Rocket Bunny Stylee

Doing a minor build / restoration or an epic one, post it here

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maccamoto
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 12:04 am

Hi,

I've been a zone member for a long time now but have just recently re-signed up (couldn't get the old login working!).

I own a 1990 e30 325i which i picked up off eBay many many years ago. The car's unfortunately always been a slow, never ending project, but this was due to a busy lifestyle and it always getting bumped down the priority list :/

The original intention was to use the e30 as a way to learn some home mechanics. Once i started reading and got in to the rhythm of things i decided she was going to be a track car. But being a bit of a noob, i got a little bit out of my depth halfway through whilst removing the sunroof tray and damaging the roof. So i buried my head in the sand and moved on to alternative projects! In the end the poor girl ended up being stored in the garage for years....

A little while ago though, my wife and i decided to move to a bigger home so we could start raising a family and i insisted the e30 came with us :) Everything else had to go!

It was a chance for a clean slate and I've decided to get it together and finally get the old girl finished this year. Time hadn't been kind and being stored in a damp garage took it's toll. She was looking pretty worse for wear sitting on the drive with the english weather only making things worse.

So... I spent (too) many hours over the Xmas holidays looking for inspiration. Because she's pretty raw looking already and needs a fair bit of bodywork attending to, i decided to go big and that a wide arch kit was the way to go.

Shortly in to the new year, I took delivery of a Pandem E30 Aero kit copy that is made by Byba. Although there are quite a few images of this kit online already, i struggled to find any decent info or detail about fitting it and thought it best to share some pics as i go. Hopefully this will help fellow zoners that might decide on this kit too but i'll also need some help along the way too :)

Stay tuned...

Mark
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Steve
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:20 am

Hi Mark

Welcome back, I can get your old account reactivated if you PM me with the details. :thumb:

Your project history sounds much like mine, I started my project, then started a family and moved house, so it sat for awhile. It took me 10 years in the end, just spending time on it when I could, but keep at it, you will get there in the end. :D

I'm not going lie to you, I know that a Pandem kit won't be to everyone's taste on here but don't worry about them, I for one love it and can't wait to see your progress. I know there are a few builds on Facebook and I did a interview with Sandra Step who has also built an Pandem E30, interview here - https://www.e30zone.net/interview-with-sandra-step/

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She also has a YouTube channel showing her build if that helps.

Keep us updated, I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

:thumb:
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maccamoto
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:02 pm

Cheers Steve!

Yes i'd imagine the kit is going to be a love or hate thing but i really like it.

It especially as it reminds me of the old BMW motorsport cars with the wide arches and graphics!

Thanks for the links and looking forward to watching the interview with Sandra Step!
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martauto
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 3:01 pm

Welcome back to the zone mate :clap: :clap:
Is this kit purely for a track car ? 8O

My opinion is way below standard as I have a Baur. :cool:

Mart.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
maccamoto
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 6:48 pm

Well... The plan is for it to be a road legal track car. But to also look the nuts!

Kinda like an e30 motorsport CSL with boxy arches....

I’m sure you can get it to fit a baur if you like Mart! :)
steve_k
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:03 pm

with the right wheels & paint colour a pandem kitted e30 can look really good,

also, a pandem baur?? that i'd like to see.
if it's got t*ts or wheels it's bound to be trouble...............prove me wrong.
getting oral sex off an ugly person is like rock climbing.....don't look down ;)
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martauto
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Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:01 pm

steve_k wrote:
Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:03 pm
with the right wheels & paint colour a pandem kitted e30 can look really good,

also, a pandem baur?? that i'd like to see.
:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Mart.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
maccamoto
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Sat Feb 08, 2020 8:02 pm

Sooooo..... I guess this is going to be the slowest build ever! :D

It's been a year since my original post but here's some pics of the few bits that did get done in 2019.....
TeddyK
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Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:25 pm

I can't see any of the pics!
Schwarz Black 1975 2002 with an M42 swap
maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 9:21 am

Having a few technical issues!
maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 12:39 pm

First thing on the 'to do' list was fix the missing roof brace that I'd previously removed with the sunroof cage. It took FOREVER to find one of these without buying a whole roof!
Eventually I found someone willing to cut around it and ship to me. However it was pretty rusty and I had to do a lot of clean up on it to get it ready for fitting.
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After lots of wire brush cleaning
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And then some primer
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maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 12:52 pm

Test fitting of the new fibreglass roof
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Then, got a friend over to help me weld on the painted roof brace and bond on the roof
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maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:05 pm

Once that was sorted I couldn't wait to start getting the kit in to position and used some cleco pins to hold the panels in place when I was happy with the location
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Had to purchase a new 325i lip to mount the front spoiler to
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martauto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:37 pm

WOW This is really out there !!!!
I would not do any of it to my own car but I c`ant wait to see this finished :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
Is this for the track ??

Mart.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:48 pm

Next I knew I had to sort some suitable wheels. I had some BBS RM's in the garage with new 2" lips which I hadn't fitted yet. A quick test fit showed that I was gonna have to go wider!
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new lips
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went with 4.5" for the rear and 3.5" for the front
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this was much better!
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maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:49 pm

martauto wrote:
Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:37 pm
WOW This is really out there !!!!
I would not do any of it to my own car but I c`ant wait to see this finished :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
Is this for the track ??

Mart.
Yes! although I need it to be road legal too as I don't have anything to tow it with :/
maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:52 pm

ordered the widest 15" tyres I could find
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maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:57 pm

But I wasn't really feeling the black wheels - I don't like that you lose all the definition on the 'basket weave'. So I took these to a local place to get them re-painted.
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finished product!
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plus new bolts
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quick test fit and much prefer the white and gold combo!
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maccamoto
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Sun Feb 09, 2020 2:05 pm

I'm building the wheels myself and I'd read that the RM threads tend to break given that the holes are just cut in to the alloy. So I had to dry fit the lips first, mark out holes where the thread gave in and then fix using a helicoil type kit
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this took quite a while so I've only got 2 out of the 4 wheels done
Also had to tweak the kit to get both sides symmetrical and got some more cleco pins in as I tidied up fitting by chopping some of the arches and filing the panels to get everything flush.
getting the kit on without any sort of instruction was a bit of a pain but here is it in it's final position!
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martauto
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Sun Feb 16, 2020 2:09 pm

Although it`s not my taste I am loving this thread :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:
No half measures here mate :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Do you have a time scale as to when this may be finished as I am so looking forward to seeing the end results :D :D

Mart.
Only the E46 cab left now.
Just got too old.
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