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

[gnmzl]

Super excited about this, this really is insane
Happy you can enjoy it until bad weather hits.

[econti]

It may look like shit, but now you won't be afraid to wheel the car harder than before.
I'm so glad you decided to fix it. These cars are easier to repair than most people think.

[moatilliatta]

The frown on my face after taking a few days going through the thread just to find out the deja vu cycle, but now excited to see its being broke. Love seeing the continued hard work to revive the car, and doing most all the work yourself!

Quite interesting how far you've gone with a rusty holes though... As much I used to think those should be chopped up, Its kind of changed my mind recently how far people go to revive these cars. And maybe its just comes with the age of the chassis and the price point they are going.

I have an 87 Lachs with holes in my chassis... the common LR trunk, and front jack points, Trans tunnel passenger... But being that far up north its got to be hard to find one better.

Its like seeing the old school cars and guys weld in every panel of the car and go, SHIT! that is a lot of work... E30's probably headed in similar direction.


I forgot to quote about being alone after marriage.., Psh still got the E30!

I see guys get married all the time and the ones that usually still stay into the cars... remain with the cars, with or without the wife afterwards... Its a passion for insanity. :)

[MR E30 325is]

Hell yes man, excellent news!

[Panici]

Super excited about this, this really is insane.
Happy you can enjoy it until bad weather hits.

Me too! Going to put the interior back in tomorrow, and enjoy driving it for a few weeks.
After that I have big plans for this winter to look forward to.
Wait until you guys see what parts I have waiting for me down in the USA. :D

now you won't be afraid to wheel the car harder than before.

Rest of the car is still mint, wouldn't want to slam it into a wall or anything. And I do plan to fix that quarter properly down the road.

The frown on my face after taking a few days going through the thread just to find out the deja vu cycle, but now excited to see its being broke. Love seeing the continued hard work to revive the car, and doing most all the work yourself!

Quite interesting how far you've gone with a rusty holes though... As much I used to think those should be chopped up, Its kind of changed my mind recently how far people go to revive these cars. And maybe its just comes with the age of the chassis and the price point they are going.

I have an 87 Lachs with holes in my chassis... the common LR trunk, and front jack points, Trans tunnel passenger... But being that far up north its got to be hard to find one better.

Its like seeing the old school cars and guys weld in every panel of the car and go, SHIT! that is a lot of work... E30's probably headed in similar direction.


I forgot to quote about being alone after marriage.., Psh still got the E30!

I see guys get married all the time and the ones that usually still stay into the cars... remain with the cars, with or without the wife afterwards... Its a passion for insanity. :)

Thanks for the detailed read!

I've done everything myself the past six years, except for two alignments, and now having that rear frame/quarter pulled out.
Yeah the rust is definitely region dependent. I actually bought this car primarily because of the lack of rust. The first E30 I bought had structural rust so bad that I broke it for parts (it was unsafe). For more reading on that car see "The Backstory" section on Post 1 of this page.

It was a real blow what happened to my marriage, but good news is that the divorce is in process, and like you said the E30 kept me grounded and in one piece!

Keep up the good work.

Ask and you shall receive!




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Window Tints, Sound Deadening/Heat Insulation Round 1


Figured while I had most of the interior removed, might as well take the rest out and get the windows tinted!
I mainly wanted to reduce the heat in the summertime, and also keep the UV away from my houndstooth interior.
I went with 3M Ceramic IR window tint all around. It's supposed to provide "infrared heat rejection", we will see come summer 2021!

Went with their lightest option on the windshield (70% light transmission), and the second lightest on the side and rear windows (50% light transmission).
Brought it to a shop since the whole interior was out, I wasn't worried about them damaging anything (and I don't have the patience to apply large stickers, forget about tint!)

The tint looks much darker in these pictures then it does in person, I'll get some better ones when the car is outside.
The change is subtle! It looks like modern OEM glass that new cars have, instead of the oldschool "fishbowl" blue glass.


----


I've had this HushMat sitting in my basement for a while, so I decided to try it out in a limited quantity. Went with this stuff as it blocks heat, noise, doesn't smell/offgas, and it sticks like crazy (no panel prep needed).
My goal here was to reduce panel resonance (aka oil canning) by adding some deadening to the larger flat surfaces. I also added some inside the doors (not pictured).
The only spot I applied continuous/slightly overlapping HushMat was the driver's side of the trans tunnel, where my aim is primarily heat reduction.

I call this "Round 1", as I may go back and add additional material in the future. For now I wanted to see if I could make any improvements without adding a bunch of weight laying down continuous sheets. Also wanted to keep it off the floor until I've replaced all the seals and I'm sure the car is 100% watertight.



EDIT: Interior reinstalled except for the door cards (tint needs to dry for 3 days).
Hard to get a good shot of the refinished rear cargo shelf, but it looks loads better then before!




















