E30Rossi's Full Build - Overhaul - 5 Lug - Bay Shave - M54 Swap (Pic Heavy)

[E30Rossi]

More prep


Progress!


No more holes!


Passenger side

[E30Rossi]

Frame rail repair



Grinded and primered



Started patching all the holes, I may have been better off doing panel replacements at this point but it was a learning experience as this was my first project car ever


Looks way better than before


Started to scrub down every area under the car to prepare for undercoating

[E30Rossi]

Acquired diff replacement ! 4.10 small case... I knew nothing about E30 diffs at this point,
Saw an ad for 3.73 LSD for E30, drove accross the border to pickup this great deal!

Get to the seller, turn the diff to count the rotation and discover it was something around 3.25... not what I wanted
Only other diff he had to offer was this 4.10 which he claimed to be LSD

Later found out that small case would not be good for future plans and it wasn't even LSD...
Oh well ,it lasted the next few years with no issues so I can't complain too much I guess!


Quick bumper shock refresh



Reshaped front fenderwell to get rid of the huge gaping hole


Driver side


Grinded away any rust under the car and primered for now

[E30Rossi]

Cut it ALL out ! No rust to leave behind

[E30Rossi]

Bumper removed to fix rear panel



Started to cut rust out! Gaping holes in your car is not a great feeling but better than rust!

[E30Rossi]

Battery tray from inside



Luckily I had access to a welder at the shop my car was stored at!



Grinding away stock coating everywhere to find every ounce of rust while I was there


Organization is key!


All the area where the fuel line passes through the fender well were DESTROYED, found so many holes

[E30Rossi]

Lots more...getting discouraged at this point



Keep in mind it's my first project car and I've never done more than install coilovers and wheels and do brake jobs at this point


More things to fix



Didn't touch anything in the engine bay because I knew I would eventually do a swap and do it properly (which is where i'm at now in 2023)




Battery tray, very common

[E30Rossi]

Definitely needs a cleaning!



Had to remove full interior as well



Finding more rust - need to remove oem sound deadening



Rusty fuel passage

[E30Rossi]

Hoping it's in decent condition


Cleans up nice, at least I didn't have to replace this!


Stock struts, never going back in here... This is where I started to lean towards 5 lug conversion




Subrame bushings



Interior looked just as bad, couldnt leave with this!

[E30Rossi]

Rusty exhaust hanger


It's everywhere




Started discovering way more problem areas! Can't stop now




Removed fuel tank to see every corner under the car, and for welding purposes



Stripped down to nothing

[E30Rossi]

The frame rail hit something and has a gaping hole


Discovering all the repairs to be done...


Holes EVERYWHERE :(



my friends had fun poking holes in my car with a screwdriver... not me




Other side just as bad

[E30Rossi]

Strut seat rusted out completely


Broken rear spring



So much rust!



This side wasn't as bad


Old crappy repair.. This is where it starts leading to way more than I imagined

[E30Rossi]

Her Home for the next year and a half



Yellow fogs looking cool


Rust...everywhere



Dismantling to rebuild and refresh




Subframe out, why stop there?

[E30Rossi]

Sad looking engine bay



Didn't want to touch this part because I knew i'd get here one day, which is where i'm at now (2023)


Begin removing things


Couldn't possibly put this back in looking like this.. which caused me to take a year off to collect parts




Gross...

[E30Rossi]

First time we ever got vanity plates in Quebec, had the jump on the opportunity! SR is my initials and also my photography brand @photography_sr for automotive photography!



Since I bought the car, the diff was always leaking, and there was a few knocks in the suspension
At some point during the first winter storage, I decided to remove the diff to address the leak
This led very quickly to pulling the entire rear subframe to refresh it after one look at it...
This led to the "While i'm here" addiction which never ended until today

After the first summer driving it, I stored it for winter which ended up staying there the following year since I know at this point a full rebuild had to be done


First things first, Got rid of entire AC system, compressor was seized


Rusty leaky diff and first look underneath