It Begins: My First E30 (brilliantrot 318is content)

[TeXJ]

buy febreeze, the best stuff for getting smells out.

[Codym42]

Car now has glovebox and carpet. Glovebox install went more smoothly than I thought - my used one that I bought here on the forum came with the hinge plate already attached so it was already nicely aligned.

Cleaning the used 325i carpet I got was a PITA, and it still smells a bit mildewy even after pressure washing it, drying it, then applying vinegar/baking soda. Don't know what else to try at this point, maybe another round of baking soda.

Feels great to have carpet/sound deadening since this car is my DD. Interior is coming along nicely. I'm done with the interior for a while for now - at some point I'll address the lack of headliner and rattles - mostly from the glass sunroof. I'm not 100% sure, but I think my car's glass moonroof is an aftermarket - or at least dealer - installed setup. So somebody actually cut a hole in the roof of a slicktop to install this thing - I'm tempted to remove all the sunroof parts and plug the hole, though I'm not enthused with the idea of there being body filler on the roof. Could always try to find a slicktop roof skin and weld it in like the factory does, but that seems excessive. Not sure what I'm going to do at this point.

I have a 318is with an aftermarket moonroof too. It's bothered me ever since I got the car. I finally rewired it and got the shade reupholstered last year and its been working good. Every once in a while it will get stuck for a minute and also the seal is shrinking. I'm hopefully getting the car painted soon and am considering a sunroof delete.

I found a shop that says they will weld in a patch panel (steel factory e30 sunroof panel) and smooth it over with filler and also paint the entire car. It costs a lot for them to weld the roof though. Thin metal is easy to warp. I'm kinda nervous about it but the shop seems to have experience with restorations.

Maybe call around and get some quotes if you're serious about it.

[c0rbin9]

I wedged some foam on the corners of the sunshade and it's a whole lot better. Sunroof delete won't come until way down the road for this car... thanks for the info.

Just bought this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JSP-91102-BMW-3-Series-E30-Rear-Spoiler-Primed-1982-1994-Factory-Style-/272308912033?hash=item3f66e03fa1:g:pzsAAOSw0fhXiRZI&vxp=mtr

Wish me luck. Don't worry, won't drill the original trunk lid to mount it - looking for a suitable Brillantrot one currently.

Edit: Codym42 - if your sunroof stops intermittently, it may be the switch. When mine got stuck for a while that was the issue.

[c0rbin9]

Grungy old BBS RZ378s currently being refinished by my man in Poland:



After cleaning:

[MR E30 325is]

Excellent stuff!

It's always a bit upsetting to find out that the car you just bought is not in quite the condition you thought it was in when you were initially checking it out (the same situation I am in at the moment), but you are taking it head on and getting the job done.

[Codym42]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try the switch if it gets stuck again.

I'm interested in seeing how the eBay spoiler looks. I've been eyeing the mtech1 replicas on there I but may just keep my pfeba.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

[industrious]

Looking great Corbin :up: keep it up!

[c0rbin9]

Brief Memorial Day weekend update on the 318is. Decided on a whim that the car needed a full detail, so I did a full wash, clay bar, and wax. Ended up using Turtle Wax ICE synthetic wax - we'll see how long it lasts. Not too happy with the selection of detailing supplies from the local auto parts store - I would have rather ordered a professional grade sealant online, which I think would last longer, but that would have meant waiting for shipping.

Rear spoiler ordered from eBay (JSP brand) arrived last week and I'm really happy with the quality! It was only $99, the style is exactly what I was looking for, and it comes with all required hardware, great mounting instructions (including an ingenious method for drilling the holes in the correct spot using removable plastic strips), and seemed high quality.

Here are a few pics, including one of the spoiler placed on the trunk unmounted for kicks.

Actually looks like my phone is broken, will update later with pics. Hopefully this text update satisfies you guys in the meantime.

[mike.bmw]

Great progress! Keep it up!

[stonea]

I love that ebrake boot! I tired to buy one a while back but he went MIA and never got back to me.

[c0rbin9]

Pics of spoiler:

Here is what was included in the package: mounting hardware, instruction manuals (no ENGRISH), foam padding, spoiler.







I really like the style of it - I looked for a long time for a subtle pedestal-type spoiler like this before stumbling across this one on eBay. I would have paid much more for it - the fact that it is available for $99 is icing on the cake.

[c0rbin9]

RE: "stitched" going MIA - you may want to reach out to him again with a polite message. I had to reach out several times after a few false starts to actually get the boots. I'm guessing he does the upholstery work as a side business/hobby, and so isn't always available/responsive.

[c0rbin9]

Here's a link to the spoiler if anyone is interested:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JSP-91102-BMW-3-Series-E30-Rear-Spoiler-Primed-1982-1994-Factory-Style-/272308912033?hash=item3f66e03fa1:g:pzsAAOSw0fhXiRZI&vxp=mtr

Few more pics:

You can see quite clearly from this test mount that the rear spoiler is going to be pimpin'.



Here's some fun bullshit from the previous owner. The reason the kick panel trim piece isn't installed is because it doesn't fit over the oversized woofer, which was installed by sloppily drilling new holes in the chassis metal and screwing in with wood screws. On the plus side, having carpet is awesome.