E30 Zone

well its time to get the project of finishing my e30 cabriolet its been sitting outside which isnt good and needs a total respray
2 things can you guys recommend a good respayer i want a mirror finsh
and 2 i have an problem in that i cant get the bonnet open i pull the lever inside but it doesnt clcik open - is there another way?

get someone to pull the front of the bonnet up and towards the front while you are pulling the handle .

Not exactly sure how to do it but I'm sure I read a thread which mentioned a catch that you can use to release the bonnet behind the grille on the right beside the lights?

Hopefully someone else will chip in and give the full details.
Cheers.

it is probably releasing but not popping open , i've had this a few times with breakers i've bought that have been sat around for a couple of years .

you can undo the passenger side headlight grill by removing the two screws then giving it a good tug to release it from the two clips that hold it at the top, you do risk breaking a fixing point or two on the grill . with the grill off you can see where the cable goes into the catch on the slam panel . i have removed an open bonnet latch this way and the bonnet remained closed until we forced it forwards and upwards , turns ot someone had waxoiled the lifting bar and it had dried out and welded everything shut lol

Thanks for that guys, will get on it in the morning.

No need to sacrifice a grille. Look through the n/s grille and insert a long skinny flatblade into the hole* between the two 10mm bolts that secure the catch. Twist said screwdriver and , voila, the bonnet is open



* Undoubtedly a legion of quattroporte owners will be along to diss me for helping peeps chaw their desirable classics. Fear not, the preferred method of taking a quattroporte is a chain through the front doors and over the roof, opening the bonnet is completely unnecessary