Early model 325e Rustoration

[OBD2]

So, to wrap up this thread... I sold the car back in July. It was a few patch panels away from being re-assembled (driveshaft re-connected and exhaust re-installed). I obviously took a small hit financially when the new parts are factored in. I'm not going to put my hundreds of hours of labor into that calculation. I learned a lot about fuel systems, suspensions, and welding while I had the vehicle, but I had the opportunity to get my hands on a different vehicle, so I sold my E36M and this 325e to make room and free up some funds.

It's been fun while it lasted, but looking to my future (project(s):

[OBD2]

Got the rear end assembled and installed back on the car. Reinstall went smoother than expected, but the bar is set pretty low. I replaced all the soft fuel lines as well as the hard fuel vent line. The mounting area for the fuel pump was completely roached (see pics in earlier posts), so finally dealt with that. I haven't tested anything to see if it starts because I still need to do more welding on the front half of the vehicle and don't want any fuel nearby.

Before I tore into the car (May of 2020), I was having issues with 3rd gear. It was difficult to get into gear and was prone to popping out. I am hoping it isn't an internal transmission issue. In the meantime, I changed the fluid and decided to "rebuild" the shifter. It's going to be a little while before I find out if that solved my problem.

I'm having issues getting the two shifter level pieces to mated back together after replacing the innards, so if anyone has any tips on that it would be appreciated!

Next up is to finish the drinker's side floorpan and start patching up the corners and fender bottoms.

[OBD2]

Attacked the fuel vent line routing this week. The metal tube that runs from under the backseat out the wheel well was rusted from the inside out. The $120 (lol) metal vent line cover in the wheel well was toast, and the mounting points had rusted through.



Got those areas cut-out and patched. Also created new vent line routing based on an idea I stole from YouTube



Using part of a fence post (AFTER using a stone to remove the galvanization - don't weld on galvanized metal, kids) and some 18g sheet metal I created a new outlet port for my vent lines:





My plan is to run a couple feet of vinyl tubing from what is left of the metal tube to this new vent port. Yes, the fuel vapor lines will now mostly be routed inside the vehicle, but they will be sealed inside the vinyl tubing with worm clamps at both ends. Yes, there is the risk of water making its way from the wheel well into the vinyl tubing, but the inner sections of the metal have been primed. Time will tell how well this works.


*Edited to correct my hard fuel line rant

[OBD2]

Still at it !

Did some patch repairs to both rear trunk trays. Also fabbed up a new drivers side floor-mounted seat bolt.




Trunk batter tray. A lot of weird angles happening under here (fender, wheel well, bottom all had sections that needed cut out)


Patches were primered and lap welded


Hole where the body mounted seat bolt used to reside


Cut away and put in a new grommet in the frame rail


Seat bolt welded in

Immediate future work involves welding back on the drivers side exhaust muffler hanger (the metal where it attached under the trunk was completely roached, but I salvaged the "hook" portion) and patching where the fuel pump attaches in front of the rear driver side wheel. Thanks for reading.

[OBD2]

[QUOTE=15Michaeljoseph;n10023584]Hey, this thread is amazing. My car had almost all of the same rot (my rear spring perches were a little worse!) And I feel so much better about fixing it myself than attempting to get a new shell...

Hey thanks! Your rear subframe is looking real good!
I'm glad someone can take something away from me fumbling with this thing. When I picked up this car in May 2020 I didn't expect it to need so much work. I was naive when it came to how bad rust can be. I had zero experience welding or doing anything beyond minor suspension and motor work.

The Rust Encapsulator works great. My wire wheel and flap disc have been getting a work out, but there will be some areas where I will just paint the encapsulator on. I also used Eastwood Internal Frame Coating (I think that's the name) and sprayed two coats inside all the rails. The rails are actually in good shape with just minor surface rust where the undercoating came off. I did it just for peace of mind.

The fuel tank was also looking a bit rough from underneath, so I drained out 8 gallons of gas (not fun) and dropped the tank to clean it up. My hard fuel lines look newer, so I wasn't going to mess with them. However, the early model e30s have an external fuel pump and dampener mounted inside the rocker near the passenger rear wheel. That area was looking pretty rough:



All this has since been removed and new metal has been welded in its place. I'm going to have to find a way to fab up a new fuel pump bracket which appears to be over engineered with multiple bushings and all sorts of stuff. Had to cut a few soft lines from the top to get the tank to drop easily. There was a mouse nest on top of the tank as well.



