Things to look for when you're E30 is dead!

I had a YouTube subscriber inquire on what caused my starting/driving/idling issues.

The symptoms were that the car would stall and buckle while driving. I'd lose power at times and it would come back. Sometimes I could start it again and drive off for a few miles without issue.

It came to a point that I couldn't start it. It would crank but that's it. Then sometimes it was nice and start but then die. This was totally frustrating.

I looked at the basic stuff first. The fuses! I didn't see anything wrong. I read about relays. Again I tracked them what I thought could be the culprit but no go. Maybe it was a fuel issue so I thought since the inline pump was really loud that was it. Or perhaps the fuel filter got clogged.

I changed both and thought it was the issue but nope! I did even did a video on it.

Well to say the least I was frustrated! I gave up and decided to take it to a specialist.

They spent several hours and figured it out! It was a fusible link! Basically it's a wafer that's inline with the wire that blows like a fuse but isn't replaceable. 

It was located under the rear seat and it ran from the battery in the trunk all the way to the ECU by the glove compartment. I had no clue the car had one.

Well $350 later it's running without issue! I hope you guys can find your problem on the cheap. 

That is the culprit!!!!

I'm a Wolfgang fanboy - My BMW E30 is shiny and slick!

This weekend I decided to wash my wife's car then after get into cleaning up my Bimmer. It's been sitting for weeks collecting dirt. I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot so I've been avoiding the heavy clutch. My Taco is stick but it's just way too easy and painless but that's another story.

So this Wolfgang sealant does not clean up the paint in any manner. It's a straight sealant that lasts longer than a wax but gives that deep shine. You can in fact put wax over it.

The key is curing time. You need to let the car sit as long as you can up to 14 hours to really cure and away from moisture. My cars are outside so I have no choice to be less time. My Taco has a coat of that stuff and it's been 3 weeks. It's still super slick.

I got it on Amazon in case anybody wanted to order some click to go to Amazon

I put it on the windows and if you have any chrome put it there too. I also added them to the wheels. Just a fyi, Ronal LS or other BBS mesh style suck to clean. Major PITA to get all areas free of brake dust.

Check out my video and some unaltered pics of the shiny beast!

My 2 cars are manuals and boxy

I guess I like straight lines a lot.

They're exactly 30 years apart but both have a straight hood and 'trunk.'

The Bimmer has "massive" 15 inch wheels and the Taco has "tiny" 16s.

Both are stick shift but the E30 has a aftermarket short shifter while the Taco has a somewhat longer throw but it's actually smoother.

E30 clutch is like doing a leg press. I actually got foot pain (plantar faciitis) from driving it straight for 2 months. I do have to admit wearing slip on shoes didn't help. The Taco clutch is light as a feather.

Bimmer has a single piston front brake while the Taco has 4 of them instead like you see in Brembos.

All in all they're different and I wouldn't have it any other way. I may need an automatic in my life though. lol

At the end of the day I'm a car guy. It will never end until the day I die but I think my kids will continue the legacy.

E30 is back and I cleaned her up!

After 2 months of letting it sit due to stalling issues, she's back home and running.

This pic is when the flatbed took her home. I didn't have time to sit in 2 hours of traffic to pick it up. AAA is my best buddy. haha

I washed her up before the sunset! My new Samsung S8+ really picks up low light well.

So I came home today and rushed to polish the hazy hood, roof and trunk. Took me 30 minutes to handle this. I think it did a good job.

Tell me your thoughts.

LG V20 video test... drone / GoPro style!!! Bmw love..E30 E90

Cleaned up my E90 today and decided to try a drone style / go pro wide angle video.

The stabilization on the LG V20 is pretty decent. You can even see the smoothness when recording it live.

Here's some phone pics and my youtube vids....

Quick photoshoot of the OG E30

After washing up the hooptie, I finished up polishing the roof to match the rest of the work I did last few weeks. Car really pops right now for an old worn paint!

It's not visible in the pics but the windows have some really  difficult to remove hard water stains. That's my next goal to fix.

If you've seen my past work I have a favorite spot for shooting my car at night. It's rare someone is there and it's not far away for me. Best combo!

Front end makeover on the E30. Made the box sexy

I had a good friend repaint the flaking rear spoiler and the chipped up valance. The valance was worn out over the years and also ghetto sprayed painted. I couldn't have that.

Red isn't a forgiving color over the years but I cleaned it up best I could. I'll call the worn areas "patina". lol.

I made my own DIY splitter while at it since I had some material left. I think it came out nice.

I'll have some of my pro shots soon at my favorite spot.

used valance as my template to cut the lip

friend dropped it off after repaint. so nice!

not bad after so many years

Gassy E30 stank! No its not me!

So I picked up this E30 recently. I noticed some strong fuel smell coming from the rear area and sometimes inside the cabin too.

After looking around and pulling the cover from under the rear seat I discovered the issue. The in tank fuel pump that is sealed by small rubber gasket is leaking. It's probably due to being a good 30 years old.

So I bought a new gasket for under $3 and it seems good to go.

I'm glad that there are so many nice resources on the internet. Back in the day those Chilton guides really suck badly.

You can see how wet it looks from the gas. The years of dirt on the right proves that it's been leaking for a good while.

The new gasket is on the right. You'll notice how thick that gasket is vs the old. It's due from constant pressure.

When you're in too much of a hurry and you make things worse! Arghhh!!!

