This is just getting ugly

[///M42 sport]

The whole panel is gonna be cut out and replaced.

[Snowmann]

yucky

common spot though, 911s do it there too pretty bad

[c0rnfl4k3]

That is a beautiful dash, sucks on the cancer though.

[Ray Smoodiver]

Nasty, make sure they seal the new screen properly to the new panel.

[Jarvis]

Living in the rust belt, I have seen my fair share of completely rotted E30s. But I have never seen that. How does that happen??

[///M42 sport]

yeah that REALLY pissed me off when I saw it while changing my windshield. Good thing I spotted it in time. The shop guy didn't really know how it happened either. Now they have to take off the fenders and break the putty on the fenders. I'm keeping this car for a while so I want to get it done right.

I just remembered the old rubber gasket was messed up so it probably collected more moisture than normal. Also there are holes in that panel that are supposed to line up holes in the rubber gasket. I guess they didn't match so there was nowhere water could go.

[AdironRider]

Bummer, but for anyone else who lives in the northeast, that really isnt that bad for rust. Good thing you caught it when you did.

[UNHCLL]

A poorly/incorrectly installed windshield in the past caused your rust issue.

It is very common on e30 M3's, due to their bonded in windshield.
Water gets behind the seal, and the "body drains" don't allow the water to get out. It sits, rusts, and ta-da. New Cowel time.
Thankfully, the cowel from BMW NA is cheap, and the labor/paintwork is the pricey part.

[///M42 sport]

Your right unchll, there was a red m3 there with the exact same problem.

I bought new plastic grills for the cowl along with new rear sidemarkers while they had the rear bumper out. These always tend to crack due to the heat of the bulbs.
More pics,










CHeck out all the panels they had to remove just to get to that strip below the windshield, lol.

[cactusjacks1]

Very glad you caught it in time!! Looks like you are doing some paint blend on the road rash panels as well. Question - in your front end close-up pic,
their are 5 (off white) slotted mounting clips attached to the top of the m tech valance, I assume these fit to the bottom of the bumper to make an even seam where the bumper & valance fit together. It looks like you need to remove the bumper to then remover the valance - is this correct?? I am familiar with the M3 & it's removed as a single unit.

Do you happen to know if these mounting clips are still available?
Thanks, Jack

[///M42 sport]

yeah, those white mounting clips are still available. I have some just don't know where the hell they are.

The lower valance needs to be removed before the bumper portion can be removed b/c the valance blocks the bolts on the bumper.

Also why is that section around the rear liscence plate prone to rust?

[///M42 sport]

took more pics today.

[KangamangusDriver]

Looks like it is coming along nicely!

Are you doing the work yourself?

[///M42 sport]

Car taped up and ready to prime!










Its getting about 4 coats of primer, followed by more sanding.

I did find out that my car was resprayed before and the lower panels and the body panels were sprayed in alpine white, but in different shades. Hardley noticiable in the sun, but in the shade and under fluorescent light you can tell a difference in shades.

[bmwsmurf]

Friendly with a local bodyshop eh?