Just the beginning. Initial parts bill

[nightbear]

sorry, that is no surface rust.
if the seams of the shell have the same amount of holes then start planning to change the body

[TimKninja]

None of it looks to be structural. It all looks like surface rust, possibly due to a shitty respray.

[NeedaE30]

great thread.

that revival of the curbed wheel was a great job!



that rust looks really bad though.... continue!

thanks man. the pics of the rust make it look worse than it is. but it is worse than i hoped it would be.. not sure if im gonna repair and paint or just get another shell/whole e30 to start over with.

I'm curious what do you guys think i could sell this e30 for, all things in this thread considered? cause if i can sell it for enough to fund a rust free e30 i think ill sell it..

[Pantless Spency]

great thread.

that revival of the curbed wheel was a great job!



that rust looks really bad though.... continue!

[NeedaE30]

Well I decided to start refinishing the basketweaves i got for free on craigslist.. i must say it came out pretty decent for being my first time doing this kind of stuff to wheels. I only have 2 done so far.. 1 of them had no curb rash the other had a huge chunk taken out i have pics of the process ive used

things i used
Dremel
magnum metal filler epoxy
120grit sand paper
400 grit sand paper
gun metal plasti dip

so i started off by using the dremel
this is what the first wheel looked like after the dremel

pretty nasty to say the least

Then i applied the magnum metal filler epoxy, let it cure for 10 minutes or so and becan sanding/shaping with the 120grit sand paper


starting to look somewhat better

looking a little better more pictures of the sanding/shaping process(keep in mind this metal epoxy is pretty annoying to work with and starts to cure almost immediately so its easy to waste chunks of it :( )






THis picture is of the curb rashed/filled wheel in the process of being sanded and the wheel to the right is the first wheel that i plasti dipped because it had no curb rash and was in extremely nice shape
comparison not done/done


Close up of the finished wheel with no curb rash.. this was after 4 coats of plasti dip


More sanding on the curbed/filled wheel



after final sanding/cleaning ready for plasti dip. (in the end i wish i sanded more)


First 3 coats of plasti dip on the curbed/filled wheel


after 6 coats of plasti dip on the first wheel i did that was uncurbed


after 6 coats on of plasti dip on the curbed/filled wheel


Both wheels refinished side by side 1 had nasty curb rash the other was almost perfect its hard to tell the bad one from the good one in the pictures :) i say mission accomplished



I need opinions please my process probably wasn't proper and it doesn't look professionally done but you cant really notice the massive chunk that a curb had once removed from the wheel so once i get the other 2 done i'll be slapping them on the bimmer.. i plan to use plasti dip silver metalizer over the gun metal to give it a metallic shine opinions? thoughts?

[AirplaneBuilder]

5.5k later for me haha.. but i haz s50 coilovers wheels sound system reupholstered interior... list is endless of the parts replaced and added!!

[JtNolan]

Ya, You're right. I needed a good "you're out of your element Donnie". Definitely didn't mean to jack the thread. You're also right in the fact that I should have more focus on the direction of my build on the second day of owning the car. I made a mistake in assuming this was an open discussion for people in similar situations to gather advice and opinions from the experienced. Can you recommend a good forum etiquette forum. I'll defininitely do more research before I start my research in the future. Thanks for the reach around on my spelling, grammar, and punctuation though. Sorry if my response further jacked the thread.

[saturnv7890]

I just bought a $600 91 318is yesterday and I'm wondering where to begin. I want to build a track car, but I don't won't to start making modifications that would exclude me from any racing class. It was sold as a blown head gasket case, but the entire cooling system is in complete disarray. I quoted lowsodium because I feel like I can't go wrong with freshening up the suspension

My options:
- restore to stock get tags
- S50/52 swap and get tags
- restore and race spec E30
- swap up to bigger motor and race
- swap up, tags, and race

I'm a total new guy when it comes to BMWs, but I can turn a wrench and I'm not afraid to spend some time and money. I just need a place to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-JT

Why did you post in this thread then? I would recommend you start a new thread but something like this should be decided by you. It doesn't sound like you really have a focus for your car right now, and you need to think about what you need it for and what you want it for.

Additionally (pre-apologize for the tone of my response), I'd do a lot more reading on proper forum etiquette. It is customary to start your own thread instead of "jacking" others for your own questions. Additionally, when creating a new thread, be sure to do a LOT of searching first to make sure the question hasn't come up before (chances are it has). And for something as wishy washy and opinion based as your post, you'll definitely get some mixed feedback, not always in a good way. Not trying to be rude by any means, as I see you might be sticking around here, I'm hopefully informing you on how to be successful here.

So I can stop being mean, one thing I do actually appreciate is that your spelling, grammar, format, tone, and relevant information are impeccable! Keep that up for sure!

Oh and to be helpful, I personally would try to fix all the problems and drive it stock for a while.
/offtopic


__

Needae30, I know where you're coming from with issues stacking on top of each other, I've owned my new e30 for a few months now and have yet to beat on the thing once. There are times when I just want to set it on fire, but I'm sure it's all gonna be worth it in the end.

As for your life problems, I haven't been on this planet long enough to relate, so I leave that to the experts to symphathize.



.

[JtNolan]

Same boat

Meh, just spend the money and do it over a weekend. My $600 e30 quickly escalated to $3000 in parts in 5 months. I replaced every single suspension piece, but man it sure drove nice.

