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What Do You Drive Or Ride ? No bullshit inside here please



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Old 03-13-2008, 09:59 PM   #1
dutchmasterflex
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Default My 1987 325is Coupe



Finally brought the car up to Boston from NY... the past 3 months I have been only able to see and drive her (Elloise) on the weekends I went back home.

She was fantastic on the 3 hour ride north to Boston. Most of my trip is on the Merritt parkway which flows over and around the mountains. Major elevation changes and lots of nice curves.


I left NY early in the morning at 5am so I would have barely any traffic to deal with, leaving the parkway mostly to myself. With Bilstein Sport shocks and H&R Sport Springs, I was in heaven. The car handles great and it's awkward to not feel the limit of its cornering abilities. I am used to driving a Toyota Paseo up to and beyond its lateral limits, as well as a RAV4 to the point where you think "Man how is this thing not on it's roof?!".

Other than some power oversteer I have yet to feel the cornering limits of my car.. although it has been a few months and I have barely gotten a chance to drive it and still take extreme caution when giving it some stig.

Another wonderful difference from the life of driving 4 banger Toyota's was the smooth and effortless acceleration. I would seriously have to pin the throttle to the ground, going down hill, with the wind, in order to reach 100mph. It was only a matter of seconds accelerating from 80 to 100mph in the 325is. It's a good thing I am already at 3500rpm when at 80mph or else I would get into some serious speeding trouble.

Hopefully I can afford a track day or two this summer to really give her a good run for all shes got. If only I had an endless supply of tires!

Recent stuff I've done:
-Installed new stereo head unit. Sony MEX-BT2500 - bluetooth audio streaming, CD MP3. Use it with my cellphone, works great and no wires!
-Installed new fog lights, no more checkered flags! Only one light works though, need to diagnose the problem still.
-Hard wired my Valentine 1 radar
-Replaced some fuses along with cracked fuse box cover
-License plate holder for the front.
-Armor All'd the shit out of exterior rubber trim. Looks nice and dark now, no more worn old look.

Soon:
-Heat shield for cone air intake(just ordered)
-Replace chrome stripping around windshield and rear window
-Serious photo shoot, still being really lazy during my last semester at school.

-Thinking about:
-Stiffer sway bars 22/19mm. Still has decent roll when chucking it around trying to impersonate Tsuchiya. Didn't really notice the roll as much when I was driving up to Boston on the Merritt being a smooth operator though. Also not sure if I want to make the ride even more harsh... but I will also still have the RAV4 if I need something a bit more comfortable.
-Bigger basket weaves, if I find a good job!
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Old 03-13-2008, 10:52 PM   #2
xbeakerx
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NICE RIDE...

i've always loved the 325is
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Old 03-14-2008, 12:53 AM   #3
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Cool E30. How many miles are on it? Most of the ones I looked at (usually $2500.oo or less) had pretty high mileage (but they can take it.) Any plans for Ellipsoid headlights? That's a pretty easy swap to do yourself.
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Old 03-14-2008, 01:33 AM   #4
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I remember testing and then spending a few weeks with the 2.7l 325is in South Africa in the late 80's... was a great car then and is still a great light weight BMW sporty coupe now.

Is the US version also the 2.7l?

And when is BMW going to go back to its light weight roots? Well I guess the 1 series is a start, but I am turned off by the over-weight modern 5, I mean 3 series cars.

This car I like a lot.
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Old 03-14-2008, 01:42 AM   #5
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Black looks mega sexy!

In the break in the weather today, I gave a sponge bath to my car, cleaned the paint, clayed, wax and polished the car... black is a very sexy color ... and exentuated on a good looking car!

Originally Posted by RC45 View Post
I remember testing and then spending a few weeks with the 2.7l 325is in South Africa in the late 80's... was a great car then and is still a great light weight BMW sporty coupe now.

Is the US version also the 2.7l?

And when is BMW going to go back to its light weight roots? Well I guess the 1 series is a start, but I am turned off by the over-weight modern 5, I mean 3 series cars.

This car I like a lot.
Did you hear about the mass on the new 1 series? Surprisingly not light!
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Old 03-14-2008, 05:49 AM   #6
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Looking good bro! Reminds me a lot of my old car except mine was a sedan.

Love the basket weaves too.

Looking forward to more pictures.
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Old 03-14-2008, 06:06 AM   #7
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Very clean! Looks great mate.
Definately put in those sway bars.
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Old 03-14-2008, 06:44 AM   #8
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Nice clean looking car. Congrats dude!
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Old 03-14-2008, 08:51 AM   #9
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Thanks guys.. but the car looks much cleaner in the photo (boosted contrast, long exposure). The paint is actually pretty good for a 21 year old, but is definitely in need of a high end detailing.

Originally Posted by 79TA
Cool E30. How many miles are on it? Most of the ones I looked at (usually $2500.oo or less) had pretty high mileage (but they can take it.) Any plans for Ellipsoid headlights? That's a pretty easy swap to do yourself.
Body has 271,000 miles. Not exactly sure about the motor, pretty sure it has been rebuilt. I know the important things have definitely been replaced within the past couple thousand miles. Bought the car from North Carolina from the owner of JMT Track cars, made sure it was solid and running strong. Still shocked a car with so many miles can run so well. The car came with a lot of goodies and extras, I paid a bit more than what most would probably pay for it.

The head lights aren't really my priority, but I have thought about it. Maybe if the right price comes my way but I want to save up for some other upgrades first.

Originally Posted by RC45
Is the US version also the 2.7l?

And when is BMW going to go back to its light weight roots? Well I guess the 1 series is a start, but I am turned off by the over-weight modern 5, I mean 3 series cars.

This car I like a lot.
US got the 1.8L 4's, 2.5L 6's and a 2.7L economy engine(lower revs, more torque).
Some people do swap parts from the 2.7 with the 2.5 to create a better engine though.

The 1-series' weight is pretty close to E46.. I do not think BMW will ever make another E30 type light weight, unless of course for the limited edition CSLs.
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Old 03-14-2008, 02:51 PM   #10
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Beautiful car reminds me of my first 3 series back in 79 new not sure but I think it was the model before the E30 - maybe an E28?
You will grow to love beemers, I have had them for most of my driving career - the first was a 2002tii way back there in 78, still with em nowadays - now on my 12th I think.
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Old 03-14-2008, 02:52 PM   #11
79TA
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Originally Posted by RC45 View Post
I remember testing and then spending a few weeks with the 2.7l 325is in South Africa in the late 80's... was a great car then and is still a great light weight BMW sporty coupe now.

Is the US version also the 2.7l?

And when is BMW going to go back to its light weight roots? Well I guess the 1 series is a start, but I am turned off by the over-weight modern 5, I mean 3 series cars.

This car I like a lot.
Buy one for yourself . . . you can get a pretty nice 2 door with a manual transmission for the price of a good pair of cylinder heads for camzilla.

*edit:

see?

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/605312203.html

and one somewhere closer to you in Texas

http://houston.craigslist.org/car/602391115.html

Last edited by 79TA; 03-14-2008 at 03:14 PM.
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Old 03-14-2008, 03:22 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by nthfinity View Post
Did you hear about the mass on the new 1 series? Surprisingly not light!
I just got through reading about the 1 series in R&T.. 3400lbs.. WTF?
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Old 03-15-2008, 02:20 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by RC45 View Post
I just got through reading about the 1 series in R&T.. 3400lbs.. WTF?
Small is heavy
Nice beamer dutchmasterflex
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