Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

phenryiv1's 1989 325iC Project - SETA 2.7i Swap Complete and Running!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

































    Patrick Henry

    1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


    Comment


      Beautiful!!

      Comment


        Sorry about the poor picture quality.
        Patrick Henry

        1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


        Comment


          Why the color matching trim? And I love that color =)

          Comment


            Originally posted by Luke Girard View Post
            Why the color matching trim? And I love that color =)
            I have always preferred that the bumper trim match the plastic bumpers' color and I find that the waist (and lower body trim, since it is a 'vert) trim being black looks odd with the bumper trim color-matched. It is basically a poor man's MTech appearance by deleting the black accents.

            So with that logic I went ahead and matched it all to the body color. I actually have a spare trunk spoiler in black if I don't like it being blue and if I have to I can scuff and re-paint the trim black but I could not easily head back to the paint shop to have things shot body color if I disliked the black.
            Patrick Henry

            1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


            Comment


              Originally posted by phenryiv1 View Post
              I have always preferred that the bumper trim match the plastic bumpers' color and I find that the waist (and lower body trim, since it is a 'vert) trim being black looks odd with the bumper trim color-matched. It is basically a poor man's MTech appearance by deleting the black accents.

              So with that logic I went ahead and matched it all to the body color. I actually have a spare trunk spoiler in black if I don't like it being blue and if I have to I can scuff and re-paint the trim black but I could not easily head back to the paint shop to have things shot body color if I disliked the black.
              Makes since! Or if you don't like it just find another set in black and have both. =) I can't wait to see the finished result!

              Comment


                Def looks good. Macco or not. Better than the job on my old Mazda truck that I took to a paint shop. Slightly lighter blue than my truck, but a much nicer job.

                Comment


                  Nice! Looks great man, everything is coming together well.
                  sigpic
                  Streetable poly mounts, trans mounts are here!
                  http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...ght=streetable
                  '94 318i
                  '07 335i
                  '11 X5
                  '89 325ic m30b35

                  Comment


                    Thank you. I just got a call from the paint shop that the car is finished. I will be towing it home in the next few days.
                    Patrick Henry

                    1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                    Comment


                      So a bit if frustrating news- the car is still not home. I had stopped by last week to check it out and to take a few pictures (seen above), noting to the shop manager that there were a few unresolved issues. High on my list were the fact that the driver's side fender was on the car but none of the fasteners had been installed so the fender was not aligned. Also, I noticed that I was missing all 8 pieces of body side molding (the "regular" 6 sections and the lower body trim that is specific to convertibles). I also had some frustration of the great paint but lackluster prep on anything that was not specifically spelled out in the initial walk-through and the estimate.

                      I left last week and was assured the next day that everything would be addressed by the weekend so when I got a call Friday telling me the car was ready for pickup I felt pretty comfortable.

                      I got up Saturday morning, skipped my weekly 10-mile training run, hooked up the dolly, and piled up some blankets for all of the small parts. I made the 40-minute drive to the shop and took a look at the car...to find that the only progress had been painting the body moldings.

                      At this point, I also found that my rear valance had fallen off of the stands and been scratched (very, VERY slightly) but that BEFORE paint the front valance had been dented and the damage was pretyt bad. I showed the guy how the "is" lip no longer fit along the bottom line of the valance due to it no longer being flat, how the tabs for attaching the lip were bent at crazy angles, and how the lower line is so bent that the brake duct inserts (and presumably the fog light as well) no longer fit in the opening. He stammered a bit about only being paid for what is on the estimate until I pointed out that I was charged for several hours of restoration work on the valance. They also did some shitty bondo work to "fix" bondo work that I had done before dropping it off. I went back to my earlier pictures just to be sure and it is clear that it now looks worse than when I dropped it off.

                      So just to make this post not entirely negative, the paint work itself is still pretty damn good. I am pissed that I wasted time on a busy weekend and that nothing was done on several of my punch list items, but I am still holding out hope that the end result will be what I want.

                      Here are a few pictures of the parts that I brought home with me (to prevent damage and to get them more space in the shop):





                      Patrick Henry

                      1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                      Comment


                        sorry to hear that the process hasn't worked out as smoothly as one would hope! I bet that's frustrating. It's like they don't know what it's like to have a car you seriously care about. All they want to do is get paid with the least amount of effort put forth.

                        Anyway - hopefully things work out!

                        Comment


                          Dude, I work in a body shop, a good body shop. I've done this work a long time.

                          I would NEVER trust Macco with paint.

                          It's common for their prep to suck, which while the actual spray may look good now, will come back to haunt you in a big way later.

                          In that vein, if a shop doesn't care much for prep, then they are usually pretty lazy, dishonest, greedy, and full of oversight, which is how parts get lost, broken, damaged, etc.

                          You get what you pay for and paint is not worth skimping on.
                          Derek-

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by dereliiict View Post
                            Dude, I work in a body shop, a good body shop. I've done this work a long time.

                            I would NEVER trust Macco with paint.

                            It's common for their prep to suck, which while the actual spray may look good now, will come back to haunt you in a big way later.

                            In that vein, if a shop doesn't care much for prep, then they are usually pretty lazy, dishonest, greedy, and full of oversight, which is how parts get lost, broken, damaged, etc.

                            You get what you pay for and paint is not worth skimping on.
                            So as noted in my earlier post, this particular shop has a good reputation and I had done my due diligence before using them for this vehicle. The paint on previous vehicles has held up very well, but I also don't buy the low-end paint services.

                            That said, It also came down to cost here. Putting a $4K paint job on this car would have been stupid. I DRIVE my cars, so they get scratched, dinged, and chipped. I could not justify the extra expense being asked of other shops in my area, as the BASE cost of a color change was $2500, not counting the body work that I needed to have done. I did what prep work I could do and had to admit defeat on some of the other areas- particularly the driver's side upper frame and the damage below the passenger door. Basic rust was not hard for me to grind and repair but the dents were too much.

                            I certainly get your point and respect your feedback but at some point I had to do a cost benefit analysis when choosing the route to get paint on the car. Only time will truly tell how wise or stupid I was.
                            Patrick Henry

                            1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                            Comment


                              That is completely understandable, and they are in business for a reason.

                              Apologies for coming off condescending, was not my intention. I just have a personal gripe with shops that do not handle their business professionally, gives us all a bad name.

                              Any rate it is looking beautiful. Good work and luck my friend
                              Derek-

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by dereliiict View Post
                                That is completely understandable, and they are in business for a reason.

                                Apologies for coming off condescending, was not my intention. I just have a personal gripe with shops that do not handle their business professionally, gives us all a bad name.

                                Any rate it is looking beautiful. Good work and luck my friend
                                No offense taken, and you are right- so many good shops- paint, mechanical, "tuner" etc. - get a bad name from bad customer service at unrelated shops.

                                I am hoping that they get on the phone with me soon to give me an update. I actually felt a bit bad for the guy who was there on Saturday because he does not call the shots but he had to take the heat.
                                Patrick Henry

                                1989 325iC build: http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=316880


                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X