** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **
- Thread starter Akagi
- Start date
The broker I use are an old customer of mine called NeedToInsure.
https://www.needtoinsure.co.uk/
My car is on a Marketstudy Modified Classic scheme, and was previously on an ERS Modified Classic scheme, both through them.
Fully comp, 0 excess, Europe cover, agreed value, mods cover, parts cover.
They are very good at agreeing a good price with the insurer, but if you want all the bells and whistles, don't expect the price to compare with a confused.com special.
E36 will be staying stock, I'm tempted to throw a welded diff, coils and adapters. But, I'm going to be sensible for now... I just want the cheapest insurance possible, I constantly hear how cheap classic insurance is on stock cars.The broker I use are an old customer of mine called NeedToInsure.
https://www.needtoinsure.co.uk/
My car is on a Marketstudy Modified Classic scheme, and was previously on an ERS Modified Classic scheme, both through them.
Fully comp, 0 excess, Europe cover, agreed value, mods cover, parts cover.
They are very good at agreeing a good price with the insurer, but if you want all the bells and whistles, don't expect the price to compare with a confused.com special.
E36 will be staying stock, I'm tempted to throw a welded diff, coils and adapters. But, I'm going to be sensible for now... I just want the cheapest insurance possible, I constantly hear how cheap classic insurance is on stock cars.
Give them a ring and get a quote for standard and one for modified.
Name dropping me used to get people a small discount I believe but I don't work for the company any more... You could try saying and see if you get anywhere with that...
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I'll leave it stock, you out of all the people on here should know how doing 1 mod to a car ends...I can't control myself.
Wheels, suspension, exhaust. Thats all a 36 needs.
Maybe a chip since the 323i leaves a lot on the table...
I love the OEM suspension, no matter how massive the pot hole you don't feel a thing!
I made a list of potential mods...
- 17inch wheels
- Lowering springs
- Chip
- 3.15 Ratio Diff, 3.38 with ZF5 is good for track/drifting but RPM's are a bit high on the motorway. I think right now the stock is 2.93.
I'm getting 35MPG's from it right now, that's probs 30% Town and 70% Motorway... I haven't had a chance to drive it much, only doing essential traveling to the shops for toilet paper, pasta and rice. But, since I put a bit of weight on, I started walking.
MOT expires tomorrow, I've driven it 935 miles in the last year...
Battery is in the shed on the battery tender, I've ordered some new screenwash hose because the original stuff is crushed flat and brittle, and I need to fix a small hole on the exhaust downpipe, then it should be good for an MOT.
But I'm not going to rush it. I would quite like to swap the suspension back over before I bother putting it in for a test, not that I need to, it would just make me feel better.
Hell, might even buy a cover for it since it barely gets used at the moment!
Battery is in the shed on the battery tender, I've ordered some new screenwash hose because the original stuff is crushed flat and brittle, and I need to fix a small hole on the exhaust downpipe, then it should be good for an MOT.
But I'm not going to rush it. I would quite like to swap the suspension back over before I bother putting it in for a test, not that I need to, it would just make me feel better.
Hell, might even buy a cover for it since it barely gets used at the moment!
Soldato
Keep the suspension standard, or bilstein it if you must. I uprated and dropped mine and it ruined the car for everything except fast road/track time.MOT expires tomorrow, I've driven it 935 miles in the last year...
Battery is in the shed on the battery tender, I've ordered some new screenwash hose because the original stuff is crushed flat and brittle, and I need to fix a small hole on the exhaust downpipe, then it should be good for an MOT.
But I'm not going to rush it. I would quite like to swap the suspension back over before I bother putting it in for a test, not that I need to, it would just make me feel better.
Hell, might even buy a cover for it since it barely gets used at the moment!
I went down a path of making it a fast road / tracky weapon so it felt like more of a raw weekend car, expensive coilovers, pillow ball mounts, semi slicks, strut bars, modified subframe etc, but the track coilovers ruined it so im undoing it. Far too stiff for the road. I realise now that I just liked driving it as an old car.
