Ahhh nono, it was in for bushes and mechanical bits and bobs which as Fonzee rightly said, I should have done myself!
** Acme [Akagi] bought a pink estate car - E30 325i project log! **
- Thread starter Akagi
- Start date
Ahhh nono, it was in for bushes and mechanical bits and bobs which as Fonzee rightly said, I should have done myself!
Sorry, haven't done anything to it. Wednesday the garage are taking it back so they can sort the ABS fault they introduced. Suspect the part they fitted was faulty.
Right-o, been a while. A few things have gone on with the E30 but I've been a bit distracted by the shed I bought. Lets not go into that in here though... 
Dropped it off at the garage who did the work again:
They took apart the hub assembly and put it back together having found no issue and sent me on my way, and the fault went away. I've since noticed that the ABS light seems to come on intermittently, sometimes it can stay off for days, other times it comes on straight away, but it always coincides with a bump in the road. I think it is a wiring issue somewhere else in the car. Warm weather keeps the issue away too which is another clue. I still haven't had a bill from the garage...
Went to my mates place (the one you know as "the other guy with the E30") who helped me fit the replacement bonnet, as the original was rusting from the inside and had filler and so on. This one looks much better. Just about fits in the back of the car!
Choosing the best pipes and brackets and things from each:
Voila!
This is a rather poor picture but we also fitted the matching leather door cards. (well, the cards are vinyl but they match the leather interior.)
Set about getting rid of some of the old stuff I no longer need. Someone has taken the rusty bonnet for a project, someone bought the old passenger seat for a whopping £80, and I stripped down the drivers seat and salvaged what I could from it. Just the buckle to take off now, and then it will be scrapped.
Mum being a loon.
Oh and the rear gearbox seal has started leaking since the gearbox oil was changed, not much mind. Dad fabricated a "nappy" under the back of the gearbox to stop it dripping on the driveway until I get it fixed.
Thats all folks!
Dropped it off at the garage who did the work again:
They took apart the hub assembly and put it back together having found no issue and sent me on my way, and the fault went away. I've since noticed that the ABS light seems to come on intermittently, sometimes it can stay off for days, other times it comes on straight away, but it always coincides with a bump in the road. I think it is a wiring issue somewhere else in the car. Warm weather keeps the issue away too which is another clue. I still haven't had a bill from the garage...
Went to my mates place (the one you know as "the other guy with the E30") who helped me fit the replacement bonnet, as the original was rusting from the inside and had filler and so on. This one looks much better. Just about fits in the back of the car!
Choosing the best pipes and brackets and things from each:
Voila!
This is a rather poor picture but we also fitted the matching leather door cards. (well, the cards are vinyl but they match the leather interior.)
Set about getting rid of some of the old stuff I no longer need. Someone has taken the rusty bonnet for a project, someone bought the old passenger seat for a whopping £80, and I stripped down the drivers seat and salvaged what I could from it. Just the buckle to take off now, and then it will be scrapped.
Mum being a loon.
Oh and the rear gearbox seal has started leaking since the gearbox oil was changed, not much mind. Dad fabricated a "nappy" under the back of the gearbox to stop it dripping on the driveway until I get it fixed.
Thats all folks!
Cheers. Interior wise it just needs the headliner re-trimming and a bit of rubber on the drivers door. And the 'retro' head unit. The carpet has a small tear in it but its not noticable. Could replace it, or might stitch it and pull the tear back together which should be close to invisible.
1st of July I'm driving it to Northants and we are compounding the paintwork and seeing if we can bring it back to life. Then I am staying over there, and then on the 2nd it is going to Santa Pod with the EssexE30Collective and E30Zone. I will mostly spectate because I don't want to hurt the poor old girl, but I might make a couple of passes.
Quick before/after of just after I got it, dirty with scuffed plastic trim, old numberplate in the wrong place, no attempt to buff up the paintwork, old corroded bottlecaps, and a towel underneath to catch the oil drips, and then now(ish).
If I can find some genuine ones with brackets for a non-insane amount I will buy them.
And Taa.
And Taa.
I most certainly will not.
Though I did offer up both cars as a swap for a mint 325i convertible the other day. They turned me down.
Perhaps unsurprisingly
Cheers guys.
Though I did offer up both cars as a swap for a mint 325i convertible the other day. They turned me down.
Perhaps unsurprisingly Cheers guys.
Tried to fit the new door seal, failed cos I couldn't get the sill cover off.
Went poking the rot again, quickly decided to stop and continue ignoring it because I already feel crap.
Went poking the rot again, quickly decided to stop and continue ignoring it because I already feel crap.
Right so my old door seal had shrunk and would no longer fit in one corner, meaning that rain could potentially get in. It had also split.
A new seal from BMW was something completely ridiculous like £180, so I bought a good condition one from eBay for £30, no splits, and it fits much better!
I also finally removed the disgusting remnants of a 20 year old Goodwood sticker from the rear window:
Stuck in this sticker from the E30 club I'm in:
And used some drawing pins to hold the headliner up temporarily, which actually worked really really well! Previously it was sagging a good three or four inches and passengers were at risk of being engulfed by it. It was so bad that it even affected rear visibility. This is much better. Just take my word for it.
A new seal from BMW was something completely ridiculous like £180, so I bought a good condition one from eBay for £30, no splits, and it fits much better!
I also finally removed the disgusting remnants of a 20 year old Goodwood sticker from the rear window:
Stuck in this sticker from the E30 club I'm in:
And used some drawing pins to hold the headliner up temporarily, which actually worked really really well! Previously it was sagging a good three or four inches and passengers were at risk of being engulfed by it. It was so bad that it even affected rear visibility. This is much better. Just take my word for it.
