Sport Restoration... quick question.

[Jhonno]

I recognise those Recaro's..

Should be awesome when it is done

How much were the sills and rear panel from BMW btw?

[Tedswagon]

Have you picked / booked it into a bodyshop? Looks cool.

[GraniteE30]

Fair play to you for going ahead with the restoration, the car will look great!! Looking to do the same with my sport soon too.

[Phatz]

I recognise those Recaro's..

Should be awesome when it is done

How much were the sills and rear panel from BMW btw?

You aren't missing them are you? They'll be put to good use soon mate.

I got the sills for Just over £50 each and the rear panel for £155. That was from C3 though.

[Phatz]

Here is what Cotswold BMW quoted me for all the bits I needed.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... list+parts

[Jhonno]

Nice one cheers fella..

I do miss them a bit, but my SRD's are great and give me a little extra headroom..

Will follow this see how it comes along.. Decided on the lump yet?

[Royalratch]

Your choice of bodyshop is going to love you - welding nice fresh metal!

[DanThe]

Beardymat would love this job

[The_Diddler]

Beardymat would love this job

He would indeed

[Royalratch]

It's gotta be Beardymatt if you can brave the caves where he resides.

[Alex]

Awsome, yet another proper resto, if you dont mind me asking how much is the rear panel

[DanThe]

Awsome, yet another proper resto, if you dont mind me asking how much is the rear panel

the rear panel for £155. That was from C3 though.

You know it makes sense Alex

[town325i]

bloody hell all the new panels you have it will be nearly enough a new shell. top job though

[Tedswagon]

Here is what Cotswold BMW quoted me for all the bits I needed.

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... list+parts

Bloody hell thats more than I paid for my car! Not more than I've spent on it but more than I got it for!!

Beardymatt did an amazing job of his, cant wait to see how this one turns out. Good luck - keep the photos coming.

[bss325i]

So that who you sold them highbacks to Dan!

You wasn't joking when you said you were going all out with this Martin!

Top marks for taking on a resto of this magnitude as thats alot of body work to be done even before paint!

Do you have a bodyshop lined up yet? If not, when you go looking for one make sure they are good at what they do. It would be a shame for all the new panels, time and money to go to waste ifs its not done with care.

[Phatz]

Thanks for all the comments and support chaps, I'll certainly be relying on you lot for help and guidance over the coming year.

I'm aware that this resto will cost thousands and a lot of my mates think I'm nuts spending all this money on a "rusty old crate", but I love this car a lot and have always loved E30s and Tech-II sports since I started driving. I just want my one to be exactly as I want it, as mint and as specced up as possible really.
Trawling through resto threads such as Bmwe30mtech's, Royalratch's and Beardymatt's (to name a few) is really my inspiration for undertaking this project. It's also helped me to develope a taste for an OEM approach, as opposed to having my car slammed on alpina reps with big exhausts as it was before. I enjoyed having the car that way, but now I want that original look and feel, as if it just came from the factory.

I'll just give a brief run down of what I want for this car:

-Exterior

Obviously a full body restoration with replacement panels and ALL rust issues sorted. Full respray inside and out in diamond schwarz. Total re-seal and paint underneath. Full wax oil and rust protection application, hopefully better than factory. Totally standard with classic 15' BBS... Just the way it should be.

-Interior

I've developed an extreme fetish for red interiors, and I want to fit a cardinal red one into my car. I want to get my highbacks and a sport rear bench re-trimmed and try and hunt down the other bits on ebay (USA) or any where else I find (no easy task I know, it's rare!) I also want heated elements in the front seats along with an air-con and cruise control set ups retro fitted. Still undecided on what to do with ICE...

