BMW E30 enthusiasts?

MrCat · August 13, 2018

I like most of the pre-year-2000 BMW`s and I especially like the E30 series. I own a 1991 318is (2 door with M42 motor) although not in Sri Lanka.

Are there any E30 nuts here? Either series 1 (1983 - 1987) or series 2 (1987 - 1994)?

There is a FB group called ‘BMW E30 circle Sri Lanka’ but I don’t find the group very active.

I thought I saw an E30 running at the Katukurunda drags yesterday, but the video wasn’t very clear so couldn’t see much details. Anyone know about E30`s with engine upgrades over there (i.e. M50 engine swaps)?

Davy · August 13, 2018

Sold the Lancer CH wagon?

Huge fan of the E30 M3 right here by the way. Was looking for one (in VIC, Australia) in early 2016 or so, but gave up because I couldn't stretch my budget that far.

I distinctly remember a red E30 in Sri Lanka with the plate 18 SRI 318 and that car was a regular sight on my commute to work. That was a 4 door though.

MrCat · August 13, 2018

Oh.! Some one rear-ended the Lancer and it got written off unfortunately. But the person who bought the wreck from me fixed it and got it re-registered, so the car probably is still roaming around. I need a wagon in my life (not a fan of SUVs) so got a Mazda 6 wagon as a replacement

Man, E30 M3 prices have gone mental all over the world.! If you want to go ‘M’ the E46 M3 is probably the best bang for buck at the moment. The CIO of where I work has got an E30 M3 as a track toy, costed him $15k to get the S14 properly rebuilt.! S14 parts are not cheap and complete engines are worth a fortune. Even 325is`s are between 20k – 30k these days.

I personally have never seen an 18 sri E30, probably one of the very last to get registered in SL. Wonder whether there are any 2 doors in the country.

Janith Seneviratne · August 13, 2018

there were two e30's in the races, black one has an m30 swapped, the white one has a standard m40, there are two more e30's one with an m42(e36 motor with disa) and a another with an m44 swapped, and there's one coupe and one vert(pre-facelift) in SL, BMW scene is really at the early stages because of support, we'll if anyone one like could join the small race community, we just race for fun, thats why its still in the true street category

MrCat · August 13, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 6:27 AM, Janith Seneviratne said:

there were two e30's in the races, black one has an m30 swapped, the white one has a standard m40, there are two more e30's one with an m42(e36 motor with disa) and a another with an m44 swapped, and there's one coupe and one vert(pre-facelift) in SL, BMW scene is really at the early stages because of support, we'll if anyone one like could join the small race community, we just race for fun, thats why its still in the true street category

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Great to hear that there`s an M30 swapped E30 over there! I`d imagine traction would have been an issue for drags unless it was running fat sticky tires.

Can understand the lack of support, I`d also believe that the E36 is a better platform to play around with over there since there are more cars around and parts are also plentiful and relatively inexpensive compared to the E30 (in the international market).

Janith Seneviratne · August 13, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 7:07 AM, MrCat said:

Great to hear that there`s an M30 swapped E30 over there! I`d imagine traction would have been an issue for drags unless it was running fat sticky tires.

Can understand the lack of support, I`d also believe that the E36 is a better platform to play around with over there since there are more cars around and parts are also plentiful and relatively inexpensive compared to the E30 (in the international market).

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M30 is running good with traction with the use of semi-slicks(full race slicks are not allowed as its a true street category) and running full standalone, there's a few interesting in the line up 2 e36 328i's and an e36 m50 3.0l stroker, in here everything is expensive

kush · August 13, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 5:40 AM, MrCat said:

I personally have never seen an 18 sri E30, probably one of the very last to get registered in SL. Wonder whether there are any 2 doors in the country.

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There was on E21 320 2dr owned by one of my fathers friend wonder what happened to the car

MrCat · August 13, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 9:29 AM, kush said:

There was on E21 320 2dr owned by one of my fathers friend wonder what happened to the car

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The one featured in this article? Seems like a proper restoration job.!

http://www.octaneheads.com/2017/08/die-erste-serie-3.html

ajm · August 13, 2018

After a long time, a Thread not related to Hybrid battery issues or Fuel consumption.

