[zener]

Installed coilovers.

[ube91]

Some pictures of my E30 from the now-closed Ace Cafe in Orlando.
Two of the pictures were from their monthly BMW night, and the one picture next to the MR2 was during Old School Legends, which was on the last Tuesday of the month IIRC.

My current Z3M is also in the background in the photo with the E21, but on stock suspension and some TSW wheels. It now has some APEX SM-10s, with H&R sport springs and upgraded Bilstein shocks.

[IcewaterPete]

Some nice ones showed up today for Windy City BMW CCA Vinfest.

[IcewaterPete]

How about a 1955 502!

[Asdteme]

Here is my fully restored -87 E30 M3 with BBS RS212. Greetings from Finland!

[IcewaterPete]

Originally Posted by Asdteme

Here is my fully restored -87 E30 M3 with BBS RS212. Greetings from Finland!

That is a thing of beauty! That undercarriage! Enjoy that one.

[Mani59]

Originally Posted by Asdteme

Here is my fully restored -87 E30 M3 with BBS RS212. Greetings from Finland!

Wow, what a stunner! Please do share more photos and details about it? How long have you owned it for? What work have you done to it?

Thanks for sharing!

[MParallel]

Excuse the quality. If only I had a prof camera a this moment. Taken last week.

[OEM3]

Put some refinished BBS RC090 (Style 5) on my e24… needs suspension upgrades and brakes as well amount other things but I love it.
All three BMWs have custom BBS wheels… just grateful to be able to build my dream car collection

[B58 parts]

I picked up this e36 just to drive around for a bit while I finish swapping the blown 340 motor. It has a few small areas of rot, but for a weeks work in the body shop, I think it might be worth saving.96 328is 150k miles

It drives great, runs perfect, it shifts _better than the 340. Everything still works. Everything. I've been cleaning it up a little bit as I can and replacing some lower cost low hanging parts.

I hope to have the 340 back on the road for the winter and just put this up in the garage and start stripping it apart underneath. There's a good chance a B58 swap could happen if the cylinder walls are ok. The M52 with the 5 speed and cable throttle is pretty good though

I'm going to try to clean up the headlights very soon any suggestions?

[WIDWMKR]

I've had my 5MT E39 530i for about 7.5 years now (my first BMW), and just picked up a 6MT E46 M3 vert (my 10th BMW). Also have an 6MT N54-powered E61 535xi wagon, but that's still a couple years too new for this thread, and is currently for sale.

The M3 is my new year-round driver, and I pretty much only use it top-down, unless it's raining heavily. I envision top-down trips to the ski area this winter! I replaced the rod bearings preventatively as soon as I got it, and have been driving a lot and doing some autocross events since. Luckily it's high-mileage (163k now) and has a few bumps and bruises, so I can enjoy it in a guilt-free manner. It's mechanically sound now, which is my top priority.

[Hagasan41]

My Hellrot 1999 E36 M3. Great stable mate to the E92.

[AKDDMD]

Recently acquired 2003 z4 63k original miles bought from original owner. Car had been sitting after fresh tires (vredstein) and fluids driving very nice. Looking to update and restore car with new steering wheel and seats Bluetooth and refresh suspension .
Some amazing cars in this thread.

[Hagasan41]

Originally Posted by AKDDMD

Recently acquired 2003 z4 63k original miles bought from original owner. Car had been sitting after fresh tires (vredstein) and fluids driving very nice. Looking to update and restore car with new steering wheel and seats Bluetooth and refresh suspension .
Some amazing cars in this thread.

Congrats on the pick up! Restoring and refreshing these classic cars is so rewarding but can also be extremely frustrating due to BMW’s lack of support with replacement parts. Marketing loves to use these old cars in Ads so you’d think they would offer more support like Porsche and even Toyota.

[visionaut]

Originally Posted by Hagasan41

Congrats on the pick up! Restoring and refreshing these classic cars is so rewarding but can also be extremely frustrating due to BMW’s lack of support with replacement parts. Marketing loves to use these old cars in Ads so you’d think they would offer more support like Porsche and even Toyota.

I guess you’ve never heard of BMW Group Classic (nee Mobile Tradition). They keep more than 50,000 parts still in production (and new reproductions are added regularly) for our older, collectible Bimmers… and they’ve established a Partners network for providing services/restorations for them too (currently only EU).

I can still buy the vast majority of the parts on my ol ‘76 2002 thanks to BMW Group Classic and the great aftermarket production still surrounding these classic cars. Are there still some NLA parts?, sure, but waaay less than there might be. We’ve actually got it pretty good…

—-

Your comment made me think of this old BMW April Fools press release:


BMW To No Longer Supply Parts For Old BMW’s

Details of a new parts policy by BMW HQ emerged this week which aims to effect all BMW’s over 7 years old. The plan involves reducing, and ultimately eliminating parts available to old BMW’s thereby encouraging BMW owners to buy new BMW’s more frequently.