-Engine

I definately want to stick with the M20, it's what the car came with and it just looks right in that engine bay. I'm not fussed about monster power gains, but I would like something that performs better than the standard 2.5 but looks original. So, I've got a 2.8 crank, shorter rods and the spacer needed sitting in an M20 block, just waiting to be built. This will happen at a later date however

-Suspension

I'd like to do a complete overhaul of the suspension. This means drop both axles and have them blasted, powder coated and re-built using new BMW rubbers and joints. A few upgrades like E46 rear top mounts and Z3 diff bush etc. I'm used to a harsh, low ride with this car as it used to be lowered 60mm all round. I still want to keep it low, but something like 35mm with a bilstein/eibach combo? I want a good handler with a decent ride comfort.

Parts like trim and other bits will be cleaned/replaced to really get the car looking minty fresh.

So now I'm at this stage the next job is to start the bodywork. I haven't lined anyone up to do the work yet, although I have been speaking to a mate of mine who is supposedly the absolute nuts at doing this kind of job. His work is to an impeccably high standard and he knows what I want from this project. However, nothing is for certain so I will keep you guys posted....

Updates will follow.

[beardymat]

this is exactly how a resto should be tackled, full strip to uncover all lurking horrors and new panels where possible instead of trying to make do, this way you wont be getting upset with yourself later on when rust issues start appearing again on your freshly repainted shell.

your car does make a good example of a point i was talking to someone about regards prices of sports in that it looked perfectly good before it was stripped and would have made good sport money if sold as it was, but there are hidden issues and how many cars sold as solid are hiding the same issues? it may be costly to do a full resto but you can be sure that the car is 100% and with carefull maintainance it will be around for well over another 20 years.

keep up the good work

[Royalratch]

I've developed an extreme fetish for red interiors, and I want to fit a cardinal red one into my car. I want to get my highbacks and a sport rear bench re-trimmed and try and hunt down the other bits on ebay (USA) or any where else I find (no easy task I know, it's rare!) I also want heated elements in the front seats along with an air-con and cruise control set ups retro fitted. Still undecided on what to do with ICE...

A friends son on the west coast has a mint cardinal red leather interior in a pre-facelift 325i. Red parcel shelf with the original premium audio installed - he could be persuaded to sell. Red is quite common but not popular over there. I think regular sports seats will look far better though in an all original resto.

I haven't lined anyone up to do the work yet, although I have been speaking to a mate of mine who is supposedly the absolute nuts at doing this kind of job. His work is to an impeccably high standard and he knows what I want from this project. However, nothing is for certain so I will keep you guys posted....:

If he's a mate, wouldn't you already have known this is what he does for a living? Sounds like by sheer coincidence, you've just learnt your mate is a master resto man lol.

That's handy!

[jaymos]

looking forward to seeing how this progresses, good luck with the project fella

[Phatz]

Well, after months of waiting to tie my mate down to get started on the bodywork to my car. He finally popped round this afternoon to get cracking.

We decided the first thing to do was the roof, so, armed with an angle gringer and some chisel and hammer, we set to. Here is what resulted!







And here is the old rusty roof. The pic shows where it was bonded to the inner framework.



The next job is to straighten everything up and get it all prepped and ready for the new roof! Here it is, waiting patiently for it's new resting place.



I also need to clean up, paint and seal these areas before the new roof goes as I don't want any vulnerable spots that could start to corrode again. Anyone know the best product to seal here properly? For example red oxide primer and then some kind of wax oil or underseal? What works best and lasts longest?

These pictures also show that we had decided to cut the roof skin sides and leave the gutter in place to start with. We then worked to separate trhe gutter from its join after the pics were taken.









The only thing that has stumped us a little is how to replicate the welds that join the roof gutter sides. BMW seem to have produced an extremely neat, almost hidden join here that is very strong. Is this possible to reproduce? I have also heard of some bonding adhesives that are stronger than welds now? Should I be thinking about these for this particular join?

Overall I'm very pleased that work has finally commenced. Interested to hear comments or advice from you chaps.

[Phatz]

BTW how do I update the title on this thread? Thanks

[e30topless]

edit the first post

that's some serious work going on there !

no doubt the result will be exellent, well done

[Baz666]

Man you are doing one hell of a job there dude, going to be like new when your finished

[inlovewithRWD]

[cornish accent] Proper job!! [/cornish accent]

[Dezzy]

What a top effot.

