Restoration advice pls

[dr007]

Hi

This is an odd question but I have an E30 Alpina that I want to restore but dont have the £ to do a full resto all at once. So I want to do one big ticket item each year over a period of years with full respray one year, engine, electrics, suspension/brakes, etc.

None of the work is critical - but do you have any advice as to what order I should do the restoration in??

[Speedtouch]

I would get the body solid to begin with, as that's the most critical item, then major mechanics - engine, suspension, brakes, etc., so that the car is at least useable/sellable, then worry about the cosmetics.

[Topblag]

I would leave the paint job until the car is all done. I bought a resto project this year and the paint has been damaged with years in garages and workshops.

One thing I would say is to identify all the replacement parts you need and buy them first, parts prices and specifically Alpina parts are only going one way.

I'd tackle in the following order:

1) Rust and underseal/waxoyl
2) Engine
3) Electrics
4) Suspension/Brakes
5) Interior
6) Paint.

[Grrrmachine]

I'd agree with Topblag, but I'd do #4 before #2.

[Topblag]

I'm assuming it won't be moving, just getting an engine plumbed in.

Fair point though.

[spanky_doo]

I would leave the paint job until the car is all done. I bought a resto project this year and the paint has been damaged with years in garages and workshops.

One thing I would say is to identify all the replacement parts you need and buy them first, parts prices and specifically Alpina parts are only going one way.

I'd tackle in the following order:

1) Rust and underseal/waxoyl
2) Engine
3) Electrics
4) Suspension/Brakes
5) Interior
6) Paint.

thanks. That list has just inspired me to start mine lol. Gonna put that on my garage wall and use it as a check lost

[polsta]

id say it all depends how good/extent of it , will it be on or off road during the time ? what sort of work space, if you have a garage/workshop its kept in, fully stripped to shell, or you dont,and its to be carried out bit by bit with it taxed outside your house and driven daily or what ?

or is it totaly layed up, able to strip it to pieces, remove all the engine, interior, every part, then go from there, is the engine,suspension etc all very bad/ropey from years sat in a field, or all faily ok and been a car thats been on the road, etc etc

[polsta]

to just break it down further, instead of saying "body" - which depending on state of it , could be a long expensive process, particularly as your talking about in stages over time, 1st identify what panels are needed, then break it down like this, would all really depend on the above if your fully stripping it laying it up for 2 years, or not

in no particular order..

rear end - rear panel, boot/all inside the boot, boot lid, rear arches

front end- front panel, bonnet, front wings,inner arches

middle- floor, floor pans,bulkhead, sills , with dash and interior fully removed

underside

engine bay, if thats seperate to the front end, or if you have time and means to remove the whole engine etc before your resto starts

roof/sunroof, if its going as far as removing head lining and everything like that

[Grrrmachine]

What Polsta says about bodywork is true. When I started my resto it just looked like faded paint and a little bubble around the windscreen. But it took a year and 46 pieces of metal in 19 different locations to get rid of all the body rust; new paint was only a third of that.

Even the suspension and brakes will break down into two stages, and will look something like:

REAR:
1) strip rear shocks and springs
2) remove rear calipers
3) remove handbrake cables
4) unbolt rear ARB
5) unbolt rear trailing arms
6) remove diff
7) remove rear beam
8 ) replace rear brake lines
9) replace beam bushes
10) refit rear beam
11) replace diff carrier bush
12) refit diff
13) replace trailing arm bushes
14) refit shocks, top mounts and springs
15) refit trailing arms
16) replace rear disc splash guards
17) rebuild calipers
18 ) refit calipers
19) replace handbrake cables
20) bleed brake system

Any and all of those points can cause issues through corroded bolts, rounded nuts, stubborn bushes, lost or broken tools, BMW delivering the wrong parts, rain stopping play, girlfriend moaning etc etc. And if you walk away for an hour you loose track of where you were, then you forget to fit something and have to undo and redo loads of work. For example, I've forgotten to refit the rear ARB. With the shocks now in place, that's now a royal PITA to do. And we've only done the rear end, not the front.

TIP: A white bonnet and some dry markers make an excellent garage whiteboard.

[polsta]

how much would you say thats costs to do gr ? and time scale ?

previous owner, sorted all the suspension and overhauled and refurbed a lot under there you can see a lot of new parts, being from williams f1 team ,(always makes me chuckle to say williams, its like yeah yeah) but gaszman will vouch as he came with me !!! also ive noticed in the history hes had some parts delivered to him at work, williams f1

anyway, shame he ruined it with jamex low springs, im hoping just some eibach is going to be all i need to do, but think i want to fully investigate everything

[Grrrmachine]

I have no idea on price since I did all the labour myself, and I went slowly because I'm no pro mechanic. Took me three days to do the beam and trailing arm bushes because I couldn't work out how to get them out; a professional might have some trick that I don't know (daimlerman = fire). I had to pop out multiple times for more threaded bar to try and wind them out.

