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

[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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Definitely needs a cleaning!



Had to remove full interior as well



Finding more rust - need to remove oem sound deadening



Rusty fuel passage

[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]

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]

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]

Cut it ALL out ! No rust to leave behind

[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]

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]

More prep


Progress!


No more holes!


Passenger side

[E30Rossi]

Passenger side Rear


Driver side



Trunk Jack holder


Rear valence


ain't pretty but better than water getting inside

[E30Rossi]

After some youtube inspiration, decided to weld a pipe and pass the fuel lines through a hose thats clamped into the trunk and back out behind the wheel inner fender cover
This prevents the problem of the fuel pipe cover rusting out and causing this mess


Battery tray fixed



Battery tray area after repairs





Started to coat the welds with seam sealer before undercoating