Hey GRM-
A little while back I purchased a 530iT from a local GRM member (IndyGuy!), and unfortuantely could not keep the car long due to space. I am a huge E30 enthusiast, and he suggested I post up some of my E30 adventures. There are quite a few.
It all began when my younger brother got a 325iX for his first car. I fell in love, and went on the hunt. My first E30 I got by magically trading a '96 SC2 for. That was a 1989 BMW 325iX. I did a manual swap, built custom coilovers, built a set of BBS wheels, and then sold to my buddy to finish off cosmetically because the car looked like a hoopty despite being really solid mechanically.
IMG_8827 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_9187 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_8842 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
IMG_9111 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
89 iX finished by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And then I got a late model 325iX sedan:
red iX Sedan by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And then I got a manual 530iT like this:
And made it look like this after a full suspension refresh and a ton of other work:
And then I sold everything and bought a manual Subaru Sports Forester XT to daily.
And then I bought an awesome fully loaded, manual (only way they came) '88 iX that was to be my long term bimmer because it was the best. But then I moved to Indiana and it sat in a barn, but I did eventually finish and sell it.
Got it like this:
I really brought this thing back to life. The foundation was amazing, though. I more or less refreshed the whole car.
DSC_0427 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Then I got Linda, my pride and joy. This is, and will be, my long term E30. It's the ongoing project. I have done a full suspension build, all bushings, coilovers, and a million other things. I'm currently building a 3.1L Stroker M20 for it. I bought and sold multiple engine swaps (M30b30, M52b28 with ported head and cams), different suspension setups, etc, but think it all ended up working out the "right" way.
Got it like this (after scrubbing):
Now it looks like this:
IMG_2902 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Well actually, more like this:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Somewhere along that journey I fixed up an E36 and made it look like this:
And then I bought an '89 325iX Sedan for $800 and made it look like this:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And then I had this car for a little while. SUPER nice M50b32 swapped late model sedan
IMG_2726 by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And then I bought another manual 530iT! From your long term resident, IndyGuy. I shined it up, fixed some essentials and made it look cute.
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And somewhere along the way there I bought my dream car... an E30M3 I had been chasing since 2015. It's currently in PA awaiting space for me to bring it back out here. But we (my Dad and Brother) did a full interior resto already, needs suspension and drivetrain work once it makes it out here with me.
And along the way there were many, many parts cars.
Like this one:
And these:
And this one:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
And this one:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Oh, and I just bought my buddy Vic's early sedan which has a 3L stroker using a modified m54b30 rotating assembly that I stole to redo into a 3.1ishL for Linda. That car looks like this:
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
I'm sure I forgot something in there. But I'll post updates about Linda and the M3 in here as things progress.
Cheers!
Are you saying you swapped a M50b32 into a 325iX? How did you make that work, typically I think it requires a custom oil pan? Also, I didn't know a 3.1 stroker M20 was a thing, how is that done?
