Malachtgrun 320i cabrio from Australia

[martauto]

Cracking job mate
I have the same spoiler on mine, if I sent it over could you have a go with it ???
Mine is dented, bent, undulating but it`s original and will stay that way.(past recovery.lol.)

Mart.

[Tzantushka]

Cracking job mate
I have the same spoiler on mine, if I sent it over could you have a go with it ???
Mine is dented, bent, undulating but it`s original and will stay that way.(past recovery.lol.)

Aw dunno Mart.
I couldn't replicate those decades of... er... 'patina'.


Also, finally figured out why my number plate lights were so dim.



After some diluted cloudy ammonia + old 1" paint brush, + warm water + meguiars plastic polish and some new globes...
Good as new.

[martauto]

Cracking job mate

Mart.

[Tzantushka]

Cracking job mate

Mart - it's the small details that I tend to notice.

Now the car is back after the rust repair on the LH wheel arch and boot spoiler holes - I pulled off the boot seal for the remaining clean & paint correction.
Lucky I did, as there was some rust lurking under the boot seal.

I know it's nothing compared to what you guys have to deal with - but manged to deal with it in the driveway.
(grind out, rust convert, primer & epoxy paint)







Funny most of the rust was centred around the middle near the latch.
Guess that's where moisture can pool for extended periods.

The boot seal is good and can be reused.
Will clean-up and run a thin smear of butyl caulk in the valley of the pinch weld for extra insurance.

Definitely a surprise - be vigilant on rust people!!!

[Tzantushka]

Busy weekend with the rear bumper coming back from being re-chromed and the Right Click remote central locking arriving.

For our Melbourne, viewers, Modern Plating straightened, stripped, polished and chromed the bumpers.
Not cheap, but they look as good better than new, and 10x better than the aftermarket ones!
Even all the fasteners came back with a new lease of life.



Few assembly tips and photos to help others.

Assemble the bar & brackets and test-fit on the car before fitting the rear bumper rubber strip.

Assemble the bumper ends with the top bolt snug, ensuring the square shank is seated properly.
You can reach the top bolts and tighten fully when the bar is on the car.
Rear bolts heads are a bit harder to access as they're covered by the bumper strip and rear cover plates - so best to test fit before final assembly



Ideally you haven't forgotten when there brackets fit - a photo before disassembly come s in handy!
The top mounting bracket bolt feeds into the boot compartment - so best to give that a watertight seal (self adhesive rubber or foam gasket works well).



Need to ensure the rear bumper strip is evenly positioned.
If it's lop-sided you can't get the end caps on.

Rubber strip clips can be pressed in and turned 90 degrees.
No need to slide the clips the length of the bumper strip to line-up with the holes in the bumper.

Use a screwdriver to pull the clips through and to lock into place



Top and bottom 'leg' should flare out and hold the clip in place.



If you mess it up, channel locks can squeeze clip to release.

[Tzantushka]

Update with some pics from the rear bumper refit.
Quick and easy job when the bumper is straight.

Firstly, the diagram in Real OEM shows different fixing arrangements for the bumper end caps.
Plus it's not really clear.

Plastic end cap is attached to the bumper by 2x phillips head screws per side (#25).
The diagram shows a hex head.

The bumper end cap shows two options:

A) A hex head screw & short rubber hose as a seal (#17 & #18)

B) A hex net, spacer, rubber washer , flat washer and hex bolt (#24, 23, 22, 21 & 20)

Mine had neither.
Just a simple hex head screw and speed nut clipped into the bumper end cap.

Note the different length screws.
Left = shorter = screwed through the quarter panel from inside the boot.
Right = longer = screwed through the rear section of the wheel arch



Firstly, gave the inside of the bumper a spray with Penetrol.
It's a great product to defend against moisture & rust and dries to a flexible film.
Kinda like the coating the factory applied to prevent corrosion.



Protect the bumper with rolled-up towels ready for fitting.



With the bracket already attached to the bumper, offer the bumper up and hand tighten the nuts bracket nuts from in the boot.

For the sides. no need to remove the boot lining - I assume the Germans thought about access to the screws?
Use a screwdriver to help locate & centre the bumper sides.



Pro tip...
Use a magnetised socket or bit of Blu Tak on the hex head.
The left over self-adhesive (from the spoiler) also help keep things dust and water tight.





