new cabbie!

[Kieran_n22]

ok thank you mate

[MurphyE30]

looking good its coming along nicely

[Ziggy]

Looks shiny! How long until you decide it needs a bigger engine?!

[bpowell555]

2 bags not bad for a respray?

[jonmsm]

Looks shiny! How long until you decide it needs a bigger engine?!

What makes you think I am not whiling the days away at work dreaming of a 4.4 v8 already?

In all honest Jon - the decision is already made that it will one day have a M60? 4.4 v8... mainly based on the noise it will make which I need in my life....

[youtube][/youtube]


The question is really more when a) I can afford it b) I am brave enough to try it c) space for the donor and other bits in the work shop as I just bought a scirocco, I have 2 T5s, the m535i, the fiat 850 and a Puma (NOT MINE I MAY ADD!)... eeep!:roll:

I think certainly for a few years I am going to just keep improving her in a kind of semi rolling restoration (ie get it on the road for summer with most of the bits done, then over winter clean up more areas. If I come across an engine at the right price I might have it... but there is a chance it might get nicked by the m535i first ;)

[jonmsm]

2 bags not bad for a respray?

I know - and it's by no means a shoddy job, the finish is epic, the work he has done is way above and beyond what I ever expected. What I thought would be a freshen up and a brush over has been a full body work over and all for 2 large! Incredible!

[jonmsm]

Right - some progress!

First off - the 'new' exhaust put together

Then went to get some new parts from the auto factors too

Predictably most of them were wrong!

One very rotten looking heat shield

Went back to the autofactor and got the RIGHT parts


Also been collecting bits and cleaning up bits to put back on....

Got the manifold flange end of the exhaust masked off

Then Painted matt black with VHT paint

cleaned and polished side indicators

more to come...

[jonmsm]

Next batch of updates

before and after scuttle panel wiper arm grilles:

The wing mirrors were badly faded and wouldn't polish up well so have been keyed back and are here with zinc primer on the metal base and plastic primer on the plastic mirror sections ready for satin black

I bought a replacement chrome bumper as the original was bent so I started stripping the new one down - it's in generally good condition but needs new cover sections between the corner and centre section

Polished up the good sections

Some nice new gaitors to replace some tired ones

Some nice pressed plates but i am considering some replica 80s/90s dealer plates but not sure yet (thanks to Ziggy for giving me doubts about the pressed plates!

The single boot strut or 'Lift-O-Mat' as its called has been regassed for just £10.50... much cheaper than a crappy aftermarket replacement and get to keep the OEM BMW part

[Ziggy]

Those plates aren't bad - I was expecting the daft German font ones... I'd stick with them for now - see what you think when the car's 'finished'. Credit for resisting the temptation to have them spaced differently!

[kman82]

Looking good! What did you use to spray the scuttle vents?

[jonmsm]

Those plates aren't bad - I was expecting the daft German font ones... I'd stick with them for now - see what you think when the car's 'finished'. Credit for resisting the temptation to have them spaced differently!

I know - beautiful number isn't is! I want it to be legal and OEM looking though so had to be. Maybe a set of show plates that are spaced differently but not for the road!

As for the scuttle, just regular good old bumper back to black and a lot of scrubbing

[jonmsm]

Right - Got a few more bits:

Flat blade wipers. Not really into modern upgrades but this seems like a nice one - thoughts?


finally got first dealer parts ordered:

Door top Chromes and rubbers
front chromes £37.79 each
front rubbers £12.29 each
rear chromes £19.85 each
rear rubbers £19.13 each

Filler pipe parts
11 Filler pipe 1 09/1987 16111180956 £174.74
13 Rubber grommet 1 09/1987 16111176761 £6.26
15 Hose 1 09/1987 16121180402 £22.44
19 Rubber seal 1 09/1987 16111179680 £4.64

Boot trim
06 COVERING SUPPORT TAIL PANEL 51471904968 £18.18

All weighing in at a shade over £400... eep!

Dread to think what the next batch it going to cost!

[jonmsm]

Some updates - things have been slow this month because of a new arrival to the family....



It's kinda the dark side but still German so I hope you like it...

anyway - back to the e30!! Been trying out some plastic polish seen as I have spent up for a while for new bits - makes a big difference!



Then this arrived... a big parcel from our friends at Cotswolds...


