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

Yes that is exactly what I said about the Celica chap, and arguably he did know what he was doing...... (ripping off gullible mugs)

However this guy has been doing work on my cars and my Dads/Nans/Grandads' cars for years, and his Dad was doing it before that. I've seen his welding too and it is top notch stuff. :)
 
You're probably right, and the fronts are an old model anyway. (Vredestein Sportac 2) - I ordered a pair of ZE914's last night.

I also went up to Princes Risborough with an E30 friend so he could get a replacement door, and I ended up buying a new nearside rear light. (mine is cracked.)
 
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Wash day. :)

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And a couple of pics from after, in the rain. :p

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My mate fitted my new rear light for me as well, while I was picking up all his sockets which he dropped everywhere... :p

Oh and I bought this...

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Got the front tyres re-seated with new valves, got them to go at the bead with a wire wheel etc as well.

Went to get a couple of new keys cut at Timpsons, they don't stock any blanks in that style anymore... :p

Checked the DOT codes of the tyres, two of them are 2003 and the other two are 2005... So I shall be buying a new set anyway... Meaning point #1 was a slight waste of time! :p

And someone in a van took a picture of it when we were stuck in traffic, followed by a thumbs up, which was nice. :)
 
Just sidelights on in that pic. The headlight brightness isn't that bad, though it isn't great because the silvering is going on the inside of the light units. The main issue is the fact that I cannot angle them upwards at all because both means of adjustment are broken... :p
 
Acme said:
Just sidelights on in that pic. The headlight brightness isn't that bad, though it isn't great because the silvering is going on the inside of the light units. The main issue is the fact that I cannot angle them upwards at all because both means of adjustment are broken... :p
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Looking well for its age mate! :)
 
Thanks. Shes not too bad. :)

Ordered two key blanks and another MTech 1 steering wheel. The first one I bought is going on the silver one above.
 
Went over to Kent to pick up some parts. Got two mint condition front fog lights, two new unused front valances (one for me, one for silver touring guy), a dog-net parcel shelf and some SE skirts (also for silver touring guy).

They chucked in a tubular chrome strut-brace too... :)

Oh and I crashed into a curb because I'm a moron, so its having the tracking done tomorrow... :rolleyes:
 
I love E30's but it HAS to be a two door! Although its very clean for its age mate! I wouldnt bother spending a fortune on rust repair, just hold it back for as long as you can.. You'll waste thousands getting it repaired for it to come back within a year
 
MrKnifey said:
I wouldnt bother spending a fortune on rust repair, just hold it back for as long as you can.. You'll waste thousands getting it repaired for it to come back within a year
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Definitely, i mentioned this earlier but feel it needs mentioning again from experience.
 
If it comes back within a year then it wasn't repaired properly in the first place.

Its getting sorted. :)

I'm not having random little squares cut out and patches put in, I'm having the rotten part and a reasonable amount of surrounding metal cut out, repair sections welded in, and then painting and under-sealing it.

I'm not as bothered about the bits of bodywork, but I am sorting out the underpinnings of the car as a minimum.
 
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I don't think you fully understand what your letting yourself in for? You will need to fully strip the car to a bare shell and go over all of it cutting out parts here and there for it to be worth doing! Plus half the aftermarket repair panels are crap and rot out. I guarantee you that you will be repairing more rust within a year of having the current rust repaired! My MX5 is rusty and after various other cars I've done over the years I'm just going to leave it and nurse it along, it is a total waste of money unless the car is worth strong money or is going to be, which sadly an E30 estate isn't going to be. Also pointless doing if you insist of drifting on the public road as you will whack it again
 
MrKnifey said:
I don't think you fully understand what your letting yourself in for? You will need to fully strip the car to a bare shell and go over all of it cutting out parts here and there for it to be worth doing! Plus half the aftermarket repair panels are crap and rot out. I guarantee you that you will be repairing more rust within a year of having the current rust repaired! My MX5 is rusty and after various other cars I've done over the years I'm just going to leave it and nurse it along, it is a total waste of money unless the car is worth strong money or is going to be, which sadly an E30 estate isn't going to be. Also pointless doing if you insist of drifting on the public road as you will whack it again
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Acme knows best, but will look back in a few years and just absolutely facepalm.
 
The point is that I don't want to nurse it along until it is uneconomical to repair and then scrap it... I want to save it, that is the whole point of the venture.

I am expecting to spend a fair whack on rust repairs, only to have to continue doing so on and off throughout my ownership. However I don't have the funds to do a full strip down and do it all at once... Just to do it as and when it manifests itself.

Does that make any more logical sense? :p
 
Not to me, you'll spend more constantly chasing rust on a rotten car than you'd lose in depreciation on something far more advanced.

Each to their own, but you need to treat any money chasing rot on that car as dead money, much as you would with funds purchasing something totally disposable.
 
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