I replaced the original knackered suspension with AP Sport shocks and springs which were fine, and i'm putting them back on it. Just need to find the motivation to do it. And I need my mate to give my ball joint breaker back!
Somewhen I might fit more appropriate softer road going coilovers like BC's, but for now, I just want it to be nice to drive again.
Plus ive been offered more than I paid for the coilovers so thats nice...
As for the MOT stuff, its just too cold outside for me to feel like doing anything.
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Well the car is still off the road, I could easily have got it MOT passable but I haven't bothered due to lockdown etc, so I've left it sitting.
Unfortunately I went to get something out of it the other week and discovered a nice pool of water in the rear footwell. The car is parked facing uphill. It turns out that water had been leaking in through the firewall area and soaking into the sound deadening/padding on the back of the carpet until it was completely saturated, and then water started to pool.
So I had to remove the seats, centre console, carpet, and under dash trim on the drivers side...
I put a dehumidifier in there to get any residual water, which worked really well actually.
The carpet is a total bitch to remove, especially when it is saturated in water because it is INCREDIBLY heavy. This is the second time I've removed the carpet, and the first time when it weighed 5x as much due to the water in it. I hung it up in the sun to dry out, and it is now in the loft.
I didn't do a particularly good job of sealing the weld repairs from the inside because I didn't expect the inside to fill up with water and I especially didn't expect wet foam to sit on top of the repairs for potentially weeks or months on end un-noticed...
So some surface rust has formed which I need to deal with. I'll strip it back, vactan it, etch prime it, re seal it, etch prime it again, then put some body colour on top to seal it up a bit better.
This rusty spot here right up under the back of the dash behind the instrument cluster is where the water was coming in, the rusty slit over near the side of the body.
I gave it a poke and it became obvious what had happened...
This is where, when the shells were manufactured, an oval was scored in the steel next to the battery tray, this is where the AC lines go on AC equipped cars. On non-AC cars like mine, it was seam sealed and painted on either side. On AC cars it was punched out. It seems the seam sealer failed, and it rusted out.
View from the outside.
The bit that I poked out, minus the rust flakes that made up the missing portion.
This is my temporary solution to stop the water getting in, it has survived the last couple of rainstorms unscathed. I need to get it welded up. Before I do that I need to scrub it up and rust treat it.
Unfortunately while this did fix the bulk of the issue, the water now pools in the corner of the battery tray and seeps through where some seam sealer has failed, but there is no rot there, just failed seam sealer and surface rust at this stage, so that will also get some scrubbing up and treating, sealing, and painting.
So the plan is sort this, replace the failed heater blower motor, re-fit the interior, replace the windscreen washer lines, patch up an exhaust leak, and get an MOT on it.
Oh and the passenger seat leather split right next to a seam... I'm going to patch it from behind, which is all I can do to repair it without having a new leather panel stitched in... Very annoying, the interior was the best bit of the car in terms of condition!
Unfortunately I went to get something out of it the other week and discovered a nice pool of water in the rear footwell. The car is parked facing uphill. It turns out that water had been leaking in through the firewall area and soaking into the sound deadening/padding on the back of the carpet until it was completely saturated, and then water started to pool.
So I had to remove the seats, centre console, carpet, and under dash trim on the drivers side...
I put a dehumidifier in there to get any residual water, which worked really well actually.
The carpet is a total bitch to remove, especially when it is saturated in water because it is INCREDIBLY heavy. This is the second time I've removed the carpet, and the first time when it weighed 5x as much due to the water in it. I hung it up in the sun to dry out, and it is now in the loft.
I didn't do a particularly good job of sealing the weld repairs from the inside because I didn't expect the inside to fill up with water and I especially didn't expect wet foam to sit on top of the repairs for potentially weeks or months on end un-noticed...
