My 335i M30 B3.5

[Cypriotgeeza]

Thats going to be bright!

The futures bright.. the futures...blue

[fixedwheelnut]

Thats going to be bright!

The futures bright.. the futures...blue

When I got the car I knew it would eventually need a respray and when I first saw that San Marino Blue on a car I knew that was what I wanted
just annoyed it has taken two and a half years to find a sprayer that didn't let me down Can't wait now though

[fixedwheelnut]

Running temperature in hot weather has been an issue in London traffic, sitting there on a hot day with the heater on hot to try and stop that needle kissing the red section of the gauge isn't comfortable, physically or mentally , so when Nev D'Mello told me about his custom rad on his S38 powered Touring I figured that would be the way to go.
So I have mocked up a wooden template for a custom radiator, smaller in profile but thicker deeper core so effectively it will hold a third more coolant by being 80mm thick instead of 35mm

It will also fit in the recess to allow more clearance between radiator and engine, currently 5mm at distributor cap.

[fixedwheelnut]

Also on the agenda has been some no longer available plastic parts, so taking advantage of my Son in laws 3D printer and CAD skills, the current pics show the prototypes in white plastic which is not really strong enough but the next batch will be in the stronger filament black plastic

Sunroof wind deflector clips




And the supports for the Tonneau cover roller blind

[martauto]

How does it stack against the OEM radiator for cost?
Also are you have nice shiny silver wheels with the Blue ??

Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

How does it stack against the OEM radiator for cost?
Also are you have nice shiny silver wheels with the Blue ??

Mart.

Not got the quote yet, taking it over next week. but Nev paid circa £400 I think so dearer than standard but on par with say Mishimoto Radiators.

Wheels will stick with my Silver BBS wheels for now until wallet recovers But I have seen Chrome and gold look good on blue, something to save for.

[fixedwheelnut]

A bit more paint going on San Marino Blue



Welded some Camber & Toe adjustment plates on to the rear subframe, prior to powder coating.


Finalised my bracket for relocating the air flow meter and a bracket for the throttle cable

[Cypriotgeeza]

Brilliant progress man! Can't wait to see it finished

[martauto]

Brilliant progress man! Can't wait to see it finished

Same here and yet again that colour is splendid to the point of disturbing


Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

Brilliant progress man! Can't wait to see it finished

Same here and yet again that colour is splendid to the point of disturbing


Mart.

If you thought that was disturbing check this out then bluetiful

[martauto]

Far too good .................................Far too good mate
WHAT a colour,
What do you think the ETA is on this ? (Hurry up.lol)
What interior are you going to use ?

Mart.

[DanThe]

Very nice indeed

[fixedwheelnut]

Far too good .................................Far too good mate
WHAT a colour,
What do you think the ETA is on this ? (Hurry up.lol)
What interior are you going to use ?

Mart.

I picked up a black leather interior a while ago that will be going in it, I am getting the headlining done in black and will be dying the carpets and boot trims black as well.


And @DanThe thank you

[martauto]

HELL



Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

Got the glass in and trailered it down to my mates garage where I can continue putting it back together, unfortunately the pistons are still on back order so I can't rebuild the engine until mid March, however there is more than enough to do in the meantime so I drilled the holes for the side skirts, painted them with primer and POR 15 to prevent rust. Some of the door pod clips had broken and no longer available from the dealer but I managed to find some available amongst other useful stuff from Tims Classic Parts in the Netherlands.
https://www.timsclassicparts.nl/en_GB/ prompt delivery too.








I made some spacers for the front subframe to help with intake clearance at the bonnet.


The front struts and both subframes were back from the powder coaters so I re built the front struts with my new Bilstein struts.


Also started tidying the engine bay wiring harness and riv-nutted some mounting points to clamp it to the inner wing.


Mind you I do think I spend more time looking for parts than fitting them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBZaJK2s6V8

[martauto]

Top draw mate
Even the springs are in on the act too

Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

Pistons are on back order until March holding me up but still plenty to do, a few more bits back from the powder coaters and I have cleaned and painted the brake backplates and a few engine bits.
Also created an Album on my Flickr page to keep the photos in one place.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/fixedwheelnut/12776q

[fixedwheelnut]

Few more bits painted, back plates in POR15 and engine ancillaries with VHT silver.



and "Ooh err missus, the Custom Radiator is ready" from Aaron Radiators in Croydon https://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/

[DanThe]

Your going to have loads of room with that rad, be carefull you dont chip the paintwork though as it will all be on show

[tha881]

What a build this is, I wish I could show mine the same attention as you have. The powder coating looks great by the way, did you use somewhere local?

