Let me introduce to you my 1987 325e. Sorry for all the iphone pics. I don't own a legit camera. hahaha.
223k miles. slightly rusty under the running boards when I got it. There used be a full Zender’s kit on it. I think the sideskirts were sold some time in the 90s and the screws sent through the running boards rusted out. Still got the front and rear valences though. So they patched up with sheet metal....that they never painted over it and the patches rusted out...damnit. Anyways, the car was full of little surprises. Good and bad. The rust was obviously bad. The good was an axle back exhaust, short shifter, bav auto spark plug wires, upgraded clutch, bilstein HD shocks, and a non functioning gas gauge. A lot of little things wrong. Dash was shot, no interior lights worked, rust in a few spots like the rear tail buckets, surface rust under the pop out window, running boards, front control arms, etc. Hopefully I can bring glory back to this e30. Now we’ll get into the project.
Put in black sport recaro seats. All I have is a pic of my buddy tearing into the interior about literally 5 minutes pulling into my driveway the night I bought the car
door cards were dyed black. No recent pics. Here is a pic of the seats. I had to swap over the back adjusters and reweld new tabs on back support since they broke off.
The wheels- ronal r8's 15x7
new grills. New compared to old...eewww
the drop with the wheels on
pushed in the bumpers. I had to cut and weld the shocks since they didn't want to compress. I also cut up the zender bumper and relocated the fogs. The car doesn't look like it has buck teeth anymore.
tear down of the car started. I didn't take many pics of the process. Too messy
I'll spare you the pics of the painting process. I was too busy and had my phone hooked up for music. Basically my process was pretty standard.
Patched some rust with new sheet metal on the lowers
grinded and welded the infamous rust in the taillight buckets and the trim edges
block sanded and filler primed with 2k high build forumla mixed 4:1:1
Block sanded with 220 wet. Skim coated a few low areas and sanded. Then reprimed.
Touched up the areas I had to, then laid a light coat of ppg base. I went with cosmo black # 303
Then 3 heavy coats of base followed by 2 thick coats of clear
I need to the little bits likes the bumper shrouds and the lower valences. I got a few runs to sand down and buff, but overall very pleased with the garage paint job. I've painted bumpers and fenders before, but not whole cars. Its tough in a cramped garage to maneuver around. I got two engines on stands, a hoist, a few carts....not too much space.It screwed around with my rhythm and got a few runs as a result. I should have parked the car at an angle and done the hood and fenders a different day. Oh well, live and learn. Pics tonight. It was too dark last night.
constructive critism is always welcomed. I'm not a pro, just a hobbyist. Anway I can learn and improve is appreciated.
223k miles. slightly rusty under the running boards when I got it. There used be a full Zender’s kit on it. I think the sideskirts were sold some time in the 90s and the screws sent through the running boards rusted out. Still got the front and rear valences though. So they patched up with sheet metal....that they never painted over it and the patches rusted out...damnit. Anyways, the car was full of little surprises. Good and bad. The rust was obviously bad. The good was an axle back exhaust, short shifter, bav auto spark plug wires, upgraded clutch, bilstein HD shocks, and a non functioning gas gauge. A lot of little things wrong. Dash was shot, no interior lights worked, rust in a few spots like the rear tail buckets, surface rust under the pop out window, running boards, front control arms, etc. Hopefully I can bring glory back to this e30. Now we’ll get into the project.
Put in black sport recaro seats. All I have is a pic of my buddy tearing into the interior about literally 5 minutes pulling into my driveway the night I bought the car
door cards were dyed black. No recent pics. Here is a pic of the seats. I had to swap over the back adjusters and reweld new tabs on back support since they broke off.
The wheels- ronal r8's 15x7
new grills. New compared to old...eewww
the drop with the wheels on
pushed in the bumpers. I had to cut and weld the shocks since they didn't want to compress. I also cut up the zender bumper and relocated the fogs. The car doesn't look like it has buck teeth anymore.
tear down of the car started. I didn't take many pics of the process. Too messy
I'll spare you the pics of the painting process. I was too busy and had my phone hooked up for music. Basically my process was pretty standard.
Patched some rust with new sheet metal on the lowers
grinded and welded the infamous rust in the taillight buckets and the trim edges
block sanded and filler primed with 2k high build forumla mixed 4:1:1
Block sanded with 220 wet. Skim coated a few low areas and sanded. Then reprimed.
Touched up the areas I had to, then laid a light coat of ppg base. I went with cosmo black # 303
Then 3 heavy coats of base followed by 2 thick coats of clear
I need to the little bits likes the bumper shrouds and the lower valences. I got a few runs to sand down and buff, but overall very pleased with the garage paint job. I've painted bumpers and fenders before, but not whole cars. Its tough in a cramped garage to maneuver around. I got two engines on stands, a hoist, a few carts....not too much space.It screwed around with my rhythm and got a few runs as a result. I should have parked the car at an angle and done the hood and fenders a different day. Oh well, live and learn. Pics tonight. It was too dark last night.
constructive critism is always welcomed. I'm not a pro, just a hobbyist. Anway I can learn and improve is appreciated.
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