E30 1986 2-door from ESTONIA - restoration project.

[MarkoEST]

I want to do things better than before, so i bought some gear to film and record everything. New Sony 4K camera from Sony Center Tallinn. Im also waiting for my tripod and Rode wireless mics to arrive. Then there should be everything i need for now.

[MarkoEST]

Somwehere i mentioned about my difficult reationship with the garage owner. Garage was huge, it was war all year around and lightning were good. Everything seemed like should be like a perfect place to start and finish your project. But no. The problem was and actually i dont even know did they have some trust issues or what, but i never was able to be there alone. There was always someone "watching" or someone had to be there keeping eye on me. So that means, if they didnt have time to come then i wasn't able to do things in the garage by on my own. And that sucked! There was time when i could not work on my project for months. And i started to feel that my motivation is starting to fade away. And if you let that happen, you are screwed. To get that back is a hell of a job to do. So i had to figure something out AND fast! Luckily my Estonian friend who lives in Hong-Kong bought a place little bit out of town. And cause he is keeping only cars there, then there is enough space to work on my project as well. Its not as huge as the previous place and not as warm, but better than under the clear sky.

And i packed the car on the towtruck and drove it to another location.




Also i had to pack all the parts with me too. And there was s*t load of them. So small cars but so many parts. I threw them under the floor and will sort everything and clean the garage when im able to.





And my new "home".



Also moving picture: https://youtu.be/ss2xQNzsJ5Q

[MarkoEST]

Houndstooth seats 😍

Never heard that people call them like this.

[Panici]

Trust me, i didnt think twice. Made a call, arranged a meeting and came home with these.

Houndstooth seats 😍

[MarkoEST]

While i was working on my car, i always kept my eyes on different markets and webshops to find some decent seats. Only condition was that they had to be original sportseats. One day i got a message from friend that someone he knows has sportseats for sale. Trust me, i didnt think twice. Made a call, arranged a meeting and came home with these. Seats are fixed using original material, seat frames fixed and new gas springs. Most important part, same design as ma whole car. But man they are asking nowdays. Asking price was 1300.- euros for the seats.

[MarkoEST]

I wanted to upgrade my cars suspension and D2 coilovers where the best deal i could get. I thought about BC Racing coilovers too, but they were over my "budget". So i decided to take D2 and be happy about it.



I also made sleeves. Mine had 45mm front struts and i didnt want to buy 51mm ones and cut them so sloution was to make sleeves. Inner diameter is 45.xx mm and outer is 50.9x mm.
I just slide them on the 45mm strust and weld them. Should be fine i think.

[MarkoEST]

Parts sandblasted and painted.



Old front protection plates where not usable.too many holes after blasting, its quite pointless to start welding them. And again i had two options. To buy original ones around 50 euros a piece or walt to the autoparts store and buy an alternative. I used the last option. Painted them and they fit quite good. No complaining.





Subframe also got new paint, but i probably need to paint it again because i bought reinforcment kit from https://mzauto.ee/en/toode/bmw-e30-s...aadid-esisild/ and have to weld them. But i had this idea after i painted the subframe. So its nothing. I can do that again with my eyes closed.



All the new parts to assembe the front axle. Actually is sold upper bearings because they wont fit with the coilovers. everything else i can use.
Balljoints, wishbone rear bushings, wheel bearings, steering linkage and stabilizer links.

[MarkoEST]

For a change i ripped off the front axle and smashed it into pieces. All the parts what i could use are sandblasted and painted. All the parts what needs to be replaced will be replaced using only new stuff.

[MarkoEST]

Continuing with much delicate job. Interior. Stripping it down. But it takes lot of time beacuse i dont want to break anything and i need to mark down all the wires and tag all what comes out of the car.





Looks like a proffesional has done the wiring. It had the manual sunroof but some of the previous owners fitted electrial sunroof and also powerwidows. But i will fix it. Trying to find the right wire for it and also right connector. Everything will be like from the factory.



I told you that i dont want to break anything. Well i lied! I didnt but they just broke. It was so friable and just broke in to few pieces. Another part i can add to the visit the dealership list. :)



I also bought the proper lightning for that kind of job. Easy to use and lights up the whole car. At least now i can see what im doing.

[MarkoEST]

Hello
A good approach to work.
I am also doing roughly the same thing now, so I understand very well how much effort, time and money it takes. Patience and inspiration to you! )

PS
Greetings from Ukraine! )

Taking it apart and put it back together is a piece of cake. Two most expensive things are bodywork and taking it to a paint booth(i dont do that myself). But yes, all the free time and money goes in to that car and hopefully i can drive it on the road next season, it means 2024. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the good words!

[The_Glory]

Hello
A good approach to work.
I am also doing roughly the same thing now, so I understand very well how much effort, time and money it takes. Patience and inspiration to you! )

PS
Greetings from Ukraine! )

[MarkoEST]

Little teaser how the engine will look like. I have to do some minor adjustments and fix some of the mistakes i made along the assembly but over all it looks just a tiny bit better than before. Starting to look like an engine again. Before i can asseble it finally, i need some bolts and brackets sent to be galvanized. Small details sometimes makes the huge difference.



I hope that this huge amount of pictures and little less story doesn't upset you and the moderators. :)

Thank you for cheering if you did that and thats is all for today. I think we are about half way there where i am at the moment. So stay tuned for more!

[MarkoEST]

In the mean time my ordered parts arrived. Most of you should know that certain parts are not available as a aftermarket, so i had to go and knock on the dealership door to order some original parts. Money well spent.

Because my E30 is the latest pre-facelift i already have some of the facelift parts installed from the factory. This concerns petrol tank ventilation hoses cover. Fuel tank filler rubber and i was missing timing belt cover rubber "thingie".



Original fuel feed and return line and some clamps.



Inlet gaskets, thermostat, oilpan drain plug with washer, exhaust manifolt copper nuts, rocker cover studs, few o-rings and half moons for the cylinder head.



Alternator adjustment bolt with a nut and adjusting bar. Also recieved rubber grommets for the brake fluid reservoir and rear stabilizer support brackets. Weir dthat i didn't have rear stabilizer at all. So i had to buy one.



OEM thermostat housing and cover. The old one was so corroded so i couldn't use it anymore. Well i could have but after that i wouldn't forgive myself that small mistake. Everything has to be beautiful for my eye. And for others as well.

[MarkoEST]

After painting. I used Motip matte black paint. In the beginning it seemed pretty good but when it get dry, i was't sure of the result. I'm gonna probably paint it glossy black, but later.









So what do you think? Does it look better than before or should i kept it blue ?

[MarkoEST]

Started to clean the engine. It looked filthy and needed a new paint for sure. I used different sizes wire brushes and paint remover.

Before cleaning.