Project: R3D3MPTION?

[ryangreen1]

Guess you can add me and our BMW whisperer Jackson to the long list of people who have got to touch this car.
I've never really worked on older cars before but Matt and Jackson taught me that anything can be fixed with copious amounts of pb blaster and heat.


Also Jackson had to become a blacksmith to rebend the bracket that we screwed up trying to get that broken stud out.


Jackson in his natural habitat, a parking lot at night under an E30 when we realized we didn't connect the front sway bar.


She looks so good

[*insertusernamehere*]

Guess you can add me and our BMW whisperer Jackson to the long list of people who have got to touch this car.
I've never really worked on older cars before but Matt and Jackson taught me that anything can be fixed with copious amounts of pb blaster and heat.


Also Jackson had to become a blacksmith to rebend the bracket that we screwed up trying to get that broken stud out.


Jackson in his natural habitat, a parking lot at night under an E30 when we realized we didn't connect the front sway bar.


She looks so good

You're next Ryan. I don't care where you're living I expect you in an e30 by the end of the year posted up on the forum here!

LET THE BMW FLOW THROUGH YOU

[davej]

Thanks to everyone who got to come play last week, the car looks great! There's still a few rattles and noises coming from the corners so I'll check those out. I think Matthew said one of the front sway brackets was missing, so we'll add that to the list.

The photo of you sitting there with a heat gun cracked me up, there was a mapp gas torch that probably would have made your night much easier.

The car no longer tries to take off like a jet with it's nose in the air when you get on it, and it's *slightly* less tail happy.

Tires are still on the list, I was looking at getting a set of these for now, then when I can find larger wheels/tires for the e30I can move them to the 02.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=Azenis+RT615K%2B&partnum=96HR4RT615KP&i1_Qty=4">https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... P&i1_Qty=4</a><!-- m -->

$325 shipped, after rebate, seems like a decent deal, there's not a lot of options for 14" tires. :oops:

[Jake]

That's definitely a deal on Azenis! As a single data point, I put a set on my Miata back in the day (just the 615, none of this K+ stuff) and burned through them in like 10k miles of college hooning. Definitely grippy but not the longest lifespan.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Thanks to everyone who got to come play last week, the car looks great! There's still a few rattles and noises coming from the corners so I'll check those out. I think Matthew said one of the front sway brackets was missing, so we'll add that to the list.

The photo of you sitting there with a heat gun cracked me up, there was a mapp gas torch that probably would have made your night much easier.

The car no longer tries to take off like a jet with it's nose in the air when you get on it, and it's *slightly* less tail happy.

Tires are still on the list, I was looking at getting a set of these for now, then when I can find larger wheels/tires for the e30I can move them to the 02.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=Azenis+RT615K%2B&partnum=96HR4RT615KP&i1_Qty=4">https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... P&i1_Qty=4</a><!-- m -->

$325 shipped, after rebate, seems like a decent deal, there's not a lot of options for 14" tires. :oops:

Wasnt missing when it left my house cause I remember how crappy those bushings were while bolting the bracket back up :lol:

[EclipseTurbno93]

So it's either in the garage somewhere, or (more likely) in some lonely corner of the Augusta county gov't center lot

[*insertusernamehere*]

So it's either in the garage somewhere, or (more likely) in some lonely corner of the Augusta county gov't center lot

I had half a thought to drive down to Verona to see where it fell off!! Hahaha

That or its on the side of the mountain somewhere. The bolt for it was still on the car, just no mount lol.

[RawrImAMonster]

Dave and I met up Friday afternoon to swap drives in each other's cars. I think this pretty much sealed the deal on me wanting to get an e30 to swap an s50/52 in for my next project.

This car was surprisingly fast. Picking up speed is effortless thanks to the low weight and having a motor with torque. We did a little "experiment" and it damn near kept up with my M3 even though Dave was having traction issues the whole time. The brakes definitely need some sort of help. I had a mini heart attack when I tried using the brakes for the first time after driving the M3 where they're super touchy.

Overall super fun and once the brakes are sorted out, it will be a great drivers car.

[davej]

Knocked out a few things over the past couple of months.

Front rotors and calipers were done (still stock, but they stop well and most importantly, aren't seized)

Strut tower bar for mad JDM points.

Finally did the exhaust midpipe gaskets which took way longer than I thought. Figured I could just unbolt, drop a bit and install but it's so tight in there [/MichaelScott], there's no room at all around the subframe and front sway to drop it. Ended up having to pull one of the headers and that went mostly alright. There's like 80% less exhaust gas filling the cabin now, so yay.

The head unit that came with the car never worked, so I stole the Kenwood one that was in the e34 ( yeah, I forgot I had that car also...) The kids and I installed it last night and now 2/3 of them know how to strip a wire with their teeth, a valuable life lesson indeed. On the plus side it has lots of purdy colors to pick from and the orange matches the interior lights pretty well. Oh, I had also picked up a weighted zhp knob and new leather boot a while back. It makes a noticable difference while shifting vs the stock knob. I still need an OBC with a working display if anyone has one floating around. 