I cleaned it up and removed all the surface rust. I didn't bother stripping off all the old paint. There was a small hole next to one of the hard breather lines on top that I patched with a fuel tank putty. Got it cleaned up and decided to paint it a metallic silver because why not:



I did not mess with the connection pipe. I read they were a nightmare to remove and would likely break. It wasn't the prettiest but it wasn't leaking, so I just sprayed it along with the rest of the tank.
Also added a little note for the next owner. Seems somewhere in the past someone used the fuel tank as a jacking point.



Anyways, still cleaning up rust and patching holes on the rear underside before anything gets reinstalled.

[15Michaeljoseph]

Hey, this thread is amazing. My car had almost all of the same rot (my rear spring perches were a little worse!) And I feel so much better about fixing it myself than attempting to get a new shell. You made the right choice, and the experience of doing it is worth so much more on a personal level. You're investing in yourself while investing in the car at the same time. Win! Subframe stuff looks amazing, that was my quarantine project since I didn't have to drive much of anywhere (e30's my daily). By the way, if you're looking for a good cheap spray paint for some of the underbody bits, the HF chassis and grille paint is pretty good stuff... I like the finish more than Rust-Oleum, and it's cheaper too. Eastwood's encapsulator + a coat of that stuff seems to be doing me just fine! Also-- a final coat of CRC marine corrosion inhibitor in problem areas... Cheap cavity wax in a can. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

[OBD2]

I'm still at it. I got sidetracked with some other issues that popped up with my summer daily and another BMW for sale locally that I could not pass up.

Finally installed new hubs, and new OE bushings in the subframe and trailing arms. I bought a 12-ton floor press thinking it would make the job a breeze. Unfortunately the subframe and arms are incredibly awkward to align on my press. I resorted back to the threaded rod method which worked out surprisingly well.



The trunk corners are both shot. The car came equipped with mud flaps which trapped dirt and water against the inner fender wells which accelerated the rust. I fabbed up a 20ga steel "tray" that will act as a patch on the trunk bottom by the factory jack. It's welded on the outside and underneath/inside. It still needs some more shaping and paint.



My summer daily is an e36 M. I was having bad steering wheel vibration recently and decided to have my front rotors resurfaced. That didn't fix the issue and I discovered I had a frozen piston. Rebuilt both front calipers and bled the system - problem solved!



The finish on the RKs is terrible. PO rattle canned them or plasti-dipped or something. They also need center caps ASAP. The reason I am running them is because my staggered Style 5's were transplanted onto my most recent purchase:



635CSi. Found this locally on CL and bought it within 2 hours of posting. The price was too good to pass up. The best part is that it has virtually zero rust - a couple dime sized paint bubbles behind the front wheels. I've got some big plans for it so something needs to go to free up space and funds. I decided as soon as the e30 is back on its wheels and running it will be up for sale.

[benwalsh91]

this is really coming together now and thank you for the information on the rear subframe as i have this job to do soon!!

keep up the great work.

[OBD2]

Weather is starting to warm up, so hopefully progress picks up.

Managed to get the rear subframe cleaned up and painted via rattle can (3 layers rust reformer + 2 layers primer + 3 layers gloss black + 2 layers clear). It took forever to remove all the rust without having access to a blast cabinet. The primary purpose for the paint was to protect from future rust and not concourse level perfection. Also hit my new ANSA exhaust with some high-temp paint to prevent rust.



Next task is to address rear wheel wells and trunk rust while the rear subframe is still off. Going to re-route the fuel breather line, drop the fuel tank, and possibly replace the hard fuel and brake lines. Soft lines will most likely be changed as well.

[OBD2]

Winter is really setting in, with most days staying below freezing. It makes working in a cold garage that much worse. I'm slowly making progress by getting out for several hours each week after work.

This weekend I used a dremel to slice up the control arm mounts on the rear subframe support to weld on some garagistic camber and caster brackets. Ireland Engineering sells a similar product and has better instructions in case you were thinking about tackling this project. Before welding, I used a small level to ensure my brackets were straight and also mocked up how they would be installed on the car to make sure the bolt was in line. I make a tack weld in case the bracket shifted during the weld and checked again with a level. I cranked my little 120v welder up all the way and laid down some thicc welds. For anyone thinking of doing this at home, here are some more tips since I couldn't find much info out there:

1. Cut out the holes in the control arm mounts before welding the brackets. I saw some videos of folks welding the brackets before cutting the subframe. I would be worried I'd damage my nice new brackets trying to cut out/grind the stock metal.
2. Keep your welder grounded close to the brackets you're welding (this is basic welding knowledge, I guess). I used the subframe mounting holes on either side of the support depending on the side that was getting welds. My welds were noticeable better when the ground was closer, even if it was just a foot or so.
3. You will get some spatter inside the bracket that will hinder the movement of the bolt. Make sure you have a way to grind those specks of metal down. I used a small dremel attachment that fit nicely inside the path of the bracket.
4. If MIG welding, you will need to wire wheel or grind the finish off the brackets. They are zinc coated and a MIG weld won't stick.

