My $600 E30 325i! Need advice!

[adrock2003]

Okay, so I just purchased a 1990 325i sedan with 180,000 miles for $600 from a co-worker. Here's the thing...this car is ACTUALLY in AMAZING condition with 1 BIG issue that I need direction with. The roof around the sunroof is rusted in 2 spots. See the attached photos. Believe me, the car is just dirty because it's been sitting for a long while, but the interior is in EXTREMELY good condition, the body is ARROW-straight and there is no other rust on the rest of the entire car. There is a small, easily-pullable dent in the rear, driver's side door and a small dent in the lower-front fascia that I'll repair myself.

Here's my request for advice. I'd really like to have a sliding, cloth sunroof put into the car instead of just repairing the rusted spots around the current, manual sunroof. Does anyone know have any information on where I can go to see other cars that have had this work done? 4-door sedans, specifically. I know the 318ti had the option for a sliding cloth roof, but I don't know if that was here in the U.S. or just overseas.

The other question I have is, since the car has been sitting for almost 2 years, I know I have to drain and change the fluids, which shouldn't be an issue, and a lot of the common parts that fail on the E30 were replaced just prior to it being parked, so should still be good. Can you think of anything else I should be looking out for before trying to drive this thing home?

What you see on the paint in the photos is just mildew from sitting under that tree it's shaded by. It comes right off and there is a very decent repaint under it. The interior is basically spotless, so no moisture has been getting inside or there'd be a fungus-garden in there, which there isn't. I can't wait to wash it and take better photos to post though. This is a BEAUTIFUL little car in person. It just needs to be deep cleaned and the rust spots fixed.

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[aaverhulst]

Of course the big question. When was the timing belt last changed?

[adrock2003]

Of course the big question. When was the timing belt last changed?

I'll have to ask him. He's a pretty meticulous car fanatic, so I'm sure he'll know, but I'll have it done ASAP if he doesn't. He used this as his "Kayak-carrier" car. haha

[DRVN2WN]

You've definitely got moisture inside the car somewhere, the rust in the roof goes all the way through... Pull the carpet out for sure.

Also check for rust under the battery tray and in the spare tire well.

Can't help with any advice on the sunroof, I've got the original cloth roof (convertible )

[bluptgm3]

Cheaper, easier to replace the roof panel and that won’t be cheap.


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[superj]

Dang those sunroof plastic blockers people mount. It looka likw it had one of those, what do they call them, vent visors?

I think you have a very decent car from the interior grab handles, down, because once you peel the headliner back, its going to be very depressing.

Don't forget you might need to replace those tires. They might have hard spots from sitting and the oils being sucked out of the rubber at the bottom.

I am so bummed for you but, you can see if someone can do the baur mod to it for you. Not sure how much but it will give you thw sliding cloth sunroof and fix your rust, at the same time

[adrock2003]

Cheaper, easier to replace the roof panel and that won’t be cheap.


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The sunroof panel isn't the issue, it's the metal surrounding it that needs to be repaired. I know it'd be cheaper to just repair it, but if this car is in as good of a condition as I believe it is everywhere else, spending $600 on the car and then having something like what I'm looking for would still leave me spending WAY less than the car will be worth when I'm done with it. Not to mention, I'd have a nice talking point and modification done to the car that you don't see anywhere else, or at least I couldn't find another one with that modification done to it.

It's a manual sunroof though, so no power.

[superj]

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[adrock2003]

Dang those sunroof plastic blockers people mount. It looka likw it had one of those, what do they call them, vent visors?

I think you have a very decent car from the interior grab handles, down, because once you peel the headliner back, its going to be very depressing.

Don't forget you might need to replace those tires. They might have hard spots from sitting and the oils being sucked out of the rubber at the bottom.

I am so bummed for you but, you can see if someone can do the baur mod to it for you. Not sure how much but it will give you thw sliding cloth sunroof and fix your rust, at the same time

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to seeing JUST how bad it is under there, but for $600....it's worth it! lol He, apparently, has a set of Style 5s he's giving me with the car as well, so those are going on instead of these bottle caps. I'll put brand new tires on the other wheels and maybe use one of these as the spare, unless it already has one in the trunk. He's bringing me the keys tomorrow.

