Ratch's 318iS Resto is back!!!

[djk]

I was thinking the shifter itself was also shorter.

It is, but not a massive amount - looks like about 3/4in from the compsarison pics I've seen. I've not tried one yet though for this reason. It seems an e36 M3 shifter also gives a shorter throw, (longer on the 'underside') but gives the same height gearstick in the car as the OE e30 shifter - I'm just not sure whether or not the throw would be toooooo short with this set-up though.

I'm sure the 'all in one' knob and gaiter would be fine with a z3 shifter though - there's really no reason why not, and I'm sure people have done it before as they are both common upgrades.

[tomson]

Both the Z3 shifters I have fitted are the same height as standard E30 sticks.
I have an OE E30 one piece gaitor/knob in my iX with the Z3 short shift and its fine...

[gareth]

Z3 shifters are definately shorter, but not by a lot. there will just be a little more slack in the gaitor

[djk]

I'm just going on this pic I downloaded off the zone:



It's not a huge difference, and certainly not enough to affect the fitment of the knob/gaiter thing, but I'm sure there is a difference.

Anyways, we're taking Ratch's thread a bit off topic! Sorry dude!

[gareth]

i have the 1.9 Z3 unit and it's simply lovely

i doubt the E36 M3 or Z3 M sticks would clear the M30 guibo to be honest

[Royalratch]

Glad you guys got all that sorted lol.

So BMW are getting slack with their hardware. No stainless brassy coloured stuff anymore - THIS is what you get:


Made in Taiwan, looks to be zinc plated stuff? Is this even corossion proof - I hope so.

Did a bit more on sorting the valance out. Turns out after bolting it all up the drivers side wing where it meets the top of the valance will need some persuasion. Passenger side lines up okay.


Almost there.



And finally threw the front grilles on. Forget all the flash mods, if you want your E30 to look badass for under £100 just get all new grilles and it will look tight.








My car shares a garage with rather more exotic cars - a little depressing but equally inspiring!


MOT and Tax by next weekend...

[Royalratch]

By the way, can anyone tell me if that's the super loud stereo horn? I can't remember what it sounds like lol!

[kieran325]

How much for all the grilles inc the kidney ??

Thanks.

[Royalratch]

£100ish.

[FMH]

Quality work, keep it up

[toby]

By the way, can anyone tell me if that's the super loud stereo horn? I can't remember what it sounds like lol!

It looks like a twin tone horn - which is OK. I think there would have to be two if it were to be stereo. You can always add a second horn, wired to the existing to add a bit more noise.

I can conform...

Freudian...

[gareth]

the fixings look to be zinc plated still. the gold/bronze coloured ones are simply made with a 'colour' passivate, the new ones seem to be a 'clear' passivate. nothing to worry about

those grilles make a massive difference. i just sprayed mine satin black as i was sick of tyring to get them looking good. they do look good now, but nowhere near as good as yours.

oh, that is a fine german fleet there, covering all three drive layouts and three eras very well

[djk]

Has your nearside dip unit gone milky, or is it just muck?

[Royalratch]

All the lamps need a proper deep polish. I'm talking T-Cut then glass cleaner and stuff.

I'll get the car valeted (any recommendations?) when it's done as I can't be arsed it's too proper a job to bodge.

@toby - I CAN conform lol!

[bmwsport]

Good work dude! It's looking ace, no expense spared for sure. How much has the resto set you back so far? Whatever the cost it will be worth it.

P.s - That is one big garage! - is it your own that came with the house, or is it rented? Either way i wish mine was that big

[bss325i]

By the way, can anyone tell me if that's the super loud stereo horn? I can't remember what it sounds like lol!

Thats the GAY single tone horn that 4 cylinder E30's were blighted with.

6 cylinder cars were blessed with the more manly two tone horns with a horn on each side above the back of the fog lamps.

[Royalratch]

By the way, can anyone tell me if that's the super loud stereo horn? I can't remember what it sounds like lol!

Thats the GAY single tone horn that 4 cylinder E30's were blighted with.

6 cylinder cars were blessed with the more manly two tone horns with a horn on each side above the back of the fog lamps.

I need that horn man! Can I retrofit it?

@bmwsport - it's a friends garage. The 356 and RS6 are his too the lucky blighter. He's a good egg and has let me do the resto there going on almost a year now lol! I also service my E46 and other various other BMWs there now and again. But I have to find my own space as its not my style to take the piss.

It certainly has had expense spared lol - I didn't do a bare shell respray and I haven't had the engine 100% rebuilt either. Nor have I renewed absolutely everything, only what needs doing - I was lucky that I had no rust issues and generally solid mechanicals. Well not lucky, I have taken damn good care of it over the years. The re-trimmers are a client of mine so that's a G saved right there. Engine work, timing case, prop bearing, engine mounts gearbox mounts steering damper etc etc were all done by a BMW specialist for free pretty much. I gave them a lightly damaged E46 that my insurance company wrote off which they repaired, sold and gave me credit in the shop so I've had quite a few touches. Probably haven't even broken 3G's of my own money yet nor do I expect to.

When the engine breaks that;s when I'll then have ago at a full M42 rebuild myself or M44/M50 swap etc etc.

Barry! Stereo Horn man!

[Alex]

Its only a horn

Looking good ratch, them grills look the business, i'am tempted to save up for a set for when i respray my valance

[The_Diddler]

Ratch

On your sparkling new grilles, did they come with the foam fitted, do did you have to buy separately?

