Starting from scratch.... '89 325is Build.

[Mstngcobr761]

Nice build man! Were pretty much doing the same thing, taking nothing and making it into something beautiful. Any plans for wheels?

[freeski27]

Thanks guys!
Well, as for wheels. I'm thinking Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2, in the black finish. Im a big fan of those wheels. Most likely 17x8. But if something similar comes along cheap, I may snag em.
I currently have a set of e36 steels w/ snows on them (16"), so I'll probably buy my wheels "last" considering I have a usable set in the mean time.

[freeski27]

The Big Drop...

Well, since I hadn’t yet received my right rear caliper (trailing arms were missing one), I decided to sort of “skip” the rear brakes for a little while. I was really anxious to get the car on the ground after all of this suspension work; so I bolted up a few 16″ steel rims with snows off of an e36 from upstate CT.
Here is a photo of the car with the wheels bolted up:


-With that done, I had to figure out how to get this car down off of these tall stands… once again, all by my lonesome. I decided I was going to lift the front of the car with the engine hoist and then put two floor jacks under the rear jack points. Now that would have worked better if I hadn’t misplaced one of the floor jacks… So I had to use a hydraulic jack on one side. This really wasn’t really that big of a deal, I just had to pull it back as I let it down. I then let each corner down just a small bit at a time until the car was finally on the ground!
Before we move onto important stuff; here are a few shots of the car on the ground (Note – There is a significant amount of weight in parts in the trunk):





Clearly it will be needing some camber adjustment, but I’m just glad to see it sitting on all fours. Will keep you guys posted, many post to be written up now.
-Noble

[freeski27]

The Engine Bay 1...
So, with the car on the ground. I figured it was time to prep the engine bay for the M52 that I have lined up for it!
But first, here are a few shots of the car as it sat when I arrived at the shop on friday:


So, first thing is first. Here are some photos of the engine bay before any serious cleaning or anything. As you can see I had previously painted the lower portion of the engine bay black.





Ok, so enough taking pictures and down to work. First I removed all of the wiring tie downs, and consolidated the wiring as best as I could.

Now, the 666fabrication heater core cover had to be removed. This is held on with the same bolts as stock, they are removed with a 7mm socket. After that it pulls right out.
Here are some shots from the removal:


Next, the brake booster had to be pulled. Since this car is going to be an DOHC swap, the booster had to be removed anyways. To remove the brake booster you need to remove the four nuts that hold the brake booster in. They are located behind the brake pedal.
Here is a picture of the location of the nuts:

Next you need to remove the spring from the brake pedal. This is the spring that you can see the end of in the top left hand corner of the previous picture. With the spring removed from that pin, remove the retaining clip from the other side of the pin and remove the pin. Now you will be able to pull your brake booster right out from the front.
Here is a photo of the removed brake booster, and another of the mounting location:


With that done, the entire engine bay was in need of a good cleaning. Use a scrub brush and some degreaser to remove any grease or grime left in the engine bay.
Here are a few quick pictures of the engine bay after cleaning:



With the bay clean, I had to lay some tape. Since I was doing a sort of “two tone” engine bay, I had to tape off the lower sections as well. Since there is no real way to pull the fuse box out, you will have to move the box over, cover it, spray, then move the box back to its original location and spray in the location that you had moved the box to. Pretty simple.
Here are the photos of the engine bay prepped for primer:



So, paint. I know getting it from an authorized mixer is a bit expensive, so I figured I’d give http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ a shot. I figured for a $10 arosal can, it was worth a shot. If it didn’t match, I would just go get some mixed. Here are the products that I ordered.

Well, here we go, no harm in trying these products I guess. But when I saw the labels, I had a feeling that I would be having to get some paint mixed. None the less, here are the post primer pictures.



Then, it was time to move on to base coat.



At this point, the paint didn’t look all that bad, but i figured that I would lay some clear coat to see how well the paint matched up.
Here are the shots after clear coat:



Well, at this point, the color should have been a match… Well, I had two problems with the paint. The primer was very week and thin, it acted almost like paint. The primer reacted to every tiny little bit of grease that may have been missed in the engine bay (and that engine bay was cleaned pretty meticulously). So, as expected, it was time to lay down some serious primer. The primer I used was designed for painting marine outboards and stern drives (Mercury Quicksilver Brand). This primer is really tough and it will be perfect for the engine bay.
Here is a comparison shot between the OEM paint and the paint that I got from automotivetouchup.com:

Here are shots of the bay after the new primer:



When looking closely at the primer, it is clear that the covering is far superior. The covering is even and is far more durable. However, it looks like we will be waiting until next weekend to lay down some paint. I will be having to pick some up at an authorized mixing station.
In the mean time, I figured I’d polish up the 666fabrication heater core cover that I had. I just used a 3M heavy duty compound and a buffing wheel.
Here are the before, durring, and after shots of the aluminum cover:



That pretty much sums up the engine bay until next week. Keep your eyes peeled, I’ll be posting an update on what I’ve been doing with the interior… should find this interesting…
Thanks guys,
-Noble

[bimmerboy12]

Looking great, keep us posted.

