Where to start

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:06 pm

Hello Chaps,

Need some E30 advice from you all.

I have myself a fairly tidy E30 that I'm looking to carry out some work on over the next year or so. The thing is I don't know where to start.

Engine wise all is well (apart from a very small oil leak which I think is coming from the distributer) as I have just carried out my first service on it. The M20B20 engine sounds good and strong.

Suspension all round needs upgrading. Including replacing many degraded bushes.

Brakes are ok but I would like to upgrade.

Exhaust: Rear makes a bit of noise but otherwise ok.

Interior: Good.

Arches: Passenger side arches are both gone and need replacing. Including passenger side scuttle having a hole in it. And the rear vallance (panel) is in a bit of a state so i was thinking about replacing with an M Tech bumper.

Any mechanical work I'm looking to carry out myself as long as I have the tools. But any spraying is going to have to be done at a sprayers.

I was thinking about concentrating on improving the mechanical components of the car first before moving onto the body work in the spring.

What are peoples thoughts??

Cheers
James[/b]

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:10 pm

Agree- get it mechanically perfect, then concentrate on the bodywork.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:16 pm

No point wasting time on the mechanicals is the bodywork has hidden gremlins. If you have visible rust in places there will be more hidden!! Get it checked over thoroughly and assess amount of welding that is needed before spending time/money on the mechanicals...

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:17 pm

+1 on the sorting the mechanicals out first.

its so satisfying driving about in a tight and perfectly running E30 that looks like a total shed

trust me

(not saying yours looks like a shed)

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:21 pm

dirtee-herbert wrote:+1 on the sorting the mechanicals out first.

its so satisfying driving about in a tight and perfectly running E30 that looks like a total shed trust me

(not saying yours looks like a shed)

Not very satisfying sinking a load of ££ and time only to find the body is like a tea-bag and needs to be scrapped...

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:28 pm

check bodywork first as it is free...if you have a rusty roof then sad days! strip the car and get your screwdriver out (!!) if you know for sure 100% that the rust is where you know it is and not too bad, the spend on mechs...but the bodywork will only get worse and more expensive.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:29 pm

suchy wrote:
dirtee-herbert wrote:+1 on the sorting the mechanicals out first.

its so satisfying driving about in a tight and perfectly running E30 that looks like a total shed trust me

(not saying yours looks like a shed)
Not very satisfying sinking a load of ££ and time only to find the body is like a tea-bag and needs to be scrapped...

Yes but im assuming he hasnt got a pile of swiss cheese. There would be no point even asking the question. But yes i agree. Only mechanicals first if the body is fine or worth saving.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:32 pm

pukar wrote:check bodywork first as it is free...if you have a rusty roof then sad days! strip the car and get your screwdriver out (!!) if you know for sure 100% that the rust is where you know it is and not too bad, the spend on mechs...but the bodywork will only get worse and more expensive.

This ^^^^

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:33 pm

dirtee-herbert wrote:
suchy wrote:
dirtee-herbert wrote:+1 on the sorting the mechanicals out first.

its so satisfying driving about in a tight and perfectly running E30 that looks like a total shed trust me

(not saying yours looks like a shed)
Not very satisfying sinking a load of ££ and time only to find the body is like a tea-bag and needs to be scrapped...
Yes but im assuming he hasnt got a pile of swiss cheese. There would be no point even asking the question. But yes i agree. Only mechanicals first if the body is fine or worth saving.

And yes

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:33 pm

The rust is bad on the front and rear arches. Think I am going to be looking at £500 for both to be sorted. Thing is I only drive it about 30 miles a week and it's under a waterproof cover the rest of the time!? If I put it in to have arches done it means no more money for the fun stuff.

The rear suspension is pretty shot and I need a new wheel bearing in the front pretty soon.

I had the car in with a specialist garage when I first got it and they liked the car so much they asked how much I would take for it. From that I'm assuming it can't be too tea-bag like.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:34 pm

im with suchy- rear arches shot and other rust, this car NEEDS to be put on axle stands, remove the wheels, all carpet,interior,wings etc, and a good examination, all the inner rear arches sealant removed and a real good rust hunt, sort all the rust there, and the rear arches done and all re sealed, any floor/bulkhead issues, and the rear panel rust, then sort the mechanicals, then maybe get it re sprayed after that

at least when youve stripped it- if its shagged/youl know a figure to sort it, or break it, to do all the mechanics 1st, to then find that out, or do a lenghty lot of resto work, is daft

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:38 pm

Peg83 wrote:The rust is bad on the front and rear arches. Think I am going to be looking at £500 for both to be sorted. Thing is I only drive it about 30 miles a week and it's under a waterproof cover the rest of the time!? If I put it in to have arches done it means no more money for the fun stuff.

