Ryan's Hennarot 318is (s54, slicktop conversion, MT2)

[rjmcdermott81]

[rjmcdermott81]

I'm motivated to get this thing painted and together. Luckily my neighbors house is empty so he let me park in his garage for a few nights while I did the hood, trunk and doors. Everything seems to have turned out so I'll mount these tomorrow. Some orange peel again but that will all come out with wetsanding and buffing. I did better in some areas than others. Maybe its my airflow, technique, or equipment. It takes a long time to get good at this.

Everything staged and cleaning the pieces up. I let my son do the backs of the hood/trunk....not the pretty side :):


Taped up and ready for sealer:


Single coat of epoxy sealer on Thursday and then I lightly sanded any nibs out with 400 grit:


Basecoats all done:










4 coats of clear:

[hotsaucewizard]

wow nice subscribed

you're in austin?? i'm new to the area.. is there a BMW scene here? i've noticed a handful of enthusiasts in the area via forums but haven't found any sort of group

[rjmcdermott81]

Sub'd because you're a distant neighbor(up in DFW area). I'd love to have the courage to dive into projects like you did here.

What scared you the most about body work? I watch lots of videos, and I believe the idea is as little filler as you can. And prep work is where a paint job is make or break. Kudos to you!

I honestly didn't start on this path. Another e30 guy in Austin showed up to pick up my old steering rack in his car that he vinyl'd himself and I was totally sold on the vinyl train:



But.... I couldn't find anyone to do the bodywork for me at a reasonable price. I posted on craigslist, emailed the community college, etc. Nothing. I figured I would pay someone 2-3k to do the body work and seal it in epoxy primer. I even got some Avery Intense Blue (looks like Laguna Seca) and we tested it on a bumper:



So I decided I would do the bodywork and then wrap it, but then it just spiraled out of control. Once I got into watching the videos online it just kept looking more and more doable. YouTube and some of the guys building content to teach us novices is so awesome.



I'm worried about the pandora's box I've opened. I'm anxious to finish this to do another project with bodywork and paint.

[rjmcdermott81]

This is awesome! If you need help with the DME I would be glad to help! I should have Z3 cruise control working as well if you want to check my thread (though I need to update a few more points to change via hex)

Awesome I will definitely hit you up. I have the gpeterson CAN controller to do the A/C eventually.

[s14brent]

good job man!

[iwantspeed]

nice work!!!

[haaken675]

Good job on the roof. I was too scared to weld in patch panels on my roof. I had heard so many horror stories of the roof wrinkling/bowing due to the heat even from people that were experienced welders.

[Staszek]

Great work! You are basically doing the same build as me, just at a much faster pace and with way more skill! Wish I could do bodywork.

Sweet thread!

[R3Z3N]

This is awesome! If you need help with the DME I would be glad to help! I should have Z3 cruise control working as well if you want to check my thread (though I need to update a few more points to change via hex)

[mike.bmw]

Holy smokes! This is amazing. And I love that you have your kids involved. My 4.5 year old daughter helps out with my e30 from time to time. Hopefully her little brother follows suit. :)

[Griffin0163]

Sub'd because you're a distant neighbor(up in DFW area). I'd love to have the courage to dive into projects like you did here.

What scared you the most about body work? I watch lots of videos, and I believe the idea is as little filler as you can. And prep work is where a paint job is make or break. Kudos to you!

[kid8]

I'm not sure if I should thank you or curse you for sending me that clist ad for the car... but it's been a fun journey. Thanks for the help.

I like to think that you're happy about this experience Can't wait to see it on the road again.

[ahrensNW]

Damn, excellent so far

[rjmcdermott81]

sorry if i missed it but how did you reinforce the inside of the roof?

I didn't add anything. There is still cross bracing under the roof skin just like on any car. From my reading, the sunroof cassette removal seems to be a pretty common thing because it saves a ton of weight.