RJSimz Sterling Silver 1990 325is

[rjsimeon]

RJSimz Sterling Silver 1990 325is

Parts on order:

-SEM Trim Black Ultra Automotive Spray Paint 49133 (Amazon)

-OEM front spoiler/lip (ECS tuning)

-OEM bumper driver side bumper trim (ECS tuning)

-244 sterlingsilber metallic paint/2K max clear coat (paintscratch.com)




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[fresh_TD]

Really nice car here. What a find!!! For oil, I would go with Mobile 1 15w-50. You can run that all year round. You have any interior pics? Is the AC functioning on the car?

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[rjsimeon]

Really nice car here. What a find!!! For oil, I would go with Mobile 1 15w-50. You can run that all year round. You have any interior pics? Is the AC functioning on the car?

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Thanks! Yeah, we’ll see how the 20w50 goes. Figured it’d be ok with the weather down here in FL rarely getting below freezing. Coming up on summer as well. I don’t have interior pics! When I get home I’ll snap some but it’s in great condition. AC is functioning with a new compressor installed from the PO.


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[2mAn]

Being fairly new around here, Im going to offer a suggestion that you can do with whatever you want. Because a small community, I always try to support those who support us, so for OEM parts I typically go through bluntech and avoid places like ECS. Price is comparable but you're putting the money into the community that cares, that $1 you save from ECS goes to help put places out of business. They already took down Turner Motorsports, pelicanparts and a few others...

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=428066

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=429215

[rjsimeon]

Being fairly new around here, Im going to offer a suggestion that you can do with whatever you want. Because a small community, I always try to support those who support us, so for OEM parts I typically go through bluntech and avoid places like ECS. Price is comparable but you're putting the money into the community that cares, that $1 you save from ECS goes to help put places out of business. They already took down Turner Motorsports, pelicanparts and a few others...

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=428066

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=429215

I'll definitely keep that in mind. I haven't had any issues with ECS so far and it was quick shipping. Ordered my spoiler yesterday and will be here tomorrow. Sucks to hear about the businesses though but then again, it's a business...

[fresh_TD]

The business world is Savage, no matter the business field. That's just how it is. It's cut throat. Whether you sell car parts or t-shirts. People are always looking to kick your ass in the business world, and take out any competition at any cost. Don't let your feelings get caught up in that mess. Buy parts where ever you want to buy parts from.

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[rjsimeon]

The business world is Savage, no matter the business field. That's just how it is. It's cut throat. Whether you sell car parts or t-shirts. People are always looking to kick your ass in the business world, and take out any competition at any cost. Don't let your feelings get caught up in that mess. Buy parts where ever you want to buy parts from.

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I would “Like” this statement if I could.


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[Albie325]

Really nice car, can't wait to see where this goes. Also, if your last name is Simeon, much props. Mine is Simeone and I don't see that one around too often.

Regarding the whole parts store choice, I always try and buy from non-ECS sources, particularly FCP since they're from my home state of CT and have a lifetime warranty. I used to love pre-ECS Pelican, and (sadly), BavAuto. I personally have had no issues at all when I have dealt with ECS, and when anything has been amiss order-wise they have corrected the issues more than satisfactorily although that doesn't seem to be the norm. The truth of the matter is, ECS sometimes has parts that no one, not a single other online source has listed let alone in stock. Or the price is just absurdly cheaper than anywhere else. In those cases, I have to go with them and have not been snake-bitten for doing so (yet). At the end of the day, do what's best for your project (and wallet), but I do make an effort to go with the local guy when all things are equal or even reasonably more expensive. Hopefully the ECS monopoly forces the more reputable businesses to adopt more user-friendly interfaces (which has been my biggest hangup with some sources), more timely/cheaper shipping, etc to make the overall market a better place for enthusiasts.

Keep it up, car looks great.

[dmanb2b]

Don't forget Levant @ Guten

[2mAn]

Sorry, wasnt trying to derail this thread. I look forward to the parts getting installed...

Are you going to paint the front lip? Also have you started to source a G260? Im pretty sure you can still get one brand new from the factory. Not cheap, but its mileage will be close to that of the car itself :rofl:

[rjsimeon]

Really nice car, can't wait to see where this goes. Also, if your last name is Simeon, much props. Mine is Simeone and I don't see that one around too often.



Regarding the whole parts store choice, I always try and buy from non-ECS sources, particularly FCP since they're from my home state of CT and have a lifetime warranty. I used to love pre-ECS Pelican, and (sadly), BavAuto. I personally have had no issues at all when I have dealt with ECS, and when anything has been amiss order-wise they have corrected the issues more than satisfactorily although that doesn't seem to be the norm. The truth of the matter is, ECS sometimes has parts that no one, not a single other online source has listed let alone in stock. Or the price is just absurdly cheaper than anywhere else. In those cases, I have to go with them and have not been snake-bitten for doing so (yet). At the end of the day, do what's best for your project (and wallet), but I do make an effort to go with the local guy when all things are equal or even reasonably more expensive. Hopefully the ECS monopoly forces the more reputable businesses to adopt more user-friendly interfaces (which has been my biggest hangup with some sources), more timely/cheaper shipping, etc to make the overall market a better place for enthusiasts.



