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1983 323i E30 Restoration Project

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Gentil79 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 30 Oct 2010 at 11:16pm
Dear all,
 
I've started this project back in May and it has been published in another forum for a while.
Now that I become a member of the BMWCCGB, I would like to share this adventure with you.
 
This is what happened so far:
 
The car was advertised on Ebay(2007), with only one owner from new and with a new MOT. Looked tempting, so I made a bid. A couple of days Later, I won the auction and the final winning bid was £170. Yes, £170, that's how much I paid for a car with a new MOT and one owner from new! Sounds too good? Yes. Hummm... someting is wrong...
Like the poisoned apple from the Evil Fairy, I bought a car with no MOT documents, the trader was a complete W****R and I had a hard time to get the MOT documents so that I could buy the tax disc and drive home.

During the last 3 years of ownership, I replaced the rear tyres, front discs and pads, spark plugs, filters, brake fluid, oil, main beams, a several other minor sh*t. Meanwhile, the I started to find rust everywhere and it spreaded like the plague.
Then, in 2008 when oil prices went sky high, the E30's thirsty habit was leaving my finances in a mess so I decided to buy an awsome 1992 318IS E36 Coupé. Last year I started to read the E30's last rite until I saw the light... I actually can restore this car!
So, I've stopped navigating through porn sites, reading "Take a break" and started to read some more educational literature like Haynes, Bentley and Brooklands and learned a bit more about the E30's.
After 2 months of what i though it was carefull planning, (turned out to be a load of b*****s, like a prime ministers's candidate campaign) I started to restore this car using the "restore rather than replace" policy, in order to keep the car as original as possible.

So, here are the photos of the car before I started the restoration: April 2010
 
 










 
 


Edited by Gentil79 - 30 Oct 2010 at 11:18pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 9:32am
Good luck - on these early cars I have seen a lot worse - keep us updated and if you need any bits let me know as got some early 323 bits still
E30 Register joint coordinator - Competition Secretary - Contact name Neil for PM and Email - cabrio_e30@yahoo.co.uk - be aware addicted to E numbers
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 9:48am

Thank you Neil, I will definitely need some bits, especially trim pieces as some got damaged and others can't be restored.

My biggest problem now is the offside rear arch. I can only find pattern parts (which are a bit rubbish) and the only original one available from BMW includes the whole wing, costs £320 and requires spot and brazing welding! I've tried to find a pre-facelift car where I could just simply chop the section of the rear wing, but the only ones i've found are facelift cars.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 4:23pm
May 2010
 
The restoration project finally kicked off with the removal of the whole interior.

First, as usual, the front seats were removed, followed by the rear seats.
The front seats are unbolted, while the rear bench just simply pulls out. The back rest is secured by two size 10 nuts that are hidden by the rear quarter panels. Unbolt these and then just pull up the rear back rest.
With the seats off, it was time to tackle the center console, which came off quite easily with just a couple of plastic nuts off, and strangely that was it. The bolt that normally secures the center console to the dashboard was missing... maybe it was removed by the previous owner and then forgot to put it back?
Then, took the steering wheel off, removed the under dash cover, instrument cluster, the steering column cowling and the indicator and wiper stalks. Then unbolted the ECU complete with bracket, from the dash.
The glove box was unbolted then the radio and console buttons just popped off and the heating controls were removed by 2 pairs of screws. Then, unclip the air flap cables from the back of the heater controls.
Now, I unbolt the two screws from each side that hold the dash board to the car. Give it a shake and it will start to loosen up.
At this stage I recommend to start to disconnect or loosen up any cable that might get in the way. You will find that the reason why you can't pull the dash together is due to cabling that is stuck.
After getting all cables out of the way, remove the front pillar covers (remove the door rubber first to help them to come out) and then try to pull and push the dash with a few quick strokes, but gently, not too hard, otherwise it may damage the foam that seals the air ducts
Then, the dash came off, but it had to be rotated to the passenger side due to all the hidden cabling. The cables can be unstrapped from the dash board easily.
Finally, the dashboard is free!

