89 325i sport resto (work begins at last)

[bss325i]

Simply stunning fella, its come a long way and is an outstandig end result. Cant wait to see it!

[ricey46]

Matt that looks ace mate!!

You takin it to Gaydon??

[beardymat]

cheers lads, im very pleased with the way its looking.

thanks for passing on your mates comments jaffro, its a nice feeling when other skilled people praise your work and im happy that he enjoyed the thread too.

the car will be displayed at gaydon so keep your eyes open for it. thinking of having a poster made of the first pic in its damaged state so people who dont know the car can see what it looked like or it will just look like another clean sport.

[DaveD]

you took it out in the rain!!!!!!!!

well done

[e30_Turbo]

Well done Matt!

Excellent job, write up, pics, info and advice!

Good luck with the car, the effort & love involved is clearly showing in the end result

Mark.

[ZedOne]

I'm sad now......I've been following this thread with great excitement all the way and it looks like there wil not be many more updates of progress now that it is on the road! Each new instalment was something to look forward to and now that has come to an end!

Seriously though Matt - STUNNING work and a real tribute to your huge effort and determination. An example to us all!

I'm really pleased that you have got it back on the road and are getting to enjoy your little project...

It's looking amazing and certainly a example to us all...

Well done and keep enjoying.

Regards,

Bruce (the envious!)

P.S. Thought about chrome/mirrored indicator bulbs? No more orange 'runny egg' look through those crystal indicator lenses...(just a thought? )

[dazleeds]

just seen her in the meta;

looking very nice indeed

matt as always still isnt entirely happy and has a few more jobs he wants to do on her so
im sure there will be a few more small updates to come yet

if nothing else we have his 2.8 engine build to come and the future interior retrim as well

top work tho matt all the time effort and cash have really paid off

excellent work next job for you yep get mine straightened out

[bss325i]

thinking of having a poster made of the first pic in its damaged state so people who dont know the car can see what it looked like or it will just look like another clean sport.

Good idea!

[jimerilo]

Nice one Matt, looks very nice.
Any chance we can get a gander at a Milkbar meet before Gaydon?

James.

[beardymat]

would be good to squeeze in a milkbar meet even though im a complete bag of nerves driving it, have you noticed how bad peoples driving is?

need to start a thread in meets

dont panic bruce theres a few jobs left to tackle yet as daz says, mainly mechanical refurb and engine conversion, just need to let my wallet recover as its currently a size zero

[he30]

See you at the milkbar......

[dave525]

hi mat,what a stunning job you have done.it looks superb,good as new.look forward to seeing it in real life

[lenny-d]

is it right that i dislike you so much because you have such a nice car

in all fairness mate she's a belter and your health to enjoy her

i'll give you 50 quid to do the same to mine

[hubble]

Well done Mat.

I'd be proud having your car parked next to mine. Top job

[b4gga83]

That car looks amazing, well done bud.

[Nelly]

That Mini looks cool

[X3MCP]

Absolutely Stunning thats what I call restoration, must admit hasn't took you long to complete

[tonybtonyb]

Hi it looks like a great job!Most people would write the car off or break it. Itis nice to see somebody taking time to repair there bm.
Keep up the good work.Tony

[beardymat]

Hi it looks like a great job!Most people would write the car off or break it. Itis nice to see somebody taking time to repair there bm.
Keep up the good work.Tony

the car was written off, i bought it like that

i run a bodyshop and wanted to show off my tallents at the same time as saving one of these cars. it has deffinately been a labour of love as one or two areas caught me a little by surprise as to how bad they were.

very happy with the results though and i cant wait to get to some meets and let you lot loose on it to see what you think.

gaydon here we come!!!!!


nelly, the mini is my brothers girlfriends. he has the resto bug himself now so the front has come off as it has bl disease. he has a turbo mini himself which he recently completed for the london to brighton run.