Loosely tighten while you get the bumper alignment right...



This socket & extension combination gives good access to the bumper bracket nut up near the rear muffler



More jiggling and tightening to even the gaps and centre the bumper...
- bumper to rear brackets
- rear brackets to body
- bumper sides & end caps



It actually came up really well!




Plus a shiny new boot roundel.
(Bloody hell they are not cheap!)



Finally the clean rear boot liner.



Which had a few repairs done with shoe glue and duct tape to keep things together for another 30+ years.



The re-chromed bumper, new end cap, refurbished spoiler, polished taillights and paint correction really lifts the back of the car.
FINALLY the front and back are looking great and water tight.

[martauto]

Really cool job mate !!!
Wish mine was as good

Mart.

[ocde30]

Excellent work. The roundel is the icing on the cake and is worth it - you'll soon forget the cost when your polishing that shiny boot area !

[Tzantushka]

Really cool job mate !!!
Wish mine was as good

Cheers Mart - I was pretty fortunate as I started with a car that was in good condition to begin with.
I'm realising the importance of "buying the best condition car you can afford"

Excellent work. The roundel is the icing on the cake and is worth it - you'll soon forget the cost when your polishing that shiny boot area !

Yep, until I did this I was wondering why people buy new roundels - now I understand - it's the satisfaction!

Also, you might appreciate this - the paint correction on the boot was hell and took about 6 hours.
The top of the boot didn't need rust repair and wasn't repainted, only the section underneath the spoiler.
The existing clear coat on the top of the boot has been repaired before me and was full of fish eyes.

Below is a pic during the wet sand process.
All those white dots are fish eyes which had to be carefully minimised.





So yes, I can relate to "...forgetting the cost..." of the roundel.

[Sleepless]

Tzantushka, your attention to detail is outrageous! I dare to say I'm more impressed from your work than from your car (which is fantastic anyway ).

Keep up the good work dude and keep posting pls!

George

[Tzantushka]

Tzantushka, your attention to detail is outrageous! I dare to say I'm more impressed from your work than from your car (which is fantastic anyway ).

Thanks for the encouragement George.
I have a technical / engineering background & was hands-on at the start of my working life.
But for the last 20+ years have a sales/management desk job.
So tinkering away on the E30 is something I find therapeutic.

I have limited time, we've got limited room at home, only have a carport and basic tools from my tech days.
But that challenge makes it even more enjoyable.

Plus I try to give back to the global E30 community that I've learnt so much from.

[Tzantushka]

Well, decided to take the car to work on Friday to give it a bit of run.
It was cold winter's day (7 deg C) so I cranked the heater.

Hmm, what's that sweet coolant smell.
As it turn out the heater core is weeping and I have a coolant leak in the heater feed line.
90% of the hoses are original - so they are due.

But checked the expansion tank when cold and it was VERY low - almost empty!
Lucky, but what the?
Why didn't the coolant level sensor light-up in the check panel?

Er... I see.
No float.



Looks like a cooling system refresh is overdue.

[Tzantushka]

While I'm waiting for the heater & cooling system parts to arrive, I painted the LH side sill to match the RH side (which was done several months ago in SEM trim black).

Given I had to mask off part of the car and already had the paint out - why not dress-up the windscreen rubber lock strip?

I have the chrome lock strip that has turned a crappy yellow & black colour after all these years.
Eventually I'll need a new windscreen, but for the moment I don't really fancy spending $$$ to buy a lock strip or the hassle to install it.

With some leftover brown paper, masking was really easy.
Tape over & trim around the lock strip with a knife.
A quick rub with 500 grit, wipe down with wax & grease remover and 3 coats.

Before



During



After





But it's better than before.
In fact, the satin black doesn't look too bad.

Yes, the purists would be in horror - mixing shadow line with chrome...
I'll get a chrome lock strip when the glass eventually needs replacing.

[Tzantushka]

While we're in lockdown thanks to COVID-19 - I'm waiting for the heater & cooling system parts to come in.
Have also been tinkering away on some smaller tasks.

New Topaz heater motor - well priced and doesn't whine like the original unit.
Narrower impeller wheel as I have A/C.