£500 wont cover it youl probably need inners aswell to do properly/if they are gone, there will be more rust to find, sounds like this car is out of your means to properly sort out buddy if 500 leave you skint

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:42 pm

WRONG !!!!!!. Do a VERY THOROUGH bodywork appraisal , paying particular attention to all the known crusty spots . No point spending a fortune on mechanical refurbishment to find out that the shell needs £4k spending on it, as most do

Assuming your shell is not scrap, get the structural issues sorted out and THEN start on the rest of the issues . Remember , ignoring rust does not mean it stops eating away

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:48 pm

I'm not looking to do a full restoration on this car (as much as I would love to) I just want it tidy and nice to drive on the weekend when i can go for a little blast.

£500 isn't going to leave me skint. But I don't want to end up ploughing thousands into a car that I'm never going to get back. It's a 320i moredoor which is only ever going to be worth 2k even if it's really tidy.

Stripping it down would be good for piece of mind. But I don't have the time to do that and also I need the car sometimes so I can't have it in pieces all the time. Plus I have MOT certificates back to 2005 and none of them state anything about rust.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:57 pm

2k 320 more door ¬

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 2:17 pm

As others have said, don't touch the mechanicals until the rust is fixed. Putting a rusty car through another winter with all that road salt will only mean that you have an MOT failure come springtime, and all the money you spent on mechanicals will be wasted.

Run through the Rust Checklist and get that sorted first. Remember that what rust you can see is only 10% of what's really there.

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/index.php/Rust

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:10 pm

I do appreciate the feedback. And I fully acknowledge that the more experienced Zoners have probably done it all before so know what needs to be done.

I'm just not sure it is worth while me going in that deep with this car. I fully acknowledge that to get it tidy I will have to spend a decent amount of money on it. But putting a huge ammount of money into this car just doesn't seem sensible??

If it was a 325 2 door M sport or something a bit more desirable I would fully accept that spending money on it would be justified.

I am stressed out now though that I'm going to end up opening up a can of worms if I do strip down as suggested.

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:16 pm

suchy wrote:No point wasting time on the mechanicals is the bodywork has hidden gremlins. If you have visible rust in places there will be more hidden!! Get it checked over thoroughly and assess amount of welding that is needed before spending time/money on the mechanicals...

+1

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:22 pm

pacerpete wrote:WRONG !!!!!!. Do a VERY THOROUGH bodywork appraisal , paying particular attention to all the known crusty spots . No point spending a fortune on mechanical refurbishment to find out that the shell needs £4k spending on it, as most do

Assuming your shell is not scrap, get the structural issues sorted out and THEN start on the rest of the issues . Remember , ignoring rust does not mean it stops eating away

This is probably the better way round to do things rather than mechanical first

Post Mon Sep 30, 2013 4:54 pm

TBH Peg, it'll take about 30mins with a screwdriver to tell you if the car is past it or not. If it's got a sunroof, open it and look for rust in the channels, especially around the forward drain points. Rust there = scrap shell.

If you've got arch rust, you will HAVE to fix it if you ever want to sell the car. Good thing is, the more work you give the welder the cheaper each job will be, so get underneath and see if the front "jacking points" (they're not for that) are rotted through, and if it has side skirts then pop them off and look for sill rust. If a sprayer is already doing your rear quarters then it's not much more work to blow over some sill repairs, especially if a kit is going back on afterwards. Same applies to the rear valance around the towing eye.

Other underfloor rust is done in patches, so there's no extra cost of prep and paint - you just spray any post-welded metal with whatever paint you can get your hands on, and coat it with underseal.

One other spot that catches people is the bulkhead, either behind the glovebox or under the fuse box. You'll have a good idea that's rusting by pouring water directly into the vents in the scuttle, and looking for drips into the car footwell. If it drips, scrap the car or get your wallet ready for a hammering. Even if it doesn't drip, find the black plastic "elephant trunk" in the engine bay and clean it out so that water can drain from the scuttle - that'll prevent rust from forming at a later date.

Post Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:11 am

Update:

Had a the rear shocks replaced on the Beemer. I bought them from B7 and I'm very happy with them. I asked the mechanic to give the underside of the car a good look over and he has identified that the jacking points need welding.

So I'm getting them done ASAP. Been quoted £75 a side. Does that seem about right??

I'm then going to quickly move onto getting the arches done after the advice I got from here. I'm hoping once they are all done and treated that I won't have to worry too much about anything like that again as It only get driven about 30 miles a week. And it's got a good quality cover on it protecting it from the elements.