I just bought a $600 91 318is yesterday and I'm wondering where to begin. I want to build a track car, but I don't won't to start making modifications that would exclude me from any racing class. It was sold as a blown head gasket case, but the entire cooling system is in complete disarray. I quoted lowsodium because I feel like I can't go wrong with freshening up the suspension

My options:
- restore to stock get tags
- S50/52 swap and get tags
- restore and race spec E30
- swap up to bigger motor and race
- swap up, tags, and race

I'm a total new guy when it comes to BMWs, but I can turn a wrench and I'm not afraid to spend some time and money. I just need a place to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-JT

[NeedaE30]

Well im gonna keep doing what i'm doing with it for now my end result plans were an s5x swap but due to the rust issues i will either be repairing/painting or just getting a whole other e30 to start over with, i'm gonna work with what i have for the time being

Update on the car, Front roundel flew off on the highway. only the silver backing plate is left, so i ordered some new black ebay ones, which i have used before. The fit and finish is pretty good, if not spot on. I only paid 12 bucks for 2, so Fuck it I say..

I removed the ac schnitzer and M badge off of the front grill, replaced breather hose, started refinishing the free basketweaves I got from craigslist. used a dremel to smooth out the curb rash, Purchased some magnum metal filler epoxy to fill in the curb rash. The plan is to then use the metal filler to fill in the curb rash completely, then i will smooth every thing out, get the new tires installed, then plasti dip the wheels to a grey metallic, I hope they come out decent. but i've never refinished wheels and i've never used plasti dip.

If the wheels come out good, I will use plasti dip to most likely do the front valence, side skirts and wing and maybe something else on the rear, maybe the bumper guard or something I don't know yet. I'm not sure what colors to use. but, i'm thinking either gloss black or matte black. i may even plasti dip the chrome trim to a silver metallic. most of this would obviously be temporary as i plan on a paint job and body work around tax return time, so any type of engine swap i had planned for that time will now be put to either body work/paint or another e30 all together.


so the drive shaft got a new guibo/bolts, csb and centering bushing. When i am mostly in lower gears and press the clutch in to shift, i get a clunking in the rear of the car, shock mounts were just done and the suspension is very smooth/comfortable, I'm assuming driveshaft u-joints or differential bushing? maybe its tranny mounts but i doubt it, i hope its not the diff itself, the fluid looks good and is full, I felt some very slight play in the rear driveshaft u-joint this is the main culprit i think. .. . ...

so much to do, so little time,

[e30vert]

So much cancer! I vote swap good parts to a rust free shell! You are going to spend lots of time and $ chasing all that rust down and welding in patch panels or just replacing the panels and getting the paint to match.

[rcsoundn1]

Ahhh rust is an enemy of many. Its a tough thing to weigh out. I think it was mentioned before, might be a good idea to keep fixing this car until you find a rust free shell then swap all good parts to that car. If the rust was just on front fenders, doors, and hood, id say swap parts. For me when a shell has rust and a good amount of rust, it may cost a lot to fix.

[rvgurjar]

about the car interior

hi..
At this time firstly people look at the outside of any car and its model but it is necessary to know about the engine and its interior ,
i'll tell you that you should prefer that the interior design is comfortable or not , it will feel you relax at the time of long drive.
.................................................. ..
everything is here what you want

[NeedaE30]

Any opinions on the rust posted above? what should be my plan of action? i've never repaired rust before and really don't know shit about body work/rust repair

should i keep pouring money into this car and work towards fixing the rust? or is it too far gone? this is just the visible rust.. i really am scared to go searching for the hidden rust...

[NeedaE30]

OK i have an update on the rust... tons of pictures... i need to know if this car is worth saving. the car is driving and idling great it may need a clutch or just new tranny mounts soon and needs some other stuff that i plan on doing.. but if this rust is too bad and not worth me trying to fix then i see no point in going any further with the car and will just off it on craigslist and start over again... which would suck... balls.... big ... WAFFLE BALLS!! but please be honest. i need opinions and suggestions..

I tried to take the best quality pictures i could possibly take with my terrible cell phone..

passenger side directly behind the door above the rocker panel


Passenger side bottom corner of the door frame


Drivers front fender, its covered in electrical tape at the moment lol i figured it looks
better than rust and its letting less water in we'll see if the fender is repairable or
must be replaced. this fender has the vin sticker but was showing body filler/bondo between the original rusty metal and the paint




Passenger front fender. this fender is missing the vin sticker i assume its been replaced due to rust


Hood



Trunk lid


Passenger side rear fender



Drivers side rear fender


BOttom corner of drivers side door frame



Under the drivers side door sill(passenger side is very clean with no rust that i can see)


of course the ends of the bumper that someone tried to glue together instead of buying brackets.
now its being held on by tape until i can afford the proper ebay brackets it will then be sanded and painted cause it looks like shit.



Sunroof








Rear trunk latch



passenger side plate light




drivers side plate light




Under the brand new trunk seal above the license plate(someone neglected the trunk seal for a LONG time, the tail light gaskets are also leaking :-\)
i was extremely depressed when i pulled of the old trunk seal :(



i would have taken more pictures of the rust under the seal but i really am afraid to take the trunk seal off.. the rust was so swelled on the seam weld where the seal attaches to that i could barely fit the trunk seal on it in a couple spots, took a lot of force...