[scream]Fukcing fuming[scream]

[Jesus325iTouring]

I hear what your saying Ian and others that suggested it but i am just not the type to bodge it.
Ok a repair to a good standard i could accept but bodging with fibreglass etc is just not on.

If you know how to use fibre glass properly,it doesn't have to be a bodge up.

[320iAN]

last resort?? bodge it and sell it on, only thing with that is it's plastered on the most used E30 owner's forum in the UK... if it were me and the choice was any the above, i could live without having a working sunroof, not to mention the dry carpet's and the fact that a shed load of work has went in to the car, might be cheaper looking for a A/C unit and fitting that, that way you won't need the sunroof working

[jamie325isport]

Eko if money is tight at the moment the only real option you have is to treat and repair it the best you can for now put it all together so it looks good and sit on it.

Second hand roof is an option but im fairly sure its going to have to be a staggered weld is that right Matt? The inside and outside pillars not welded in the same place to avoid snapping etc i think!? If the roof wasnt available anymore then yes has to be done, seen it may times on MK1 and 2 escorts but if your going to pay out to get the welding and paint done for the sake of £300 get a new one rather than any possible issues.

It will be alright E30s are always on going projects. If you dont have rust issues it will be mechanical ones some people are fortunate enough to have neither but they have paid the premium in the first place.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Yeah it's a great car, but for the money being banded around for the work and the time, which is as important, a reshell makes the most sense.

Pick up some old fogeys 316i then rape the sit out of it. Sell a few morsels to help with turnover and improve cash flow.

As the rust is not terminal, put the lining back in. If you can't see it, it's not there. This doesn't even have to happen in the next 6 months. Just have a plan in place that feels right and puts your mind at ease. You've come too far to give up on this project, brother!!

When the time is right and you pick up a shell for good money, then put the wheels in motion. Upside to this whole disaster is you don't need to throw money at the arches now. That's what the rust in the roof is telling you!!!!

Look at it in terms or money saved, rather than a car lost. At the end of the day, it's just a lump of tin. There's plenty more out there.

Play budhist and travel down the path of reincarnation!!!

[OBs]

Come and lie on my couch Tony....

Yeah it's a great car, but for the money being banded around for the work and the time, which is as important, a reshell makes the most sense.

Pick up some old fogeys 316i then rape the sit out of it. Sell a few morsels to help with turnover and improve cash flow.

As the rust is not terminal, put the lining back in. If you can't see it, it's not there. This doesn't even have to happen in the next 6 months. Just have a plan in place that feels right and puts your mind at ease. You've come too far to give up on this project, brother!!

When the time is right and you pick up a shell for good money, then put the wheels in motion. Upside to this whole disaster is you don't need to throw money at the arches now. That's what the rust in the roof is telling you!!!!

Look at it in terms or money saved, rather than a car lost. At the end of the day, it's just a lump of tin. There's plenty more out there.

Play budhist and travel down the path of reincarnation!!!

[randomdave325]

what are you wingin about you big girl!! thats not bad at all! with it stripped off and some careful welding that ain't a problem really. after chattin to u on the phone i was expecting a lot worse.
you used to be into escorts mate. you've probably seen a lot worse shortly before u scrapped them.
come to work tomorrow if you're not busy n we'll sort it out.

[jamie325isport]

At the end of the day, it's just a lump of tin. There's plenty more out there.

Are there? Series 1 two door shells are really rare round my way now and im assuming the rest of the UK?. Eko's seems to be good everywhere other than the sunroof. By all means if a "minter" turns up have it but im not sure it will. If you reshell it will it lose the sport on the log book?

[OBs]

No 'Text speak please Dave'

[320iAN]

ive a 320i 2 door shell that i'm breaking .. very little rust on the roof .. ive had a look just the rear arch on the passenger side is pretty far gone, that's why i'm breaking it and ive bought a face lift 325 for playing with

even after reading through the post's, eko i bet it's still quite hard for you to decide what to do?

[OBs]

With the amount of time and effort put in to the project its a crying shame to get it almost to and over the last hurdle only to find this... A lesson to us all.

Without a doubt it was really clean and I am so shocked to see this hidden nastiness.

[bss325i]

Have already sent this as a pm to eko but this is how this problem can be sorted.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... &start=150

[Si316]

Would it be possibe to take out this tray and make one out of fibreglass and then bond it to the roof?

[eko]

Right took on board what everyone has said and basically im thinking this -

The car is basically a pre facelift 320iSE.Take away all the goodies ive added and then think of its value.The MOT runs out today,the inner/outer rear arch is rusty,sunroof rotten,drivers wing at the bottom is fooked,stone chipped front panels,chips along the edge of the boot,not to mention the endless amount of small dents/marks/knocks
After that id value it at about £100 scrap value and thats being generous cause its got OBC and dechrome etc!