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[Panici]

Tinted Taillights


Managed to wash the E30 before the rain hit this afternoon.
Also took the hood back off and went to my vertical air filter setup.
I'm going to tune my MAT Compensation Table this week now that we have cooler fall air.

The OEM taillights were driving me crazy even as a temporary setup, so I tinted a spare set.
I only meant to take some of the brightness away, but the VHT Niteshades always goes on heavier then you expect!

The lamps are still very visible with the LED bulbs, and I've switched to an LED third brakelight now as well.

Still happy I switched to 20mm rear spacers. Sitting nicer then the 15mm.

[Panici]

Lighting Upgrades

• Added a second trunk light.
• Upgraded the highbeam bulbs to LED
  • Aukee 5000lm 6000k (6x CSP Diodes)
• Wired the highbeams so I can turn them on whenever I like.
  • Made a DIY Thread here: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...e-used-as-drls
• Upgraded side markers to LED
  • Auxito 200lm (24x 3014 Diodes).
  • They are bright enough to actually cast light on the ground!
  • I played with the exposure to get some pictures which closely resemble the light output. Yes my front amber lights are actually that bright, they've been previously upgraded to LED as well. Can easily pull into a dark garage with the headlights off.

Went for a four hour drive today, enjoying the last of the nice weather.


Don't mind my Fast and Furious underglow.
Had some spare LED strip lighting from redoing my PC, and threw it on the car for a laugh.
Won't be staying on the car, might as well have a big sign saying "Pull me over!".

[Panici]

2-Step Launch Control


Learning about 2-Step Launch Control available on the MS3X, and playing with the Advanced Limiter Settings
Video speaks for itself!

[brutus]

, hiya,,
oh man wot a beauty !

[Panici]

, hiya,,
oh man wot a beauty !

Thank you! It's coming along that's for sure!





Post #325 - Doors Seals, Spare Quarter Panel, Custom Wideband


Driving with the windows up in the fall, I heard quite a bit of wind noise. So I replaced my door seals with some eBay specials and adjusted the driver's door.

Went with my friend Thomas (pictured) to cut a quarter panel out of a parts car. Special mention to Matija who straight up gave me the panel for free!
I have separated most of the inner and outer panel now. Quite a few spot welds to drill out!

I cut up my Innovate brand wideband gauge, defrost switch, and did some soldering. The end result is a custom wideband that matches my voltmeter nicely!

Oh, and did I mention the motor is out of the car again?...

[gnmzl]

Wow quite a bit of progress! Excited to see the next stage of the quarter panel repair, the new piece seems to be in very good condition.
Why the engine out though? Engine bay shave?

[Albie325]

Why the engine out though? Engine bay shave?

Was thinking the same thing...

Pumped you found what looks to be a really nice rear quarter, looking forward to seeing you get it installed

[econti]

So so so glad to see you're fixing it properly. This is great

[Panici]

Wow quite a bit of progress! Excited to see the next stage of the quarter panel repair, the new piece seems to be in very good condition.
Why the engine out though? Engine bay shave?

Pumped you found what looks to be a really nice rear quarter, looking forward to seeing you get it installed

So so so glad to see you're fixing it properly. This is great

Thanks guys!
Unfortunately the new piece wasn't all that great once I tore into the rotted lower section. May still be able to use cuts from the panel though.


Engine is out to prepare the car for paint! Changing the colour, so naturally wanted to match the engine bay.






Paint Prep Round #1 - Colourmatched Trim, Quarter Hood, Rust Repair, Rear Valance


Picked up a set of prepainted trim. Going to have these colourmatched to the body, figured it would be less work for the bodyshop rather then smoothing out the black plastic pieces. I can also go back to the black trim if I don't like the matched trim.

Grabbed a spare hood at the same time, and proceeded to make it into a quarter hood. Great way to show off the engine bay without spoiling the lines of the front of the car with the rad support.
Will obviously be painting the original full hood as well so I can switch back as needed. Shaved the roundel on the quarter hood.

Filled the license plate mounting holes, one of which was rusting out. This was especially annoying as the thin 24ga metal kept blowing through.


Finally got to mounting the rear valance I've had for at least a few years. I drilled some mounting holes where the piece is supposed to sit on euro-bumper cars. Also modified my DB trim pieces to fit.

I stepped back and decided that I didn't like where the valance was sitting, it didn't even hide the spare tire well. So I drilled a new mounting hole on the driver's side and took some more pictures.
Unfortunately when I attempted to drill out the new passenger side mounting hole, the drill bit crunched through some rust I didn't even know was there!
I guess it's a good thing as I can fix the spot now before it gets worse.

Since I dropped the mounting location, my carefully cut DB trim now doesn't line up at all, has a couple big square holes in the front.
I've ordered a plastic welder/hot stapler to attempt a fix.

See the composite picture below for the difference in mounting locations. Top two pictures are the original spots, bottom two are mocked up at my new desired location.

[Albie325]

Hey I recognize that rear valance! Was wondering if you ever planned to install it or had sold it.