[bigun]

cant wait to see this at gaydon all work has stopped on my sport now as i have crushed my hand and broke my fingers as usual helping a mate out

[AndyE30]

Just spend about an hour and half reading from start to finish! (10 pages) Cal me what you will but just got hooked, never check this section of ZONE before. What a project, big respect just for taking all the pics alone!! You know it makes sense, went cold when see the final pics, STUNNING. Well worth keeping a sport alive especially for the sound of that straight six, bet you don't get that with a M3 4 pot.

Hope not too many surprises when pull the mtec kit of me touring, how many of them do you see factory fitted on the road?

Stay loyal to the E30.

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Cracking effort mate!! Should do your bodyshop reputation the world of good!!!

[kloonsy]

The photos are great Matt, but even they dont do it justice. I was blown away when i saw it in your workshops the other week. As a former panel beater i can understand the hard work and dedication that has gone into your project-well done mate, now get out there and enjoy it! Oh, and while your out there, keep your eyes peeled for a decent touring for me .

Kloonsy (the snap-on man)

[eclipse]

wow just wow

[bam2002]

Thanks for the photo, I have never seen a car with the dash all the way out.. I need to do a LHD to RHD coversion and I see that the metal under the dash is set up for either side. So it looks like all the parts should just bolt in. I will have to put 2 holes in the firewall and cover one up..

If any one has a RHD dash. Just the skin, no glovebox, speedo etc for sale let me know. Mine is all cracked from the Sun. I would like to find a nice one to put in the car.

Also whats a ISE model. is that the same as an IS with the low revving 2.7 ETA engine? It interesting how the engines differ between the US and the UK..

Barry

[Gortour]

If like the UK, it's probably an i, SE.
i for injection, SE for special equipment, (electric everything and all the toys)

[damon_rymill]

well done mat, what a great car and great effort I only hope that I can do my 318i as much justice as you have your 325i sport. well done dude

Danny

[Stax]

Just spent the last hour or so going throught this thread..

Hats off to you Mat.. Fantastic skills you have, well done!

I'm looking forward to seeing this car at Gaydon..

[beardymat]

thanks for the replys chaps, wanted to get some photos up of it all finished and waxed with nicely blacked tyres etc but this weather just wont let up.hope it blows over before gaydon so you can see it at its best.will be spending most of saturday getting it ready and its a long drive for me so it would be nice not to ruin all the hard work with the drive down

[Jesus325iTouring]

Just found,read,admired and thoroughly enjoyed this thread
Matt,the Sport is a credit too you,fantastic workmanship

[dazleeds]

love this car

Matt

i had this thort of a 2 door touring van
the difference being id want the longer doors from a 2 door fitting

is this something you could do?? and yes this is a serious question
not right now but sometime next year maybe
will have a chat soon, have a think about it and if you could do it

[beardymat]

its nice to see the old thread unearthed again

glad you enjoyed the read.

ill be coming to santa pod with it so anyone who missed gaydon can have a look and a chinwag and possibly bimmerfest after that.

ill be looking to do a little mechanical work this winter after the move to my new unit (2.5 weeks to go hopefully) so there should be a few shiney powder coated pics to come

oh and the small matter of a m20 2.8 too when the wallet returns to normalish

[Geeman]

Awesome mate. The car looks stunning. Best colour as well.

Very impressed. All worth it in the end.

[y8sey]

just finished reading excellent work.I think there will be a long queue of zoners wanting work done, myself included.

[muzz]

top marks to you matt i just spent an hour reading this mini series and it sent a shiver down my spine because i am doing the same thing to a 88 convertible that i bought writen off with the exact same front end damage got my pannel shop mate to do the body work and im doing the mechanicals found lots of little issues with mounts and such but being in australia we dont have the bad rust issues that you have im almost done and post some pics when its up and running oh and by the way mine sat idle for about 2 years and the first time i turned it over it cranked 3 times and fired how good are these cars good on you for saving this one and for doing such a bloody good job mate cheers