1990 BMW 320i SE

[Marneus]

Hi all,
This is my new toy, I got her last August & have been planning/saving to do a few mods to make her a better fast road tourer.
She has 148,000miles on the clock but didn't move from Oct 2007 till June 2014. I've done a few bits just to keep her running sweet, full service, new drive belts, new washer valves.

I don't use her much & have only done around 1500 miles since I got her.

The plans for this year are:
M20b25 engine (170bhp)
H&R Cup kit
New exhaust system
New Tyres (Want to keep the 14's but am struggling to find decent tyres)
Sports front seats
And generally keep her in good condition, I'll probably have to address the rust bubbles this summer but as they're surface only I'm not too bothered.

Anyway here she is....















Cheers

Jamie

[Mr Tidy]

They are a pretty rare sight these days, but yours looks great.
Good luck with the mods. and please give us an update!

[harry kular]

Very, very nice. Look forward to more updates!

[BGarside]

Lovely-looking example with a good spec. and tasteful colour scheme too.

Would an M50B25 or M52B28 fit under that bonnet or is it too much hassle with the eletrics???

[Marneus]

Thanks guys. She's in quite good condition but by no means perfect.

I was going to go M52b28 but the supply of good engines is limited, I now intend to rebuild the existing 2 litre engine to a 2.8 on throttle bodies over the next few years.

I'll update as & when things happen.

[Triumph Man]

Looks lovely, not many left so please keep it nice and not Barry it!

[Lugy]

Looks a nice one, I had a prefacelift 320 that I fitted the M20B25 engine and gearbox from a rotten Sport. With the 320 diff still fitted it was a very quick accelerating car, really pushed you into the seats! I bought all the parts to do the 2.8 M20 conversion but ended up scrapping the car when I saw how badly the rust had hit. I'd still like another though, there's unfinished business!
Oh, mine was a 4 door saloon too, I may get flamed but they look better than the 2 door version IMO.

I'll be keeping an eye on this!

[Marneus]

I have no intention of "barrying" it. It will be a bit lower, a bit louder, a lot stiffer & a hell of a lot quicker but it will still look like a nice resto car. I'm even keeping the 14's as long as I don't need bigger brakes.

I prefer the 4dr too but having an 18 month old daughter kind of put paid to the 2dr, I'd never have got that past my wife, that's why I couldn't have an E21 😫

[Marneus]

The car has been away for the last 3 weeks having the M20b25 engine installed but she'll be ready on Thursday & I can't wait to see the difference. The guy doing the install has also had a thorough look over the car & said it's very clean with very little rust, there's none evident in the usual E30 problem areas so it seems that 7yrs in a barn out of the elements has been good to the old girl.
Next up is to get the suspension sorted (Holiday to pay for first unfortunately) then book a week off to get it done as I think it's still on the original suspension components & the handling is best described as wobbly.