Ratch's 318iS Resto is back!!!

[johnt0709]

Ratch - up till now ive only red the zone gold threads and found myself empathising with your standpoint.

This thread has only served to reinfornce my opinion - good work fella, mon the purists!

[Royalratch]

Cheers dude. I think you'll find us 'Dull Puritans' are by far in the majority, with the chavs slowly but surely moving their crooked molesting fingers onto E36/E46's and Audis.

We're almost in the clear!

[hennabm]

Cheers dude. I think you'll find us 'Dull Puritans' are by far in the majority, with the chavs slowly but surely moving their crooked molesting fingers onto E36/E46's and Audis.

We're almost in the clear!

I hope that day comes soon..........

[Royalratch]

Nothing super hot happening, been busy with work. But had a few moments so decided to throw on any bits of new trim I hadn't done yet.

Finished Waxoilng the boot and vaxed the carpet liner.








New boot top trim - all about the places you use and see often!




Don't know who snapped my dipstick bit anyway...



Tidy up of engine prior to a proper clean.

New engine loom cover.




New larger Amp Bosch Battery - may go upto 55/60ah as I have added so much more spec now.




Cleaned washer tank - believe it or not this is damn clean.




New intake boot, old had a few splits starting to show - needs a plug in one of the vacuum hose holes as I have removed my throttle heater plate.





New intake boot on other side too.




Not gleaming but very tidy.




Also sorted the glovebox / accessory panel area. All wires routed away tidily, new inner covers (old had been butchered - is there no end to the dark hand of ICE fitters) and fitted a new glovebox lamp / switch too.



New scuttle trims.





Is this on the edge...?



Finally, new reg plates - no German style embossed nonsense here, nor Ingerrrlund flagged chavness. Just plain old skool cool.




Quick rabid Alpina perv - springs are a little long.




This is where I've left it. Removed wheel arch liners to clear out muck and chuck in more Waxoil. New liners already present.

[Ollie_bwoii]

Looking good! If you don't mind me asking how much were the arch liners?

[Royalratch]

About £35 the pair. My old ones were still in good nick but had small splits in fastener tabs. I don't know why they didn't put them on the rears as they would have saved so many E30's from the dreaded rear arch rot.

I was thinking about modding a set to do just that...

[Alex]

this is comming along nicely ratch

loving the pinas, i want one of them rear light surrounds for mine, they look the nuts

[Royalratch]

I got the Alpinas for £350 - rude not to.

I have a second Rear Light Surround but it's for my next E30, for which I am currently looking for - a Malachite Green 4-Door!

[Alex]

I got the Alpinas for £350 - rude not to.

I have a second Rear Light Surround but it's for my next E30, for which I am currently looking for - a Malachite Green 4-Door!

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1321266.htm

[The_Diddler]

I got the Alpinas for £350 - rude not to.

I have a second Rear Light Surround but it's for my next E30, for which I am currently looking for - a Malachite Green 4-Door!

Nice progress, great attention to detail as ever, good choice of moredoor chariot too.

[Royalratch]

Cheers guys.

@ Diddler - 4-Door Sedan is going to be huge. They're the new Touring. Lots of minty shells, trim and mechanicals, unabused by all the Coupe / Touring pervs.

@ Alex - £2000 for a 133K miler FOUR DOOR!? I just want a shell with tidy 15" BBS and a clean dash - everything else will be changed, I already have a ton of the right parts. Want to drop in an M52B28, modern A/C, light grey leather and mint 15 X-Spokes. This will be my 6-pot exec chariot with heaps of charm and not a thing out of place in terms of the era it was built.

Could even go BEIGE leather.

I'd take that car for £1G if the shell is surgically free of rust - not a penny more.

[Alex]

Cheers guys.

@ Alex - £2000 for a 133K miler FOUR DOOR!? I just want a shell really my needs. Want to drop in an M52B28, modern A/C, light grey leather and mint 15 X-Spokes. This will be my 6-pot exec chariot with heaps of charm and not a thing out of place in terms of era.

Could even go BEIGE leather.

I'd take that car for £1G if the shell is surgically free of rust - not a penny more.

I recon it aint badly priced if its as good as it looks

any decent car with a b25 seems harder to come by these days

[Royalratch]

I only want the body - everything else would go.

I could probably get some dough for engine and gearbox but can't be arsed with breaking...

[Royalratch]

Did the front wheel arches today. Wings partly off, coated inside with Waxoil and then arch liner on with new hardware.
Sprayed on in a toght arc against the inner wheelarch so there is a fat squash of Waxoil sandwiched between the arch liner and the sheet metal arch lip.







Also dug this out, a genuine BMW solid maple gear knob - I'm liking the blonde wood retroness against the dark blue - can it be pulled off?

[bss325i]

No, especially as its an E46 item!

