The Diddler's Resto ** NEW PICCIES** 10/10/12

[The_Diddler]

Well boys and girls, after a pretty shi*ty year to date i've decided i need something to get stuck into, which i'm hoping to get finished by April next year.

Some of you may say well why not get the A reg moredoor sorted first, thats more a long term deal and more in depth than what i have planned for the F reg turd, so after alot of thinking its the newer car first.

Basically the newer moredoor needs a couple of minor rust issues sorting and a repaint, plus the engine bay and front panel will get some attention as well.

It looks pretty respectable in the various photos that have appeared on the zone, but get close up and you'll see theres issues on every panel, some minor some not so minor. The MTech kit has deffo faded alot compared to the rest of the car, and what with various other panels being painted in the past you can see a obvious colour difference.

I have had a few ideas kicking around my head since i bought this chariot, one of them was to finish of the "Alpina 3" theme, i.e its already got the wheels, gearknob and steering wheel, so just add the front and rear alpina spoilers, but barry bss325i is doing that to his sport, so not sure what to do now, dont what to copy

Now its already full of nice things, was SE spec from new

Rear Blind
Heated leather sports seats
Heated drivers door lock, mirrors and washer jets
Cruise Control (retrofitted by me)
13 button OBC
Expensive original 80's pukka pioneer stereo system
Headlight wash system (need to get that working)
MTech suspension
Mtech 2 bodykit
Alpina gearknob
Alpina Steering wheel
Alpina 7J 16" alloys

Full A/C system ready to go in, including all new clips, brackets, pipes/lines as required, original stuff bought from barry bss325i

Things i'm gonna add/buy new/refurb etc:

4 new 16" Alpina alloys and centre caps, 8J for the rear, plus 4 new tyres
Map light mirror
Front door tweater pod speakers
3:73 LSD
Dye headlining black (not too sure on that one yet)
Fit black carpet i have aquired
Leather handbrake gaitor and handle
Leather gearknob gaitor
Send all brake calipers and carriers off to get refurbed.
Replace all front and rear suspension bushes
BTB 6 branch manifold
New stainless steel exhaust (will need advise on whats best with the 6 branch)
New shadowline trim as required
New B pillar door trims
New rear lights
New front headlights complete assemblys
New wiper arms
New headlight wash system wiper arms
New grilles
New door handles all round
New door strike plates and screws/fixings all round
New heated mirror glasses (if still available)
New numberplate lights
New clips/fixings/bolts etc as required

Have already spoken to Beardymat about getting the car booked in to his bodyshop, all been well i should know in a couple of weeks when he can fit me in, so in the meantime i've started to strip a few things in readiness.

A few before





A couple after stripping started







I had thought about this as a look i quite liked, what do you think, all opinions welcome......



Obviously i wasnt gonna fit the badges, but i quite liked the stripes............., or do you think its too much of a wannabe??

So, stripping has started, just gotta talk to Bearymatt on what he would like to see taken off before it maks its way up to his bodyshop in Sheffield for its spruce up

[e30topless]

paul this will make a great car even better

new missano paint

I may be able to help with the Alpina front spoiler if you decide to..

[bss325i]

Great stuff Paul!

If you want to go front and rear alpina spoilers go for it!

[DanThe]

How about a new donk while your at it Paul?

Will be a great car once sorted

[Ollie_bwoii]

Will be an awesome project!

I would go for the alpina valance and rear spoiler, but then I'm not that keen on a tec2 spoiler!

How is the chromie coming along?

[Alex]

have you forgot about the other moredoor

Will look good for a moredoor

[djk]

Alpina spoilers would be trick, as would 8Js on the rear, but stripes a bit too much I reckon. Just amazed you're gonna put this much work in to a car that's already so good, but fair play to you - you give lazy gets like me something to aspire to!

Have you thought about sourcing and fitting a Sport gearbox/z3 rack? For me, the two worst things about stock 325s are the gear ratios (particularly 1st) and the steering ratio. If you'removing away from fastidious originality, and with the kind of outlay you are looking at, I'd be bumping these two driveability upgardes up my list of priorities.

Also nice to see someone putting the effort in with a moredoor - they deserve the love too, despite some people's loathing. Are you still going to restore the chromie after this?

[The_Diddler]

Don't worry guys the old henna red moredoor is tucked up all snug in the garage under cover awaiting its turn, just sourcing bits every now and again.

I didnt think about the sport gearbox, will it make much difference, havent driven a 325 with one.

[Blitz]

Don't worry guys the old henna red moredoor is tucked up all snug in the garage under cover awaiting its turn, just sourcing bits every now and again.

I didnt think about the sport gearbox, will it make much difference, havent driven a 325 with one.

320i box is very similar.

[e30topless]

got a sport box here if interested paul

[leeparkes]

yes

That is a 'Very' nice look!

[ImysE30]

Moredoor Alpina Sport

No doubt this will be stunning once finished

[FMH]

yes

That is a 'Very' nice look!

+1

[Barx325i]

liking that, not sure if you'll like the 'new' shadowline trim prices mind..

[The_Diddler]

liking that, not sure if you'll like the 'new' shadowline trim prices mind..

I know but needs must

[DanThe]

I didnt think about the sport gearbox, will it make much difference, havent driven a 325 with one.

