E30 Zone

Hello everyone.

I've been coming on e30 zone for a couple of years now and haven't really put any pics of my cabby up until now as she has been a rusty old turd that didn't photgraph well! But I've decided to spend some (more) money on her and give her the re-spray she deserves.

A little about the car... I actually bought the car 2 & 1/2 years ago knowing full well it was a rusty old turd but for some reason I took pitty on her and thought for what I'm paying for it, if it lasts a year and I then have to bin it, I'll be happy! Somehow after 2 1/2 years of putting all sorts of little bits and bobs right I have really grown attached the car. I wasn't really mechanical before but after finding e30zone I've found I get a lot of pleasure from putting things right with her.
So up to this point I've spent around £1500 on her sorting out tons of stuff and that includes a new roof for £500 so all in all not too bad for 2 1/2 years motoring but my girlfriend refuses to go anywhere in the car and to be fair I can see why. I cannot believe I've managed to loose all my photo's and only have these couple of shots of the back but this is what she looks like at the moment...




I'm fully aware that if i had any sense I would get rid of this rusty old thing and buy a descent one to begin with and work on that but I've grown really attached to the car now and never want to part with it. I also know I've done a good job putting right the things that were broke and happy that mechanically she's now pretty sound. I cant see me ever selling her on!
Anyways enough of the past, onto the respray.....

About 6 months ago I went around 3 different bodyshops near where I live to get some quotations to take out all the rust and give her a full respray. Only 1 of the 3 even bothered to give me a quote as they preferred to work on insurance job's where I guess they can charge the earth for. Actually as it turned out the one that quoted seemed really interested in the car and keen to do it and I have sent a few cars to him before to have dents knocked out and they've done a really good job. He told me what panels would need replacing so over the next 6 months mostly through the zone I've been collecting bits and bobs to do the job.


Replacement arches from a facelift 2 door i believe
Drivers wing in great condition from Barx325i, cheers mate
And later i decided i wanted to have the mtec 2 kit so managed to get a complete kit from e30a30 which looked like it came from at least 3 different cars. does the job though, cheers mate.




and then all the bits and bobs needed to fit a tech 2 to a pre facelift.. Lower valance, different fog lights, bumper mounts etc.

and £95 worth of nuts and bolts from BMW to screw it on

After finally getting everything together I agreed a cash price with the garage and the car went in about 2 weeks ago.

After being stripped down here are the first lot of pictures of the car in the garage. They were taken inside the spray booth and I must of had the camera on a funny setting as they're all a funny colour.









It turned out after removing the plastic trim that the passenger side wing was cream crackered too so things ground to a halt while I found a second hand one on here. M-Sport came up with the goods with this..

Nice project, look forward to the updates Nice colour too

The Previous photos were taken a couple of weeks ago but i managed to pop into the garage this morning to take a look. Not much progress...


Bonnet sanded & filled. Also dent taken out where someone had closed the bonnet on top of a tool.


wings off




No rust here...



but not sure how worried to be about all this surface rust skattered around....




The Garage say its not a huge problem and they'll grind it all back and treat it. ???

First glimpse of what she'll look like tech 2'd!..




I was quite worried about how the rear bumper would fit with the car being a pre facelift and that it would require major modification but its actually quite a good fit!



and only needs a minor filing down...



We have scratched our heads though to try and figure out what to do with this bit..



The garage have offered to make a plate up to fill the gap and stop muck getting stuck in the bumper and make it out of stainless steel and paint in. Does anybody have any suggestions???

I've also got a problem with the exhaust - its not long enough to clear the new bumper.




The garage have offered to extend the exhaust pipe on the straight section before the back box with similar size tube. I've no idea if that is a good or bad idea. Any suggestions of what to do here also welcome.

Well thats it for now, Will update with more pics as and when i get them. Any comments welcome!

Looking good so far,
Keep the updates coming,

Hi there Keith mate, good to see the project is starting to come along nicely! E30A30 (Matt)

Your getting there slowly,will look super once finished!

Very slowly indead! The arrangement I had with my bodyshop was that they would drop on and off the project as and when they could and unfortunetley they've been super busy the last few weeks so nothing has happened eccept the bootlid de-spoilered and holes welded up.

They've promised me some progress in the next week or so though

kman82 wrote:Very slowly indead! The arrangement I had with my bodyshop was that they would drop on and off the project as and when they could and unfortunetley they've been super busy the last few weeks so nothing has happened eccept the bootlid de-spoilered and holes welded up.

Lol. I once had a similar arrangement with a bodyshop that worked on my old E30. They had the car for about 7 years

ahhh. dont say this! I'm really starting to miss my car now. Fingers crossed just a few more weeks

To speed things up if i was you just go to the body shop every now and then to spur them on..

kman82 wrote: We have scratched our heads though to try and figure out what to do with this bit..



!

i used some black plastic, along with some trim clips,will get a pic later for you

tonybtonyb wrote:To speed things up if i was you just go to the body shop every now and then to spur them on..

