BMW-granitsilber-metallic.... oh dear...

[suchy]

Right then, a quick check over for pre-MOT...

First off I think an MOT is in order for the sake of £40 to find out mechanical stuff, so apart from the obvious bulbs etc. brakes need looking at;



Hello rust, hello seized bolts...

Right then, change of plan.

Sport is being picked up today and low-loaded down to a friends workshop (Lee Baxter @ AirCooled Restorations) where Lee will take a look at the structural welding needed so we can make a more informed decision on whether to bother with an MOT at all at this stage. If it's a goer, then it's next door to see one of my other friends (Pete Roberts @ Funkenblitz) for help with MOT mechanical stuff.

I've known these two for 20yrs and trust them explicitly with my cars. Lee will do a proper welding resto job, not just some MOT patch job and Pete knows I'm a nob with spanners and used to me asking for his assistance!!

If an MOT is viable then at least I can drive the thing about and to and from Lee's or Pete's.

See what the outcome is later.....

[RM2186]

Sounds like a plan Good luck

[Dezzy]

Find a really good facelift shell and swap identerty's. Then respray. Cheaper and alot less hassle.

Tut tut

When you find one, let us know wont you......

There has be a facelift and a chromie sold for buttons this week mate. Need to keep an eye open. They ate still out there.

[DanThe]

No point putting it through an MOT unless you know its going to pass

[Jhonno]

If he's used to air cooled stuff, this will be a 5 min 'tickle'

[suchy]

Another little job to sort out...



Anyone spot something that shouldn't be there?



Nice!!
I rarely use the horn, so have tolarated these offensive items for the past six years. But we are at a crossroads now, and off with their heads I say.
So the original Momo steering wheel has been served to fellow Zoner HKF for his orange/white/black Touring thing and I've raided my garage for my spare Tech1 bus wheel whilst on the hunt for a Tech2 370mm jobby (which has now slipped down the prority list along with the Eibachs!)

So let's get the original windtones working...
The comedy airhorn owner thought, in his wisdom, to relocate airhorn activation button to under-dash panel;



"Houston we have a problem" after some head scratching as to why horn buttons on wheel wouldn't work Mr.Mooore and Malc came to the rescue with the remedy needed. It seems comedy airhorn owner also thought to snap off spring loaded carbon selector rod that should go here;




and also cut off the horn connector and use the wires to power the mighty airhorns;




Awesome

[kieran325]

Nice project

Have you got a budget in mind for this work ?

[Duke137]

Why do people do it?

[suchy]

If he's used to air cooled stuff, this will be a 5 min 'tickle'

Yeah you should see some of the horrors I've seen. That's why I'm amazed when some people scrap these things for really minor stuff!! Yeah ok, so this isn't some 50's barn door splitty worth £20k but it doesn't need the bottom 3 foot needing to be fabricated and every other square inch covered in surface rust either

[Jhonno]

Nice project

Have you got a budget in mind for this work ?

Deny everything, and tuck reciepts away..

[kieran325]

Nice project

Have you got a budget in mind for this work ?

Deny everything, and tuck reciepts away..

Been there, done that

[suchy]

Nice project

Have you got a budget in mind for this work ?

Nope not at this stage and probably never will. Things will always spiral out of control anyway!! First off, take a more in-depth look at potential horrors and plan an order of priority. If an MOT is viable then get it on the road. I don't see it being so rotten a full off road resto being needed. Anyway extemely deep pockets would be needed to this properly in one hit when one doesn't possess the skills oneself!!

[Jhonno]

If he's used to air cooled stuff, this will be a 5 min 'tickle'

Yeah you should see some of the horrors I've seen. That's why I'm amazed when some people scrap these things for really minor stuff!! Yeah ok, so this isn't some 50's barn door splitty worth £20k but it doesn't need the bottom 3 foot needing to be fabricated and every other square inch covered in surface rust either

>>Quick resto..<<

[Jhonno]

Nice project

Have you got a budget in mind for this work ?

Deny everything, and tuck reciepts away..

Been there, done that

What new wheels? I've had these for aaaaages..

[e30-EVN]

mate seriously best of luck with it, i still think its crazy how fast these can deteriorate. im even thinking of a heated garage to keep mine in , its got to be the only way 1 can expect to keep one of these absolutly mint

[spook]

The VW lads get to work on a quality car at last

If you need a hand give me a shout you fackin chindoe

[oguz327]

As said a good strip down and see what your up against, hope its not any worse under the kit and roof.

I know the last 2 horrendous winters we have had havnt been kind to my E30

Hope you can save it fella.

HOPE??
Well, I'm fairly confident it's salvegable, may take me longer than I'd imagined, but at least if I go for it, it'll get done properly...once

Sorry dude, didnt mean to sound so negative, it all looks savable.
The only really major ballache poss deal breaker would be the roof.
Is the rust just on the sunroof panel and not the actual roof itself?