[fixedwheelnut]

Your going to have loads of room with that rad, be carefull you dont chip the paintwork though as it will all be on show

Yeah I am dreading that

and @tha881 the powder coaters are on the Riverside industrial estate in Dartford, they do big steel stuff and can drop smaller parts in with the big jobs

I am lucky with my job, I do a four on four off shift that gives me spare days to get stuff done, 2015 to 2022 has been slow going but from the initial two week strip down in August last year to prep for bodywork, the main rush of work has been since getting it back late January.

[Tzantushka]

This is gathering pace and looking bloody marvellous!

[rix313]

That rad is bad ass Out of interest did you have original clips for the tech2 side pods? I'm trying to find some for a project but haen't had much luck. Found some 3D printed ones but they're the most brittle things in the world and just disintergrate.

[fixedwheelnut]

That rad is bad ass Out of interest did you have original clips for the tech2 side pods? I'm trying to find some for a project but haven't had much luck. Found some 3D printed ones but they're the most brittle things in the world and just disintegrate.

I had original clips when I changed it over to this car from my old 325i back in 2017 and yes they were original, luckily we only broke a few I had some left over from back then but still missing a few of the upper clips which I managed to get from Tims Classic Parts in Holland . I agree they are a bit brittle if removed again so literally one time use but seem to be holding it on so far.

[rob0r]

Wow that radiator! I ended up using a cheap ebay E36 M3 aluminium rad... It's the first time I've been satisfied with the cooling of my M30.

Lovely car and amazing work! It's going to be incredible.

[fixedwheelnut]

Wow that radiator! I ended up using a cheap ebay E36 M3 aluminium rad... It's the first time I've been satisfied with the cooling of my M30.

Lovely car and amazing work! It's going to be incredible.

Thank you,

Wife's car failed the MOT so welding to fixing that last two weeks but back on it now and headlining is in.



and started dyeing the carpet first coat on.

[rix313]

Carpet looks the tits. Very tempted to do mine to freshen it up.

[martauto]

Carpet looks the tits. Very tempted to do mine to freshen it up.

Yes it does , and all four Rich ??

Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

Since I work with Mike aka Singlezero he told me about his old thread about renovating the interior of his red convertible years ago , thread here; viewtopic.php?f=25&t=246464

So as the pistons are still on back order I decided to clean up the trims and front grilles, also the propshaft after.



Propshaft before


Midway



after


and I couldn't resist just resting the grilles in position to make it look more like a car again

[Cloggy Saint]

Looking good! How did you get that finish on the grilles/scuttle panels?

[fixedwheelnut]

Looking good! How did you get that finish on the grilles/scuttle panels?

Gave the grilles a very light low pressure sand blast just to key the surface, wash with soapy water and clean, then clean with TRG One surface cleaner and apply black Vinyl dye paint

all available here
https://www.vinyldye.co.uk/

The scuttle trim has come up a bit glossy compared to the others so I am going to sample their matt laquer to see if it tones it down a bit

[Cypriotgeeza]

Amazing work as always man!

Haven't been on here in a while and its nice to come back and see someone updating their build thread as they go, just like the good old days on here!

Can't wait to see the finished article and a meet up again soon

[fixedwheelnut]

Amazing work as always man!

Haven't been on here in a while and its nice to come back and see someone updating their build thread as they go, just like the good old days on here!

Can't wait to see the finished article and a meet up again soon

Cheers Eren definitely going to be a drive up to you when it's finished

More interior work and headlamp work, starting with the Bezels, sand blasting, clean with TRG then primer and Chrome paint from Jenolite, and some lacquer to finish




Centre Console trims with Vinyl dye paint.


Headlamp clean up and a bit of dremel action to fit in angel eye rings .





Seat rails, de grease, sand blast, steam wash, TRG clean and paint.

[martauto]

Love the look of the angel eyes, good work !!
What sort of black dye is it you used?

Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

Love the look of the angel eyes, good work !!
What sort of black dye is it you used?

Mart.

Thanks Mart, I wanted to retain the standard smiley look, the only mistake I made was getting a bit to heavy handed with the grey sikaflex 221 sticking the glass back in so on close inspection you can see a few bits inside the edge

Vinyl dye paint from here, also I used their TRG cleaner in preparation and a matt lacquer after to tone down the shine a bit.
https://www.vinyldye.co.uk/All-Vinyl-Dy ... int-By-TRG

If you need other colours they do a grey one as well.