I've been popping in towards the end of most weeks. Didn't help that the painter went to the Ashes but he's back now. I'm not really moaning just yet coz the weathers not exactly great for a cabby but starting to miss my toy now

scottybeemer wrote: We have scratched our heads though to try and figure out what to do with this bit..

i used some black plastic, along with some trim clips,will get a pic later for you

Cheers mate, would appreciate a picture. Apparently there was a BMW part for it at some stage during the facelift transition but had not luck tracking it down

there ya go



sorry about the pic,but it will give you the idea

cheers mate, I'll take that to the bodyshop next time I go and see if they can copy.

Just had a read through your thread - the memories came flooding back.

You are correct BMW did do a part number in the transition period to stop the bumper flapping about at the bottom. Ill try and get the part number of Realoem - failing that its a PM to BSS325i - Barry is the only person ive heard mention it.

I was unhappy with the fit of the bumper at the top and decided to apply a small amount of bonding and clamped it overnight into position - it hasnt moved since. Should only present as a slight problem if Ive ever to remove the bumper.

The exhaust if its a 3 piece should have some scope to pull out further at the joints to give you the extra length you need. I would always fit chrome tips anyway and this would see it home.

Keep the updates coming.

Small update.

Making some progress, slowly but surely...

Doors prepped for paint, second weird cabby lock removed


boot prepped...


Car in strange position to weld up the rear arches..


Not quite sure what is going on here. Looking better than it did but still needs more love..


Drivers side rear arch coming together nicely. He was moaning about the fit of the facelift replacement arches and had to modify it further to fit arounc the tech 2 kit....


plate weilded into door shut..


This has had us stumped. Some git in the past has drilled the front skuttle (?) as if to gain access to something. We suspect that the heater blower jambed up and they drilled some holes to spray some sh1t in there. Must have been easier to take the panel off? Any other ideas as to why this has been drilled?....


Another of the car at a weird angle. looks kind of cool like this..


Thats all for now. Been slowly draining my bank account of more funds going towards new mirror glass, wiper arms, BMW badges (£57!!!) and replaceing cracked fog lights etc. The garage have told me they're aiming for the end of next week but cant see it myself. Really looking forward to having her back now!!

wow you have been busy, great work mateits coming along nicely

keep up the good work

Looking good, looking forward to being able to see pics of it finished!

Love seeing these old girls stripped back and restored. Keep the updates coming.

Did these guy's work for British rail back in the day!lol

Small update, finally some paint! Both wings have been painted but they were burried behind wet stuff. But managed a quick snap of the drivers door and boot....

After just over 4 months in the bodyshop i finally got my cabby back at the weekend - Really really pleased with it!! enjoy....

some of the last ones of her being put back together....

Thats looking really nice, turned out really well. How much did the bodyshop charge you in the end?

And some of finished back home....




new interior almost fitted, dyed the carpets black but need to give the mats another coat and loose the sh1tty after market pedals.







Just need new wheels now

Hoping mine turns out like this, what wheels you thinking?

l16ydl wrote:Thats looking really nice, turned out really well. How much did the bodyshop charge you in the end?

I paid £1800 for cash. The said they really underestimated the price though and probably wouldn't ever do another

Probably silver Lensos. I think i read somewhere they do them in 17inch now but that might be a bit too big.

kman82 wrote:I paid £1800 for cash. The said they really underestimated the price though and probably wouldn't ever do another

Wow, £1800 What work did he do for that?

kman82 wrote:Probably silver Lensos. I think i read somewhere they do them in 17inch now but that might be a bit too big.

I've just bought some 17" lensos, but wont be going on until the car's finished, i think they'll look good.

Lots and lots! The photos show most of it but I'll try and list out the main areas

Cut out and weld in new rear outer wheel arches
Cut out and patch rear lower valance in the lower corners
modifiy rear valance to take facelift bumper mounts
Cut out and weld in patch drivers rear inner arch
remove rear spoiler and weld up bolt holes
cut in patch in centre of door cill (below drivers door)
remove second lock on drivers door
take out various minor dents over whole of car
remove and replace with new front wings
Take out dent in bonnet
Weld up drill holes in front scuttle
rust proof minor rust on battery tray and paint
weld up rust near front chassis leg / suspension turret.
replace front lower valance with new panel for facelift bumper
prepare all tech 2 kit to fit to a pre-facelift car
paint waxoyl underside and hidden panels.

sh1t loads when you write it out like that!!

kman82 wrote:And some of finished back home....




new interior almost fitted, dyed the carpets black but need to give the mats another coat and loose the sh1tty after market pedals.







Just need new wheels now

Your cab looks stunning!Oh 17's will fit mate

bet your over the moon to have it back

looks a good job, lovely looking cabby

i am considering not having the tech II spoiler re fitted when mine goes in to be done

17's should be fine

cheers for the comments. yeah i'm over the moon to have it back. I've been going out for random pointless drives in it like i'm 17 again and keep looking out the window for a quick glimpse.

MurphyE30 wrote: i am considering not having the tech II spoiler re fitted when mine goes in to be done

17's should be fine

I'm not quite sure about the look of the back with no spoiler. I need to get the 325 badge back on when i get some glue or tape and I also dont like the number plate surround so we'll see how it looks when i get those fixed.

saving for new wheels, it looks too low for 15 bbs now

I got a spoiler with the kit i bought off BMW-Mad but him and a few others said the cab would look better without the spoiler on it, and i do agree.

looking good. i think i like the de-badged look as well. makes it look very clean.