Time to unwrap and I will post more photos later

[magpie]

turning into a very good thread this

[Ziggy]

I've always wanted a 'rocco. Can I have a go when it's sorted?

& I've got those wipers on my E36 but I don't think they really suit the E30... they do work well though! If you're going for usability, HIDs next?

[paolobianchi]

quality paint job...how much does that cost?

[jonmsm]

cost me £2k

[jonmsm]

Jon - maybe @ HID but not yet! Got a pic of the rocco - while money is tight I have been tinkering on the Veee-Dub - she's looking ok now - you can have a go any time (just don't sue me for spine injuries while riding in her!)


keep tuned - I have holiday with misses and our anniversary so this is going to be a slow build for a month or two - so lots of little jobs for now

also - ziggy - can you move this to a build thread / readers rides part of the forum - i think its out grown it's location!

[Ziggy]

[jonmsm]

Small update as progress has been slow.

First of all the newly painted exhaust doesn't fit. I am sure I had read that the 325i downpipe would fit the 320i manifold... it doesn't! D'OH!

got some more bits to be getting on with though which was good:

Rear light gaskets and exhaust clamp (even though I haven't used the clamp yet after the exhaust fitment issues

exhaust heatshield!


Boot edge trim was cracked so nice brand new one from Cotswolds


Light units with new gaskets after lenses were polished and new bulbs throughout:


nice new tool kits in place:


Lights fitted back in and re-gassed boot strut in (IT STAYS OPEN NOW - WOOT!)


Finally - I got some nice new front legs from an old zoner (met the guy while picking up other non-car related ebay wins to find these in his garage... bit his hand off for them - WINNER!) refurbished legs with new Billy inserts, new 35mm lowered springs and polyurathene bump stops, refurbished calipers, and braided hoses... WOOT! I am only allowing one real mod to the car - lowering by 35mm but the poly bump stops can stay and I am considering keeping the braided hoses but not sure yet - want her to be an example of OEM (lowering aside).



Thats all for now - got the fuel filler pipe out but not done much about getting the new one in yet! I have been making some camber adjustments to the Rocco in the mean time...

[jonmsm]

Long time no update! I have been further distracted with the Scirocco, the arrival of these:

and the return of my other project from long term storage (and stupid 50 hour weeks at work). However, seen as I am home bound from surgery, good chance to update the zone and generally spam the threads to save me from boredom!

OK - the other project was my baby Fiat! Say hello:

I have also been busy making a clean room for the Fiat which looks like something from Dexter Kill Room



I have managed some work on the Cab though and I have been doing some work on the new struts - old discs and pads off, calipers cleaned and struts painted up:




All ready to go back on once I get the new top seats for the springs and top mounts. Note the spring compressors.... gotta love cable ties!

[tonybtonyb]

Looking good fella

[Duke137]

Lots of shiney new parts, a cracking thread for an ace cabby, wel done mate

[ali50ferrari]

this is cool i like your style o.e.m with a upgrade here and there, this will look slick once complete, how much did the boots struts cost you im after a pair if anyone can help. . . . . .

[jonmsm]

Thanks tonyb - it's a slow project but it's getting there bit by bit!

ali50 - you got it spot on, just the little tweeks here and there, nothing a normal person would notice but little things an e30 fan would twig, like the modern wipers, pressed plates etc (all things that could also be changed back to make a fully OEM look if I change my mind down the line )

Small update - the new bumper joining sections arrived today. Ordered them from Hadrian Car Panels limited and they were really cheap - £18.50 each.... but it shows. Dealer wanted about £120+ each for them :-/



top ones are the originals with a smooth contour and good metal finish under the chrome, the bottom ones are the new ones, much thinner metal, a slightly more squared shape to them (I guess the press tool was much less refined) and the finish under the chrome isn't great so I don't expect they will polish up very well! Going to give them a go and see - if not, re-chrome the original OEM parts.... ££££££££

[ali50ferrari]

Yh man suttle mods drop on e30s and if done right it can make your car stand out, btw the modern wipers where did u buy them from and do they fit like normal? Im thinkin of that now i didnt know these were available for the e30 also lookin forward to the updates on the chrome, i got a tec 1 and my rear bumper only on 1 side is faded so get some pics up when its done thanks!

[jonmsm]

Hi Ali50

The wipers came from ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FRONT-Aero-Wiper- ... 1408wt_905
They fit very well actually (did take me a minute or two to work out how to fit them) - I haven't actually used them since I fitted them because the car is off the road but they seems to sit nicely on the window.

