Ratch's 318iS Resto is back!!!

[magpie]

put a chisel or something on the back of it from under the car and hit that,i think i used a small crowbar to get the angle right.

[Royalratch]

Brutal - but what was needed. That's what Barry (bss325i - big props) did and he sorted it all in a few hours flat so the rack is on, subframe, bushes, ARB etc etc - final mechanical job out the way really. I basically was being a bit of a pussy worrying about getting too aggro with it and damaging something - and I don't have a massive crowbar lol.

Car now has eccentric TCA bushes, E36 rack and slightly lower-profile rubber on 16's so am expecting a noticeable difference in handling. The walnut gear knob will also add to the cars new-found agility.

Just need to flush/bleed with PAS fluid, torque all the bolts properly and centre the wheel.

I'm missing a couple of bastard 22mm crush washers that I swear I ordered ages ago so I can get the hoses back on the pump which is a pain.

Cheers all - pics to follow...

[magpie]

when in doubt,give it a clout well it's done now and you've got your e36 rack in before me,

i must pull my finger out and get some work done

[Nay]

To get my UJ on and off, steering column end though, which is the same thing surely, we took a nice sized flathead, and a malet. Gently tap the the screwdriver into that slit and continue trying, rinse and repeat. TBH, I think I got lucky with my UJ getting it off and on again, but I also had a mechanics pit to help pull the rack off. I wouldn't ever like to attempt this on my back under a jacked up car.

I'm also wondering how to route Dave's pipes. Thats my next task. What places (away from clearly moving objects, like pulleys) are the safer areas to put it. I have no idea whether under the sump is a good idea? (against the crossmember/subframe)

[Royalratch]

I think length will determine the route that I would say at £80, a custom set of pipes that mirror the E30 stuff is the best way now.

[Royalratch]

So.

We start with 4 snapped subframe bolts buried deep inside the front chassis rails due to incorrect Torque 100Nm+ instead of 42Nm .


Luckily, I'd used new bolts lightly copper greased, so one came out with needlenose pliers, the other two came out in seconds with a Left Hand DrillOut® and the last was a bit tougher but a combination of both saw victory. I was prepared for a long night but it didn't take 30mins.


On to the E36 steering rack and getting the subframe back on the car. All new hardware used for the whole front area.


Custom pipework was the order of the day, a hybrid of E36 pipes upto where they are fixed into regular E30 hoses so it all bolts up and looks totally normal. Pirtek Hydraulic did the work, very helpful.



ARB Bush'ed”¦


Spacer above or below for less pimp steer”¦?


All sorted with new rod-ends and boots, greased up and aligned.



New hose from Pump to reservoir too.


So that went in with cleaned up subframe, new wishbones, bushes everywhere and new hardware etc etc. The steering UJ isn't on as far it could be at the firewall end but it's clamped up tight but will get it sorted and pushed in further.

Correct Torques this time”¦




All Banjos torqued up except pump to reservoir because I'm still waiting on 22mm crush washers from BMW...




Onto the headlining. Big thanks to Barry (bss325i) for being the sunroof/headlining overlord. I have a good condition Black one but the sunroof panel insert is frayed and the locating clips were broken. So have those ordered and e30topless is sorting me out with an insert and sunroof motor - mine works fine but the microswitch/relay is messing about.

Headlining and panel”¦


New tension bars - old ends snapped off - seemed quite brittle.



Ironed out any creases and steam cleaned the headlining before fitting. See the pre and post cleaning head - looked fairly clean or so I thought...


Glass out and steam cleaned”¦



Sound insulation also provided by Barry last minute! So I now have brand new NON-sunroof sound insulation if anyone wants...


Getting ready...



Insulation glued in and taped up to keep it there. Spray glue does't seem to work - I recommend a cheap glue gun.


The rear tabs were fiddly to get it all located in the right slots - if the insulation is weak/split/cracked it can fall off those tabs onto your newly installed tight headlining”¦


Not bad for preliminary fit!



New sunroof panel - mine has rusted bolt tabs which I never knew till Barry took it out and shrieked lol. Will be painted up and dropped in.


New tyres arrived too. Conti SportContact 2's, 205/50/16 @ £340 delivered - happy with that deal.


iS lip spoiler back on as a sort of signalling of light at the end of the tunnel. A pain in London but looks nice when fresh”¦


And ready to go get aligned/tracked, new rubber and pick up interior!

