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

[samiam3356]

Just returned the E30 Control arms and bought some '96 M3 arms :), that'll do it :D

I thought they were supposed to be 97 up m3 CA's.

[freeski27]

I thought they were supposed to be 97 up m3 CA's.

Same thing. 1996-1999, the 95's are different.

[unloadedak]

damn that will look amazing! it reminds me of the interior on my envoy.. i love suede and i'm planning on the same for the E30.

[freeski27]

The Interior 2...
Ok. So, here is where we stand on the interior. I would love to give you guys more, but I had a crazy weekend dealing with a jealous girlfriend… Ok, enough about my personal life! So, when we left off the back seat cover/filler was just pulled out of the car. Over the past week some more resin and reinforcement was added and sat to cure. With all of that finally cured up, I moved on to trimming it to a more manageable size.
Here are some photos of how it was at this point:



From here I had to place the piece in the car again to get some more fitment sizes. I trimmed the top and saturated the remaining dry areas of glass with resin.
Here are some photos of the final saturating:


With that done, I fitted the piece back into the car to make final measurements for a bit more trimming.
Here are those fitment pictures (I placed the fire extinguisher on the piece too to ensure it would hold the weight):



Although it does look a bit messed up in the pictures, it is getting a bit better each time. Clearly I still have some trimming to do along the sides. After that, it will take the headliner foam that went on the side panels and the black ultra suede. Once again, more on that next time.
Ok so. From there I had to make a decision on what to do with my HVAC equipment. The PO had cut the heating and cooling piping at the firewall and the heater box was cracked pretty bad. So, I decided that I would pull it all out. It seems like my car is inching more and more towards a track car every day. However, I am still able to justify it; the car will primarily be a weekend/summer car, so I shouldn’t run into to many problems. The removal process is not to difficult when you car is as disassembled as mine is. First off, make sure that all the cables and wires are disconnected from your dash and remove the dash. I didn’t really think the proccess through and I pulled out the parts one by one. However, if you are removing everything, start from the blower motor. Remove the covers and the motor it self. From there, there are four bolts on the firewall that hold the heater box in. With that done, you should be able to pull out the entire assembly and disassemble it from there.
Here are photos of my step by step removal:




















Sorry I’ve been slow on the updates lately but I will be back up to speed next weekend. Thanks for reading!
-Noble

[MasukBMW]

Noble, I got some good news! PMing you now.

I love this thread, so glad to see this car getting done up right.

[speedminded]

Same thing. 1996-1999, the 95's are different.

I've always heard it was '97+ front control arms.

Two links say otherwise:

http://www.torque-bound.com/5-lug.htm

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=139416

[Simon S]

Sorry I’ve been slow on the updates lately

don't be
dash work like that can be time-consuming as hell.

[88SuperETABD]

Are you keeping the heater out? Wouldn't it be nice to have...incase you get any overheating problems...you can toss the heater on...dunno if you can do so otherwise...

[Mstngcobr761]

Half tempted to take my HVAC box out now. How long did that take you w/ taking the dash off and all that

[freeski27]

Are you keeping the heater out? Wouldn't it be nice to have...incase you get any overheating problems...you can toss the heater on...dunno if you can do so otherwise...

yeah I am leaving it out.

I've never heard of that? Turn on your heater to cool down your engine? I guess I understand how that would help a little, but is it really very effective. In all honesty, if i run into any over heating problems... I'll be pulling over to source the problem. I don't think I would be turning on my heater to attempt to get it back to my shop.

[freeski27]

Half tempted to take my HVAC box out now. How long did that take you w/ taking the dash off and all that

Well. My dash was pretty "not together" already, so that sped that up quite a bit. Once you get the dash out, it is pretty much smooth sailing. I actually followed my Bentley manual for this; it was quite helpful, but not critical. I'm not exactly sure how long it took me, but it was nothing ridiculous. Couple hours all together (while kinda doing other things at the some time)?

Just give it a shot. Feel free to ask me any specific questions if you've got them.

Note: The only thing that was really tough (minus dash removal and whatnot) was removing the blower motor housing (the one with the flaps on it). I ended up breaking a plastic tab or two. Doesn't really matter though because I don't plan on using the heater equipment.

[88SuperETABD]

yeah I am leaving it out.

I've never heard of that? Turn on your heater to cool down your engine? I guess I understand how that would help a little, but is it really very effective. In all honesty, if i run into any over heating problems... I'll be pulling over to source the problem. I don't think I would be turning on my heater to attempt to get it back to my shop.

its real effective...my friends 5.0 has to have his heater on at all times...or else it will over heat. with the heater on blast...it stays at normal temp...turn it off...its well into red.

[TrentW]

Wow--you're in Connecticut and you won't have any heat? Is it because you're just trying to save weight or what?

[E30QC]

connecticut is cold? lol, its' snowing already in quebec, and i'm going to tub the car by jan.
post pics! now! -joking, but seriously, not

[freeski27]

Wow--you're in Connecticut and you won't have any heat? Is it because you're just trying to save weight or what?

Well here is the thing. First off, the car is not going to be driven in the winter, it's going to be a summer car. I have a completely different car that I DD.

Second, the reason that I took out the system was because it was not functional in its current state. I had two choices: spend the time and money to fix it, and then never use it; or, just take it out all together, and save space and weight as a bonus.

Considering what I will be using the car for... I went with the later.


As for using the heater as means to cool the engine? I would rather not drive at all, then drive around with the heat on full blast every day... particularly in the summer. Your friend should look into a better cooling setup...