e30 HMS 335i is now under full steam

[Gert_8]

Very Nice, Rossy! It did make me laugh when you said it had caught fire on Friday night!

[steve_k]

looks like you had a really good trip

planning a run out to france in the sport later in the year, mother in law has a place in the south of france, right next to a village abandoned after WW2, never been touched since.

really want to go even more now after seeing your pics

[Steve]

Great write up ! loving the 80's Liverpudlian

[steve_k]

Great write up ! loving the 80's Liverpudlian

i thought it was gert, stalking him

[ross_jsy]

Give us a shout if you head down Steve. Looking for excuses to go again.

So we have a few e30's on the island and a Facebook group but no meets have taken place. I posted up trying to get something going and we had our inaugural meet. Only 4 attendees this time but more are wanting to come in the future.





Road marking says it all:



And in other news, I have tracked down a bonnet, bought loads of trim bits that were broken and missing and have sorted myself out a tame welder to sort the scuttle

[steve_k]

no worries ross, might be ext year though lol,

mini meet looks like a start

[ross_jsy]

So I spent today replacing the bonnet and valance. The previous owner in his infinite wisdom decided to bolt one of those stupid motorsport tow strap to it. Unfortunately he decided to strap it to the valance and he needed towing on track after binning it:





To fit the tech 1, he also took a set of snips to the valance


So off came the front end. As I'm keeping the tech 1 for now, I fitted a pre-facelift valance. Unfortunately it is white so we satin blacked the bit under the grills so it wouldn't stand out too much and fitted it. I also picked up a facelift valance in the correct colour for if/when I put a different kit on the front.



This meant to Tech 1 fits properly. I also managed to get a bonnet in the correct colour and fitted that. It's transformed the car from ratty snotter to half way presentable:


Then spent some time sorting out the bodgefest of a wiring job, replaced the heater controls as the 4 screws were stripped and various other small jobs. It's getting there and is a long way from the bodged up shitter it was when I first bought it!

[ianev]

good work!

[ross_jsy]

Had one last night. Pipe going to the fuel filter split



Got Monday off, going to spend it replacing all the rubber fuel hoses as they have seen better days

[Gert_8]

Nice pimp-daddy shoes, boy...!!

[DanThe]

Ross is dressed in a way id imaging you TBH Gerty, but without the tie

Sounds like you had a good trip over in frog land Ross, I've been considering doing a driving holiday down to the south for a while now

[Gert_8]

Ross is dressed in a way id imaging you TBH Gerty, but without the tie

How dare you!! You wouldn't catch me wearing skinny jeans, white plimsoles*, a shiny puffer jacket with the sleeves rolled up Like tubbs and crocket out of Miami vice!

* bet you he says they are vans.

[ross_jsy]

France was great Dan, well recommend getting over and driving round Brittany. Would like to get away again before summer is over but time is tight with uni starting in September.

F00k off Gert, you and the e30 zone fashionistas on WhatsApp are bad enough. And yes, they are Vans you pleb!

Off to the stealership now, log book in hand to order a new scuttle, badges, fuel filter, short shift etc. Anus is already lubed!

[steve_k]

i'm planning a trip over to limoges & the surrounding area next year to go have a look round the abandoned villages nearby & maybe pop in to see the in laws.

maybe a euro zone roam???

[Gert_8]

Hahahaha! You know I love you Prince!

[ross_jsy]

Zone Euro trip would be great. Perhaps Gert could come and put more than 60 miles on his car next year?

I know you love me Indy, the pictures you send me say it all

[Gert_8]

Oi! I've put 61 miles on it this year! Don't mention the pics, they are only illustrations of what Pete wants from you...

[ross_jsy]

So this morning I took it to my old work and stuck it on the ramp for a good look around. No big surprises. There was about an inch of mud coating the underside from when the PO took it rallyX'ing so I pressure washed it:



Gave it a good stabbing with a screwdriver Pacer style and everything was very solid. Front lifting pads were super clean. The only rust on the underside was on the drivers side rear valance, which will be an easy repair:



For those of you interested in how the Impreza rack was fitted, here you go:



I need to remake the link pipe as it is looking battered, and the rack will need replacing as it leaks like a bastard, so still running it without power steering, but it actually works very well.

