Should I try fixing it?

[brokenbimmer533]

Pics of the car are here
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1082597
Scroll down some.

Im picking up a welder later on this week so I have the tools to fix all that rust. Ive also wanted a project to put time/money/effort into. I bought the car cheap not realizing all the rust. I parted a few pieces already but nothing major.
Am I crazy for wanting to fix it?

[archemedes]

have you done metal fab work before? link doesn't work for me (I'm on my ancient laptop so it may be the cause) body work is easy if you know what your doing, but if you don't you can cause a ton of work, and safety issues

[brokenbimmer533]

never done body work. I know how to weld but other than that.

[DragonOrta]

Don't worry, it wasn't just you. Here is the fix'd link

[george graves]

I walk away from it. Actually I'd clean it up over the weekend, make it look nice and try and get $300-400 for it.

Or, since you will never recover your money, how about you keep it as a beater while you find something better? Then part it (not much there, except the head)

HTH...

[brokenbimmer533]

Yea I have parted a couple small interior pieces. I have another car. 92 honda accord 33+mpg :D. Not sure what Im going to do yet. E30's never seem to be in good condition when they come from NE or surrounding areas.
Maybe Ill just keep looking for a little bit cleaner body.
Sorry about the link to.

[ddavidv]

Between the rust and that fragged rail I'd ditch that. Find one on the internet a day's drive south that isn't as crusty and make your life much better.

[archemedes]

if not for the frame damage (frame looks weak from rust also) I would get rid of it, the rust itself isn't that hard, a frame pull is expensive, and can't be done at home safely (you need to be within thousands of an inch)

[george graves]

a frame pull is expensive, and can't be done at home safely (you need to be within thousands of an inch)

1/1000's?

[brokenbimmer533]

yea a bent frame rail is what made me get rid of my old 533i.

[archemedes]

1/1000's?

yes thousandths , done with lasers (many new cars are even tighter hence so many get totaled out)

[george graves]

yes thousandths , done with lasers (many new cars are even tighter hence so many get totaled out)

I'm calling BS on that one. Do you have any idea how thin 1/1000 of an inch is? Try again.

[scabzzzz]

How the fuck do you miss that much rust when checking a car out?

[archemedes]

I'm calling BS on that one. Do you have any idea how thin 1/1000 of an inch is? Try again.

check manual (a real service manual with specs not a bently), it's not a thickness, it's a tolerance to original in other words it has to be perfect, heck my '69 Camaro had a tolerance on +- 1mm with a regular tram gauge (aka tape measure) newer cars require laser measurements that are accurate within .0001 so going for .001 is nothing off by .01 can make a door gap double, .1 can make a door not open

[george graves]

Hey man - no offense, but I still don't buy it. And yes, I know it's a tolerances - I was using the ideal of thickness to try and relate to what you were saying.

So, you are trying to tell me that cars put on a rack after an accident are adjusted to 0.001 of an inch? Do you realize that is the thickness of about two human hairs? I just don't buy it.