[superj]

Even with the rust, thats awesome. I would take it, also

[adrock2003]

Even with the rust, thats awesome. I would take it, also

RIGHT?! Properly restored, even with the mileage, this car will be worth a BOATLOAD more than $600!! Wait until I clean it up and take photos of the inside! I'll definitely pull the carpet and check the floors and such, but I'm pretty sure it's in great shape as there isn't any mold/mildew inside of the car, which would indicate moisture getting inside of it. My 2000 528i M-Sport had a bad seal somewhere and moisture got inside of the car from somewhere and I left it parked for about 2 months and had to clean the mold out of the interior from EVERY panel and seat/leather-covered surface.

We JUST had a MASSIVE rainstorm here yesterday and the inside is bone dry, from what I can see. No moisture on the inside of the glass, etc, but we'll see tomorrow I suppose.

[aaverhulst]

It's amazing the durability of the original Michelin tires. Four years ago, I decided to use my spare as it had never been used. This is the original one that came with the car (at least as far as I know). Put it on, 30 years old and I have been running it. It's a 325ic so it does not get whipped around and beat up. I keep my eye on the tire and it's doing fine. I rotate my tires using the spare but this one does not get used as a spare - want to wear it out.

[Leeroy.C]

Hi I have a e30 323i its been flooding the plugs regularly. It was starting but now just cranks, Ive changed plugs, cleaned old plugs it works for a short while then does the same thing again. Also idle stabilizer was dead sorted that out got the car started again then it just flooded the plugs again. Any ideas what to do?

[superj]

Leeroy.C this is a different thread you have accidentally posted in. check your oxygen sensor but when you are in the area showing all the threads, hit new thread there to make your post and you will get a bunch more help

[msservices]

Leeroy, check your fuel pressure regulator

[msservices]

[QUOTEHere's the thing...this car is ACTUALLY in AMAZING condition with 1 BIG issue that I need direction with. The roof around the sunroof is rusted in 2 spots. See the attached photos.

Here's my request for advice. I'd really like to have a sliding, cloth sunroof put into the car instead of just repairing the rusted spots around the current, manual sunroof.
It just needs to be deep cleaned and the rust spots fixed.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, it’s a nice car, and a great buy, but it is a 4 door, so I don’t think cloth/convertible tops are going to fit the bill. Also those two rust spots on the roof combined with the crank sunroof warrant purchasing a roof cut from a donor car that has an electric, complete sliding roof assembly, headliner, etc. A roof cut as you know is where they remove the glass and cut the A, B, and C pillars and hand you over the whole thing So you have all the spare parts to boot. This should not be hard to find since most e30s rust from the ground up
Now, I’m not suggesting cutting roof pillars on YOUR car, just the donor car

[adrock2003]

I don't mean a convertible. I mean a sliding ragtop. I'm researching how to get one put in and it looks like it may actually be possible! I don't want to replace the roof and/or put in an electric sunroof as my 1992 325i had one and it was broken the entire time I owned the car, so yeah, not interested in anything electric above my head. I just want something that looks cool, is functional and feasible. Also, it would definitely need to keep rain out, but I'm sure that'll be a given, I hope. haha

[DRVN2WN]

Do you have a local convertible top specialist in your area? Near me there's a convertible top specialist that also does Landau tops, boat stuff, etc. A store like that would likely be able to fabricate one for you.

[adrock2003]

Okay, update. Just found out that the timing belt was replaced about 5k miles ago, so it's good to go. Both rear bearings were also replaced prior to him parking it, so those should be fine as well. He did the front brake pads himself, just prior to parking it and said that when he last looked, the rear pads looked good. He told me that it doesn't rattle or shake driving down the road, but I'll probably have to drive it to know for sure if anything has dry-rotted and needs to be replaced.

I've got a plan started though. First things first, I'd detail it myself, but for now, I'm just going to hire a mobile detailer to come and do a deep, exterior scrub and light interior detail to get it clean. I have a buddy who runs a German import repair garage who's going to drive here to Bradenton, FL, from New Port Richey, FL (about 1.5 hours) to pick the car up and tow it to his shop and he's going to do a full inspection to tell me what I need to do to get it road-worthy.

More plans soon.

[adrock2003]

Dang those sunroof plastic blockers people mount. It looka likw it had one of those

lol I just found out that it actually DID have a wind deflector on the roof when he bought it and when he removed it, that's when he found the rust, so good call!

[superj]

every time I see that type of rust on a car down here, the car had a wind deflector on it.

[John Adkins]

Neat idea, but I don't see any affordable way to install a canvas sun roof...I might be wrong.