Is this beyond repair?

[KI4UJO]

Usually I would say to fix it, but in this case that is gone. As for the hot rod stuff, I can agree with that. I have a 1965 Dodge D100 that is farther gone than that, but it has been in my family for 40 years.

Can it be fixed-yes. Is it worth fixing-probably not.

[mitchlikesbikes]

if it were just the floor pan i'd say go for it. but with the frame rail in that condition it's probably not worth it

[ELVA164]

If you see some of the stuff old Hot Rod guys deal with, anything is repairable with enough money, but the work needed here would be better suited for a classic car that's worth $75,000-100,000+, not an e30 you picked up for $500. Consider this your parts car, and find a $2,000 shell and you'll still come out on top of trying to fix this. Truespeak.

^ Pretty much this. At this point in time, the investment to properly complete a restoration like that would far, far outweigh the end result. E30s are great, but sometimes you need to throw in the towel and break a car for parts.

[rturbo 930]

Find another car.

[Farbin Kaiber]

If you see some of the stuff old Hot Rod guys deal with, anything is repairable with enough money, but the work needed here would be better suited for a classic car that's worth $75,000-100,000+, not an e30 you picked up for $500. Consider this your parts car, and find a $2,000 shell and you'll still come out on top of trying to fix this. Truespeak.

[Panici]

Hey guys,

First off, full story and more pictures here:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=4070920

So I have an '86 E30 (that I picked up complete for $500) which I though was in relatively good shape. The visible body has no rust, and there is little rust on the undercarrage (for the year, mileage, and this area)

Until I pulled the carpets, and found a rotted away driver's side floor (and frame rail). There are a few water leaks into the interior, and they were never addressed by previous owners. So the car rusted from the inside out. (The rubber undercoating just hid all of this damage, and trapped the water)

After attempting to jack from the front of the subframe, I heard that painful crunching noise, which was my frame rail collapsing. (Note the angle of the control arm mount.)

I thought this was something I could fix with some effort, by cutting out a piece of framerail and floorpan from a donar car.

But after reading the BMW repair manual, it looks like the repair needs to be done on a "straightening bench", which I assume is a chassis straightener machine?

It makes sense that if the repair isn't perfect, the front geometry will be off, and the car won't drive properly.


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So down to the most important question. Is it possible for me to save this chassis? Or should I be looking for a new shell?