I used OEM manufacturer parts which cost 200 quid for suspension and 200 for brakes, but you could easily triple that with Eibach springs, braided hoses, upgraded pads and whatnot. So with labour, it might be 1000 pounds just to redo the back axle to an Alpina standard.

[polsta]

crikey, i dont think il have to go that far,theres a list somewhere in my thread about what he did, and car was mechanicly spot on, which is why i went with it and the resto of the body, once its back and ive got it up with wheels off and the new springs, il see then, a while to go yet ! but thanks for the info, how did you find it as a non mechanic ? ive never dabbled or touched anything like that, although spose it would be good to learn..

[dr007]

Thanks for your comments so far...

Just to add some more clarity - I forgot the mention this before:

- I think the car is in good shape - I use it every weekend - the objective for me is to get it in really good condition and as original as possible - not councours though
- I would like to use the car in the periods in between the work being done
- I cannot do any of this work myself, I will have to pay someone to do it

I hope that helps you provide me with some guidance

[polsta]

then, it may be as above in them sort of stages, or broken down more, but to do a proper job there will be times it has to be off the road for a while- is if taking out the dash and interior

trouble youl get it- when you sort an area out...is then having it in primer/looking odd, especialy if driving round for a long time whilst it all done over a couple of years

i contemplated similar.....but getting it painted, then some point doing the next part, getting that painted, but thats no way to go and will not give as good an end product at all

best thing really in your case- would maybe to get it to a zone meet or expirienced zoner whos near, for a good look and inspection of it all

but id say- start with the floor ! takle it off the road - to get interior and dash stripped out, side skirts off... and see if and what welding is needed , get from bulkhead to rear bench all totaly sorted ,put back together... at least with that, youl know if the car is totaly f***ked/rotten in areas you cant see , or not...and also can get away with no proper paint work really needed as such

then move on to front or rear, then the other

[polsta]

tbh- youd do better to just either save up whilst driving it around for the next year, getting suspension etc done maybe here n there

then just biting the bullet getting it all done in 1 go !

[Grrrmachine]

If you're not going to do any of the work yourself, don't mess about doing stages. Just make a comprehensive list, find a reliable mechanic, and give him a reasonable time frame, even if it's months. If you do it in fits and starts, you're making more work for your mechanic and more pain for your wallet as he disassembles and reassembles stuff just so that you can drive the car for a few weeks. You'll also be driving an unfinished car that you can't trust and won't enjoy.

My car was off the road for 18 months, and it was cheaper just to smoke around in an old Nissan in the meantime, rather than kid myself I could do the thing as a rolling restoration. As soon as you find rust, you'll want the car stripped to remove it all, or you might as well not bother doing any of it.

[dr007]

Thanks guys. I will check a few places to see how much a full resto will cost

[e30topless]

the sky is the limit as far as budget/time frame is concerned, a rolling resto never really works it's always half arsed..

many think a cheap re-"spray" and some bling rimzz is a full resto

1. strip the shell of everything
2. repair all rot and paint on the shell/panels
3. replace everything that is worn, rotten or broken with new/reconditioned parts

(at this point you won't want to re-fit crappy looking parts back on )

spend the next 2-3 years putting it back together in your spare time,
sadly because your not mechanically minded and you will be paying labour on everything and your costs will soon spiral out of control

check out a few of the zones resto's that are done RIGHT... lots have gone way over the 10k figure and still haven't finished

[daimlerman]

the sky is the limit as far as budget/time frame is concerned, a rolling resto never really works it's always half arsed..

many think a cheap re-"spray" and some bling rimzz is a full resto

1. strip the shell of everything
2. repair all rot and paint on the shell/panels
3. replace everything that is worn, rotten or broken with new/reconditioned parts

(at this point you won't want to re-fit crappy looking parts back on )

spend the next 2-3 years putting it back together in your spare time,
sadly because your not mechanically minded and you will be paying labour on everything and your costs will soon spiral out of control

check out a few of the zones resto's that are done RIGHT... lots have gone way over the 10k figure and still haven't finished

This is absolutely correct,what the OP needs to do is to decide just what he/she wants from his/her E30.
Is it to be a garage queen that goes to shows on fine dry days?
Is it to be a 'Sunday morning' car for a blast around the local back roads?
Is it to be a car for everyday use,regardless of weather,roadsalt etc?

I have re-built two E30's for my own use,both are modified from the original spec,niether are taken to car shows,one is taxed for the summer,the other is in daily use.The only work that was not done with my own hands was the outer bodywork/paintwork on one car,the other still carries original paint and 24 years of battlescars.