'87 Vert For Her

[m2d2]

Greetings all ~

My wife has been begging for a classic car to cruise around town. Being that classic Porsche prices are prohibitive, I've been keeping an eye out for e30's. Since my wife was out of town for work for a few days, I took advantage of the opportunity to meet up with a local friend who had recently acquired an '87 convertible, auto with 115K miles. I thought I would have preferred a manual, like my last e30, but I think the auto will be easier for her to manage, especially when she has the dogs on board. Anyways, we struck a deal and he handed over the keys. I was excited and nervous at the same time, worried she may be upset with the unapproved purchase, but she loved it! This will by no means ever be a show car and that is certainly not my intention. Rather, I would like it to look good overall and be in good working mechanical condition so my wife can enjoy for many years to come.

In preparation of her return and the big surprise I:

• Painted the wheels silver and lug nuts black
• Vacuumed/cleaned interior
• Shampooed floor mats
• Dressed leather and trim
• Cleaned/dressed engine bay
• Fixed/installed a few interior panels and trim bits
• Replaced windshield (yesterday)

Happy wife, happy life, as they say.

Cheers,
J

[m2d2]

A few wheel finishing pics. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Hyper Silver rattle can kit from Advance Auto worked out. It'll do for now until I refinish the basket weaves.

[m2d2]

Tore apart the front end today. I need to rewire the janky headlights thanks to PO and track down an A/C leak. What a pain it was removing the early model bumper...discovered today that is due to the bumper tuck that was done.

[Twistytee]

Looks like you scored a clean one. Also impressed your wife wanted a classic car. After breaking down on the side of the road half a dozen times in my TR6, my wife said she’d had her fill of my “old cars”. Jealous of your work space. That two post lift comes in handy.

[m2d2]

Thanks for the kind words. She's been upset with me ever since selling my previous e30 (she loved it). I've been a member here on the forums for a while but lost the email associated with that account, but I am always lurking and have been keeping an eye out to purchase. I'm just glad to be back on the e30 with a reason to post on the forums instead of just reading all the time.

[e30vert]

The vert looks to be in great condition considering its age. Check the battery tray in the front for rust, inner sills (previous owners may have missed the proper jack points - The key rust spots are at the rear of the sill at the jacking spots; the inner reinforcing strip corrodes from the inside, rotting both the outer sill and the inner.) and the rear inner arches https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/imag...3022010015.jpg

Super nice shop as well. I would live out there. LOL

[m2d2]

Thanks for the suggestions and providing the link. That is super helpful and great advice! I will check all of that out. I sold my last E30 due to rust issues and definitely don't want to go down that road again. The only rust I found thus far was a little bit on the lower edge of the front valance. It seems as though it may have been replaced at some point (maybe from another car?). Re: Shop space ~ my wife threatens to setup a cot for me to sleep out there but backtracks everytime knowing I would happily oblige! She hates it when I come to bed late. :)

[m2d2]

Today, I finally got rid of this obnoxiously loud, Frankenstein exhaust and installed IE's system. Much better sound, look and fitment. I realized I need to purchase the exhaust hanger bracket, but this metal strap will work for now. Also, I am now planning a rear bumper tuck since the front end looks so much better with it done.

[m2d2]

Made it to Cars and Coffee this morning and grabbed some photos while I was out running errands. I was late to C&C, so had to park in the boonies by myself. Next thing we know, a bunch of BMW's pulled up and made for a great photo op!

[m2d2]

Over the weekend, I successfully installed the Corbeau GTS II seats and brackets. However, I wasn't particularly fond of the appearance of the Corbeau headrests. To address this, I decided to enlarge the rail holes and replaced the headrests with the stock ones, which, in my opinion, improved the overall look significantly. I am genuinely pleased with the seats' aesthetics, comfort, and quality, especially considering their price. It's a great feeling to have finally replaced the stock seats with their duct taped bolsters, and I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

[e30vert]

Seats look amazeballs! Great choice going with the stock headrests. Other headrest just look too bulky and blocky. When you bumper tuck and drill the hole in the shocks do so in a bag or something to contain the oil vapors. Some dude on the forum did a bumper tuck and the atomized oil was breathed in . He ended up at the ER as I recall with temporary breathing issues. The oil is under high pressure. Then when you have the shocks compressed and the bumper pushed back in on each side evenly and where you like it. Drive in a couple of self tappers to hold thier positions.

Ive heard stories of the bumpers slamming forward on hard braking and end up looking stock again. LOL

[It's Soda Not Pop]

Your garage is awesome. Great car as well

[m2d2]

Seats look amazeballs! Great choice going with the stock headrests. Other headrest just look too bulky and blocky. When you bumper tuck and drill the hole in the shocks do so in a bag or something to contain the oil vapors. Some dude on the forum did a bumper tuck and the atomized oil was breathed in . He ended up at the ER as I recall with temporary breathing issues. The oil is under high pressure. Then when you have the shocks compressed and the bumper pushed back in on each side evenly and where you like it. Drive in a couple of self tappers to hold thier positions.

Ive heard stories of the bumpers slamming forward on hard braking and end up looking stock again. LOL

Great advice on the bumper shocks. Thank you! I watched a Youtube video of someone doing a bumper tuck and upon drilling through the shocks, it seemed more or less like an explosion. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do this safely and without getting that fluid/gas all over the place/on me/in my lungs... I wasn't aware of the potential health impacts. I will definitely be safe!

Your garage is awesome. Great car as well

Thanks dude! By the way, I used to call it pop :)

[e30vert]

[QUOTE=m2d2;n10095429]

Great advice on the bumper shocks. Thank you! I watched a Youtube video of someone doing a bumper tuck and upon drilling through the shocks, it seemed more or less like an explosion. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do this safely and without getting that fluid/gas all over the place/on me/in my lungs... I wasn't aware of the potential health impacts. I will definitely be safe!




I wrapped each one in a landscape bag and then snuck my hands and battery powered drill into the bag . Positioned the drill at a perpendicular angle to the bumper shock where I wanted to drill. Then wrapped the bag around my hands / arms. Then fired up the drill and held the whole assembly with the other hand outside the bag. drill, drill , drill , Hissssssssssss, spurt, spurt ,spurt, drip drip drip....

[It's Soda Not Pop]

Thanks dude! By the way, I used to call it pop :)
[/QUOTE]

cheeky.