[pacerpete]

Ratch, make sure to centralise the rack and highlight the 'marks' with tip ex /red paint etc also mark the top so that you can have a quick check from under the bonnet whilst centralising the steering wheel.
Wheel alignment centres and tyre shops will NOT do this and you will end up with a rack that is not centralised and different length track rods !

[Royalratch]

Hey Pete.

I aligned/equalised the rack by amount of teeth showing and the track-rod ends as per the previous rack, i.e by amount of threads showing. Then I got the wheels set straight and centred the wheel as best I could - is that what you mean?

You mean make the rod-ends the same length both sides when the wheel/rack is centred?

[pacerpete]

Hey Pete.

I aligned/equalised the track-rod ends as per the previous rack, i.e by amount of threads showing. Then I got the wheels set straight and centred the wheel as best I could - is that what you mean?

Nearly but no cigar . There is a raised 'pointer' on the plastic shroud by the input shaft which corresponds with a 'notch' in the rack housing, these two MUST line up to centralise the rack . This reference point can only be seen from underneath , that is why I recommend also marking the plastic shroud and rack body from above so when you refit the steering wheel you can easily check under the bonnet to make sure the rack hasn't moved.
Obviously you will be driving the car to the alignment centre so adjust both track rods to approx equal lengths and so the front wheels are roughly parallel with the rear wheels.
Be sure to point out to the guy doing the alignment that you have centralised the rack and steering wheel and marked them for his benefit.
Tyre shop staff are mostly a strange motor trade sub species often seen well below the layer of scum floating on a pond , so good luck !

[Royalratch]

Nearly but no cigar . There is a raised 'pointer' on the plastic shroud by the input shaft which corresponds with a 'notch' in the rack housing, these two MUST line up to centralise the rack . This reference point can only be seen from underneath , that is why I recommend also marking the plastic shroud and rack body from above so when you refit the steering wheel you can easily check under the bonnet to make sure the rack hasn't moved.

You mean part number 5 here has a notch in it and there' a notch in the metal rack body close by?


So I line up these notches with the steering wheel on or off? Am I looking from above or below...?

[pacerpete]

Yes, the pointer is on part no 5 . As long as fitted correctly, With this pointer lined up with a notch in the rack body , the rack will then be centralised. these reference points are only visible from underneath, that is why I recommend ALSO marking the components from within the engine bay so you can easily check without having to keep going under the car.
ONLY when the rack is centralised , then refit the steering wheel.

[Royalratch]

Aha.

Gotcha. Will get underneath again with a lamp - hope it's bloody visible with everything bolted up again...

[Blitz]

Wow everythings top quality on this car. Top tyres.

[Royalratch]

Suuuuuuuper chuffed with the tyres.

[bss325i]

Fitting a headlining is gay but a black headlining is a must!

Its all about the sportcontact2's!

[Royalratch]

You can also take credit for the initial removal/installation bitch of a steering UJ if you want dude - bit more manly work lol.

[Andyboy]

What a cracking 318iS this will be.

I see the number plate is EFC - that might have come from North Oxford Garage then. That was a proper place back in the day.

[Royalratch]

Bought off the original owner (sort of) from High Wycombe so still have all the purchase papers etc. His son was selling it after his old man died and left it in his garage for a few years.

Tried to sell the plate to some Everton fans once...

[darkchild]

Epic thread Ratch. Car will be a beaut when finished.

Respect to you Sir!

[Royalratch]

Nobody seems to show progress pix of 'outsourced' parts of any resto like powder coating or re-trims. I always like to see that stuff - so here's my centre consoles in progress. Exact Motorposrt pattern in the same leather (very thin black Nappa leather). It will slowly go shiny and look even more authentic as it ages.

Taking shape.



Ashtray detail.


Rear handbrake console with recess - very tricky to do.




Detail - quality is astounding and I haven't seen them in the flesh yet - though their work on other cars is even more insane.


Finished.


These are also available from what looks like an excellent German trimmer on eBay for around 500EUR front and rear, B-Trim quote around £350 front and rear including gaiter and leather handbrake handle. These have been NLA in all colours from BMW for quite a while but would be approaching £1G if they were .

A discounted Group buy could be made real with enough takers - Black and E30 Silber Grey being the only options.

www.b-trim.co.uk

Collect and install soon - will set off the maple gear knob nicely...!