So today I decided to work on my suspension for my E30 project. Well things started off ok but ended badly.  I tried to remove the tie rod link ball joint and the from the lower control arm. The BFH didn't work so I went to Harbor Freight and found a good tool. Worked great like you see in the video below.

Now I got too cocky and tried to rush things...worse thing to do. Oh the horror!!! I hope I can file it down and get it threaded. 

Fixed it!!!

I found out there's a thread file. Autozone actually rents these tools so after using that I got it working. Car is put back together and feeling good!

Golf R , S2000 supercharged and E30 with S52 swap comparison

Some of you may have figured out... I'm a car guy. I just love cars. I work on them and fix them up to my tastes.

This blog has been dedicated to my Golf R but I also have a 2003 S2000 with a Comptech supercharger and just picked up a 1987 E30 with a S52 swap which is the same powerplant as a E36 M3.

My buddy stopped by and wanted a ride so it become a demo test drive of all the cars and myself explaining to him what I like and dislike about each one.

Each of these cars are beasts in their own rights and each generation are considered one of the top cars of the times. Bimmers always been self labeled as The Ultimate Driving Machine for a reason. The S2000 had the highest horsepower liter car for many years and not many this date had a 9000 RPM redline!!!  Can you say VVVTTTAAAAAAC???!!!!!! The MK7 Golf R is the fastest Vdub ever produced from the factory until the next Golf R400 comes but that's a different story.

E30

• S52 M3 drivetrain (240hp to flywheel)
• 2600 pounds approximately
• Rear wheel drive
• 5 speed manual transmission
• Stock suspension w 205/55/15 Dunlop summer tires
• Very peppy to pretty darn quick
• Linear powerband
• Sits high in seat and higher floor than other cars. 
• Plenty of space all around. Think a green house.
• Full of options for a 80s car but primitive to the 21st century
• Installed Z3 steering rack so very responsive, almost twitchy
• Takes turns very well but has lots of body roll
• Predictable in the turns. Easy car to drive 
• Ok brakes. I'm sure great for the time

S2000

• AP1 2.0 liter (240hp to flywheel but low boost supercharger adds 80hp)
• 2750 pounds
• Rear wheel drive
• 6 speed manual transmission
• Coilover w 255/45/17 Federal RZR summer tires
• No bottom end torque but when  in VTEC...Watch out!!!
• Supercharger works best in high RPMs as it's a linear power delivery as is stock motor
• Sits very low to floor like being part of the ground. Soft top up has huge blind spots
• Can feel claustrophobic. 2 seat roadster with literally no wiggle room. Think jet cockpit
• No options for the time besides a hardtop and accessories. No packages until the AP2 CR came
• Electric steering but very very very responsive. Did I forget to mention quick too?
• Takes turns like "being on rails"
• Can lose it in twisties due to snap oversteer. Not for a noob driver
• Great brakes for the time. Car is so light and low that big brakes for the streets aren't necessary

Golf R

• 2.0 liter turbo (290hp to flywheel but JB1 adds 45hp)
• 3340 pounds
• All Wheel Drive - Haldex meaning front wheel drive most of the time until traction loss
• 6 speed dual clutch automatic
• Stock suspension w 225/45/18 Dunlop summer tires
• Peak torque comes at 1500 rpm. Still has some turbo lag but not much.
• Pulls you in your seat but doesn't feel fast but it is fast. Think time warp
• Sits comfortably with clear visibility throughout.
• Back seats have plent of room
• Electric steering but progressive and responsive
• Takes turns well but must turn off nanny settings to a degree
• Being front wheel drive bias it understeers you more confident you won't spin out
• Awesome braking. Some feel it's too grabby but it gives high confidence on stopping power

Conclusion

The E30 is the most "raw" car of the three.  There's no push start, climate control, traction control but did have ABS for it's day. It's a box on wheels.  Handles great and has more potential to handle and go even faster. This car is a sleeper. It can get you in trouble when you want trouble. Decent daily driver and weekend warrior at this level.

The S2000 is no box but it's noisy. Adding the supercharger and the Invidia dual exhaust it makes it even more so. I can't order food at the drive thru easily without killing the motor. Rev it past 6k and it's loud but you know, it's sweet at the same time. It's salty sweet. People think you want to race but I know this car even boosted is no straight line killer. It's a track star and canyon carver. It's a car that you can get yourself killed if you're not paying attention like playing with a sharp blade. I would consider this as a part time driver not a daily unless you want to be always on high alert. I feel like I'm working out at the gym when driving this car.

The R the 21st century box on wheels. Some have joked to me it's a mini mini van. Plenty of luxury items like seat heaters and back up camera but why no memory seats? Moonroof may be a good option for some people but you won't get it in North America. It doesn't have a linear power band as the other cars but it's not that crazy high peak torque that jerks you around and beats you up like my old Evo X. I have to say this is one of the best daily drivers I've owned. Fast when you need it to be, shifts fast and you don't need to think about it unless you want to go full manual mode, and keeps my body in that Zen state (fair quiet) until I want to hit the canyons or go all out launch mode. It has a understeer bias but reducing the nanny sensors helps make it a little tossable. It's a heavy car so tossing it isn't that easy but the turbo and haldex does it thing.

These three cars are totally different animals but in the end all give you that Quagmire "giggity" feeling. Pick your poison and enjoy.

I wanted to add that my buddy felt the E30 was great for what it is and even though I took the same corner faster in the R it was so refined that the S2000 felt faster. Our senses can fool us.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to post comments questions.