I can't think of a single build of yours that i haven't enjoyed. Best content on TH-cam for me. Attention to detail and your determination is sublime 👍🏻 Cheers Mike
Mike, you should feel proud of the content you’re creating. This is art that thousands of people enjoy and are thankful for. I’m sure that the grind associated with not only building awesome cars, but making great films about it at the same time is flat out exhausting. Thanks for doing what you do. Personally, I am at a point in my life where my priorities have shifted and my oil changes happen at the Audi dealership. It feels like there’s just not enough time in the day, and with our first child on the way, that feeling is about to be amplified. The only project car in my immediate future has a 55 lb weight limit. Your channel helps me to live vicariously. So thanks, Mike. I appreciate you.
Dude he’s 100% smiling above you as you follow your dream. Must be a great feeling to honor him the way you are man, nothing but respect Mike. Sending love from Connecticut 🤙🏼
hey Mike, just a note on the mounting of the aircon radiator. Noticed you hard mounted it on the chassis. The problem with this is the chassis twists in an e30 in this location and over time will twist and burst the radiator. I did the same thing to a mocal oil cooler. Use isolation rubber 'cotton reel' mounts to stop this being an issue. keep up the great content, cheers.
8 minutes in and i already knew what to do. subscribe. i was so close of getting a e30 but opted on e46. didn't have time to work on potentially this much. so far on the e46 ive done; maf sensor, intake control valve, valve cover gasket, fuel pump, fuel filter, intake and cabin air filter, front two control arm bushings, spark plugs, factory xenon head light install, brake lights and turn signals front and rear bypass soft top sensor to fold it manually, etc all the easy stuff. i imagine with the e30 i wouldve had to invest way more time than i already did with the e46. which was enjoyable so far bc it was all the easy stuff so far. knock on wood. i'm probably gonna binge watch all your videos in the channel tonight, so happy to find good channel on youtube
E30 320i was the car I got my driving lessons in and got my license in 1988, great car, it's so well build, after that I could finally legally drive my mums E12 M535i, good old crazy 80's
Mike, you are easily one of the most talented and knowledgeable builders on TH-cam. Your reimagining & repurposing these modern classics in your own unique style, has me hooked on every build since i discovered this channel a year ago. It’s simply only a matter of time now before you have a million subscribers because your content is up there with the very best, hands down. Good luck for the future, & thanks for all the great work & acquired knowledge in 2023.
Brilliant job, so well done on this wonderful car, the older Beemers seem to have the ability to go on for ever and the E30 is one of those. I have run an E36 for twenty five years with only minimal maintenance and no serious issues in all that time, and still used daily with over 170k on clock. Keep up the great work you do!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only person to forget the fuel pressure regulator and cause you a headache trying to figure out why the engine won’t start. 😂 been there!
How do you only have 209k subs!?? I love this channel. I had an ‘85 325e I bought when I graduated college in 1988. That car was not an iS but it was fun and was loaded: sunroof, leather seats, 5-speed and in Diamond Schwartz. I’d love to build an E30 but the prices are still high. Enjoy yours!
Had an '86 (I think) 325es back in the day. It had been totaled when I bought it and I rebuilt it myself. I had that car for 125K miles, totaled and rebuilt it again and drove it to 250K miles. It was definitely one of the best cars I ever owned.
Aaaaa I love mea twin tip exhaust! But one of my fav builds! Love to see people focusing on practicality, rather than only chasing power. Nothing wrong with that, but this is a great breath of fresh air!
Love the build. I own an e30 myself and in the process of m62 swapping it. One thing that I noticed is the modification of the firewall to feed the wire harness through which was not necessary it’s quite easy to open the connector plug and feed it through the firewall without any cutting or grinding. I’m no hater or anything, love the content and the builds, keep up the good work!
When doing the steering rack swap, you can avoid having to use spacers by cutting off the top mounting brackets (which flare upwards a bit) and fabbing up flat replacement pieces. That also gives you a bit of clearance to the pan.
I have a 116d Series 1. I used to have a 318 TE. Really missing the TE. Cool to see people keeping a legend alive. Like the cable trunking/ panel thing, Neat. Subbed.