I have just been searching Ebay and have found the perfect donor car for a reshell.Looks and sounds immaculate from the description.Not sure it will stay in my budget though and its 200 miles away so viewing before ending is out the question!
I am keeping an eye on it though and if the price seems fair and affordable towards the end then i might just take a chance on a bid.
It is a facelift though so will lose a bit of character(IMO) but with all the stuff from my car inc the M50/leather/suspension etc it could still be a very nice replacement!

Dave,Fathers Day tomorrow so its out the question mate,family meal blah blah.Think ill just hold off and wait and see what happens to the one above,ill PM you the link,give me your opinion

Andy,thanks mate,knew i could count on you

Everyone else,thanks for the advice

[munky30]

Goodbye chrome wrongness

Good to hear you're leaning towards 'keeping' it. If reshelling can be counted as keeping.

If you want a hand with anything give me a shout... I would love to help you swap engines over as I'd love to see the workings of an m50 conversion. I make a mean cup of tea and can pass you spanners like there's no tomorrow.

[eko]

Goodbye chrome wrongness

Good to hear you're leaning towards 'keeping' it. If reshelling can be counted as keeping.

If you want a hand with anything give me a shout... I would love to help you swap engines over as I'd love to see the workings of an m50 conversion. I make a mean cup of tea and can pass you spanners like there's no tomorrow.

Munky with your recent experiences you should be doing it for me
Thanks for the offer though mate,means a lot!
Still not 100% going to happen yet,exploring all avenues right now

[munky30]

I'll do it for you... but I offer no guarantees

I think the option of hiding it away from sight with a nice new shiny (not so shiny) black headliner and trying not to think about it while you save up for whatever you decide to do, is the best option tbh mate.

Its what I'd do anyway... and I know its not your style as you were building a minter... but in the short term and financially, it makes sense.

[eko]

Well not going to bother fitting the Black rooflining in it now thats for sure!
Right now its sat in my drive with half the interior in our bedroom,she is not impressed
Ill just leave it now till i know for definate what im doing,doubt very much this will see the road again though!
Hopefully the one on Ebay would pay off,it has good potential but ill keep my eyes open to see if any others spring up preferably less than 250 miles from me but not very optimistic in the time ive got

[munky30]

Half my interior is sat in our hallway at the mo... for some reason the wife isnt too happy with this situation.

Ironically, the entire interior from the breaker is sat in the back of my touring too.

Whatever you do mate I'm sure it will work out ok in the end.

Just stick it all into bens car while he's away... I have a few cans of red and silver in the cupboard... easy swap, he'll never notice

[eko]

Half my interior is sat in our hallway at the mo... for some reason the wife isnt too happy with this situation.

Ironically, the entire interior from the breaker is sat in the back of my touring too.

Whatever you do mate I'm sure it will work out ok in the end.

Just stick it all into bens car while he's away... I have a few cans of red and silver in the cupboard... easy swap, he'll never notice

[DanThe]

Just seal the f**ker up Tony, then send it up to Mat to have a proper roof put in when you can afford it.

2 birds, 1 stone

I would take all that nasty tray out and seal it from underneath, would be hard to tell from outside then.

[320Touring]

tony, gutting pics mate!

but, and its a big but...

I believe there to be a GRP roof panel thread right here on this very forum...

buy it, put it in, paint it matt black cleverly, and voila an e30 CSL

[eko]

buy it, put it in, paint it matt black cleverly, and voila an e30 CSL

Liking it Niel,old vs new!

Dan,i havent got the enthusiasm(SP) to sort the arch out for MOT knowing that the roof is like that.Plus id have to fit the roof lining back in and build the trim back up knowing its fate when a replacement turns up.Then theres the £50 MOT fee,£100 Tax,trying to think logical here can you tell
Reshelling would be a whole new episode though,make a few changes from this one along the way,maybe a bit more sleeper style as my original aim with this was to be standard looking,how soon that changed eh

[shaggy]

I'm glad to hear the E36 idea has been dropped Mate
Gutted bout the rust though, I wouldn't have liked to have been around when you found it!!
I see where you're coming from with the finances but Its all about the LURVE
Reshell seems like the best plan judging by speed Dave did his and its not like you'll struggle for help
get both of you on it and a couple of us passing spanners and making tea be done in no time

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Goodbye chrome wrongness

Good to hear you're leaning towards 'keeping' it. If reshelling can be counted as keeping.

