** How my car now looks....updated 24/09/07 HID's**

[aceraf]

are you gonna paint the panels red, or try and paint match the bonnet,do the latter if you can, and one small thing is change that front number plate to a smaller one, looks like your getting a nice sorted car up together for not a lot of money, well done
are you doing alll the work on the street or do you have a garage, im up in derby for the first game of the season so if you go to football we can have a pre match pint

I'm going to be getting a new bonnet, so they'll be matched the the red...the orange bonnet will have to go i'm afraid

I'm actually in the process of changing my plates to d-branded german plates!

I'm doing what i can in my kitchen/garden! I did spray the rear chrome trim on the car...but that was just as it was easier on the car, rather than taking the rear windows out!

You're right....people laught when i tell them it's cost me £250 (inlcuding all consumables/paint/parts/service/mot and lots more!)

When is the 1st match? I've got a raod-trip planned with a few mates to france soon, so may miss it! (I don't support Derby by the way, support Liverpool, and have done so for aslong as i can remember!)

Also i don't drink..!!

[e36boy]

Car looks really good mate, I like the contrast of the black wheels against the red paint.
Cant wait to see it when you get it lowered........Go 60mm all round

[aceraf]

Car looks really good mate, I like the contrast of the black wheels against the red paint.
Cant wait to see it when you get it lowered........Go 60mm all round

60mm all round it is...

springs are in the post...should come by monday!

[Jay07]

Wow aceraf - youve been on a mod mission! Hope the seats work out for you... i cant see half your pics... i wonder if thats coz of my mac.. gona have to view this thread again on my pc... all the best mate, good little read there well done!

[Jay07]

Sh!te, if first post is a bit dated as i didnt realise i was on page 1 - Duh! still cant see the pics... I was the same - had no intenion of doing anything with the car in terms of mods but then i saw an e30 with alps... now im hooked too!

[aceraf]

Wow aceraf - youve been on a mod mission! Hope the seats work out for you... i cant see half your pics... i wonder if thats coz of my mac.. gona have to view this thread again on my pc... all the best mate, good little read there well done!

Thanks,

The seats need the spring tacking back together...it's really annoying, but a simple fix once i get hold of a welder!

I've said it before, and i'll just re-iterate it, the pics really flatter my car, and the leathers (when you manage to see them )...the car isn't as good in the flesh as it is in the pics....the paintwork seems to go dull really quickly despite me waxing it a few times now...and the front end looks really messy with the damaged bumper and wing...

i'm trying to keep on track and get these things sorted before i get side-tracked....
oh, and this car was supposed to stay standard....so much for that!

Still got the springs to put on when they come,
got some smoked smileys to finish,
repair the rust on the rear arch,
repair/replace front bumper/valance, bonnet and front 2 wings...

to add to the budget bm mods...if i was still working in my old bodyshop job, i would've been able to re-sray the car, for the cost of the paint...which would be about £90 for me!

Full professional respray for under £100....now that's budget
[Would've been doing all prep + paintwork myself, and in my own time]

Unfortunately i've noticed i have a weak-point on my CV being industrial spraying, so i've taken a industrial spraying job that i start on tuesday... That's going to seriously slow down progress!

If it's still like this by next year, then i'll respray it at college next year

[aceraf]

As mentioned above...i'm looking to get new plates made... here's what i had in mind...





Do you think i'm asking for trouble with how big a gap i've left?

[For those that haven't figured it out...my name's ASIF!]

Also, does anyone know if the pressed plates from Dubmeister have the reflection backing, so they reflect the light (and thus being legal - sort off)

Can anyone photoshop those plates onto any of the pics i've listed up (there's quite a few in this thread )

[note to self: stop modding the car]

[aceraf]

Sorted out a deal with the guy i bought the seats from....

Bonnet
Front Bumper/Valance
Drivers side Front Wing
Complete front grill - all 3 pieces (for my bro's car!)

all for £30...

Going to go pick the stuff up on the weekend!

[aceraf]

Quick update,

60mm lowering springs arrived today...

will be fitted asap!

once the new front end is installed, and the rear rust tackled, it should be looking better!

[aceraf]

Okay, my car seems to have a bit of a identity crisis when it comes to the colour!

I'm not talking about the red and orange 2 tone effect....i mean the actual colour of the car!

I'm sure somewhere in the paperwork I read that this car was 'Brilliant Red', and yet when looking in the engine bay today i noticed the sticker saying 'Calypsorot'!!!

