316i mini restoration

[pipeuy]

Hey guys,
I created a member introduction post with some of my history and now here's the restoration thread.

The day I received it.







After cleaning it for 4 hours..














Not even a month after I bought I tore most of it apart so it can go to the bodyshop. The sunroof cassette hid a couple of rust spots and some minor spots on the floor but most of the car is in very good shape.


























Left it at the bodyshop!




These are going in the car later on.



Going to try to achieve something like this.





5 Euroweaves (thanks to Sskoda!)




The bodyshop tackled the sunroof cassette first. (More on this later)





Then the floor.



After that a very minor fender bender.







They are trying to use the least amount of filler they possibly can.





And finally the latest pictures.

[pipeuy]

A few weeks ago it was time to test the sunroof and to my surprise, after getting a new used sunroof panel, the sunroof panel was rubbing against the roof skin. After assembling it a couple of times it was clear that the sunroof tray or cassette was repaired badly by a previous owner and it was sloping upwards in the final part.




(A window was made to investigate possible solutions)

Together with the body shop some ideas were tossed around:
Fixing the original sunroof tray (risk of not working out or having rust issued down the line)
Swapping the roof skin for a slick top one (couldn’t find one and they’re NLA)
Swapping in a new sunroof tray (NLA)

And finally, getting a good used roof and removing the good tray to be swapped to my car.





The E30 without the sunroof tray.





Sunroof tray removed from the donor roof.



Now in the car.



And finally, testing the sunroof.



Luckily the body shop did a fantastic job and everything lines up and works perfectly. There're still a couple things left to do with the roof but they're mostly cosmetic.

Next step is getting some of the panels repainted and hopefully done in a couple of weeks.

[martauto]

Dont hold back now will you ?? lol.
Superb thread mate, keep the pics etc coming.

Mart.

[pipeuy]

Following the complete paint job I had to restore some of the black plastics. Once I found a DIY on R3V so I used that method.

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showth ... p?t=313368

Before.













And after. (Side moldings also were restored, which turned out really nice, but not pictured)














Next something had to be done with the fog lights, they are OEM so I tried to keep them instead of buying new ones.
A few months ago I bought a set of new glasses (not OEM of course) but the had a pretty good fit and finish so I went ahead and swapped them.



After. (Not quite the same grey paint but it shouldn’t be noticeable once they’re installed in the car)



And a side to side.




Finally the car is out of the bodyshop and currently is at the upholstery shop getting a new black headliner.
Some pictures of the completed sunroof tray swap.









Lastly, the car, for the first time in 7 months, out the body shop. It needs a final polish and probably re-aligning the doors and trunk but I’m really happy with how it turned out.

[rix313]

I love the term ‘mini’ in the title and you’re going balls deep haha. Excellent work.

[martauto]

I love the term ‘mini’ in the title and you’re going balls deep haha. Excellent work.

What more can be said mate !!!

Mart.

[pipeuy]

I love the term ‘mini’ in the title and you’re going balls deep haha. Excellent work.

What more can be said mate !!!

Mart.

Haha it ended up as a not so 'mini'. It's not going to be a nut and bolt one but I'm trying to replace as many of the parts that are worn out as my wallet permits. Car should have the headliner done next week so the assembly should start very soon.

Anyone has any opinions on the KW V1? The monster truck height won't work out too well with the BBS 15".

[rix313]

If you're on Instagram, this is my friend Ed's E30 on Eibach pro-line springs with Bilstein dampers. Wheels are 15 although slightly different to the standard BBS cross spokes

[bmwe30mtech]

Looking good, great work with the roof

[pipeuy]

If you're on Instagram, this is my friend Ed's E30 on Eibach pro-line springs with Bilstein dampers. Wheels are 15 although slightly different to the standard BBS cross spokes

It does sit quite nicely but I'd like to how some height adjustability for future engine plans.

Looking good, great work with the roof

Thanks!

Finally the headliner is complete and the OEM carpet was cleaned as thoroughly as possible. Should be able to reassemble it in a couple of weeks since I'm in a little vacation.

[shedrool83]

Wow love it.

[martauto]

Lovely contrast the black and white and a good job as well mate

Mart.

[pipeuy]

Lovely contrast the black and white and a good job as well mate

Mart.

Wow love it.

Thanks! Was looking for a contrast and somewhat of a OEM look since some 318is came with black headliners. I was lucky enough to get some very similar fabric to OEM in a shop while I was in Germany.

