The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

[CurrusDei]

Two Years In... M3 Build Thread...Now in Paint!

Haha! I put a red LED in the old one. Pretty easy. I thought about trying to incorporate a laser pointer into it-would be sweet at meetings, etc. but I don't think I'll be carrying this key on a regular basis.

The wiring harness is still coming along.

Reattached the trunk open/close sensor. P.O.'s fix didn't hold up- wonder why??



Yeh just strip and twist at different lengths then tape it all together. What could go wrong?

Now, my turn...







This high temp heat shrink is excellent stuff. I like solder and shrink with this even better than the heat shrink crimps I used on my stereo.


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[SteveJ]

Solder and heat shrink is the way to go!
Two things to watch- stagger those cuts so when you re-wrap there is less of a bulge in the harness.
Also, be mindful of where the splices are in relation to turns and bends in the harness. The solder will wick a bit causing a stiff spot in the wire.

[jhaurimn]

The buildup in this thread for paint has my balls blue.

[bradnic]

The buildup in this thread for paint has my balls blue.

X1000000000 lol. Lots of suffering balls out there haha

Solder and heat shrink is the way to go!
Two things to watch- stagger those cuts so when you re-wrap there is less of a bulge in the harness.
Also, be mindful of where the splices are in relation to turns and bends in the harness. The solder will wick a bit causing a stiff spot in the wire.

Excellent advice here

[CurrusDei]

You think you guys are blue. I drive past the body shop every day on my way to/from work. Getting steady updates as well. I'm learning that paint work is all about the foreplay and then the final act happens quickly.

Trim and accessories are primed - moving on to prepping and priming the engine bay and the trunk (i got a bit aggressive with the cleaning and some of the paint came off in the spare tire well - getting that resolved.

[SteveJ]

I just wish you were a ~little~ further along.......so I could ask you if one detail or another was "worth it"........before I undertake the same detail on my car.

At least you found the bottom of the slippery slope for dismantling the body for paint. EVERYTHING came out. I'm sort of digging in my heels before that point. Trying to justify it.

[CurrusDei]

If you aren't in a hurry, have the space, and want it to be perfect - dismantling is the way to go. If I do other cars in the future that need paint - they're coming apart. I've cleaned enough overspray off wires and other parts here to never want to respray a car with components onboard.

There was a point where I went from rolling restoration to total tear down-having all the components out and on the work bench makes such a difference in working on them. Take the wiring for instance. I can unwrap, clean, then rewrap all wires easily-which would be an impossible task with them running all through the car.


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[thmpr464]

Where did you get the decals/stickers from? I plan to restore my M3 in a few years and it will be fully torn apart.

[CurrusDei]

Read back a few posts and the link is there


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[CurrusDei]

Two Years In... M3 Build Thread...Now in Paint!

This just in from the body shop....










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[Bmwdayz]

This is some serious inspiration! Can't wait to see it rolling again

[SteveJ]

Thread should be labeled NSFW.

"If I'm not in a hurry and I have the room..." My M3 has been a garage queen for 10 years, so I'm obviously not in a hurry. As for the room, yeah, I've got that...except my wife insists on calling it a 'bed room'.

Thanks for pushing me down the slippery slope.

[CurrusDei]

Two Years In... M3 Build Thread...Now in Paint!

Ha! Hey at least it's an appreciating asset. My wife calls my car the "Mistress" - guess she just got a new red dress

The process is very rewarding, and this didn't hurt either...




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[Rouvld]

Man, your car is looking good! Can't wait to see it start reassembly.

[CurrusDei]

Thanks! Got some bumper shots today. Where's the drool emoji




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