Bringing J22 JAC back to life...........be warned, pic heavy

[l16ydl]

After being this of igotu, i feel that i have let myself down as its not in the best condition and not how the seller described it to me. I am still in 2 mins about what to do, i was all uo for repairing it but now im thinking is it worth it, i think i need to way up the pros and cons and decide from there. In the mean while, here are some (alot) of pics of the car.

The car on the outside:



Engine bay:




The interior:


The soft top:


The driver's side A piller:


Driver's side:








The boot & rear area:





The passenger side:





The cylinder head:




The belt had snapped which bent all the valves, so i'm weighing up the cost of skimming the head and building the engine back up so i can get it running. I got my mate to help and guide me, so if i decide to do it up, i will get it running. Will keep you all posted.

[johnt0709]

Good on you for saving it - Get a 6 pot dropped into it and attack it with a grinder.

[l16ydl]

Good on you for saving it - Get a 6 pot dropped into it and attack it with a grinder.

I want to see if the 4 pot will go first and then decide, would be nice to get a 2.5 in.

Grinder is only the start

[Theo]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to piss on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

[l16ydl]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to pee pee on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

I know where your coming from and it does just make perfect sense.

[bss325i]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to pee pee on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

I whole heartedly agree!

This thing is erupting from every orifice and the only way to properly sort it would be to strip it to a complete bare shell then re-asses the extent of the rot. It will then most likely want to be acid dipped to get rid of it all, and trust me there will be some lurking where you cant see it like under the factory under seal.

That A pillar rot it pretty special and unusual which could indicate a poor accident repair early in the cars life.

[a8dyc]

I agree with Theo.I am also a sucker for a bargin and when I saw the add like many others thought it was a good deal.But as you've shown things aren't always what they appear to be.I think if you plough money into this it could end up costing alot more than its worth and still not be that special.
I would put it on ebay listing the faults you've found and get most if not all of your money back from someone who knows what there taking on(rather than a horrible surprise like youve had).
I do feel for you because I know its exciting when you think your getting a bargin and then it appears not afterwards,but buying with out looking always carries this risk.
Good luck with what ever you deciede.

[Blitz]

Never seen rot on the A pillar like that. Its not worth it on a 325i let alone a 318i.

[sweep]

Break the car sell every re-usable part from it inc carpet de chrome trims etc you may have to store the car for a while whilst biding your time breaking it and then you MAY get your money back plus a small drink depending what the recovery fee cost you.

[B7]

And the same from me. That turd has rust in places I've never seen rust! Half way up the A Pillar?!!!!!

Get it stripped, weighed in and move on.

[sweep]

And if its got a catalyst

[e30topless]

damn that is bad, the poor turd has nothing good going for it at all,

[pacerpete]

Jeez Not even Battersea dogs home would give that a kennel.

As above , "fixing" it is not a viable option, it will be rotten in all sorts of grim places. Clean it up so it at least looks like a 10 footer (OK, 20 footer) and get it on ebay, some masochistic self harming type victim might appear.

If you are handy with a spanner / hammer , another option may be to spend £100 in bits and a few hours at getting it running . The victim pool will increase enormously if it will drive its sorry rusty 4rse down the road

Breaking it is unlikely to net you any more than a few hundred quid as the turd is w4nked and has no morsels

[n1tr0_9]

Frag it, fill the sills with concrete and weigh it in. Post a turd to the original seller, as he clearly sent you one. Unlucky

[bmw-mad]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to pee pee on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

This is the reason why i walked away from the car. Sorry but i dont think the car is worth spending on at all just put it up breakning sell what you can and weight it in You are going to make a loss either way

[Kemix]

Frag it, fill the sills with concrete and weigh it in.

Classic

[SeymourCake]

i will take the dechrome trims if you go ahead with splitting it mate.

[suchy]

A massive money pit to restore and not worth it at all as resale value. Get what you can for it or as Pete said, get it running and tidy it up a bit to sell to get some of your ££ back

[daimlerman]

That's worse than the one I started with;



And now like this;


And mine's redeeming feature is that it is one of only 50 or so green Neon Design Motorsport Cabrio's built in RHD!

That A pillar rot would frighten a skilled bodybuilder.

[Royalratch]

That's not a Motorsport cab is it.

