Panici's '87 325is E30 - Boosted In Bronze

[Panici]

Got some more solid work done today.

• Two coats of POR15 on the subframe and diff
• Touched up "cardboard" spots on trailing arms with POR15
• Cleaned all the undercoating off the halfshafts, scrubbed with engine degreaser
• Cleaned all undercoating off the pinch seam/bolt subframe plates, scrubbed with engine degreaser
• Degreased random brake line clips, halfshaft diff side bolts

Next on the list is some paint for the halfshafts and pinch seam assemblies, followed by pressing in the rear hubs. In three days (or so) the subframe and diff should be completely cured and ready for re-assembly.
I'm going to hit the small spots (where the zipties sat) with POR15 before the finished assembly is installed in the car.



First coat of POR15 (in the morning)







Visual example of how much undercoat was on these halfshafts. One is scraped here, one is not.





After degreasing






Second coat of POR15 (six hours later)

[Panici]

This subframe refresh just keeps dragging on. I went away for a week so I lost some more time there. I did get a bunch done today even though it was hot.

I'm hoping to get the first coat of POR15 on the subframe and diff tomorrow.

Progress since last update:

• Ground down and re-welded first rear subframe reinforcement bracket.
• Trimmed excess height from first bracket
• Fabbed and welded second bracket, with more precision this time.
  • Again, welds aren't great, but it's stronger then before I started. I'm still very much a MIG n00b
• Removed subframe bushings with my wheel bearing kit. Smoked (burned out) my smaller impact gun in the process
• Drilled through holes for trailing arm mounting point reinforcements
• Removed rust scale from subframe beam
• Suspended subframe and diff from sawhorses
• Prepped for POR15 with degreaser and metal etching

[Panici]

Another hot day today. It actually got up to 42c / 108f today with humidex.
I decided to stay inside and rebuild my Hella ellipsoids instead of trying to work in the heat.

Since I first got them, I completely disassembled, cleaned and removed the silicone mess the previous owner used in place of a new adjuster.
I replaced all of the Ellipsoid adjusters and reconditioned the highbeam adjusters.

The HIDs are estimated to be 5000k or 6000k. They were thrown in for free with the lenses. I am using a set of 50w ballasts I had sitting around.
I had originally planned to run Halogen bulbs, but I can't argue with a free set of HID bulbs!

EDIT: I tested the HIDs for a few minutes, and the backside of the Ellipsoid units got quite hot. I also started to smell a slight plastic burning smell. Possibly the bulbs are 35w units and don't like the 50w ballasts.
It's also possible that the 50w HIDs just create too much heat for the Hella halogen projector housings.
I've ordered a 9006 35w 4300k kit from eBay for $30. If I manage to install the lights before these come, I'll just use standard 9006 halogen bulbs.



These will be a MASSIVE upgrade from my stock sealed beams!
Pictures of cutoff to come when car is back on the road.

[Panici]

Got a little more work done here and there over the past few days.

• Investigated the rusty spots under the car where the subframe normally sits. (Details here)
  • Gave them a coat of Eastwood rust encapsulator for now. Will be redoing the body spots with POR15 when I do the diff and subframe.
• Painted the rear wheel wells with Eastwood rust encapsulator.
• Painted the driveshaft with Eastwood rust encapsulator.
• Made up a reinforcement plate for one side of the subframe beam.
• Welded reinforcement plate in place. Details below.

I started by laying a good bead on the backside of the bracket (centered in the pictures). It has great penetration and is strong.


I can promise you that on the left (pictured) side, the first bead was done with the welder set to 1/8" settings, and had good penetration. It actually blew through the 1/16" in one tiny spot when my travel speed dropped.

I then switched to 1/16" welder settings to successfully fix that blowthrough, and to do all the welding on the inside of the bracket.


On the right (pictured) side, my initial bead at 1/8" settings had some penetration, but it definitely wasn't great. I believe the subframe metal wasn't clean enough, as I wasn't able to get in there really well to get the steel to a mirror finish.



Then for some reason, it all went to pots. My only excuse is the weather, as it's blistering hot today and I was wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt. I was not thinking clearly.

I stacked a bunch of terrible and cold welds over the left and right sides with little to no penetration and the welder still set to 1/16" settings. Again, no idea why I did this.

If I can fit some grinding tools in there, I'll get rid of that terrible stacked cold welding at the sides, and see if I need to do any further welding to make sure it's all strong. I'm thinking a grinding or cutting disk (used gingerly) on an angle grinder with the safety shield removed might fit.

I may need to also trim down the new piece, as it's too tall. Not quite sure why I left so much extra on top?

