Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

Sub'd really fell in love with the look of your car. So much that I purchased stock weaves to replace my 16" style 5's. There is almost nothing I'd change on this car. By any chance did anyone ever tell you what they soak the dash in? I know someone mentioned 303 but wanted to know what you ended up doing

Thanks so much! I'm using 303 every few weeks. I'm not certain it's making the dash more supple or pliable, but it looks great, repels dust, and is supposedly preventing the dash from cracking. I'll continue to use it.

I can attest that 303 is indeed really good stuff! PS this thread and that wagon are FIRE!!!!!!

303 FTW! Thanks!

[DBShiznit]

I was skeptical but finally gave in a bought the 303 stuff. The difference was insane. I no longer have a dull dash. The shine is nice but not too much. Here’s some photos.

The first two photos show the dash with 303 applied on the right and you can tell where it stops as the dash rises for the cluster





These were when the dash was done. I need to shampoo my carpet and get some mats [emoji20]






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[mike.bmw]

Inspection Time
Another year, another VA state inspection. The local Sunoco garage guys are BMW nuts, so they are good to the car. It passed with no issues. Sad to see this inspection sticker go. It was almost like another badge. ;D



Safety First
We upgraded car seats. I had to learn about seat belt retractors as the new car seat doesn't have clamps, but relies on a locking seat belt retractor. As I posted here: The E30s have ELR type retractors (Emergency Locking Retractors). This means that they will lock when yanked, but they won't ratchet/lock if you pull them ALL the way out and slowly feed them back in. You'll need a locking clip to make this a safe install:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2QKoVaHJAM

https://csftl.org/when-to-use-a-locking-clip/

Rocker Paint Refresh
I've ordered supplies (SEM Chip Guard, painters tape, primer) to refresh the black rocker paint on the E30. The original black paint has started wearing through to the alpine white underneath. Once the weather warms up I'll take a bunch of photos of the process.

Track Days on the Horizon
I'm signed up for a full track day at Summit Point in May. Weather will dictate whether I bring the E30 on the F31. Either way, I'll have fun.

[harv]

Love your 318is!

I miss mine often.

John

[mike.bmw]

Love your 318is!

I miss mine often.

John

Thanks!

Impromptu E30 Meet

This morning on my way to the grocery store I decided to make a quick stop at a local Cars and Coffee. I was one of the first to arrive so I went in to grab a coffee. When I came back out, a few (5) E30s had parked next to me! It was a nice surprise because I rarely see this many E30s together. I stayed and chatted with the other owners for about an hour. It was good to catch up with friends and meet new folks.

[mike.bmw]

Rocker Paint Refresh Part 2
A slight change plans! After an exhausting weekend, I finally got around to prepping the car to repaint the rockers. Once they were cleaned and mostly ready for primer/paint I realized it was going to be a lot more work than I anticipated. No rust present, thankfully!

As of this morning I've dropped the car off at a local body shop to do the work. They'll be sanding it all down, straightening the pinch seam / lip under the car, priming, and painting. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but it'll be done right.

Here's the before shot:

[mike.bmw]

Rocker Paint Refresh Part 3

It's back! Turned out nicely.

[coldweatherblue]

Looking good! I need to redo my rocker panels as well but the front valence is next on the body work list..

I get tempted by Mtech2 pics looking at cars on here but have never been able to go that route because imo the AWII and black trim of the stock late-models looks soo good together.

[getouth]

Very nice!

[VBe30]

The new rocker paint looks fantastic....but now cover them up with some IS side skirts!

[mike.bmw]

Looking good! I need to redo my rocker panels as well but the front valence is next on the body work list..

I get tempted by Mtech2 pics looking at cars on here but have never been able to go that route because imo the AWII and black trim of the stock late-models looks soo good together.

Thanks! I do like the white/black contrast.

Very nice!

Thanks!

The new rocker paint looks fantastic....but now cover them up with some IS side skirts!

Haha. The thought had crossed my mind, but I'll keep it as-is for a while.

Yesterday and today I spent some time filling some rock chips in lower sections of white paint. This involved cleaning, sanding with a fiberglass pen, priming with self etching paint, applying touch up paint, and later removing any excess touch-up paint. It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

[D.Martijn]

[B][U]

That does look good! Very nice. It's crazy how big of an impact such a small thing does to a car.

[mike.bmw]

That does look good! Very nice. It's crazy how big of an impact such a small thing does to a car.

Thanks!

Today I spent about 2 hours doing what I've wanted to do since I got the car. I broke out the orbital and used a light swirl remover compound, then a good coat of wax. I used Mequiars professional line products along with my Harbor Freight orbital buffer.

I am quite pleased with the result! My photos don't quite capture it, but some of the stains and yellowing that were present before are now gone. I only had time for the sides of the car today. I will hit the upward facing surfaces (hood, roof, trunk) sometime in the next few days.

Here's a shot of taping off the trim (in progress). This took a while.



Nice clean and smooth paint after:

[fresh_TD]

Looks clean! Mike

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[Zeemz]

Look's awesome Mike! Those pics really make me wish I had shadow line trim.