1985 BMW E30 323i 2 door

[tineca]

Well the sale of the moggy left a gap. I looked at some cars but all seemed a bit dear or a bit far gone or both. Then a gem appeared.
Finshed work at 5 and set off 100 miles with hired trailer in tow. 




Home at 11 but got the lovely BMW home safe.  Its not without its faults but has the right basis to be a lovely car. Owner and his wife had it 28 years. They nearly cried when we drove away. Sorry about dark pic.

[tineca]

More pics in the daylight.

[Mercdan68]

That is sensational, great buy
Fantastic replacement for the moggy Jed
Love it

[gettingold]

That looks amazing how did you find that, has that a pipe popped off second picture of engine right in the middle, 2 stereos for the man who has everything

[tineca]

Thanks guys, itching to play but work in the way ha ha. Its got filler in the arches but a long term project and I will get new ones in. Drivers seat is worn, needs an electric window motor, some welding near back if sills. I estimate a 1500- 2k investment and it should be mint. It will be a long term job as I am a bit short ha ha. It feels lovely in the drivers seat. I got it off a lovely couple who owned it 28 years. It was on car and classic. The phone was red hot they said. I was lucky to nip in and buy it and lucky the trailer guy had a trailer. It was a 200 mile round trip and the xc90 did 25mpg so about £100 to get it here with the trailer rent included. Got it insured as worried about it being nicked. Seems its quite a rare ish car. 😊

[gettingold]

Just looked again and its manual as well, 2 door rwd manual i think you just made a lot of wise choices. good luck with the build.

[ballbagbagins]

Prices for these in the last fews years have gone through the roof. Very nice car and nice to buy from such owners.

[toast00]

Very nice and original! As others have said, prices for these have climbed alot recently, especially for nice original ones that haven't been fiddled and raced. I hope it is staying original?

[Waxoyling Lyrical]

Smashing looking car - looks to have been well looked after. Indeed, the 323i is one of the rarest, as I gather they only made them for three years before the 325i came out, circa 1986.

I suggest you visit the E30 Zone, www.e30zone.net, which is an excellent forum for these.

I've previously owned four E30s, a pair of chrome bumper 320i and a pair of later 325i versions. Enjoyed them very much, though you have to be wary of them being rather tail-happy in the wet.

[Ritchie]

Nice looking E30, I can give you a good wee tip. If you pop out the steering wheel centre cap you will see that the steering column shaft has a hole in it.
This goes right through the shaft and it’s amazing how much road/engine bay noise transmits up it. You can test this by putting your finger over the hole whilst driving it.
I stuck a rolled up earplug in mine, voila, quieter cabin.

[tineca]

Thanks all for the fab comments, I will look out for that road noise. Any and all tips and advice are most welcome. Does anyone know if the fabric is available as the drivers seat is worn?. Thanks Jed

[tineca]

I am doing a charity day for mcmillain and bought a wig and medallion. Back in 85 I had hair so could not resist having a trial run. Please don't send in underwear ha ha.

[urbanaw]

Lovely, an early, 6 cylinder, manual, 3 door, red E30.
It does seem you got many things right here. 

She looks great. Good luck with it.  

[Mercdan68]

Indeed she looks great.....the car!!!

[tineca]

Ha ha pmsl. Note the strong bonnet!!! 😁

[blawrence]

Cracking car that, I have a feeling I came across it earlier this week on carsandclassic, if only I had the cash laying around

[tineca]

Yes it was on C and C I just managed to get there but the phone was red hot he said. I feel very lucky.

[oilyt]

Great looking car .Lovely cars to drive also . I know of a nice one that's on ebay at the moment and price's do seem to of dramatically risen over the last few years.

[Ritchie]

Have good poke around the inner rear arches, they are bad at hiding rust in there.

[tineca]

Hi the arches are full of filler and I hope to cut them out and weld in new ones, the rear end of the sills also has some rust. Not awful but needs fixing. Looking forward to getting stuck in 😁