Also, cleaned up the diagnostic port cap as it was coated in the anti corrosion coating applied at the factory.
(coating had gone yellow and was flaking off).

Scraped off the coating with a nylon trim removal tool, light sand with 1200 grit, wax & grease wipe and dusting of adhesion promoter and SEM trim black.





25 mins work & job done.

[Tzantushka]

As part of the cooling system refresh the airbox had to come out to access the expansion tank hose & throttle body hoses.
Good time to give that a good check over & clean.

Fortunately, the airflow meter appears in good condition and looks like it was serviced in 2016.
The airbox was missing a clip and covered in the usual BMW anticorrosion coating from the factory.

Oven cleaner, fine brass brush, degrease and a few light coats of Duplicolor matt black plastic paint worked a treat.










Air tight and ready for refitting.

[Tzantushka]

The cooling system refresh started with a number of places – dead level sensor, leaking throttle body coolant gasket, 30+ year old hoses, and a weepy heater core.
The heater core was more involved than I thought.
I won’t bother doing a write-up as others have described it much better than I could.

RHD for the win - Lots of room to work with!

But I will share a few helpful tips & observations along the way:

1. Plastic sheet & duct tape
Underneath the heater box acts as a ‘bib’ for the eventual spillage of coolant when you disconnect the heater core. Pop a bath towel on the sheet to absorb the coolant.
Leave the sheet in place for reassembly, in case you drop the square nuts when reassembling things. Murphy’s law means the nut will slide down behind the carpet or down the plastic heater ducts under the carpet which directs air to the back seat footwell (where fitted).






2. Replacement heater control valve
Is much bigger and JUST fits.
Rather than spending the mega $$$ to buy a new one – if I had my time again, I’d disassemble and replace the o-rings.




3. Behr AM heater core isn’t as good as the Behr OE one
I ended up getting a Hella Behr version made in China.
Came with a self-adhesive foam trim – but had to re-use the foam block from the old heater core.
New heater core is thinner but fits into the housing OK



And the fins are flimsy (flat) compared to OE (zig-zag)




4. Cleaning tips
Antibacterial wipes - fantastic for wiping down the inner section of the heater box
Small brush vacuum attachment - If you have A/C this is you can vacuum the crud without damaging the evaporator core.
Check the A/C condensation drain rubber and heater core drain rubber is not blocked and drains into the transmission tunnel hump.

[Tzantushka]

Well I'm pleased to say that the cooling system is like new again.
The main leak was coming from the throttle body gasket and hoses.
BMW blue coolant filled and bled as per instructions here worked a treat.

While fitting everything back - noticed the foglights weren't working.
Thanks to the collective wisdom here traced it down to the switch.

After a good clean and some conductive grease it's as good as new.









Full how to here...

[ocde30]

Great pictures of the fog light switch.
I did the same to my fog light switch after an intermittent fault. The fix as above worked a treat but a word of caution when dismantling - it is an amazingly simple switch but quite fiddly to re assemble - keep your eye on those springs!
If your inexperienced - like me - at such intricate repairs, take a picture of every move as you dismantle then it is so much easier to re assemble.
I wonder how many have replaced with new thinking that they were sealed?? Keep up the great work on this car.

[coopman]

That Dupli Color Medium Beige is excellent stuff. Thanks for the recommendation - my interior now looks considerably fresher.

[Tzantushka]

That Dupli Color Medium Beige is excellent stuff. Thanks for the recommendation - my interior now looks considerably fresher.

Cool.
- did you do the handles and door pockets, or the whole lot?

Make sure you update some pics in your thread!

[coopman]

That Dupli Color Medium Beige is excellent stuff. Thanks for the recommendation - my interior now looks considerably fresher.

Cool.
- did you do the handles and door pockets, or the whole lot?

Make sure you update some pics in your thread!

Just the handles and door pockets - they were in much worse shape than everything else. The pictures below aren't great, but show the before and after.

I'm keeping before and after pics of various jobs, so will update my thread at some point.

[Tzantushka]

Been rather quiet with the E30 since we've recently emerged from lockdown 2.0 in Melbourne.
The cooling system has been working like a champ.
Lots of heat, a quiet blower and the temp needle never goes past half-way - even in traffic.

Went to give the A/C it's normal weekly run, but no cold air.
The system worked, but was never great as it was 'converted' to R134a.