So some surface rust has formed which I need to deal with. I'll strip it back, vactan it, etch prime it, re seal it, etch prime it again, then put some body colour on top to seal it up a bit better.
This rusty spot here right up under the back of the dash behind the instrument cluster is where the water was coming in, the rusty slit over near the side of the body.
I gave it a poke and it became obvious what had happened...
This is where, when the shells were manufactured, an oval was scored in the steel next to the battery tray, this is where the AC lines go on AC equipped cars. On non-AC cars like mine, it was seam sealed and painted on either side. On AC cars it was punched out. It seems the seam sealer failed, and it rusted out.
View from the outside.
The bit that I poked out, minus the rust flakes that made up the missing portion.
This is my temporary solution to stop the water getting in, it has survived the last couple of rainstorms unscathed. I need to get it welded up. Before I do that I need to scrub it up and rust treat it.
Unfortunately while this did fix the bulk of the issue, the water now pools in the corner of the battery tray and seeps through where some seam sealer has failed, but there is no rot there, just failed seam sealer and surface rust at this stage, so that will also get some scrubbing up and treating, sealing, and painting.
So the plan is sort this, replace the failed heater blower motor, re-fit the interior, replace the windscreen washer lines, patch up an exhaust leak, and get an MOT on it.
Oh and the passenger seat leather split right next to a seam... I'm going to patch it from behind, which is all I can do to repair it without having a new leather panel stitched in... Very annoying, the interior was the best bit of the car in terms of condition!
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Soldato
Good luck, looks like a pain the arse. I was actually thinking of you this morning while watching the video on Car Throttle’s £1 Volvo…
Hi hi, i'm still alive, just doing other things with my life, thought a small handful might like an update. And its nice to keep things in one place...
Its been a couple of years since it was on the road, I decided I'm fed up with not driving it.
Picking up where we left off, I treated and re-painted this old crust which had wet carpet on top of it for months.
Began undoing the work of my now "ex" mechanic who had unbeknown to me, butchered my car and made it dangerous to drive while trying to do a simple job...
I already knew he ruined my wings for me, and after some back-and-forth he refunded me for all of the work done, which allowed me to buy replacement wings.
Wings before:
After:
The coilovers were horrible for road use, so I set about removing them.
Only to find that he had butchered my rear shock mounts on the body. As you can imagine I was rather peeved by this.
These plates are now welded to the underside to reinforce them, they are quite thick steel plate.
And on the top, the metal parts of old top mounts, inverted, with machined sunken holes for the fixings.
Original front struts back in... New brake parts including backplates too.
Did the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, aux belts, radiator, hoses, as well as new distributor cap and rotor arm.
Thought I better service it...
Fuel filler neck had been held in like this for years.
Improved that with this.
Three sources of water entering the drivers footwell fixed, the scuttle repair is temporary, I have a repair section for it. The others... Wellllllll... Tiger seal is good stuff, I'll over-paint it somewhen and see how I feel...
After a few storms confirming that had done the trick, interior back in... Hate this job.
Same with the boot and rear interior...
Replaced the fuel feed and return lines with some branded R9, the R7 I had previous fitted was apparently some of that fake stuff with R7 stamped on it... Who knew fake hose as a thing? Jesus...
The old. A section of which I posted to the supplier for them to investigate.
Aerotwins be gone...
New heater motor...
Replaced all bulbs including the plate light bulb which has been dead for years (rusted screws + laziness)
Meaning my check panel is now clear (all the check circuits work, by the way!)
Tackled this bad paintwork which had failed previously:
High build, lots of sanding, more high build, etc...
Guide coat, more sanding, another dusting of primer (not pictured)
Base coat, as a single stage.
Finito, not perfect but a vast improvement.
Leaving it looking like this for now.
