2nd e30, 87 Lachssilber Revival

[2mAn]

No rust hiding under all that?

When are you buying a welder to start the never-ending rust repair?

[Reichart12]

No rust hiding under all that?

When are you buying a welder to start the never-ending rust repair?

No rust there, only discolored adhesive. The rust in the trunk is bad but only in the side cubby areas. MIG welder acquired. Waiting to pick up a gas tank. The store was out last week when I stopped by. Not sure yet what I will attempt to tackle first. Definitely spending a few weeks just practicing on scrap metal as I've never welded before haha.

[2mAn]

Just dive right in! lol

I went back and watched my episodes of the rust repair on the Alfa... woooo boy, I do not miss those surprises I found. Granted yours shouldnt be as bad, but still.

[Northern]

What are you planning for gas? IMO my biggest fuck up with my MIG setup is renting a tank instead of buying one. It's been like 10 years, 2 exhausts, a FSAE car, a bunch of subframes/misc shit/bodywork and I still have never refilled the full size tank that costs me like $200/year... No idea what the tank costs these days though, or if you can buy a second-hand one and have it filled.

On the other hand, the TIG tank was toast after a year of little shit and one aluminum gangway.

Aside from using shielding gas, dropping down to 0.025" wire made a massive difference for me. Then cleaning metal properly, some nozzle gel to help spatter not stick to the tip, and the rest is just practice.

[Reichart12]

Finally install a stud conversion that I picked up a year or two ago. Not much to say about the process. I enjoyed the time hanging out in the garage. Not sure what's coming next, tempted to make a carbon fiber plate filler. Almost to year 11 of ownership!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHci2ToRtms

[Northern]

love a stud conversion. makes such a difference when changing wheels, and looks good too.

[Reichart12]

love a stud conversion. makes such a difference when changing wheels, and looks good too.

The real motivation is that all my set screws were stripped so sometimes the rotor would wiggle and overlap the lug bolt holes making it tricky to thread in. No more issues with that now haha.

[Reichart12]

I'm doing it. I'm jumping into rust repair. Starting with the rear to fill some holes leftover from the US bumpers and going from there. I'll have an order to Valcas Garage shortly to get patch panels. Am I in over my head? For sure. Do I care? No. I can't mess the car up any more than it already is. I will keep frequent updates as I'm sure I'll need the support and know-how as I work my way through.

Tore the car partly down to check out what damage I'm working with.

[e30m3s54turbo]

On one of e30’s had rust on rear end on battery hole on the bottom. I was going to cut it out and repair it myself. I did cut the rear out of a red e30 vert in the wrecking yard. I had a shop repair it for me while my exhaust was being worked on it.

I look forward for your rust repair fix.

[Northern]

I can't mess the car up any more than it already is.

Wish I had more of this vibe going on. IMO it's the right call. Valcas stuff should be easy for like trunk pockets, hopefully puts you in a position where there's minimal fuckery to sort out.

[2mAn]

Watched the video last night. Definitely patch the trim holes first (thats the ~10-12 along the top ridge). That will be relatively easy and good practice to get your welder setup. From there just slowly work your way down to the larger patches. Some new tools are about to be purchased! So Exciting!!...

The battery box will be a real chore, so you want to build up your skills to that point.

[Reichart12]

On one of e30’s had rust on rear end on battery hole on the bottom. I was going to cut it out and repair it myself. I did cut the rear out of a red e30 vert in the wrecking yard. I had a shop repair it for me while my exhaust was being worked on it.

I look forward for your rust repair fix.

Thanks! Should be cutting metal out soon.

Wish I had more of this vibe going on. IMO it's the right call. Valcas stuff should be easy for like trunk pockets, hopefully puts you in a position where there's minimal fuckery to sort out.

Yeah, the cost of their pieces vs flat metal panels made sense to me. The ease of a first timer should be helped with this.

Watched the video last night. Definitely patch the trim holes first (thats the ~10-12 along the top ridge). That will be relatively easy and good practice to get your welder setup. From there just slowly work your way down to the larger patches. Some new tools are about to be purchased! So Exciting!!...

The battery box will be a real chore, so you want to build up your skills to that point.

More tools! More tools! More tools!

[Reichart12]

First time welder cuts up his e30.

Overall impression of the first attempt at rust repair, I think it went well. It's not a great job but even doing this small area I think I learned a bit on how to do it better next time. Probably ~6 hours in on this spot in a weekend.

[roguetoaster]

A functional repair. If you want to replicate the textured paint finish I've had good luck with primer, then random paint, then undercoating that you artfully dab with a microfiber or other cloth while wet to simulate the texture.

[Reichart12]

A functional repair. If you want to replicate the textured paint finish I've had good luck with primer, then random paint, then undercoating that you artfully dab with a microfiber or other cloth while wet to simulate the texture.

Smart, I had not put much thought into making the texture yet. Not sure of what my plan will be post-rust repair but some level of paint/wrap will be needed.