It's back!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I can't be the first to mention this, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited that what was always the best E30 forum is back and alive.

I doubt anyone will remember me from the old days, but after a hiatus of around 4 years, I couldn't stay away, so I got another E30 and gave the 318is a go this time around.

I'll be excited to poke around in what is now what, the third iteration of BEN?

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longtallsally
I know I can't be the first to mention this, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited that what was always the best E30 forum is back and alive.

I doubt anyone will remember me from the old days, but after a hiatus of around 4 years, I couldn't stay away, so I got another E30 and gave the 318is a go this time around.

I'll be excited to poke around in what is now what, the third iteration of BEN?

I remember you B)
Welcome back to BENN and congrats on saving yet another E30 from an ignoble death

We've been here on this stable and secure site now for almost two years.
The last BEN was hijacked by some Russian freeloader and Gustavo Melo; the guy who started it all; wasn't interested in getting things fixed so a few of us die hards when ahead an breathed some new life into our favourite E30 forum.
Dave_G is the head honcho as he rebuilt the site and got it hosted on a modern, secure server.

Don't know if you remember, but I have an 89 325iX and still drive it daily. These are wonderful machines and will last forever if treated right

Post some pics of your new ride...we love pics

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longtallsally
I know I can't be the first to mention this, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited that what was always the best E30 forum is back and alive.

I doubt anyone will remember me from the old days, but after a hiatus of around 4 years, I couldn't stay away, so I got another E30 and gave the 318is a go this time around.

I'll be excited to poke around in what is now what, the third iteration of BEN?

I remember that name too, welcome home

I'm amazed you guys remember me! WOW! I have to say I've missed this place. I nosed around a bit and found what I remember as the original flavor. MAN that brought back memories. Not sure if you guys are on any of the other sites, but I've seen many references to here for proper tech info, but no one knew where it was. I always liked that there was no BS here and it was all proper and knowledgeable tech with minimal opinionated malarky that you see other places.

I'm bummed to hear Gustavo was a spoad as I remember that name and I think he was mainly an S14 guy? Either way, glad to hear that you guys saved it. I can't believe I missed it as I thought I was typing in the correct URL for some time and all but gave up... Whatever happened to the- I think Norwegian- guy who had a red M42 that was truly the expert? I used a pic on a track with his car for a desktop a number of years ago for a long time. If I'm not mistaken, Brandon Purcell even used to poke around?

I'll definitely post up some pics of the latest one I saved. If you guys recall, my last 2 were basically perfect ones I bought from the original owners. I eventually sold the last one after a crap time in my life in favor of moving to beemers and a GS1200. Well, I'm now on my second GS1200 (Adventure this time) and have been all over the place and a 2 wheel nut with it- just got done with a nice run through the Italian Alps this weekend).

Ironically, the guy I sold my last car to and I have reconnected and he has given all the love one could ask for in rebuilding a spare motor I sent off with him and some other simple little things (the car was darn near perfect when he got it).

Just before finding out my wife and I were moving to Germany, I decided it wouldn't be a bad thing to have a car again. Once we found out for certain we were moving, I decided to sell the Jeep as well and focused on the only "cheap(er)" car I could want: the E30. The debate then came to which one: had to be plastic bumper job, and had to be an "is", but I also wanted great fuel economy. Since driving had become truly secondary as a means of transport, I decided I didn't need the big engine any longer and really wanted something that got stupid mileage. Also, after looking for some time, there really were no 325is' that were anywhere close to my standards and in my meager budget. Thus, I ended up with an M42 that I've really been happy with, but it is truly a basket case. I've done a bunch to it and documented a good bit on E30tech and M42 Club.

I'll start a separate thread on what it is and what I've done- of course with some pics too. I'm sure it will all be elementary for this crew, but perhaps I'll be able to offer some input once again.

Welcome back.

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longtallsally
I can't believe I missed it as I thought I was typing in the correct URL for some time and all but gave up...