[suchy]

Yeah the roof is my main concern
I haven't checked this yet as it's down a friends garage now. Went for an MOT today to find out extent of neglect. Will probably hear prognosis tomorrow and make a decision. I envisage getting all the structural welding done (properly!) and the mechanicals so at least it's driveable and plan in what order of priority things to get done. Off the top of my head, rip out everything and take a good look at full extent- if really bad, then reassess what level of resto or direction to go in. If it's not too scary then wade in

[suchy]

The VW lads get to work on a quality car at last

If you need a hand give me a shout you fackin chindoe

Cheers ya old coont
They're confused already as the engine is at the wrong end

[oguz327]

Yeah the roof is my main concern
I haven't checked this yet as it's down a friends garage now. Went for an MOT today to find out extent of neglect. Will probably hear prognosis tomorrow and make a decision. I envisage getting all the structural welding done (properly!) and the mechanicals so at least it's driveable and plan in what order of priority things to get done. Off the top of my head, rip out everything and take a good look at full extent- if really bad, then reassess what level of resto or direction to go in. If it's not too scary then wade in

Fingers crossed dude, I know on YUC the sunrrof panel was rusty but on investigation the rest was fine so just replaced the panel.

On ODE she had 2O hours of welding in just one corner lol, serious rot in the roof that had been repaired several times but it always came back.

She will be in good hands with the VW boys, will be like Christmas for them to have so much metal to work with

This is worth saving in my book, its a Sport and its in a rare and wicked colour!

[suchy]

Yeah the VW boys are seriously good at what they do so I know all will be done properly and will last
As you say, at least they have metal to weld too with this

[bss325i]

The boot area doesn't scare me as there are loads of people scrapping these things for profit just because of a couple of rust scabs, so chances of finding a decent one are fairly high I'd imagine.

Finding what, a boot lid?

What i meant was to remove all the boot trim ie all the carpet, side trims etc so you can inspect the inner rear arches thoroughly.

[suchy]

The boot area doesn't scare me as there are loads of people scrapping these things for profit just because of a couple of rust scabs, so chances of finding a decent one are fairly high I'd imagine.

Finding what, a boot lid?

What i meant was to remove all the boot trim ie all the carpet, side trims etc so you can inspect the inner rear arches thoroughly.

No I meant a rear panel- a decent one should be findable. Yeah will strip out the boot area anyway and have a prod there also.

[bss325i]

Brand new rear panel and battery tray is the way forward.

[suchy]

Hadn't checked to see if these were still available but yes I agree- these need replacing!!

[beardymat]

New panels are still available, take a look at the M3 resto ive been doing, a lot more panels on that car and all arrived within a few days. Reminds me i need to update that thing.

Dont worry too much about the roof, its just another panel on the car and they are also available new. It does take time to fit one but in for a penny eh?

Granite silver is my all time favourite colour for a sport, its just a bit special somehow.

[Dezzy]

I would just ask him^ for a favour. He seem's to know what he's doing??

[DanThe]

Suchy, ive just bought one of these for my new patio, I couldnt help but think about your car

[youtube][/youtube]

[bss325i]

Trowel that shit up boiii!

[suchy]

Well the MOT was good news
1 bit of welding (jacking point as shown), couple of bulbs, parking brake seized on one side, etc. Easy fix stuff. Will probably have the other jacking point done at the same time though for peace of mind as it's showing signs.

So unless worse horrors are found lurking deep within, I think some researching on replacement rear panel and battery tray is in order and get this ball rolling...

[Dezzy]

Good news. What about the roof and inners?

[suchy]

Small update...
Well the MOT was easy enough so at least I'm driving it around again, which is great all the time I don't look at the fuel guage. When one takes a leave of absence from an M20, one quickly forgets the fuel bills that acompany!!

Anyway, first thing was to take out the carpets to have a closer look at the inner arches etc:
So the floorpans look ok, just a couple of spots of surface rust to deal with and one small hole;













So that's easy to sort. Now the inner arches to check:





Nothing wrong there
But the other one doesn't look that great...



OK so that needs some attention
Also the sills need some work, which you can see without taking the side skirts off. Took the sides off and there isn't too much horror lurking but here are the pics peeking through (didn't have my camera to hand when the sides were off) again these need sorting asap also:







So the list gets longer! Need to also check in the roof also. At a quick glance we will be needing another sunroof panel (the bit that moves) as the current one is showing signs. HOPE it's not that tragic inside. Will report back another time on that.

[Duke137]

Not too bad suchy, seen alot worse!

[e30topless]

Ouch ! I have never seen rust around the rear beam mounts like that ? if you have the carpet out what's it like behind the glovebox on the bulkhead?

[Duke137]

I was trying to encourage him Steve but yes Bulkhead serch is a must! Be prepared for the worst and if it isn't then "bonus"