Gheko's 325i Council project.

[FreddieS]

Nice ice rink youve got there!

Doubt it'd fail the mot, mine has a similar amount of rust in that area, i plan on cutting out the outer arch to tackle it, obviously you'd rather not do that as your outer's look quite good

[josh-hocking]

as daf said - id fibreglass the inside and underseal the outside.. after a good wirebrush of corse.

however depends how keen you are. if it was my car id have it welded.

[E30Gheko]

News about the MOT is pretty welcome. Freddie, ur right about my reluctance to remove the outers. They are in pretty good shape and it would seem a great shame to have to hack them off.

I never would have thought of a fibreglass patch but as it's not structural that actually makes sense. I'm 99% sure I'm going to be this particular E30's last owner and that fix fits in with my overall plans for it.

I don't mind workin on the car but I also have to drive it when the weather gets better or i'll go mad.

[E30Gheko]

Decided to change the word 'resto' to 'revival' in the title to this thread. IMHO this is leagues away from a 'restoration' and calling it such might be mildly insulting to the writers of some of the other resto threads!
Thanks for your help so far tho!

[Daf318is]

I have plenty of fiberglass matt if you want to tackle this - ideal conditions outside too as it takes the resin ages to go hard in the cold and you have far more time to work with it. Scrub it back, use some rust killer to make sure it doesnt get any worse in future and fiberglass it .

If you need some fiberglass matt let me know and I'll drop you some off, I dont have any resin though - but this is easily obtainable from Halfrauds

Daf

[E30Gheko]

Sounds like a plan Daf! I'll see if I can get it scrubbed up a bit better. What would you use to prep it with and how can I shift the big block of filler wedged right between the outer skin and the wheel arch? I can't see it being ready for fibreglass for another few days yet.

[Daf318is]

No substitute for elbow grease I'm afraid! Just chip away at it! Best thing I have found is a wire wheel on a grinder - there isn't anything I have found that can survive this !

This is the type stuff I have been told to use to help prevent rust spreading in the future:



I have to be honest I have never used it myself but a friend in the trade swears by it......!

Daf

[BMWAlpinaC2]

blimey, stick a screw through it.

[Daf318is]

blimey, stick a screw through it

Use a plastic one though - steel one will rust !

Daf

[E30Gheko]

Elbow grease I have in great supply! I used the wire wheel on my grinder today but it was just a bit awkward getting into the corners with it. Breathin in clouds of filler dust was pretty unpleasant too.

I'll put sommat over me gob and crack on.

[E30Gheko]

I'm looking for a few daft little bits at the moment and thought I'd post requirements here.....

1. Nearside front plastic wheelarch trim
2. The plastic tray mounted underside between front arches & ends up covered in oil when u’ve got a leak. (I needed to remove it to get to the bottom hose and it’s pretty fooked) What’s it called?
3. Clips ”“ On the front edge of the car (little red arrows in photo below) They are ALL missing off mine.
4. Both hoses going to the coolant resevoir
5. Clutch fluid resevoir cap
6. Diagnostic plug cap
7. New bleed screw for the thermostat housing
PM me if you have any of these bits for sale. Thanks!

[scottidog]

Hi mate, love those hoses, how much are they???? Im an mot tester and unfortunately the corrosoin on the rear arch is within 30cm of the rear seatbelt mounting points, therefore is scructural and hense a fail. If you want to fibreglass the arch make sure to cover with plenty of underseal so the tester doesnt notice it (now your going in to the realms of "do i bodge it or do it right") They can be welded my 325i has had this repair done very well from the outside (inside the arch). I have a clutch cap and lots of clips if you dont mind usuing 2nd hand parts. Probs have a diagnostic plug cap if its the same cap on a 316 as my spare parts car is a 1990 316i 3 door. If you need anything else give me a shout, silly little things like this i will post to you for free. But please mate check that sunroof before going any further. Scottidog.

