-
No kidding. I'm in way over my head on the welding, but there are lots of examples out there of guys doing 'OJT' body repair. JGood's M60 project is a good one. I have a Lincoln 180 setup too so I should be good with that. Still need to fab/pick-up a rotisserie before I get going on the body work.
The only really serious rust issues I've found so far is the passenger side rocker. Pretty sure I've found an inner rocker replacement panel for that side, so shouldn't be that bad really.
The rad support shouldn't be too terrible to swap out either. It's PORd for now.
The tail panel rust also isn't too bad .. just the battery area and license light openings really.
The doors and fenders aren't worth saving. so none of that rust will get any attention, but the rockers and inner fenders will.
In the end I may be kidding myself though - I haven't pulled the carpet yet. Lord knows what a mess is waiting there - the patch underneath is a dead giveaway.
If I had even a remote chance of finding a little/no-rust IX coupe shell I'd be all over it.Leave a comment:
-
You have a very big project on your hands and I hope it all turns out well. Happy to see one being saved from rust.Leave a comment:
-
Thanks guys. Hope this is informative for someone out there.
the rad support, ss lines and accessory mounting hardware all arrived today. The tail section is here too.
Most of the rocker parts are NLA now which *really* sucks. Still waiting to find out what will come in.
EDIT: both outer rockers are NLA. inner rockers are still on order so I should be ok.
UPDATE: Key Parts makes aftermarket outer rockers. Less than $30 a side, for both 2 and four door E30s. You can find them at fixmyrust.com
I have new brake splash guards too as they were all horribly rusted out.
The rear brake splash shields were so bad that I couldn't mount the e-brakes properly due to rusted out holes.
Unfortunately replacing them forces you to pull the axles and hub. so if you're going to all that trouble you might as well replace the bearings right? I haven't replaced the rear bushings yet either, but would prefer to take that on another time.
The diff casing is also heavily rusted and I would like to figure out how to get that cleaned up. Is it safe to sandblast it assembled? I wouldn't think so!Last edited by bradnic; 06-18-2014, 07:22 PM.Leave a comment:
-
ROUND 4! 88 Lachsilber / Cardinal IX coupe
SEP 2017 EDIT: I'LL BE UPDATING THESE PICS SOON, FOCUSING ON THE FOURTH CAR
YET ANOTHER CHANGE IN PLANS BACK TO A LACHS 88 COUPE, THIS TIME WITH CARDINAL INTERIOR
Jump straight to the 4th car here
A little history of my IX coupe adventure...
THE ORIGINAL CAR THAT STARTED ALL THIS CRAZINESS:
88 IX 5 Speed Lachsilber / Grey
Minnesota
Mechanically restored, but too much floor pan rust to save.
It's now my mechanical / spares / learn to weld parts car
2ND CAR
90 IX 5 Speed Coupe Zinno / Black
Washington State
Completely rust free but with a horrible paint job and some missing bits
Lasted a whole week before we decided to sell it!
3RD CAR
91 IX Auto Coupe Alpine White / Black
New Jersey
127k miles
Some rust but clean floorpan. a real looker and best AC I've ever had in an E30
Son drove it all summer
Planned a 5 speed conversion and full de-rust including new panels
Sold to a friend so I'm still in touch with current owner.
See post 43 for details.
4th AND HOPEFULLY FINAL CAR
88 IX 5 Speed Lachsilber/Cardinal
PENNSYLVANIA
101k miles
fully resprayed, not sure color is exactly right
clean floor pans, interior and engine bay
mostly unmolested
rust repair needed for both fenders, driver quarter needs replacement, battery tray
bondo evidence in some places
BUILD HISTORY FOR THE ORIGINAL CAR - NOW MY PARTS CAR
Been working on this for about a year now. Picked it up in St Paul with 160k miles. All original, matching VINs and no accidents on record, but of course plenty of rust to deal with after 25 years up north. Most of the mechanical restoration is done, but the body has a long way to go. Hesitated to post anything until there was something worth looking at.
Like all 88 IX coupes, this one came fully loaded.
It was missing the armrest rear and ski bag though, but I've managed to source those. Also have chased down brand new heated door lock setup, heated outside mirrors and heated washer nozzles. I may be putting an HCS setup on this car too if I can find it. Exactly the type of vehicle that will use headlamp washers.
I'll be cleaning up this initial post over time. I'll also make sure I have recent pics right on the first post.
as it looked last week
interior pics
Plans for the car:
- mechanical restoration (1st phase almost complete now)
- complete vehicle disassembly, clean/repair
- full body de-rusting, panel replacement where necessary
- plastic bumper swap
- clean up interior (one seat bolster needs work, leatherique treatment, full carpet clean
- refinish IX wheels (already have new caps)
- new paint (same color)
Work done to date:
- tank/surface head, 3 angle valve job, new camshaft, eccentrics, seals
- timing belt and water pump
- new coolant and evap hoses
- new cap, rotor, platinum plugs and bmw perf wires
- new starter and reman a/c compressor
- PORd strut housings, sway bars
- new OEM control arms, offset CABs, tie-rods, top hats
- new stabilizer links, bushings
- new H&R sports and billie HDs all around
- new pads, rotors, e-brakes, splash shields (so rusted in rear I couldn't mount ebrakes)
- reman calipers and ss lines (install in process)
- new PS hoses (not all installed yet)
- wheel alignment
Work planned/pending:
- wheel bearings
- rear subframe and diff bushings
- camber/toe kit for rear subframe
- camber plates for front (it's barely off-spec now b/c of H&Rs)
- finish r134a A/C conversion (flush, o-rings, leak fixes, drier, expansion valve)
- install new radiator support, tail panel, inner rockers (if I can find them)
- cut and replace rust areas (plenty of them)
- replace both fenders and doors
- tailight and trunk gaskets
- hood insulation
Some mech resto pics
strut housings were absolute hell to deal with - pb blaster, torch, pipe wrench, sledge and sweat
Rust areas that I will be dealing with
Last edited by bradnic; 09-02-2017, 07:56 PM.
Leave a comment: