BMW 318i Touring (E30) | Shed of the Week
Discussion
Hub said:
Love an E30, but it will feel slow these days.
Me too. It would've felt slow back in its day as well. 13 seconds to 60...and to think that I've always associated BMW with quick cars! Fully loaded up this will genuinely struggle going up steep hills!
I wouldn't say no to the 325i model though for sure.
The E30 touring was always a good looking estate especially the ones with the factory body kit and BBS style alloys ( this base spec looks very plain by comparison).
You can still find the occasional old shed like this in London that has escaped getting rotten underneath (compared to cars from up North) there is little or no salt used on the roads central london and these rare finds (if this is one) make a good basis for a project.
Easy to swop the front seats for nice sports ones from another Bmw; then fit a 6 cylinder motor get an engine and g/box from an E46 323/325/328/330 and build a nice sleeper keep the 318 badge on the back. It’s a huge amount of work to do on a plain Jane model that’s probably never going to be worth much.
Would also need to treat any rot and waxoyle the underneath especially the front floor area.
You can still find the occasional old shed like this in London that has escaped getting rotten underneath (compared to cars from up North) there is little or no salt used on the roads central london and these rare finds (if this is one) make a good basis for a project.
Easy to swop the front seats for nice sports ones from another Bmw; then fit a 6 cylinder motor get an engine and g/box from an E46 323/325/328/330 and build a nice sleeper keep the 318 badge on the back. It’s a huge amount of work to do on a plain Jane model that’s probably never going to be worth much.
Would also need to treat any rot and waxoyle the underneath especially the front floor area.
alorotom said:
I love the e30 but not in estate guise
Same. Worst E30 shape, but loads seem to have survived.only1ian said:
I had a E30 325i saloon with an autobox and it was a 3 speed! Is the 4 speed auto correct?
All automatic 6 cylinder E30's were 4 speed (ZF 4HP22); 4 cylinder E30's were 3 speed until 1985, then everything got the 4 speed after that.cerb4.5lee said:
Me too. It would've felt slow back in its day as well. 13 seconds to 60...and to think that I've always associated BMW with quick cars!
Fully loaded up this will genuinely struggle going up steep hills!
I wouldn't say no to the 325i model though for sure.
Got to agree Lee - in this config you could be easy meat for a sporty 1300 Mk1 Escort off the mark! Not to mention if you were laden up Fully loaded up this will genuinely struggle going up steep hills!
I wouldn't say no to the 325i model though for sure.
Had the 6-pot Sport and that was ok but never got on with the slow steering plus having now been spoilt by later E36/E46 responses and steering and with all the disadvantages of the motive power in this, the rust, etc it’s a No from me
Make a good base for modding if you’re a fan of this shape
When you can get a 6-pot touring for twice as much I’d rather start with that
Why swap the engine? If it is in decent condition, preserve it as original or soon, there'll be no "ordinary" examples left, just a bunch of M3's 325's and a load of bastardised mongrels. I love a high spec car but I also like seeing the more mundane stuff too, like at the Festival of the Unexceptional. More people owned the lower spec models than the range toppers, so they bring a lot of nostalgia to many people
siwhit said:
Why swap the engine? If it is in decent condition, preserve it as original or soon, there'll be no "ordinary" examples left, just a bunch of M3's 325's and a load of bastardised mongrels. I love a high spec car but I also like seeing the more mundane stuff too, like at the Festival of the Unexceptional. More people owned the lower spec models than the range toppers, so they bring a lot of nostalgia to many people
I drove a 318 when it was new. It was like driving a posh Cortina. Meh. A 325, however. Now THAT was something aspirational. My mates still running one. Utterly gorgeous in gunmetal on BBS's.
Love an E30 Touring, and still do miss my old Alpina
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
Leins said:
Love an E30 Touring, and still do miss my old Alpina
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
Christ, that's the nuts. This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
AC43 said:
Leins said:
Love an E30 Touring, and still do miss my old Alpina
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
Christ, that's the nuts. This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
t.Leins said:
Love an E30 Touring, and still do miss my old Alpina
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains....
That Alpina much more my thing Leins This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains....
Leins said:
Love an E30 Touring, and still do miss my old Alpina
This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
Mate bought a late black E30 touring couple of years ago... London car all it's life, high miler. Solid underneath, tailgate rusted behind plate, tatty bodywork but general ok otherwise. This looks similar, and given E30 prices these days probably worth £1500, ain't gonna see many with a MOT for less than this, regardless of condition.This one for sale however... living on the streets, no interior pics, etc. I'd be very surprised if this isn't rotten through, arches, sills, jacking points, base of windscreen, blocked sunroof drains, cracked dashboard. If not somehow and it's only the tailgate that's suffering, then it's well worth Shed money
A lot of people are - as expected - commenting on the M40 being gutless and the car needing a transplant for a 6 cylinder.
I've owned my E30 318I 2 door for a while now and it is not gutless. A healthy, well maintained M40 runs well and keeps up with modern traffic. It feels normal and not under-powered, unlike the 1.6. The 1.8 is good for 120 ish mph, and feels relatively nippy if it wants to be. E30's are pretty light and small by today's standards. Put it this way, it weighs about the same as a 1.8 mk1 Ford Focus with almost exactly the same power output... more than enough.
Compared to the M44 in my E36, the difference wasn't as great as people make it out to be.
Haggle a bit and get it for a couple of hundred quid less, then enjoy it for what it is.
I've owned my E30 318I 2 door for a while now and it is not gutless. A healthy, well maintained M40 runs well and keeps up with modern traffic. It feels normal and not under-powered, unlike the 1.6. The 1.8 is good for 120 ish mph, and feels relatively nippy if it wants to be. E30's are pretty light and small by today's standards. Put it this way, it weighs about the same as a 1.8 mk1 Ford Focus with almost exactly the same power output... more than enough.
Compared to the M44 in my E36, the difference wasn't as great as people make it out to be.
Haggle a bit and get it for a couple of hundred quid less, then enjoy it for what it is.
Edited by alex.baker89 on Friday 10th January 12:39
I had a 325i Sport Touring in 1990, ex demo (F520MDP), which I couldn't afford so my dear mother bought it from me.
In 2007, on her death bed, she gave me the keys back - she'd kept it ever since, it was only on 80k, full BMW history etc. My ex wife wrote it off. I miss them (the car and my mum that is, not the ex
)
In 2007, on her death bed, she gave me the keys back - she'd kept it ever since, it was only on 80k, full BMW history etc. My ex wife wrote it off. I miss them (the car and my mum that is, not the ex
)sinbaddio said:
I had a 325i Sport Touring in 1990, ex demo (F520MDP), which I couldn't afford so my dear mother bought it from me.
In 2007, on her death bed, she gave me the keys back - she'd kept it ever since, it was only on 80k, full BMW history etc. My ex wife wrote it off. I miss them (the car and my mum that is, not the ex)
Sad story. I'd never part with mine. She's just ticked over to 60k miles and is completely mint. Wanted one ever since I was a kid, after seeing my Dad's old one on home videos with BBS's and the like. You get many nice comments from people that used to have them, or just don't see them on the road anymore. Part of the joy of owning older cars is making other people smile when they see them on the road.In 2007, on her death bed, she gave me the keys back - she'd kept it ever since, it was only on 80k, full BMW history etc. My ex wife wrote it off. I miss them (the car and my mum that is, not the ex
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