[E30Gheko]

Hi mate, love those hoses, how much are they???? Im an mot tester and unfortunately the corrosoin on the rear arch is within 30cm of the rear seatbelt mounting points, therefore is scructural and hense a fail. If you want to fibreglass the arch make sure to cover with plenty of underseal so the tester doesnt notice it (now your going in to the realms of "do i bodge it or do it right") They can be welded my 325i has had this repair done very well from the outside (inside the arch). I have a clutch cap and lots of clips if you dont mind usuing 2nd hand parts. Probs have a diagnostic plug cap if its the same cap on a 316 as my spare parts car is a 1990 316i 3 door. If you need anything else give me a shout, silly little things like this i will post to you for free. But please mate check that sunroof before going any further. Scottidog.

Hoses were bought off here 2nd hand from Zaust. Quite a bargain too!

If the wheel arch can be welded I'd rather do that. Would a patch welded onto the inside of the arch from underneath and a fibreglass patch on the inside of the car be considered less of a bodge and more acceptable to an MOT tester?

With regards to the sunroof I tilted it open today and had a good look around the tray. There was a little surface rust but nothing alarming. I'll admit I have no real idea how to inspect the area you're talking about more thoroughly. I noticed there is a Wiki article on how to service a sunroof so I'll have a look at that tonight.

I have no probs at all with quality 2nd hand parts. If you are able to post them that would be great. I'll PM my address!! nice one!

[scottidog]

ok no probs. just pull the driver and passenger door seals down and peel the roof lining off enough to get a torch in and have a look at the roof skin. The seals will hold the lining back up when refitted (or glue it back). I will get parts off car tomorrow and stick in post this week sometime.

[E30Gheko]

ok no probs. just pull the driver and passenger door seals down and peel the roof lining off enough to get a torch in and have a look at the roof skin. The seals will hold the lining back up when refitted (or glue it back). I will get parts off car tomorrow and stick in post this week sometime.

Ur a gentleman. Thanks. I'll check that roof skin tomorrow.

[Daf318is]

I'm going to clwyd breakers on Sat to pick up some stuff for my car - if I see anything off your list I'll pick it up for you.

Daf

[E30Gheko]

Nice one Daf. Whereabouts is the breakers? I could do with finding it. Do you know if they have a few E30's there?

[Daf318is]

Clwyd breaker in Rhuabon, it's about 3 miles out side of Wrexham.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz ... 1&ct=image

Easy to find. He has 3 E30s in - although there isn't much left because I have had most of them ! There is also HK motors next door - he has one in at the moment.

Daf

[E30Gheko]

Sound Daf. That is very handy to know. How's ur car comin along by the way?

[Daf318is]

Almost done - just need to mount my lambda sensor, fir the exhaust with something more secure than cable ties fit electric fan then it's MOT time wish me luck

Daf

[E30Gheko]

I've managed to source a local welder to do the arch. He's going to come to me which is a bonus as the car is not strictly road legal at the moment. It should be done within a week or so.

[E30Gheko]

Good luck with the MOT Daf!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for u. It's a tense time for most on here - lol!!

I peeled back the headlining at both doors today as described above. It looks fine there. However, I did stick my head up into the sunroof opening, and shone a torch through to see the underside of the roof. Doesn't look great I have to say. There has been a lot of water built up in the car, and it looks as though condensation has formed on the roof leaving quite a few rusty spots.

I Removed all of the soundproofing from the drivers footwell to prepare for the welding there. Thankfully there was no moisture trapped under so the rest of the floor is solid enough.

Then I turned my attention to the wheel arch. Typically, what started as a two inch hole has now grown to a 7 inch hole after I managed to shift that whole lump of filler. I've got rid of all the flaky rust and got back to good metal. It's worse than I originally thought, but actually looks easier to repair now albeit a slightly bigger welding job. Also a further inspection of the other side revealed that it is also a bit suspect but certainly not as bad.

All said and done, overall the car is still fairly solid. I went over it all again and have been able to get a better look at the underside too. Realistically I can't see it lasting another 22 years though so whilst mulling over the possibilities I have come up with a vague plan of action.

I think I'll get the arches fixed and run it for another year or 2. During that time, I'll concentrate on the mechancical side of things and try to get it sorted in at least that area. After that it will either get structurally overhauled if I can develop some welding skills, turned into a track car, or re-shelled.

[scottidog]

those rust spots in the roof skin may form holes if you rub them down, can u get in with some sandpaper? I bought one to do up that i thought just needed rear arches and a scuttle panel. its still sat now as when i dropped the roof lining there were tiny spots of rust, when i tried to clean them they turned into huge holes in the roof, this i where im getting your spare parts from which i havent had time to remove yet, will post hem friday for you bud.