Davy · August 13, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 5:40 AM, MrCat said:

Oh.! Some one rear-ended the Lancer and it got written off unfortunately. But the person who bought the wreck from me fixed it and got it re-registered, so the car probably is still roaming around. I need a wagon in my life (not a fan of SUVs) so got a Mazda 6 wagon as a replacement

Man, E30 M3 prices have gone mental all over the world.! If you want to go ‘M’ the E46 M3 is probably the best bang for buck at the moment. The CIO of where I work has got an E30 M3 as a track toy, costed him $15k to get the S14 properly rebuilt.! S14 parts are not cheap and complete engines are worth a fortune. Even 325is`s are between 20k – 30k these days.

I personally have never seen an 18 sri E30, probably one of the very last to get registered in SL. Wonder whether there are any 2 doors in the country.

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Sorry to hear about the Lancer.

Yeah I was looking into a car that I could put some work into and restore and the cheapest ones I found were in the 50K - 60K range.

I think @Crosswind had an E30 that he was restoring a few years back. What happened to the project Crosswind?

kush · August 15, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 11:45 AM, MrCat said:

The one featured in this article? Seems like a proper restoration job.!

http://www.octaneheads.com/2017/08/die-erste-serie-3.html

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Wow this is the exact car i was referring to glad someone has really looked after it, remember being fascinated by the as a school boy kid.

MrCat · August 16, 2018

On 8/15/2018 at 12:06 PM, kush said:

Wow this is the exact car i was referring to glad someone has really looked after it, remember being fascinated by the as a school boy kid.

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Yeah, this car was going the rounds in the inter-webs sometime back. Thought it was for sale as well at some point, but not exactly sure. Beautifully done indeed. The E21 was the forgotten 3 series which is was not getting much attention, but good examples seems to be getting sought after now.

tharindra · August 16, 2018

On 8/13/2018 at 2:35 AM, MrCat said:

I like most of the pre-year-2000 BMW`s and I especially like the E30 series. I own a 1991 318is (2 door with M42 motor) although not in Sri Lanka.

Are there any E30 nuts here? Either series 1 (1983 - 1987) or series 2 (1987 - 1994)?

There is a FB group called ‘BMW E30 circle Sri Lanka’ but I don’t find the group very active.

I thought I saw an E30 running at the Katukurunda drags yesterday, but the video wasn’t very clear so couldn’t see much details. Anyone know about E30`s with engine upgrades over there (i.e. M50 engine swaps)?

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Hey man I was running that E30

1989 E30 that I had for the last 8 years

BMW M30B35 swap - 3.5 liter straight six with Haltech management and a custom tune, coupled with the original 5 speed Getrag manual, LSD, fully rebuilt chassis and body from ground up, and most importantly, launch control :D!

MrCat · August 16, 2018

On 8/16/2018 at 4:50 AM, tharindra said:

Hey man I was running that E30

1989 E30 that I had for the last 8 years

BMW M30B35 swap - 3.5 liter straight six with Haltech management and a custom tune, coupled with the original 5 speed Getrag manual, LSD, fully rebuilt chassis and body from ground up, and most importantly, launch control :D!

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Hey.! Great to hear from a fellow Yeee30 enthusiast.!

I hear the M30 is a pretty straight forward swap, the South African 333i had the M30 (3.3L) from factory. Never had a chance to drive a swapped car but, so don’t know how they are like to drive.

I hear you can’t run either Power Steering or AirCon but not both due to the M30s being too long, is that true? Does the LSD make a noticeable difference in putting the power down? I suppose it does with a high toque engine, I have a spare medium case diff to be rebuilt with an LSD but with my little M42 it`s probably overkill.

tharindra · August 16, 2018

On 8/16/2018 at 8:12 AM, MrCat said:

Hey.! Great to hear from a fellow Yeee30 enthusiast.!

