Resurrection of my coupe

[N2MYE30]

Another small update. I get asked about my red tails on my cabrio so this is what I how I do them. I bought these from a member a while and I needed to refresh mine. So while I dd my coupe, I just did these and will refresh the old later.

This is how I start out...


Tape off the surrounds and the amber.


A little overspray os ok if the original red is not sealed because I sand it down anyway.


Use as directed on the Metalcast can. It is easy to work with.


I then put as many coats on it to match the original red.


The must be about 3 coats on these.


I may have given it a day to dry. Then I wetsanded using 1000. Then I taped off the reverse.


2 coats of metalcast to the whole lens.


Tape removed. This is without sanding.


Now its time for work. Wetsanded with 1500 the whole light. I had some fisheyeing going on but that is ok as long as its sanded out.

BTW, I used my hand to sand, not a pad.


With and without sanding.


These are ready for clear.


3 good coats of clear brings it to this. I forgot to take a pic of the prodect and will try to post a pic of it here later.


There is no shot if it but again, wetsanded with 1500 till the complete surface is without pitting or any fisheyes.

I like Malco products and this one is one of my favs. UFC compound takes out >1500 so it was the perfect application. With a yellow Majestic pad and my trusty HF special, I went to work.


You can see some swirling so I went with some swirl-x.


I think they came out ok...for being done in my garage anyway.




This is my comparison from what I did nearly 6 years ago using just the Testors paint technique. Man, that was a sorry attempt but I at least learned how to do them better.


ewww....




ahhh.... much better. The new still need to be cleaned some and waxed but in due time.






The end....for this chapter.

Cheers!

[dnick]

looks great! nice work

[N2MYE30]

Change is coming!

I got this valence a little bit ago for free....even the right color. Ive been waiting to get for for 6 years and im finally going to get to this. New fogs and an IS lip are going to make the frond end look really nice.



Cheers!

[RecycledTeen]

Oh boy, keep this up and you are going to price this (or the 'vert, for that matter) out of my range when you're ready!

[N2MYE30]

More cleaning up under the hood. I got the C101 under the cover and tucked some more.




I also gave it a new years bath. Man, this thing shines up nice!


And this is stanced for me.


Cheers!

[N2MYE30]

Yes, yes, yes...updates.

A few weeks back my clutch pedal didnt want retrack back...about 300ft from my house (garage)...across a busy street...in the cold...at night. Weee!!! My clutch slave cylinder too a crap on me with no warning. It was some work as it was just me and a 1 LED flashlight (my trust maglight went with my original clutch slave cylinder :curse:) and working out of the back of my truck. While getting my new part I went to Mini to look at cars...a sign of "im growing tired of working under my car!" Just the thought of no maintainence for 3 years and the new car smell is very tempting.

After cooling down and spending $15 on the part and getting it all fixed, I really still like my e30 but sometimes, the unpure thoughts go thru my head!

Anyway, new slave cylinder...


After doing my last smoke test, this upper vent seal was all that was left for a sealed system. New one...


I decided since I bought the CTS, id install it, even though it was not the cause of my CEL.


I just put the M3 covers on last night. Needs to be trimmed some more but im in vacation till the end of the year. Ill get to it sometime. It cleans up the bay so well. But, with it brough on some wiring paths that are now giving me some trouble. The C101 is not fitting where it needs to and the wiring for the 3 fuses are over the master cylinder. All functional but needs some tiddying. Meh, much better than before.



Cheers!

[N2MYE30]

And the fun did continue...

I bought another obd1 mani once I noticed that something was wrong with mine. I took the old one off and I put new intake runner gaskets on.

And I also put a new dipstick o-ring in and used the e34 front intake bracket to hold the dipstick shaft correctly.

Once I got the old mani off, I noticed a serious problem with it. If you can see it in the pix, cracks were everywhere. It must have taken a good hit sometime in its life because this thing pretty much shattered.


After all of this was put back together, it still was throwing a CEL 1221. Everything was correct, I just knew it. I starred at the etms so many times that it all ran together.


I tried a new o2 sensor, nope.
I tried a newish MAF, nope.
I bought a new CTS but before I did, I wanted to verify my vacuum was tight. This lead to another gaping hole just as I posted under the throttle body...the Fuel tank breather valve. The tubing must have ripped while messing with the manifold. Once this was fixed again, the CEL is no more and the car feels great! All that is left is putting on the M3 harness cover and chip it.

Cheers!

[N2MYE30]

I went to my buddies place to use his smoke tester. Man, what a great tool! Once I hooked it up, my engine bay looked like it was on fire! Another cool tool came into play, a snap-on scope/camera. This is another thing I need to get for my tool box.
http://www.amazon.com/Redline-Detect...f=pd_sbs_auto1


After lots of looking around, it was a gaping tear in (dont know the name but its between the canister and the throttle body) the tube right at the clamp. I cut off the ripped end and reattached. Simple fix.


It seems that a major leak was still at the bottom of the intake manifold where throttle body attaches. I can only assume that it must have taken a hit before I got it and I didnt notice it because I can see several cracks. I hope to have a new manifold tonite. The fun continues.

Cheers!

[Kershaw]

that looks great!

[White325is]

I will shoot you a pm in a few mins..

[IronmanE30]

Silver cars look so nice when the paint is clean. That's a very nice ride, well done!

Cheers,

Jim

[N2MYE30]

Amazing, I love your car.

Thanks you sir. I really wanted source some of the parts you were selling (skirts) but you know it goes. Feeding 2 e30s aint easy. :crazy: I do look foward to your next project.

[White325is]

Amazing, I love your car.

[N2MYE30]

It was time to address my non-functional power steering. The system was all new to the car I wasnt sure what was the problem.

Rack? This was a possibility as all I know that it came from a source that I see often. If i remember correctly it had ~90K on the 98 M3 it came off of.

Pump? It wasnt connected to the engine when I picked it up but it was included. No leaks or wierd sounds.

Kink in one of my "modded" lines? I only have one as its the return line to the res.

Plumbing path? I verified this from e30rapidics swap. Mine was the same. REALOEM and BMWFANS HAS IT WRONG!!!
Here it is plumbed correctly.


I decided to try replacing the pump first. This is one I bought at my local pnp. Nasty but it cleaned up nicely.


I cleaned it up, installed, refilled res, and and gave it a crank. I NOW HAVE PS!!! :) Another thing off my to do list. I got to feel how some of you guys do (an like) no ps. Why? With ps, the car feels much lighter and alive! To each their own i guess but i enjoy it far better.

My 1:30am shot, just missing around with settings.


Well, yeah, maybe that picture sux, really sux! Did i mention it was 1:30am. :)

Redemption pix as I did not update some better pix on this thread.














Whats next? Who knows!!!
Cheers!

[N2MYE30]

Your car looks amazing! I read the whole post, and you've done an incredible job, and had very tasteful, quality work done. I'm a wee bit jealous, and inspired.
I like that your cars are very OEM, and respectful to the design and engineering of BMW.

Mad respect and high props !!

Whoot !!

Anther job well done.

wow that looks soo good

Thanks fellas! It has been a great project. Better pix coming in the October...with vids.