1985 BMW 320i E30 with 13,000 mls

[MalibuM3]

Save the manuals!

After taking delivery of my BMW M3 G80 6MT last year at the BMW Welt in Munich, I‘ve pulled the trigger today on another BMW with a manual transmission, this time a rather unusual one.

A true gem: 1985 BMW 320i E30 with original 13,000 mls / 20,500 km on the clock. Bone stock. With the legendary M20 NA 6 cylinder engine from a time before catalytic converters and OPF.

The car has always been registered in Munich, Germany, only two owners. The second owner bought the car in 2000 and stored it in a garage since 2001 without moving it, where it was discovered and rescued in 2021.

I‘ve bought the car from a dealer in Munich. He changed all the fluids and cleaned the gas tank etc.

Next week, we will pick up the E30 in Munich. Here a some pics from the dealer.

[M-technik-3]

That is a time capsule.

[IcewaterPete]

WHOA! What an amazing find. Just look at that interior, the dash is immaculate. Enjoy!

[Chihuahua]

That's an incredible find. What's the history of the car?

[MalibuM3]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

That's an incredible find. What's the history of the car?

The car has been originally delivered in 1985 by a BMW dealer in Munich. The first owner between 1985 and 2000 was a lady from Munich in her best years. She would have turned 100 years next year. Unfortunately she passed away in 2015.

The spec of this car is quite unique.

Usually back in the day here in Germany older folks mostly have ordered their E30 in champagne, green or a brownish color combo. The small M10 four-cylinder and automatic transmission were also very popular, which in both cases would have been a deal breaker for me.

But the lady ticked the right boxes; the great M20 6-cylinder with a manual gearbox. The color is ‚086-black‘. I have never seen a solid black (not diamond black metallic) pre-LCI E30 before. This gives a good contrast to the all the crome pieces.

The second owner bought the car in 2000. Just after a few months he drove the car down to his vacation home in Southern Italy. He stored the car there in a dry garage. In 2021 the E30 along with two other classics in great shape have been rescued by a guy from Munich. The car returned to Munich in 2021 on a trailer. The guy changed the timing belt, spark plugs, fluids etc.

I will pick up the E30 next week Thursday on my way back from a short vacation in the Austrian Alps. I am curious, if the car makes the 400 km back home to Frankfurt in one piece.

[M-technik-3]

I'd change the fuel filter and being it's an early M20 that still has a distributer on the side vs the later M20b23 and b25 which used the camshaft distributer setup. I would do a cap and rotor. but keep the originals as spares.

When I was living in Bitburg I had a 82 320i then a 86 M-Tech 1 Sadly the early cars had drums but a simple swap of rear trailing arms gave you disc brakes.

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by MalibuM3

Save the manuals!

After taking delivery of my BMW M3 G80 6MT last year at the BMW Welt in Munich, I‘ve pulled the trigger today on another BMW with a manual transmission, this time a rather unusual one.

A true gem: 1985 BMW 320i E30 with original 13,000 mls / 20,500 km on the clock. Bone stock. With the legendary M20 NA 6 cylinder engine from a time before catalytic converters and OPF.

The car has always been registered in Munich, Germany, only two owners. The second owner bought the car in 2000 and stored it in a garage since 2001 without moving it, where it was discovered and rescued in 2021.

I‘ve bought the car from a dealer in Munich. He changed all the fluids and cleaned the gas tank etc.

Next week, we will pick up the E30 in Munich. Here a some pics from the dealer.

Wow!! What a great find. She is truly a gem. Interior looks immaculate. What part or area Frankfurt are you from?

[MalibuM3]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

Wow!! What a great find. She is truly a gem. Interior looks immaculate. What part or area Frankfurt are you from?

Thanks. I live in Königstein. Are you from the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area as well?

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by MalibuM3

Thanks. I live in Königstein. Are you from the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main area as well?

Close to the area. I’m from the Butzbach / Giessen area. Ich komme aus Gambach.

[MalibuM3]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

Close to the area. I’m from the Butzbach / Giessen area. Ich komme aus Gambach.

Hello neighbour! I really like the stretch of the A5 between Butzbach and Bad Homburg.

[swagon]

What a lovely car! Doesn't get any purer than an early E30 on steel wheels.

[MalibuM3]

Today I picked up my new E30 in Munich and stopped by the BMW plant, the Welt and the Classic Center to take some pictures.
My 320i was assembled at the Munich plant on 29 November 1984.
This post is quite picture heavy

[AWDtoRWD]

approved

[MalibuM3]

The trip back home from Munich to Frankfurt was great. Nothing broke down. The weather during the drive sucked, hail storm, rain showers and gusty winds.

Man this thing is slow as hell but the M20 has a smooth engine sound.

The ‚vanity‘ license plate was a deal with the Munich based seller. Only when you live in Munich, you can get the „M“ for Munich on the license plate, which I think looks quite decent and like a car from BMW‘s fleet. My wife‘s name is Mel or Meli and we met for the first time in 1998, so M-EL 198 was the preferred combo.

[BeEmVe]

Congrats on the new old ride. My aunt bought her first BMW in 1985 also a 320. She did an ED and had a blast. Her trip was the inspiration for my wife and I to do the same.

I happen to staying with my aunt and cousin a few days after it arrived in the US from Germany. Just before I arrived my cousin who was 22 at the time got to take it for a drive and was observed by a neighbor "slightly" exceeding the speed limit. He caught hell from my aunt for that.

He got revenge with his mom as one could set a speed alarm on the car. He set it for exactly 30 mph which was the speed limit between their house and where my aunt worked. Needless to say it went off many times on her way to work. When she got home that evening he caught hell from my aunt for that. But he and I got a great laugh.

[PcarFan]

Beautiful E30, congrats!!
I would love to get a 325i E30 with a manual transmission. Most of the ones you find are in poor shape, and if they're in good condition, they are asking an arm and a leg for them.

[MalibuM3]

In the meantime I have installed new headlamps and a new original spoiler lip from BMW Classic.
The E30 also got his Easter hand wash and wax …

[M-technik-3]

Apartments look just like the ones I lived in while in Bitburg. Tough time of the year to keep a schwarz car clean! And clean it is.

[MalibuM3]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Apartments look just like the ones I lived in while in Bitburg. Tough time of the year to keep a schwarz car clean! And clean it is.

Thanks. Indeed, the building in the background looks quite similar to a typical US Military housing facility. But in this case, it is just a plain apartment complex next to my house.
During your time in Bitburg, did you drove the Nurburgring?

[IcewaterPete]

Phenomenal purchase and great pics! Isn’t funny how slow the older cars feel now that we all have huge HP? They still are a ton of fun to drive however!

[MalibuM3]

Originally Posted by IcewaterPete

Phenomenal purchase and great pics! Isn’t funny how slow the older cars feel now that we all have huge HP? They still are a ton of fun to drive however!

Absolutely right, Sir!
This car is representing the good characteristics of BMW back in the day. Since I own the E30 I barely drive my M3 G80.

[BMW 16 5-0]

Beautiful BMW! It reminds me of my first, a 1983 318i manual gearbox. I wish I could have kept it and taken it home to the USA.