On the other bracket, I'll be sure to clean the "hot rolled" scale off the inside of the bracket before I bend it (which I neglected to do this time). That should help a little when tack welding to the existing thin metal on the inside. I'll also do a much more thorough job of cleaning the trailing arm metal before I weld.

I obviously also need to drill through holes for the trailing arm mounts.

[Panici]

Unfortunately, I've been busy with other things, and the E30 hasn't had much progress.

I'm going to make a push to have some major work done by the 13th of July, which will be one month exactly since I started the rear end refresh.

------------------------




I installed the FEBI rear differential bushing, using my table vice. I had to finish it up with a big sledgehammer, and the last blow put the bushing about 1mm deeper then I would have liked. It's still fine, just not perfect.

Interestingly enough, the bushing I removed was solid (without the void spaces) of the new/standard bushing, similar to the (now very expensive) Z3 bushing. I wonder if it was previously changed (doubtful), or another hidden feature of the one-year model '87 325is.

I used a paper gasket and a thin bead of black RTV (between the diff and paper gasket) to re-install the cover.






I picked up my driveshaft from getting a u-joint replaced. The shop is the same place I had my flywheel resurfaced and lightened.
Not sure I'm happy with the tack welding of the new joint, as I believe they are supposed to be steaked into position. The shop said this is how they've always done them without issue.
The price was right as well. I paid ~$120cdn, which was great compared to the next closest quote I got for $250, and about an hour further away.






I also bought a new welding helmet.
Although having images of women riding bombs isn't exactly PC these days, I much prefer looking at it to skulls, flames, or greasy figures that the other welding helmets featured.

The auto-dimming, and adjustable darkness are both nice features, and will come in handy with all the bodywork and tack-welding the E30 needs.




--------------

Today's progress (July 7th/16)



Practiced my welding some more on the 1/8" angle iron. I also found a better surface/table to weld upon.
I think I need some more metal of various thicknesses to practice on before I feel comfortable welding on my rear subframe.

Played with the wire speed, as well as hand speed. I also attempted (for the first time) two welds using a pattern rather then a straight bead. I can see why this is used with thicker metal, it gets a lot more heat into the surface and allows greater penetration.

I also attempted a stress test on one of my joints. The surrounding metal bent before the weld, showing the weld is stronger then the other metal. This is what you want!

I had to stop welding after a short while though, as it's 36c (97f) today with humidex. Quite hot to be welding in pants and long sleeves.
















--

I've closed the overhead garage door and opened the man door to the house. Here's hoping the central air can keep up and make the garage temperature bearable, so I can get some more work done this afternoon.

EDIT:
It worked, garage stayed cool and I got some work done.

• Pressed in two of the new Lemförder TA bushings with a c-clamp.
• Installed the driver's side new wheel bearing (+new c-clip).
• Bolted up the reconditioned brake dust shield, after cleaning the threads of POR15 with a tap.

Almost feels like I'm working with new parts!

Tomorrow I aim to at least get the passenger side this far as well.












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July 8th/16

Super hot today. Hit 39c (102f) with humidex. My trick to keep the garage cool (as I did yesterday) didn't work quite so well.

I did get the passenger side trailing arm to the same state as the driver's side though. Bushings, bearing, and brake dust shields. Also threw on the new thinner spring pad.

Also, I found my missing FEBI rear differential bushing.
It was in the freezer! I completely forgot I put it in there. Now I'll have to sell it.

[Roadrunner]

I got the paint from this place called Rondex, it's on Barton street, in east Hamilton. I can't speak to the quality/match of the paint yet, as I haven't used it. I wasn't aware that you can get touchup paint from the dealer, I'll have to pick some of that up.

Thanks, that's good to know! I'm still waiting for the touch up paint to arrive at the dealer, so I'm not sure how much you get or how far it will get me with all the touching up required on my car.

Do you know there is an "Ontario E30s" facebook group? It's quite active as well.

Thanks again for the kind words, hopefully we can meet in person eventually and check out each other's rides!

That would be a lot of fun! I met a couple of guys from the Ontario E30s Facebook group at Tedfest in Mississauga last weekend who asked me to join the group, but I'm not on Facebook and the group didn't come up in a search. I'll send you a PM to get more info about the group - thanks!

[Panici]

Keep up the good work. It'll pay off at the end
Thank you for the words of encouragement! Just like when I swapped the Auto to 5-speed, this rear end refresh is a long process, but it will definitely be worth it in the end.

I can't wait until I have my own garage so that I can work on the car in the winter and drive it during the summer!

