First E30 - 316i Touring Rescue - (Update: Now MOT'd!)

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

Moderator: martauto

Cloggy Saint
Old Skooler
Old Skooler
Posts: 8024
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: zummerzet

Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:44 pm

1) reservoir filler for rear screen wash
2) reservoir for rear screen wash
3) Don't know
Image

E30 zone - promoting adult illiteracy since 2004
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:48 pm

Ah cool, cheers - didn't even know there was a rear washer, thought it might be some overengineered expansion tank or something
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Thu Jun 09, 2016 8:52 pm

Suspension arms: £105.84 from CP4L any time. Same company, same parts from same shelves.
Little round hole is the filler for the rear screenwash bottle.
Plastic tank IS the screenwash bottle.
Sunroof tilts up at the back or slides completely, depending on which end of the switch you push. Removal of hardened grease and adding new bringsd them back to working as new.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:24 pm

When you say which end of the switch... mine is a manual hand winding one, so I'm guessing it just moves up and down?

The Lemforder arms appear to be £120 delivered from CP4L, so a slight saving, where'd you get £105 from, or is that using non-Lemforder?

Need to find some M3 bushes for the lollipops now, probably an eBay job as I can't see them on ECP/CP4L etc.
User avatar
biffer
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 292
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:00 pm
Location: Hull

Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:45 pm

manual sunroof slides back aswell as up/down.
if rotating the handle clockwise raises the roof,try turning the handle anti-clockwise to slide roof back.

seatbelt-mount rust- a dose of really thin oil ie. wd40,applied from the reverse side,so it can flow inbetween the layers of sheetmetal should stop that localised rust from spreading.
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:02 am

CP4L have a discount code for orders of over £100 that gives you another £15 off. Find it on their home page.
to make the best of it on large orders, you have to divide your total order up into separate orders of just over £50, £75 and £100.
If the sunroof is stiff, don't force it and break the mechanism. Assist the rear end to drop down first with your hand as you try to turn the handle.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:05 am

Brianmoooore wrote:CP4L have a discount code for orders of over £100 that gives you another £15 off. Find it on their home page.
to make the best of it on large orders, you have to divide your total order up into separate orders of just over £50, £75 and £100.
If the sunroof is stiff, don't force it and break the mechanism. Assist the rear end to drop down first with your hand as you try to turn the handle.
Good tip, cheers :)
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Tue May 01, 2018 6:38 pm

It's been a while, almost a year since my last update.

Work offshored part of my job which took a nice chunk of my salary away, and the track bike took priority, so the BMW hasn't had any progress at all, until today.

Stripped out the seats, carpets and other interior bits to see what I have to deal with...

Seats out!
Image

Carpet out!
Image

Found this lurking underneath the centre console, no idea how it could have got there...
Image

Along with this mystery cable...
Image

Drivers side didn't look too bad...
Image

A bit of digging later
Image

Overall, not too bad really, expected worse
Image

On to the passenger side
Image

Again, not that bad in the grand scheme of things...
Image
Image

So it definitely needs new corners welding in, and both sills will definitely be rotten, I can't get one of the boot pockets out (the right one) which is wet, so expecting rot there too.

I know most might have scrapped it by now, but I kinda bought this car to learn to weld on - and I now have a welder. I need to spend the next few weekends finishing the track bike (and then riding it), then I'll pick up some gas and start learning to weld on some spare metal!

Next update hopefully I'll have tried out my new angle grinder with a wire brush to clean those areas up, then I'll know exactly how much metal is going to need replacing. The bulkhead looks ok on the bottom half, but I need to remove the glovebox and bits to take a proper look. Also need to read up on sills too and cut them off at some point, bit nerve wracking! I had to put new inner + outer sills on my classic mini but I ended up paying a neighbour to tackle that!

