Long story short, I have an E30 Coupe that I've spent countless hours building (24v swap, all new bushings, etc.). The body is clean except for clear-coat failure on the hood and trunk. Lo and behold, the same color (Calypso) E30 sedan pops up on my local Co-part auction, and my mind instantly goes to parts car heaven. So I get an account, put in a couple bids, and now I'm the proud owner of another E30 (my wife was NOT happy).
Yesterday I go out there to pick it up, and shortly after the front-end loader of death drops it on the trailer, I began to realize that this is no parts car. It is one of the cleanest E30's I've ever seen! The paint is perfect and the body only has one imperfection on the front fender. It was from a Veteran's charity and came with a clean title and a stack of records.
Now I'm confused. On one hand the 2 door is pretty much done, but it will have to be painted. On the other hand, the sedan is almost perfect body and interior wise, but will need some mechanical love. That, and my wife just told me that she is not, not pregnant (too early, so not trying to jinx it) so a 4 dr project could be fun; like S54 swap fun. Probably the smart thing would be to sell them both and get into quilting.
Help me decide....
1. Fix up the sedan's mechanicals and sell it.
2. Sell the coupe and get myself head-first into another E30 build.
3. Keep them both and sleep on the couch.
" />
Couch.
That two door is incredibly nice.
The two door looks pretty nice in the pictures. If the paint on the four door is good, swap the hood and trunk lids and your two door car's paint problems are solved. Then, sell the four door.
Couche sleep doesn't last THAT long.
2 door looks a million times cooler than the 4 door.
Strip the 4 door of everything you even think you might need one day and be done.
Swap the hood and trunk, get the 4 door running and driving and pedal it for fun and profit.
Use profit towards finishing the 2 door.
In reply to octavious :
Yeah, that was my original plan. The 2 door is actually in really good shape too, except for the hood, trunk, and bumpers (all of which are pristine on the sedan). I could probably swap everything over and get rid of the sedan for more than I paid and let someone else have a fun project.
4 doors are always cooler. Always.
SaltyDog said:
Swap the hood and trunk, get the 4 door running and driving and pedal it for fun and profit.
Use profit towards finishing the 2 door.
This is exactly what I was going to type. Like, right down to the punctuation.
Edit: I think there is a different spelling for pedal when it is referring to selling an item. Pedle? peddle? peddel? Those all look wrong.
wvumtnbkr said:
4 doors are always cooler. Always.
Didn't your parents love you?
In reply to kilgoretrout :
Fill in the rear door handles on the 4-door, put the same wheels on both cars, and never let her see both at the same time? It might work...
Two door all the way. Move that four door for profit. You'll be getting a minivan soon enough I suppose.
I’ll trade you mine. My SO wants a pretty one. Not one that needs to be painted and whatnot.
If it's not a parts car, sell it and buy a parts car if you need one. Don't entertain thoughts of keeping it for any other reason than parting it. You'll have a much happier life trust me.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
Had to use my googler to find out. Looks like "peddle" is the correct spelling .
Keep 2 door, flip the four door. Fund your project with the profits. There isn't a four door on the planet that's worth momma being pissed.
Of course, the GRM enabler answer is to turn one into a race car, but only if your couch is SUPER comfortable.
Cactus
Reader
6/14/18 8:38 p.m.
I own 4 e28s, you should just be able to assume what my advice is.
Pete Gossett said:
In reply to kilgoretrout :
Fill in the rear door handles on the 4-door, put the same wheels on both cars, and never let her see both at the same time? It might work...
Ha! There is no way that this could fail!
Cactus said:
I own 4 e28s, you should just be able to assume what my advice is.
To hi-jack my own thread, I have never owned an E28 but I'm pretty sure I will soon (when I get rid of 2 of my other cars). If you caught my other thread about new BMW's, a while back, I'm done with those and now I'm working backwards - PRE 2000's or bust!
I recently bought a rust free RRC shell to repair the rust on my RRC LWB. If mine wasn't a 94, I would have done the process in reverse.
You’ll want/need the crew cab E30 because car seat. It’s gonna SUCK putting a baby in a two-door car.
SaltyDog said:
Swap the hood and trunk, get the 4 door running and driving and pedal it for fun and profit.
Use profit towards finishing the 2 door.
I would do exactly what saltydog suggested. Makes the most sense for sure. REMEMBER HAPPY WIFE HAPPY LIFE
Since the wife is not-not pregnant...You'll be sleeping on the couch for the first three and last three months. The middle three months will be a time of hormones. That's a good and bad thing depending on the pregnancy. 
I've got two kids and like putting on a play, each run through was different.
Practically speaking the four-door is going to be a much better kid taxi. Two doors suck diddly uck for baby seat manipulations. That wouldn't have been an issue for me since once my wife was pregnant safety and crash ratings were king in regards to what cars the kids could ride in. I'm not complaining as it pushed my car hobby into newer models. Newer cars being the perfect transition for new Dads as you'll be amazed how little time you have left for the car hobby with a new baby in the house. Low maintenance is king and will remain so until the kid(s) turn 6 or so.
If you keep the two-door, I'd shop something to haul the family around in and keep the E30 for weekend and date night duties. Maybe shop a Chevy Tahoe for the family and use it as a tow rig to get the E30 to events? If you keep the four-door you can use it for every situation I can think of assuming your baby mama is cool with that.
maj75
HalfDork
6/15/18 9:31 a.m.
I won’t swear to it but I don’t think there are any interchangeable body panels between the 2 and 4 door.
And I don’t get the 4 door thing. There isn’t a 4 door car that looked better than the 2 door version. I’m tall and the B pillar is always something I have to climb around to get out of the car.