Nice to see another E30 in Ontario on r3v! :up:
Yep, it seems most around here are very rusted, I was lucky to find mine locally in such good shape rust-wise.
Do you know there is an "Ontario E30s" facebook group? It's quite active as well.

Mine is the same paint colour, Lachssilber Metallic or salmon silver. Great idea to get custom spray paint - I looked into ordering it online, but ended up just getting touch up paint from the dealer since I didn't know you could get BMW colour matched spray paint locally. May I ask where you got it from?
I got the paint from this place called Rondex, it's on Barton street, in east Hamilton. I can't speak to the quality/match of the paint yet, as I haven't used it.
I wasn't aware that you can get touchup paint from the dealer, I'll have to pick some of that up.

I like your idea of hanging up a big to-do list. I started keeping track of my car-related to-do list tasks on a white board, but whenever I erase one completed task it seems like I have 2 or 3 more to add in its place so the list never shrinks. :-?
Thanks! I've found that when working on a drawn out project, crossing things off helps motivate, because you can see what you've already accomplished.

Have you had any trouble driving it around in Ontario without the front plate? I think it looks way better without it, but don't know how much you would get hassled over it.
So far so good, but my car isn't exactly attention grabbing. I'm thinking when I put on the iS front valance I will be getting more attention and will probably get stopped for it. My plan then is to run a hide-away flip plate which I can tuck away under the valance for pictures or meets.

The houndstooth interior looks great! I've been looking for cloth sports seats locally and they're hard to come by, so you definitely lucked out with them coming with the car. It looks like you've put tons of work into this car and it's really coming along. Keep up the good work! :)
Unfortunately the driver's seat isn't in the best shape, and all the fabric has UV damage. But overall I still prefer it to the common black leather.
Thanks again for the kind words, hopefully we can meet in person eventually and check out each other's rides!

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Not much in terms of updates on the E30 since my last post.

• I did find a local source for a Febi differential bushing, but I have to wait until Monday to get it, because of the Canada Day long weekend.
• I picked up the brackets my friend Kevin made for my iS airdam, along with a welding helmet and gloves.
• I had my first practice session this afternoon with my new MIG welder. I used up the entire "sample" spool of wire.

I am going to need to buy a better welding helmet, I'm pretty sure the one I was using is for stick welding, and isn't dark enough for MIG. I have a headache now after that bit of welding.
Something with an Auto-dim feature would also be essential for all the tack welding I'll need to do on the E30's sheet metal.


I don't think I did too badly, considering this is my first time ever welding.
I also didn't have a smooth surface to prop my hands and drag along while welding. I have the feeling it would help a lot.

Angle iron on the right is the first one I worked on. I started by "pulling" and ended up liking the "pushing" technique better.

[Roadrunner]

Nice to see another E30 in Ontario on r3v! :up:

Mine is the same paint colour, Lachssilber Metallic or salmon silver. Great idea to get custom spray paint - I looked into ordering it online, but ended up just getting touch up paint from the dealer since I didn't know you could get BMW colour matched spray paint locally. May I ask where you got it from?

I like your idea of hanging up a big to-do list. I started keeping track of my car-related to-do list tasks on a white board, but whenever I erase one completed task it seems like I have 2 or 3 more to add in its place so the list never shrinks. :-?

Have you had any trouble driving it around in Ontario without the front plate? I think it looks way better without it, but don't know how much you would get hassled over it.

The houndstooth interior looks great! I've been looking for cloth sports seats locally and they're hard to come by, so you definitely lucked out with them coming with the car. It looks like you've put tons of work into this car and it's really coming along. Keep up the good work! :)

[efficient]

Keep up the good work. It'll pay off at the end

[Panici]

June 28/16

Subframe Refresh: Continued

I'm behind in my updates, let's see if I can get everything in this post.


Updates not pictured below:

• Removed remainder of e-brake cables from body side (that I cut when I removed the subframe)
• Bought brake line "Bubble" flaring tool, brake line cutting tool.
• Bought 25 feet of COPPER 3/16" brake line, along with 10 new fittings.
  • This should be enough length to run a new hardline all the way to the rear from the ABS module, as well as all new hardlines on the subframe.
• I somehow lost my FEBI rear diff bushing. The Corteco one I then bought is 2mm too big. I need to source a FEBI bushing or pay the premium for a BMW one from the dealership.

Lessons in POR15 i've learned thus far:

• Prep metal as per instructions. This means mechanically removing scale, followed by POR15 degreaser, and then POR15 Metal Prep.
• Use thin coats. When applied thick the POR15 doesn't cure properly, and the subsequent 2nd coat bubbles up when applied.
• Expect any surface which makes contact with POR15 to bond with it. This means if you paint on cardboard it will be STUCK to the surface.
  • I had to take the bottom of the TAs cardboard contact points back to bare metal and re-etch with POR15 Metal Prep because of the above.
  • I also have to touch up a couple more cardboard contact spots from when I painted the bottoms. (Didn't learn my lesson the first time.)
• Don't paint in direct sun or bright light, it makes it difficult to see what spots you've missed.
• Don't use cheap paintbrushes, they loose bristles and embed into your POR15 coating. You'll need one new paintbrush per coat, unless you spring for the special POR15 cleaning solvent.

Took off rear shocks and installed Turner Motorsport Rear shock mounts (HP Aluminum/Rubber)









Since I'm getting a lot of use from it, I sprung for some better wheels for my makeshift jack.





First round of differential cleaning/degreasing. Also prepped trailing arms for POR15.







POR15 on the topside







Second round of diff cleaning/degreasing. Also cleaned the brake dust shields which came off my old trailing arms.





Welder on modified tool cart (modified to fit the tank, allow the side panel to open, and the front cables to pass)





Cardboard stuck onto trailing arms after first round of POR15.





Had to grind back down to bare metal, and then re-etch with the POR15 metal prep. :|





Replaced rear differential side seals.





Second round of POR15 on the trailing arms (bottoms this time)





Edge of new diff seal started to tear/catch at one spot, so I pulled it out and put the damage at the top (where it won't be immersed in gear oil). I used some Curil T for good measure around the edge of this damaged seal.





New o-rings





Teeth in the diff all look brand new. I guess that Automatic transmission was good for something, no shock loads to the drivetrain!





Differential cover after cleaning





Pressed out old bushing myself using a vice and my wheel bearing removal kit (which I used earlier to remove the rear wheel bearings)





Painted the backing plates with two coats of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator. (Obviously both sides got two coats each)







Thin subframe tabs cleaned up in preparation for welding/reinforcing.





Rear underbody, still deciding how far I want to take cleaning this up.











Measurement of original diff bushing




Corteco bushing which DOES NOT fit.





To-Do list as of Jun 28. (Ignore terrible handwriting, the angle is awkward to write.)

[Panici]

Are you planning on adding the subframe adjusters & camber correctors?

Nope.

The car will never be low enough to justify the hassle and cost.
I've also heard from Spec E30 guys of the toe adjusters suddenly loosing adjustment mid-corner, or over the course of a race weekend.

I don't want to have to re-align the rear every season, so I'm not making it adjustable.

[2mAn]

Are you planning on adding the subframe adjusters & camber correctors?

[Panici]

Dang, that rear subframe looks bad. Hope you can find a decent used one.

I found a used one, but the guy wants $150 for it. Plus he is a 3 hour drive away (in each direction).

So I decided to attempt to fix my existing subframe. My friend Kevin found a good deal on a new Lincoln Electric Easy-MIG 180, and we split the cost. He is looking into a gas setup, and already has welding gloves and a helmet. Meanwhile, I've wired my garage up with a 30A 240v circuit, and a plug for the welder.

I'll need some major practice before I attempt to weld my subframe, but that's ok because there is a lot of other rear-end refresh stuff to be done meanwhile.


I powerwashed the rear differential, subframe, and wheel wells. It did a decent job of taking off the undercoating, but I'll have to finish up by hand.






I also took some comparison pictures of my 14" iS, 15" iX and 15" Euro basketweaves.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?p=4650742

[efficient]

Dang, that rear subframe looks bad. Hope you can find a decent used one.

[Panici]

June 14/16

Subframe Refresh: Day 2

Separated the major components of the subframe today.

I didn't mess about with the very rusty trailing arm bolts. I scraped off all the crusty rust, and then hit them with the propane torch. Along with plenty of PB blaster in the last few days, they came off without issue.


Discovered that my subframe has some major rust on the outer TA mounting points. I'm going to either have to find a local welder to get them reinforced, or find a replacement subframe.



Driver's side trailing arm off, showing the center locating pieces I had epoxied on in 2014. They were still solidly attached (enough to stop the spring from shifting should the suspension be completely unweighted)








Passenger side trailing arm off





Workspace at the end of the day







Bagged and tagged hardware





Replacement trailing arms compared to the ones that came off the car. Take note of how nice the brake dust shields are on the old arms. I will be reusing these.





Subframe and differential after cleaning up all the dirt and tools. That jack I made up when I did the transmission swap last year, came in handy again today.





And the downer for the day.
Very rusty outer subframe mounts for the trailing arms.
The area was packed with undercoating, which trapped water all these years, and rusted the metal away. Similar to one of my front spring perches, which I replaced back in 2014.