Absorbantnut's '87 325is

[AbsorbantNut]

Well, I never update this thread or any other on my progress, AND I dont have a camera, so I have no new/recent pics:(

So a list will have to suffice. I have:
-gotten & mounted basketweaves with tires
-gotten & mounted a late model plastic bumper front valance
-installed radio(Ill include a wiring diagram for that later)
stripped interior almost completely to look for rust
-almost have dash taken out so I can replace with a crack free one
-sanded almost all rust off the body
-filled up the dents/scratches
-primered bare metal w/ self etching primer
-wait......those last 3 sound like Im prepping for something:twisted:

[Simon S]

you have balls.

[AbsorbantNut]

Looks like Ill have some Irish luck in my car. Thanks John! and I'm going to have to borrow your pic:D

[AbsorbantNut]

So there have been a ton of updated on the car, but I have no camera still:(

Heres a bit of what I can remember. I got bumper shocks for my plastic bumpers, got a front plastic bumper & installed it(thanks again carlos!), and I chopped up my rear plastic bumper & fitted it. Used locktite plastic epoxy and lexan, so now its stronger than stock, and it fits perfect!

I also have basically stripped the whole interior, door panels, door cards, seats, removed the dash and hvac box, next comes the carpet! I also am removing mold growing in the doors. You guys should see the plastic vapor bariors in teh doors, they looked like they were felt!

Speaking of felt like, I pulled my rear speaker deck and sunroof/sunvisor panel & recovered them with some faux suede. They look brand new! I also deleted the 3rd brake light the same time I recovered the rear deck. Looks a million times better.

I also went to the junkyard & got a mount for my euro clock, so now I have my whole hvac panel mocked up w/ my radio and clock. Also picked up a volvo lip & trimmed it. Looks great in my opinion. Also I picked up A RUST FREE trunk lid. Its from a 325e though, so Ill need to drill out the holes for the IS spoiler.

Still on the look out for a rust free passenger fender & a crack free dash, and all the plastic bumper trim(besides the rear center), and the front running lights, hopefully Ill run into them sooner than later:D

I have a whole diving board setup for sale. Does anybody want them? I can sell it as a whole or separate. I have all trim, both bumpers, a rear trailer hitch, the early IS DB valance w/ mounting stuff & fogs. And I have a bunch of other stuff like most of a tan interior, rear windshield, etc. Willing to let stuff go for cheap as long as it just gets out of my house!

I really need to get a camera.......you guys are missing out.

[AbsorbantNut]

finally took some pics


Some mor ebody work, why is there so much:hitler:


Trashy rear seat, why would someone pick this thing up?

Comparing the euro rear spring seat structure to the us foam structure

Trunk lid rust

Oh Yeahh;)


DIY euro grills? Still need to resand & paint, hence the partial gloss

Picked up some e30 320i euro seats, Im pretty sure that they are basically recaro LSs but not badged under recaro. This is the passengers side

Shot of the backside of the euro rear seat that have headrest tracks



BMW badging on front seats


Drivers side seat. Between the pass & drivers, I have enough good parts to make a complete template. Ill have to post some pics later of the scheme I have in mind


Interior stripping in preparation of paint/rust removal

Dash, carpet, and hvac box out. What an experience it was removing that stuff



My rear speaker decklid I recovered

Plastic bumper goodness

all of my old divingboard bumper stuff














Drivers side rear plastic bumper fitment. Sits much flusher, just propped up for now.

So slim

Rear plastic bumper fitment on the passenger side. Lookin good. And it sits much flusher with the body, it is just propped up in these pictures.

[durtyE30]

I'm local and have a crack-free dash I'm willing to part with for cheap.

[AbsorbantNut]

Im killing myself over the rust in the trunk. I got it welded and bondoes, but never painted it:hitler:

Now, months later I'm dying trying to remove all this rust. I keep going back and forth between a new shell. ARGHHHH:hitler::hitler:

[enigmaticdream]

Awesome project, I love the delphin 325is. I've got the same model :) Keep it up cuz this is inspiring me to get off my ass and do the plastic bumper swap on my car.