Onwards and upwards...
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Tue May 01, 2018 6:54 pm

What makes you think the sills are rotten? E30 sills aren't like Mini sills, and rarely need changing in my experience.
I reckon that about half the E30s I've worked on have had a torch under the centre console.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Tue May 01, 2018 7:20 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:What makes you think the sills are rotten? E30 sills aren't like Mini sills, and rarely need changing in my experience.
I reckon that about half the E30s I've worked on have had a torch under the centre console.
Ha, how do they get under there? Very odd.

The sills are showing signs of rust on the outside so I've very little hope about the inside! I'll wire wheel everything before I start cutting away though just in case it's not as bad as it seems.
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Tue May 01, 2018 7:22 pm

Torches slip down into the centre console when they work loose from their charging socket in the glovebox. There's a space there they can just fit through.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Wed May 02, 2018 10:29 pm

Sunlight was still out after work and I had a spare hour, bit more digging, and trying out my new toy - Bosch angle grinder! Never used one before, ear defenders on order...

Turns out I have the optional extra of 'removable plates':

Drivers side
Image
Image

Started stripping the sill to see how bad it was externally, found holes, so it's rotted:
Image

The minimum I'll need to cut out:
Image

Moving over to the passenger side:
Image

At least the mudguard came off easily, or more like fell off:
Image

Gulp...
Image

Both wings are like this, will probably try find replacement panels instead of patching:
Image

More sill holes:
Image
Image

Help needed, what's the best way to remove the glovebox without screwing up positioning?
Also, what's the spring and mechanism top right for?
Image

Hopefully there will be some car left at the end of this...
Image

On the bright side, I've never had an angle grinder, got to love making sparks, my inner 5 year old is fully embracing it.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Wed May 02, 2018 10:33 pm

Oh also, I'm guessing I don't need to replicate these bits when replacing?

Image
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Wed May 02, 2018 11:32 pm

iDemonix wrote:Oh also, I'm guessing I don't need to replicate these bits when replacing?

Image
Perhaps you were right about the sills after all!
The bit in the pic is a jacking point, and is welded to a substantial bracket inside the sills. Drill out the spot welds to remove it, and reattach after replacing the sills.
Undo the two nuts on the bulkhead to remove the glovebox, and leave the hinge to box joint undisturbed.
"Spring and mechanism" are the brake linkage, converting from LH drive to RH drive. Rather important that you keep it.
User avatar
arrisbmw
E30 Zone Regular
E30 Zone Regular
Posts: 466
Joined: Sat May 06, 2017 11:00 pm

Wed May 02, 2018 11:42 pm

what's the spring and mechanism top right for?
that operates your brakes, via the servo into the master cylinder.
press the brake pedal and watch it move. i,m guess original german e30 were left hand drive , when they converted for right hand drive market, left all the brake pipes etc the same just used a push rod assembly mechanism to connect to brake pedal the other side of the car.

that thing in last photo is the jacking point, where the factory supplied jack fits in.

I had to lol at you comment B

Rather important that you keep it.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Thu May 03, 2018 8:42 am

Cheers for the help guys, I thought that might have been the brake, if I wasn't lazy and looked under the bonnet I'd have realised!

Ah ok, so if I replace the sills I can just spot weld those brackets back on in place, not that I ever plan on using the factory jack as it looks like it came out a christmas cracker.

I think I'll keep the brake linkage, sounds potentially important :D

Need to strip the fuel line off the passenger side before I do much more cutting/grinding otherwise the car might end up as a burnt out shell...
User avatar
aimlessrock
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1821
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: Manchester

Thu May 03, 2018 10:08 am

loving this- keep up the good work.
E30 320i Convertible (1989)
190 Mercedes (1988)

"there is nothing more expensive than a cheap E30"
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Thu May 03, 2018 10:43 am

Cheers :)

As I imagine there's going to be lots of it, should I buy a proper spot weld cutter? One of the little mini circular cutters? Or just stick with regular drill bits?

There's a ToolStation and Screwfix 2 mins from my house, and a EuroCP 10 mins away, Machine Mart is quite a journey.
User avatar
mineralblue
Rocking Horse Poo
Posts: 729
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 11:00 pm
Location: Nottingham

Thu May 03, 2018 12:45 pm

Patched original wings will fit better than replacement pattern ones, mine looked similar to yours and have been patched with the bottom section of a new pattern one, rather than replacing the whole thing. Unless of course they are too far gone.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Thu May 03, 2018 1:29 pm

Ah do the pattern ones not fit nicely? That's a shame.

