88' Zinno M3 (Progress Thread)

[968Reckless]

looks good!

[econti]

Looks goooood now get it out on the road

[jhaurimn]

It is done. 5 years after buying the windshield and gaskets, and 3.5 weeks after having the old windshield taken off, everything is back together. :)

So, I will admit I did make a mistake that I should have done more research on before. When I chose to leave primer exposed for the windshield to adhere to, I was not aware that you had to use a specific kind of primer, epoxy primer. I did not do this, and realized the next day after the initial paint. Because of this, I went ahead and re-masked the car (im a pro now), and put base and clear on top of the primer as well.


This gasket was completely missing from my previous windshield. (it was not pushed all the way in on some spots, this was fixed after I noticed in the picture)


Bonnie checking over the windshield install instructions, making sure the glass guy does it right


Thankfully I had an experienced glass guy who worked with me on doing the windshield the as bmw suggested. He also didnt mind my helicoptering which I couldnt help doing considering this was 5 years in the making. The windshield set quite well and we opted to not strap anything down to avoid the chance of a stress crack, considering the glass is now NLA. (thanks oba-- im mean bmw)

Also, I helped set the glass which was nerve wrecking as hell, but everything was placed perfectly on the first go. Im still waiting for my automotive glass ceritifcation in the mail because of this.

[968Reckless]

Just saw your thread where you mentioned issues, and saw you have aftermarket glass. I have original oe glass from the original manufactuerer (bought one of the last 3 windshields in america from the original oe manufacterer in 2015 before bmw switched to a new company) so I am guessing whatever issues you had were related to poorly done aftermarket glass. But still curious to what you had issues with on the off chance I encounter it anyways.

This might have been the issue, curious to see how yours goes.

[jhaurimn]

hope the original lock strip and gasket are going back in. If you planning on going with new stuff RIP to you lol .

Just saw your thread where you mentioned issues, and saw you have aftermarket glass. I have original oe glass from the original manufactuerer (bought one of the last 3 windshields in america from the original oe manufacterer in 2015 before bmw switched to a new company) so I am guessing whatever issues you had were related to poorly done aftermarket glass. But still curious to what you had issues with on the off chance I encounter it anyways.

[jhaurimn]

hope the original lock strip and gasket are going back in. If you planning on going with new stuff RIP to you lol .

I have a brand new windshield, and new gaskets. Installer has done m3 windshields before, what issues did you run into?

[968Reckless]

hope the original lock strip and gasket are going back in. If you planning on going with new stuff RIP to you lol .

[2mAn]

Im glad it wasnt too bad to address.

Rewarding the diving in method of fixing the problem!

[e30austin]

good on you for tackling that job. does not look fun.

A

[jhaurimn]

Good news, was able to fill the one rust hole in the cowl. Was a bit tricky as the metal is thin.


After the hole was fixed, I re-por15'd the fixed spot and a spot i had to grind off for a ground for the welder


Taking NO chances with overspray lol




Aaaand after. Only one spot with the new paint will end up being visible outside of the windshield gasket (which was the one spot I could see before as well). Will be very hard to notice if you dont know its there. Primer was left exposed as I saw this done with CurrusDei's restoration from a high end body shop. Figured they knew what they were doing, so opted to go that route.






Working on getting the sunroof panel straightened out before the windshield is put in. If this doesnt work, I will try a heat gun.

[jhaurimn]

I didnt waste any time getting to work. After grinding off all the adhesive, I was met with mainly surface rust and nothing more. I have the one spot near the drain hole to weld shut, but everything else was ground down to the point that I feel confident it will not get any worse.

These pictures are after I applied por15 metal prep, which turns the rust darker. So it looks a bit worse in these pictures than it really is.






And after por15 is applied.






I have a buddy with a welder who will help me weld the hole next weekend. So I will grind down that section of por15, weld, reapply por15, then will primer and paint everything before putting the new windshield back on.

[econti]

With a bit of gentle wire wheel it'll probably turn out to be pretty OK underneath

[AWDBOB]

ugh I have this looming in my future- glad to see this thing still getting love

[jhaurimn]

Hope its not too bad! Glad to see an update after a year!

thanks bud, look forward watching your mr2 build :)

[2mAn]

Hope its not too bad! Glad to see an update after a year!