After this, it was time to remove the carpet, which seems to be a simple job, but it isn't!
It all comes off nice up until when you get to the air and heater box. The carpet is stuck in there and there is no way of pulling it off! Many forums in the internet suggest you to cut the carpet alongside the heating box, but I'm no butcher and I want things to be done properly, so:
I opened the bonnet and started to drain the coolant off. Then, on the engine bay, unbolted the middle cover on the top of the bulkhead an pulled it out of the way in order to reveal the 4 nuts that hold the heater and fan box into the car. These were unbolted completely and then further down I removed the two coolant hoses that connect to the heater box. With these out, it is all ready to go... well, that's what I thought...
From the inside, it is a combination of time and patience to get the bloody thing out. You need to pull, push, from side to side until it starts to come out. Check any further cables that might be in the way and continue to push... has any of you assisted on a birth of a baby? It looks like it!
Then, after nearly 10 minutes of patience, the box is out!
To my dismay, there is almost no carpet underneath the air box... so why the hell BMW put it so tight under the air box?
Anyway, time to remove the carpet.
Remove the plastic sill covers, do this VERY carefully because the top of the clips break very easily when you pull them off. I haven't followed this advise because the one I have were badly scratched and will be replaced, so i used brute force and simply pulled them off.
Then, i removed the carpet, starting from the back, then the sides until i got into the accelerator pedal. Again, this should unclip easily, but the base was very rusty, that the only solution was to pull the pedal off. Then removed the speakers and the side kick panels, which are carpeted on early E30's, and then made a cut in the carpet where it surrounds the steering column.
After all this, the carpet pulls off very nicely. Then i removed the sound insulation panels which just simply pull off.
With all this off, the condition of the bodywork could finally be revealed.
As you can see in the picture, there have been some repairs done in the past. like many other early E30's, this has been once a Flintstone car. However, these repairs have been badly done and look awful, so this will have to be redone. Everything else looks alright and the bulkhead doesn't look actually too bad from the inside... or maybe I'm speaking too soon
 
 



Edited by Gentil79 - 31 Oct 2010 at 4:31pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 4:30pm
June 2010
 
The weather improved, the temperature went up and will power dropped. Therefore, I was too lazy to do much work.
I started to remove the front spoiler, followed by the front apron and its million bolts. Then, I removed the grille, headlights and fog lights.
The plastic wheel arch linings were also removed giving way for the front wings to be unbolted from the bodywork.



After removing everything, I grabbed the hot air gun and started to remove the sound deadening panels. Fortunately, the underneath looked nice and healthy so I picked the angle grinder with the twisted steel attachment and started to clean up the rusty areas.
As you can see in the photo, the hole got bigger and the foot well revealed the crappy welding done by the previous owner. At a later stage, I'll weld new metal


At the driver's side it's the same old story



In the engine bay, I started to get myself ahead for the engine removal.
The battery was removed, followed by the cooling and windscreen washer tanks. The viscous coupling fan was pain to remove, but eventually came off after some carefully applied swearing and brute force. The radiator came off quite easily.
On the other side, I disconnected the AFM, removed it and then took off the coil.
Underneath, I disconnected the power steering pump and drained the oil. Then the alternator was removed as well as the belts.
At last, when I had an extra pair of hands available, I took off the bonnet.



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July 2010
 
Due to setbacks like the weather (too hot to work under a shed with no windows), a couple of weddings, hay fever and other crap, I took the foot off the accelerator pedal and the project slowed down.
First, the car was moved to the huge barn that I rented for the following four weeks. There is almost no light, but has electricity so I can plug in the spot lights.
Then, I tried to find a way to transport the car to the barn ... Unfortunately, most recovery companies around here are expensive and the cheapest one I've found to move the car between my house and the barn (2 miles) would cost £50 ...
The guy was friendly and was always attentive ... except with the car.
Four days later, I noticed that the front cross member (below the radiator) was twisted and I started to wonder what happened to it and when I looked at it more closely, I saw that the distortion was caused by the steel towing cable.
Obviously, I was fuming and called the guy immediately who promptly declined any responsibility! The w**ker instead of using my car’s towing eye, tied the cable to the car! Result: more spending and more wasted time!



So, I left it for now and proceeded with the dismantling
.


The doors were removed, as well as the glass and some wiring. The scuttle panels are not too bad, but they require some attention.




Then I moved on to the pedal box and brake servo pump which were removed without problems. The brake and clutch pipes are absolutely flawless and I’m not sure if I have to replace them or not... what do you think?
Then it was time to remove all the wiring. It took a while but it was not hard. All engine ancillaries were removed, (cables, prop shaft, hoses, etc.) thus leaving the way open for removal.
Therefore, it was now time to remove the engine.
To do this, loosen the suspension towers, the screws of the chassis and front axle and then the whole unit will become free.
Maybe some of you think that this way of removing the engine has made the task more difficult, but I don’t think so. Everything had to go out and so I thought I better do it all at once.



