I crashed my 345i (pictures inside)

[gazellebeigem3]

wow... sorry to see that happened. Im hopping on the buy a new shell and swap bandwagon. Just take your time in finding the right one and drive the car until then. That way you can 'learn', just dont kill yourself.

[Garageaholic]

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it. I'm leaning toward a vert, but i'm going to mull it over for a couple weeks after my head clears up. I think it's going to be hard to find a vert shell in great condition w/ no rust for a cheap price....

[Tree18is]

dam man your good. you have a garage it looks like so your set. strip it all out, get a shell and bam. start over. dont part it out, it will take time but oh well.
you have most of everything done allready.
2 dr shell? good luck.

[Digitalwave]

time to get a new ///M shell

I don't know why people are encouraging him to get into an M when he just proved he can't handle his car?

[E30Driv3R]

damn man hate to see such bad luck happen to someone who spent so much time on his car. get a new shell and transfer over. Good Luck!

[drifty340i]

Gutted mate, i feel for you! hopefully i dont do the same

[Erick]

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it. I'm leaning toward a vert, but i'm going to mull it over for a couple weeks after my head clears up. I think it's going to be hard to find a vert shell in great condition w/ no rust for a cheap price....

There's one here in SFL for sale for $500, it's clean apparently but non-running. If you have the towing resources, then you might consider picking it up.

[4ce30]

Soo sorry to hear about that bro! I worked a an auto body shop all through High School and we did some pretty nasty jobs way worst than your car... Find a rear clip and your set!

-Brandon

[Mtriple]

I don't know why people are encouraging him to get into an M when he just proved he can't handle his car?

amen...

[trashcop 80s 80s]

DO NOT TOTAL YOUR CAR!!! That thing is easily fixable. Do you realize it will takes weeks or months to swap over parts to a shitty shell?

The body work on your car could be done in a day. All you need to do is replace the outer sheet metal, the inner metal could just be pulled out until it is aligned, and then the new sheet metal tacked on top. Paint the rest of it yourself. I have seen much worse repaired on newer Kia's that are really worth less than a nice e30.

[Jand3rson]

Damn, Frank. I saw this when I got to work this morning, but I didn't know what to say. I still don't.

All I can say is good luck with whatever route you decide to take, I honestly believe that you can fix that, without having to swap over to a new shell. My car was rear-ended a few years before I bought it, on the opposite side. From what I'm told, the damage was similar to yours, if not a bit worse, and they fixed it. They cut out the damaged rear quarter panel and grafted in a new one, and you'd NEVER know it.

Take some time to get yourself straight and get your thoughts in line, and then decide how you want to tackle it. Don't go making yourself crazy trying to figure out what you're going to do right off the bat, just take your time, and things will work out just fine.

[BallinONaBudget]

DO NOT TOTAL YOUR CAR!!! That thing is easily fixable. Do you realize it will takes weeks or months to swap over parts to a shitty shell?

The body work on your car could be done in a day. All you need to do is replace the outer sheet metal, the inner metal could just be pulled out until it is aligned, and then the new sheet metal tacked on top. Paint the rest of it yourself. I have seen much worse repaired on newer Kia's that are really worth less than a nice e30.

[egk2]

Fix and de-tune it.

[Garageaholic]

Nah, i'm not going to de-tune it. I've learned my lesson. the hard way


I'm leaning to either swapping it with a good convertible shell, or parting it out. Fixing it will be over 2500 because it affects everything including the driver side rear door not opening, The lower rear valence, the whole piece that houses the taillights/bumper shocks..etc.. so who knows what else could have been affected. I am pretty convinced that the shell is fubar. I'm going to wait until the beginning of summer to decide. Letting it sink in. I'm not spending more money on this thing right now. I need to save money. lol. If I can't find a suitable shell, or I get bored with it sitting in my garage, I may just part it out, simple as that. Maybe i'll forget the whole M30 in an E30 idea anyway.

[Mastrcruse]

2 things....

As far as the spring rates of the vert, I have a much larger front end weight due to the engine, so would it be safe to assume that it would offset? or should i get vert springs....

I would still get the vert springs. The one that most companies and people are concerned about is the rear suspension. This is were, if you use sedan/coupe springs, it will sag like a old womens vageene. If the front weighs a lot more then I would make sure to get vert springs in front. If not, it will just be a tad bit lower than if you did get vert springs.