I'm sure my car's not calypso red, and doesn't look like it ever was....

do you think that stickers a noobs attempt at making the engine bay look stock, or has my car had a chequered past (which i think it has anyway )???

And more to the point, how do i find out what colour my car is, as i'm getting some replacement parts for the front end tomorrow, and want to match them to the rest of the car!

[lenny-d]

well i remember buying a 106 for a mates girlfriend and the tax book said black and the car was light blue rang the place i bought it off they said they got it as a trade in from the local pug dealer rang them and had the car hpi checked and it was all ok.

apparently the dvla don't have that much of a selection of colours in their data base so sometimes they just use random names out of the hat

ps fook me £250 can't be bad to that, although we'll see what the figure is this time next year... exhaust, this need done that could do with getting sorted oh i wouldn't mind one of them on my car..... we've all ben there, enjoy anyway

[eko]

Okay, my car seems to have a bit of a identity crisis when it comes to the colour!

I'm not talking about the red and orange 2 tone effect....i mean the actual colour of the car!

I'm sure somewhere in the paperwork I read that this car was 'Brilliant Red', and yet when looking in the engine bay today i noticed the sticker saying 'Calypsorot'!!!

I'm sure my car's not calypso red, and doesn't look like it ever was....

do you think that stickers a noobs attempt at making the engine bay look stock, or has my car had a chequered past (which i think it has anyway )???

And more to the point, how do i find out what colour my car is, as i'm getting some replacement parts for the front end tomorrow, and want to match them to the rest of the car!

Looks like `polished` faded Brilliant Red to me

[aceraf]

Log book just says red!

[aceraf]

??????

[lenny-d]

only thing i can think of is maybe take your chasis(sp) to the local dealer and see if they can tell you anymore

don't know what calypsorot is ment to look like in the first place so can't help you out there fella, sorry

[aceraf]

Calypso Red is an awesome colour...but completely different to my car!

There's a couple of calypso red cabby's on the zone!

[aceraf]

Another quick road trip, and i now have all the panels for the front end that are suffering rust at the moment.

Front Bumper
Front Valance
Bonnet
Drivers side Wing
Complete (3 pieces) front Grill

All for £30

The valance, and wing have a bit of surface rust where the bolts went, so they will be sanded, and treated before painting. All parts are white at the moment, so will need to try and find out the closest match to my current paint!

I'm also considering doing a full respray on the car....seen as it's my trade, i'm going to try and convince my employers to let me spray my car at work over a few weekends...i can do the prep in my spare time, and get it sprayed over 2 weekends(one to prime, and one to paint!)

I'm considering spraying it Calypso Red (the sticker in the engine bay got me thinking), as there's nothing i would need to update, as it's still RED! Not sure though as i don't want to be spraying door shuts, and the engine bay, so will see how it goes!

The full respray isn't going to compete with some of the £30 spray can jobs that have been done...however for around £200 (max) should have it in showroom condition!

Once this, and the suspension drop is done, it should start looking good!

[aceraf]

*Quick update*

New plates arrived...have decided i'm not fitting them until i have the new front end on...

on that note, it looks like my boss will allow me to spray the items at work... , and has also mentioned, if i can get the car in over the weekends, then i'm free to re-spray the whole car ....










Also been busy ordering stuff....
ordered tools needed for fitting the lowering kit i've had lying about for some time now...

Spring compressors...
Ball-joint splitter....

Also ordered a XENON HID CONVERSION KIT +BALLAST H1 10000K ...

was unsure which temperature rating to order, and opted for 10,000K in the end...but looking back now...they may turn out bluer than i was actually hoping for.....all i'm after is that luxury car look....will wait and see what they're like (obviously pics will be posted when fitted! ). They're costing me £60 from Hong kong, so delivery will take time...but i'm in no rush!

Seem to have to work overtime nearly everyday now, and it's really slowing any progress on the car! Whenever i get home from work it seems to be raining! I've had the parts lying about for a week now,.....probably starting to rust by now

I'm going to try and get the panels prepped for primer asap, and then do the rest of the work ...at work!

It'll save me money using Two Pack Paint, as opposed to spray cans...!!!

I've been told by people at work that the cars looking rough...it then struck me that i haven't washed the car since i put the wheels on...been 3+weeks????

[core]

Just read the whole thread. Your really getting som mods done Well done.
Did you get the car lowered?

[aceraf]

Should be doing it this weekend....

i was going to do it last week, but have been waiting for some tools to arrive, which have now come!

