Re: Late 80's E30 changes?

[Randy Walters <randylwalters@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

JHahn22@domain.elided wrote:

>Hello everyone,
>I posted earlier this week about looking for a car to replace my 89 325i 
>which was totaled.  I'm coming across several cars that look real good that 
>are a couple years older.  I'm curious how much changed between 88 and 89 on 
>these cars.  I think that was the year for the bumper switch.  I prefer the 
>look of the later fiberglass "is" style bumper cover/front spoiler on my car, 
>and I'm wonder if it's possible to install them on say an 87 e-30.  Same 
>question for the rear bumper.  Also, how much is different interior wise?  
>Under the hood?  Any good links for good descriptions of the changes?  Also, 
>what year did anti-lock brakes get onto these cars?  How hard would it be to 
>retro fit one with parts from an 89.  Obviously the hubs, sensors, computer, 
>pump, and God knows what else would have to come off.  But is this a doable 
>mod?  The ABS saved my but a couple times in the rain, and I'll miss it 
>knowing it's there.  What about the steering wheel?
>Also, is there much stuff that would work on say an older 5 series?
>Let me know if you have any tips on any of these items, just finding out how 
>much I should limit my search.
>Thanks for the help.
>Jake Hahn
>89 BMW 325i (with lots of "is" stuff on it)
>87 Alfa Spider

 The only difference between the 88 and 89 325i/is was the bumpers, other
than that the cars are virtually indentical.  You can retrofit the 89's wraparound
bumpers to the big-bumpered 88 as long as you have the 89 mounting shocks.
The front turn signal needs to be spliced in but that's easy.  The body shell on
the 88 is exactly the same as the 89-91 with the same front and rear lower
valances,  front apron,  and ellipsoid headlights.  The Motronics were improved
on the mid-88 model (starting with build date 3/88).

 The 87 325i/is has a completely different rear body with larger rear fender
openings,  smaller taillights, and no lower valance to hide the muffler.  It's
possible to retrofit the 89-91 bumpers to this car but it takes some hacking
and cutting and it still doesn't look as good as the 88 and later cars.  Also,
the 87's cooling system is different - the radiator hose routing usually causes
the power steering pulley to cut through the lower hose if the mounts are old,
hot, or broken (very common problem).   The 88 and newer 325i/is had a
different radiator with different hose routing that eliminated this problem.

 The interiors and power goodies between the 87-90 325is are all the same
but the 89 had a better radio than the 87-88.  The 89is was the last year to
have the 3-spoke M-steering wheel as the 90-91 came with an airbag wheel.
All E30 325i/is models had ABS.

 Personally i like the 89 the best, and the 88 second best.  I would not
want an 87 or 90-91 at all for the reasons above,  but YMMV :-)

BMW E30 Network Message Forum:
http://forum.bmwe30.net/index.cgi

Randy
89 325is

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