89 325i sport resto (work begins at last)

[E30BeemerLad]

only just clocked this thread Matt, top work fella

[stevetigger]

Consider it done

Note, I've left some of his posts there...wonder how long before someone notices them

Now thats the job of a team member! Well done, there are other threads that need your Magic Simon.

[beardymat]

Consider it done

Note, I've left some of his posts there...wonder how long before someone notices them

cheers simon,gave me a good chuckle that,dont know what his problem was but the post is here for people to enjoy and to show people what im about. i enjoy taking what other people regard as scrap and returning it to its former glory, thats why im a panel beater

[dazleeds]

thats starting too look sweet matt

sig pics

[Templ8e30]

Hi Mat, she's turning out well buddy !

Remember, if you need a hand with anything just holler

Snap-on tools eh ? I've been looing for a roll cab and fell off my chair when I found the price list

See you soon,

Iain.

[john325tewerin]

Superb job Matt.
Just a quick message to say really appreciate you going to the trouble of posting your progress and with accompanying pictures too. Very interesting thread.

[nasir325ic]

The cars lookin very good, to be honest with you when I first saw the thread I thought wats he got himself into, but now im chewing my own words.

Its gonna look awesome.

Keep it up

[Geeman]

I can't beleive you piad Ԛ£2 more than I did for mine!

Mine's on Ebay today... Ԛ£400 for a 67k motor...

Anyway, glad to see the pics on your resto... loooking good! Going to be ready for the next FB meet...? Or are you trundling up in your E28 now...?

[Simon13]

now i'm seriously impressed!

Want to do all the body work on my old sport and alpina?!

i'd drive up there for u no probs!

Have u had all the kit off to check all the sills and jacking points matt? i'm just asking because u havn't said! I'm not telling u to suck eggs!

[beardymat]

Going to be ready for the next FB meet...? Or are you trundling up in your E28 now...?

wanting to get it roadworthy for the summer but it depends on how much time i can get my painter to spend on it, plenty of trundling until then

as for the sills simon i was dreading the moment the skirts came off but was amazed to see how good they were



that is the worst bit of rust on the sills and ive had a good poke with a screwdriver and its just surface rust,will get a proper sorting though, gonna remove the jacking plate and clean it all up and refit it (more photos).the arches are a bit poor under the kit but they will also get sorted.

as for work on your car ill be happy to tackle it but you might have to wait a while cause ive got a long que at the mo, and im sure daz will point out hes first

[dazleeds]

lolm yes me me me first

glad to see your still on it matt

and ur a lucky bugger with them sills

dreading what we find on mine lol

altho i have a feeling iv seen the worst on mine just hope im right

keep up the good work mate
r u up this weekend??
Daz

[beardymat]

yeah still up for the weekend mate

will be sunday,not sure what time

can you pm your postcode so i can find you again

[dazleeds]

will pm now matt

guess i better get them skirts off on saturday then

need to have a chat with you about where to get the repair panels also lol

theres a few places out there but dnt know whos best??

Daz

[dark_sounds]

good sheeet! well played,,, a true hero i think... to the rescue!

[CiLK_WuRM]

Excellent work my good man.

[beardymat]

managed to find a couple of hours today to go and start getting the engine bay ready for paint,the plan was to get rid of the surface rust on the inner wings and put a little filler in the repaired inner wing to take out the little imperfections. i started with the offside inner wing where the washer bottle rubs through the paint,all the corrosion came off no problem but when i tackled the bubble at the bottom where the seam is the wire wheel went straight through



this shows the rusty hole cut out and the new plate cut to shape



gripped in place ready for welding,no nasty mot style "slap a patch over the hole" here





patch welded in and ground off



primer applied and fresh sealer put on,kinda glad it turned into a hole as it made me open up the seam and clean it all before the new metal was added,otherwise it would have just come back.

should be getting the rest sorted next weekend so we can paint the engine bay out and then i can start putting things back in(radiators wiring bottles etc) before starting the arches and exterior prep

[Grantley]

Looks like your doing a top job mate and I can only imagine the feeling of satisfaction and pride you'll have knowing that such a good motor is a result of all your hard work, keep the pics and updates coming its very interesting to see the changes as the work gets done and no doubt will give insperation and confidance to others on here wishing to look after and/or repair there motors !

[H35-IAN]

that is one hell of a challenge matt fair play m8 good to see it coming along now i remember reading the thread of u buying that car also!! e30s do kick ass even 20 yrs later!! +

[dazleeds]

lol

you think thats a challenge

wait till he gets started on mine

[danny_j]

managed to find a couple of hours today to go and start getting the engine bay ready for paint,the plan was to get rid of the surface rust on the inner wings and put a little filler in the repaired inner wing to take out the little imperfections. i started with the offside inner wing where the washer bottle rubs through the paint,all the corrosion came off no problem but when i tackled the bubble at the bottom where the seam is the wire wheel went straight through



this shows the rusty hole cut out and the new plate cut to shape



gripped in place ready for welding,no nasty mot style "slap a patch over the hole" here





patch welded in and ground off



primer applied and fresh sealer put on,kinda glad it turned into a hole as it made me open up the seam and clean it all before the new metal was added,otherwise it would have just come back.

should be getting the rest sorted next weekend so we can paint the engine bay out and then i can start putting things back in(radiators wiring bottles etc) before starting the arches and exterior prep

Absoulte top work

[paulj]

tip top fella

When do you think you will finish it off?