Picked up a load of seam sealer/epoxy under seal/stone chip the other day. When I get time I will wire wheel, zinc prime and reseal any bits that are looking tired, along with painting the sills ready for winter.

[ross_jsy]

I picked up a set of e34 Sport seats to try and fit. Although tight, they work well and look great IMO.

To fit them, I first cut off the two rear mounts, and drilled the spot welds out on the fronts:





I then made up a simple bracket out of steel. This was the first trial, before I realised the holes closest to the tunnel actually line up perfectly with the stock mounting points. I just had to cut a slot in the front mount to get a spanner in. With the standard mount out the way, there is a rectangular slot. I opened it up slightly with a file and the front bolt slides right in.



For the other side, I bolted the bracket to the floor, and drilled a hole for the seat rail.



So that is the passenger side in! Just need to find some time this week to do the drivers side. Then a set of rear headrests to finish it off.

I am going to have a go at modifying the mechanism so the seats tilt forward. e34's being 4 doors only tilt backwards but you can pull the seat far forward enough to get in the back easily enough anyway

[Fruttolo]

Very nice car, I love it, and the new seats are awesome looking inside it
What about the steering rack, did you just disconnect the pump or drained oil also? I was ever told hydro racks don't work without power steering hooked up but if they do I'm definitely wanting to put a z3 rack on my non-PS e30

[ross_jsy]

Thanks, pleased how it is coming together.

It's currently just disconnected and drained. The rack is screwed and leaks. Over winter I'll replace it. Going to install another Impreza rack since they are so cheap. I plan on removing the springs from a spare set of struts and measuring the bump steer to see how bad it is, then try and space the rack to eliminate it.

[ross_jsy]

Both seats are now in!

[KW355]

Good work, looks factory.

[ross_jsy]

Thanks, going for an OEM+ feel as de-track slagging it.

Picked up a 385mm tech 2, full tool kit, mint knee roll, mint centre console and 6 m20 injectors for a bargain this evening from a friend. Fitted the tech 2:

[ImysE30]

Looks good Ross

[ross_jsy]

Cheers Imy

Just dropped it off at the body shop to get the scuttle done. To keep costs down I pulled the wing off last night and re-attached it with 2 bolts:



This is the gape that's getting repaired:



All the inner wing was in really good condition and had a thick sticky coating of waxoil or similar. I'm getting the body shop to clean it all up and apply a sealer to any scabby bits while the wing is off

[JoshH]

Interior is looking really good Ross!

[ross_jsy]

Cheers Josh

De-gaped:

[Jon_Bmw]

Jubilee clips on the exhaust!

[ross_jsy]

Tell me about it. When I asked my mate why, his reply was it was meant to be a track car so he chucked it together. Now I'm building a track car, and the last thing I would do is bodge it.

To make matters worse, I went to the motor factors the morning I stuck it on the ramp to pick some proper clamps up to be told they don't sell them and the exhaust place was closed.

I now have some, along with some exhaust paste and a day off tomorrow so I shall try and find the time

[ross_jsy]

My trusty screwdriver found some more rot while I was putting the wing back on



Amazing what underseal covers. The jacking pads are in excellent condition. You can still see the factory paint on them, it's just the footwell above it.

Should have lend of a mig tomorrow to sort it

[ross_jsy]

Had a day off today so spent it on the hunt for rust, as well as redoing the stone chip on the cills.

There was this scab, which I ground back, treated, applied zinc primer and stone chip:







Unfortunately I've found a hole behind the front jack pad on the passenger side. Some mong has used a trolley jack on it, bending the return and allowing water to get in:



I've ground it all out and painted it for now. Will take it to the body shop to get a quote. I also removed the surface rust from the inside of the front wing, painted it and stonechipped the passenger side:





I have Thursday and Friday off so the plan is to spend 4 days doing the other side, fixing some niggles and hunting for any further rust. If I'm feeling brave I may even drop the headlining

[jslot]

Have you swapped your wheels round Ross?

[ross_jsy]

Still on the Junks that it came on, albeit it filthy. Whatever pads are up front chuck out a lot of dust!

I have got ideas to replace them with Oz Turbo's though

[jslot]

No I meant swapped them left to right, so it looks like the torque has twisted the spokes☺