mat_91 e30 newbie

[mat_91]

Now first thing i know its not a real IS lol to old and if you dont like drifting/battered/abused cars stop reading now
Just signed up thought i would just post a small bit about my rather battered e30, story goes it was pulled out a field about 5 years ago not sure how long it sat there, it was a 1.8 auto a friend slotted the IS manual in which was all ready tweaked and has been abused ever since i bought it beginning of the year ive been repairing rust and modifying oh yer the engine is on about 250k-300k
spec is
IS engine with chip, K&n panel filter (no gains i bet haha) and home built exhaust
the rear end has solid steel subframe bushes which i had made alot taller to lift the subframe up to reduce camber and toe, 3.64 med case diff with e36 double wing diff cover with solid alloy bushes and custom built diff brackets

Up front waiting to go on i have a e36 m3 evo rack with lock spacers, 105mm shortened struts with cut knuckles 0 ackerman and moved in closer to center line, i do have e46 arms but dont think ill use them not sure as ive got some very low offset (-44 with adapter) wheels that will be going on shortly, waiting for custom adapters to be finished ermm thats pretty much it rely
my favourite photo up is up first, it now has a black bonnet and a light blue wing after a brush with the wall a month or two after this picture

with the black bonnet just before my run in with the wall

my diff cover and carrier it bolts into the crossmeber were the standard diff mount is i had to remove it thou

[DesktopDave]

Seems like you've done a lot of work.  IMHO you've done the world a service by saving another e30.  My wife always jokes that "nobody puts Baby in the corner!"  Even if it is a field, do they?  Kudos you you for bringing one back.

OTOH it seems that you've been putting baby in quite a few corners, eh?

Sorry about the old film reference, my wife is quoting the 80's movie "Dirty Dancing."  There will be a quiz later, LOL.  Welcome to the club!

[mat_91]

Hmm not sure what's just happened but I was editing the title for the rules and my first post just disapeared anybody know why thanks mat

[DesktopDave]

I still see it...or at least what I posted to yesterday?

[keflaman]

I like the dual eared cross member. Why'd you have to remove it?

[mat_91]

Its there now who nows haha and re the diff bracket I meant I had to remove the standard diff mount to fit my new bracket

[mat_91]

thought i would bring this more up to date with what ive done lets start with my new wheels 15x7.25 et-14 and 30mm adapters, i have got some e46 arms in stock but with a combined et-44 dont think i will need them, will need some new arches but nothing major

and some of my front end, these are my 105mm shortened struts standard on top

and because the new damper inserts arent bmw i need some new nuts making

also on my front stuts are my knuckle mods 0 ackerman and reduced leverage

and last but no least for now, my solid rear subframe bushes welded in

[mat_91]

fitted my front wheels at work yesterday just had to slightly pull the arch out, thats on 195,45,15 toyo t1rs its a shame i cant lower it anymore as the sump guard is about a 1" from the ground and the sump gaurd is sat as high as the engine allows the rears will follow after the new year  
 

[axisofjustice]

I don't see how drift cars get so smashed. At least you fix what you dent! People have track cars that don't get dented for years. I go to drift events and never see anyone hit a wall but half the cars are heaps of crap. I can see if someone takes a clapped out car with crash damage or huge rust and uses it as a drift car base, but why take a solid car that will be worth more saved and trash it? There are thousands of wrecked cars in junkyards waiting to be crushed that would look much better sideways on a track. I've been into drift since before it was mainstream but never understood the whole "hoonigan" logic of trashed=cool.

[Nelson_40]

Well, there has always been the notion that you never track what you love as it's going to get nicked, dented, scraped, bonked or crashed out at some point. But it seems that some people like to show their racing pride a bit more than others and drive them around scarred and bruised. Not a biggie as long as it still drives straight or sideways in this case. After all we don't want every E30 to be a garage queen, right?

[axisofjustice]

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean everyday stuff but some of the cars I see drifted.... omg.

This car was at an event I attended and it used to be super minty just a year ago.


A year ago...

[DesktopDave]

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean everyday stuff but some of the cars I see drifted.... omg.

This car was at an event I attended and it used to be super minty just a year ago.


A year ago...

That's sad, even if it is typical.  I had virtually that same car myself, in black.  Mine was a '97, his looks like a '96.  Great little car...in a few ways it's a better car than the e30!  The US KA24DE was adequate, but (as usual) the Japanese kept the best for themselves.  Did he swap it for a JDM motor?  I'd suspect it really perks that car up.

[axisofjustice]

Car has a sr20 if im not mistaken. So beat now I really don't care if it has an ls1 ha.

[mat_91]

This e30 was very rough before I bought it the previous owner was going to scrap it as he didn't have the time to repair it, but dints and rust doesn't rely bother me as it pretty straight but i do like clean drifters this was my last drifter a e34 520i on the deck welder etc wish I didn't have to sell this one  had this for a year not one dint of pretty hard drifting

[DesktopDave]

I will say that BMW builds a tough car.  The M42 might have a few issues (cooling system & cam drive especially) but the E30 is rugged and built to last.  Repairs are also economical compared with other comparable RWD cars, especially rival Europeans.

I don't get the Fast & Furious look either.  IMHO they look like an spoiled punk kid desperate for attention.

I do see a LOT of ratty e30's...a few wasted drifting won't be missed.  I've wasted a few myself before they totally rotted.  They're usually not worth restoring, why not enjoy them?  When I was younger - when these cars were new - I remember all sorts of preppy chaos.  IIRC a girl in my high school destroyed a brand new 325is less than a week after Daddy bought it.  She was OK but the car most definitely was not...at least it wasn't an M3.:eek:

Now that you have me thinking about it...I'm positively looking forward to the Bangle generation getting used up!:p