[MyRedTouring]

What seats are those?! I love them!


Great build so far, literally going all out, will be so worth it!

[pipeuy]

What seats are those?! I love them!


Great build so far, literally going all out, will be so worth it!

Haha yeah, I'll have a good base for what's to come. The seats I'm using later on are Recaro LS-C, mine came in a VW Gol GTS but they were an optional you could choose in an E30.

[pipeuy]

Some progress has been made, it's finally starting to look like a car.

[martauto]

Some progress has been made, it's finally starting to look like a car.

Its looking like a very nice car mate,...
Keep them coming p[lease.

Mart.

[Gert]

hahaha a mini restoration. When I started reading i Thought that you would remove some rust. But for me this is a RESTORATION Keep going.

[pipeuy]

Thanks guys!

Small update, got the wheels back from the body shop. They were painted in BMW 144 (Felgensilber).

[terryjippo]

Loving this, great work so far.

Terry

[martauto]

Loving this, great work so far.

Terry

Big understatement .lol

Mart.

[pipeuy]

Thanks!

Progress has been slow since I'm waiting for some random clips and little parts which are coming from the US.

Last year I spent a month in Europe and I managed to buy an Italvolanti Formel Indianapolis. This wheel was used in the M3 E30 that raced in DTM and I think is going to make the interior look quite nice once I have the Recaros done.

[pipeuy]

Got tired of the tyres deflating so it was time to mount the new wheels. There weren't many options in 205/55/15 and my preferred ones, Vredestein Sportrac 5 and Yokohoma S drive, were no longer available. I ended up with Toyo Tm1 because some friends are running them in their E30s and they said good things about them.

A couple days ago I bought a set of KW V1 which are arriving in about a month to Uruguay so the camel like look can go away haha.

[martauto]

This is looking better each time we see it
Are you using new or restored trim ?

Mart.

[pipeuy]

This is looking better each time we see it
Are you using new or restored trim ?

Mart.

Thanks Mart. Both bumpers trim is new but some of the side mouldings are NLA so I've restored my set which was in quite good state. Waiting to get the car polished and both doors and bumpers properly aligned before I mount them.

[martauto]

This is looking better each time we see it
Are you using new or restored trim ?

Mart.

Thanks Mart. Both bumpers trim is new but some of the side mouldings are NLA so I've restored my set which was in quite good state. Waiting to get the car polished and both doors and bumpers properly aligned before I mount them.

Nice

Mart.

[pipeuy]

So in the last to days a friend and I managed to get the car polished and coated with AMMO Reflex. The paint job turned out really good and together with the Reflex it has amazing shine. We also managed to adjust both bumpers and the doors, luckily the car is very straight so everything lined up correctly.

Here are some pictures but they don't really do justice to the car. Now I really want the KW to arrive because the front is insanely high.

[Gert]

You will not regret the long waiting time for the kw variant 1. I have the same suspension for 3 years and I'm still very pleased with it. I don`t race with it, and it is my first adaptable suspension so hopefully you will have the same joy from it

[pipeuy]

You will not regret the long waiting time for the kw variant 1. I have the same suspension for 3 years and I'm still very pleased with it. I don`t race with it, and it is my first adaptable suspension so hopefully you will have the same joy from it

It's nice to hear that. I won't be racing too so that shouldn't be a problem. How's the ride comfort?

[aimlessrock]

nice work- the absence of side indicators/repeaters really clears up the lines on the e30..

[Gert]

The comfort is more than good enough for me, I have 17inch wheels and not riding very low.
I still need to introduce myself after 5 years. Im planning to do this soon, but i need to find my pictures first

[pipeuy]

The comfort is more than good enough for me, I have 17inch wheels and not riding very low.
I still need to introduce myself after 5 years. Im planning to do this soon, but i need to find my pictures first

Haha go ahead and introduce yourself. Nice to hear about the comfort.

nice work- the absence of side indicators/repeaters really clears up the lines on the e30..

Thanks! It does look nicer.


Random picture of how glossy the car actually is.

[pipeuy]

The car is mostly complete now.

Some random pictures of the car it its current state.











And these have arrived, KW V1. I should be able to install them probably next week, finally getting a non camel like ride height haha.

[martauto]

WOW looking every bit the parts is this one

Mart.

[TurtleDesignTech]

Please let us know how the KW's feel on the road. Great thread.