I'll have to wait until they're off to see, but I'm guessing they're too far gone as the lip around the arch is very crusty, I'll be amazed if they're saveable.

Going to try find a cheap waterproof car cover that will fit over the touring whilst I take the wings and possibly front doors off.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sat May 12, 2018 11:29 pm

Another spare hour, decided to see how bad the drivers side wing is:

Image

Same as the other side really. The rot ends wear the ridge is, so might be possible (as someone mentioned) to buy pattern wings and just cut + weld the bottom sections. It will depend on how bad the arches are, and they look bad.

Started expanding the operation...

Image

The sills look awful because they're a mix of flaking bubbled underseal and moss. I presumed they would be pure rust underneath so decided as I was started now to just carry on:

Image

Image

It's horrible to wire wheel off, the yellow layer underneath is like glue, takes ages to properly remove and gets everywhere:

Image

The sills are actually surprisingly solid it seems, it's just around the jacking points there are holes, so maybe it can be patched instead of sills replaced? It's clearly been badly jacked as the lip of the sills is bent around both jacking points where the holes are.

It was pissing it down at this point, so decided to quickly whip the rust off the drivers door:

Image

It's deeply pitted but I can't force a hole through, maybe this could just be filled and painted.

I don't really like the black stripes going along the sills and lower of the doors, but it covers most of the problem areas and it's easier to repaint than silver, so I reckon for now I'll keep the lines the original owner did - even the little swoop bit at the back :)

Have left bare metal for now, will do some more in the coming sunshine evenings and chuck some anti-rust primer on to protect whilst I figure out next steps!
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sun May 13, 2018 7:11 pm

Bit more:

Image

Can't find much more rust on the sill other than the ends, so think patching might be the answer.

Image

Image

Someone has badly jacked it at some point and split the seam:

Image

I reckon a patch would look like this:

Image

Still not even turned the welder on yet, lots to learn first, but trying to get the rot cut and treated as an interim...
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Sun May 13, 2018 8:13 pm

Sills look savable to me, and the sections at the bottom of the front wings aren't difficult to fabricate yourself to a standard every bit as good as those on pattern wings.
Finnish the sills with stone chip, and paint body colour. Not much paint spraying skill required to coat that.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sun May 13, 2018 10:31 pm

Suppose I could have a go at replicating it with sheet metal! Maybe I'll give that a whirl first when the time comes.

Will either paint body colour over stonechip, or just stick to black as the look doesn't bother me much, it's very tatty all round and I won't be respraying it (unless I end up keeping it for ages).

Going to pick up some gas for the welder and try and get that going soon, really need to start practicing on sheet metal and making sure I'm actually able to weld well enough to sort it. The floor pan corner is quite awkward to get the angle grinder in so might have to go through a few dremel discs. I'm going to aim to cut the floor behind the throttle pedal bracket, so I won't have to replace/replicate it.

Next job is find a car cover so I can safely start taking the wings, grill and bumper off.
HartgeH27
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 21737
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 11:00 pm
Location: Chichester

Sun May 13, 2018 10:39 pm

Admire your determination !
magpie
Old Skooler
Old Skooler
Posts: 28035
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:00 pm
Location: Consett,Durham.

Sun May 13, 2018 11:34 pm

good prep work ... filler is not the answer
Image
m52 b30 stroker 6-speed 318is Galvanizer
m42 touring
+ a yard full of scrap turds :)
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sun May 13, 2018 11:44 pm

Cheers :)

I generally buy project cars to learn on, I had worse on the mini but got help with the welding of the floor pans and sills!

