How bad was this damage?
I doubt many of you know me. I havent been active in like 10 years, but I finally have another e30 (well, I got it 4 years ago but its been in storage and I just now really have any time to work on it) and I'm concerned that history is repeating itself.
I tried finding the post, but I think it's just too old. The first e30 I bought was an 88(89?) 325i in zino (I think). After getting rear ended the body shop found that the front frame rails had been chopped and welded back together and the car was entirely unsafe to drive. I sold it and bought the black '91 that someone on here owns now I think (black sports interior, creme carpet, Dinan exhaust, suspension, strut tower bar, 4.10LSD.. I miss it).
Well, a long time went by, and then in 2008 my awesome girlfriend bought em an '89 325i in red... not sure what red, from a guy named Doug Thoms who runs D-Craft Mortorsports and is the Chief Instructor and boar member of the Northern Ohio CCA. She did this as a birthday present and I didn't know about it until after we took delivery.
The car was in a front end collision. I noticed it right away as there are some front end parts from earlier years, and it has an ETA cooling system. I asked Doug about it and he said it was minor.
When I finally got a chance to tear into it, I found that the floorpans and transmission tunnel were severely rusted. The firewall gasket for the heater core had been improperly installed and was allowing water to run down the tunnel and pool in the floorpans. Doug seemed shocked when I told him. He apologized and offered to repair all the rust for less than $1000. Most of the underbody in the cabin is now fairly thick sheet steel treated with POR15. Something stuck with me about it, though. He said the firewall gasket was put on incorrectly at the factory and this was likely a tiny bit of water every once in a while slowly rusting things. Something didn't sit right with me.
Anyway, the car has been in storage for the past 2 years as I've not had any time to do anything with it. Recently, I've been looking for a large garage to rent to work on the restoration. The car is fine as it is, it's just a well-worn e30. I want to refresh everything from the suspension up to the moonroof.
When poking around the engine bay to see how much non-89 325i crap was in there, I noticed some rust along the inside fenders. I had never seen rust there before, but it looks as if there are welds starting to break down and bleed rust through the paint. Further inspection leads me to believe that both fenders are reproductions as they have overspray, and under the underspray is matte black. Additionally, when shining a very bright light into the paint on the right door, I can see a shadow of black under the paint.
The ABS harness has also been split open and redone. There are several other telltale signs that everything front of the engine has been shoddily replaced. It is certainly not a 'repair like new' piece of work.
My concern is that the front end damage is far worse than I was led to believe. Also that the collision involved the passenger door as it too appears to be black under the red paint. I don't really want to put any money into this car if it's been rebuilt like that... Dented fenders and broken plastic replaced? Fine. Structural bits sawed off and welded back together? No way.
Here are some pics of the welds I was talking about. The black hinges are for the hood. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. In a few weeks I'll be taking the car to Twin Star here in Richmond for a full checkout. (click for larger)
Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooywvRgDw4k
I tried finding the post, but I think it's just too old. The first e30 I bought was an 88(89?) 325i in zino (I think). After getting rear ended the body shop found that the front frame rails had been chopped and welded back together and the car was entirely unsafe to drive. I sold it and bought the black '91 that someone on here owns now I think (black sports interior, creme carpet, Dinan exhaust, suspension, strut tower bar, 4.10LSD.. I miss it).
Well, a long time went by, and then in 2008 my awesome girlfriend bought em an '89 325i in red... not sure what red, from a guy named Doug Thoms who runs D-Craft Mortorsports and is the Chief Instructor and boar member of the Northern Ohio CCA. She did this as a birthday present and I didn't know about it until after we took delivery.
The car was in a front end collision. I noticed it right away as there are some front end parts from earlier years, and it has an ETA cooling system. I asked Doug about it and he said it was minor.
When I finally got a chance to tear into it, I found that the floorpans and transmission tunnel were severely rusted. The firewall gasket for the heater core had been improperly installed and was allowing water to run down the tunnel and pool in the floorpans. Doug seemed shocked when I told him. He apologized and offered to repair all the rust for less than $1000. Most of the underbody in the cabin is now fairly thick sheet steel treated with POR15. Something stuck with me about it, though. He said the firewall gasket was put on incorrectly at the factory and this was likely a tiny bit of water every once in a while slowly rusting things. Something didn't sit right with me.
Anyway, the car has been in storage for the past 2 years as I've not had any time to do anything with it. Recently, I've been looking for a large garage to rent to work on the restoration. The car is fine as it is, it's just a well-worn e30. I want to refresh everything from the suspension up to the moonroof.
When poking around the engine bay to see how much non-89 325i crap was in there, I noticed some rust along the inside fenders. I had never seen rust there before, but it looks as if there are welds starting to break down and bleed rust through the paint. Further inspection leads me to believe that both fenders are reproductions as they have overspray, and under the underspray is matte black. Additionally, when shining a very bright light into the paint on the right door, I can see a shadow of black under the paint.
The ABS harness has also been split open and redone. There are several other telltale signs that everything front of the engine has been shoddily replaced. It is certainly not a 'repair like new' piece of work.
My concern is that the front end damage is far worse than I was led to believe. Also that the collision involved the passenger door as it too appears to be black under the red paint. I don't really want to put any money into this car if it's been rebuilt like that... Dented fenders and broken plastic replaced? Fine. Structural bits sawed off and welded back together? No way.
Here are some pics of the welds I was talking about. The black hinges are for the hood. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. In a few weeks I'll be taking the car to Twin Star here in Richmond for a full checkout. (click for larger)
Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooywvRgDw4k
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