OP - sell and move on don't waste a dime. You have to ask yourself what you want - if it is a mint red can then find one - don't try to make one out of a mess.

[karczochrulez]

Good morning everybody!
its my first post here
Like Theo said - its a scrap - buy another.

[Jhonno]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to pee pee on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

Sadly this is the only sensible option.. You will lose far more money trying to sort that scrap..

[daimlerman]

That's not a Motorsport cab is it.

If that's aimed at me,ratch,yes,my cabbie is a Neon Design Motorsport Cabrio,not a leather lined Motorsport Cabrio,a subtle difference!

[n1tr0_9]

That's not a Motorsport cab is it.

If that's aimed at me,ratch,yes,my cabbie is a Neon Design Motorsport Cabrio,not a leather lined Motorsport Cabrio,a subtle difference!

I didnt know there was such a thing. Ive heard of Neon Design Cabrios?

[daimlerman]

That's not a Motorsport cab is it.

If that's aimed at me,ratch,yes,my cabbie is a Neon Design Motorsport Cabrio,not a leather lined Motorsport Cabrio,a subtle difference!

I didnt know there was such a thing. Ive heard of Neon Design Cabrios?

The Neon cabbies take the styling cues that BMW were using at the time for M3,the fabric used for the seats/doorcards uses the same style in a differing colour pattern,although the 'Motorsport' part is somewhat mis-leading as far as the Neon cabbies are concerned!

Anyway,this is in danger of wandering OT,the OP's cabbie is not one of the limited edition one's,and even with a proper engine will always be regarded as a 318i that is difficult to insure.

[andyp]

if i was you i would go with what pete has said, stick the engine back together with out spending much [no skimming] of the head just the basic, gaskets,belt,oil, get it running and stick it on ebay,

[magpie]

the seller sold you a right pill there

[joshce]

bought an identical looking cab from a seller on here a couple of years ago for dirt cheap in birmingham(lesson learned), thought i had a bargain,almost four and a half grand later it was sellable, was identical looking to that, but engine was fine and rust wasnt even nearly as bad. really reminds me of the disaster it was.
i know its prob not what you want to hear but id have to agree with cutting your losses, interior might get you a few bob.

[oldroydsr4]

Sorry but you'd be mad to waste your time with that scrap. Bolloxed engine, body and hood. It has NO redeeming features! Remove the decent parts and sell them. Deposit the rest of it on a weighbridge and cut your losses.

I'm not saying this to pee pee on your bonfire, I'm just trying to give you some sound advice.

Fully Agree - If you try and restore this, it will be the most financially painful and futile experience on the zone.

How much would it be worth if fully mint £2k?? after spending £10k.

[Doblo]

£90 at the weigh brdge

[TPS]

I'm sorry to agree with everyone here, Its scrap IMO, I've never seen A-pillar rust on an E30 before. Theres plenty of sound bargains out there.

[tonybtonyb]

Hi fella looks to be a wrong-on,from a distance it looks ok but the rust on the A-pillar and the hole as well and more rust on the rest of the cab it will be a money pit.You could get some of your money back if you broke it!Good luck

[BrianBimmerHead]

I dont think you should tart it up and stick it on ebay, then your doing just as the ahole sold it to you did. Frag it on ebay, seperate the alloys from the shell and weigh it in.

[tonybtonyb]

If you do frag it please let me know.

[l16ydl]

Still deciding but my mate who owns a MOT station put it through a dry run and he says it will pass!! That all depends on the car running and the track rod ends being fine. I have also spoke to my other mate who is a welder, a bloody good one at that and he says he'll do most of it and CHEAP. Also had a few valuations back on the reg and its looking quite promising.

I'm considering 2 options, 1. is to keep it and put the M42 engine in it and bring it back to life with some new panels and a lick of paint or 2. get a cheap M40 engine, put it in, MOT'd and sell it on.

The car has a long list of history and has been well maintained mechanically, just unfortunate that the body work doesnt match. It just seems a shame to get rid of something like that when other E30's in worse shape are getting the full works. As much as most of you are saying frag it, im starting to go with option 1. This is a project and this sure is a project. All the rust can be removed and we have had a good look around the car and there is nothing more than what we found, even the foot-wells. So, with offers on the plate, this might be a cheap project after all.