E30 Zone

My goal with this car is to have a fully loaded BMW, just how i think they all should've come out of the factory. [img=http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1518/006pu1.th.jpg] Here are some pics of the front inner wings, I've removed the carpets and welded from the inside, these are the two only patches of welding the car needed, which is pretty good for a 1987 car! When i brought the car the guy said it had been garaged most of its life, I took that with a pinch of salt but it seems to me to be pretty true. It also needs two rear arches and two front wings, quite normal and it needs some patch work on the rear inner arches and there are some holes in the rear wings at the top were the ariels were, these will be sorted. [img=http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/7775/002cm8.th.jpg]Along with a coat of fresh paint all over. This car came with no options so I have set about fitting a few myself, Power steering first then air con, I bought some heated leather seats out of an m3, I also got the rear blind off the same bloke, electric windows were next, I had to buy a loom and fit that seperatly as it seems that I have no wiring for any extras. I fitted an OBC and gave the car a full service, I also replaced the stem seals, cambelt, water pump, plugs, oil and filter, fitted a k&n panel filter and blead all the brakes. [img=http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/3594/009yg7.th.jpg]I just need to replace the gear box oil and diff oil, clutchslave and maste. I'll do the clutch at the same time then new bushes all round, new brakes, I will upgrade the bushes where poss same with the brakes. [img=http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/5099/013xr8.th.jpg]All advise and opinions welcome. [img=http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/9389/017vv2.th.jpg][img=http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/3153/001nc7.th.jpg][img=http://img373.imageshack.us/img373/8158/003pw9.th.jpg]

I think you need a new keyboard, your return and punctuation buttons don't appear to work.

SoRrY wIlL TrY tO sort my punctuation

now its started to play up with the caps lock

Sorry about the grammar, I got my wife to check it and sort it cos I am a mechanic and droped out of school at 15 sorry

Good luck with it mate.
Tech1's are awesome

oakey wrote:Good luck with it mate.
Tech1's are awesome

+1

Thanks alot lads. mech327 yours looks awsome in your sig glad if mine looks like that .

doesn't look that bad for what i could see in the pics mate.. wish mines only needed that much work.. ispent an absolute fortune on mine so far.. its had a drivers rear qtr and rear panel so far just got the rear inner arches to do then it will be preparing it for paint

dano0 wrote:Thanks alot lads. mech327 yours looks awsome in your sig glad if mine looks like that .

Cheers danoO, it took me about 14 months to get it where it is now as it was a bit rough when I first got it, but it'll need a few more months to finish off as a 6 branch manifold and a trip to the bodyshop are scheduled.

Good luck with the resto and feel free to ask any questions on the Zone

Cheers jbh .When i started looking for a e30 I decided on a tech 1. I fell in love with the shape and excluseivity then it was just the colour lachs silver. After 4 months of serching I found this one in Wolverhampton, he said it had been garaged most of its life and that has turned out to be true, so i guess i'm just lucky.

im the same had my heart set on a tech1 for years had a few tech2s but always craved a tech1 bought my first 1 one owner from new but sadly had spent its life on orkney so it was rottin got this shell last year from a local zoner he was breaking it the shell turned out to be better than mine so im now just getting this one done but using all my drive train

Thanks again m tech327. Sure i will be tearing your ear off soon, good luck with the 6 branch. That is on my list to, aswell as a 327 lump. Will you be useing a hot tunning 1 or something better?

jbh dont think i would of gone to all that work but fair play hope it all goes well if i can help give me a shout .

theres a few ppl said the same to me and at times i have thought id bitten off more than i can chew but then i see pics of complete ones and the love for them starts over again and i keep going. lately ive been to busy to get near my own car and at times i think is it worth it and then i see other ppl doing work on theres and i think hell yea.. ive still to get the inner arches welded as i say once there done it will be getting it ready for painting. i cant weld and sadly the boy that done the rear qtr and rear panel died a few weeks back with a brain tumour. so im looking for someone local to do my inner arches ill be buying new genuine panels so it will cut the work down a fair bit i just need to find some one that can weld

