325iC mit E-30M3 springs

["David A. Leonard" <dleonar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I thank all who responded to my 325iC m-3 spring install questions.  I
finished at midnight last night.  The car is a '91 325iC Auto (oh
well..whaddya want for $6,500) with 67k miles.

Previous owner must not have ever had a maintenance budget.  I ripped out
the stock suspension, and then got frustrated at the one week delivery of
struts.

So...I changed the (totally beat) timing belt, water pump, fan ,a/c and
p/s/alternator belts,  adjusted valves (lots of excessive clearance there),
plugs, distributor cap and rotor,  front PBR deluxe pads, changed brake
fluid, bled brakes,  r&r'd radiator and water pump hoses,coolant changed,
replaced fuel filter and air filter.
.

 The struts came in (Bilstien sports), and I got a set of the 9mm taller
spring pads to lift the front a little more, as the M-3 is 15mm lower than
the convertible, and 300lb's lighter, so I figured that another 6mm rise
over the 3mm stock pads would counteract the 10% weigh difference to some
extent.  I replaced the stock springs with Porrigehead's old, stock M-3
springs.  I also put two more stock bottle cap wheels on the match the two
on the rear.  Total parts investment was about $1,200.00

I let the car down last night and took it for a ride.  I hadn't bled the
brakes well enough with my mighty-vac, so I put the car up on ramps, and
enlisted the assistance of my six year old son Eli, who has been bleeding
brakes since he was 2 years old(sitting on the floor forward of the seat of
the 78 Blazer, using BOTH legs!)  He was very excited when I had him in the
driver's seat, and pushed the car down off the ramps and let him stop it
with the newly bled brakes.

Some observations:
It is quite possible to bleed brakes with the wheels on, access is quite
good with the rear on ramps.  The front's can be reached with the helm all
the way over.
Another revelation I made was that if you invest in a 11/8" socket, you can
run the strut compressor much faster and better with your impact wrench than
all those previous hours cranking it  two flats at a time, by hand!  Changes
the whole operation, much more pleasant!

Anyway....Runs great, ride is firm, but not harsh (I think the 195/65/14's
are a little soft)

The car sits level, and I think the total drop was about 1.5" on the front,
and closer to 1" on the back.

Happy driving,

Dave Leonard
88 735i,  91 325iC/Msuspension

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