2nd e30, 87 Lachssilber Revival

[Reichart12]

I've continued on with the passenger rocker repairs. It's taking me way longer to get through this but honestly I did not understand how many layers of metal make up this section haha! I had a lot of internal debate of "just remove everything" and "remove minimal and clean the rest". Well I think I removed anything that looked questionable. The bottom edge was so junked up from being crushed, it was hard to think I could salvage that. And now with everything removed, the process of making new pieces to add back in has just started.

[Northern]

Have lost some momentum on the project but still chugging away.

Way she goes. Congrats on the little one! Time works different once you have a kid. I love seeing the progress, but take every opportunity to snuggle your new chicken nugget because they grow too quickly and once that stage is gone, it's gone.

Jack points on these cars are awful rust traps. Mine are terrible - I sent one up into the car with a jack while I was on the side of the road trying to change a tire and couldn't get the jack back out...

Definitely paint all that as best you can, even if you do wrap it. seam seal the shit out of the inside & outside of the floor, like roll the whole damn patch in seam sealer and get a ton of fluidfilm in any crevice/void space you can.

[82eye]

repair my cracked subframe as well.

might be best to source another and clean it up instead.

[Reichart12]

good work all the same and still better than anything i've tackled.

Seriously, good progress, it's not an easy project!

Yea when I was doing the rust repair on the Alfa, that corner jacking point was 'fun' to deal with

Thanks for the motivating words all. It's good to know I'm not wildly off with this. The goals moving forward are to have the passenger rockers finish in October, switch over to the driver side rockers and front corner for probably November, December, and January, and then some fine tuning areas February to get back on the road for March. Still need to buy and install all the fuel system items and repair my cracked subframe as well.

[2mAn]

Yea when I was doing the rust repair on the Alfa, that corner jacking point was 'fun' to deal with

[roguetoaster]

Seriously, good progress, it's not an easy project!

[82eye]

good work all the same and still better than anything i've tackled.

[Reichart12]

Have lost some momentum on the project but still chugging away. Maybe a couple hours a week. Next up on the repair list was to do the passenger front corners. I swear these were not terrible when I got the car but I blame this on a Firestone in ~2014/2015. My rear brake line blew out back then and I took it to Firestone to check out and I truly do think they jacked/lifted the car up improperly. Anywho, I digress, and this is just on me now to repair. Here's the damage...







It was fun to try to hammer the floor down and then push this piece back through.



Cut cut cut, think think think, make bad patch panel, weld weld weld, grind grind grind. Tada!



Patch panels, again coming from Valcas Garage from my original order earlier in the year. They fit well. Little confusing at time how things are suppose to go back together. Especially when I started cutting the floor out as well (which I didn't have replacements for).





















I'm definitely rushing the end of the job and not fully finishing cleaning up my welds. I justified this part by saying it'll be covered with seam sealer and undercoating haha. A lot of layers overlapping here so I'm hoping I prepped everything correctly to prevent rust from showing back up. That's always been my biggest worry with these repairs. With this out of the way now, it's back to the rockers. As you can see on some of the early pictures, turns out my outer rocker repair, will also include inner rocker repair!

[Reichart12]

Had a baby about a month ago so progress has slowed immensely. But I was able to tinker through fixing the bottom of both fenders. The rust was bad where they bolted to the car but luckily didn't spread too high up. Cut that out, weld in a replacement panel from Valcas, and I'm good to go. Well almost. Some light hammering to get them smooth and final fitment check once I fix the front corners of the car.

Not sure what's up next. I started the rockers but I expect that to take awhile to get through. Also may have picked up some extra epoxy resin with my eyes on the roll of carbon fiber I have stashed in the corner. And eventually the rear subframe needs to come down but that's where I have my jack stands positioned for now. Lots to do.

As always, don't forget to check out the YouTube channel too! https://youtu.be/0Tgd7Nwg-xk

[Reichart12]

I see you are getting better on welding job. Keep up with the good work.
Are you going to paint e30 yourself?

Thanks!

I've tossed around some ideas of paint but still not sure at this point. I think a full tear down would be needed for a worthwhile paint job and I'm not ready for that yet. Maybe a short term wrap or I'll paint match spray can the panels I've welded for now.

[e30m3s54turbo]

I see you are getting better on welding job. Keep up with the good work.
Are you going to paint e30 yourself?

[Reichart12]

The next work on the to-do list was a differential upgrade. I had found a 4.10 LSD on FB marketplace not too far away that really called my name. Quick drive and it was mine! The plan was always to just clean it up and slap it back in the car. Obviously, in the middle of rust repair, I knew I wouldn't get the chance to feel the difference in driving any time soon but still figured this is a need to do item for later.

Anyways, removal actually went better than I expected. My subframe is still in the car and for the most part I was able to get the few bolts loose. However, one piece of the subframe did come out with that diff, haha! Looks like after all this for the gas tank and diff removal, the subframe needs to come out anyways. Stay tuned for that.

With my 2.93 diff out, I transferred that rear cover over to the new to me 4.10 and began the clean up. The casing was already in better condition but some wire brushing and chemical treatment it was looking better. I slapped a couple coats of POR15 rust preventer on and called it good. The flanges are still crumby and the internals are not refreshed but again, that'll be for another time if needed. The diff is now off to the side of the garage ready for install, hoping to be in the late summer/early fall. Try to hold me to that.

Old



New



Together, old in front



Internals



Trying to clean more



Finished product

[Northern]

The trunk pockets are my worst nightmare on these cars. So much shit going on and it's an exterior panel so you feel compelled to make it look good. Good job

[Reichart12]

Not bad! That similar corner was where I started on my Alfa when I underwent the rust repair. It came out pretty good from here!

Thanks, I remember a bit about your videos on it and the amount of layers of metal there.

Great work on a tricky area- so many pieces land together there, it's definitely a puzzle!

Ha! A puzzle is a good way of putting it.

wow that's impressive

Thanks!

[82eye]

wow that's impressive