1984 323i MT1 Bavarian Money Waster

[moatilliatta]

Looks like almost Diamond Schwartz in the lighting, very shiny. , coming along nicely!

Interesting, never no noticed 323 uses a 318 style Radiator but upgraded the parallel flow condenser!

The original color looks more like a Sea breeze :)

[6A LDY]

I spent Monday night scraping old tint off the rear windshield




Then last night I got some help to put in the rear windshield, and put on the front and rear bumper/ valence, these pictures aren't very good, but seeing it start to come together is awesome and I couldn't be happier with the color and how it looks with the MT1 kit

[6A LDY]

Got a couple of little things done

Rear bumper trim end caps and the gas cap panel



Also finally got up to the front windshield for the headliner, sunroof and front doors remaining.



i also pulled out all the seat belts to get the belts replaced with some fresh ones, after 36 years these ones are beat

[AWDBOB]

Maaaan killer build!! I really, really wanted this car when it popped up for sale. It is quite satisfying seeing the build taken to the next level.

That color is rad.

[6A LDY]

Looks like almost Diamond Schwartz in the lighting, very shiny. , coming along nicely!

Interesting, never no noticed 323 uses a 318 style Radiator but upgraded the parallel flow condenser!

The original color looks more like a Sea breeze :)

So I actually just bought a (somewhat faded) diamond schwarz door for some parts, you can see the difference now, The diamondschwarz is much more "light black" and the graphite metallic is much more "dark grey"





Its tough to explain, but there's really no blue or green or black in it, its just a very deep dark grey

The paint code is 087 and was available from 1982-1984 apparently. It looks like a similar color has been available recently as Dark Graphite Metallic

[6A LDY]

Good progress this weekend so far as I've had a few days off of work

Tested the lights - all good. Havent cared to hook up the city lights....



Got the rear deck installed - happy with how it came out, this car is going to have a pretty dark color scheme.





I finally got a passenger side window rubber that was in decent enough shape to install, been waiting weeks. Will replace with new in the future, but I'm not waiting any longer. So with that in I got the front windows in




And a new front windshield



I did some other little things like installing windshield wiper trim and getting the rear windows into the rubber seals. I spent a fair amount of time just cleaning up the garage as well and getting rid of the old cardboard and trash. It is such a nice feeling to see the heap of parts finally start to go down

Tomorrow I'm planning on gluing in the headliner around the sunroof and installing the rear windows

[benwalsh91]

yes, i am really digging this! looking forward to seeing more progress.

[2002jm]

Great write-up. I have almost the same exact car; but I am building an h23 tribute car.
jm

[2mAn]

Man, the progress on this thing is no joke! ... Love me some early models too!

[6A LDY]

Finally getting around to updating this thread again. It’s been a combination of laziness and waiting for parts




The chrome trim on the car was pretty pitted and oxidized so I decided to bite the bullet and take it down to bare aluminum then polish that


I used Easy Off heavy duty oven cleaner to remove the anodizing, coat it heavily and let it sit for 1-1.5 hours.



Then sand lightly with 600 grit and 1000grit sand paper to level the metal then I used MetallWerks aluminum polishing kit. Would highly recommend it. Here is my cheap buffer set up and the results from after the easy off / sanding, step 1 polishing, and step 2 polishing (top down). There is still a 3rd step that I will do by hand on the car and then a sealant. After the second step it is almost already a perfect finish.











With that done I could re-install the rear windows. For anyone replacing the seals on fixed glass coupe windows, install the rubber on the glass, then install the chrome trim on that before putting the whole thing into the car. I used a technique called roping or cording to help hold the seal open during the install. It is helpful to have someone to push from the outside. Look up “ hot rod glass install roping “ on YouTube and you’ll probably find the technique.


After that I finished the headliner and installed the rails on my new to me Recaros. I finished most of the trim on the outside and the mirrors as stuff as well. Then it was a waiting game.



I sent my seatbelts to CATuned to get the webbing replaced and was under the impression that it would only take a few weeks. It ended up taking about 8 weeks from the day they got them to the day they sent them back. The seatbelts themselves look great and function properly, I was just frustrated with the amount of time it took. I would probably not recommend them for this service in the future based on the timing.




With those back I was able to put the interior back in starting with the seatbelts, rear and front seats. I used the Solution Finish to refinish the center consoles and glovebox and it came out great again. I also installed my husco armrest I’ve had forever.









Im quite pleased with how well the front seats match the rear, its not a perfect color match, but the back seat is sun-stained anyways, but I have always loved cloth interiors

I put the sunroof panel in and then decided to take it for a quick spin and finally got a few decent pictures. I’ll try to get some more soon once the trim is on






Overall I couldn’t be happier with how the car looks, I really can’t believe it’s the same car I got just over a year ago. I will have to get over the fact that at some point it will get some blemish from use, but I’m not quite ready yet.




Next up is to replace the wiper motor that shit the bed, then paint and install the wipers, and install the rain gutter trim and the m tech details and roundels. Then get it inspected and give it a good detailing. Over the winter I’ll probably install the side skirts and convert back to lug bolts from wheel studs so I can run the center caps, and finally take a heat gun to the headliner to tighten it up

[rudy]

Great update! Coming along beautifully.

[808ETA]

Car looks really good!

[Tzantushka]

Thoroughly enjoying build!

[moatilliatta]

The color is perfect, cloth seats and French fogs! I had a diamond schwartz E30 that looked similar, Graphite Metalic brings what I liked mostly In the Diamond Schwartz.

And love what you did with the trim, I’m in the middle of giving mine a brushed look, fighting the anodizing…

[6A LDY]

Had a chance to do a couple small things this weekend like install the door sill trim. Still waiting on a replacement windshield wiper motor, but was able to putter around a little bit.



Grabbed a decent walk-around video, the car is still covered in dust and some soap from putting in the glass so I can’t wait to see how glossy it is when clean.

https://i.imgur.com/YbqgPQ3.mp4