Monteverdi
Schwarzwald Sprinter
Its looks so fresh and mint, like it would have just left the dealer.
3 Series (E30) A story of E30 owned by one person for twenty years
- Thread starter Monteverdi
- Start date
The BMW E30 is the second generation of BMW 3 Series, which was produced from 1982 to 1994 and replaced the E21 3 Series.
Giannis
Staff member
The relationship between a man and his machine is something that, sadly, most modern consumers don't understand. What is also sad is the lack of appreciation for the good old mechanical feel, as nowadays all mechanical connections have been replaced with electronic ones: Electric steering, automatic gearboxes, hydraulic clutches, drive-by-wire, etc.
The more time you spend with your car, the better you learn it. And I don't mean only driving it, but also repairing it, cleaning it, improving it.
Personally, my daily driver is a 1990 Renault Clio that has been in my family since December 1990 when it was bought new by my father. I absolutely love this car and I am still not tired by it. I can easily see myself driving it for another 10 years
The more time you spend with your car, the better you learn it. And I don't mean only driving it, but also repairing it, cleaning it, improving it.
Personally, my daily driver is a 1990 Renault Clio that has been in my family since December 1990 when it was bought new by my father. I absolutely love this car and I am still not tired by it. I can easily see myself driving it for another 10 years
mini_cooper4
Autotechnik Ace
I was 18 when I took my 3-Series from the dealership too...
Then it got stolen and now I dream of finding it as it's the only car I really can't live without
He is living my dream
Then it got stolen and now I dream of finding it as it's the only car I really can't live without
He is living my dream
Rainer271
Kraftwagen König
Warning! This BMW E30 3 Series Documentary Will Make You Want One
Let’s face it, we’ve heard so many good things about BMW’s E30 3 Series that most of us are intrigued by it or curious about what makes these cars special. At first, you could list a couple of obvious reasons why these cars are still so highly regarded but none of them would catch the essence of the phenomenon like this documentary.
Called ‘Respect your elders’ it’s the result of 5 months of work from a dedicated fan of the car, named Owen Craft. Shot across the Pacific Northwest it features plenty of BMW owners that talk both about their cars and the factor that keeps them all together. So, what’s the catch?
Perfectly balanced chassis
One of the things anyone can say about the E30 3 Series is that it has a perfectly balanced chassis. Sure, we can all say that but you really have to drive one back to back with a modern car to notice exactly what people are talking about.
That’s because due to the times it was built in, the focus was on the driving experience rather than on other amenities that almost no one notices.
These days we have a 16-speaker sound system, 20 airbags and all sorts of climate control, all of them contributing to making cars heavier and less enjoyable than they should. Without all these things, a 3er can be as light ‘as a feather’ and offer you the control that you wish for.
Great, reliable engines
Sure, compared to today’s ratings, the E30 range is nowhere close in terms of mpg but consider this: usually, these cars are nearly 30 years old. And they’re still running!
That’s a performance all in itself. Furthermore, the higher-spec versions had plenty of power coming from small naturally aspirated engines for those days.
Just look at the king of them all, the E30 M3. In its initial guise, the 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder engine used to make 200 HP, that power going up to 215 HP for the late model and even 238 HP coming from a 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder for some special versions. Those kind of numbers were rare back then.
The spirit of the community is the key
However, all the technical bits, as impressive as they might sound, are nothing compared to the defining characteristic that makes the E30 the phenomenon it is today. That’s the community and the passion people usually put into owning and driving one.
This is an old car, one that will need some work to be enjoyed to the fullest but once you get it up and running, there’s nothing to hold you back anymore. The community will also chip in and help you out when you’re in need proving that it takes a certain kind of man/woman to use and love this kind of a car.
Sure, it’s easier to get a brand new car and leave all the worries behind, leaving it all on the warranty manufacturers are so ‘keen’ to offer these days but you’ll never be part of a big family like the one E30 drivers have today. And that’s the key to the success this car still has to this day!
Video:
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/w...ntary-will-make-you-want-one-video-87408.html
Let’s face it, we’ve heard so many good things about BMW’s E30 3 Series that most of us are intrigued by it or curious about what makes these cars special. At first, you could list a couple of obvious reasons why these cars are still so highly regarded but none of them would catch the essence of the phenomenon like this documentary.
Called ‘Respect your elders’ it’s the result of 5 months of work from a dedicated fan of the car, named Owen Craft. Shot across the Pacific Northwest it features plenty of BMW owners that talk both about their cars and the factor that keeps them all together. So, what’s the catch?
Perfectly balanced chassis
One of the things anyone can say about the E30 3 Series is that it has a perfectly balanced chassis. Sure, we can all say that but you really have to drive one back to back with a modern car to notice exactly what people are talking about.
That’s because due to the times it was built in, the focus was on the driving experience rather than on other amenities that almost no one notices.