I hear the M30 is a pretty straight forward swap, the South African 333i had the M30 (3.3L) from factory. Never had a chance to drive a swapped car but, so don’t know how they are like to drive.

I hear you can’t run either Power Steering or AirCon but not both due to the M30s being too long, is that true? Does the LSD make a noticeable difference in putting the power down? I suppose it does with a high toque engine, I have a spare medium case diff to be rebuilt with an LSD but with my little M42 it`s probably overkill.

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It's relatively straightforward as it's a tried and tested/documented swap done by many BMW tuners [checkout the Hartge H35, Alpina B35] but there's a lot of components involved and some minor fabrication/customization, also depends on how easily you can access the parts.

I run with Power steering and AC compressor, there is no space issue. The LSD definitely helps, there is definitely a difference around corners, you can put down the power much better, I'm sure even with a M42 you will feel the difference.

Edited August 16, 2018 by tharindra

MrCat · August 17, 2018

On 8/16/2018 at 11:44 AM, tharindra said:

It's relatively straightforward as it's a tried and tested/documented swap done by many BMW tuners [checkout the Hartge H35, Alpina B35] but there's a lot of components involved and some minor fabrication/customization, also depends on how easily you can access the parts.

I run with Power steering and AC compressor, there is no space issue. The LSD definitely helps, there is definitely a difference around corners, you can put down the power much better, I'm sure even with a M42 you will feel the difference.

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Nice.! Looks like I`ll have to get the spare diff rebuilt with an LSD centre eventually. Recently went from 14 inch wheels to 16 inch (205/50 R16) which made a big difference in grip levels, the car doesn't` fishtail like mad in the wet anymore. But the bigger tires does seem to make the rear end a bit snappy, so when it does let go its instant.!

MrCat · August 20, 2018

Look..!! Spotted in a popular Tele-drama :boast:

MrCat · January 10, 2019

Hello All,

It’s a slow day at work, thought I’ll post a few pics of my own car to keep the E30 spirit going..

The day we bought her home a bit over 2 years ago….. Bone stock, no upgrades no modifications.. About 95% of things working as it should, few leaks here and there, lumpy idle, paint job looks better in pics. Actually, it had a couple of upgrades: A tuned chip to run on 98 octane with the rev limiter increased to 7500 – which was great. Then a cone filter instead of the brilliantly designed factory air-box – a useless addition.

These are more recent. Only the Racing Dynamic wheels are visibly different, but many.. many.. bits are either replaced or improved by now…

MrCat · January 16, 2019

Thought of noting down some of the upgrades I’ve done to the car. I know the E30 is not popular as a tuner car or a modern classic in SL, but hey, this may help someone someday. I had a forum thread which I religiously updated on a different site, but the whole site disappeared with all my build/fix history L

One of my favourite upgrades and one of the absolute must do`s of anyone who is after a more enjoyable drive out of an E30 – replace the factory power steering rack.! The standard spec rack is 4 turns lock-to-lock which just too slow and mundane.

I`ve replaced with a unit from a BMW Z3, which is ‘THE’ quickest steering rack (linear ratio, not progressive) which would bolt in to the E30 chassis without modifications. Rack-ends, hoses, reservoir - all these got replaced which completely transformed the drive.

Cleaned and painted the rack before fitting, some before and after pics:

After:

Edit : Found some pics of more goodies that went in :

Holden Barina steering linkage modified to fit the longer neck of the BMW Z3 rack (god knows who found this mod first, but works like a charm for a factory finish ) :

More power steering related bits and pieces that got installed:

Edited January 24, 2019 by MrCat

Hyaenidae · January 16, 2019

Check archive.org to see if your former thread has been preserved there... you never know

Sent from my Nokia 1100 using AutoLanka.com mobile app powered by Tapatalk

MrCat · January 16, 2019

On 1/16/2019 at 9:11 AM, Hyaenidae said:

Check archive.org to see if your former thread has been preserved there... you never know

Sent from my Nokia 1100 using AutoLanka.com mobile app powered by Tapatalk

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Thanks for the tip.. having a look around.. ?

