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

Right-o, a decent update today. :)

Got the exhaust, prop, heatshields, and most importantly - fuel tank, out today with the help of a mate:

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I should have put the front wheels on the ramps instead so I could rotate the prop to get to the bolts, but I'm an idiot. So I had to jack it up at the back when I wanted to rotate the prop. Had a bit of fun and games getting the prop out because we didn't realise you had to pull it out of the gearbox end *first* - The guide we were following said to pull it out of the diff end first... :p

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Got there in the end.

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As you can see here the artic disk/guibo is completely knackered so its lucky I bought a replacement:

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And the centre support bearing was in an even worse state, and it wasn't actually supporting anything anymore... So I'm glad I got a new one of those too!

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Onto the fuel tank itself. A few minor hiccups, the drain plug shot out with quite some force when I undid it and plugged the funnel I was using, causing the funnel to fill up rather quickly and minor panic ensued as I tried to stem the torrent of fuel to sort it out... Bit of a spillage! And I grazed my hand and then got petrol on it which stung a bit!

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When disconnecting the hose from the fuel sender up top, it also came off a bit suddenly and I somehow managed to splash fuel in my face and eyes, which wasn't pleasant either... Really should be more careful! :D :p

A couple of the bolts were also a bit of a pain due to rust, but we got there in the end...

One removed fuel tank:

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My my would you look at the state of it! :eek: :p

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New tank ready to go, shiny shiny... It will get sprayed with underseal first, and the well the fuel tank goes in will also be sprayed with underseal. Really not looking forward to the mess thats going to make...

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Thats all for now. The next opportunity when the weather is dry, I/we will be breaking out the underseal, and then putting the new tank in and plumbing everything up, followed by the prop and exhaust etc.

Tomorrow I'm going to BMW to pick up a gearbox selector shaft seal as well, cos I need to put a new one of those in before putting the prop back on as the box is leaking oil all down the rear face.

At some point during this process I'm also going to weld up the "coke can repair" properly with a new section of pipe, and also weld the backbox back on because the straight pipes are doing my head in... :p

Another update soon. :)
 
Yes indeed. And also one of the sills has gone, I accidentally put a spanner through it. Needs inner and outer arch and rear sill on one side. Nice £1000 bill there cos I don't have the expertise to do it myself. :p

Boot pockets and floor pan, sure. But not that...
 
I dont think thats true, anything remotely difficult and i rope in my mate Sean to provide both assistance and to inspire a little confidence. :p

I hate doing new things without a helping hand.
 
Acme said:
I hate doing new things without a helping hand.
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You're still learning infinitely more by doing that than tackling new jobs with a credit card and a garage :p I'm hoping we move to somewhere with more space to work on cars before the MX5 starts falling to bits. Thankfully she's not been a particularly demanding beast over the last 4 and a bit years.
 
lordrobs said:
You're still learning infinitely more by doing that than tackling new jobs with a credit card and a garage :p I'm hoping we move to somewhere with more space to work on cars before the MX5 starts falling to bits. Thankfully she's not been a particularly demanding beast over the last 4 and a bit years.
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You don't need much space, just tools and to make some effort...I only pay for tyres, MOTs and if needed, welding (as I don't have a welder) and I only have a space in a car park open to the elements to work in. And I've done plenty of repairs including diff replacement on an E30 and painting my Golf... ;)
 
lordrobs said:
You're still learning infinitely more by doing that than tackling new jobs with a credit card and a garage :p I'm hoping we move to somewhere with more space to work on cars before the MX5 starts falling to bits. Thankfully she's not been a particularly demanding beast over the last 4 and a bit years.
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Unfortunately I started by paying for stuff to be done with a credit card. After an £800 bill for some stuff that I could probably have done myself, I realised that it would be far too expensive to continue doing it that way! :p

And frankly if your MX5 isn't already falling to bits then I think you've been duped and sold a totally different car with an MX5 badge on it! :D

InvaderGIR said:
You don't need much space, just tools and to make some effort...I only pay for tyres, MOTs and if needed, welding (as I don't have a welder) and I only have a space in a car park open to the elements to work in. And I've done plenty of repairs including diff replacement on an E30 and painting my Golf... ;)
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I used to pay for almost everything, but now I am trying to only pay for things which require equipment I don't have. Such as fitting tyres, or bearings (hydraulic press), complex/structural welding, etc.

I only have a driveway which is open to the elements, bit better than a parking space in as much as that I can at least spread out a little bit, but not much better. At some point it might get a car-port put over it, by which point it will be almost as good as a garage because is shielded on all other sides. :p
 
Cleisthenes said:
Looking good Tom!

That poor fuel tank :o
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Taa, yeah its in a pretty sorry state. You could just grab the seam at any point all the way around, and snap a chunk of it off! Probably a good job it started leaking so I knew to check it/replace it. Rather that than have it fall out! :D
 
InvaderGIR said:
You don't need much space, just tools and to make some effort...I only pay for tyres, MOTs and if needed, welding (as I don't have a welder) and I only have a space in a car park open to the elements to work in. And I've done plenty of repairs including diff replacement on an E30 and painting my Golf... ;)
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I only really have our shared gravel driveway on which I need to park right up against the house to leave access down the middle or outside on our narrow road which blocks two peoples drives! It is tempting to pave the front garden so I can park on there if needed but can't really be bothered as it is my medium term goal to move somewhere less estate like :D
 
Right then, managed to salvage three of the five rubber grommets for the fuel tank, and after spending a couple of days going to various shops/garages/etc trying to find some grommets the right size, as well as waiting for several members of the owners club to raid their parts bins, I managed to find two (and only two) which were the right size aside from the central hole, and Dad took them out to size for me... Panic over!

Tomorrow work shall commence! :)
 
Picked up the new exhaust. Made up of:

Stock manifold with no cracks (mine is cracked, blowing, and flaky)
Stock downpipe in good condition (mine is old, rusty, and has a hole rotted through it patched with a coke can and some gun gum! :D)
Stainless Scorpion centre-section
Stock backbox with larger tips than mine. I thought it was new, but on further investigation it has just been sprayed silver! Oh well... (Mine is fine, but I cut it off cos I'm an idiot, and this saves me welding it back on...)

And new gaskets etc of course... :)

Selling a friend my old exhaust for cheaps...

Cost - £160. Worth it? Dont know. Probably is just for the mid-box to be honest.

Going to scrub up the mild steel bits (downpipes and backbox) and spray them both with super high temperature black rust proof magic paint stuff, and then polish the tips of the backbox.
 
Right so I knew my nearside sill was rotten, but I've been putting off taking the sill cover off.

Finally did it yesterday after the car meet and its pretty bad but it could easily be worse!

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I was more concerned about the hose clamp in the first picture than the sill. Looks like the hose is coming off! :P
 
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