[e30topless]

loving the console

how much has that set you back ?

[Alex]

Ratch that center console is Awsome I want one.

[bss325i]

B-Trim quote around £350 front and rear including gaiter and leather handbrake handle. These have been NLA in all colours from BMW for quite a while but would be approaching £1G if they were.

A discounted Group buy could be made real with enough takers - Black and E30 Silber Grey being the only options.

www.b-trim.co.uk

Im up for a group buy.

[billgatese30]

me too, will match my black nappa leather seats which have an identical double stitch

Although I would need holes in the centre console for the heated seat switches too

[beardymat]

count me in too!

im always wary of having interior trim work done as it can look so horribly wrong but those look spot on. will be after more work doing and these might be the boys.

[Royalratch]

I am as anal as anyone on here and I can say (IMHO) b-trim are one of, if not the best trimmers in the UK. Very chuffed with them - more pix when I collect.

@billgatese30 - Mine will also need holes for the heated switches, you can just cut them out with a scalpel using the holes as a guide with the rear console upside down but they'll sort that if needed.

@Bss325i - I thought you would be lol.

Let me see how much they want to do a set of 10 or so - but I can't see it being under £300 front and rear - with normal prices being nearer £400. The problem is time - these fuggers take about a full day to make and they could be knocking out more lucrative work. It could be a good earner for slow periods.

Mine were 'free'. I say free, I do spend time on their website, photography and branded material etc and they look after me with bits and pieces.

They will be onto Barry's Recaros next - they will look awesome.

[beardymat]

£300+ doesnt scare me, just want a proper job and i trust your word 100% plus if you cant see the quality from the pics then there`s no helping you. timescale is also not an issue.

[Royalratch]

Lol. I didn't mean that £300 was some crazy hi figure - though I would swallow hard if I was paying out my own pocket. Just wanted to set a minimum marker to not waste anyone's time. I think it's worth it tho as these are not available anymore and any used ones I've seen have not been worth considering as they are always pretty grubby.

I'm collecting on Friday so will post up some more pix then.

[billgatese30]

£300+ doesnt scare me, just want a proper job and i trust your word 100% plus if you cant see the quality from the pics then there`s no helping you. timescale is also not an issue.

couldn't agree more with whats said there tbh

[tomson]

I think it's worth it tho as these are not available anymore and any used ones I've seen have not been worth considering as they are always pretty grubby.

I completely agree with this and the workmanship on yours looks excellent Ratch. I'd also be interested if you do put a group buy together...

[e30topless]

+1 count me in on the group buy !

[Dezzy]

I will defos be in for a group buy. That looks the bollox!

I would be happy to pay up front just show where to stick my name.

That will match my Leather highback perfectly once they are trimmed

[Royalratch]

I'm collecting on Friday so will put it to them.

If a large set is something they can't commit a firm delivery date to, there's nothing to stop anyone contacting b-trim (ask for Adam and say Rachid pointed you there) and having it done as a regular customer - but let's wait and see what they think on Friday.

[Royalratch]

Storming ahead to get this on the road ASAP so went to get tyres fitted and car tracked.

Car loaded up and off to GoldenWheels in Park Royal - my closest wheel alignment place with the latest generation balancing/tracking gear.



The guys at the place were shocked at how clean the underside was and were very pleased to be working with shiny new parts rather than the usual E30 horrors they have to deal with. They said it was in better shape than most modern cars lol. They also supplied some copper crush washers for my PAS pump and torqued the banjos with the most awesome digital Snap-On® torque wrench ever.

So I've had these Alpinas a few months and one of them had around 80gms of weights on which worried me when I bought them. I got them cheap on the premise that that one would need work. 80gms is about the limit before you could say the wheel is buckled. Turns out the previous 'technician' didn't know what he was doing and when re-balanced with the state-of-the-art Hunter® gear they use, it actually only needed 15-20gms. Very chuffed. All wheel were inside of 20gms so that was a nice little touch.



Tyres on - fresh rubber... :drool:



Cars now with my local painter who is doing the sunroof, boot lid and the whole passenger side. All new rubbing strips on the way there as we speak so will look great when I get it back. Then it's just interior now.

[Dezzy]

The car is more impressive than your phones camera!

Alot of work, time and money in there. Very impressive