Price: SOLD
Mileage: 120,000 Miles
Engine: M20B25 2.5-Liter Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
Exterior color: Delphin Grey Metallic
Interior: Natur Tan Leatherette
Additional features:
H&R Street Sport Springs
Bilstein Sport Shocks
Delrin Front Control Arm Bushings
15” New Old Stock Nogaro Euroweave Wheels
Dunlop Dirreza Z102 Tires
Crack free Dashboard
Excellent Paint
No Rust
All Season BMW Car Cover
Colorado Car
E30s are one of our specialty vehicles at Glen Shelly Auto Brokers. The 1984-1991 BMW 3 Series, known generationally as the E30, is the one model more than any other than earned BMW the Ultimate Driving Machine reputation. I have built, sorted, and restored a dozen over the years; this one is from my personal collection. It is a pristine example that makes me sick to my stomach to sell, but I need to fund an E30 Touring project. Sadly, the day of the cheap and quality E30 has passed. The reasonably priced E30 M3 ship sailed years ago, leaving those of us left ashore longingly watching our dreams disappear over the horizon. Non-M E30 values will not likely go stratospheric, but they are rapidly climbing. The population of worthy examples was decimated when their values were at the bottom of the inverted bell curve of appreciation. Entry-level buyers and misguided enthusiasts alike have stanced, swapped, and flogged many (that said from a guy in the middle of a Touring engine swap). Others have been neglected or had the wheels driven off of them because the E30 is so good. Lower mileage, properly sorted, pristine examples like this one are extremely hard to find. 1989 was arguably the best E30 year, having the late model M20B25 i motor, plastic bumpers, projector headlights, and a non-airbag steering wheel. This example needs to be seen to be appreciated, but I’ll do my best to describe it in words.
This E30 was originally purchased in Oregon and came to Colorado in 2010. It is completely rust free. It has always been over-maintained and exceptionally well cared for. I purchased it from a friend, fellow BMW Car Club member and E30 fanatic. Between the two of us we have transformed it from a time capsule condition 325i automatic to a properly sorted 5-speed manual. The transmission swap was done with all OEM BMW parts including a low mileage Getrag 260 gearbox, fresh shifter components and clutch kit. I replaced all gearbox seals, installed a new driveshaft including the flex disc and CSB, and a low mileage limited slip 3:73 differential. The engine just had a complete service and has been resealed including the timing belt, water pump, valve adjustment, spark plugs, cam seal, valve cover gasket, and oil pan gasket. We replaced the stock suspension with H&R Street Sport Springs and Bilstein Sport shocks under factory front shock mounts and Bimmerworld rear shock mounts. New front control arms with purple Powerflex delrin bushings finished the job. The factory bottle caps were replaced with new-old stock Nogaro 15” Style 5 Euroweaves. They are wrapped in low mileage Dunlop Dirreza Z102 tires.
Cosmetically it is a 9.5/10. The shine and finish of the Delphin Grey Metallic is brilliant. It is the most eye-catching element of the car. The paint is in excellent shape, especially for an E30. All black-work and trim are intact and equally brilliant. The windshield has no pits or cracks; the side window glass has no etching. The projector headlights have excellent lenses; one fog light has a small crack in the pics, but will be replaced before the sale is complete. There is no rust anywhere. The retractable antenna goes up and down smoothly. When my friend got the car the hood showed slight clear coat lifting. He had the hood and front valence repainted in factory two-stage Delphin Grey Metallic (BMW code 184) by Cooper Auto Body in Fort Collins. At the same time had them paint-match an IS front lip. The rest of the car was professionally paint restored, polished, and waxed. The rear bumper was repainted due to a low speed impact in August of 2013. The repairs were also done at Cooper Auto Body. My friend refinished all black work including the grills, bumper trim, and windshield cowling vents with SEM Trim. Overall exterior is excellent with only minor imperfections.
The interior is a 9/10. The dash is crack-free and the vents do not sag. All interior functions, lights, and switches work. The white lettering on the stalks and dashboard switches is crisp and not UV faded. The heat blows warm and the air condition blows cold. The leatherette seats are soft and have no creases or tears, they are some of the best I have seen. The headliner is clean and the manual sunroof opens smoothly. The door seals have not shrunk (they always do in the upper rear corners) and the rubber is supple. The carpet has no stains and is protected by black carpet E30 floor mats. When I got the car everything in the instrument cluster worked, except the speedometer. This is opposite of the more common failed odometer gears and was originally diagnosed by Poudre Sports car in 2010. I pulled the cluster and swapped speedometers with a known working VDO unit out of a 1989 325i in my parts inventory. At the time the original speedometer odometer read 117,099 miles. The new speedometer odometer read 119,990 miles, so the actual mileage on the car is roughly 3000 less than indicated. The original speedometer is included with the sale. The service interval board battery is healthy and there are no check lights. The factory stereo system is not premium sound, but it sounds very good. All functions on the original “slider” CM5908 stereo work including the volume rheostat, LED-touch slider, and tape deck. I replaced the rear speakers with very good non-premium sound OEM units from my parts inventory. The 6-button onboard computer has no blown out pixels or failed backlighting.
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