You were probably typing in the correct URL, but the "new correct" URL is different than the old one. But now you've found it again and all is well.

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Whatever happened to the- I think Norwegian- guy who had a red M42 that was truly the expert? I used a pic on a track with his car for a desktop a number of years ago for a long time.

Ove no longer has an E30. He now is driving an E36 325ti (the Kvampact), and is relatively active on Facebook. He seems to be doing just fine, although I'm sure he misses his 318is at times, just like I miss my E30. I still own my 325i, but it's been off the road for the last 4 years and is patiently waiting in my garage for me to have some time (and money) to do some resto work on it.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

Ove Kvam! That's right. I'm sure you remember the shot: right hand turn in the fall with a good bit of body roll but looking quite planted. Bummer he's not still around, but I bet he'll come back some day too.

Welcome back! I remember your nick, but I've forgotten about the details. Saw your post on the work you did on the iS, great job. Would like you to redo my steering wheels as well! Your car seems to have an electric fan, did you do that to improve A/C performance?

Greets from another M42 driver.

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longtallsally
Ove Kvam! That's right. I'm sure you remember the shot: right hand turn in the fall with a good bit of body roll but looking quite planted. Bummer he's not still around, but I bet he'll come back some day too.

He did (maybe still once in a while) monitor the new BENN, but I think he has moved on to other pursuits, particularly since he no longer has an E30. I know he had grown weary of answering the same questions over and over on the Tech forum, and so he had stopped visiting there years ago. And other than Ferdinand and the occasional other contribution, the Community Forum isn't really full of E30 (or even car) related material anymore.

Since I am not driving my E30 anymore, and when I do get around to working on it I know exactly what I intend to do, I don't "need" all that much technical support anymore. I tend to visit here at least once a day just to keep up with my old E30 buddies, but the E30 world is not an active part of my life these days, either. I enjoy all the people here, but I'm afraid time marches on and other things tend to find ways to occupy one's time. I do certainly hope and plan to get back to my E30 at some point, but realistically I know that will be several years (at best) in the future.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

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Michiel 318iS
Welcome back! I remember your nick, but I've forgotten about the details. Saw your post on the work you did on the iS, great job. Would like you to redo my steering wheels as well! Your car seems to have an electric fan, did you do that to improve A/C performance?

Greets from another M42 driver.

Honestly, folks have made a big deal of the steering wheel, but it was not too hard. I got the kit from Alan Gunn leather and it is quite simple. I'd never stitched anything really before, but after some research and going over the- lame- directions that came with the kit, it was pretty simple, albeit time consuming. So a $7 junk yard wheel looks like brand new basically with the $70 kit.

In terms of an electric fan, that is on the list, but I've not done it yet. It seems the Volvo fan is the hot setup, but I've not decided yet which way to go. The purpose of putting in an electric fan in is to gain throttle response, improve cooling, and possibly gain a couple horsepower through relieving the motor of a drain in terms of rotational inertia from the fan clutch. I almost look at it as a reliability gain, if done correctly as it will free up space in the motor and I thought it was pretty common to see electric fans do a better job of cooling.

In terms of doing one for the AC, supposedly the OEM condenser or auxiliary fan is supposed to move some decent CFM. However, since I converted to R134a, I've been a little disappointed to date with its performance. On my last E30 ('89 325is) when I converted it, I didn't even do the O Rings and it was scary cold. However, on this car, that is not the case and it has a hard time keeping up.

My thoughts as to why this is are a couple fold: 1) my last car was garaged its whole life and basically treated very well in every way. 2) I think I've got some seal leaks on the HVAC box that will necessitate getting the dash out again. I also think I need to re-insulate the evaporator in the HVAC box to ensure I'm not getting any losses there.

