Resurrecting a full M-Tech vert

[Vivek]

Nope I think they're overrated. The kit kinda the ruins the vintage look of e30's.

I would gladly take your car if you hate it so much

[CrusherCurtis]

A mt1 euro bumpered calypso vert would set my soul on fire. And I'm mad I missed the Oak park show.

[bradnic]

but you've got one in your sig..

what do you think of my calypso vert? check towards the end of the thread for plans

[CrusherCurtis]

Nope I think they're overrated. The kit kinda the ruins the vintage look of e30's.

[Vivek]

I'm not into holes. Just want the car stock. yeah I know it looks cleaner without it. It's easy to pull stuff off and modify shit. Harder to keep things intact. Something about that appeals to me I guess. To each his/her own.

There's nothing wrong with that. An extensively rebuilt stock e30 is very nice...but what do I know, I don't even have roundels ;)

[bradnic]

edit: Just read those were dealer stripes. We should do a shoot some time.

at some point.. car's a mess man. I'm gonna gut it.
got others though!! would love to see your car.

EDIT: Crusher I just realized I saw your ride at VintageFest. pretty awesome. definitely want to connect.

[bradnic]

Mtechs are overrated

EDIT: you're being sarcastic I guess, judging from your sig ;-)

yeah I suppose they can be, but keep in mind the 771s were supposed to have suspension upgrades and LSD.

I couldn't pass this car up despite its obvious neglect. check out the opening post though for a link to this exact same model/color car in perfect shape.

I also have another vert with DBs that I'm converting to euro bumpers. I have an MT1 coming for it as well but gonna try euro bumper only first.

Nice to see someone else in Chicago tho.

yeah dude. PM me your contact info - out of town for a couple of days but happy to connect later in the week.

You know where I can get those stripes?

They're original to the car, and I may be wrong given the age of it, but they appear to be painted on. A dealer in California did them supposedly (or had them done anyway)

[CrusherCurtis]

Mtechs are overrated
Nice to see someone else in Chicago tho.
You know where I can get those stripes?

edit: Just read those were dealer stripes. We should do a shoot some time.

[bradnic]

Those look like bilstein dust boots on the struts, so they're likely bilsteins.

I figured.. good to have confirmation thanks Vivek

Why do you want to make holes and add a third brake light?

I'm not into holes. Just want the car stock. yeah I know it looks cleaner without it. It's easy to pull stuff off and modify shit. Harder to keep things intact. Something about that appeals to me I guess. To each his/her own.

[Vivek]

Those look like bilstein dust boots on the struts, so they're likely bilsteins. Why do you want to make holes and add a third brake light?

[bradnic]

Some more inspection today. observations (with some pics):

- lots of dents, some of them pretty big. other than that body's indeed in great shape. haven't pulled the mt2 bits off yet though. hopefully there's no damage lurking there.

- deck lid was replaced for sure. bad spray job. not sure whether to keep it and drill the holes for the 3rd light setup, or replace it with a correct vert lid

- the front mt2 valance is trashed. fiberglass repaired before. not worth fixing so I'll be shopping for a new one




- definitely an open diff in the car. was replacing it anyway per discussion earlier in the thread.


- lower engine bay cover behind front bumper is missing


- bottom of the engine's a mess. oil and fluid leaks. radiator shroud broken, wire exposed underneath. just hacked together it seems. will definitely do the timing belt just in case.



- 12.5mm sway bar in rear, about 21mm in front. is that right for an mt2?



- cruise control cable appears to be broken


- couldn't get the heat to work, engine running cold. good explanation - thermostat's probably been pulled and the damn heater core hoses are disconnected.

- as mentioned earlier, compressor's gone. not just it but the mounting brackets too. temp sensor in the radiator is missing, replaced with a plug. hoses left wide open so the system is probably corroded now.



- looks like a fairly new behr radiator


- not sure what the story is with the airbox. original one's gone and the inside headlight cover is missing (passenger side too). that aluminum bracket was to something aftermarket. anyone recognize the bracket?



- suspension's in pretty good shape. definitely billies in the rear. car has a lowered stance so I assume the springs are the correct ones on the car. not sure what kind of struts are on the car but she handles well.

[reelizmpro]

Pinstripes have always been a personal preference. You can always remove it but can't easily put it back. I see it as an early 90's thing. Many cars had a subtle pinstripe (instead of M colors).

[bradnic]

any advice on the stripes? I like the damn things but they were clearly dealer added.

[bradnic]

indeed in june 2006 (where it supposedly sold for $6,800, though there's no DMV record)
he put it up for sale again in 2010 where it again sold for over $6k (the ad says he'd owned it since '04 so that previous sale must have fallen through).

you can tell from the listing pics that the car deteriorated in that timeframe. there's also some mileage issues. I'm trying to reconstruct the actual mileage from available info. It's probably in the 186k range. Odo's out so I've ordered a gear kit from garagistics. Plan is to reset to the calculated mileage. I really couldn't care less what it is as I plan an engine/drivetrain refresh anyway.

[reelizmpro]

I believe the CA owner also listed it on ebay.