[freeski27]

The Engine Bay 2...

Ok. So here is where we left off with the engine bay. Last weekend I had primed and painted the bay; and then primed it again… Since the paint wasn’t a match, I had some Martin Senour mixed up at the local NAPA. A much better quality paint, and a place to go complain to if it doesn’t match up.
Here are some photos of where we left off last, and the new product:


-First thing is first. Use some scotchbrite to put some scratch in the primer. Since we were fully prepared last weekend, from here we can move on to paint. I sprayed with my Kobalt HVLP gun. Personally I love HVLP; the gun is really easy to work, coats nice and even without any excessive pressure, and most importantly, very little overspray. This product was 8:4:1. This means 8 parts paint, 4 parts reducer, and 1 part hardener. To make things easy I did 8 oz, 4 oz, 1 0z. I ended up two of these 13 oz pots, totaling 26oz for the engine bay (3 coats). Remember though; if you are trying to figure out how much paint you need, it is only 16 oz. However, the guy who mixes the paint for you should be able to help you decide on how much you will need.
-Ok, so you are ready to spray. A couple things first. 1. Don’t forget your mask! This is especially important if you are working alone like I commonly do. 2. Don’t forget to ventilate the area, not just for fumes, but for reducing overspray.
-Now, of course, I managed to forget one of those two things. I had my mask on, but forgot to turn on the exhaust fan to ventilate! I did realize it about halfway through when the shop was all foggy… however, I managed to lay a decent amount of overspray on most of the car. Not to worry though, Acetone took care of all the glass, and I plan to wet-sand, compound, clay-bar, and wax the rest of the body once I’m further along in the project, so no big deal.
-Ok, now spray away! Make sure that you have your regulator set properly, and a moisture filter on the line!
Here are some photos of the entire process (including one of the mask!):






Next, I let that paint cure overnight and came back the next day to do under the fuse box. So, the next morning I moved the fuse box up top and re-taped the area. The area had already been cleaned so I sprayed the grey primer that I had settled on and then sprayed paint.
Here are the pictures of that work:



Now, time to pull off all of that paper!
Here are some shots of the engine bay post paint:





I suggest trying to not get overspray on your tires… But anyways, now it was time to reassemble everything that I had in the engine bay. This included the fuse box, wiring, heater core cover, bumper shocks, hood latch, and battery terminal.
Here are the photos of the reassembly of the engine bay:






Ok, so when I went to put on the fuse box cover I was struck by an Idea. The oem blue tint cover isn’t really the most attractive. So I figured I would improvise. First I scuffed it up with some scotchbrite. Next I dusted it with satin black paint, sort of giving it a smoked look. After that, I had a BimmerWorld sticker from the spring pads I ordered, I cut it up a bit and put in on there. Following the pictures will speak for it self.
Here are the pictures of doing the fuse box cover:








I think it looks sweet! However, it gets better. The next morning, I decided that the entire fuse box needed a painting. So I very carefully taped off the area so that I didnt ruin my new paint job, and sprayed the fuse box using the same paint as on the cover.
Here are some photos of the process:




-Final product . The “Performance” sticker looks a bit crooked in the last picture, but it is just the angle of the camera.
-With all of that said and done, I did some final cleanup. Got rid of as much overspray as I could find and cleaned up any dirt and the wires.
Here are some said and done pictures of the engine bay (much happier this time!):




Thanks for reading up guys, I am much happier with the results this time!
-Noble

[george graves]

sub-fing-scribed

[Miasma]

Very cool build, Subscribed.

[Super Sedan]

Great work

[z31maniac]

Awesome work so far!

[pawi30]

Great work! The engine bay looks awesome. The fuse box is different, but awesome. Very inspirational.

[n2bimmer]

Niceeeeee

[bimmerboy12]

I really like the red cross member against that bright white bay. good work.

[Dozyproductions]

more more more palease!

[samiam3356]

Very nice work!!! Only wish I had the time and money to do something like this.