Well, found out why:



Front seal on the Bosch Behr compressor had sh*t its self.
After asking around 5-6 A/C workshops here, very few want to touch this older stuff - and virtually no one wants to rebuild these compressors.
So looks like I'll have to do a full R134a conversion:
- new barrier hoses & o-rings.
- receiver drier
- parallel flow condenser
- new expansion valve
- system flush out
- and most likely a Sanden 134a compressor.

So here's the progress so far.

Most of the front end had to be removed to get rid of the old condenser.



Ended up ordering from RockAuto in the USA - the APDI 7013464 parallel flow unit.
Different to the picture (aluminium) but definitely parallel flow and OE drop-in.

Refurbished the stock fan - stripped off the flaking paint, etch primer, epoxy black reconditioned the fan motor.



New barrier hoses made locally.


Reassembled prior to bumper & grille.


The hardest part was removing the expansion (TX) valve.
Absolute bitch on RHD without removing the dashboard & steering column to gain access to the heater + A/C unit.

After flushing the evaporator, the amount of junk that came out was unbelievable.
From the solvent recovery bucket.



Next step, re-fit the new R134a specific TX valve, refit internal barrier hoses and start on the compressor mounting bracket.
Took the expensive but well engineered route and ordered a LC Wylie M20 Sanden bracket.
It's a very good piece of kit and saves me the heart ache of fabricating something up.

The quest for cold air before summer continues.

[Tzantushka]

​Few updates from the last weeks.
It was all about installing the A/C bracket and compressor after work.

In our last episode:
Took the expensive but well engineered route and ordered a LC Wylie M20 Sanden bracket.



Nice piece of kit - comes with the necessary hardware to bolt-up to the existing alloy bracket.
Saves the hassle of fabricating something up.
Don't mind helping a BMW brother who has done all the hard work.

Removed the Bosch - Behr compressor, cleaned up the area, re-sheathed the oil sensor...



Very snug fit on the alloy bracket - a 'love tap' with a soft faced hammer was needed.



Bolted up ready to some compressor action.



Which reminds me - ended up getting a Sanden SD5 compressor SD5H14 (S6626 model variant).



You need a modified low pressure line.
Ended up buying a new low pressure line than trying to resurrect the existing version.
Used a Four Seasons hose from RockAuto, cut off the end - which is for the Bosch Behr unit - and fitting a new hose connector.
The high pressure line looks OK - will report back on that later.
 ​

[Tzantushka]

While I waiting for the compressor fittings and hoses to arrive, I gave the door cards and rubbers a refresh.

My existing door cards were pretty tired, warped and the vinyl was torn in a few places.
Plus the handles, door pocket and trim didn't match.

Found a set of door cards that were in great shape - the vinyl was nice.
But the back of the door cards were a different story, cracks and the holes for the door clips were blown-out.
Challenge accepted.



Carefully peeled back the old vinyl and inserted some baking paper between the card and padded vinyl.



Some moisture, steam and let dry with everything clamped straight.



After the card was straight and dry, brushed on some fibreglass resin (sans glass).
That soaked into the cardboard to stiffen things up. Also brushed in some fibreglass matting to help repair the cracked card.
Leave the baking paper in between so resin doesn't soak through the holes in the door card and form sticky / lumps to the padded vinyl.
Once that has hardened, remove the baking paper, applied contact cement, shallow staples and it was good to go.

Refinished the vinyl, handle and map pocket with my favourite Duplicolor Medium beige paint.
Mentioned before Duplicolor medium beige is a close match to Natur.
But slightly more 'browny' whereas Natur has that slight 'pinkiness' to it.

Some pics to show the colour difference.
(faded Natur at the front and medium beige refinished card at the back)





Also some new internal window rubbers to set it off and help reduce window rattles.



Now I have to do the other 3 cards to match

[martauto]

Cracking work there mate, any chance of you doing a video of the other cards step by step please , ? I could put it in our restore it files.

Mart.

[Tzantushka]

Cracking work there mate, any chance of you doing a video of the other cards step by step please , ? I could put it in our restore it files.

Sorry big fella - I don't have any video editing skills - let alone a camera tripod or selfie stick.
I could only wish I could document the restoration process as best as others on this site.

What I can give you is pics, descriptions and a whole lot of inspiration

[Tzantushka]

Here's an A/C update for those following along...
(also for those poor sods in lockdown - I feel for you - after living through 112 days lockdown in Melbourne Australia)

The Sanden compressor was installed and fitted off.
Leak checked and all good.
So it was time to re-seal & insulate the evaporator housing.

I needed to replace the R12 Thermal Expansion (TX) valve with a R134a TX valve and replace the interior flexible hoses with barrier hoses.
The old TX valve was coated in a sealant tape from the factory, which had turned all dry and crusty.
It's also called 'cork refrigerant tape' or 'Prestite tape' A/C industry - helps insulate the TX valve and seal the housing.

If you leave the TX valve un-sealed, air can leak around the evaporator core and out of IKHS housing.
There's a cut-out in evaporator end-cap where the TX valve pokes through and connects to the evaporator suction high & low pressure hoses.



I'm not going for OE concours...
So no need to buy the factory goop tape to replace with factory goop tape.
Quicker and easier to use the leftover self-adhesive foam tape I used to insulate (lag) the evaporator return line.
If you're unsure what I'm talking about...





Not the prettiest - but sealed and insulated.

[Tzantushka]

And also here are some pics at the 'business end' of town.
Full disclosure - my vehicle does not have a front mounted oil cooler, so there is more room to route the hoses.

I still need to tidy-up some of the heat shielding for the hoses and secure the cables for the pressure switch & A/C clutch.
It's a bit scruffy for my liking.

Top view down on the RHS of the engine bay:



Shiny, shiny compressor:



Another view on the compressor connections:



Receiver drier detail:



Took the car away for the weekend on a road trip with the family.
It wasn't hot (24C // 75F) but was very sunny - so the A/C system got a run with the roof down and roof-up.

I'll need to take some ambient & vent temps to validate.
But definitely better than the Bosch Behr R12/134 system.
Initial observations:

1. Quieter compressor operation
The old compressor you could audibly hear clunk in and out.
The multi-cylinder Sanden unit is barely perceptible and smoother.

2. Feels like less drain on the engine
When the old compressor clicked in you could feel a difference in engine performance.
Yes, there's a drain, but not as pronounced.
Again, not hard data only seat of the pants / butt dyno.
Put it this way, no need to switch the A/C off when going up hills.

3. Better A/C cooling performance at idle
Even with the stock fan, idling in traffic the air blows cold.
Before, with the A/C switched on in traffic, the old system would struggle to keep the air chilled.

I reckon this was one of the harder jobs on the car as it took a lot of research, waiting for parts to arrive, and a quite a few hours in removing, checking, cleaning & refitting.
But it was one of the most rewarding though.
Glad I did it.

[coopman]

Love reading your thread, mate. My compressor has also shat itself, but I think I'll live with it whilst I fix a few other things (still waiting for a new window and lock cylinder repair kit to arrive in the post, amongst other bits and pieces).

[martauto]

Cracking work there mate, any chance of you doing a video of the other cards step by step please , ? I could put it in our restore it files.

Sorry big fella - I don't have any video editing skills - let alone a camera tripod or selfie stick.
I could only wish I could document the restoration process as best as others on this site.

What I can give you is pics, descriptions and a whole lot of inspiration

That will do fine mate
Your work is too good to miss out on

Mart.

[Tzantushka]

Love reading your thread, mate. My compressor has also shat itself, but I think I'll live with it whilst I fix a few other things (still waiting for a new window and lock cylinder repair kit to arrive in the post, amongst other bits and pieces).

Yes, after your attempted break-in you have other priorities.
Having air conditioning in a convertible may seem a strange priority, but it means I can use the car on hot days and cold wet days (to take the moisture out of the air).

That will do fine mate
Your work is too good to miss out on

No worries - old school updates it is then...

Which brings me to the final A/C update.
Wanted to check the A/C was doing it's job and measure the vent temps.

Had to do the annual oil change and while the oil was coming up to operating temperature, checked the performance of the A/C at idle.
With the engine running:
- set the temp knob to fully cold
- A/C button depressed
- set the sliders to face vents only
- closed off the two outer face vents
- fan speed on 3

I don't have a A/C temp gauge, so used the high-tech meat thermometer - good enough for the moment!

