** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **
- Thread starter Akagi
- Start date
Thanks both. 
And yeah the paintwork does go back to pink ridiculously quickly. The nearside segment of the bonnet has been buffed up and had a light sealant coat on top and it hasn't faded in a few weeks, so I think it should be OK once I machine polish it and "lock in" the colour with some wax.
Whatever I do with the paintwork will only be for a couple of years or so at most, if I do end up keeping this car for as long as I think I will, I will have it re-sprayed in the future.
And yeah the paintwork does go back to pink ridiculously quickly. The nearside segment of the bonnet has been buffed up and had a light sealant coat on top and it hasn't faded in a few weeks, so I think it should be OK once I machine polish it and "lock in" the colour with some wax.
Whatever I do with the paintwork will only be for a couple of years or so at most, if I do end up keeping this car for as long as I think I will, I will have it re-sprayed in the future.
The paintwork has come up really nice - and red too, what brand of sealant/clearcoat did you spray on after polishing the raw paint ?
(have a slightly younger e36 estate with the hard German paint, but the clearcoat is going/thin in places through UV exposure and naive, over zealous, use of Dual action Porter polisher)
Central locking motors can become a problem too, I found ?
(have a slightly younger e36 estate with the hard German paint, but the clearcoat is going/thin in places through UV exposure and naive, over zealous, use of Dual action Porter polisher)
Central locking motors can become a problem too, I found ?
The paintwork which has come up red in that picture faded back to pink/cloudy pink incredibly quickly afterwards sadly.
I didn't put any clearcoat on the nearside third, it just has some wax over the top. Apologies if "sealant" was the wrong word there!
And yes the central locking has been disabled on this one. There are some amusing extracts from the service history actually. I can't remember the exact dates, but in roughly 2003 the car deadlocked itself, and an auto electrician had to disable the central locking and remove one of the central locking actuators. Then in about 2009 the next owner took it to a garage to see why the central locking wasn't working, and there's a golden extract which says "Actuators appeared to be unplugged and one was missing?? Plugged them back in, doors deadlocked, unplugged and reverted to manual locking"
Aside from that, the headlight wash wipe appears to be non-functional (siezed perhaps?) and the intermittent wipers don't work, but that is a simple fix that I just haven't got around to yet. The headlight angle adjusters are hydraulic, so they don't work either, but its apparently incredibly rare for them to work. Oh and the interior lights don't come on when I open the front doors, only the rears... The front fogs don't work (likely because they are smashed and full of water as mentioned previously!) and the brake wear warning light is always illuminated because the pads don't have wear indicators fitted. Easy fix.
Plenty of stuff to do, but the engine being able to retain its fluids, and the rust repairs, take priority over all of that.
I didn't put any clearcoat on the nearside third, it just has some wax over the top. Apologies if "sealant" was the wrong word there!
And yes the central locking has been disabled on this one. There are some amusing extracts from the service history actually. I can't remember the exact dates, but in roughly 2003 the car deadlocked itself, and an auto electrician had to disable the central locking and remove one of the central locking actuators. Then in about 2009 the next owner took it to a garage to see why the central locking wasn't working, and there's a golden extract which says "Actuators appeared to be unplugged and one was missing?? Plugged them back in, doors deadlocked, unplugged and reverted to manual locking"
Aside from that, the headlight wash wipe appears to be non-functional (siezed perhaps?) and the intermittent wipers don't work, but that is a simple fix that I just haven't got around to yet. The headlight angle adjusters are hydraulic, so they don't work either, but its apparently incredibly rare for them to work. Oh and the interior lights don't come on when I open the front doors, only the rears... The front fogs don't work (likely because they are smashed and full of water as mentioned previously!) and the brake wear warning light is always illuminated because the pads don't have wear indicators fitted. Easy fix.
Plenty of stuff to do, but the engine being able to retain its fluids, and the rust repairs, take priority over all of that.
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Soldato
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How saggy is your headlining......and no, that isn't code for anything smutty before you lot start.
I had to tuck the front part into the sunroof recess, and rear seat passengers hold it up with their heads.
Pictures of the old interior here: http://imgur.com/a/zmCWo
Anthracite crosshatch with black vinyl. Actually fairly rare, and people are enquiring about buying it for a not-unsubstantial amount...
Anyway, new rocker cover gasket came, so I whipped the rocker cover off, then realised the end plugs which go under the gasket aren't here yet... Fail!
So anyway, bit of acid and scrubbing and some cif and stuff on the rocker cover, and it is looking far from new, but much better.
4 of the 12 valves had clearances outside the tolerance (two of them substantially outside the tolerance) so they have been adjusted back.
Anthracite crosshatch with black vinyl. Actually fairly rare, and people are enquiring about buying it for a not-unsubstantial amount...
Anyway, new rocker cover gasket came, so I whipped the rocker cover off, then realised the end plugs which go under the gasket aren't here yet... Fail!
So anyway, bit of acid and scrubbing and some cif and stuff on the rocker cover, and it is looking far from new, but much better.
4 of the 12 valves had clearances outside the tolerance (two of them substantially outside the tolerance) so they have been adjusted back.
Soldato
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That car is deeply cool 
I have a real soft spot for E30's especially the estates.
I'd like to say 'one day' but i doubt i'll ever get round to owning one myself.
I have a real soft spot for E30's especially the estates.I'd like to say 'one day' but i doubt i'll ever get round to owning one myself.
Cheers both! Surprisingly Mum is OK with me using the kitchen counter as long as I tidy up.
What she isn't OK with as it turns out, is using the oven to heat crank cases.
Before I changed anything I did a little cold start video as well:
I love how grumbly it is when its cold...
What she isn't OK with as it turns out, is using the oven to heat crank cases.
Before I changed anything I did a little cold start video as well:
I love how grumbly it is when its cold...
Soldato
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There are 2 ways to fix it. The proper way is fiddly and time consuming. The easier way is more of a bodge-fix but unless you're aiming for concours is good enough.I had to tuck the front part into the sunroof recess, and rear seat passengers hold it up with their heads.
Current plan is to remove the headliner (which I believe involves removing the sunroof panel and various interior trims first), strip the material off, then put some thin foam backed headliner material on it.
Does the bodge fix involve a staple gun?
Does the bodge fix involve a staple gun?
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Soldato
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Upholsterers twist pins. Its a cheap fix and unless you look very closely at the headlining they're almost invisible. Obviously nothing is as good as removal and refitting though.Does the bodge fix involve a staple gun?
Do you plan to modify at all?
I'll consider that as a quick fire option, thanks. Though getting the headliner out would be good anyway, so I can inspect the condition of the roof and the inside edges of the sunroof cutout etc.
Modifications are some way off, but I want to do a couple of things. Replace the suspension with some which lowers the car ever so slightly and fit a stainless exhaust (not something with massive exhaust tips, something which looks OEM+ and sounds a little fruitier).
Long term plans I could talk all day about, but the truth is I don't know just what I'll actually end up doing... ITB's seems like a fun idea... 2.8 stroker re-build with ITB's?? haha
Modifications are some way off, but I want to do a couple of things. Replace the suspension with some which lowers the car ever so slightly and fit a stainless exhaust (not something with massive exhaust tips, something which looks OEM+ and sounds a little fruitier).
Long term plans I could talk all day about, but the truth is I don't know just what I'll actually end up doing... ITB's seems like a fun idea... 2.8 stroker re-build with ITB's?? haha