Panici's long awaited E30
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Who knows how long the floor has been getting wet in the rain.
You'd be surprised at the condition of cars this old, in this area. I've seen cars in worse shape, sell for MUCH more.
I got the car for $500. If I pull the carpets and find the entire car is one big unsalvageable rust hole, I can still easily get my money out of it.
On the other hand, if the rust is manageable, I've got lots of headroom to work with budget wise. (Compared to picking up a car for $2-3k)
I'm not afraid of a little hard work, and it brings me great satisfaction to breathe new life into an old car. :)
I'm in Hamilton for most of the year.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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Thanks guys. I'm going to need that luck pulling up the carpet next week!
Who knows how long the floor has been getting wet in the rain.
You'd be surprised at the condition of cars this old, in this area. I've seen cars in worse shape, sell for MUCH more.
I got the car for $500. If I pull the carpets and find the entire car is one big unsalvageable rust hole, I can still easily get my money out of it.
On the other hand, if the rust is manageable, I've got lots of headroom to work with budget wise. (Compared to picking up a car for $2-3k)
I'm not afraid of a little hard work, and it brings me great satisfaction to breathe new life into an old car. :)
I'm in Hamilton for most of the year.Comment
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....and I thought I had rust issues.... A very common place for holes to form is the bottom of the footwells on both sides, seems to start under accelerator pedal and in same spot on passenger side. Your priority is to deal with water leaks before you attempt any electrical (audio) projects. Running-->driveable-->water leaks/rust holes. The frame rails, front and rear, are separate pieces available from BMW that can be cut out and replaced. Check realorm.com.Comment
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Good to know that those frame rails are separate pieces (and still available!), I will be replacing the driver's side.
In the mean time, I was having visions of a completely disintegrated/nonexistent floor, and HAD to see what was under my driver's side carpet.
It looks much worse in the pictures then it actually is. A lot of what looks like rusty metal is just rusty water/rust covered sound insulation. There is a few holes, but based on some poking around at the areas I could see, the majority of the floor is in one piece! :)
The drivers side rear looks mint, as I suspect the passenger side pans are as well :)
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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Obviously, that's the proper order. I just haven't had a lot of time to spend on big projects on the car. (Taking an Electrical Engineering degree at the same time here). My exams are done on Sunday, at which point I'll be able to tear into the car and get the entire interior apart.
Good to know that those frame rails are separate pieces (and still available!), I will be replacing the driver's side.
In the mean time, I was having visions of a completely disintegrated/nonexistent floor, and HAD to see what was under my driver's side carpet.
It looks much worse in the pictures then it actually is. A lot of what looks like rusty metal is just rusty water/rust covered sound insulation. There is a few holes, but based on some poking around at the areas I could see, the majority of the floor is in one piece! :)
The drivers side rear looks mint, as I suspect the passenger side pans are as well :)
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I don't mean to discourage you, but I think you need to really consider just how much work the car needs, and how much time it'll take, especially if you don't have any fab/metal working skills. I think you'd be much better off taking a road trip to find a cleaner starting point.Comment
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I don't mean to discourage you, but I think you need to really consider just how much work the car needs, and how much time it'll take, especially if you don't have any fab/metal working skills. I think you'd be much better off taking a road trip to find a cleaner starting point.
Believe me, I'm keeping my eyes open for another E30 that's cleaner.
Like I said before, they're becoming very hard to find in this area.
I've seen cars that have more exterior rust (not sure about the floorpans), and body damage., and the owners were asking between $2-4k
If I can find the right car at the right price, I'm not at all opposed.
I cleaned up the floor a little more. Probably about the best I'm going to get it until I'm able to pull the rest of the carpet.
Here's a few pics. And a bonus shot of the driver's side rear pan.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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I don't have any fab/metal working skills, but that's first on my list this summer. Going to get a gas setup for my (barely used) MIG and start practicing! I'm always excited to learn a new skill, and metal working + welding is long overdue.
Believe me, I'm keeping my eyes open for another E30 that's cleaner.
Like I said before, they're becoming very hard to find in this area.
I've seen cars that have more exterior rust (not sure about the floorpans), and body damage., and the owners were asking between $2-4k
If I can find the right car at the right price, I'm not at all opposed.
I cleaned up the floor a little more. Probably about the best I'm going to get it until I'm able to pull the rest of the carpet.
Here's a few pics. And a bonus shot of the driver's side rear pan.
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ughh i dont know how you do it... That car wouldnt be worth it to me... So much rust it hurts to look at it haha Good luck!1988 e30 alpine white vert 5speed
1987 e30 325 eta
1983 e28 533
2001 x5 4.4l
1997 e36 M3 Alpine white 5speed
1991 Jeep XJ I6 4.0Comment
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Here's hoping that the rest of the floor is not as bad. Or that another E30 comes my way that is cleaner!
Until then I'll continue to fix this one. :)Last edited by Panici; 04-16-2014, 05:30 PM.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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Writing my last final exam this evening. Decided to procrastinate for half an hour and wire in my stock radio (w/custom AUX input).
It's more powerful then the little amp I had in there for testing, and it'll do the job for now (music while I wrench on the car) until I can build something better.
Bought some used early tails from Boltspeedman the other day, as both of mine are broken, and missing the gaskets (letting a little water into the trunk).
Also, just ordered a set of delete panels for the radio and OBC from jaywood. (and a gauge OBC panel)
The dash plan:
-Use the stock headunit for now, and delete the broken OBC.
-When I install my oil pressure gauge, put that in the OBC location.
-Eventually when I build my custom amp setup, put the switches in the blank OBC panel.
--I'll then drill out a gauge hole in the blank radio delete. I'll leave room to add two more holes and gauges in the radio delete panel in the future.
Last edited by Panici; 04-19-2014, 09:59 AM.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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It's literally a full day's work for one person to remove the dash+heater box. What a day!
-Got the dash apart and out.
-Took out the heater box. (Had to cut two bolts in a very tight space, what a PITA)
-Got the carpets out.
A few rust holes on the passenger side floor, and one spot that has been previously repaired.
It looks like most/all of the driver's floorboard water is coming through the rotted heater box/gasket. I used packing tape to seal up the cowl vents for now.
No wonder it was never fixed, It'd be an expensive job to have a shop pull the dash, heater box, fix the rust, and then put the entire interior back together.
Too bad it wasn't taken care of though, because then I wouldn't be redoing the entire driver's side floor.
Also, found some tree nuts in the driver's side subframe rail. Must have been a small animal living in there at some point!
Last edited by Panici; 04-21-2014, 05:05 PM.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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Tore into the floor today. I have a good idea of how bad it is now, going to start cutting out the rust tomorrow.
Also, attempted to jack from the front of the subframe, and heard that lovely crunching noise. Check out the angle of the control arm mount :o
Car is officially unsafe to drive now. Going to have to rebuild that section of subframe, and make a new control arm mount.
Last edited by Panici; 04-24-2014, 04:02 PM.
'87 BMW E30 325is Turbo
'99 BMW E36 M3 - - - '98 BMW E36 328iComment
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