I hate that you cut the exhaust tip. I love that you hid the wires in the engine bay. When it started............this one brought me joy. Keep up the fantastic work. Really enjoy your content!!!
I absolutely love this. I feel like we've been conditioned to think "restomod" means that it has to be a carbon fibre bodied whatever with magnesium wheels and the wiring loom from a WEC Hypercar or something. It's so cool to see such a realistic, attainable version of that, against a goal as clear and focused as "best daily driver I've ever had". It's great.
Awesome Pennzoil Platinum sponsorship! I switched all my oil to Pennzoil Platinum after I watched the oil test from Project Farm that showed it was the best oil outside of Amsoil, but way cheaper.
Funny, when I did my s50 swap almost 10 years ago I also had a no start issue due to no fuel. Turns out someone had sold me 6 bad injectors. Got some new ones and it fired right up. I'll never forget how frustrated I was trying to diagnose that haha. Love the content man, keep it up!
"As the ancient proberb say - if the steering rack fits so will the exhaust " LoL 😆. Excellent job, the car is turning out great, not much quick and dirty afterall and all for it, can relate to the dedication, brings back many memories from my E30 back in the day
You're videos always have a relaxing, cathartic quality. Fantastically shot and presented, put across clearly enough that even a layman like myself understands what's going on. I can't wait to see this thing on the road, and the Ferrari fixed 👌
This is pretty much a perfect e30 build for me. Owned a couple of them back in the day and wish i could have taken one to this level. Great work Mike enjoy it 👏👏👏👏
Looking clean. Taking the extra step to keep it tidy scratches a major itch that I have with my projects. Having fab skills would help tremendously, some more patience on my part would probably help too.
I drove an 84 318i for 26 years and loved it. More power would have been nice, better braking too but the size and steering were near perfect for me. Visibility was superb.
I use Solar Flux with methanol in a slurry that is painted on the back of the welding joint. It isn't as pretty or effective as back purging, but it dramatically improves welding, prevents blow through from porosity, and in general, there is far less to no contamination and black porosity compared to using anything. I highly recommend it for a DIY who doesn't have a split or second bottle for back purging or who doesn't have the time to get fancy.
Love your OCD on these builds, if you’re doing a job you may as well do it well. There’s a lot of satisfaction comes with cleaning up someone else’s laziness and turning it into something you can proudly enjoy
Gotta love a well built E30!!! Also, crazy how well the E46 exhaust fitted as standard and at least half the works done for you to then modify the other 50% for the perfect fit. Personally I'd have kept the dual walled twin tips as I like that style but we all have differing tastes 😊 Gonna be a nice cruiser when all done.
I can see how you operate Mike, you are a perfectionist, if a part is being reused it can’t go back in until it’s been cleaned and inspected, at least. That’s how I operate too, it’s interesting how some guys throw shit together, others CAN’T cut corners even though they know the car would be fine if they did! 👍👍 Edit: “But I just can’t help myself” - LOL, I get it, I totally get it, you are doing it right!
I don't hate BMWs as modern as the F30 but this build is definitely way better than those. Just a way more analog car you see to have built to give enough feedback not to be a numb experience while being comfortable enough to daily drive without making weekly appointments at the chiropractor. What a legend!
I love the exhaust idea. I took a Corsa muffler for an e46 and had it welded onto my factory e30 exhaust. It fit in the muffler box area so I figured why not. The pipe diameter is different but blending it wasn't bad. Sounds rowdy on my m20.
Hah.... down here in Australia your attitude towards ice-cold AC air would be even MORE adamant! LOL I love the E21-E30 3 series cars. My first car was an Alpina E21 with a 2.8L six crammed in it.
You installed the throttle cable on the cruise control cam of the throttle body. Makes throttle response kinda flat then abrupt. It’s best to use an e36 328 / m3 cable and install onto the larger cam of the throttle body. You can try that with an e34 cable if that’s what you got but you’ll likely run out of adjustment.
