E30 Zone

does anyone have any pics of a chrome finish e30? am thinking of putting wheel arches and side strip tri in chrome as i have a bit of rot in oth front arches andi dont know will i get anyon to blend the paintwork so its unoticeable-... chrome could be a good solution - as long as done properly and that it doesn't look awful.
thanks
liam

Just replace the whole front wing, its easy peasy

Chrome arches are council as pacerpete would say...

yeah chrome arches says in big bold letters my car is rusting.
no , really dont do it.
new wings m8 its the only way.

thats one funny pig

shame about the arches though you are right the chrome is dodge even for my light blue colour - there is so little paintwork affected though- maybe if i find a good sprayer- who knows

if there's not much rust, ie just a little surface bubbles then repair. if you tap it with a screw driver and it goes through leaving a hole, then replace the wing. remember the weather is gonna start getting wet and damp so do it sooner rather than later as it will only get worse.

liam012 wrote:thats one funny pig

shame about the arches though you are right the chrome is dodge even for my light blue colour - there is so little paintwork affected though- maybe if i find a good sprayer- who knows

OK just my 10cents worth and got my flameproof pants on.

I've got chrome arches on my cirrus blue E30. Looks good to me - it's chrome bumpers and chrome trim all round. I'll post some pictures soon. It's all a matter of taste IMHO. I'll stand up and say I like the 70's and 80's old skool krome look and don't like the idea that we should all be modernising our cars to ape modern cars. I remember that chrome finish was dropped because manufacturers found it cheaper to paint stuff black or make it out of plastic (also lighter of course ). As far as I recall the F**d E*c**t was the first to make a feature out of what was essentially a cheaper finish.

I do have a very small bit of rust around one wheel arch- just a blemish really but I didn't like looking at it because the rest of the car was mint and since I'd had chrome arches on a MB280SE thought I'd give it a try.

Trouble is E30 rear arches rust from the inside out and the only lasting cure is replacement. Spending hundreds on a car worth Ԛ£1200 max for a small rust spot is bananas. OK you can cover it up but it'll only last a while no matter how well you do it.

Go on then weigh in, I'm prepared

Well said mate, "to each their own" as i say, put some pics up and let us see this chrome beast of yours.
cheers

Hey mate,

If its the front arches, I would agree the wings are your easiest option as they do just bolt on bolt off. If its rears, I have just completely rebuilt the arches on mine using some mesh and filler and then sprayed it with tw*t cans from halfords and it looks fab, if i had made less of a distink line to the edge of the area i sprayed one one side you almost cant tell at all that I have done anything to it. Dont let it worry you, as its going to be an easy job to sort. I did consider chrome arches and I do like chrome but I have seen them on a 5 and 7 series and I am persoally not a fan but as said before, its a matter of personal taste.

Jon

thanks for the advice
well inerested in that pic though out of interest as i havent seen a fully chromed e30 yet.

Also if there is nothing wrong with your rear arches, drilling them/covering them up with chrome things may actually create problems

I also like chrome, but i just think chrome arches go a bit far. On some mercs they look good, but i don't think it work's on an e30.
But thats my view

heres a pic i found of my dad's 87 merc with chrome archs. i love that car, i learnt to drive in her.



i know its not a BMW with chrome, but i just thought i would put it up for interest...

Gwynleym10 wrote:Also if there is nothing wrong with your rear arches, drilling them/covering them up with chrome things may actually create problems

I put a liberal coating of waxoyl underneath and clipped them on them cos I didn't want to drill holes in the old lady.

Here you go Liam. So what do you all think? Oh and watch out cos they are large images. Cheers

Now that doesn't look bad at all imho. Although it helps that the car appears to be totally original.

However, if it was lowered with big wheels etc etc it'd look awful

I agree with Tusker about keeping the chrome cars chrome,thats why i am restoring one. However chrome wheel arches ,in my opinion are f**king awful ,however that e30 doesn't look to bad.Each to their own i suppose .
regards
john

Why don't you colour code the chrome arches? Sure I saw an E30 in Total BMW that had done that. It'd look a bit like the Mtec arch lips that you get on the E28 M5.