My tech 2 325i Sport. 25 years old today 25.10.14

[Jhonno]

Noice Barry

[Pu]

Very beautiful
I also worked on the reconstruction

http://pu325i.rajce.idnes.cz/

[bss325i]

Time for another update. Finaly got some spare time to get the A/C retofit started so ill be cracking on with that for the next few days as well as installing some audio wiring. I need to get cracking with the long list of things to do as A, show season is round the corner and B, i havent used the car since Santa pod back in september '09! The longest period i've not used it since buying it in july '06!

First things first, i bought this carpet from Theo back in november and its a hard to find shaffer (dark grey/black) cut pile carpet (the plusher one of the two) which is mint with no rips, stains or ware. Result! This will be going in tomorrow once the non A/C heater box assembley has been removed and the audio wiring is in. Before that, it needed a clean as its prob never had more than vacuming in the past 20 or so years.

Here is the carpet prior to vacuming then wet vaccing. I have a VAX wet and dry vac for this.





20 years of dirt!



Carpet done







The phone pics dont do the results justice but its definately noticably cleaner.
More tomorrow.

[The_Diddler]

Carpet porn

Did i just say that out loud

[Ollie_bwoii]

Damn, that's nice.

That must feel oh so nice.

[bss325i]

Its still a bit damp but should be dry by the morning.

[Blitz]

Black carpet is very nice. I think I'm going to have to borrow a vax thing as it looks like the only way to properly clean a carpet.

[Royalratch]

Awesome.

I vaxed my Blue carpet and it came up awesome - Steaming any stubborn bits first helps.

Nothing like a mint carpet going in and when it does the interior starts to looks like an interior again.

[Theo]

The jizz stains came out ok then?

[Eddie25]

Awesome car top work Barry.

I agree with the thought behind the build entirely and it is the same brief I try to work to. As many original options boxes ticked as possible.

Nothing nicer IMO than a nice clean E30 with all the right extras.

For people to call into question the originality I think is ridiculous. Not to open a can of worms but there are far more E30's on here with E36 engines, aftermarket suspension, aftermarket brakes etc etc than there are cars like Barry's with all original parts.

[Simon]

I do like a black carpet

[Simon13]

Had time for this but not roll bars?!

[bss325i]

Had time for this but not roll bars?!

They are coming off on sunday!

[bss325i]

Oookaaaaaaay then........ dashboard out today which turned up a couple of surprises. First thing i discovered was some unusuall audio wiring. As far as i know the car had from new an Alpine pull out tape deck (which i still have!) and a pair of Alpine co-axial speakers in the foot well which im sure was not on the options list back in '89 with Blaupunkt and pioneer being the norm for dealer fitted audio equipment. From what i gather the original owner took the car to a local audio and alarm specialist and had them fit the aformentioned Alpine gear and an alarm.
When i removed the dash i discovered that instead of using a propper BMW stereo loom which plugs into the junction box behind the glove box, they ran an earth and permanent live from the battery in the boot and an ignition live from the ignition switch!
The second thing i discovered was the car is now on its second alarm as the wiring for a previous one was still left behind!



The old alarm loom



So, after the redunant wiring was removed the next thing to tackle was tidying up some other wiring. Two items that have been retro fitted are the 13 button OBC and courtosy of Simon13, cruise control while i was wrestling Oguz327's black headlining into place!
But i digress..... Both these items didn't have their wiring routed in the factory place so they were both re routed on the inside of the dash clipped into the correct location.





Next up was removal of the of the heater box assembley in preperation for the air con/climate assembley to go in but before that can go in, the carpet needed to go in which was a fooking wrestling match and a half getting it to sit right as its out of shape from being stored folded up.





More tomorrow.

[fowler]

bloody hell barry if you need a hand mate i am free couple of days next week ??

[The_Diddler]

Looks like hours of fun barry

[bss325i]

bloody hell barry if you need a hand mate i am free couple of days next week ??

Thanks Ben but im back to work on monday.