Ambient temp at the time was 81 F // 27.1 C @35% humidity.
Temp inside the dash vent was higher (101 F // 38.3 C) as the windscreen was facing the westerly sun.
After the A/C system normalised, the air coming out of the dash vent was down to 62 F // 16.6 C - idling with the A/C on.
That's about a 10 - 11 C temperature drop...

After the oil change, took the car for spin to check A/C performance on the move.
Was later in the evening so the ambient temps had reduced down to 76 F // 24.8 C @45% humidity.
Same HVAC settings as above, but the A/C performance was much better.

After a few mins on the move air temp was approx. 48 F // 8.8 C.


Then after, 10 mins the system normalised.


Air temp coming out of the vent was low as 42 F // 5.5 C.
Approx. a 19 - 20 C temperature drop - much better...

May need a bit more refrigerant.. Will see how she copes on a hotter day.

[HenryM3]

Because I don’t know, what are you supposed to see ‘ diagnose through the sight glass of the dryer. Keep the write ups coming.

[Tzantushka]

Because I don’t know, what are you supposed to see ‘ diagnose through the sight glass of the dryer. Keep the write ups coming.

From what I understand, a quick visual with R12 was to check for bubbles in the sight glass.
But with R134a bubbles will give you a false undercharged diagnosis.
Will check the pressures with manifold gauges.

[Tzantushka]

Further update...
Some nice weather and annual leave - no better time to refresh the rear door cards.
After refinishing the front door cards, the rear section looked a bit shabby.
Plus the speaker covers had faded and didn't match the surrounding trim.

Out came the back seat, cards and demister trim strip along the back of the seat.
(sorry for the colour balance on the photo)



While everything was out, was also a good time to:
- spray some penetrol into the nooks and crannies to help prevent rust
- re-wrap any wiring looms that were tired
- blow-out the demister (was smelling crusty when I used it a few weeks ago)
- lubricate the window regulators with lithium grease
- clean down the original bitumen sound deadening & give it a quick clearcoat to help repel dirt & dust

The rear cards were squeaking and rattling, so added some felt tape to keep any contact points quiet.





As usual the most labour intensive part was the preparation.
Strip off the rubbers & trim...
Glue down any wayward vinyl...
Scuff with a gentle Scotch Brite pad and diluted cloudy ammonia to clean-off ingrained dirt & grime...
Wipe with wax & grease remover followed by a clean lint-free rag...
Mask-up...
Then finally a few light coats of Duplicolor Medium beige.



You can see the difference in the speaker covers - RH is unpainted & LH is Medium Beige.



Both done!



Some more Tesa self adhesive cloth tape to stop squeaks.



But also to reinforce the vinyl that tucks under the door weather seal.
Part of the vinyl had torn.



In they go...
With a solid 'thunk' as the door cards are seated in the correct position.





Colour will lighten up as the vinyl paint fully cures.



There are a few indentations from a previous repair job - still there but less obvious.
I'll overlook those as I don't really want to re-skin cards ($$$).

Clean, sharp lines again



Eventually when the leather seats need a re-trim, I'll get the seat backs re-covered in the same material.
I'll also do the seat backs in medium beige.



Oh yes, and the horse shoe also got a quick re-colour to match.
Not up for a re-trim just yet.

[coopman]

As a further update...
While I had the LH kick-panel out for the speaker upgrade, I may as well run the wires for the remote central locking kit.

Sure enough, I came across every E30 owner's nightmare - THE DREADED AFTERMARKET ALARM INSTALL

The Scotch Lock / Snap Lock splice connectors & mis-matched wire sizes were the first clue.



Out came the glove box.
Signs of water ingress - thanks to no seal on the alarm loom going trough the firewall.

More loom splice goodness hidden by PVC electrical tape.



It's a Repeller.
The only thing this installation has repelled is 2 hours of my life I can't get back.



After proper re-splicing, soldering & heat shrinking, good riddance.

I'm loving my new remote central locking (thanks btw!). I thought I'd add a picture of what I found whilst I was digging around under the dash - it might bring back happy memories! Aftermarket alarm (disabled), old RCL, and a mystery box (garage door sensor?). Lots and lots of scotch locks and electrical tape. There were a few more bits and pieces not in the picture that I removed on a second pass.