It'll get done properly somewhen but I was fed up with it so I found whatever I could.
Its a great club to be honest, lots of nice friendly people and loads of great cars to boot. E30Zone is the slightly chav one, which I am also a member of along with The E30 Touring Team.
Went to the Battlesbridge Antiques car show with the collective the other week. Going to the Santa Pod BMW show with them and E30Zone in July. I have my work cut out between then and now because the car will be on the stand.
Paint touch ups
DA buff up and seal
Two new front foglights
TLC to the front valance
Blackening of plastics
New bonnet badge
Sand and plastidip rear spoiler
And some 'rot disguising' (painting the visible rot on the black part of the rear valance to hide it, and some imaginitive masking and painting of one of the rear arch lips!)
Went to the Battlesbridge Antiques car show with the collective the other week. Going to the Santa Pod BMW show with them and E30Zone in July. I have my work cut out between then and now because the car will be on the stand.
Paint touch ups
DA buff up and seal
Two new front foglights
TLC to the front valance
Blackening of plastics
New bonnet badge
Sand and plastidip rear spoiler
And some 'rot disguising' (painting the visible rot on the black part of the rear valance to hide it, and some imaginitive masking and painting of one of the rear arch lips!)
Got some rear speaker pods because mine were missing completely, made by Nokia no less!
Replaced the front speakers with my new ones (no pics of this, bit boring I thought, and a 5 minute job!)
Proceeded to replace the rear speakers in the pods and discovered that mine are masses too big! So I decided to make some adjustments...
Stock pod on the left, and hacked about one on the right:
Both #chopped:
Now, the speakers are also too deep so I had to find something to put between the lip of the speaker and the pod to retain the air tight seal. I found some foam stuff which looked like it would do the trick:
Complete with some longer screws and we are in business!
Stripped the rear interior to put the pods in. Yes you can see a couple of cable ties... The fixings were missing too, and I didn't have any of the right type. They are secure though!
A very tight fit indeed, but the grilles go on over the top just about!
The difference is incredible. It has gone from a car with the worst car audio I've ever heard, to a car with the best. Its really rather good!
After I was done with that I touched in the front valance with a brush (I primered all the chips a few days ago) as a temp measure until I can be bothered to spray it properly... I also touched in a few bits on the bonnet edge and bit under the grilles. After I was done I fitted my new foglights too, which are not only un-broken, they work!!
[pic removed]
And here is a "before" from a few days after I got the car. I appreciate that the lighting is different but you can still see the difference.
I'm now going to outside and blacken the grilles a bit because they are rather grey.
Thats all for today I imagine!
Replaced the front speakers with my new ones (no pics of this, bit boring I thought, and a 5 minute job!)
Proceeded to replace the rear speakers in the pods and discovered that mine are masses too big! So I decided to make some adjustments...
Stock pod on the left, and hacked about one on the right:
Both #chopped:
Now, the speakers are also too deep so I had to find something to put between the lip of the speaker and the pod to retain the air tight seal. I found some foam stuff which looked like it would do the trick:
Complete with some longer screws and we are in business!
Stripped the rear interior to put the pods in. Yes you can see a couple of cable ties... The fixings were missing too, and I didn't have any of the right type. They are secure though!
A very tight fit indeed, but the grilles go on over the top just about!
The difference is incredible. It has gone from a car with the worst car audio I've ever heard, to a car with the best. Its really rather good!
After I was done with that I touched in the front valance with a brush (I primered all the chips a few days ago) as a temp measure until I can be bothered to spray it properly... I also touched in a few bits on the bonnet edge and bit under the grilles. After I was done I fitted my new foglights too, which are not only un-broken, they work!!
[pic removed]
And here is a "before" from a few days after I got the car. I appreciate that the lighting is different but you can still see the difference.
I'm now going to outside and blacken the grilles a bit because they are rather grey.
Thats all for today I imagine!
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There we are then.
Yep, I was just having a discussion with a friend of mine about how it took barely 10 minutes to get it looking like that and it has made a massive difference! When I stepped back after I'd done it I wondered why on earth I hadn't done it sooner!
Side light bulbs are fine. I'm not putting white bulbs in it.
Headlights (dipped) and fogs are on in the first pic before I blackened the grille, but it was very sunny so they are obviously going to look dim.
Headlights (dipped) and fogs are on in the first pic before I blackened the grille, but it was very sunny so they are obviously going to look dim.
Thanks.
The car as it currently stands owes me about £2200 including bits sitting in boxes which I haven't fitted yet, and including subtracting bits which I have sold having removed them.
I still haven't had the bill from the garage for the list of work... So when that comes in it will bring it up to £2800 - £3000 total.
After that it needs a rear gearbox seal and then the welding which will get done bit by bit.
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Did some mopping. Just the upper doors, upper front wing, and rear quarter so far. Totally knocked it out of me...
This wing was matte pink and starting to go white before.
Before/after. I appreciate the lighting is different etc but gives some idea.
[pic removed]
[pic removed]
Loads yet to do... It is drawing attention to how pink other bits are now...
This wing was matte pink and starting to go white before.
Before/after. I appreciate the lighting is different etc but gives some idea.
[pic removed]
[pic removed]
Loads yet to do... It is drawing attention to how pink other bits are now...
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It is, on that side.
Need to do more... Other side first, or possibly the roof. One or t'other.
Haha. Mine is 30% red now!!