I have given the new bits a good polish with autosol and they are not much better, the base metal wasn't polished smooth enough before the chrome plating was applied but they aren't rusty like the old ones so I am going to fit them anyway and keep looking for some good replacements as the finish on these items really isn't great, there are pinch points at the bends which I think will be noticeable but never mind!

[jonmsm]

New bits ordered



Items 1, 9, 10, 15 - another Dealer/Eurocarparts spend! Front struts will be finished - then just need to find £150 for new lower wishbones to complete the front end rebuild!

Also - bought this today for my other BMW:

If only I could get round to putting it back on the road to do some drifting!

[jonmsm]

Right, one step forwards - 2 back:

been doing silly little things while I'm not at the workshop during the week so cleaned the strut top caps up:

Then my parts arrived from BMW... YEY:

2 each of Items 9, 10 and 15 - simple..... oh wait:

4 of item 10, NON of item 9, 2 of item 15 and 2 of item 6? Why would you think I need 4 of item 10, there's only two struts on the car... and item 6 is the bits I just cleaned up that were already on the car (see first photo).... CRAP STICK!

I did get a boot strut that might actually work though now! Top mounts should be arriving from Euro Car Parts tomorrow too!

[jonmsm]

SUCCESS!

I have spoken to BMW and the missing parts are in the post free of charge!

And these arrived today - woot! Might be able to get the struts done this weekend!

[jonmsm]

update:

been fiddling with the cabby and the Scirocco today - got the strut rebuild complete with all new spring seats and top cap, new top mounts and assembled and cleaned up. I also rebuilt the back bumper now that I have the join caps and its looking smart - just need to order the new rubber bits!





Thats all for now really - most of the work was slow tinkering so nothing much to show - once I get the next batch of parts it will start to come together

[jonmsm]

Bit more progress today...

Got a big order of bumper parts from Cotswold including all the rubber bumper strips front and rear, new indicators, bolts and clips. The bumper strip came in a 10ft long tube... that was interesting to get to the workshop in a scirocco!

I stripped the rear bumper back down and cleaned the insides, then primed and painted with a random grey paint (Ford Dolphin Grey or something like that) to make them look more original and new - excessive; maybe, nvm!



Then start on the front bumper while waiting a spare pair of hands to come help me lift the bumper on... Before:

After


The front has come up OK but there is still a very light haze to the chrome even though it has come up super smooth and shiny so considering replacing them both.

Rear back on - starting to look like a car again now!

Looking pretty good - You can see now (anyone that followed my thread about numberplate surrounds) why I want the right surround for the rear, the gap looks large and it has to look just so to go with the new bumpers!


Got the front centre section polished up too and it looks pretty smart... from here


then on closer inspection...


C0CK! Need a new bumper then (seen as the two corners still have a haze) - not fitting £300 worth of brand new parts to a shite chrome section Yet another expense!

[jonmsm]

Small update as the VW's apparently lack of reliability has been keeping me very busy indeed, that and starting an M.Sc, buying a second Scirocco for parts then having two cars stolen! In this time I have been away I have been busy doing all sorts though, such as refurbishing these for the Scirocco so it might stop for a change:

Then work has slowly started on the m535i!! Beams are back from coating... and now I feel the need for this to be done to the cabbie... this is going to be expensive!


Luckily the cab is under lock and key so this is what I have been up to on her...

First up - new bits for the front bumper! The new joint caps looks the nuts (on the left) vs the scrubbly old ones (on the right)


Then I picked up a new bumper for the centre section which is in overall dent free condition and polished the hell out of it and painted the inners to protect from further rot as I did with the other ones:


Then on with the assembly...



Replacing all the rubber bump strips and plastic parts too for the real fresh look, even new indicator units... hmm shiny and pretty!



Then things have slowed a bit but last night I got the door chromes back on which required the roof to come down for the first time in over a year... could I remember how to do this... could I bollocks! She looks a bit dusty in the this photo too... because she is - but I daren't remove it for fear of scratching the new paint until I can get her out and washed down with a hose!



Plan to get the lights and front bumper back on tomorrow time permitting and if I can get her moved I might try to get the exhaust back on too! That is all for now - until then, back to Nuclear Physics coursework...

[Blitz]

Why poly bush the rear sub frame mounts?