[Jhonno]

Just seen this post.. Awesome work dude, keep it up!!

[e30bb]

U should of cut some frontend parts off a donar car.

But, nice welding tho.

Any chance of give me a few tips (at the stage of small dog droppings as to prefect welds). Can u recommened starters handbook to welding?

ps got MIG welder

[craigieeb]

doing a damn fine job there matt,

got a question for you tho......



the panel iv outlined there, did you just cut it off and re-weld it or is that a replacment panel??
im only asking, as iv got a lil bit of rust on both sides and wonderd if there was a replacment part for it, or do you recon i should cut some from a scrapper and weld them on?

cheers

[beardymat]

doing a damn fine job there matt,

got a question for you tho......



the panel iv outlined there, did you just cut it off and re-weld it or is that a replacment panel??
im only asking, as iv got a lil bit of rust on both sides and wonderd if there was a replacment part for it, or do you recon i should cut some from a scrapper and weld them on?

cheers

the panel i used was from a car i broke up myself.i also used the chassis leg and front panel to keep costs down.cant see why they would not be available new though! if you do go second hand just look out for the best you can get.

e30bb, i cant recomend a book for welding as i learnt the college/experience way so my best advice is to practice a lot and make sure your metal is nice and shiney. if you find your weld sitting on top of your workpiece then your power setting could be too low or your wire speed too high,keep going and youll get it.

thanks for all the comments,its nice when other people get what youre doing.as for when its finished???

hoping for the summer but we`ll see

[Simon]

You can buy all the inner panels, inner wheel arch new from dealers, inner arch comes complete with the shock tower.

[craigieeb]

mint


cheers

[dn808e2]

http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-E30-M3-Orginale- ... dZViewItem


Maybe this will help
good luck
this man looks like can send it to any EU country so it may be England too?

[TouringMatt]

Good skills mate, best thread i've read in a long time

I had my sill covers off recently to give everything a good check over. Was well pleased, only corrosion on the jacking points was where some knob had used a trolley jack and crushed the section with the saddle, breaking the surface seal etc plus there was a little rust around the NSR arch where is meets the sill, nothing that needed major surgery tho

Fortunatly the car got an intensive waxoiling in a previous life

Matt

[Sanchez]

this is one of best project reads on the zone.

[stevetigger]

Ive seen it in the flesh!

[beardymat]

well its been a while since ive had the time and enthusiasm to get on with my project but due to someone posting pics of a very very tidy lachs silver sport and several people constantly asking how its going ive decided to get my butt in gear.

you never know, it might make the road this summer lol.



wasnt looking forward to sorting this for some reason,possibly why its had to sit around for a year









its little surprise that these jacking points rust as there are three parts that make up a hollow triangle which bmw neglected to do anything but prime.





didnt turn out bad in the end,even went to the trouble of making the little drainage flutes in the new metal.took ages to find someone who stocks a square drill too lol

next job was to get some paint in the engine bay so i could refit it and get the car running again.i didnt want to go any further with stripping the rest of the car until i had a few bits back on as i only have limited storage room and i hate when things get lost or broken.besides which i will be painting the shell of the car with the front wings bolted in position and the doors,boot and bonnet off to get that factory look to the paint.







new radiator and condensor,belts,water pump and she was ready to fire.started first turn as you would expect from germanys finest.

the front valance was shotblasted and then drilled to take the clips for the tech 2 kit and then treated to fresh stoneguard on the rear and then painted both sides,the wings were new so were just treated to the stoneguard and then painted on the inside only for now.



just pretending its all done and im going to my first meet in her.

got plenty more to do,rear arches need small repairs as does the rear panel but ive got loads of enthusiasm at the moment so hopefully it wont be another year before the next update.hoping that this time next year it will be running an m52!



just a random shot to see if there are any car spotters out there.

[tylerma]

just a random shot to see if there are any car spotters out there.

spotted lol

your work looks fantastic mate
keep it up

[eko]

Superb welding mate!
Keep up the good work

Supposed to be doing my inner/outer rear arches this weekend but looks like its now on hold for a week or two!
Oh well

[MarkP]

Ive been glued to this thread, topclass job you are doing. An inspiration!
Cant wait to see how you deal with the rear arches.

Oh, is that a Porsche in the background by any chance? Or a Nissan 350z?