The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Roof bar is back!

Before...







After...
















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[CurrusDei]

I could reassemble it in a few solid weekends, but I'm taking the approach of getting each piece nearly perfect, or replacing it, before putting it back on. So it's gonna be a while. I don't mind though. This is all about the journey


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[M-technik-3]

Front pocket works nicely. When I fly i put mine on my ID Tags chain or in my arm pocket as we don't wear rings while in the airplane or industrial ares for safety.

I would hate to loose a finger for failing to remove it. How long do you think it will take to reassemble your car?

[CurrusDei]

Your not doing assembly work with your ring on are you? Be nervous creating a scratch in fresh paint with it on.

Yeh I've thought about that. But I move reeealy carefully around the paint and the ring is a pain to take off. I guess it's worth it though. I'll have to have a dedicated hook for the ring so it doesn't get lost. Especially since my wife refers to the red car as my "mistress". She's joking of course, but taking off my ring to go see my mistress...there's something that requires a lot of context.

More from last night...

Primary fire wall insulation back on over ceramic coated paint





I had the trunk repainted because I was over aggressive in cleaning it and had rubbed through the paint at the bottom of the spare tire well. Looks great now, but some dust had settled in there that needed to be cleaned out.






I hit it with three products

Meguiars Showtime: cheap quick detailer that I mainly used to loosen and remove dirt. I had no idea this stuff reeks of cinnamon until I had half my body in the trunk with it sprayed everywhere. I'm surprised I didn't have a sneezing fit.

GTech Pannel Prep: alcohol based cleaner that removes all wax and other sealants in prep for...

GTech Crystal Serum Light: consumer version of Gtech's Crystal Serum. If you mess up with CSL (like not fully and immediately wiping off all residue), it can be buffed off. If you mess up with CS, it has to be sanded off. I'll leave CS to the pros. CSL is about 80% of CS in terms of toughness. More than adequate for the hidden parts of the car I'm using it on (that normally aren't even waxed). I'm thinking I'll have a pro do CS on the paint when I'm done.










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[M-technik-3]

Your not doing assembly work with your ring on are you? Be nervous creating a scratch in fresh paint with it on.

[roznic]

amazing work, happy ending ;)

[ak-]

=]

[jhaurimn]

=]

[CurrusDei]

Fuel door back on!





The hardware was pretty dirty



Before/after







Ready



On






and cleaning up hardware for firewall insulation





Simple Green (bag) vs Zep Degreaser (on the table, looks like a cream puff)



Zep and a nylon brush won







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[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

lol. It'll ramp up soon I promise. Too busy lately with work and kids. Plus I had another project that took up some time. If you're sick of mowing your yard or (in my case) paying someone to do it, google Worx Landroid. It's a pain to install (boundary wire staked down around the whole yard) but once you do that it basically runs like a Roomba that mows for you every day.
We named ours Moses (because he mows-es, eyerollol)



I DID finally get my ceramic paint sealant in though. Know how most products say "test in an inconspicuous place" before applying? Most inconspicuous place ever...transmission tunnel.



Yeh I know, the bay is a little dirty. That will be fixed shortly.



After...





Once this stuff cures it's hard to describe how big a difference it makes. I would not touch the rest of the paint at all and would cringe when my kids did (let's be real you can only stop them so much without being ridiculous when they're this young), but after this stuff goes on the paint feels like it's a hard shell, not a delicate surface waiting to be scratched, almost like the outside of a bowling ball (best I can think of on the fly).

The gloss is unreal too. This shot has no flash, just my headlamp and you can see the reflection of the wooden chassis dolly in the paint




I'm also reinstalling floor plugs, etc.



How's this for a rust free battery box...



More to come


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[jhaurimn]

How I browse r3v lately:

Step 1. Open r3v
Step 2. Go to m3 discussion forum
Step 3. Check this thread for updates
Step 4. Close r3v

[BMG]

Epic rebuild ! Thanks so much for documenting it as it will help hugely with my own M3 rebuild.

[CurrusDei]

Hmmm. I may need to start a floor mat collection.


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[bradnic]

yeah that carpet looks pretty darn good. anthracite floor mats would be great with it!

[jhaurimn]

Yup, they are e30. Heres another picture