What's the blue crimper you used at 26:30? Haven't seen one like that and I'm curious about it. Also, saw that you are using old school-style wire strippers. Not sure if you've ever farted around with automatic wire strippers but they've been a godsend for me.
Not back purging isn’t really much of a hack job unless your pre turbo, that’s when it’s very necessary. Anything after the downpipe just plain mig is fine. Definitely zero downside to doing it everywhere, beautiful build.
My first new car was the 325c with the impossible to kill straight six from 88-92 that was magnificent years for those cars and engines. My vehicle for time had a car phone and was so over engineered you needed time behind wheel to understand car movement and reactants various speeds. This is very important on over engineered automobiles. They are different animal.
Fabulous and informative content as always Mike, especially when things are done with great memories of lost and loved friends. Keep up the excellent work, as I plan to be a long time follower.
Love this series. Congrats on getting it fired up. I ran into the exact same hiccup on my 24v swap and put the FPR on the rail. Took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that was the problem
Trying to get inspiration for my own E30 restoration. I get so much anxiety even thinking of working on it. I get caught up in little home projects, work and family things going on, working on my car sounds like, well more work. Sometimes I think of selling it but I know I'd regret giving up.
In not a good welder so maybe that makes this comment invalid but.... If you are welding something and are doing your best prep possible, it is hard to believe anyone would scoff at your efforts.... I like your commitment and thorough follow through on your tasks.... Some people are Ree Ree's
a few years ago we had an e30 with a m60b40 and we used a z3 1.9 (yep, 1.9) steering rack. don't know why but was a really fast steering rack. It was great and fast for drifting
fastest ive clicked ever
Makes me miss my e30s desperately-
Fastest I’ve eaten this chicken nugget. [nearly chocked doing so]
Lol same
One time from south africa
Deadass🤣🤣
I still don’t understand how this channel only has 200k subscribers. The content is top notch. Editing is great. And the 244 GTK build has been huge.
Today real people is less
I can't think of a single build of yours that i haven't enjoyed. Best content on TH-cam for me. Attention to detail and your determination is sublime 👍🏻 Cheers Mike
I agree but where is the Audi? 😁👍
Legit street cars goes pretty deep too. No bodging or “that will do” love them both.
@@aaronf4201 good shout 👍🏻 especially when he gets OJ to help out.
Mike, you should feel proud of the content you’re creating. This is art that thousands of people enjoy and are thankful for. I’m sure that the grind associated with not only building awesome cars, but making great films about it at the same time is flat out exhausting. Thanks for doing what you do.
Personally, I am at a point in my life where my priorities have shifted and my oil changes happen at the Audi dealership. It feels like there’s just not enough time in the day, and with our first child on the way, that feeling is about to be amplified. The only project car in my immediate future has a 55 lb weight limit. Your channel helps me to live vicariously. So thanks, Mike. I appreciate you.
here here
Dude really had the audacity to say "without blowing the budget".
Dude he’s 100% smiling above you as you follow your dream. Must be a great feeling to honor him the way you are man, nothing but respect Mike. Sending love from Connecticut 🤙🏼
Ct too
hey Mike, just a note on the mounting of the aircon radiator. Noticed you hard mounted it on the chassis. The problem with this is the chassis twists in an e30 in this location and over time will twist and burst the radiator. I did the same thing to a mocal oil cooler. Use isolation rubber 'cotton reel' mounts to stop this being an issue.
keep up the great content, cheers.
I fully support your AC demands. New systems do not add much load to the engine.
Yah like maybe 1hp in parasitic loss but that’s nothing
They stopped making good BMWs... This is so true, and sad considering just how easy the recipe was.
