburgring







And ofcourse some onboard video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji9Jd0T_OqA
You can clearly see I make a mistake at 1.05 into the video. I lock it up under braking causing the rear to come around. A rookie mistake, but I will practice more

[PJH318is]

Welcome, and your car looks almost like brand new from the factory.
I wonder why did you use the M44 tensior, instead of the M42 one.
Is the M44 one better?
I would like to see an engine bay photo.

Thank you, I looked very long before I found a clean one.

The M44 one is used because the M42 type isn't made anymore. The M44 one should also be a bit better, but a needed upgrade if your M42 tensioner is still working.

They do advise to switch to the M44 one once the old one is worn.

[PJH318is]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_*****ded&v=5Tp4MwTs-CM

happy 2013 everyone

[DesktopDave]

This thread is so full of 'win' that I had to read it twice.

Beautiful car, great photos...post more pics if you get a chance!

[deansweet]

I kind of feel bad for the car?!
It's too nice to be driven like it's stolen. I'll tell you what?
I will trade you for one of mine and that way, I won't feel so bad?!

That car is crazy new looking when you picked it up!
"my phone rang and I was notified of a car with a high asking price"
mind asking what you paid for it? and how many miles have you put on it since you bought?

[keflaman]

And a cassette tape holder! So you have two options including the sunroof.

Very nice looking car. My first 318is had the same interior.

[Nelson_40]

This may be the best member thread on M42 Club! Great pictures, inspirational updates, driving in snow, Nordschleife, and a well produced drift video! Keep it up!

[PJH318is]

I kind of feel bad for the car?!
mind asking what you paid for it? and how many miles have you put on it since you bought?

Don't feel bad for it. Yes, it is driven hard every once and a while, but I maintain it better than most people around be. The car is mechanically looked after as if it was a Lambo Miura or something. This car is my prized possession, I would cry my eyes out if I was to crash it in a dumb way. A lot of these video's and pictures are indeed of some above normal driving, but they don't really represent the whole situation as it is. I don't always drive like that, and I try not to drift it on dry roads and always try to exit drifts with lots of throttle in order to keep the exit as smooth as possible, thus not killing the suspension and bushings.

The driving on track is a different thing ofcourse, but that's really not as often as one might think.

The price I paid for it.... is too high for a 318is In Belgium, prices have gone up in the last few years due to the fact that many don't look very good, or have a high mileage. When I was searching for my car, I looked at 23 different E30's, piced from low to really high. I found that they all had rust or a noisy chain, or had been in an accident. The car I now drive was one of the best I had ever seen, so the price was fairly high...but well worth it for the amount of fun I have had in this car.

I bought it for 4500 euro, or about 5888USD. It had 141.000km or 87600 miles on the odometer, really low for my region. So I realise I did pay a lot, but there are no real regrets I have done about 16.000km or 10.000 miles in it in the last year... I was planning on insuring it for 5000km per year (3000 miles) because I didn't think i'd be driving it so much. But I fell in love and now use it as much as I can afford to

And if you really want to feel bad for a car, you should feel bad for my Jetta. It now sits in the driveway with 400.000 miles on the odometer and is driven hard every day. That car has been through so much but it just won't quit





on the nurburgring (it's not suited for it, way too slow):


and ofcourse, sideways through the corners (no handbrake involved!):

[deansweet]

Now that looks like good times were happening!?

$5900 is an excellent deal for a car that has that kind of mileage and that clean!
Betting the 'Original Owner(kids dad)' is up there looking down on you smiling thinking this is the kind of guy who should own his baby.

[Nelson_40]

What engine is in that Jetta you are shown having so much fun with? I see no intercooler, so I am guessing its neither TDI nor 1.8T.

[PJH318is]

It's a 1.9 TDI 90 bhp, capable of 0-62 in 13 seconds