BMW’s Head of Sales Pauline Yorlegg was quoted as saying;
“BMW make cars to last and we are very proud of the fact that 20+ year old BMW’s are still heavily active on our roads today. Such BMW owners are happily driving these old BMW’s however we have 1000’s of new BMW’s rolling off the production line every year that they wont buy and we are ultimately losing out on new sales. We had to explore all options with regards to finding a solution to this issue.”

BMW’s new plan outlines that once your BMW reaches its 7th birthday only safety components/parts such as suspension, indicator bulbs, and braking will be available from BMW for a period of one further year.

Once your BMW is over 8 years old then no further replacement parts will be available from BMW and customers are advised to visit your local dealer as soon as possible to check out the range of new BMW’s available.

A parts manager from a BMW dealership who wished to remain anonymous commented;
“I’m relieved this new policy is being introduced. Over the last few years my job had become extremely tough. These E30 and classic boys just stroll into the dealership expecting me to pull a replacement carpet from the shelf that was made over 25 years ago, you’d swear I was Houdini! I have had to take time of work due to the stress of dealing with their ‘Christmas lists’ of replacement parts which led to the breakdown of my marriage and my wife running off with an Audi parts manager.”

[Hagasan41]

Originally Posted by visionaut

I guess you’ve never heard of BMW Group Classic (nee Mobile Tradition). They keep more than 50,000 parts still in production (and new reproductions are added regularly) for our older, collectible Bimmers… and they’ve established a Partners network for providing services/restorations for them too (currently only EU).

I can still buy the vast majority of the parts on my ol ‘76 2002 thanks to BMW Group Classic and the great aftermarket production still surrounding these classic cars. Are there still some NLA parts?, sure, but waaay less than there might be. We’ve actually got it pretty good…

—-

Your comment made me think of this old BMW April Fools press release:


BMW To No Longer Supply Parts For Old BMW’s

Details of a new parts policy by BMW HQ emerged this week which aims to effect all BMW’s over 7 years old. The plan involves reducing, and ultimately eliminating parts available to old BMW’s thereby encouraging BMW owners to buy new BMW’s more frequently.

BMW’s Head of Sales Pauline Yorlegg was quoted as saying;
“BMW make cars to last and we are very proud of the fact that 20+ year old BMW’s are still heavily active on our roads today. Such BMW owners are happily driving these old BMW’s however we have 1000’s of new BMW’s rolling off the production line every year that they wont buy and we are ultimately losing out on new sales. We had to explore all options with regards to finding a solution to this issue.”

BMW’s new plan outlines that once your BMW reaches its 7th birthday only safety components/parts such as suspension, indicator bulbs, and braking will be available from BMW for a period of one further year.

Once your BMW is over 8 years old then no further replacement parts will be available from BMW and customers are advised to visit your local dealer as soon as possible to check out the range of new BMW’s available.

A parts manager from a BMW dealership who wished to remain anonymous commented;
“I’m relieved this new policy is being introduced. Over the last few years my job had become extremely tough. These E30 and classic boys just stroll into the dealership expecting me to pull a replacement carpet from the shelf that was made over 25 years ago, you’d swear I was Houdini! I have had to take time of work due to the stress of dealing with their ‘Christmas lists’ of replacement parts which led to the breakdown of my marriage and my wife running off with an Audi parts manager.”

Yes, I've heard of BMW classic and no they do not make many needed parts for my platform. Good for you that you've found them as a supportive resource; I have not. As as I said in my post "you'd think think BMW would offer more support." Never said anything about NO support.

Everyone has their own opinion and expereinces as well as expectations for what support looks like. For E36 owners, "got it pretty good" is whishful thinking at best. I'm hopeful that the E36 M3 will continue to gain mommentem as a modern calssic and with the euro versions now being imported to the U.S. it may reignite additional discussion from BMW Classic to consider reproducing many needed parts to keeping the platform on the road for many years to come.

Not every E36 owner belongs to the "stance nation" crowd.

[CornerGorillaPit]

Back to daily duty.

[celsdogg]

that april's fool press release scared me for a split second. . . haha

[540fan]

My Classic with a facelift and boob job…

[Darkpira7e]

My oldest babies a 92 325i in silver that had the snot beaten out of it in autocross, daily driving through Vermont winters, late night snow mountain drifting, idiotic youth night racing with the boys (a time long since past)

Had Bilstein struts, H&R springs, z3 transmission and shifter, z3 power steering rack, 3.15 m3 LSD, updated RTAB, control arm bushings, M5 clutch, M3 sport seat swap, Jim Conforti chip tuned, etc.
Was a monster at autocross, never gave me a hiccup. It ended up rusting out and I had to get rid of it at around 250k miles.

Also pictured is a 95 318is. Absolutely bone stock, sold at 110k miles or so because I couldn't bring myself to drive it the way I wanted to, it deserved better.

[Conserve]

1976, Sienabraun, 103K miles. I have had this one for about 11years.

[Conserve]

1998 328is, belongs to my younger son (2nd owner). Currently for sale in Florida.