Is the bottom half of the front bumper easily removable? Mine is painted solid black (look in thread for pics) below the bumper. I was thinking I could remove it, strip it of rust and paint it in the garage - can I buy rattle can silver that's close to the car colour? It's the sterling silver colour. I'm getting ahead of myself but eventually I'd like the front to look like this:

Image
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sun May 13, 2018 11:57 pm

I just re-read the thread to jog my memory of what I've done and remembered my genius update I forgot to post.

How did I get the locking wheel nuts off that were seized without destroying them? Took a while to think of something, but then remembered I had a box of old detailing clay and used it to make some moulds:

Image

Hopped on the CBR and headed to the local BMW dealership and took the moulds in to the parts desk. The guy was a bit bewildered at first, but he disappeared with another guy for ages whilst I checked out an i8 (it's not possible to get in one wearing leathers it turns out) and eventually he came back with what looked closest. Bought it, rode home, worked a treat.

Image

Image
HartgeH27
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 21737
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 11:00 pm
Location: Chichester

Mon May 14, 2018 8:30 am

Good tip !!!!
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Sun May 20, 2018 5:55 pm

Small update, cover arrived!

Image

Can start removing bumper, valance and wings this week.

For those wondering, it's this cover: https://amzn.to/2rUA2BS

Fits pretty much bang on, if the roof bars weren't on it'd be perfect.
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Tue May 22, 2018 8:35 pm

Another small rust coloured update.

Decided that now I know the extent of the sill rust, I need to dig around the front end to find all of it.

Pulled the lip off the valance

Image

Image

Some of the bolts are a pain in the arse to reach and obviously all of them just have round rusted blobs for a head. Took a lot of patience, awkward angles and plus gas to get these out with wall-drive sockets...

Image

Some brackets just ended up getting snapped out...

Image

Bumper off.

Image

Hey, that's not too bad!

Image

...ah shit.

Image

Dig dig dig....

Image

Spent about an hour trying to get the rusty bolts out, then lost my patience and got them off in 10 seconds

Image

Valance isn't looking too clever either...

Image

Missus pulled up with a takeaway, so the wings can come off another evening.

Image

As she stands:

Image
User avatar
aimlessrock
E30 Zone Squatter
E30 Zone Squatter
Posts: 1821
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:00 pm
Location: Manchester

Wed May 23, 2018 10:07 am

keep at it mate.
E30 320i Convertible (1989)
190 Mercedes (1988)

"there is nothing more expensive than a cheap E30"
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Wed May 23, 2018 3:34 pm

When stripping the rust off the chassis, like the bottom rail in front of the rad in my last pic, what's best to spray on to bare metal? Etch primer and some sort of paint/stonechip?
User avatar
iDemonix
E30 Zone Newbie
E30 Zone Newbie
Posts: 238
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:00 pm

Wed May 23, 2018 8:15 pm

Brace yourselves for this one, ugh...

Started wire wheeling the front:

Image

Wing off, not many pics doing it, not very interesting:

Image

Started removing the inner liner, bolts are made of wet tissue at this point:

Image

Starting to see a pattern...

Image

Removed the inner arch liner, and the plastic under tray from under the engine/rad.

Started inspecting for rust.

Bit of rust here...

Image

Bit more rust here...

Image

Oh dear.

Image

Image

Eek.

Image

The extent.

Image

Optimist: Well at least behind the wings and out of sight is a good place to practice welding.
Pessimist: Fuck.
User avatar
Brianmoooore
E30 Zone Team Member
E30 Zone Team Member
Posts: 49358
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm

Wed May 23, 2018 8:41 pm

Try not to break off too many of those coarse studs welded to the shell. They're quite fiddly to weld back on. Destroy the plastic nut with heat or a grinder, rather than break the stud.
Similarly, all the spire clips and the small self tapping hex. screws that screw into them should be removed by destroying them, rather than damaging what they're holding in place, if they're reluctant to undo. Replace the spire clips every time you dismantle the car (dirt cheap in packs of 100 on ebay), and buy stainless hex. self tappers if you can find them.
Rust in the last series of pics., apart from the severity of it at the sides of the front panel is pretty much the going rate for unrestored E30s.
Post Reply