Greed comes to mind.😮
8 minutes in and i already knew what to do. subscribe.
i was so close of getting a e30 but opted on e46. didn't have time to work on potentially this much. so far on the e46 ive done; maf sensor, intake control valve, valve cover gasket, fuel pump, fuel filter, intake and cabin air filter, front two control arm bushings, spark plugs, factory xenon head light install, brake lights and turn signals front and rear bypass soft top sensor to fold it manually, etc all the easy stuff. i imagine with the e30 i wouldve had to invest way more time than i already did with the e46. which was enjoyable so far bc it was all the easy stuff so far. knock on wood.
i'm probably gonna binge watch all your videos in the channel tonight, so happy to find good channel on youtube
E30 320i was the car I got my driving lessons in and got my license in 1988, great car, it's so well build, after that I could finally legally drive my mums E12 M535i, good old crazy 80's
Mike, you are easily one of the most talented and knowledgeable builders on TH-cam. Your reimagining & repurposing these modern classics in your own unique style, has me hooked on every build since i discovered this channel a year ago. It’s simply only a matter of time now before you have a million subscribers because your content is up there with the very best, hands down. Good luck for the future, & thanks for all the great work & acquired knowledge in 2023.
Brilliant job, so well done on this wonderful car, the older Beemers seem to have the ability to go on for ever and the E30 is one of those.
I have run an E36 for twenty five years with only minimal maintenance and no serious issues in all that time, and still used daily with over 170k on clock.
Keep up the great work you do!
You’re one of my favorite channels & biggest inspiration in my fabrication/building adventures.
Thank you for always striving for perfection
"Necessary... No, but I just can't help myself..." I love you, bro! Thats exactly how it is supposed to be done the RIGHT way...
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only person to forget the fuel pressure regulator and cause you a headache trying to figure out why the engine won’t start. 😂 been there!
At 31:50 I closed my eyes, enjoying the accomplishment and basking in that glorious exhaust note like I was there. Great job as usual!
LOVE the dedication to and focus on having working Air Conditioning.
How do you only have 209k subs!?? I love this channel.
I had an ‘85 325e I bought when I graduated college in 1988. That car was not an iS but it was fun and was loaded: sunroof, leather seats, 5-speed and in Diamond Schwartz. I’d love to build an E30 but the prices are still high. Enjoy yours!
I love super clean builds like this. It lets me know the car will be fun AND reliable
Had an '86 (I think) 325es back in the day. It had been totaled when I bought it and I rebuilt it myself. I had that car for 125K miles, totaled and rebuilt it again and drove it to 250K miles. It was definitely one of the best cars I ever owned.
Aaaaa I love mea twin tip exhaust! But one of my fav builds! Love to see people focusing on practicality, rather than only chasing power. Nothing wrong with that, but this is a great breath of fresh air!
Love the build. I own an e30 myself and in the process of m62 swapping it. One thing that I noticed is the modification of the firewall to feed the wire harness through which was not necessary it’s quite easy to open the connector plug and feed it through the firewall without any cutting or grinding.
I’m no hater or anything, love the content and the builds, keep up the good work!
BMW E30 ❤
The last good BMW 3 series.
We also built a convertible with the E34 M60B40 in the past.
I enjoyed watching this video.
When doing the steering rack swap, you can avoid having to use spacers by cutting off the top mounting brackets (which flare upwards a bit) and fabbing up flat replacement pieces. That also gives you a bit of clearance to the pan.
I have a 116d Series 1. I used to have a 318 TE. Really missing the TE.
Cool to see people keeping a legend alive.
Like the cable trunking/ panel thing, Neat.
Subbed.
I hate that you cut the exhaust tip. I love that you hid the wires in the engine bay. When it started............this one brought me joy. Keep up the fantastic work. Really enjoy your content!!!
I’m not a big BMW guy…. You’ve changed my mind 👍🏼🇩🇪
You’re an engineer genius.
I absolutely love this. I feel like we've been conditioned to think "restomod" means that it has to be a carbon fibre bodied whatever with magnesium wheels and the wiring loom from a WEC Hypercar or something.
It's so cool to see such a realistic, attainable version of that, against a goal as clear and focused as "best daily driver I've ever had". It's great.
I absolutely love builds like this. It makes me want to take apart my Alpine White 318is and thoroughly go through it. Again.
really cool build, well done! 30, 36 and 46 are imo the best 3 series to have.
Awesome Pennzoil Platinum sponsorship! I switched all my oil to Pennzoil Platinum after I watched the oil test from Project Farm that showed it was the best oil outside of Amsoil, but way cheaper.
