Clarko74's Chromie - Update: Rust...

[Theo]

That's a really nice looking car, I like it alot.

[DanThe]

I like, looks very

[Forsman]

Really nice thread. Keep on going.

[clarko74]

Cheers for the comments fellas.

Right bit of a jump back in time here as I've finally got some photos that Steve at the bodyshop took while working on the car so I thought I might as well post them up as I know you all like a bit of bodywork in progress.

First of all, here's the manky hole by the windscreen wiper:







Some idiot once decided to put an aerial on the roof, so that came off and the hole was filled:



Inner inner arch repaired with wheel arch trimmed back:



New inner arch being fabricated:



Inner arch in place:





And outer arch on:





More to come...

[clarko74]

The passenger side wheel arch got the same treatment:











A few views from inside the car:

[clarko74]

And then of course it was painted:















And that's about it for the moment, rear sub frame replacement and disc upgrade is my next big job to do, not really looking forward to that.

[Simon13]

Really coming on since i last saw you Adrian. Looks like a nice job done in the paintshop also coming together nicely!

[capri_rob]

Bloody hell - what a great job ! Really impressive !

[Dan320is]

I'm not normally a fan of pre-facelift's but I really like that. The bodyshop did an awesome job and it's in the best shade of red aswell

[clarko74]

Cheers guys.

Dan, I agree with you about zinnerberrot, although when I passed a London bus the other day I did notice that they are a very similar shade of red!

[The_Diddler]

Liking this one alot, quality work there

[capri_rob]

Liking this one alot, quality work there

Its even got the correct number of doors

[Blitz]

Mim's look so nice. Are they 55 profile?

[goosiegander]

Really like this dude!

[clarko74]

Cheers. It's getting there, still needs a slight drop, going to drop it by 35mm at some point.

Blitz, yes they are 55 profile tyres.

Goosiegander, I've just been reading your 2.8 build thread which has got me thinking...

[goosiegander]

Yes crack on with it! Sensible power for sensible money, the rollers will tell all on friday.

The main cost for me was the crank and the cam, but the cost of this complete build was far less than an s14 or any other engine that would require fettling to fit in.

[clarko74]

It's been a while, and to be honest I haven't done much recently. One thing I have done is fitted my sports seats, they had been sitting in my living room for over a month so my girlfriend was very happy when they disappeared from our flat.

I've also just renewed my insurance and the insurers wanted a few pics so when I was up in Norfolk last weekend I gave the turd a wash and polish then took it out for a few photos. I think it scrubbed up quite well...









A couple of extreme wide angle shots of the interior, I've also just fitted a 370mm mtech 1 steering wheel which is a fantastic wheel





And finally a few shots in the beautiful (or dull and flat, depending how you look at it) scenery of Norfolk

[capri_rob]

Stunning ! The Tech 1 Front airdam and rear spoiler look just right

Hope I can get my turd looking as straight as this

[SteSE]

As said adrian, looks brilliant! A true chrome warrior

[oakey]

It looks superb! I love mims on a chromie. It would definitely benefit from lowering the front a tad extra.
Ps. paint the towing eye red

[Japandrew73]

It looks great! Your car is a very cool pre-facelift that's been modestly upgraded. It's a very cool car.

Is the tow hook extender supposed to be body colored or semi flat black?

[Ollie_bwoii]

WOW, thats stunning! Looks even better with the sports seats!

[clarko74]

Cheers for comments fellas, I am planning to give it some eibachs and bilsteins at some point to lower it a little, and yes I should paint the towing eye.

Cheers

[clarko74]

Well, it appears to be 7.5 years or so since I last updated this thread. But I have been busy (having a kid, splitting up with my now ex, etc.) and the E30 hasn't been top of my priorities.

Since the last update I have fitted Eibach springs, Bilstein B8s, H&R arbs, an E46 purple tab rack and a set of 16" Hartges. It drove very well and was looking pretty good, but all was not well underneath (not that I knew that back then).



It was my daily driver for a short while, but I ended up getting an E46 330i for that in the end. Life then got the way and it then sat on my driveway for a couple of years. I then moved house, put it in for an mot (which it failed) and it then sat in my new garage for another year and a half.

So it was about time that I sorted it out and got it back on the road. I am going to Le Mans this year so having booked that up it gave me a deadline to work to.

It failed the mot a couple of years ago due to rust in the footwells (among a few other minor things). I have a friend who can weld so after securing the use of a unit for a weekend we set to work...

[clarko74]

I know you all love a bit of rot so here are a few for you:

Drivers side seat/seatbelt mounting:



Passenger side cill:



Battery tray:



Drivers side footwell:





And floor:

[aimlessrock]

another chromie- love a good rust hunt.

[clarko74]

And there's more...

Around the fusebox:







And of course the passenger side footwell:

[clarko74]

another chromie- love a good rust hunt.

I wouldn't say that I loved it! But it had to be done. My mate who was helping me has a theory that the rust is always six times worse than you think it will be and I don't think he was far off.

[aimlessrock]

rust is never welcome- seek and ye shall find!

given the drivers floor and the battery tray need welding i would be tempted to remove the dash- gives better access and less risk of melting/fire etc.

[Steve]

Looks like you and your mate are going to busy but it will be worth it in the end.

Keep us updated.

[Tedswagon]

. . . given the drivers floor and the battery tray need welding i would be tempted to remove the dash. . .

The dash is out - the battery tray photo is from inside the cabin.

Good luck - Le Mans would be great - this is not the worst rust hunt which has been on here.

[Topblag]

. . . given the drivers floor and the battery tray need welding i would be tempted to remove the dash. . .

The dash is out - the battery tray photo is from inside the cabin.

Good luck - Le Mans would be great - this is not the worst rust hunt which has been on here.

Given the price of untracked dashboards these days, and that both can be done without starting fires, keep it in. Battery tray panel from BMW isn't too sore.

[clarko74]

Yes, the dash is already out, we might have been able to work around it with it still in place but it made it a lot easier to get it out of the way.

We started with the cill:















Then the passenger side seat and seat belt mount:

[clarko74]

Then the battery tray, I bought a genuine panel from BMW a couple of years ago for this so it was nice to finally use it:







We only had the use of the unit for a weekend and they needed it back on the Monday morning so that was it for that weekend.

[clarko74]

That first lot of work was done around a month or so ago. We then had the opportunity of using a heated garage for a week so we jumped at the chance, I moved the E30 in there on Monday last week and I'm glad I did as the snow arrived on Tuesday. It was a great space to work in:



It was then time to tackle the footwells and floors. The footwells had been repaired before I bought the car ten years ago, but whoever did just bodged it by patching over the rust without removing any of it, so it had obviously come back.

No photos of the hole made in the passenger side but here it is well on the way:







The drivers side seat mounting needed the same treatment as the drivers side: