323i restoration

[BurakB]

Started tearing down the block as I wait to build my rotisserie.




Had to go to work before the head came off, should handle that tomorrow and then have geeze at the state of the pistons and head gasket.

[2002jm]

nice build

Will be watching this build. I have a 323i 1985 and I am learning some good things from this thread. Could you fix the pictures in the first post:)?
jm

[Zreberlcoe]

Rotisserie? Sub'd. What's the color? Calypso?


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[BurakB]

Will be watching this build. I have a 323i 1985 and I am learning some good things from this thread. Could you fix the pictures in the first post:)?
jm

Cheers! It's been a massive learning experience for me. Haven't pulled apart since highschool automotive which was about 6 years :-?. What pictures are you referring to? Just had a look and I can see them so not sure what to fix.

[BurakB]

Rotisserie? Sub'd. What's the color? Calypso?


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Yeah I'm gonna build a rotisserie as I want to strip the undercoat and need to weld some stuff up, building a rotisserie for the car would help massively! Nah the original color is Karmirot, which I think looks like poo so I want to go a original e30 blue.

[BurakB]

Pulled the head to have a look around.





Can't seeing anything too bad considering it's done 200,000+ km's. Need to see if the gasket was f'd or the cylinder head is cracked.

The steel that will become rotisserie when I can be arsed to build it :p

[2002jm]

pictures

Cheers! It's been a massive learning experience for me. Haven't pulled apart since highschool automotive which was about 6 years :-?. What pictures are you referring to? Just had a look and I can see them so not sure what to fix.

The first 5 pictures in the first post are showing on my computer as little green boxes:).
Will be keeping a close eye on what you are doing so as to learn about my car:).
Looks like a great project!!
jm
Also, could you take a picture of the side view of the driver side of the block and the head. I want to see what holes are on the engine. Will help me in repairs of mine. And, I would keep the car the original color, seems to be rare and would make the car worth more if you sell it.....
thanks,
jm

[BurakB]

The first 5 pictures in the first post are showing on my computer as little green boxes:).
Will be keeping a close eye on what you are doing so as to learn about my car:).
Looks like a great project!!
jm
Also, could you take a picture of the side view of the driver side of the block and the head. I want to see what holes are on the engine. Will help me in repairs of mine. And, I would keep the car the original color, seems to be rare and would make the car worth more if you sell it.....
thanks,
jm

Here's some pics of the car before the stripping occurred.










I'm not really concerned with the resale value as I plan on keep the car indefinitely, the original color isn't really nice and a good M3 blue would look nice but when it gets to paint then I'll paint a few test panels to see what looks best.

[2002jm]

good pictures

Thanks for those pictures. Yes, if you are keeping it, paint it the color you like:).
I just thought that color looked pretty good.
keep up the good work; good to see another 323i get some love...
jm

[BurakB]

Cheers mate! Just saw a blue e30 at the BMW museum last year in Munich that I fell in love with. Just need to get my are into gear and do as much as I can while I have time.

[BurakB]

Finally have some updates on the build, been busy teaching myself how to TIG weld.....Which felt like I'd be crap forever!

Here's some pic of the rotisserie that I've nearly finished..



















Welding all that up gave me so much experience in controlling heat and managing my puddle. Next up is to finish the rotisserie and hook the car up to it and start soda blasting the crap out of it and cutting out rust and welding it up.

[BurakB]

Taking my sweet time....

Through my massive post uni degree break I sort of dragged my feet with the car.... Upon finding out I'd gotten a grad job at a massive fastening company in Melbourne, it made me kick my self into gear and get some stuff done. I'll let the picture do the talking..

Finally got my rotisserie finished and painted



Just trying the figure out the best way to mount the bracket on the car without damaging the body..





Started welding the body where rust was a serious problem













Still need to smooth over some parts and maybe do another weld pass.... This was probably the hardest part to weld as getting it sit in place and not move was a challenge and then welding it another!!







Fun fact about the donor piece going in. The replacement piece had a lot less rust on it that got cut out, whilst trying to figure out how to bend and shape a new piece to weld; I'd gotten wildly frustrated with my lack of skill. 5 minutes later dad come walking in a uses a panel beating hammer and dolly + blowtorch and shapes within a couple of minutes











I know the weld's aren't the best but with my tig welder not being able to use a pedal controller, I'd often have to do a couple cold weld to now blow holes in the metal.

Whilst the welding was happening I thought I'd strip the interior of any paint and insulation to find more rust and surely I did





This stuff worked wonders stripping paint!



After I've got all my welding done I'll be taking the car to a sandblaster to have it stripped so I can get it ready for under-sealing and paint :D:D:D Any comments and suggest are welcomed!

[BurakB]

Haven't posted anything in a quite sometime due to work. After some time I took it upon myself to build a proper work bench. TIG welded up a frame out of 65mm box section steel.



Whilst building my work bench I sent the E30 off to a body shop; guy does amazing work! Walked around the shop and Ford GT40 replica in the shop that was in the process of a full resto. Some shots of the car back with a whole new firewall and battery tray delete.











With the car back it was time for me to pull my finger out and start doing some body work to get the project moving forward. Started by stripping back the car.











Pretty happy with this also!



Scored it for free from my boss at my old job before he closed down the go-kart track.

Also had time to work on my valve cover.







Finished product....

[BurakB]

Found the color also I'm going to paint the car. Was walking one day in Toorak (If you're from Melbourne you'll know the sort of cars that occupy area) and saw a new M4 in this blue and it absolutely blew me away.



With this color in mind I went to a paint shop that my body shop recommended. Got a quote for 5lt of paint, clear, undercoat, 2pack respirator and more for $1600. Decided to go with De Beer's paint products for the project as I saw the results of this paint on some motorbike tanks and was amazed at the depth and shine from the paint.

[Court M3]

Nice progress, I want another 323i