M20 needs all the help it can get
E36/E46 rack and aircon are a must for a nice road car

[/// KAMI]

yes

That is a 'Very' nice look!

+1

i think its agreat idea....the stripes will make it look good

[Barx325i]

24v abuse insues

be mindful the e36/46 rack limits future 6 branch choice

[djk]

I didnt think about the sport gearbox, will it make much difference, havent driven a 325 with one.

M20 needs all the help it can get
E36/E46 rack and aircon are a must for a nice road car

An optionmeister like this car deserves A/C - if you're gonna have the dash out anyway, makes sense to fit it. I suppose the trouble is finding a suitably mint valance (does this matter so much with techII/alpina front end? Just cut the metal behind the kit maybe?).

The stock e30 rack is just stupid - if you drive almost any other car directly before jumping ito an e30 you'll know exactly what I mean. Top of my wish-list of mods by a distance.

[DanThe]

E30 rack reminds me of driving a sherpa van

[Barx325i]

true even a 370mm oem is ridiculous with the standard rack, 340mm is just right if not a slightly large

[hennabm]

I don't know - you just cant bear to see a moredoor in one piece You HAVE to have them stripped and in many pieces. I think you are a closet moredoor hater as all you seem to do is strip them down.

Best of luck with this one and roll on the henna moredoor making a return.

PS - valve??

[e30topless]

I know how bad it is to have 1 car stripped but 2 is a major amount of pieces !

Paul make sure you label everything correctly or you could have a disaster when building them up !

[The_Diddler]

I don't know - you just cant bear to see a moredoor in one piece You HAVE to have them stripped and in many pieces. I think you are a closet moredoor hater as all you seem to do is strip them down.

Best of luck with this one and roll on the henna moredoor making a return.

PS - valve??

dont worry, it'll be back in one piece.......

As for the other henna moredoor, its tucked up nice and warm under cover in the garage, mind its pretty naked underneath now , collecting some nice morsels now and again, have got some nice front sports seats in the correct antracite cloth, drivers needs some work but i have plenty of minty cloth for that

Next job iver winter is to extract the lump and get the underside spruced up, followed by nicely refurbed suspension bits, gotta take things nice and slowly.

Oh yeah forgot to mention got some spanking new complete bosch preface headlight assemblies as well

Just looking at the valve now, its on my desk

[Simon13]

sport box is a subtle difference, you don't notice it the "problem" with tuned M20's really a 2.7 pulls through the gap the standard ratios leave between 2nd and 3rd. A 325i can bog down a bit as the box drops the car out of the power band. its not the drama some people say it is. The sport box will perk it up a bit in the first 3 gears though

1st, 2nd and 3rd are different 4th and 5th the same on both boxes.

[The_Diddler]

Thanks simon nice explanation

[hennabm]

The sports box also gives a 1:1 on 5th instead of an overdrive.

[bss325i]

The sports box also gives a 1:1 on 5th instead of an overdrive.

Dog leg box's do.

Getrag 260 "sport" gearbox's dont, they still have an overdrive 5th. Thes were only available on 325i's.

The dog leg box's available as an option on 323i's were known as sport box's though, hence the confusion.

[djk]

The sports box also gives a 1:1 on 5th instead of an overdrive.

Not according to my handbook:

240 box
1st 3.72
2nd 2.02
3rd 1.32
4th 1.00
5th 0.81

260
1st 3.83
2nd 2.20
3rd 1.40
4th 1.00
5th 0.81

Sport
1st 3.35
2nd 2.03
3rd 1.36
4th 1.00
5th 0.81



EDIT: Just seen BSS325is post - makes sense now.

[The_Diddler]

Update ****25/10/09****

Had a couple of hours today to have a play, so a little more stripping in preparation for the upcoming paint.......

Not going to remove shadowline trim from doors, just gonna get masked and painted, after taling advice form others on the zone.

Unfortunately both roof gutter trims corroded/chipped so will need to be replaced.

So far the list is looking like this, rear panel needs some attention around the top fixings for the black in fill numberplate panel, around numberplate lights is all good, rear arch lips need some attention and some areas on the bottom of the sills where the stonechip stuff has come away as well, bottom of front arch needs a little new metal grafting in, all in all i'm quite happy, could have been worse.

Took the front wing off, inner bottom a little crusty, looks like mostly surface stuff, mind i' let Bearymatt decide if its worth saving or not.........

A few pickies









Front panel needs some surface rust attended too as well.....



PS any idea what i could do with these E28 Recaro's

[kieran325]

My front wings were a little crusty in the same place, they were repairable but I opted for 2 new wings to finish it off.

I know now it rot/rust free for another 20 yrs

[DanThe]

Recaros are in a nice trim, id get the worn bits replaced with pieces donated from a scrapper and put them on the bay with a reasonable reserve

[djk]

Do they fit e30s then? In the henna?

[DanThe]

No good for an E30, much too wide

[Felix79]

Paul your nutts!

Alpina idea would work well as you can still get the gold striping kit in a facelift type, spoilers are easy to get as are the C2 2.7 badges. Could do a very convincing look alike as you have the blood green Alpina tyre pressure stickers on the bloody thing

All you need to sorce is a Alpina plaque and Alpina clocks and noone would be any the wiser!