[skipunda]

those rust spots in the roof skin may form holes if you rub them down, can u get in with some sandpaper? I bought one to do up that i thought just needed rear arches and a scuttle panel. its still sat now as when i dropped the roof lining there were tiny spots of rust, when i tried to clean them they turned into huge holes in the roof, this i where im getting your spare parts from which i havent had time to remove yet, will post hem friday for you bud.

Yes, this is a real issue with my resto too

If you take the headlining out completely you will have proper access to the area and be able to do a really good job with a bit of wet and dry. Putting the headlining back in must (coz i've never done such a thing) be a tedious job though. Redoing a roof is borderline reshell time, so I was told.

Me, I will continue with my repairs and think of something in the meantime. I'm thinking of something air powered, light, with a sander with fine grain at the end...but we'll see

Loving this by the way, man. Truly great stuff. Got my panels today for my car. BMW ones were great, no worries. One of the arches from Beavers was bent horribly though.

[E30Gheko]

I hear what you're sayin about the roof. Most of it is OK but there is one patch I can see which looks in a slighlty more advanced state of corrosion. I think rubbing there may well reveal some holes.

As it's only me who's ever going to use this car again, I've opted to leave the headlining where it is, seal up the sunroof and pretend it's not there for the time being.

I'm just half way through reading X-Works M3 resto thread. That's clearly the way to do it if it's going to be done properly! I'm only looking at keeping this on the road for 1 or 2 more years now. I think it's time to look at getting hold of a mig welder and get practicing!!

[E30Gheko]

If you take the headlining out completely you will have proper access to the area and be able to do a really good job with a bit of wet and dry. Putting the headlining back in must (coz i've never done such a thing) be a tedious job though. Redoing a roof is borderline reshell time, so I was told.

From what I've learned so far the biggest ball ache to removing & replacing the headlining is that the front and rear screens have to come out first. It's all do-able with patience and enough time on your hands. In my limited experience, things I've dreaded in the past have not been all that bad once you get started. Unfortunatly I don't have a lot of spare time so I need to select the most pressing issues on the car if it's to be on the road for the summer.

[cliffybabe]

how u doin with this one buddy??

[E30Gheko]

Gettin there mate. couple of updates gone on in the last day or two.... ^^^ Not a whole lot more I can do until the temperature goes up a bit and the welder's been.

[Daf318is]

Have you had any more luck with thie one? Cold seems to have passed over a little bit - it's just wet out now! I'll have to come and have a look in a week or so when I get back Has your welder been yet?

[E30Gheko]

Hi Daf,

The welder hasn't been yet. He was meant to but it's a long story. I had a cash flow problem so I had to cancel him. It's all sorted now though so hopfully he should be coming in the next week or two.

By the way have you heard of Rhys Meiron? He was in our place last night with some friends of his. They were all havin a good old sing song which was really cool. I was trying to get him to sing Nessum Dorma but he was havin none of it sayin that he usually gets paid a grand to sing it. I managed to get him to do it for a bowl of chips! lol. T'was a good night. You'll have to pop over, we have a good laugh.

[Daf318is]

Youre not going to b'live this - Rhys Merion was my primary school headmaster when I was in my last 2 years of primary school!!! I haven't seen him for years!

I'm away with work now but i'll drop you a PM when I get back!

Daf

[E30Gheko]

Sound sound Daf. I'll look forward to hearing from ya. Rhys was ur headmaster eh? Small world innit?!

[E30Gheko]

Back on topic.....

I recently bought a 318i and borrowed the leather from this car to finish it off nicely. It's taxed, MOT'd and even insured. Sweet running and good mpg for daily driving. See the link below for more details.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

Well I've been thinking.....

When I took this car off the road I was not 100% sure what I was going to do with it. I was torn between making it more practical for daily use or making it into a track car. I'm now leaning towards the second option.

[E30Gheko]

PROGRESS!!!



Yes that's a welder hiding under the wheel arch. All sorted now! I can start to put it all back together!

[Daf318is]

That's great! Wheel arches attached to the car again! Is there much left to do with putting it back together?