Edit: Found one archive.. Yay..!!!! https://web.archive.org/web/20170226122911/http://www.bmwforums.com.au/showthread.php/45957-1990-E30-318is-a-k-a-Little-Red/page3

And another copy taken later on : https://web.archive.org/web/20170419150430/http://www.bmwforums.com.au/showthread.php/45957-1990-E30-318is-a-k-a-Little-Red/page4

Anyone know an easier way to port or move the above thread(s) to AL..?

Edited January 16, 2019 by MrCat

MrCat · January 17, 2019

Ok, so looks like there is no easy way to port content from a different forum archive in to AL, so i am going to manually copy-paste useful content from the old forum archive.

The odometer wast working when I bought the car, so I got the instrument cluster professionally reconditioned with new gears, globes and a clean.

Also replaced the following items, mainly for cosmetic reasons:
· Fuse box cover (genuine BMW)
· Turn Signal Lenses - Front (genuine BMW)
· Replaced hood/bonnet strut (aftermarket)
· Interior light (used item)

Replaced all the auxiliary belts:

• Air Conditioner: 13x890mm : BOSCH 13A0890
• Power steering: 10x800mm : BOSCH 10A0800
• Alt+Water pump: 10x1025mm : 10A1025

New belts in place:

Removed, cleaned and trim restored the front lip. Refitted with new (genuine BMW) clips:

MrCat · January 17, 2019

Also, the air conditioner was never working effectively during the warmer summer days here in Perth. The system was already converted to R134a refrigerant.

38.9 degrees outside:

The car could only manage to bring vent temps down to about 22 degrees:

So the system got leak tested and re-gassed:

While working on it, the A/C technician identified that the high pressure sensor was triggering. Then realised that the auxiliary fan wasn’t running. The 10amp fuse was missing, so I replaced it, and the fuse burnt immediately. Since the high speed fan circuit is on a 30amp relay, we just used a 30 amp fuse. The aux fan is now working, but on high speed when A/C on.

Keeping the temps down to a respectable 5.6 degrees when the compressor is running:

I kept troubleshooting on the low speed fan circuit, only to realise that the resistor was missing. Someone bypassed it completely.

Replaced resistor with a Bosch item from BMW, all sorted (used an extra aluminium plate to better dissipate heat - my Father`s idea):

fiat fan · January 17, 2019

On 1/10/2019 at 1:44 AM, MrCat said:

Hello All,

It’s a slow day at work, thought I’ll post a few pics of my own car to keep the E30 spirit going..

The day we bought her home a bit over 2 years ago….. Bone stock, no upgrades no modifications.. About 95% of things working as it should, few leaks here and there, lumpy idle, paint job looks better in pics. Actually, it had a couple of upgrades: A tuned chip to run on 98 octane with the rev limiter increased to 7500 – which was great. Then a cone filter instead of the brilliantly designed factory air-box – a useless addition.

These are more recent. Only the Racing Dynamic wheels are visibly different, but many.. many.. bits are either replaced or improved by now…

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Nursing a Semi just looking at it!

E30`s are hella expensive.There is a M3 going for 89,000 USD (wtf).

Would love to have one in SL.

MrCat · January 17, 2019

On 1/17/2019 at 5:29 AM, fiat fan said:

Nursing a Semi just looking at it!

E30`s are hella expensive.There is a M3 going for 89,000 USD (wtf).

Would love to have one in SL.

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Ha Ha..

I think the E30 is in a very unique position which helps to drive prices up globally. 80`s/90`s mechanical simplicity, sedan practicality – yet compact, rear drive, ~1100kg weight - this combination IS quite rare. Add independent rear suspension to the mix and I simply don’t know of any other mainstream car/model which is similar. The C class comes close, but that`s a heavier car in general.

Yeah, the E30 M3 is a different beast.. Racing pedigree, homologation production run, proper German over-engineering, etc... They dont` make em anymore, so the only way for the prices to go is 'up'..

Edited January 17, 2019 by MrCat