My Alpine 318i slicktop

[brgracer]

I can't really call this a build thread as I'm not doing anything uber cool like building a motor, adding forced induction, or major mods, but I figured that if I was going to document changes to the car, I might as well put it in a thread.

I bought this car from Andre (coldaccord) as a great base to start with. Alpine 318i slicktop sedan with minimal rust, decent S52 swap, and H&R sport/Bilsteins. Plenty of projects since no car is ever really finished. I've taken care of the rust with some sanding, applying POR-15 to the base metal, and then some touchup paint. I've been slowly planning stuff out and started amassing parts so I'll post as I go.

Anyway, below is the obligatory driveway shots the day after she arrived. The starting point of a hopefully long journey.

[brgracer]

Again, more stuff I can not take credit for. I do not remember who did it first to give credit, but after reading about all the joys of spray painting your headliner, I decided to try the roller route. Finally had a warmer day that I could paint.

First, the supplies, I spent about $10 on the quart of Rustoleum Painter's Touch flat black, foam roller w/tray, and foam brush from Home Depot.


I taped off the edges to be safe, and after one coat, it's looking very promising with some streaks, but it's only the first coat.


Better pictures of the streaks, that I hope will improve with more coats, but still, I'll take a little streaky black vs. the tan/grey original one.

[brgracer]

Amazingly, no paint smell and the streaks were gone once dry this morning. The paint appears to have dyed the headliner vs. painted on top as I tried scratching it off without any success. It looks much better than I expected so pretty happy. Second coat finished, tape removed, and small areas touched up. Pics when dry to follow.

On another note, as I was installing my 21.5lbs injectors and TRM chip, I pulled this chip out of my ECU. I've compared it to pics of MarkD, TMS, and ebay chips, and it's doesn't look like any of those. Maybe an older version of an ebay chip as it looks pretty generic? All I know is that the car "feels" better with the TRM chip, but who knows?

[brenda.block]

nice car. if you need parts for your blue interior, i've got them in excellent condition.

[DREWHALL]

Hmm...I'm semi interested in the headliner painting. Looks good though!

[brgracer]

nice car. if you need parts for your blue interior, i've got them in excellent condition.

Thanks for the offer, but definitely putting a different color interior in after I re-dye the carpet and put in a clean dash.

As promised, completed pics after the second coat and dry. Granted it can't compare to say a custom suede/alcantara/etc... headliner, but it looks much better than I expected.

[dude8383]

Holy crap that came out pretty darn nice! Summer project me thinks!

[Butler]

Wow the headliner looks amazing. Nice work dude.

[brgracer]

Black kidneys + euro grills. Much better than the sun worn gray stock stuff. For all the custom plate haters, it's just for show and will be replaced by a random euro plate as soon as it arrives. I still have to clean up the lower valance and install the IS lip that blunt sent.


Never was a fan of the black stock basketweave, but they make a good winter wheel.


BUT, now that spring is here, new wheels! Ronal LS with powdercoated centers.

[Steven_Anderson]

I need those wheels for my vert. nice work!

[dannyyisntt]

Made a huge difference, looks awesome!

[MG325i]

looks good!

[Van Westervelt]

I like that headliner transformation. Definitely worth the 10 bones vs the headache of full glass and liner removal etc. I will do this until I do my full repaint. Love the wheels too! Next, get some headlights that arent garbage!

[brgracer]

Some more progress...

I got my rear deck done by MERK31 (http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/member.php?u=30492) with speaker delete, and it's top notch work, worth every penny. Much better than buying carpet/vinyl, buying the harbor freight glue gun + pro glue that Stereoinstaller recommends, ripping off the old stuff, and then doing the job half as well with bunched up spots and glue jizz stains. Sorry for the limited pic as I need a wide angle lens.


While I had the rear seats out, I decided to start installing my Luke box and it's amazing how much room it leaves in the trunk. Installed some strategic brown bread sound deadener on the metal parts that resonated the most while I had the rear seat out as well.


Then got started on installing the new interior bits. :D

[Van Westervelt]

Another nice addition! I like where this is going.