These days we have a 16-speaker sound system, 20 airbags and all sorts of climate control, all of them contributing to making cars heavier and less enjoyable than they should. Without all these things, a 3er can be as light ‘as a feather’ and offer you the control that you wish for.
Great, reliable engines
Sure, compared to today’s ratings, the E30 range is nowhere close in terms of mpg but consider this: usually, these cars are nearly 30 years old. And they’re still running!
That’s a performance all in itself. Furthermore, the higher-spec versions had plenty of power coming from small naturally aspirated engines for those days.
Just look at the king of them all, the E30 M3. In its initial guise, the 2.3-liter inline 4-cylinder engine used to make 200 HP, that power going up to 215 HP for the late model and even 238 HP coming from a 2.5-liter inline 4-cylinder for some special versions. Those kind of numbers were rare back then.
The spirit of the community is the key
However, all the technical bits, as impressive as they might sound, are nothing compared to the defining characteristic that makes the E30 the phenomenon it is today. That’s the community and the passion people usually put into owning and driving one.
This is an old car, one that will need some work to be enjoyed to the fullest but once you get it up and running, there’s nothing to hold you back anymore. The community will also chip in and help you out when you’re in need proving that it takes a certain kind of man/woman to use and love this kind of a car.
Sure, it’s easier to get a brand new car and leave all the worries behind, leaving it all on the warranty manufacturers are so ‘keen’ to offer these days but you’ll never be part of a big family like the one E30 drivers have today. And that’s the key to the success this car still has to this day!
Video:
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/w...ntary-will-make-you-want-one-video-87408.html
We were fortunate to have an E30 BMW 3 series in our family from 1989 till 2002, my father had a 1986 318i A/T as a company car and passed it onto my mum as her daily drive until she sold it in 2002. The engine delivered 77kw (105hp) and it had an ancient 3 speed A/T with a very long first gear which could go to 90km/h at the 6200 cut out. It was a 4 door sapphire blue light metallic with optional 14 inch alloys. It looked fantastic in that colour with those rims. The interior was dark/navy blue with velour seats and matching dark blue vinyl door panels and black dash. It had a t-shaped gearshift.
It had only AC and electric mirrors as a luxury, no power steering and no electric windows. The steering was heavy at parking speeds but otherwise was well weighted and had decent feel although it had to be turned quite a lot from left to right lock.
The car was cramped inside as it had a narrow cabin and wide center console that ate into the footwell space, also the front seat when pushed back meant rear passengers had very limited leg room, although the seats were very comfortable.
The gearshift and engine were both very smooth although the car was quite sluggish at low speeds due to long 1st and 2nd gears. It would accelerate okay when using the manual selection starting in 1.
The car was a pleasure to drive especially when giving it some corners as the chassis had little body roll and good grip. On tight corners and giving it some aggressive turning on the wheel resulted in the tail suddenly snapping out but it was easy to bring it back in.
The ride comfort and noise suppression were quite good it was very quiet at speeds up to 140km/h, but going quicker than this resulted in some engine noise due to the low top gear (33km/h per 1000rpm).
On a down hill stretch I managed to get the car up to an indicated 200km/h and it was close on hitting the red line but on the straights most I saw was 185km/h, which is not that bad for its low output.
I really loved this car it was such a pleasure to drive and look at. I always imagined myself one day driving the 325i as that had the wonderful 2.5 straight six but unfortunately that day has still not come but one day I hope it will.
It had only AC and electric mirrors as a luxury, no power steering and no electric windows. The steering was heavy at parking speeds but otherwise was well weighted and had decent feel although it had to be turned quite a lot from left to right lock.
The car was cramped inside as it had a narrow cabin and wide center console that ate into the footwell space, also the front seat when pushed back meant rear passengers had very limited leg room, although the seats were very comfortable.
The gearshift and engine were both very smooth although the car was quite sluggish at low speeds due to long 1st and 2nd gears. It would accelerate okay when using the manual selection starting in 1.
The car was a pleasure to drive especially when giving it some corners as the chassis had little body roll and good grip. On tight corners and giving it some aggressive turning on the wheel resulted in the tail suddenly snapping out but it was easy to bring it back in.
The ride comfort and noise suppression were quite good it was very quiet at speeds up to 140km/h, but going quicker than this resulted in some engine noise due to the low top gear (33km/h per 1000rpm).
On a down hill stretch I managed to get the car up to an indicated 200km/h and it was close on hitting the red line but on the straights most I saw was 185km/h, which is not that bad for its low output.
I really loved this car it was such a pleasure to drive and look at. I always imagined myself one day driving the 325i as that had the wonderful 2.5 straight six but unfortunately that day has still not come but one day I hope it will.
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BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, abbreviated as BMW is a German multinational
manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced
from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945.
Official website: BMW (Global), BMW (USA)
Official website: BMW (Global), BMW (USA)
