1986 E30 BMW 318i
I heard
of a 1986 318i with 5-speed that had sat outdoors on a rural property
less than 20km from me (in central Victoria) for almost 15 years, so
went to have a look.
The car
looked very sunburnt, and had a plethora of spiders and various bugs
calling the car home, but I could see no rust anywhere, and panel damage
was minimal and superfluous. Headlining, door trims and dash were spot
on, and the seats still nicely shaped, but obviously the cloth has
succumbed to 15 years in central Victorian sun.
Both the
VIN lookup and inspection under the hoist indicate this car started life
with an automatic gearbox, but has been converted to the 5-speed Getrag
240 gearbox. It also has modified rear springs, with King Spring KBRL-14
springs fitted (the originals are in the boot), and a somewhat ludicrous
large-bore 'sports' exhaust.
I agreed
to the peppercorn price, thinking the car would at least provide many
valuable spares once I could afford a nice E30.
However,
after getting it onto my trusty
Isuzu beavertail, and getting it home and getting it basically
cleaned and properly checked over, I think I might even restore this
one. I hadn't realised when purchasing it that it had only done just
under 160,000km, and that it would turn out to be completely (and
amazingly) devoid of any rust!
I think
this will be restored...
↑As found.
↑Loading up, after inflating
tyres that hadn't held pressure for many years!
↑Home and pressure-washed, it
looks a lot better, and I realise for the first time that it's totally
rust-free, and has only covered just under 160,000km.
↑Big-bore exhaust, 5-speed
manual conversion and uprated rear springs point to an
enthusiastically-driven past life!
↑After a thorough check and
familiarisation, the E30 joins the restoration queue in the workshop.
This
car will now be stored in the workshop, awaiting its turn in the queue
for cars to be restored.