Keep it up, car looks great.

Haha, my last name is definitely Simeon. So, I’m sure you get the “SIMMONS??” “SIMON??!” Ugh...it’s frustrating.


I agree the interface of the ECS website is a lot more user friendly than most from my experience. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not hard to click around with the other sites, I’m totally able to navigate. It’s just convenience sake. Now the hard part for me would be purchasing from another company after receiving my ordered parts so quickly. IIRC, they’re based out of OH and I live in the Panhandle of FL. If I can submit the order before 11AM I’ve had it only take two days to get to me which is great. I’m sure I’ll be around long enough to experience and dabble with the others, but until then...I’ll keep on keepin on.


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[rjsimeon]

RJSimz Sterling Silver 1990 325is

Sorry, wasnt trying to derail this thread. I look forward to the parts getting installed...

Are you going to paint the front lip? Also have you started to source a G260? Im pretty sure you can still get one brand new from the factory. Not cheap, but its mileage will be close to that of the car itself :rofl:

No worries. This could turn into a BS thread. Like I said, this thread was created to record my maintenance, nothing serious. I don’t mind the side convos.

As far as the Getrag goes, I actually haven’t decided. Not sure if I’d feel right throwing a JY tranny in it, so I might pony up sometime next year to pay the premium of a new one or a rebuilt one. Until then, I may start stacking up all the other parts like the pedals, brackets, clutch etc. I’ll definitely be on the lookout. Would love to hit a deployment to rake in some extra cash for the swap, but for now the focus is on going through the basic aesthetics and the not so fun stuff under the hood to make it run as good as new.

To answer your first question, yeah. Another member on here, Andrew I believe, painted his lip and rear spoiler and it looked great. I ordered some paint so we’ll see how it goes. I’d love to have a shop do it but if it’s something that I think I could do, I’ll give it a whirl. Plus, it’ll help me save money for the other stuff. Also, Jordan (the dude that does the ridiculous restomods on here) got me on to repainting the lower side skirt panels. I’ve got a few projects ahead of me that I’m excited to get to.


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[rjsimeon]

RJSimz Sterling Silver 1990 325is

Prepped the 30 for some aesthetic lovin’.



Painted the scratched up bumper, filled the deep scratches with bondo and sanded down smooth, painted rear spoiler, painted new OEM front lip, and replaced bumper trim with new OEM trim. Used paintscratch.com primer and 244 color code paint. 2k max clear coat afterwards.





Yes, my paint platforms were cardboard boxes. Don’t worry, they’re clean too!

After three coats of base, I coated it with two coats of clear. Probably should have done a nice thick coat at the end but I may do that sooner than later. The paint came out great. The match was awesome. I would highly recommend paintscratch with no regret.

Before with the scratches on the bumper, damaged bumper trim, and damaged lip (should have snapped better pics of the lip because it was pretty much garbage)



After:








Also, repainted the side skirt trim. Way easier than I thought it would be. SEM makes an awesome product. Thanks to Jordan the crazy restorer guy, he recommended this product. Highly recommended.



Some befores and prep:











And after:









If anyone needs any tips or have any questions about the paint process, let me know. I’ll be glad to help. I felt like I had the ability to paint everything myself so I just took the plunge and it came out 100x better than I thought it was. Key here is prep like everyone says. I’m very meticulous and usually I would take it to a professional, but I’ve seen a lot of success stories on the forum and I figured I’d give it a shot and ended up loving the outcome.

Couple new parts I need to complete the aesthetics is a new front left turn signal, got a cracked glass from the trash can the PO ran into. Looks like ECS and everywhere else I looked was out of stock so if anyone has a spare laying around, let me know! Also, cracked the left side (smaller one on the side) signal plastic boarder around it when I replaced the bumper trim. Other than those two parts, I’d like to repaint the side mirrors because there’s a few defects on the paint. I’ll get to those soon when all the stars align AKA when the kids and wife allow me to.

[2mAn]

SEM Trim paint is amazing... all the faded trim on the car; grilles, door handles, wiper cowl things, lower trim, etc it will make them all look brand new

[rjsimeon]

SEM Trim paint is amazing... all the faded trim on the car; grilles, door handles, wiper cowl things, lower trim, etc it will make them all look brand new

Oh man, it sprays so smooth. I got lucky and don’t have much faded trim. Used magic eraser on most of the trim and they’re in great shape. I do have an extra can that I didn’t use that’s begging to be used on a different project. Just haven’t thought of where I’ll use it yet.


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