Taking aim with the grinder for the first cut in the roof must have raise some pulses

I cant wait to see this finished

[DanThe]

Looking good

Check out X-Works resto which is stickied at the top of E30 Chat, IIRC he stitch welded down the gutters as its a heat weld/roller type machine that did this job in the factory

You should only need to prime bare metal TBH, acid based etch is the best, just make sure you go mad with the waxoil gun once its all together

[m_jermyn]

^^^
As Dan said with the etch primer and waxoll... I myself would paint over the etch primer so its water tight then waxoll it ... Etch primer is not water proof...

There is panel adhesives out there and they are excellent and very good to use... It is no doubt the best method to replacing a roof as it means no mig welding or grinding and no chance of exposed metal left to rust.. You will still need to spot weld at the front and rear where the screens go... On the sides make sure they are fully painted before putting the panel bond on once again leaving no room for rust.. When the roof goes on it squeezes the sealer out the edges and seals it perfectly. You when painting the roof paint it all the way to the gutters this ensures you have painted over the sealer.. Waxoll the shit out of the undersides.

Job done...

Make sure you clamp the roof down or put some weights on it so the gap is closed.

Mike

[BMracing]

What's a good etch primer to use?

I didn't find the one Halfords sell much good.

[m_jermyn]

If your mate is a panel beater he should know what to use.... I assume you are painting the roof in 2K paint, so make sure the etch primer is suitable..

I hope you are paining in 2k paint.

[Phatz]

Thanks for all the comments and advise chaps. My plan was to clean the old primer off as it's flaking and there is some surface rust. Get it all clean and back to bare metal. So, taking in what m_jermyn advises:

etch primer
2K paint
lots of waxoil once the new roof is on.....

Like BMracing asks, what is a good etch primer to use?

Cheers

[mrcool]

Thanks for all the comments and advise chaps. My plan was to clean the old primer off as it's flaking and there is some surface rust. Get it all clean and back to bare metal. So, taking in what m_jermyn advises:

etch primer
2K paint
lots of waxoil once the new roof is on.....

Like BMracing asks, what is a good etch primer to use?

Cheers

I have used acid 8 rattle cans but it is 1k and not suitable for body panels painted in 2k. Althogh perfect for other bits and bobs/non exposed areas

[Phatz]

Well, I'm away in Russia at the moment so progress on getting this cracked on has been....well, non existant really. When I get back in mid August the car is being moved to a barn/garage that my mate and few others rent. So the new roof will be going on once it has been trailored over there.

Before I left I did manage to get a bit sorted with the roof frame work. I decided the best thing to do would be to grind the old primer and scabby bits back to bare metal. So I armed myself with this lot:



The most effective and quickest way of sanding back old paint/surface rust. Nothing beats it imo. Here you can see the results of a couple of hours with the noisy grinder irritating the neighbours.







Once this was all done and cleaned up, the next job was to spray a few coats of Acid 8 etch primer. I went with this stuff in the end as it was readily available to me from my local auto spares and most people reckon it does the job. I also bought a tin of black hammerite to follow up (no pics of hammerite finish though...) and another can of primer that is supposed to allow mig welds through the finish? Not sure if I'll need it but hey... it was there.









Here you can see the grey etch finish. This now has two coats of hammerite, which isn't the prettiest of finishes but it ain't gonna been seen again. I reckon this along with a load of waxoil once the new roof is on should be sufficient enough for a good few years. One question I do have though is this: when the new roof is bonded to this finish, will I have to grind back the areas where bonding will stick to? Is it okay for bonding the stick to just paint? Or does it need to adhere to bare metal for a stronger contact?

Anyway, next job is to move the shell and get the new roof on before starting the rear quarters and inner arches etc...

[Alex]

nice, keep up the good work

[/// KAMI]

Looking good this is going to be one of the best ones on here......

[aaronsmart]

you should get a perspex massive sunroof made up and tint it black

http://image.sporttruck.com/f/9213016/0 ... unroof.jpg

like that!