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

I'd be chopping that whole sill off, repairing/strengthening the inner where necessary, and fit a new full sill. Don't bother messing about with patches.
 
it would be a flush fit 'patch' with plenty of metal removed around it, if i did go that route.

its a question of cost. Im not sure how much it would cost to replace a full outer.
 
Whole sill is of course the best option. I will see. Full outers are only something like £45 from BMW, but the work involved is the question-mark.
 
There is probably rot to what ever is behind the outer sill. As said, the outer one will need chopping out, repairs to what ever is behind, then a new outer.
 
The inners tend to be alright on these for the most part. you can see some of the lower inner sill from under the car, the lip and the area just above it. Its solid almost all the way along, but there is a little bit of rot in a couple of places. If a bit gets chopped out I can have a good look down the length of the inner sill to see if any is going from the inside, and it may well turn out that more or even the whole thing will need chopping. :)

Also, new selector shaft seal in. Thats the last oil leak taken care of. Until a new one starts. :p

Was a pig to get the old one out without a seal puller or any kind of hooky implement. I managed to get it out with a screwdriver by punching a hole through it on either side, and levering. One bent screwdriver, but one removed seal. Used a bit of metal pipe with a tapered edge and a small hammer to tap the new one in.

OIdqGx8.jpg
 
You're spending all this time on this car, do it properly so it's good for a lifetime with you. Get the entire sill and get'er done! You'll kick yourself when it all happens again because you didn't take the time the first time.
 
Oh I forgot to mention, tank is plumbed in and after a few turns of the key she fired up. Everything seems to be working fine. No leaks, fuel level senders/pump etc all fine.

Pretty ridiculously loud with just a downpipe on it though. It was like standing next to a tank when it was idling. :p
 
Prop back in today, had to take half of it to a local garage for them to press a new bearing onto it which they kindly did for free.

Got the old manifold and downpipe out, one stud was actually a bolt, two came out, of those one was a repurposed bolt.

Also had to order a downpipe gasket, two exhaust brackets, and a dust cover for the bearing. All that together was something like £50. The stupid dust cover making up £20 of that from BMW :p

Also booked in for a rust inspection on the 18th to get a quote for getting it sorted. Or most of it. Which will be my first four figure bill for anything other than purchasing a whole car, ever. Aint that cute. :p
 
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Sit rep.

Just did a tally up and its not as bad as I thought just yet.

£3300 or there abouts is what the project is currently sitting at, which includes:

The car
Full Comfort Leather interior incl. door cards
MTechnic 1 385MM steering wheel
Tailor fit floor mats
Leather gearstick gaiter
Re-trimmed original gearknob with new leather
Replacement knee roll panel
Boot cubby covers
Drivers door seal
OEM rear speaker pods
4x Alpine speakers
Drivers door scraper trim
Drivers door sensor
Boot hinge covers
Valve cover gasket
Rocker end plugs
Spark plugs
Sump pan gasket
PAS resevoir
Clutch slave cylinder
Brake pipes
Front nearside wheel bearing
Brake pads with wear sensors
Drop links
Control arm 'lolipop' bushes (E36 M3 bushes)
Gearbox oil
Differential oil
Rear nearside brake caliper
Fuel filter
Oil & filter service
Wiper motor (intermittent wiper functionality restored)
Prop shaft centre bearing
Prop shaft to gearbox flexi coupling
Selector shaft oil seal
Fuel tank
Filler neck connecting hose
Exhaust manifold
Full exhaust incl stainless Scorpion mid-section
Exhaust downpipe bracket
Genuine BMW 15" Basketweave alloys including spare
5x genuine centre caps
Front and side amber indicator lenses
Boot glass lower rubber trim/seal
Nearside tail-light
Offside tail-light
Drivers side door mirror
Numberplates
Complete bonnet
Nearside front footwell rubber/metal grommet
Front fog lights
Genuine bonnet badge
Genuine boot badge
Replacement inner sill, outer sill, and rear arch for nearside (not yet fitted)
Sunroof panel
Sunroof seal


As well as any labour associated with the above items which I didn't do myself. :)

Also have a cache of spares which I've accumulated which aren't factored into the above. Spare headlights, tail lights, plastic trims, mirrors, door cards, front valance (brand new), foglight blanks, bumper trims, dash trims, hoses, stainless exhaust manifold, full OBC kit, map-light mirror, front splitter, bulb holders, headlight washer motors, HVAC parts, and the list goes on... :o
 
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I'll be contented once the welding has been done and its got some underseal on it, after that it will be a slow trickle of things, some expensive, some not so. Like re-doing the headliner, replacing the suspension, replacing the rear bumper and a few misc trims, and then possibly a re-spray. But the latter won't be for a good while.

A VGC sport is £10K easily these days, and I've seen loads of 325i 4 doors/tourings sell for £4K upwards. It isn't about whether I'm going to make money or lose money on it though, I have no intention to sell it for at least a few year. To be honest I have absolutely no idea what it will be worth when I'm done with it, because it will have a massive wad of paperwork and a huge list of things which have been replaced/restored, and it will be in (I hope) very good condition, but it will also be on over 200K miles. People pay less attention to mileage in classic circles, but they still pay attention to it.

The process of doing it up has made me quite attached to it, and the classic BMW and E30 community/clubs etc are good too. Its nice taking it to shows with a club and have people stop and talk about it. :)
 
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. :(
 
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I'd say keep it :) if you sell it now it'll be at a loss.. sort it out properly and enjoy it!

I doubt you'll get your money back but that's rarely the case with cars, I know you really want a mint mx5 mk1 now and can't justify keeping the e30 but do keep it :D
 
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... :)
 
Yeah, stick to it. Dedicate some money towards it per month and that's it. By the time you're done welding it up it'll be worth 8k lol.
 
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