** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **

Right-o. Hole in the floor welded up, manifold and downpipe on with new studs, gaskets, and brackets.

Most of the interior has been removed including the carpet to facilitate inspection of the rot for a repair quote.

I've since found even more rot... The inner arch on the other side is rotten up by the filler neck, and the other sill is starting to go as well...

So thats now:

Inner and outer arch on one side
Inner arch on the other side
Inner and outer sills both sides
Boot pockets both sides
Front footwells both sides
Inner front arch one side

Getting close to breaking point now. :o

Once all that is done it will stand me in at something like £5K total... And after that it still needs paint and an LSD and a few little bits and bobs before its where I want it... New radiator. New headliner. Blahhhh...

Not sure I really want to end up £7K into a 200K mile Touring because even after all that I'll be lucky to get £4K for it if I sell up.

As has been pointed out to me though, I could get rid of it and buy another E30, only to discover it is just as bad... Or I could get rid of it and spend big money on one which has supposedly had everything sorted, only to discover that some has been missed and it still costs ££££ to fix.

Don't want to give up on it!! Got a new job now paying loads more money (still not exactly a rags to riches story though lol) but its definitely turning into a money pit. :(
 
Last edited:
TBH it owes me £3300 as it is and if I sell it now I'd probably have to break it because of the amount of rot, cos nobody would want to spend reasonable money on it.

I don't have the heart or stomach to do that after all the work that has been put in so far.

So I'll carry on... :)
 
I dont think ill be able to master it before the Jan MOT though... :p

Rear sills and one inner arch need doing before thr MOT. The rest can wait. But im going to get two prices. One for just those bits and one for all of it.

Then the other bits can either be done by myself after some welding training, or "my mates mate Dave" :p
 
Well I now have two outer sills, an inner sill, an outer arch/quarter panel, and a load of sheet metal sitting in the shed...

Trying to get in touch with a friend of a friend who should be able to help out for a fraction of the cost of taking it to a specialist garage.

His work is still good though. :)
 
I can't expect to move out for a few years anyway. I don't think sticking a couple of months wages into a car will significantly worsen my prospects. :p
 
Last edited:
Hardly! :D

I have a job with a half decent wage for the first time, but I still probably earn less than either of you two lol. :p

I work for the leading insurance quoting software provider, giving 2nd line support to insurance brokers etc. Some 50% more pay than my last role. :)

I think I must have found all of it now though, so I know what needs doing. I've had the whole interior out including front and rear carpets, dashboard, boot side trims etc (whole inside of the car just bare metal and wiring), as well as taking off all the plastic covers, and even having taken the exhaust, heat-shields, prop, and fuel tank out and had a good look at that whole area as well.
 
Last edited:
Actually my losses on cars isn't that massive at all. I worked it out and its something like £1000 a year. If I come to sell the E30 though, that figure will rise substantially :p

I'm weighing up my options.

Also fairly productive evening in the dark, fitted the rest of the exhaust, re-fitted a seat, seatbelt, steering wheel, all that lovely stuff, and went for a drive.

My god, the noise from the fuel pump/diff/wheels etc when the car has no back seats, no carpet, no passenger seat or interior side trims, no lower dash, and no fuel pump opening cover was astronomical! I had no idea fuel pumps were so loud!

New exhaust is alright. Mid section makes a weird echoey noise unless you apply a small amount of pressure to the underside which is strange... I guess I'll put a metal strap around it or something??
 
Unfortunately that burning hasn't really been fun burning though. Its made up entirely of massive losses on two trades of good cars for **** cars which I then had to sell on/break, and losing a bit on the Skoda because I piled quite a few miles onto it and reversed it into things and nobody wanted to buy it. :p
 
Right so it turns out that the noise from the fuel pump wasn't entirely because of the lack of interior. Put the back seats and fuel pump cover back in, and it was still loud... Thought "thats odd... I hope disturbing the fuel pump hasn't killed it" - Went for a quick drive, 15 miles or so... Part way into the journey I put my foot down a little (not flat) and it spluttered and wouldn't pull. By the time I made it back home it was spluttering on idle, half the time it wouldn't do anything when I gave it some throttle, and there were occasional sucking/whooshing noises coming from the fuel pump area in addition to the now slightly inconsistent whirring/buzzing... Could hear the fuel pump slowing struggling a bit at the same time the engine spluttered, and for some reason adding electrical load (lighting, using windows, etc) made the noise worse. :o

Odo on 199,997, so if its the original it hasn't done badly... But it picked a **** poor time to die because tomorrow was meant to be the day it goes for its first rot inspection... Which I've now had to cancel. :(
 
Replacement fuel pump ordered... :p

And someones been to look at the rot and is happy to do it for me so thats good.

Full sill on passengers side and repairs to inner, two flush patches on the drivers side and repairs to the inner (cut from repair section), repair to inner rear arch and boot pocket on passenger side, repair to inner rear arch and boot pocket on drivers side, repair section flush fitted on passenger side rear arch, repair to drivers and passenger side front footwell corners, repair to drivers side scuttle panel.

Will keep him busy for a few weekends, and keep my driveway occupied too... :p
 
Last edited:
Oh yes... Yes it is... Fortunately this will be VAT free time based mates rates kinda business... Only way its going to be viable to keep it. :p

Rough prices he was murmuring to himself were measured in hundreds lets put it that way... To get all that lot done at a specialist would probably end up being over 2K including VAT. I.E not worth it.

If and when I come to sell this thing, the ad is going to be spectacular lol. :p
 
Dont see why it wouldnt. Got a gated driveway, 6 axle stands, 2 ramps, grinder, loads of brand new disks, two migs, two masks, loads of sheet metal, wire and tips, and two fire extinguishers. :p
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom