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Big Al's Revenge: an OEM+, MTech1 325e restoration

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    Got a bunch of random stuff knocked out last weekend.

    Started by separating my side view mirrors for paint, otherwise there's no way I'd be able to cover them completely without some of the black plastic being visible. They are held together with a long tubular rivet, you need to drill out the rivet to release the spring underneath. To reconnect them, you basically need a new rivet and a special tool to roll the edge back in place:



    Inside view:



    I found it easiest to drill out the outer end of the rivet with a stepped bit:



    The rolled end of the rivet will eventually pop off and you can then pull out the rivet and separate the two halves. For whatever reason, the driver's side had an extra washer in addition to the rivet and spring, while the passenger side had no washer.



    The mirror housings had some rock chips so I decided to prime them in high-build so I could sand them out:





    These got 4 total coats so I will wait to paint them until they have some time to gas out for a bit, should be ready by this weekend after some sanding. The remainder of the odds and ends I have left to paint were pretty much ready to be scuffed and painted.

    For the vent window trim pieces, they had a little rubber pad on the back bottom corner to prevent vibrations against the car, the rubber was completely shot. Luckily, I found an almost identical product on Amazon to replace them:





    They were 0.75" sound system pads, here's a link:



    I also bought MTech specific trunk springs, they're a little beefier than the regular springs to accommodate the larger spoiler:







    Scuffed these up and then got everything cleaned, sanded and prepped:





    And painted:







    So now all I have left to paint is the mirror housings and we're done!

    Next, I used some gummi pflege to recondition the windshield gaskets:



    They were in overall excellent shape for being 30 years old, but had developed some chalkiness to them:



    I got the seals pretty soaked in the liquid and then used a microfiber towel to scrub away the residue. Here's how it comes out:



    They look brand new!

    Then I reglued the headliner in place so that I could install the windshield gaskets. I used this contact adhesive, it worked great:



    I must have deleted the pic of the rear headliner going in, but here's a good link explaining how to go about it:



    Start with the rear windshield area from the center out and work your way down the back of the C-pillar. I used some small clips to hold in place for about an hour or so until the cement set enough to hold on its own, then I installed the rear windshield gasket to hold it in place as I continued to the rest of the car:



    As the above link explains, the order for gluing the liner in is:
    • Rear windshield and rear C-pillar
    • Front C-pillar and top of the vent windows
    • Front windshield
    • Sunroof (if present)
    • Top of the doors
    I wanted the window gaskets in because I scheduled an appointment with Safelite for a new windshield after I cracked the old one while removing it. This is the second time I've used them for windshield glass (replaced my E46 windshield a few years ago) and they are awesome. The tech that installed the windshield was the man and he even offered to install the rear windshield glass free of charge. Installed new lock strips and new chrome lock strip covers, they look SO much better than they used to!












    '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

    Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

    Comment


      fabulous work. looks amazing 🙌💯
      88 325is. S54, CSL airbox, Motec M800, Motec C127, Motec PDM15, Stoptech STR, MCS 2 way coilovers, Forgeline wheels, Recaro SPA, Eisenmann, Personal, lots of custom.

      90 318is. As new OEM+, BBS LM, AST 4210 2 way coilovers, Wilwood SL6R/SL4R, Dynaudio, Recaro Experts

      Comment


        Great work! I am almost done with my headliner install. The sunroof area is the hardest part for sure
        1989 325i LS Swap (Money Pit):https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=244933
        COTM Feb 2019: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=428404

        Comment


          Originally posted by burkey001
          fabulous work. looks amazing 🙌💯
          Thank you sir! Have been loving your updates lately as well, your car is going to be phenomenal

          Originally posted by Pootis
          Great work! I am almost done with my headliner install. The sunroof area is the hardest part for sure
          Thanks! Luckily I didn't have to remove the liner from the sunroof, it looks like it would have been a real pain

          In addition to getting the glass in last weekend, I needed to get the front driver's side tow hook cut off in order for the MTech front valance to fit. There's only a tow hook cutout on the passenger side of the valance, as you'll (hopefully) see in a post coming soon!





          Coated the bare metal in epoxy to seal it. Wanted to get that done prior to mounting the euro 772 valance:

          Got everything all cleaned up from all the sanding dust and overspray:



          Fit like a glove:





          Then I got to work on getting the paint cut and buffed. I started by using a tungsten carbide blade to cut out any dust nibs. Its a pretty awesome tool, and pricey, about $100 but man does it work well:





          The edge is slightly beveled and acts as a "blade" that is equivalent to a 2500 grit sand paper:



          You lay the blade down flat on the surface and gently rub it over any dust dibs or runs and it shaves them down flat with ease:





          I started on the roof, I figured it best to start at the top and work my way down to prevent scratching up any areas that you've already cut and polished. After using the blade on all the dust nibs I moved on to 3M Trizact 1500 folllowed by 3000 grit wet sandpaper on a DA sander to correct the orange peel. Next I followed up with Mequiar's M100 mirror glaze pro speed compound and finished up with Mequiar's M210 ultra pro finishing polish:



          Starting out with the 1500:





          I probably could have started with 1000 grit by hand to make it go faster, but REALLY didn't want to cut through the clear.

          Here's how it looked after leveling with 1500:



          After 3000 grit it starts to get a bit of reflection in it:



          After the cutting compound on a cutting foam pad at ~2000rpm:



          And after the finishing polish on a finishing pad at ~1500rpm:





          It was hard to capture the difference between cutting compound and polish in the pics, but the finish was WAY more uniform and glossy. I've never used a buffer before and I'll have to go back over a few spots that I missed, but I was very pleased with the initial effort, and I didn't burn through the clear!

          The roof and hood had the worst of the peel just because the roof was the hardest to reach and was the largest (and first) part of the car I painted. The hood was nice and shiny off the gun initially, but I sprayed an extra coat on it because I mixed a little too much clear and I rushed the last coat to avoid any runs and it came out a little dry. By the looks of how the roof came out, the hood should be no problem, hope to get a nice chunk of the car buffed out this weekend. I'll also get to installing the new ABS pump and re-bleeding the brakes, and also hope to get the door lock cylinders rebuilt so I can re-mount the doors and keep as much of the compound out of the interior as possible, it gets friggin everywhere.

          Last edited by Albie325; 09-30-2020, 08:33 PM.
          '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

          Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

          Comment


            Wow! That looks fantastic - especially after the buffer LOVE this thread!

            Comment


              Quick update:

              Ended up getting the new ABS pump installed:



              While it was out of the way, I went and swapped out the smiley city light bulb connectors with new ones. The old ones were functional but cracked:








              Old vs. Newm pump:



              All buttoned up:



              Next, I wanted to get started on buffing out more panels but the more I buff, the more I keep getting compound in the trunk and interior. Instead, I decided it best to get the doors, trunk, and remaining glass back in the car to keep everything clean. Prior to being able to do that, I needed to rebuild all the lock cylinders with new kits:



              I didn't do a full writeup of this process as there are already some really good DIY's out there if you google, my favorite was this one:

              https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...ehk5s-3dig9-2O

              It outlines only the driver's door rebuild but it is essentially the same process for all the cylinders. The key differences for the door locks are:

              The driver's door lock has 6 and 5 key shims while the passenger and trunk cylinders have 4 and 3. The extra 2 shims on the drivers door I believe are for the central locking mechanism. Also, the newer driver's side mechanism uses a roller bearing rather than a ball bearing but otherwise assembles the same way as the old one. The passenger side lock was essentially identical to the old style.

              There was a difference in the old and new style trunk lock, however. The piece that connects the lock to the actuator in the trunk was a 2-piece design with a spring and C-clip on the old style, the new style is a 1-piece design with no internal spring:





              The spring in this pic is not present in the new lock kit:







              I swapped that little white plastic piece over to the new connector. I should have taken a few more pictures to make this more evident, I think I'll get the parts back out and edit this post with some when I have a chance.

              The only other difference I noticed with the trunk lock is that once I got the new one installed, I found that there was no spring in the lock that brings the lock back to the neutral position once you turn it to unlock the trunk. With the old lock, if I remember correctly, you would put the key in, and turn the key clockwise 90 degrees to unlock the car, and upon letting go of the key the internal spring would bring the key back to the neutral position without you having to turn it back manually. With the new lock, if you turn the key clockwise to unlock the car, it will stay turned 90 degrees. To bring it back to neutral, you have to manually turn it back. The new lock kit didn't contain an internal spring, and there wasn't one on the picture for the assembly diagram so it's not like it was missing. I found this a little strange, but it worked once installed so I don't really care too much about it. Wondering if anyone else has the same issue.

              Rebuilding the locks is not hard at all, my only advice is to take plenty of pictures of everything prior to disassembly. Most of the parts can only go back together one way. Total time for all three locks was about an hour-hour and a half and I was taking my sweet time.