Keep up the good work

[Royalratch]

@Diddler - The foams are separate on the ETK and show up as NLA but they do in fact come attached.

@Alex - Horns are are second only to brakes.

[Alex]

thats ok then

[The_Diddler]

@Diddler - The foams are separate on the ETK and show up as NLA but they do in fact come attached.

Thanks

[bss325i]

Yes they can be retro fitted. I have a pair and the relevant section of loom if you need it.

[Royalratch]

Yes please mate PM / text me about it - is there anything you don't have lol.
You know what I really need - someone to take my shadowline trim off! Still haven't grown the balls to do it yet...

[e30topless]

be a man, ratch !

removing the shadowline is very tricky and you only get one shot if it gets kinked it's f@@ked , and a new set is almost £500

what i did,

the door shadowline is best removed from inside the car with the window fully down, I used a wide flat wood chisel and an old creditcard between the trim and the chisel
and lots of masking tape ! , slowly prised it up a few mm at a time over where i thought each clip was, starting at the 'back' of the door, (remove the mirror) if you haven't already !
the rear is pop riveted to the side openers, do you need to remove these ?

the gutter trim is best started on bottom of the front pillar using the same method as the door , but get someone to lift the front outwards and upwards as you twist the gutter part off using your fingers !

good luck !

oh ..and cheers for the PM

[Royalratch]

Just come and do it for me man the bit I need is NLA!

I have 2 doors with trim on so I have 2 attempts and after reading your post I still can't do it.

How do you replace stuff that's been riveted on...?

[djk]

We're talking about the piece that runs along the bottom of the window aperture? Remove the glass and rubber strips, then leaver the retaining clips individually with a large flathead screwdriver (in a rag to be 'belt and braces') - should be easy to remove without damage. The gutter trim puts the frighteners on me though - I haven't the first idea how this could be removed reliably without damage.

[Royalratch]

I'm talking about the trim that is attached to the door from A-Pillar back top the B-pillar.

Item 4:

[e30topless]

item 4 is deffo NLA, I have never removed one but SI 13 has !

is there no way you can mask it up ? I did on mine very carefully and it's perfect !

[toby]

What have you decided on suspension wise?
By the way...

Z3 reinforcement plates might be worth adding to the rear damper top mount for extra strength (2x 51 71 8 413 359).

Get the Z3 plates. Those points are weak on E30s anyway, especially of you go aftermarket with suspension, and you will have peace of mind for peanuts.

...some for sale here - http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

[Royalratch]

Thanks Toby, I bought them. I'm going with all stock MTECH dampers fully rebuilt with all new rubber bits and will go with MTECH springs on the back and a set of -35mm Eibach's on the front. I'm not fitting it all till spring though as I have new 'summer' wheels to go on so will do it all then as well as brake system overhaul. A bit of progress since last post, kind of lost interest a little in the whole resto forum frenzy recently but wanted to finish this thread for posterity and the cars history.

OK. Got the front end sorted with refitted bumper, new bumper trims, new indicators and new license plate surround from the dealer that serviced my car when I frequented the practically sovereign state of Bayern (Bavaria to us folks). Old bumper had one of these two tabs broken which is why it 'sagged' ever so slightly - drove me nuts trying to get it just right by tweaking the guide bracket but it turned out to be this. It's part of the whole bumper:




So toss that and delve into my Lazer Blue stash. It's got a few light scuffs but it's clean and solid. Will T-Cut up well and it sits just right. And with new trims all round and new amber indicators (going back to the old school) it looks tasty enough.





Got my brake ducts painted too - yum.







Onward to the ICE! Doorpods back from the trimmers (Check out their new site, I did it for them - www.b-trim.co.uk ) and they are awesome. Not only did they manage to trim them with no seams showing or stitching, which is damn hard given the shape of them, they are a flawless color match and fit. Check it out!






So to fit to doors. First cut recess for some kind of porting and also for rear of speaker to poke through - it's about 3mm deeper than the card but no cutting of the door needed. This is why I have 2 sets of door cards - so it's all reversible to standard as and when.




Dynamat helps given that the door card isn't the most secure mounting for a hefty deep 6.5cm driver.




Test fit to door - looks as factory as you can get!







Also fitted brand new tweeter pods with new Alpine tweeters silicone sealed in.




Head unit also wired in, set to amber illumination and wired upto amp which fires up on cue and sounds rad. I cannot speak highly enough of this head unit - it is so packed with features and the sound quality is awesome as well as the on screen fully featured phone that just uses your handset for reception and accesses your SIM and phonebook via bluetooth - don't even need to take it out your pocket.

[polsta]

mental !!!! how much has it cost you so far ?

good work fella, but how come you have an is your spending so much on,but leather trimm not the standard ?

[AlpineAde]

Beautiful work, Ratch! Good choice on the Eibachs, BTW.

[Royalratch]

mental !!!! how much has it cost you so far ?

good work fella, but how come you have an is your spending so much on,but leather trimm not the standard ?

Don't understand - you mean the door pods are non-standard? Or the interior isn't?

The interior will be 100% standard except for the door pods and even they may not stay if I deem them to council. But rewiring some 5.25" back into the footwells won't be a big deal and they'll still be components driven by an amp so still an upgrade.

[gareth]

balls to oem if you're sticking decent sounds in there. the door pods look as OEM as is possible and get my vote. the standard positions are terrible and BMW need a slap for that.