A full resray is now a very strong consideration....just need to decide on a few things like:-

- colour....thinking about doing it Calypso Red having seen the engine bay sticker...
- Colour coding, thining about spraying all the black trim, bump strips, and door handles to the same colour
There's a few other issues i need to get sorted out first aswell...!!!

I'll post an update when i have one!

[aceraf]

*update*

HID's arrived and have been fitted...very simple to install, and i'm very happy with them!

I was worried they'd be really blue, but when on at night, they're just as i wanted them!

They make a massive difference to visibility, and i'd recommend them to all! (My bro's already ordered a set for the cab since seeing mine!)

can't really capture what they look like on camera, but here are some pics...





That's my bro's cab on the left with it's lights on...wanted to compare to standard halogen bulbs...
















Also sprayed the rear shelf black as it really stood out being grey since i've installed the leather seats. For anyone who's interested, i just used a spray can to spray it black...i thought the fibre's would go hard, but they haven't...still feel sort of soft if you rub it...just feels alot thicker than before...once again, pic aint great as took it at night, and it makes it look lighter than it really is....it's actually really black...

here's the pic

[aceraf]

*update*

New German Plates arrived....and also the BMW plate surrounds.

here's some more pics...







































and my current desktop background...


Still not got round to prepping the new panels... , everytime i want to work on them, it's raining!

[1an]

i think somewhere along the line someone has put the wrong body colour sticker on the turret as my car is a calyso red and it is definatly not the same colour as yours.

your paint looks like brilliant red that has been polished very bad in a previous life.

[d1mmy]

Looking good - Come a long way.

Where u get the plate and surround from?

[whipsey]

liking the plates how much and where from mate?

[aceraf]

cheers guys...

i think somewhere along the line someone has put the wrong body colour sticker on the turret as my car is a calyso red and it is definatly not the same colour as yours.

your paint looks like brilliant red that has been polished very bad in a previous life.

it looks to have had a repair done on the drivers wing, and had the bonnet replaced at some point aswell, as they seem to be a different shade of red/orange.

Not sure what happened with turret sticker....mine is definately not calypso red!

Where u get the plate and surround from?

here's the plates link:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1
£20 delivered

Here's the surround link:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1
£25 delivered

[aceraf]

been away for a while....been busy working

I'm now back at college 1 day a week aswell (but doing 3 days work in 1 day as it's supposed to be a 3-day course), and i'm also working a 38 hour week aswell.. It's making me a bit .

Anyway, there's no real updates to the car...unless you consider the shadowline trim coming off whilst driving a mod (retrieved later, but not refitted as the little clip has flown off!).

I've been thinking about whether i should bother doing any repairs to the car, and have decided it won't be worth it (not that i have time to do so right now anyway)....and therefore i'm currently looking for a new car.

I'm looking for a 325 in either a cab, 2-door or a touring, with the cab or touring being the preferred choices, and with the weather becoming wet again i'm swaying towards the touring.

There's a few that i'm interested in, but i won't say any further till i know for sure. Although me blowing half my budget in a few weeks hasn't really helped my cause

In the meantime however my endless browsing of ebay brought up something that i just couldn't resist.....

here it is....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=003
Alcantara Mtec 2 Steering wheel and it's the small 365mm version.


Ironically it's cost more than my current car did....but it's something that will add a bit of class to the new arrival when it comes.

It should be with me in a week....can't wait

[core]

Great steering wheel, got one in the car myself. Not many of those around.

[aceraf]

Great steering wheel, got one in the car myself. Not many of those around.

At this price i'm not suprised...but seen as i've been working hard, i thought i'd treat myself

[aceraf]

It's been quite a journey, but the 316 is now gone

It got me back into e30's which is why it will be always remembered.

It was looking very sorry for itself this Monday when it finally went to 'MattG', but having been parked up for over a month it started 1st time!

Hopefully it'll have the spare panels provided sprayed up, and restored somewhat to a former glory, and do hope to see pics of it once it's lowered.

Anyways farewell 316

[snowsniffer]

hi asif paul here mate mattG's mate the car was for me got her home nice and safe poped in to ace cafe on the way back saw some stunnin e30's give me loads of insperation just finished g3ing the motor happy days nice and shinney ill send you some pics of her speek soon paul

[aceraf]

Glad to hear it....
you can continue with this thread if you like as you can do before and after shots of it!

Get some pics up as soon as you've got it lowered...

did the paint come up well after the G3?? Same thing i did when i bought it! I just didn't have a decent wax then....been recommended some Collinite 915 from some fellow zoners, you may want to try some of that and see if it'll stop it from fading so quickly!

Interesting username by-the-way