Did a few more little things, some scrubbing and rust treating, replaced a bit of fuel line, re-attached some bits, fixed the idle control valve, proper coolant flush and bleed, handbrake adjustment, re-wired the rear wiper/wash which now works again, adjusted front wiper linkage, re-treated and painted the inside of the rear boot pockets, flushing the washer hoses, cleaning out the washer bottle, oiling the locks, new exhaust gaskets to fix a leak, lots more I've forgotten, etc...
MOT is on the 10th. Depending on whether they feel like advising the old tyres (not replacing as I will be changing the wheels), windscreen crack (not fitting the new one until it gets sprayed), or some of the corrosion on subframe/suspension components, it maybe *maybe* could pass no advisories? We'll see...
Its been a couple of years since it was on the road, I decided I'm fed up with not driving it.
Picking up where we left off, I treated and re-painted this old crust which had wet carpet on top of it for months.
Began undoing the work of my now "ex" mechanic who had unbeknown to me, butchered my car and made it dangerous to drive while trying to do a simple job...
I already knew he ruined my wings for me, and after some back-and-forth he refunded me for all of the work done, which allowed me to buy replacement wings.
Wings before:
After:
The coilovers were horrible for road use, so I set about removing them.
Only to find that he had butchered my rear shock mounts on the body. As you can imagine I was rather peeved by this.
These plates are now welded to the underside to reinforce them, they are quite thick steel plate.
And on the top, the metal parts of old top mounts, inverted, with machined sunken holes for the fixings.
Original front struts back in... New brake parts including backplates too.
Did the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, aux belts, radiator, hoses, as well as new distributor cap and rotor arm.
Thought I better service it...
Fuel filler neck had been held in like this for years.
Improved that with this.
Three sources of water entering the drivers footwell fixed, the scuttle repair is temporary, I have a repair section for it. The others... Wellllllll... Tiger seal is good stuff, I'll over-paint it somewhen and see how I feel...
After a few storms confirming that had done the trick, interior back in... Hate this job.
Same with the boot and rear interior...
Replaced the fuel feed and return lines with some branded R9, the R7 I had previous fitted was apparently some of that fake stuff with R7 stamped on it... Who knew fake hose as a thing? Jesus...
The old. A section of which I posted to the supplier for them to investigate.
Aerotwins be gone...
New heater motor...
Replaced all bulbs including the plate light bulb which has been dead for years (rusted screws + laziness)
Meaning my check panel is now clear (all the check circuits work, by the way!)
Tackled this bad paintwork which had failed previously:
High build, lots of sanding, more high build, etc...
Guide coat, more sanding, another dusting of primer (not pictured)
Base coat, as a single stage.
Finito, not perfect but a vast improvement.
Leaving it looking like this for now.
Did a few more little things, some scrubbing and rust treating, replaced a bit of fuel line, re-attached some bits, fixed the idle control valve, proper coolant flush and bleed, handbrake adjustment, re-wired the rear wiper/wash which now works again, adjusted front wiper linkage, re-treated and painted the inside of the rear boot pockets, flushing the washer hoses, cleaning out the washer bottle, oiling the locks, new exhaust gaskets to fix a leak, lots more I've forgotten, etc...
MOT is on the 10th. Depending on whether they feel like advising the old tyres (not replacing as I will be changing the wheels), windscreen crack (not fitting the new one until it gets sprayed), or some of the corrosion on subframe/suspension components, it maybe *maybe* could pass no advisories? We'll see...
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Thanks folks.
I'm going to buff it. Front wings are getting replaced as mentioned, so they will have a rattle can finish like the rear quarter. It will at least all be a similar shade of red then.
The hope is still that someday it will be resprayed etc, but it's not something I'm worrying about for right now. Just need it working again.
I'm going to buff it. Front wings are getting replaced as mentioned, so they will have a rattle can finish like the rear quarter. It will at least all be a similar shade of red then.
The hope is still that someday it will be resprayed etc, but it's not something I'm worrying about for right now. Just need it working again.
Don
Good to see you back, I've missed the updates
Associate
Good to see you back and thanks for the update. Always interesting.