(I also welded on diff reinforcement plates)


Garagistic includes some reinforcement metal to weld in as a way to extend the stock metal to match the new bracket. I still need to grind those to the correct size and clean my welds up a bit.


Leveling out the brackets before welding.

[benwalsh91]

I just read through your roadtrip thread from 2019. Now I want to fly out West and drive back my next project! Kudos to your wife for being on board with that adventure. My girlfriend doesn't trust my car purchases to make it down the street, let alone across a country.

Nah just make it happen it’s honestly the best thing you can do. The plan always was if it ever broke down beyond the state where I couldn’t fix it we would just leave it on the side of the road and get a rental. But thankfully she fell I love with it. I need to refresh the thread quite a lot

[OBD2]

Good progress just take your time and you will get there. I’ve not been on this forum for a little while and this is the first thread I have checked out. I am enjoying the progress.

I just read through your roadtrip thread from 2019. Now I want to fly out West and drive back my next project! Kudos to your wife for being on board with that adventure. My girlfriend doesn't trust my car purchases to make it down the street, let alone across a country.

[benwalsh91]

Good progress just take your time and you will get there. I’ve not been on this forum for a little while and this is the first thread I have checked out. I am enjoying the progress.

you say a USA Early model 325e is the least desiresble but I bought one and shipped it back to England with me 😂 probably the only person to want a us spec car in England but I am fine with that. I too have a YouTube of slowly making progress on my e30. It’s terribly awkward but it’s benwalsh91.

[OBD2]

Hey All. Don't worry - I haven't abandoned this project. Progress has been slow and steady despite the freezing temperatures and working in an unheated garage!

The rear subframe is looking pretty good now. The worst offender was the differential housing, but through the use of a hammer and chisel and dremel flap discs I managed to get it to a respectable state.



This was taken after some initial cleaning. The amount of rust scale blew my mind.



You can see all the pitting caused by the rust. It looks like a golf ball. The housing will get 3 coats of rust reformer, 3 coats of gloss black rustoleum, and 2 coats of clear before going back on the car.
Despite the ugly outer shell, the actual differential appeared to be in great shape (or so I'm told by those with more experience with these things. I've never refurbed a diff before):



Lastly, I welded in a new passenger side floorpan. This would be the rear seat footwell and directly under the passenger front seat. Because of the slight concavity in the original pan, I had to use multiple pieces. The metal I am welding in for the floor replacement is 2 or 3 times as thick as the original metal. It is difficult to shape, but much stronger than stock:



Thats about it for updates. All new bushings and wheel bearings will be pressed in shortly. The rear axle support beam is getting Garagistic diff reinforcement pieces and camber/caster serrated plates welded in this week. I plan on dropping the fuel tank to clean it up and replace the soft fuel lines while it's free. Some patches need welded in by the fuel breather hose and I will re-route a new path for the line at the same time.

[OBD2]

Slow progress is better than no progress....

Made a trip to the hardware store to procure some items to make my own bushing removal tool. I wasn't too keen on burning them out, but may resort to that for the larger subframe bushings as I'm having difficulty finding a 'cup' that is the correct size.

Anyways, the rear trailing arm bushings were in terrible condition and were difficult to remove with my threaded rod, washer, and nut method...but I eventually got them out with a lot of torque from a breaker bar.
New vs. Old:



I used the same method for the diff bushing, but had to borrow a giant sleeve from a friend. Removed the rubber inner portion with the threaded rod method, then carefully used a hacksaw to cut the outer metal ring:



I whipped out the wire wheel, flap disc, and file sander and started cleaning up the subframe bits. I soon realized it will take weeks to get these parts as clean as I want them. I decided I'm going to outsource the cleaning to a local media blasting company. I have etching primer and some rustoleum flat black, so I don't think I will spend the money to have the parts powdercoated. Next step is to remove the hub and wheel bearings so I can send them off to be blasted.



That's where the project stands. Next steps will be to disassemble the differential, check the condition, and send the case off to be blasted as well.