I've also been planning on addressing the rust and paint this winter so I picked up the silver car for the fenders,  bumper and other small misc bits. While the car is out for a soft sale to friends & family as is, I'll keep working towards getting it proper and maybe try a BaT auction in the spring. 

Last but not least, I found some 16" OZ Fittipaldi wheels that fill out the wheel well nicely. Not the Borbet Type A's I had been looking for, but 16" 4x100 were proving to be stupid hard to find, and these have a similar look. Only had two center caps, so if you see a couple more laying around, let me know. 

[JPolen01]

Holy shit Dave. How many cars do you own right now?

[davej]

Holy shit Dave. How many cars do you own right now?

Uhhh...that's a great question. Less than if I had enough land to park them in/around a barn? Is that an acceptable answer?

[Senor_Taylor]

Holy shit Dave. How many cars do you own right now?

Uhhh...that's a great question. Less than if I had enough land to park them in/around a barn? Is that an acceptable answer?

Barn cars are best cars. You're like my spirit animal. Guide me, master.

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[davej]

Holy shit Dave. How many cars do you own right now?

Uhhh...that's a great question. Less than if I had enough land to park them in/around a barn? Is that an acceptable answer?
[/quote]Barn cars are best cars. You're like my spirit animal. Guide me, master.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
[/quote]
Oh, that's easy, just follow this simple guide.

[Senor_Taylor]

Wise words, master!

So hey, the silver car. Are you going to use the black plastic parts that cover the bumper? Or the antenna?

[.RJ]

I lol'd

[davej]

As the kids say, I'm gonna send it. 
Bodywork and paint is happening at E&E Restorations in Broadway.

I sourced two decent fenders and a rear bumper cover from my various part cars and had them cleaned up and John painted those once off the car. We also tweaked the core support a bit more and squared it up better. (Not that DJ's amazing work with truck and tow strap wasn't good enough, but John has some kind of monster slide hammer that made short work of what was left.) Same went for the front valance, that's been straightened a bit better and sanded down and hit with fresh texture coating. 

I got two good mirrors also and one has been sanded/painted and the other awaiting it's first coat of paint. Looking at the few photos I took I see I didn't get a good one showing the new fender against the old paint, but I can attest that this car will be R-E-D when done. 25 years of faded single stage paint looks pink compared to new.  

John was filling in all kinds of little pits/dings that I could barely tell were there, he says they'll stick out like a sore thumb with new paint. 
Additional plans are to clean the undercarriage and seal that, repair the rust spot under the battery tray, sand and paint the wheels, re-black the trim pieces, and probably some other items as we go along. 












Mechanical stuff still to do: 

• Install new top hats (that I should have had when the suspension went in)
  
• Install new sway bar bushings and end links. 
  
• Install new ebrake cables
  
• Install a 13 button obc and harness
  
• Install tweeter speakers by mirrors
  
• Source and install Z3 radio antenna
  
• Install M-Tech 1 steering wheel
  

There were a bunch of little odds-n-ends that a 325is got that a 318is didn't, I ended up with a lot of them from the part cars so I figured I might as well update the little things.  

Since this is getting half way fancy, my list of wants now includes:

• Source and install a crack free dash
  
• Switch front and back seats from the vinyl to a leather sport set.
  
• M-Tech 2 steering wheel for a good price
  
• Smiley or ellipsoid headlight conversion
  

Bodywork and paint should be done in another 3-4 weeks I'd guess. We work on it a bit here and there when I'm able to come help. I have no idea what this is going to cost me in the end, but he was willing to work with me for labor assistance and some horse trading for my remaining part cars on top of whatever he'll deem appropriate. I'm actually ok with this unknown as it's a great experience to work under someone who as done nothing but this for the past 40 years. I'm really excited to help/see the paint process.

[.RJ]

Is he just filling those dents with bondo or pulling the metal out?

[davej]

Is he just filling those dents with bondo or pulling the metal out?

hammering down the hills, pulling the valleys and bondo to smooth it all over, I guess.

[D_Eclipse9916]

(Not that DJ's amazing work with truck and tow strap wasn't good enough, but John has some kind of monster slide hammer that made short work of what was left.) 

I lolled.  I remember texting you and be like...YOU SURE YOU WANT ME TO DO THIS?!??

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[*]Install new ebrake cables
[*]Install a 13 button obc and harness

[*]

I have an E36 18 button, does it fit?

And good luck with those ebrake cables......Maybe after me soaking it for day after day eventually means they can be pulled out now...

Glad to see it is still getting it's money's worth.  This thing was a ton of fun!

[Senor_Taylor]

This is amazing. I'll still buy this for your suggested price AFTER you do all of this. Do GroupMe screenshots hold up in court?

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