The engine was then left in a corner where it will be dealt with later.



When I looked at the gearbox, I noticed that there is an oil leak on the top ... where is it coming from and what would cause it?
After resting the front of the car on top of a few pallets, it was time to tackle the rear axle.



This part took me 6 hours to remove!!!!!

First, the screws that bolt into the sills were welded and so I had to drill them out with titanium bits and to grind them. After beating the sh*t out of them for an hour, they finally came out. Then I removed the anti-roll bar, some bushes, the nuts that bolt on to the body and then the differential. Of course after 27 years of use, the nuts are well bonded and to remove them will require some care and the ability to improvise.
Finally, the rear axle came out and I got a sigh of relief ... until the moment when I realized that the parking brake cables were stuck! I just needed to pull them out with some brute force.




Then it was time to remove the petrol tank ... but unfortunately, I tried to undo the copper tube that connect the two sections of the tank a bit too hard and I ended up with a hole ... Does anyone have a 55lt tank lying around?
The next day, I removed the bulkhead insulation that revealed more rust than I thought ...


... which after being rubbed down, it looked more like a colander! Anyway, there’s nothing like welding a new bit of new metal to solve the issue.

Now, the body is ready for the surgery ... but due to the workplace (a barn on a farm) and a season with high levels of pollen in the air, I struggled to do any work on the car... and it stayed like that for nearly 2 weeks!

So, I decided to vacate the barn and move the car back into my house. It took me 2 days because since I rented the barn, I got a few extra things like tools and other sh*t.
Luckily, my neighbour, who races classics cars was getting prepared to go to Le Mans Classic with his Triumph TR3 and had his state of the art trailer at home. He offered me to transport my car back to my house. Thankfully, my E30 was completely stripped meaning that the car with no bumpers or front wings was a snug fit in his trailer. Once again, my most profound thanks to Stephen Skinner for all his kindness. I owe him this favour.
Then, I went home for holidays and the car stayed like this, and it will stay like that until the end of July when I start to do more work on it.
I have to prepare everything and cut out the rusty metal and replace with new one. I’ll have my colleague James who will help with the welding. Then, the car will be taken to Kent to be shot blasted and primed and when it returns by the 2nd week of August, I’ll be ready to prepare the shell for painting.
Despite some of the mishaps, I am happy and confident that the final result will be what I want. As we say in Portugal: While there's life there’s hope!
*** unfortunately, the plan above didn't go through as expected, as you'll see on the next post***


Edited by Gentil79 - 31 Oct 2010 at 4:38pm
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August 2010:
 
I've sent the car to be shotblasted and primed. I thought it would save me a week's worth of work and get me a head start for the rest of the jobs with the bodywork.

All seems to be fine (with the obvious extra holes due to the removal of tons of filler and rust) and then I kissed goodbye to £450.




But, when I was shuting the gate of my newly rented garage, I noticed something strange... the light didn't reflect properly on the roof and I looked more closely.



Disaster! the bloody roof was warped! It looked like the whole circus marched all over the roof!

I fumed and exploded!
I got in touch with the  shotblaster who denied any responsability and said that it was something that could be sorted easily. after a few bitter telephone calls and text messages, i eventually gave up and moved on.

Here is the video of the damage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRX901VP6C8

I really dunno what to do, and I start to think that there must be some sort of whitchcraft going on that is causing all this bad luck.
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August 2010:
 
The axles were going to be my next victims, but they just laughed at me when I tried to tackle the job with stupidity, crap tools and rusty stubborn bolts.

First, the trailing arms and the diff were removed from the axle carrier, which was an easy job.
Then, after removing the wheels and brakes, I struggled to remove the colar nut that tights the hub to the axle shafts... what a pig of a job.

After a broken ratchet, some loud and lenghty swearing and a bit of leverage, I finally managed to get the nut out. Then, the hub came off easily after banging it hard from behind... hammering, I mean.
After a few hours everything was out, except the bearings were still in place and will have to be pressed out
 
 
In regards to the CV joints, I am not too shur about their state, same to the shock absorbers.

Moving on to the front axle, I couldn't remove the hub because the nut has a mountrous size which i don't have a socket for and because the struts are a bit shot, especially the one on the left which has a few holes, i decide to leave it as it is.
 
