update on my cah :: plans for winter

[jflower]

howdy! just in case anyone's interested, here's some more recent pics of my project.

the worst of the rust is in the trunk, behind the rear quarter panel on the drivers side..
here's a pic of where the jack usually lives:


and here's the seam where someone welded in a DOT-R panel at some point.


causing more rust here:


another shot of some impeccable body work - where the antenna was shaved:


but that's not worrying me. the panel will be replaced correctly. i'm pretty sure i'm going to keep the antenna on top of the roof (where the PO relocated it to) but i've entertained notions of putting it back to it's stock location.

here's the good pics. progress!

when taking the exhaust off, i found it easiest to take the manifold off the head and disconnect the cat from the muffler, then pull the whole thing out thru the engine bay. prolly wouldn't have been able to do this if the PO hadn't rebuilt the motor 26k ago. all the bolts were very easy to undo.


the empty engine bay... tore a little bit of firewall sound/heat deadening off with the tranny when we pulled it out. oops.


and here's the motor on a pallet:


next on my plate is to finish taking everything off and putting it in boxes. then i'll weld some plates in the floor to seal up some gaping holes, then strip all the paint off with chemical stripper... should be enough work for november.

in december i'll most likely prep the car and send it to the body shop to have them straighten things out on the frame machine, weld in the new rear fender and spray the car.

then we'll see where i'm at.

word em up, cuz.

[Rob]

damn, sounds like a extensive project. Good luck with everything.

[TIATO]

Jay,

looks like a daunting yet entertaining project. Curses to the individual who replaced the rear quarter. This e30 going to be a daily driver or track vehicle?

Keep us updated.

Joe is letting you do this in the back?

Mario

[jflower]

mario, yeah, curses is the nice way of saying it. alas, this will not be a track car. going to be a street car, however only in nice weather. it's the classic conundrum of car restoration: is the car too nice to drive? i promise the car will see at least 10 track days, but i promise it will never see any salt.

yes joe is allowing me to do this in the back garage. it's very nice to have a huge, secure, insured and heated garage to work in over the winter. plus i need room for all my parts... if we rent out enough space to racers storing their cars, i may have to fill my garage at home with parts... we'll see.

[Chapel]

hmm
hey Jay. Im always here to help.

I gotta install some parts too

[UNHCLL]

Re: update on my cah :: plans for winter

then strip all the paint off with chemical stripper... should be enough work for november.

I might reconsider using a chemical stripper.
These have a nasty tendency to get into cracks, crevices, seams etc. Even after the car has been primered, painted, clearcoated.... the stripper eventually leaks back out and can ruin the paint job.

Glass media blasting is by far the BEST way to strip a car. It doesnt build up the excessive heat like Sandblasting, thus cutting down on potential metal deformation.


And Chapel,
You are a moooch of epic proportions. ;) Always looking to find someplace to do your work... hahahaha

[jflower]

chris.. i'm aware of that aspect of the chemical stripping deal.. but there were a couple reasons i was gonna use checmicals..

first, the guy painting it (mike from mike's auto body in Malden) told me to prep it that way. he kinda knows what he's talking about, so i was just gonna blindly follow him.

second, i don't know how much bead blasting would cost, plus i can do chemical stripping myself and save labor costs.


you know of anyone doing glass bead blasting? how much will it cost to do the whole car? i will rethink it if it's within reason for my budget.

thanks man.

[UNHCLL]

I know a few places that can do media blasting. Let me get in touch with my father to see if there is a place close by to where you are.

[Chapel]

Re: update on my cah :: plans for winter

And Chapel,
You are a moooch of epic proportions. ;) Always looking to find someplace to do your work... hahahaha

but its soooo cold :(

[PrinceE30]

I know a few places that can do media blasting. Let me get in touch with my father to see if there is a place close by to where you are.

I'd love to know this cost of the media blasting as I'm working on getting my project car soon.

-Prince

[jflower]

http://www.eagleautostripping.com/prices.htm

found that... sounds like a decent price breakdown... could be worth it. just get the exterior, engine bay, trunk, deck lid and hood blasted.. prolly around 800 to do those pieces... doors and fenders i can do myself with sandpaper and/or chemicals.. i figger i can get all crevices in those things myself...

chris, i'll have access to a trailer, so proximity isn't that big of a deal... i'll ask mike's if they know anyone around here.

w0rd.

time to make up my mind on side skirts.

[UNHCLL]

Do you mind if I ask what your budget is for this paint/body project? Have you already selected a body shop to do the respray?

[Digitalwave]

J, I take it you got a good deal on this car to invest all this money into it.

[jflower]

yeah, the body shop i'm planning on using is Mike's auto body in Malden, MA. they do all the TMS work, and tons of high-end paint work. We use him for all our stuff here at HMS too. I've seen a lot of Mike's work and it's really amazing. He did Roy WIcklund's E28 M5 for one lap... looked f00king amazing, too bad it didn't finish :). i've spent time at the shop and all i can say is that it's a real quality operation that still has flexibility in the project. He's willing to help me prep it correctly, letting me to the things i have the skills to do as to keep the costs down, as well as helping me get the materials.

as for a budget? 8) i want a sick car, and a sick car needs a sick paint job. i'm importing new panels from BMW AG (fenders,hood,valence,rear quarter) which is carrying a hefty price tag, but still less than from a US source. also sourcing an mtech II kit. this is adding up quickly.. i haven't set a specific number, but i imagine it will be approaching 5k when the body get's rolled back into my garage for reassembly.

TJ, to be quite honest, not really :). After selling off parts that came with it, i ended up buying the car for about 4500. motor has 26k on a rebuild, and is the strongest e30 i've ever driven, M3 or 325. suspension is all sorted.. it was only once i took everything off the car that i found it to be in such bad condition...

anyway... gotta go help this customer with his harnesses..
peace

[Digitalwave]

Best of luck to you!