For sale is my ’87 BMW 320i Coupe in Lachssilber Metallic, with the desirable houndstooth interior. It’s a very late pre-facelift car, and has a manual transmission. I’ve owned the car since February of 2017 and have spent a small fortune on it since then; time-wise and financially. It has full service history up until it went into storage in the early 2000’s, and is currently on 116000 miles (this may rise slightly) Since it was put back on the road in late 2016, all servicing has been carried out by myself.
I bought the car off a gentlemen that worked for Mclaren Automotive, who had acquired the car from a family friend of his. It had been subject to a significant re-commissioning after having been sat in garage for over 15 years, and this consisted of a full body respray (evidently carried out to a high standard) and a full brake system overhaul amongst other things. Once in my ownership I used the car daily for several months, which meant the car was doing 50 miles a day. As it got towards winter I realised it was a bit too nice to continue using it as a commuter, so I took it off the road tucked it away into some storage space.
Whilst in storage, I followed on from the previous owner in bringing the car back to it’s former glory. There’s an awful lot of invoices and receipts for the parts involved, so forgive me but it’s entirely likely I’ll have missed the odd thing here and there. All parts are either BMW items, or OEM equivalent.
- Bilstein B12 Suspension fitted on all 4 corners.
- All bushes on the front end of the car have been replaced with new items.
- All arms/droplinks/track-rods/tie-rods on the front of the car have been replaced with new items.
- New top mounts front and rear.
- The steering rack has been replaced with a refurbished item.
- The gear linkage and all associated clips/bushes have been replaced with new items.
- The alternator bracketry has been replaced with new items.
- Good genuine BMW/Bosch alternator sourced and fitted.
- New fuel sender fitted.
- New rocker cover gasket fitted.
- All filters/oils/coolant/plugs/belts replaced and changed.
- New timing belt and tensioner fitted.
- New water pump fitted.
- Factory boot spoiler re-furbished.
- Rear drums overhauled (by previous owner)
- New pair of front callipers fitted (by previous owner).
As you can imagine taking all of the above into account, the car drives superbly. I’ve several friends and family members that are very familiar with this era of BMW’s, and they have all commented how brilliantly the car drives.
The E30 is now 32 years old so there are inevitably some area’s that’d still benefit from some improvement, but the fact that it’s spent the majority of it’s life garaged has really helped maintain it’s condition. Nevertheless, the drivers seat has had the RHS bolster re-upholstered in a slightly mismatched colour, the dashboard does have a couple of relatively minor cracks in it, and irritatingly some of the chrome trims around the vehicle have been painted black in the past (I imagine to make it look as if it had the ‘shadowline’ pack). I’m sure there a few other areas that would prosper after a bit of tlc, but the takeaway is that these are all either inexpensive/cost-free and easy fixes.
It’s still a way off being considered concours, but it’d make a great base if you’re that way inclined, and it’s in far better condition that most pre-facelift cars are these days regardless.
My reason for selling is that since getting it MOT’d again, I just haven’t had the time to use it and it’s in a workspace that could be dedicated to other on-going projects. It’d be a shame to tuck it away again potentially put it through another period of neglect, especially when it’s such a tidy example and it drives the way it does. What I’d really like is it to go to someone that has the time to button up those last few areas and make it perfect, because in the grand scheme of things it wouldn’t need a lot.
I’m of course happy to answer any questions and/or schedule in a viewing.
Car is not kept/but can be viewed in the RG7 area.
I bought the car off a gentlemen that worked for Mclaren Automotive, who had acquired the car from a family friend of his. It had been subject to a significant re-commissioning after having been sat in garage for over 15 years, and this consisted of a full body respray (evidently carried out to a high standard) and a full brake system overhaul amongst other things. Once in my ownership I used the car daily for several months, which meant the car was doing 50 miles a day. As it got towards winter I realised it was a bit too nice to continue using it as a commuter, so I took it off the road tucked it away into some storage space.
Whilst in storage, I followed on from the previous owner in bringing the car back to it’s former glory. There’s an awful lot of invoices and receipts for the parts involved, so forgive me but it’s entirely likely I’ll have missed the odd thing here and there. All parts are either BMW items, or OEM equivalent.
- Bilstein B12 Suspension fitted on all 4 corners.
- All bushes on the front end of the car have been replaced with new items.
- All arms/droplinks/track-rods/tie-rods on the front of the car have been replaced with new items.
- New top mounts front and rear.
- The steering rack has been replaced with a refurbished item.
- The gear linkage and all associated clips/bushes have been replaced with new items.
- The alternator bracketry has been replaced with new items.
- Good genuine BMW/Bosch alternator sourced and fitted.
- New fuel sender fitted.
- New rocker cover gasket fitted.
- All filters/oils/coolant/plugs/belts replaced and changed.
- New timing belt and tensioner fitted.
- New water pump fitted.
- Factory boot spoiler re-furbished.
- Rear drums overhauled (by previous owner)
- New pair of front callipers fitted (by previous owner).
As you can imagine taking all of the above into account, the car drives superbly. I’ve several friends and family members that are very familiar with this era of BMW’s, and they have all commented how brilliantly the car drives.
The E30 is now 32 years old so there are inevitably some area’s that’d still benefit from some improvement, but the fact that it’s spent the majority of it’s life garaged has really helped maintain it’s condition. Nevertheless, the drivers seat has had the RHS bolster re-upholstered in a slightly mismatched colour, the dashboard does have a couple of relatively minor cracks in it, and irritatingly some of the chrome trims around the vehicle have been painted black in the past (I imagine to make it look as if it had the ‘shadowline’ pack). I’m sure there a few other areas that would prosper after a bit of tlc, but the takeaway is that these are all either inexpensive/cost-free and easy fixes.
It’s still a way off being considered concours, but it’d make a great base if you’re that way inclined, and it’s in far better condition that most pre-facelift cars are these days regardless.
My reason for selling is that since getting it MOT’d again, I just haven’t had the time to use it and it’s in a workspace that could be dedicated to other on-going projects. It’d be a shame to tuck it away again potentially put it through another period of neglect, especially when it’s such a tidy example and it drives the way it does. What I’d really like is it to go to someone that has the time to button up those last few areas and make it perfect, because in the grand scheme of things it wouldn’t need a lot.
I’m of course happy to answer any questions and/or schedule in a viewing.
Car is not kept/but can be viewed in the RG7 area.
