2nd e30, 87 Lachssilber Revival

[Reichart12]

That's a healthy shipment of steel. Enjoying the progress.

Gotta say, I'm hoping these pre made pieces help me a ton because they were not cheap to buy and ship from Lithuania to Washington state.

Finished up the next section of rust repairs, license plate lights. Actually ordered two sets of the housings over the years so it's clearly been a job I've been thinking about for awhile. I'd like to think I'm slowly getting better. At least more aware of what I'm doing. Really need some better technique on cutting out the rusty pieces. I think if I can get that more precise, my new metal will fit better and give me an easier time welding. Forgot to order screws so the final product will have to wait a bit longer. That and I'd like to get a belt/finger sander to really get into the curves to grind down my welds.

Also, if I happened to put the replacement panel in backwards. Don't tell me. I don't want to hear it.

[Northern]

That's a healthy shipment of steel. Enjoying the progress.

[Reichart12]

Valcas Garage order arrived with pretty quick shipping. Technically this happened before my last post but I forgot to edit the photos. I bought pieces to cover the vast majority of the rust I found. Still a few remaining areas I'll have to tackle with scrap panels. Also turned the car sideways to have more accessibility around the rear of the car. Neighbors probably thought I was nuts driving the car and positioning it like this. Anyways, I'm currently working on the license plate light area. Hoping to keep up with a Youtube video every other Sunday (this Sunday). Should be wrapped up in time, fingers crossed.

[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.

[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]

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.

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Northern]

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

[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]

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.