I would find the oldest bloke you can, cos they can do just about anything with a welder, I can weld but only to MOT standard, my boss can weld a big hole and make it look standard "old blood for an old car " Good luck bud!

my old man can do magic with a welder or a gas and oxy set up but he works 7 days a week and all the hours god sends him as a plant mechanic so i can never get him with time and when he has got a day off the last thing hes wanting to be doing is lying under a car welding

sorry to hear that bud. good luck with the project. Have you got any pics??

dano0 wrote:I would find the oldest bloke you can, cos they can do just about anything with a welder, I can weld but only to MOT standard, my boss can weld a big hole and make it look standard "old blood for an old car " Good luck bud!

dont assume that just because theyre old theyre good. sh1te young tradesmen turn into sh1te old tradesmen.

To the OP,£200 spent on a Hottuning manifold is the best improvment available for the money.Every time you turn the key you will smile.

Looks like i need to save up a few more pennys .Engine tuning will be the last step. Will get it looking good first then handeling, last but not least more power!!!!!

your joking on that floorpan right?!

Someone looks like they've been there already and now it's festering and you've sealed it all in

Wow at the floor pan 'repair'

You could at least 'reinforce' your 'repairs' with a few wipes of hairy mary !

All the welding has been done inside the car. I then sealed it in side After rust proofing. The pictures show clean metal after rust proofing red oxide paint then sealed. this in my mind is a solid repair I priced up panels and they were just to exspencive as i want to use genuine panels else were .I would like to think my repair will stand the test of time.

dano0 wrote:All the welding has been done inside the car. I then sealed it in side After rust proofing. The pictures show clean metal after rust proofing red oxide paint then sealed. this in my mind is a solid repair I priced up panels and they were just to exspencive as i want to use genuine panels else were .I would like to think my repair will stand the test of time.

Depends what your using to measure time.......

Egg timer?

I still dont see the problem with my repair! The product's i've used are all top quality. If i've killed the rust and sealed the area inside and out how will anymore rust get in there ?

It'll last a while, but it looks like to me that you didn't get aggressive enough with the cutting out of the rust. You need to remove every trace of rust and pitted metal, even if you end up with a hole that you could crawl through!
Doesn't take much more effort to weld in a plate 300mm across as it does to weld in a 100mm one.

Brianmoooore wrote:It'll last a while, but it looks like to me that you didn't get aggressive enough with the cutting out of the rust. You need to remove every trace of rust and pitted metal, even if you end up with a hole that you could crawl through!
Doesn't take much more effort to weld in a plate 300mm across as it does to weld in a 100mm one.

2nd that comment. If i was you, while you have it in bits, ide grind it all back down and redo it. No point doing a job twice.

so cut off the bit under were i have welded jacking point ect

thats exactly whats holding me back as i said i cant weld and i want it done right ive cut back all of the rot and want it right onto good metal im already in around 2k on this so i want it done right at the moment my cars stripped right back ( ill get pics up within the next few days ) and there probarly is a lot of ppl on here would ask if im mental for taking on what ive took on sometimes i think im slightly deranged my self for taking it on but its what i want to do my car at the moment is a rolling shell ill be stripping the fuel tak filler pipe and everything out thats in the inner rear arches over the next week or 2 so i can get right into it with a grinder and cut the crap right out so i know when its getting welded its going right into good metal. its either that or when the other halfs cabby sells i go out and buy a mint tech1

I thought i had done it right welded from the in side on good clean metal about 2" out side the rot

dano0 wrote:I thought i had done it right welded from the in side on good clean metal about 2" out side the rot

Have a read through this tread from pages 20 onwards. It will give you an idea of the standard of repair needed to do it properly.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... &start=475

As said, its not the sort of thing you want to be doing twice.