 
 
The discs and pads were put in the car two years ago and they only have around 3000 miles on them, so there is no need to replace them. They are all ATE and still good, despite looking a bit rusty.



I need to shop for some second hand 51mm struts. The suspension is in good condition, but i'll replace it anyway.
 

 
The power steering rack was easy to remove as well as the radius arms and anti roll bar as well, although I needed a hammer to get the ball joint pins out.
After all this I will sand blast everything (I will do this myself this time) prime with red oxide and then paint them in satin black.
The radius arms will be completely replaced by some new ones that I got off ebay for a bargain.
 
Since August, the restoration has moved on to the restoration of parts and welding, which i'll be updating you next week.
 
Take Care, Gentil
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 6:37pm
Good work and a great thread you have started - draw up a list of bits you need and sure we can some links or advice on here - eg I have some used 51mm bilsteins from and 83 car that although marked Hartge will fine for you - or we can get you a good new price - but you have plenty to do before thats needed I guess - keep up the great info - sure others will find it useful and interesting
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 7:09pm
Originally posted by Cabrio Cabrio wrote:

Good work and a great thread you have started - draw up a list of bits you need and sure we can some links or advice on here - eg I have some used 51mm bilsteins from and 83 car that although marked Hartge will fine for you - or we can get you a good new price - but you have plenty to do before thats needed I guess - keep up the great info - sure others will find it useful and interesting
Hi Neil thank you for the kind words and offer.
I eventually sourced a couple of 51mm struts from a South African 325i. I also got a pair of new old stock Boge Turbo shocks for front and back, so hopefully they'll be fine.
 
I am making up a list of bits needed, and i'll post it when ready.
 
Regards,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hennabm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 7:46pm

As the owner of an 82 build year car I'm interested to see how yours develops. What is the idea when finished - daily use or show car?

The front axle hub nut is torqued to approx 290Nm. Access to an air gun or electric version may free it off for you.
 
For the wheel arches I would buy the OEM panels and chop to suit as they are guaranteed the right radius etc.
 
Good luck on the rebuild. Thumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Oct 2010 at 8:42pm
Originally posted by hennabm hennabm wrote:

As the owner of an 82 build year car I'm interested to see how yours develops. What is the idea when finished - daily use or show car?

The front axle hub nut is torqued to approx 290Nm. Access to an air gun or electric version may free it off for you.
 
For the wheel arches I would buy the OEM panels and chop to suit as they are guaranteed the right radius etc.
 
Good luck on the rebuild. Thumbs Up
 
Hi there,
Thank you for your comment.
I've seen your car a couple of times and that beauty is absolutely stunning.
The idea of this restoration is to get it into a near showroom condition. I'm very fussy and attention to detail and originality where possible is the way forward.
The only areas where I'm a bit concerned are the seats ans carpet. Although they have no wear marks, the bolsters are slightly faded due to the sun, especially in the back seat. The carpet isn't too bad, but it has some rust marks i can't get rid of.
In regards to the panels, I'll definitely buy the OEM ones, but I was hoping to chop a section from another car... which seems to be an impossible task due to scarcity of pre facelift breaking cars with good wheel arches.
As for the wheel hubs, I managed to remove the nuts after several attempts with an impact socket.
The struts are nearly ready and an update will be uploaded in the next couple of days.
 
Regards,
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hennabm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2010 at 8:20pm
Unfortunately most of the interior trim for pre facelift cars is unavailable. The best is to find mint used parts if yours are past any renovation.
For the carpet what have you triedto clean it with?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2010 at 9:22pm
I've used a "Rug Doctor" to clean the carpet, but that was back in July. Since then, the carpet has been stored and I kinda forgot about it. I bought a steam cleaner a few weeks ago to clean some parts and might use it for the carpet. In regards to the trim, the front seats are actually good and the fading is barely noticeable. The problem is the back rest of the rear seat, which has "seat belt marks" and i can't find a good "Pacific blue" one. In the meantime, I got hold of a firm that can revive the colour velour seats, but they ask for £80 a seat!.
I also considered changing to leather seats, but finding blue seats is very difficult. Getting seats with other colour and then applying blue leather dye is a job that would last only a couple of years... also, when I tried a pair of seats from a '86 car, the bolts on my car were shorter.
Let's wait and see.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Andy cab Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2010 at 10:21pm
Keep up the great work.There isn't many of the old A-reg E30s around so its well worth the hard work.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hennabm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Nov 2010 at 10:44pm
I store my rear seat belts as they should be and if moved you can see the lines on the seat fabric. As no-one ever sits there it is not a problem as the belts rarely move so the marks are hidden.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Nov 2010 at 6:44pm
Hi All,
 
Just a quick update.
 
