Bent Frame?

[chevelle100]

Hey, so I've had an e30 just sitting around for a handful of years now. I bought it early in college and have never had time to fix it up like I wanted to. Now I have a job and the resources to go through with my plan, which is to set it up for rallycross, and maybe eventually stage, if I don't decide to go with a more appropriate car for the situation. I've read through all of the similar builds that people have done and I've amassed a large amount of e30 parts over the years.

However, I may have spotted a large issue. I was rolling around in oil and grease dealing with a leaky drain plug and working on changing the clutch master, when I noticed these holes - one on either front frame rail with obvious warping around them, as my picture shows. Does this indicate that the frame has been bent and subsequently worked on? Or is this somehow normal?

[96sohc]

Look like factory frame tie down points that have had the material bent out of shape. More than likely the vehicle has been on a tow truck or vehicle transporter at some point and had the chains cranked a little hard.

This is a good depiction of a tie down point on another car with a tie down strap attached:



As far as frame damage, it depends. The auto industry standard, used by dealerships and auction houses, is that it would need to be torn more than 1" from where it starts to where it ends. Has it been bent / worked on? Who knows; tie down damage like that is usually not an indicator of accident-type damage or repair. Is it normal? Not really, but its not unheard of.

[chevelle100]

Ah thank you, that makes a bit more sense. I've noticed the alignment is off, but it's hard to say if that's from anything bent or just being out of adjustment. I'll have to look into it a bit more or take it to get aligned when its... well, running and driving. Thanks!

[rcsoundn1]

I would agree, thought it is a bit hard to tell from pics. How do the panels fit overall on the car. Any weird gaps?

[chevelle100]

No the body is actually really straight overall, but the alignment is definitely jacked up, with the toe on one wheel being slightly different than the other.

[KIRIEIW]

What year is the car? In 86+ BMW had to put Vin numbers on all panels (Hood, Fenders, Doors, Bumpers, and Rear Quarter panels. If one of your panels is missing a vin, then that side was most likely replaced because of an accident. If one of the stickers read "DOT", then the panel was replaced with a OEM panel, rather then a used one from the junkyard, or even worse, aftermarket.

[chevelle100]

It's a 1984. The front right fender does appear to have red paint underneath though, so it seems that was replaced, although I haven't found any other damage in the area.

[marshallnoise]

The other thing you can do is get a strut tower brace and see if it will fit. Even cars that haven't been hit and had work done on them have issues with rust affecting the structure making strut tower braces impossible to fit.

And I have had two e30s and seen countless in junk yards and have never seen a hole in that spot before...