E30 Zone

hi all,

thought i'd post some pics to canvas opinion on whether i'm totally wasting my time with this car. i know it's always best to get a good shell, but this is my first e30 and i wasn't planning on getting bitten by the e30 bug. i paid £290 for it (+ £150 for the interior)...its not previously been looked after, but the many small jobs that are needed are giving me a good introduction to amateur diy mechanics!

can't afford a new e30 right now, so was just wanting to see what people thought about the bodywork jobs that need doing (going to try and do as much as poss myself). are they too serious? front drivers arch and passenger side bulkhead are particularly worrying i reckon. also inside of boot (rear panel to rear wing joints) are pretty rotten. with a small amount of work the exterior could prob look quite nice, but it's the interior rust that's worrying. sorry if this is too many pics...but there's a lot of rust! (clik to enlarge pics)


Forward structure (near air intake box)
Bulkhead
Carrier
Drivers front arch from inside bay
Battery shelf




Inside passenger rear arch

Drivers rear arch
Inside drivers rear arch




'90 316i

any (serious!) opinions really appreciated.

thanks.

sorry mate but it looks a bit too rough.the trouble with rust is the bit you see is the tip of the iceberg usually.best thing to do is have a good poke and scrape to see the full extent.then you can make a decision,the structural bits are most important so check carefully.good luck

But... as you say you can't afford another car right now, so why not live with it until either you can afford a better shell or the car gives up the ghost, if its mechanically sound and the interior is tidy and you buy new toys for it, theres no reason why you can't put the best bits of both cars on one when you buy a better car for its shell!

As Dave says rust is a terrible thing especiall that much you will be chopping out bad welding in new and spraying for weeks to get that sound again. Doesn't mean you can't drive it into the ground tho.

you no what mate i had the same problems with rust, but it all comes down to how much you love it and decide on that!

look and my threads and bemmer_twins

you'll see what happend. we kept ours

As above really, wait for a car with a better shell to come along and swap the best bits over (wheels, seats etc). it looks likes you would be fighting a losing battle with the rust on that one. Whats condition is the engine in?

im prety well acuainted with rust (old mini see) and thats all fairly teriminal.

buy the looks of it tho it will be worth using it untill it fails an mot and then fraging as in bits i suspect you will get far more than you payed for the car.

cover the rust with some rust preventer and some paint for now and give er death.

looking on the positive side, if i'd have bought a car with nothing wrong with it i wouldn't be learning anything about cars!

engines ok-ish romario, bit crappy when it's cold, but it doesn't blow any smoke or anything...engines problems are the same as the body really, just had no one looking after it properly.

think i'll keep it on and do the easy jobs i can manage (don't know anything about welding though which is a shame), knowing that if i mess up, in not ballsing up a good car...i'll check your threads cypriot boy.

thanks gents, think i have a bit of a direction with it now.