I booked 3 days of this week to do the M52 swap into the red chromie joe-318i now owns but after a change in plans and all that.

[fowler]

ah i see mate did it all go to plan ????

[bss325i]

Did what go to plan?

[fowler]

the conversion ???? M52 !!!

[fowler]

got all discombobulated what a berk its late

[bss325i]

In typical old car fashion, nothing ever goes to plan! Yesterday was spent getting the heater box assembley into place which involved drilling the three evaporater drain tube holes and removing the old gaskets and popping the new ones on. When that was done i checked the recirculation flap motors worked and all was good with them.





After that was taken care of i decided to remove the evaporator from the assembley to check its conditon. This is where it went down hill! After unbolting the pipes that run from the expansion valve to bulkhead join, i found some corrosion inside the pipes and the valve!
Needless to say i was not pleased as not only does it mean more money, it also means beng set back as most of the dash cant go back untill the pipe work and expansion valve are sorted.

I will say to anyone retro fitting A/C is to check both of these components as discovering a problem in this area when the car is built back up and being gassed is going to cause a massive ball ache!

I forgot to take some pics but i will when i replace them for the new parts. Untill next week.

[B7]

That corrosion was probably caused by the system being without gas and being dormant for years.

Not the end of the world tho baz. How much new pipes and valve?

[bss325i]

That corrosion was probably caused by the system being without gas and being dormant for years.

Not the end of the world tho baz. How much new pipes and valve?

£260 for the two pipes and valve!

Thats on top of the £300+ for the 4 other pipes in the bay and conversion kit and £65 for the condensor, £100 for the A/C spec coolant rad, £70 for a new fan as mine is seized!

The only thing i can consol my self with this whole A/C expense/drama was the brand new compressor, £27 posted from ebay!

All that plus the cost of an A/C valence and painting on top must be getting on for a grand just for an extra button on the dash and some cold air in my face!

[march109]

That corrosion was probably caused by the system being without gas and being dormant for years.

Not the end of the world tho baz. How much new pipes and valve?

£260 for the two pipes and valve!

Thats on top of the £300+ for the 4 other pipes in the bay and conversion kit and £65 for the condensor, £100 for the A/C spec coolant rad, £70 for a new fan as mine is seized!

The only thing i can consol my self with this whole A/C expense/drama was the brand new compressor, £27 posted from ebay!

All that plus the cost of an A/C valence and painting on top must be getting on for a grand just for an extra button on the dash and some cold air in my face!

Bollocks to that I'd rather set off my CO2 extinguisher in my face.

[Royalratch]

Aaaah, the curse of the top spec!

Must... have... more... buttons on dash...

[e30topless]

Barry the only thing needed from the aircon set-up is the valance they look so much better !

the rest is pants and not worth it...
the extra weight will out-weigh the gains from the BTB ! save the headache and just open a window or buy a cab

[bss325i]

Begining to think i should have kept it in basic sport spec down to its cloth seats and analouge clock.

Nahh! Bollocks to that! Optionmeisters are where its at!

[bss325i]

To late Steve im in to deep! As for extra weight, its probably about the same weight as the sub and two amps that i removed that wont be going back.

Black with black leather is no fun in the sun either!

[e30topless]

black leather + sun + shorts = epic fail , aircon needed !

unless you live up north

[Royalratch]

One must never EVER step out of an E30 wearing shorts.





I can feel an E30 rules thread coming on...

[march109]

black leather + sun + shorts = epic fail , aircon needed !

unless you live up north

Or you don't wear short shorts. Board shorts FTW.

Who wears short shorts?

[bss325i]

What about 3 quarters?

[Ollie_bwoii]

Nice progress with this lately Barry.

Black with black leather is no fun in the sun either!

I practically burnt myself on beige leather yesterday, would hate too think what black would have been like.

[Royalratch]

3 quarters are criminal.

Loose fit flat fronts or military cargo type, no socks - ever.

Board shorts when more than 300m from the beach are another no no.

E30 dress code thread coming up.