Ignoramus here, was unfamiliar with the Proverb
' If the steering rack fits
So will the exhaust!'
Thank you, so much to learn
Funny, when I did my s50 swap almost 10 years ago I also had a no start issue due to no fuel. Turns out someone had sold me 6 bad injectors. Got some new ones and it fired right up. I'll never forget how frustrated I was trying to diagnose that haha.
Love the content man, keep it up!
"As the ancient proberb say - if the steering rack fits so will the exhaust " LoL 😆. Excellent job, the car is turning out great, not much quick and dirty afterall and all for it, can relate to the dedication, brings back many memories from my E30 back in the day
You're videos always have a relaxing, cathartic quality. Fantastically shot and presented, put across clearly enough that even a layman like myself understands what's going on.
I can't wait to see this thing on the road, and the Ferrari fixed 👌
I love waking up to a fresh video every Saturday morning.
(We’re in the future down under in Australia)
Fellow S52 E30 guy here from Austin…you sir are a very talented individual….nice video- subscribed
Never thought my jaw would drop at the sight of a radiator. Beauty.
23:02
The E30 318i came with that bulkhead cover too.
Welcome to 20 years ago, when I fitted E36 engines into the E30 weekly 😆 🤣 😂
Love the “tandem Tribute” builds-great to see the bulletproof S52 engine going into Mike’s “daily”…
This is pretty much a perfect e30 build for me. Owned a couple of them back in the day and wish i could have taken one to this level. Great work Mike enjoy it 👏👏👏👏
It has never been my object to record my dreams, just to realize them.
There has never been a more precise title to a video 👍
Looking clean. Taking the extra step to keep it tidy scratches a major itch that I have with my projects. Having fab skills would help tremendously, some more patience on my part would probably help too.
I drove an 84 318i for 26 years and loved it. More power would have been nice, better braking too but the size and steering were near perfect for me. Visibility was superb.
got yourself a new sub. love how concise and to the point your content is.
My favorite exhaust on all of my cars has been my custom magnaflow for my old E36 M3. Its going to be AMAZING!
I use Solar Flux with methanol in a slurry that is painted on the back of the welding joint. It isn't as pretty or effective as back purging, but it dramatically improves welding, prevents blow through from porosity, and in general, there is far less to no contamination and black porosity compared to using anything. I highly recommend it for a DIY who doesn't have a split or second bottle for back purging or who doesn't have the time to get fancy.
Love your OCD on these builds, if you’re doing a job you may as well do it well. There’s a lot of satisfaction comes with cleaning up someone else’s laziness and turning it into something you can proudly enjoy
Gotta love a well built E30!!! Also, crazy how well the E46 exhaust fitted as standard and at least half the works done for you to then modify the other 50% for the perfect fit. Personally I'd have kept the dual walled twin tips as I like that style but we all have differing tastes 😊 Gonna be a nice cruiser when all done.
I can see how you operate Mike, you are a perfectionist, if a part is being reused it can’t go back in until it’s been cleaned and inspected, at least. That’s how I operate too, it’s interesting how some guys throw shit together, others CAN’T cut corners even though they know the car would be fine if they did! 👍👍
Edit: “But I just can’t help myself” - LOL, I get it, I totally get it, you are doing it right!
Yeah, a swap in one episode is amazing.
Consider a leather shift knob for daily usage. Such as Raceseng.
Corey would have loved this!
Love the sound of the ignition on these 😍
I don't hate BMWs as modern as the F30 but this build is definitely way better than those. Just a way more analog car you see to have built to give enough feedback not to be a numb experience while being comfortable enough to daily drive without making weekly appointments at the chiropractor. What a legend!
I love the exhaust idea. I took a Corsa muffler for an e46 and had it welded onto my factory e30 exhaust. It fit in the muffler box area so I figured why not. The pipe diameter is different but blending it wasn't bad. Sounds rowdy on my m20.
Hah.... down here in Australia your attitude towards ice-cold AC air would be even MORE adamant! LOL I love the E21-E30 3 series cars. My first car was an Alpina E21 with a 2.8L six crammed in it.