[Royalratch]

It's in the E30 ETK under 'Nussbaum Accessory' which means Walnut / Maple.

Possibly a retro fit:
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/2 ... hift_knob/

Plus it was a rhetorical question Barry - my taste is never to be questioned, of course I can pull it off.

[Chris-W]

Just pull it off.

[bss325i]

Sure I saw it in the E30 ETK once.

No its not.

But hey itsyour car.....

[Royalratch]

[bss325i]

my taste is never to be questioned, of course I can pull it off.

Your taste has a serious faux pas, a galvaniser!

[Royalratch]

Aaah Barreth.

A Diamond Metallic Sport might as well be a 2005 silver VW Polo!

BRING IT!

[bss325i]

Aaah Barreth.

A Diamond Metallic Sport might as well be a 2005 silver VW Polo!

BRING IT!

Ha ha!

[Royalratch]

Giving this a wash tomorrow and fit all remaining exterior trim so will get some nice pix up. Wanted to test fit the Alpina wheels but have lost the key so until I get one made up it's a no go.
One thing I always wanted to do is fit new seat belts because mine don't recoil quickly or feed out smoothly and I think that one of THE most telling things about an 'old feeling' car when you get in is the sloppy slack seat belt.

Problem is, new E30 belts from BMW are around £120 each.

Any ideas on other belt suppliers or refurbishment techniques?

[e30topless]

ratch try pulling the seatbelt right out to it's full length half a dozen times, and pull off the rear door card to get a bit of spray grease in the mech,
this will help it recoil back quicker/smoothly

failing that fit good s/h one's as they rarely fail, £120 is ridiculous

looking forward to the pics

[e30topless]

Also dug this out, a genuine BMW solid maple gear knob - I'm liking the blonde wood retroness against the dark blue - can it be pulled off?

I am sorry fella but i am not a fan of the Dysentery Beige gearnob, as rare as it might be,
a Black Leather light-up 'M' design would surely be more appropriate ?

[Royalratch]

- I do have a new MTECH full gaiter illuminated one but this is just soooo retro cool - like an old Jag/Maser. Will look awesome against a Nappa Motorsport Console and Dark Indigo Leather! It looks off in that photo but it's not dysentery beige - it's a deep lustrous butterscotch toffee blonde maple walnut.

I am a chivalrous, regal, gentlemanly type and these are the gear knobs of choice for such a man.

[e30topless]

it's definatly a chivalrous nob !
probably too early to decide whether or not it should be fitted, wait until the interior is in there

my thought is, it belongs in an old 60's jag,

[Royalratch]

Lol, It can't possibly stay but I do love it.

It's like a doomed romance, you want it to work dearly but know there's no future lol. It will reside on my desk as a painful memory of an unfulfilled love!

[Kos]

if you did choose to modify a car you'd get it seriouly wrong judging by your taste.

that gearnob is just wrong in that car, you may as well have pistol shifter ffs

[Royalratch]

Lol, It can't possibly stay but I do love it.

Any modding is wrong (99.9% wrong) which is what you still cannot grasp. So by choosing not to and excercising restraint, I have shown the very highest of taste.

It's a shame you didn't exercise the same restraint when the white paint turned to your wheels or the 'baby blue' paint gun turned toward your compact.

Thanks for your input though, your words on style have been noted.



Not.

[tonybtonyb]

What a great job i love the colour amazing e30!All the star

[bss325i]

It's a shame you didn't exercise the same restraint when the white paint turned to your wheels or the 'baby blue' paint gun turned toward your compact.

Ice Blau, was a factory colour from the individal range and Kos's car has always been that colour. Not modified.

In the 90's alot of lairy factory colours were all the rage. Think Dakar yellow or Ford Citrine yellow.

They seem to be making a comeback, see the new M3 GTS?

[Royalratch]

It certainly is individual.

So I just washed the car, only as a bit of a help to a pro-detailer when I get one over to attack it in fine detail. Then the car will go away until Spring. B4stard BBS, my back is still aching...

Tuned the ICE for road use, put all trim back in, glovebox etc and did a few other bits.

Pix soon.

[Kos]

Lol, It can't possibly stay but I do love it.

Any modding is wrong (99.9% wrong) which is what you still cannot grasp. So by choosing not to and excercising restraint, I have shown the very highest of taste.

It's a shame you didn't exercise the same restraint when the white paint turned to your wheels or the 'baby blue' paint gun turned toward your compact.

Thanks for your input though, your words on style have been noted.



Not.

as barry said, the compact is BMW factory colour and factory painted

classic white motorsport wheels can not be questioned either. timeless classic

so, indigo blue leather on laser blue car, with a mapel gear nob, is that restrained or just an error which you will later live to regret.

[spook]

Theres a nice Lazur Blue 318is near me which is standard and very very clean, im keeping my eye on it for a little run around.

Lovely car Ratch