When I started this restoration, I had the intention to do a video at the same time in order to record all the steps I was doing.
Unfortunately, this became a bit impractical because the camera i was using was already a few years old and despite being a DVI, none of my pc's had a firewire connection in order to upload the tapes. Also, the tapes were only 1 hour long and the battery didn't last long. I am planning to continue with the video shooting but with a new camera now, but only from December.
Here is a video of myself removing the interior... it's a bit rubish, but it gives an idea. Also on my Youtube channel (gentil79), there is an assessment fo the condition of the car prior to the restoration process. The dialogue is in Portuguese, but there will be an English version in the next few weeks.
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Nov 2010 at 9:22pm
Hi all,
 
Here's a small video of the car before I started this restoration. You can see the condition of the bodywork, interior and engine in a different way.
 
 
Regards,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2010 at 9:17am
Talk about documenting a restoration - this does tick the box - well done
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Dec 2010 at 11:20pm
Hi all,
 
Just a very small update in regards to this restoration. More will be done this weekend, including the biggest headache of this saga, the rear wing repair.
Many more things have been done like the repair of the axles, that have been stripped, cleaned and repainted, new bushes,new bearings, pedal box cleaned derusted an repainted, etc. These tasks will be shown at a later stage once the body is painted and ready for assembling.
 
Here's a small video:
 


Edited by Gentil79 - 14 Dec 2010 at 11:43pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Dec 2010 at 11:39pm

You know we should have this in the magazine really - I have done an article on restoration of a 325 convertible but not as thorough as this - keep it coming

 
Cheers Neil
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Dec 2010 at 9:59pm
Hi Neil, thanks for your comment. An article in the magazine would be a good idea when i finish this project. hopefully, in March... More stuff will be coming soon!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AndrewE Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Dec 2010 at 2:19pm
Good to see one of these being rescued. I did one myself a couple of years ago, Alpine white and a 1984 B registration.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Dec 2010 at 5:41pm
Hi Andrew. I have to say that your book has been very usefull for this restoration and has answered many of my questions for which Haynes or Bentley didn't have an answer for. Many thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Dec 2010 at 10:05pm

Stop that - you will make him blush and his head swell LOL

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Feb 2011 at 9:16pm
Hi everyone, It's time for a long overdue update.
 
I am pleased to announce that the endless welding sessions have finished today with all the panels replaced. Some of them had to be made "in-house" while the others are Original BMW.
 
As seen in previous pictures, the car had serious corrosion areas, mainly the footwells and the rear arches.
 
The previous owner had made a terrible job in patching the footwells... I still can't understant how the hell this was done, such the poor quality of the job. The only solution was to grind everything back, cut and start again.
 

The footwells had to be hand made and cut into shape. unfortunatelly, it takes too long to fabricate a footwell just like the original, so it has to be welded in sections in order to get as close as possible to the original shape. Since this in a area that will be undersealed and hidden by the front wings and splash walls, i'm not too worried.
 
 
The key point is to get a water tight welding in order to avoid problems in the future. I don't have all the pictures of the work done, butI'll show you the finished work at a later stage.
 
Then, it was time to move to the task me and my colleague were dreading: the rear wings!
 
  
The driver side wing and inner wheel arch were in a very poor shape and the only solution was to cut everything out and replace it with new panels.
At this stage, only original BMW panels were used. Don't even bother buying cheap and crappy pattern parts because they won't fit properly, unless you want to repair your car for an MOT or to make it a bit more presentable. For restorations, forget it.
I got the new wing at Cooper Cobham for under £300 with the club member discount and they even delivered it at home, which was very nice.
 
After a long debate of how to chop the rear wing, we decided it was best to cut from the corner of the end of the c-pilar, then slightly down, then alongside the crease line up to half way the boot and then down to the bottom. We could simply cut right through the original weld lines, but the problem is that we don't have brazing weld equipment like the used in the factory. before that, drilled the spotwelds from the B pillar and sie window.
 