Really fun video. After a year of false starts, I finally have my own E30, with a 2.9 stroker, up and running.
You installed the throttle cable on the cruise control cam of the throttle body. Makes throttle response kinda flat then abrupt. It’s best to use an e36 328 / m3 cable and install onto the larger cam of the throttle body. You can try that with an e34 cable if that’s what you got but you’ll likely run out of adjustment.
This explains a lot. I couldn’t find an answer for what cable I should run. Thanks!
What's the blue crimper you used at 26:30? Haven't seen one like that and I'm curious about it.
Also, saw that you are using old school-style wire strippers. Not sure if you've ever farted around with automatic wire strippers but they've been a godsend for me.
What are the crimped connectors used on the fan wiring at about 24:00 ?
Hi I stumbled across one of your videos today. Fun and interesting.
Every episode is amazing, that being said I cant wait for more Audi content!
Fantastic work! Love the mindset: do it once, do it right.
Not back purging isn’t really much of a hack job unless your pre turbo, that’s when it’s very necessary. Anything after the downpipe just plain mig is fine. Definitely zero downside to doing it everywhere, beautiful build.
Awesome content mate. You have a certain style and I like it.
Pretty work Mike love the cleanliness of your job and your workshop best swap keep it up doing good job e30s are best BMW ever made.❤
My first new car was the 325c with the impossible to kill straight six from 88-92 that was magnificent years for those cars and engines. My vehicle for time had a car phone and was so over engineered you needed time behind wheel to understand car movement and reactants various speeds. This is very important on over engineered automobiles. They are different animal.
amazing content, just gotta say the music is bumpin in this episode
Fabulous and informative content as always Mike, especially when things are done with great memories of lost and loved friends. Keep up the excellent work, as I plan to be a long time follower.
Love it! My fav car of all time was my 1985 535i, stick.
So stoked for this, been working on my s52 for a few weeks now.
Love this series. Congrats on getting it fired up. I ran into the exact same hiccup on my 24v swap and put the FPR on the rail. Took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out that was the problem
Trying to get inspiration for my own E30 restoration. I get so much anxiety even thinking of working on it. I get caught up in little home projects, work and family things going on, working on my car sounds like, well more work. Sometimes I think of selling it but I know I'd regret giving up.
Super conversion 👌
Keep going champ 🏆
I'm really liking this build. I second the need for air conditioning these days. (from a warm and humid Sydney)
I had a white 91 2dr 225i. My day gave it to the junkyard when I moved to Seattle about 12 years ago...
Why don't you have a million followers yet? Great stuff brother
Ok, now waiting for the next video. Can't wait.... 😊
Could you maybe make a video going more into depth about the wiring , what ecu are you running and how did u get it all to work
oh my GOD it sounds so GOOOD I lvoe it! Can't wait to see more!
Downright impressive work! What’s great project.
Awesome video, can't wait for the next episode. What made you decide on the S52 engine?
Love the build. Where you installed the fuel filter , my e30 has a charcoal cannister there 🧐
Yes that is one of the best models ever, one of most popular cars of all time! :)
The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.
3:15 is that another 308 in your shop?
In not a good welder so maybe that makes this comment invalid but.... If you are welding something and are doing your best prep possible, it is hard to believe anyone would scoff at your efforts.... I like your commitment and thorough follow through on your tasks.... Some people are Ree Ree's
I wonder if I wanted you guys to do this exact sawp? what would i be looking at
Dude!!! Love these videos- my M20 E30 325i is getting scared. Also….12:10….that ratchet…😂
hell yeah brother, also look mom i'm famous!
a few years ago we had an e30 with a m60b40 and we used a z3 1.9 (yep, 1.9) steering rack. don't know why but was a really fast steering rack. It was great and fast for drifting
Great attention to detail 👌
Great episode! Nice work
Good job! E30 is a nice chassis
Insane detail awesome results.
Hey man hope your thanksgiving went well.
The sweet sound of life. Good work my man
5:00 a true American 🥶