If you want a hand with anything give me a shout... I would love to help you swap engines over as I'd love to see the workings of an m50 conversion. I make a mean cup of tea and can pass you spanners like there's no tomorrow.

Munky with your recent experiences you should be doing it for me
Thanks for the offer though mate,means a lot!
Still not 100% going to happen yet,exploring all avenues right now

Actually, this is something I'd love to see too, happy to be part of the spanner relay!!

[OBs]

Tony, Did you look at that Chromie I phoned you about? Opposite the Farmer...?

Also the Silver one down where Chris ended the life of his Essy (That black one by A.T.S would be better) Ive got a great garage

And a 'Non sunroof' roof on the breaker (That isnt broken much)

Ill drop you to get the car you want aswell if need be

Oh... Im desprate for friends, does it show?!

OBs

Test: Wot 2 do neway?

[eko]

Forgot about that chromie,ill check it out today

Did consider the Silver one but going by the last time i chatted to the guy he will still want stupid money for it!

Black one has got tooooo many doors for my liking

Fitting another roof skin/full respray is not an option

May take you up on the offer of a lift,long way though??

Ill be your friend

[OBs]

PM's sent

I know you have probably seen them

[eko]

PM's sent

I know you have probably seen them

Links dont work mate

[Speedtouch]

How about lopping the roof off it and doing a DIY cab conversion...

[tailoutcharlie]

e30 csl

see any cars/shells this side of the tamar ill be happy to have a look for you, surprising amount of e30s down hereabouts.

[320Touring]

Tony,

I've started work on my £300 320i touring. its mid spec, dirty, oily and had rotten front wings.

but it alsow took me all round eastern europe in 13 days without a hitch (apart from using a sock as a topmount...)

Its worth eff all, and its not desirable to anyone but me... but its MY car!

And its getting done. end of.

dont give up on that car dude- as many folk have said, the inner roof skin is not a huge deal regarding replacement. another week of effort and time and you'd have a solid car you knew inside and out.

If you cant afford the paint at the moment, then do it over matt black a la munky- £25 for a uniform coat of paint aint expensive.

then stick £20 by a week to save for the paintjob.

better the devil you know

[Shinobi1]

God i can relate to your pain there mate , my lovely bright shiney red se
that owned for 9 years and spent a fortune on over that time died of terminal rust from the outside you would have said what great condition car ,apart from grotty lower arches it looked stunning ,but f##k me can they hide the rust !! i had a mark on roof that turned out to be rust there and on starting to strip the car to get it all done i found inner and outer arches ,ends of the sill ,frt wing .scuttle ,rear s/abs turret ,batterytray etc etc .anyway what im getting at is if you decied to repair it gut it first and check everywhere, for every bit you can see there is often a lot you cant. im sure he wont mind me saying but ian haines had a world of pain and expense sorting the roof on his car. it is a truly
sickening feeling when you find it . all the best with whichever way you decide to go.

cheers paul.

[munky30]

Tony,

I've started work on my £300 320i touring. its mid spec, dirty, oily and had rotten front wings.

but it alsow took me all round eastern europe in 13 days without a hitch (apart from using a sock as a topmount...)

Its worth eff all, and its not desirable to anyone but me... but its MY car!

And its getting done. end of.

dont give up on that car dude- as many folk have said, the inner roof skin is not a huge deal regarding replacement. another week of effort and time and you'd have a solid car you knew inside and out.

If you cant afford the paint at the moment, then do it over matt black a la munky- £25 for a uniform coat of paint aint expensive.

then stick £20 by a week to save for the paintjob.

better the devil you know

well said.

[320Touring]

Tony,

I've started work on my £300 320i touring. its mid spec, dirty, oily and had rotten front wings.

but it alsow took me all round eastern europe in 13 days without a hitch (apart from using a sock as a topmount...)

Its worth eff all, and its not desirable to anyone but me... but its MY car!

And its getting done. end of.

dont give up on that car dude- as many folk have said, the inner roof skin is not a huge deal regarding replacement. another week of effort and time and you'd have a solid car you knew inside and out.

If you cant afford the paint at the moment, then do it over matt black a la munky- £25 for a uniform coat of paint aint expensive.

then stick £20 by a week to save for the paintjob.

better the devil you know

well said.

thank you!

[tommype30cab]

dude you have to repair it... think about how it will feel if you let your pride and joy be broken and crushed for the sake af a few hundred quid, if necessary get down the scrapy and cut the roof off an old crappy e30. then you can look and see if it is possible and get a bit of practice if needs be. i doubt very much by the way that there are too many zoners who stand to make a profit on thier cars... i dont . best of luck making your decision.