The biggest improvement by far will be to replace the condenser with a parallel flow unit. The serpentine unit that came OEM was fine for R12 and could afford to be a little less efficient. However, when you get to R134a, not so much. All the modern cars use parallel flow units and there are some write ups out there to do the conversion. Since my system is sealed and functions perfectly right now, this is not really high on the list (especially now with the harsh German winter coming on) but it will certainly be done next year before the heat comes around again and absolutely by the time we return to CA.

So Cab, I'm with you as I'm basically beyond my boy racer years and now truly enjoy the simple driving experience with a few mild modifications here to improve the chassis. Strangely, my project plan has me close to $20k to get the car in the condition I want, but that is basically a brand new machine (and I'm $2k under budget to date).

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longtallsally

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Michiel 318iS
Welcome back! I remember your nick, but I've forgotten about the details. Saw your post on the work you did on the iS, great job. Would like you to redo my steering wheels as well! Your car seems to have an electric fan, did you do that to improve A/C performance?

Greets from another M42 driver.

Honestly, folks have made a big deal of the steering wheel, but it was not too hard. I got the kit from Alan Gunn leather and it is quite simple. I'd never stitched anything really before, but after some research and going over the- lame- directions that came with the kit, it was pretty simple, albeit time consuming. So a $7 junk yard wheel looks like brand new basically with the $70 kit.

In terms of an electric fan, that is on the list, but I've not done it yet. It seems the Volvo fan is the hot setup, but I've not decided yet which way to go. The purpose of putting in an electric fan in is to gain throttle response, improve cooling, and possibly gain a couple horsepower through relieving the motor of a drain in terms of rotational inertia from the fan clutch. I almost look at it as a reliability gain, if done correctly as it will free up space in the motor and I thought it was pretty common to see electric fans do a better job of cooling.

In terms of doing one for the AC, supposedly the OEM condenser or auxiliary fan is supposed to move some decent CFM. However, since I converted to R134a, I've been a little disappointed to date with its performance. On my last E30 ('89 325is) when I converted it, I didn't even do the O Rings and it was scary cold. However, on this car, that is not the case and it has a hard time keeping up.

My thoughts as to why this is are a couple fold: 1) my last car was garaged its whole life and basically treated very well in every way. 2) I think I've got some seal leaks on the HVAC box that will necessitate getting the dash out again. I also think I need to re-insulate the evaporator in the HVAC box to ensure I'm not getting any losses there.

The biggest improvement by far will be to replace the condenser with a parallel flow unit. The serpentine unit that came OEM was fine for R12 and could afford to be a little less efficient. However, when you get to R134a, not so much. All the modern cars use parallel flow units and there are some write ups out there to do the conversion. Since my system is sealed and functions perfectly right now, this is not really high on the list (especially now with the harsh German winter coming on) but it will certainly be done next year before the heat comes around again and absolutely by the time we return to CA.

So Cab, I'm with you as I'm basically beyond my boy racer years and now truly enjoy the simple driving experience with a few mild modifications here to improve the chassis. Strangely, my project plan has me close to $20k to get the car in the condition I want, but that is basically a brand new machine (and I'm $2k under budget to date).

One thing about the 134a stuff, it likes a certain level/pressure, too little/low or too high and cooling suffers.

Yup. Thus why I eventually gave up and let a shop pull the vacuum and fill. Admittedly it was about a 3-4 month exercise in frustration. Now that I know what to do, I could cut that down to a few days and this time would have been a little more patient when the dash was out and done a deeper analysis of the evaporator foam and the fresh air seals from the bay. But, as is always the case with these cars, you always learn something new...

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longtallsally
Yup. Thus why I eventually gave up and let a shop pull the vacuum and fill. Admittedly it was about a 3-4 month exercise in frustration. Now that I know what to do, I could cut that down to a few days and this time would have been a little more patient when the dash was out and done a deeper analysis of the evaporator foam and the fresh air seals from the bay. But, as is always the case with these cars, you always learn something new...

I've always enjoyed the new learning thing, as long as it doesn't take forever

Hi there, welcome back!