E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[bmwmech1]

Wow, amazing work again. I can't wait to see the end result of this car.

Thanks, I can't wait either! It's amazing that my brain hasn't exploded from the anticipation of almost a year of work and I still can't drive it, Lol! Now I know why they call them projects...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

I'm pretty sure I bought the 5 lug suspension off that red M3, and it made its way into MikeK's former car.

I love how this is coming together!

Wow, that's cool... small world. Having that suspension still under the car would have made it infinitely easier for me to pull it home, but I made it back okay, Lol!
I just brought my own 4 lug setup and bolted it on before I left, Lol! I made another big step forward today... see the next post...

Garey

[bmwmech1]

I spent a few hours fitting and welding on the C-pillar today. Got the car prepped and shot with some weld-thru primer, same for the C-pillar. Then I put some new strip caulking in at the base of the C-pillar, since the original stuff was dried out, clamped it on the car for the final time, using about 5 million clamps and started welding. You can see all of the clamps on the rear deck in the first couple of pictures, haha. I plug welded across the roof and under the rear deck, edge welded the inner area to the original window frame and did little 1/2" beads down the pillar from the roof to the quarter, trying to mimic what the factory did for the most part. The fit was pretty good right off the bat, so I didn't have to play around with it too much before I was happy with the fit and could weld it on. After I got done welding, I dressed the welds at the trunk opening and scuffed down the drivers side pillar and gave that a quick shot of primer. Still have a lot of finishing work to do, but it looks pretty good I think...













Hard to believe the C-pillar is actually on the car now...

Garey

[RainierHooker]

WooHoo! Looks great...

[bmwmech1]

Thanks man... always feels good to get a thumbs up from a real M3 owner. Mine will never be a real M3 by VIN, but this car is about as close as you can get without the pedigree...

Garey

[drutt23]

Dam man, looks great!! This thread gets better and better every time I read through it. I enjoy watching your work over and over again!! LOL!! Keep it up man!! Mad props my friend!!

And your 540 is the tits!! :up::up:

[RainierHooker]

Thanks man... always feels good to get a thumbs up from a real M3 owner. Mine will never be a real M3 by VIN, but this car is about as close as you can get without the pedigree...

Garey

Thanks, mine may be a 'real' M3, but the blood sweat and tears that are giong into your build make yours every bit as special.

[BruceBe]

Wow - that's some fearless bodywork modification! Great job! I've got all of the Gruppe A fenders, but standard 3-series C-pillars. Hmm...

-Bruce

[bmwmech1]

Dam man, looks great!! This thread gets better and better every time I read through it. I enjoy watching your work over and over again!! LOL!! Keep it up man!! Mad props my friend!!

And your 540 is the tits!! :up::up:

Thanks man, here's a better shot of the 540 from last summer...



Garey

[bmwmech1]

Thanks, mine may be a 'real' M3, but the blood sweat and tears that are giong into your build make yours every bit as special.

I appreciate your support of this build! Not everyone shares your sentiments, but I figure if I'm gonna build an E30 the way I want it, why not go the full monty, right?

Garey

[bmwmech1]

Wow - that's some fearless bodywork modification! Great job! I've got all of the Gruppe A fenders, but standard 3-series C-pillars. Hmm...

-Bruce

Thanks Bruce... It only took me almost a year to find and secure the donor M3 for the parts for this build... they're out there, you just need a little lady luck on your side to find the "right" candidate. ;)

Garey

[bmwmech1]

I keep inching closer to paint... got some primer on the back half today. Also got the C-pillar seam sealed to the shell across the roof and down the pillars. I needed to get the primer on it so I can seam seal around the rear at the tops of the quarters...







Time for bed...

Garey

[Simon S]

Thanks, mine may be a 'real' M3, but the blood sweat and tears that are going into your build make yours every bit as special.

agreed.

Work of art. You’re a f’ing artist Garey.

You mentioned the making of lists earlier – and it really hit home for me. Some days – out in the shop – I wouldn’t be able to get a damn thing done if I didn’t make lists and goals per day. You make those lists – and start checking things off – and you get to the end goal in a much quicker, methodical manner.

Jesus – I love this build. Wow.

Trying to think how funny it’d be if you put an m10 in there – but yeah, I’m low on sleep..

[Slangbox]

I fucking LOVE this thread. Honestly this thread right here is half my current motivation to do well in college.

[bmwmech1]

agreed.

Work of art. You’re a f’ing artist Garey.

You mentioned the making of lists earlier – and it really hit home for me. Some days – out in the shop – I wouldn’t be able to get a damn thing done if I didn’t make lists and goals per day. You make those lists – and start checking things off – and you get to the end goal in a much quicker, methodical manner.

Jesus – I love this build. Wow.

Trying to think how funny it’d be if you put an m10 in there – but yeah, I’m low on sleep..

Thanks man... lists work for me, for some reason. I like the idea of being able to look at it after things get lined out and see what I've done and what's left. Especially if you're taking on the harder tasks first... then you have a list of easy stuff left and that's a big motivator.
An M10 would be funny... just think of the M60 as 2 M10's on a common crank, if that helps, Lol!

Garey