A Tale of 2 Sedans M42/S52

[eternal24k]

And then there is the wet sanding, there were some minor fish eyes and other imperfections that needed to get worked out...

Started on the trunk side of things, 2k followed by 3k wet sanding, then Griots Fast Correcting Cream, then Menzerna 2500 medium cut, and finally 3500 polish. I was very nervous as I've never wet sanded or cut/polished a car before, there was awhile during cutting that I thought i was never going to get the sanding marks out. But after getting more aggressive pads, my fear faded away. The rear looks amazing, hardest part is all of the fuzz my microfiber towels leave behind, but this color is as hard to photograph as anything for someone of my skill level.









putting the brand new roundel on the back felt really good today. Now i need to tackle the front...

[Graham325]

Love the build, what is your solution for the inside of the sunroof delete?

[eternal24k]

Love the build, what is your solution for the inside of the sunroof delete?

thanks! In terms of aesthetics? I don't look up

The carbon fiber look doesnt bother me and the lack of headliner is a bigger eye sore, but the S52 swapped car and E91 have been my priority lately, so I just drive and enjoy "the toad"

[eternal24k]

While I wait for the paint shop to paint my doors and sunroof and other small bits (pray for me) I went through our winter wagon and completely refreshed the suspension on the E91. New shocks, springs, small bits, wheel bearings to complement it's recent 200k cooling system overhaul (with original water pump!)

I even sourced like new knuckles so i didn't have to struggle with my crusty units. The springs were a masssive PITA, i couldnt get the drop hat on with my compressor, local shop couldnt either, and the third spot said they barely could. But she handles better than ever now...

[eternal24k]

Edit *duplicate*

[eternal24k]

While I wait for the new body shop, that is about 6 weeks behind their original estimate and no longer returning messages, I am trying to stay positive and make progress.

One thing I did promise my wife was that I would get some of the boxes filling our office space. Many of these are small parts from the original body shop completely disassembling EVERYTHING. But a couple large boxes were my brand new OEM carpet I got from ECS a year or two ago, and the new Recaro seats. So I finally tackled the carpet and heated seat wiring...

Old carpet wasn't too bad, honestly, seeing how good the toad looks after a few years of ColorBond, I am sure that would have looked great.


I took the time to use up some sound deadening material. Less boxes in garage and maybe more quiet ride, win-win


One thing about the seat wiring, the seats came with an aftermarket heater installed, with a round, cheap feeling switch. I really wanted to keep the square switches, they are bigger, more period correct looking. Surprisingly, the behavior of these switches was not super intuitive, with some wires switching polarity based on switch position. But after confirming that both switches behaved identically, I re-wired the switches. My wiring may look like overkill, often using barrel crimps with solder, but after seeing the POs wiring, I have spent a lot of time to re-do much and ensure very good connections (things like the wireless door unlocker had poor connections that led to intermittent operation).




For power, luckily the auxiliary fuse box was un-used, and since the switched (green) wire is rated for 15amp, and each seat for 7.5, I spliced off that and put two 7.5 amp fuses in the box for a completely OEM looking setup under the hood (I hate in-line fuses everywhere).

I sheathed the two wires in Raychem with an o-ring for a step, this gets pushed into the boot to hold them in



Brand new carpet!

First impressions:
THE GOOD

• Very thick, high quality foam, maybe it's just new, but it seems more plush and conforming
• great look

THE NOT SO GOOD

• A couple small imperfections in the nap, almost looks like burns, luckily behind pedals and the seat.
• there's plastic on the dead pedal or foot area for the driver, I liked this on the high wear on the original, but I have all weather mats, so not a huge deal
• some minor trimming, there's no cutout for things like the kick panel clip like the original

I still have some minor fitting to do, I may look for weights and strong magnets to help conform the carpet. After that, I have a new OEM door seal for the driver's door, the other 3 will likely get the Turkish seals since they have proven to work well for me

[eternal24k]

Carpet and wiring is done, seats are installed. Super happy with how the switches came out

Also finally badged the trunk




And now we all wait for the doors, trim, sunroof and bumper from the new body shop.......

[eternal24k]

Been putting a ton of miles on "the toad". Finally got a new cam position sensor and it's running great with the Dinan chip. Also threw the Recaro SRDs in it, figured cloth seats would be better than the cold leather and I personally think they are more comfortable (hopefully this time next year I will be back in the S52 car enjoying the heated recaros....)

BUT, I did get a call from the body shop, doors and sunroof are all done, spoiler and other small trim parts and hopefully going to be ready for pickup next week. Now I have another large project of reassembling something I have never touched and did not take apart (If anyone has tips or good links to putting all the mechanisms, seals, bits, and glass back in the doors please let me know!)

But the color match is perfect (makes sense since they are using the leftover paint from the chassis) and they finish work is even better than the fist shop that folded. I hung the doors and cannot wait to seal the car back up, I was days away from taking the car out without doors or a bumper for the foliage

[DEV0 E30]

Absolutely love how the toad is coming together. Those seats. That color. *chefs kiss*

[moatilliatta]

I like what’s happening.

The finish work of the paint looks pretty good. The Recaro arnt srd in photo? Did you swap to another seat?

[eternal24k]

I like what’s happening.

The finish work of the paint looks pretty good. The Recaro arnt srd in photo? Did you swap to another seat?

It's all confusing, and that's my part.

I have the toad: 318i with dark green vinyl wrap and roof rack. This M42 power plant is my wife's daily (when she's not in the CRX) and our dirt road cruiser.

And then there's the Brewster green S52 swap, where I am spending most of my effort (heated Recaro LS, new carpet, fresh paint, etc).

Think of the Toad as the wish.com version of the S52 car (which is still unnamed)

And the Alpina wagon just went into storage.....

[Graham325]

who made that sunroof panel?

[eternal24k]

who made that sunroof panel?

S2R Tuning Composites and I couldn't be happier with the fit and finish.

[eternal24k]

The endless piles of parts are shrinking... Doors are all mounted with new hardware, mechanisms all cleaned and regreased, new bushings for all the lock mechanisms, glass is in, new seals, rebuilt tumblers all around and doors are aligned. I have to say, wish they didn't completely disassemble everything, I had to tear into the door of the Toad to see how things were mounted and copy that work, would have been a hell of a lot harder without that reference.

But with a break in the weather, the Turtle and the Toad are seen together for the first time since paint:



Still need to wrap up the interior trim and door cards, swap window switches since I accidentally flip flopped them, install IS lip and side skirts, brake ducts, door trim for the drivers doors, and wrap up the front bumper install. And then... I THINK i am done?



still in love with this paint. There's some imperfections on the roof, i wish the first shop didn't implode but I am just happy to have the car near the finish line and confident to be able to enjoy it in the spring.

[moatilliatta]

Just keeps getting better! Cant wait till all the trim and touches are done.

A nice rotation of E30's happening!