Ok, so I know I've been talking about how I'm going to restore my car for the longest time. Well, that day is soon to come. On August 13th, my car is rolling into my friend's place and the work is gonna begin. However, before I get to that point, there's some planning that I need to get through, and that's where I need your help.
Before I go into what I'm not sure of, let me outline what I'm going to be doing. Basically, my friend is a car restoration pro, and he's offered his assistance in fixing my car. I'm not going to have any labor cost, as I'll be doing the bulk of the work under his guidance and he's only going to take care of really advanced things. So, my budget is really only intended for materials.
So here goes. I'm going to roll my '88 325i cabrio to his work area, and strip her bare. Down to the last nut and bolt bare. The reason for this, is that the PO really mixed and matched parts to put her back together. My primary objective is to remove any and all rust, and to make sure that all the parts that are in there (or should be in there) are the correct ones. My secondary objectives include replacing all bushings with uprated replacements, having the driveshaft balanced, having my factory basketweaves redone and redoing the car's paint and interior.
This is where I have some question, sorry for the long wait :P
1. Aside from bushings, what else should I change while I've got the car taken apart? I'm basically looking to replace parts that I'm probably going to have to do later anyways, but would be simpler to do now when the car is dissassembled.
2. Where do I get the factory carpet pads? Not the carpet itself, but the little leather pads that go under your feet and on the side of the footwell.
3. Can I get one-touch windows using OEM parts? The one real upgrade I want to do, cosmetically, is installing E36 window switches. The thing is that I want them all to be one-touch and I want to install a switch like in E36 cabrio's where there's one button that lowers all of the windows simultaneously. Is this feasible?
I don't plan for this to be a quick project, and in actuality it'll probably take me monthsm if not a whole year, as I'll be working mostly on weekends. Of course, I'll post pictures of progress as it comences, but I want to get these little hurdles out of the way first to make sure I can do this as smoothly and quickly as possible. Any and all help is appreciated :)
Before I go into what I'm not sure of, let me outline what I'm going to be doing. Basically, my friend is a car restoration pro, and he's offered his assistance in fixing my car. I'm not going to have any labor cost, as I'll be doing the bulk of the work under his guidance and he's only going to take care of really advanced things. So, my budget is really only intended for materials.
So here goes. I'm going to roll my '88 325i cabrio to his work area, and strip her bare. Down to the last nut and bolt bare. The reason for this, is that the PO really mixed and matched parts to put her back together. My primary objective is to remove any and all rust, and to make sure that all the parts that are in there (or should be in there) are the correct ones. My secondary objectives include replacing all bushings with uprated replacements, having the driveshaft balanced, having my factory basketweaves redone and redoing the car's paint and interior.
This is where I have some question, sorry for the long wait :P
1. Aside from bushings, what else should I change while I've got the car taken apart? I'm basically looking to replace parts that I'm probably going to have to do later anyways, but would be simpler to do now when the car is dissassembled.
2. Where do I get the factory carpet pads? Not the carpet itself, but the little leather pads that go under your feet and on the side of the footwell.
3. Can I get one-touch windows using OEM parts? The one real upgrade I want to do, cosmetically, is installing E36 window switches. The thing is that I want them all to be one-touch and I want to install a switch like in E36 cabrio's where there's one button that lowers all of the windows simultaneously. Is this feasible?
I don't plan for this to be a quick project, and in actuality it'll probably take me monthsm if not a whole year, as I'll be working mostly on weekends. Of course, I'll post pictures of progress as it comences, but I want to get these little hurdles out of the way first to make sure I can do this as smoothly and quickly as possible. Any and all help is appreciated :)
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