1983 BMW E30 316 - Henna Red (ish)

[bigchris1981]

After a year of driving and working on the S8, I found myself craving a true back to basics motoring experience.

Something easy to fix, fun to drive, cheap to insure and cool (if even in its own way).

I spent a couple of weeks messing about on eBay, looking at all sorts of weird and wonderful things for around £2k, with tax, MOT, and eligible for classic insurance....and finally stumbled upon this, just round the corner from the office.

It's a 1983 BMW E30 316 in Henna Red(ish), with period rust on the rear arches and boot slam panel, antenna stuck in the up position and rotted through drivers seat frame/fabric/bum prodding device.

Collected with just under 55k miles on it, one owner from new and in need of a little tlc - a perfect long term, spend when I can afford it project.

Here's the pictures from eBay, more to come!

[l33dwc]

Wow that is nice, looking forward to the updates

[kaeferkind]

Your 316 looks very nice indeed, the rust on the rear arches can't be THAT bad, they're usually much worse. Haven't seen an unspoiled one for ages. Is that the 1.8 litre 90 PS lump, a 316 1.8 to be exact?

[anthony3p]

Really nice early E30, love it. Weird number plate, it's an A reg from 1964!

[bigchris1981]

Not THAT bad...but bad enough to need cutting out and replacing...those photos err on the side of kindness!

Also all the panels are slightly different shades. One wing and the opposite door have been previously painted...probably back in the 1990s.

It's the 17sonething cc m10 engine...bottom of the rung, but it's lovely and smooth, pulls steady and cruises nicely...a 4+E box would be nice though!

The seats have now been replaced for some dark check sport items from a 1991 318is...seems to suit the early 80s styling.

Direction wise...a small drop of 30mm, something 14" and interesting, bodywork...and a few subtle bits and pieces...

[bigchris1981]

Sept 4, 2013 18:06:25 GMT anthony3p said:

Really nice early E30, love it. Weird number plate, it's an A reg from 1964!

Thanks! Yep...odd...but I kinda like it

[retrobarmy]

That's the sort of motor I like. Old enough to be interesting and sweet enough to drive - and fairly tidy too!

[quattron]

You have a very nice (as we call it it my country) 'narrow/tight' lamp. They are especially rare in a 2door version Wish you luck and we're waiting for more pics

[remmoc]

Very nice , ive got an 86 318i chrome bumpered one just like yours but in Carmine red , the M10 engine is utterly reliable , mines been fine for 4 years now ,
Where did you get the seats from , mine are beige and I'm falling through the drivers seat .

[bigchris1981]

Sept 4, 2013 20:16:33 GMT remmoc said:

Very nice , ive got an 86 318i chrome bumpered one just like yours but in Carmine red , the M10 engine is utterly reliable , mines been fine for 4 years now ,
Where did you get the seats from , mine are beige and I'm falling through the drivers seat .

I couldn't find early seats anywhere...well I could, but the seller in Birmingham wanted £750 for early, comfort leather in light grey...I passed up on that.

The seats I bought came off of eBay, a bit of a drive down into Kent to collect them, but a night and day difference in feel - they don't fit straight in though, the car has come back this week from the bodyshop who've done some metal work on the front and rear seat frames to make it slot together!

I'll drop you a PM about your seats...I've got a very good passenger one, which you could use as your drivers side.

[bigchris1981]

Tin worm can be a bit of an issue on the e30. Those arches are the ideal shape to trap mud and water, and with the earliest ones now being over 30 years old, it's becoming hard to find a very early car, let alone one without any rust or bodywork imperfections.

Once I'd driven this car, I felt I could forgive the imperfections...I was smitten, my heart was ruling my head. I still knocked the vendor down by £500 though...so maybe the cupid of cars didn't hit me square on this time around!

The rot on both rear arches has taken a firm grip, removing one of the rear quarter cards, you can see daylight flowing through where there should be a layer of West German steel.





At first glance, it looked like the wheel arches were full of lumpy underseal...maybe not.



It was around this time that I decided to go and see Tom Dixon at Lemass Automotive...he will eventually be dealing with all the rust on the car and repainting the whole thing in luscious Henna Rot...I just need to sell the S8 and my kidneys first.

[remmoc]

Sept 5, 2013 7:00:12 GMT bigchris1981 said:

Sept 4, 2013 20:16:33 GMT remmoc said:

Very nice , ive got an 86 318i chrome bumpered one just like yours but in Carmine red , the M10 engine is utterly reliable , mines been fine for 4 years now ,
Where did you get the seats from , mine are beige and I'm falling through the drivers seat .

I couldn't find early seats anywhere...well I could, but the seller in Birmingham wanted £750 for early, comfort leather in light grey...I passed up on that.

The seats I bought came off of eBay, a bit of a drive down into Kent to collect them, but a night and day difference in feel - they don't fit straight in though, the car has come back this week from the bodyshop who've done some metal work on the front and rear seat frames to make it slot together!

I'll drop you a PM about your seats...I've got a very good passenger one, which you could use as your drivers side.

Would be great if you could , mines a poverty spec car , keep fit everything and cloth beige seats .
Looking forward to your updates on this , theres not too many early cars left

[bigchris1981]

looking like this might be for sale...

[bigchris1981]

...and then I started buying parts...

[bigchris1981]

Minor update, having prepped the polo for winter, driven it to Essen and back for the motorshow, and looked at lots and lots of lovely classics whilst over there, the e30 is definitely staying.

Last weekend, in an attempt to tidy up the mess left by my brother "fixing" his e36, I emptied everything out of the garage, did a run to the tip, put all the tools back where they should be...and jumped into the e30 for a little spin round the block.

Well that was the plan, but the battery had other ideas.

Ordered up Bosch c7 charger/maintainer and it's now sitting on half charge and working back up to full strength...just need to decide what to do next!

[curly89]

Looks a good car and like you say some love and subtle mods and you'll be laughing...look forward to the updates.

[bigchris1981]

Cheers fella.

I'm pretty set on getting it fully stripped back, all the rust gone and painted. Then a little lower and some cool wheels...browsing german ebay for interesting 14's not made by bbs...