              All buttoned up:





              Last, I've been searching for a properly sized "filler" for the hole in the rear trunk panel for the rear turn signal wires. After trying several BMW hole plugs that didn't quite fit, I ended up settling on these:





              Fit nice and snuggly, will scuff and seal/paint them and then install them with some seam sealer to keep the water out of the trunk.

              For now I'm off to CT, will be getting married this coming weekend so am out of the garage until next week. I ended up getting the doors and trunk mounted but didn't have time to take many pics, will update with that once I'm back.


              Last edited by Albie325; 10-05-2020, 04:37 PM.
              '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

              Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

              Comment


                Subscribed. I'm just undertaking an '84 325e project and your build is fantastic.

                Comment


                  Congrats on getting hitched!
                  E30 320i vert
                  But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Albie325 View Post

                    I was at the local BMW dealer the other day getting the F82 its annual service so decided to stop by the parts department. I ended up ordering two new keys as well as a new VIN sticker, was expecting it to take 6 weeks+. This was on a Tuesday.
                    How much was the simple key without the light? $80?
                    What kind of documentation did the dealer want to verify you as the owner?

                    Comment


                      Originally posted by OBD2
                      Subscribed. I'm just undertaking an '84 325e project and your build is fantastic.
                      Glad you enjoy it, hope you find it helpful. Good luck with the build!

                      Originally posted by Tzantushka
                      Congrats on getting hitched!
                      Thanks brother!

                      Originally posted by Vincenze
                      How much was the simple key without the light? $80?
                      What kind of documentation did the dealer want to verify you as the owner?
                      With a 15% CCA discount the keys were:

                      Lighted Master: $124.41 ($143 list)
                      Spare: $60.61 ($70 list)

                      For the keys, I needed to present my driver's license and title of the car. For the new VIN sticker I had to present a picture of the old one on the car and fill out a form explaining why I needed a new one. I don't think you'll have to do that for just a new key though.
                      '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                      Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                      Comment


                        Originally posted by Albie325 View Post
                        I needed to rebuild all the lock cylinders with new kits:

                        Did you build the doors & trunk cylinders to match the glove box and ignition? I desperately need to do this, and am thinking whether I should build off a worn ignition key or rebuild all 5 cylinders to a VIN cut. I'd love your opinion given you recent adventure.
                        Paynemw
                        1986 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - Sold!
                        the ebb and flow of 325is ownership - In RVA
                        1988 BMW 535is - RIP but my dream BMW

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by Paynemw
                          Did you build the doors & trunk cylinders to match the glove box and ignition? I desperately need to do this, and am thinking whether I should build off a worn ignition key or rebuild all 5 cylinders to a VIN cut. I'd love your opinion given you recent adventure.
                          All the locks in the car were the original locks, so they already matched the ignition and glove box. When rebuilding the locks, you're essentially using the numbered tumblers from the new kit and matching them in order to the old tumblers already in the car, so they should still match the ignition and glove box since the numbers/order will be identical to what they already were. You're not rebuilding the locks based on the old key, you're rebuilding the locks based on the old locks. When people run into trouble with rebuilt locks not working, it's usually because they are still using the old worn out key with newly minted locks. Since the new locks are not worn, the old key may not fully engage the tumblers enough to allow the lock to turn at which point you'd need a newly cut key. If your car is original and the locks/ignition are the ones from the factory, getting a VIN cut key is the way to go. Your issue is if the ignition isn't original to the car and therefore won't match your VIN, it may be hard to make a new key based on the old, worn out one.

                          It isn't necessary to replace all the locks to make them match, most people end up having an issue with just one lock (usually the driver door) and replace that one alone but since I already had all of them out of the car I just did them all. I don't think I've ever locked the glove box so that lock should have been pretty much brand new anyway. The old trunk and door cylinders worked fine, but since I got new keys I wanted new locks to match. As for the ignition, I don't think it's as easily rebuildable as the doors and the last I read, I don't think you can order a new one keyed from the factory using your VIN anymore. The newly cut keys turned the ignition over without any trouble so I just left it alone.
                          Last edited by Albie325; 10-12-2020, 09:20 AM.
                          '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                          Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by Albie325 View Post


                            You did what I failed to do.


                            I do things.

                            Comment


                              Great work as always, Albie.

                              Question -
                              Are you sucking in or blowing out through these paint booth fans? You put filters on them, so I assume they're sucking clean air in.
                              Then where is your exhaust?

                              Click image for larger version

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                              Comment


                                The look like they are both exhaust fans to me.
                                How to remove, install or convert to pop out windows
                                http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=297611


                                Could be better, could be worse.

                                Comment

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