E30 Zone

Does anyone know if you can get replacement scuttle panels?

Took a stab at the scuttle panel the other day and found this!



This is what filled the gap:



And this is what I've done to get the rust out...



Now, this hole is a right pain in the arse due to the complex curves, and the brazed panels mean you can't weld to all of the egdes.

A new scuttle would make this a whole lot easier!

Cut it out of another car

You can still buy one from BMW.

bmw do it and stamp ur numbers on, give them a ring ding

Noticed your in Brighton,

There is a mint e30 at Bridges scrap yard (crawley area) you could butcher.

Good point, I'll check that out... How long has it been there for? Not sure how long their cars last?

Thanks for the replies by the way, I'll give the muppets at BMW a try. Last time they didn't know what an E30 was until I showed them the one I had sitting outside...

well cut out and prepared though

minicooper172 wrote:Good point, I'll check that out... How long has it been there for? Not sure how long their cars last?

Thanks for the replies by the way, I'll give the muppets at BMW a try. Last time they didn't know what an E30 was until I showed them the one I had sitting outside...

2 weeks its a touring in the yard to the left. green in colour. I've just cut the same section out of a 2door in the bottom yard. Took 45 mins hacksaw and chissel/hammer only tools required.

e30325iauto wrote: 2 weeks its a touring in the yard to the left. green in colour. I've just cut the same section out of a 2door in the bottom yard. Took 45 mins hacksaw and chissel/hammer only tools required.

Is it dark green(malahite). Do you now if the tailgate is nice?

bmw do one with your chassis number stamped in it, dont think you can buy them blank anymore

Half a scuttle will do the job, I only want the bit that's missing...

Have to wait tomorrow until I can find out how much one is going to cost.

mine cost about £40 from stealer in edinburgh, took around 10 days to get stamped etc

that's a fair mess..

£31 for the last scuttle I saw leave BMW

The stuff in your hand, in your second pic, is a lump of hardened sealant, and is what caused the problem.
It's applied at the factory to seal the scuttle box from the screen pillars, etc., onto unpainted metal. After 15 - 20 years the sealant hardens and shrinks, pulling away and leaving a very small gap from the underside of the scuttle. Water is drawn into this gap by capillary action, and the metal soon rusts through.
On the plus side, the rust is unlikely to extend more than a few millimetres from the hole, and can usualy be repaired by a carefully shaped and welded plate, although yours seems to have had an unusually large blob of sealant.

Brianmoooore wrote:The stuff in your hand, in your second pic, is a lump of hardened sealant, and is what caused the problem.
It's applied at the factory to seal the scuttle box from the screen pillars, etc., onto unpainted metal. After 15 - 20 years the sealant hardens and shrinks, pulling away and leaving a very small gap from the underside of the scuttle. Water is drawn into this gap by capillary action, and the metal soon rusts through.
On the plus side, the rust is unlikely to extend more than a few millimetres from the hole, and can usualy be repaired by a carefully shaped and welded plate, although yours seems to have had an unusually large blob of sealant.

What the OP appears to be holsing is an averagely sized (for an e30) lump of p40, with some aluminium mesh to aid the shaping of said p40

Bob_S wrote:What the OP appears to be holsing is an averagely sized (for an e30) lump of p40, with some aluminium mesh to aid the shaping of said p40

On closer inspection of the pic; you're right!
If it was the first time the hole appeared though, it would have been sealant!

Brianmoooore wrote:

Bob_S wrote:What the OP appears to be holsing is an averagely sized (for an e30) lump of p40, with some aluminium mesh to aid the shaping of said p40

On closer inspection of the pic; you're right!
If it was the first time the hole appeared though, it would have been sealant!

Your right though. It would have been sealant.