   

   
 
   

  
 
After removing the old panel, it was time to drill out the inner wheel arch, grind everything and plugweld back in the new shinny part. in order to help lining the inner arch, BMW has made a few holes that are very handy when it come to make everything fit... no wonder, when the early E30's was made, many panels were still put together by hand, while robots were only used for a few bits of welding. 
 
  
 
Then, I used some Tigerseal to help bonding the lips of both arches and the fuel hole. after a painfull session of lining up all the bits, we plug weld the rear wing in the door and window frame areas and seam weld the areas that have been cut.
 
   
 
And that's it! Rear wing and inner arch replacement: Done!
 
Now, moving over to the other side... more to follow tomorrow!


Edited by Gentil79 - 20 Feb 2011 at 9:18pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Feb 2011 at 9:51pm
Right,
 
time for the second half of this update:
 
The nearside rear wing was the next victim of our impetous fight against corrosion, so we cut out the outer wheel arch to assess more thoroughly the condition of the inner arch.
As we thought, the inner arch was in a terrible state, but still partially salvageable. But after looking at the whole thing, we realized that it would take too long to replicate some of the shapes of the rear arch so i decided to part with an extra £80 and get a new piece from BMW.
 
 
The outer arch wasn't too  bad except for the rear corner. I was going to use a section of a patten part, but then gave up and luckly found this complete wing on Ebay for just £60!!! It just came out of the blue when I was searching for other E30 bits when i stumbled on this one... I just which I had the same luck with the other side, but nevermind.
 


 
So, armed with his trusty DeWalt, my colleague cut off the outer arch and then the inner arch. This time, there was no need to repeat the same process as the other wing because the area to be repaired was much smaller.
Then, the new inner arch was cut and butwelded on to the wheel housing.
 
   
After a sparky grinding session, we cut off a couple of holes and welded new plates onto the wheel housing.
 
Then, it was time to weld the new arch.
 
This was a tricky one as we did cut the old arch at the start of the curve that shapes the lip, so after nearly 3 hours with lots of measurements and lining up the outer arch was finally in place. I also used Tigerseal inside the arch lips so that it could create a tight seal between both inner and outer arch.
 
   
 
And that's it. The car is now rust free, and it has solid panels alround!
 


Now, it is time to start preping the car for painting, but first, i'll take care of the underseal and anti-stone chipping. Then, all the fun begings with the filler and primer... and I'm dreading it already!
 
More updates next week!
 
Any comments are welcome.
 
Regards, Gentil


Edited by Gentil79 - 21 Feb 2011 at 10:27pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Feb 2011 at 10:02am
This has turned into a big job - I should have given you the Hartge rather than sending it to the crusher.....do you want to take anymore on.....seriously well done and please consider emailing this with images and we can get it in the magazine for you - will be interesting to many E30 members - or as we are planning a newsletter it can go in there  and be sent by email - what do you think - keep up the good work
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Feb 2011 at 7:03pm
Hi Neil. many thanks for the compliments. In fact it has been a big job, of which there were a few parts where I just wanted to give up. My problem is that i don't have a permanent garage, otherwise I would love to save endangered E30's. Pitty you Hartge went to the crusher, but hopefully the parts you saved from it would be useful to help save another E30. 
As soon as have more stuff done, i'll definetly send them to you to be published in the club magazine.
 
regards, Gentil
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gentil79 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Mar 2011 at 7:33pm

Hi all,

Mot much to say this time, except to moan about the stream of bad luck I had during the last few weeks!

In January, some b*st*rds stole all the 9 "bottle top" wheels, 4 of which were in pristine condition and ready to used on the E30.

Then, Inland revenue lost their calculator and discount me more than £600 in tax from February's payslip.

Then, while doing some grinding, a tiny piece pf metal gets in to my eye... Yes, I was wearing goggles and it must have been lodged in there!

Result, two days of pain and being forced to go to hospital to get the bloody thing removed with "mini drill"! I still have a scar in the cornea and it has a slight effect in my vision.

Then, two weeks ago I parked in London and with no change for the machine i had to get it from the local cafe... within 10 minutes the traffic warden issued a £60 penalty notice... and that's not all!

While trying to avoid the London COngestion Charged, I evntually entered it and I didn't realized... another £60"

To sum up the whole s**t, while repairing the roof of the E30, which was warped by the cowboy who did the shotblasting, I'me made even more damage!

 

All these thing are letting me down a lot, and I am seriously thinking of leaving this project...

What are your thougts? I could do with some advice

Gentil Gomes da Costa
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