[AbsorbantNut]

Well, I haven' really been on here much due to school/track/working on the car, but I've made a bunch of progress:p

I'll have to go through and take pictures of everything this weekend. Lets just say it will look like a different car soon enough;)

[AbsorbantNut]

Started out with some real wiring. Forget about the quick splice and crimp job on the stereo before. Heatshrinked and soldered all connections, and zip tied them together forming some kind of a harness. And to run that euro clock, I decided to make an adaptor. So at any time I can switch from my euro clock to the 13 button obc again. This took a little time finding the correct pin outs for everything, but it works flawlessly now. If anybody wants one...I guess I could make some more



Then we have the red cluster needles and the tinted bottom row of lights. Thanks to the r3v member on here who sent me the tint to do the job free of charge;)



Antenna delete/shave. Still need to go over it with the grinder and possibly some filler. I just havent gotten to that part of the car yet.....



And here's something really exciting:D



And heres some quick pics of me doing the side trim for the rear bumper. The plastic is just some more scrap lexan, just like the stuff I used to shorted the bumper.

Stock trim


Heres the piece of lexan grinded and cut to fit for the side marker delete



And heres the finished product. Side marker shaved and shortened to fit the bumper.



And a sneak peak of the paint coming along. First coat on the hood and bumper. Doesnt look great, but much better than rust, primer, and peeling paint. They will be spiffed up more this weekend.

[AbsorbantNut]

Lookin FRESH:giggle:

[AbsorbantNut]

Well, not too much done this weekend afterall. Carlos helped me get my trunk primered today and I sanded it down for the millionth time. Also found out why its been so tough to spray using my purple harbor freight gun. It hasn't been letting enough paint out of the gun! But on to the pictures...


Here's a pic of the grills. Tried to make them look like euro ones since the money is being spent elsewhere


Current picture of the interior


Here's the stereo wiring harness


And again, Carlos helped me here too. This is the patch on the floor panel. Still have a little bit left to do.


Here's what it replaced

[e30_luv_]

Great progress! I'm fairly certain those seats are OEM E30 Recaros, which are dumb rare. Good luck, and keep up the work.

[AbsorbantNut]

Spring break ends wednesday and I figured Ill start posting up what I've gotten done.
Ground down this spot on the rear quarter panel and realized that I needed to take more drastic measures:(


I started to make a patch at thsi point but Ill get to that later. First I had to cut out all the bad!










At this point, im ready to finish the job, but then I see something behind it. Tell me its not another rusty patch panel:hitler:



Well, thats what its lookin like



Yeah, theres really no way around this. Looks like it's time to hack it up some more:D





Gettin all cleaned up so it can be welded.



Patch made from a fender, the same fender which I will show in a few pictures.



Yeah, that looks like it will fit.

Well, heres what my patch looked like when I found it.


Taping off where it needs to be cut, need ot get the fender arch line, and then the body line.



Thank you Mr Blurrycam. Well, it gets the point across.




And here's the body line patch.



I have no idea why, but I had the strange urge to paint the wheel arch black, so I just followed my gut feeling



Also managed to wound my only sharpie, so I bandaged it, and continued on.

Well, lets compare the old and new at this point.


I wonder what the back side of the old patches looks like. I mean its just one patch, right?


Its actually 3 different patches, the whole rear quarter on this side was replaced, with factory metal. Then later, after not being painted, it rusted and required another patch. Which as you can see, led to more rust. What a viscious cycle.

Well at this point, i slapped on my inner fender patch and welded it, and caulked it, and painted it with some rustoleum rusty metal primer. Seems appropriate at this point.


Later followed by its protective enamel coat.


And then covered up just in time before the rain.

[AbsorbantNut]

Well my hood sucks. The paint gun didnt really work and spray paint, so I was left with a spray pattern about the size of a silver dollar. Not really much fun, so lets redo it.

First, some more body work was necessary.







Now i start to realize that rusty dented things arent much fun. And that you shouldnt wait too loing before you add the bondo



Now its time for body work and rust prevention on the car! First grind down the rust and tape off around so you dont have to deal with possible drip lines.








Now you can paint with whatever suits your needs. For me, its some more rusty metal primer.


Then, it became a good idea to paint the door. First Ill sand it down, then apply some filler(bondo), and spray it.







Tape the surrounding areas off with your favorite magazine, or least favorite, or if you dont have any magazines, like I didnt, borrow your sisters.



Take out your compressor, turn it on and wake up all the neighbors from their afternoon snooze by filling it up, mix the paint, give it a quick wipe down with some xylene, and start spraying.



Not bad for a first coat and spraying in the front yard:p No, the bottom right isnt a chip, its actually a reflection!



Further proof. Yes, I know it has specs in it, but Im over it at this point. And It does have orange peel, I laid it on a bit too heavy, but now that the color is dark and rich, the coats will go on light.

And I also sprayed the sunroof panel, but I havent taken the pics off my phone yet. Comments and criticism welcome:)