Project finished - 'MY22' 318is - bare metal, nut and bolt restoration

[burkey001]

the seal you put in appears to be a reproduction one from the pictures. If so, my advice is to throw it away and order an OEM one or find an original one in better shape.

Hey, thanks for the kind words, appreciate it. The seal is a genuine item from BMW, I guess the gap looks small because it hasn’t had a lock strip and 30 years of sunlight to set it into position.

Lock strip tool arrived and….

OMG LOCK STRIP TOOL MAKE IT SO EASY!!!!!

Wow. 10 minutes and done.







So, all good 😊

Sah-weet!

Few comments from us 'mere mortals' in the peanut gallery:

Underbody masking
Black looks great.
When everything is all together and the car is on the ground the wheel wells will blend in and not distract the eye.
The perfectionists would avoid the hard masking as cars would have that fathering/blending/overspray from the factory.
Hard to tell when it's on the ground.

Wheels
Also, been having a think about the wheel options.
Agree the BBS with the black caps are MUCH better.
Traditional style paying homage to the era.

But seeing as you're going with the gloss back trim...
- have you thought about something with a modern twist?

Something with a a machined face aka diamond cut?
- e.g. BBS Design line or some of the M3 series options?

Deal breaker could be a lack 4 lug options without looking to cheap & ricey'

Thanks for the input, You are right about the hard lines. I am going to do ‘something’ about it… will have a look on the weekend.

Looked at those wheels, I don’t know if they are for me. I know I like about 4 wheels styles and that’s it 😊, even if they are all a bit old fashioned. When you’re dealing with a car shaped after a besser block and a tissue box you cant get too contemporary

[Glaede]

Awesome car! Love following your thread.

Do you have a link for that locking strip tool? I remember trying to do it without back in the days and it was a total failure

[gnmzl]

Hey, thanks for the kind words, appreciate it. The seal is a genuine item from BMW, I guess the gap looks small because it hasn’t had a lock strip and 30 years of sunlight to set it into position.

Lock strip tool arrived and….

OMG LOCK STRIP TOOL MAKE IT SO EASY!!!!!

I guess so too, haha! The tool makes it really easy, yes!
Those close-up shots are sooo satisfying to look at.
Hope to see a video of you rolling around in this greatness soon rather than late.

[burkey001]

Awesome car! Love following your thread.

Do you have a link for that locking strip tool? I remember trying to do it without back in the days and it was a total failure

Sure, it's just a random no-name tool that I am sure everyone has copied from some smart original person who designed the first one 100 years ago :)

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WINDSCREEN-LOCKING-STRIP-TOOL-6mm-11mm-13mm-16mm-T-E-TOOLS-DALLAS/254334890080?hash=item3b378a7060:g:lskAAOSwD0lUfvEh&frcectupt=true

"lock strip tool" search on ebay reveals lots and lots of options that all look pretty much identical


good luck :)

[Melon]

I haven't checked on this in a while, so much progress.

I'm interested on what you come up with regarding a limiter for the steering rack. I have tire rub issues I need to address.

[burkey001]

I haven't checked on this in a while, so much progress.

I'm interested on what you come up with regarding a limiter for the steering rack. I have tire rub issues I need to address.

I plan to just machine up a little spacer out of engineering plastic and push it on over the rack end before i thread the tie rods on. I have done that with my other E30 that has a Z3 rack and runs a 235 front tire. has worked fine for years, though the turning circle is a little weak. I will measure this one more closely so its all close to scrubbing as possible without scrubbing, so i get as much lock as possible

[burkey001]

OK, so a few more things been happening

Installed the rear glass, and also the side glass before I realised that I have to press the metal trim into the side glass before I install it… I learnt that and promptly uninstalled it and haven’t put it back in yet. I am waiting on a few rubber seals/ strips that sit between the rear quarter trim and the body.

Rear glass.




That lock strip tool is SO satisfying to use…. Hah



Reassembled the rear quarter trim after chrome plating with some fresh pop rivets.



Back side of the trim shows the various stages of plating it went through, kind of interesting







Started piecing together the front wheel wells. I think I have this in the right order. All the clips slide onto that piece that holds the air duct and everything screws into it… that made sense to me… and it works OK





Finished up wiring and plumbing the fuel tank. All new wire harness, new plugs, new clips, new hose… standard by now




I bought left hand drive wiper arms because im a dick head :)



New strut tops arrived from Vorshlag and couple bits arrived a bit mail damaged. Vorshlag were super good to deal with, new bits out the same day. Thank you!



I have been considering all things tie rods…. E36 outer and E46 inner I think is my jam.



Had an AHA moment with the rear quarters. Was having ‘trouble’ getting the trim into the installed window… Jordan told me install trim before you install window…. Make so much sense now I think about it

Hard to see the shine. But they are shiny


Bit of a polish needed still on some bits



Had some Goodridge brake lines made up in ‘vintage black’ with stainless ends. So good.






Got my parking brakes installed







Got the rear hubs shined up and ready to go.



I did not leave the face raw steel… I just cant… hopefully its OK



Hubs in, driveshafts in. need to tighten them up once it eventually lands on its feet. Need to pinch the boot clamps too.







Test fit an old brake rotor








And I started up my old friend for the first time in about six months :) missed this guy





Waiting on a bunch of stuff stuck in the mail. Should be off the hoist soon!


Engine choice is bugging me now. M42. S54. K24. Electric…. Pros and cons for all

[econti]

As much as I am a M42 fanboy, I think this project is too nice for anything underneath what I'm building, and I can confirm it is stupidly expensive to do it like mine.
K24 would be very cool, I think that would suit the car well as a kind of ultimate edition of a 4cyl that isn't a M3.
It is however at the end of the day your car.

[Melon]

This is so damn good.

I love it.

[Pootis]

LS Swap


But honestly S62 or S54 would be more fitting

[rzerob]

As nice as this is, you could have it pulled by a team of horses and I could not see the purists complaining that it doesn't have a BMW engine. So my suggestion is try something new.

[TeXJ]

K24 swap seems to be the new "thing". You could do a m52b28 with a turbo, or like said above, S62/S54 swap. I want an LS3 in my e30...my redneck side likes the sound of a V8.

[burkey001]

Hey, thanks all for your input on drivetrain… It’s something I am putting on hold for the moment.
I have an OEM M42 looking nice and shiny and ready-ish to go in… so I might start with that… who knows.
I do like the K option. Kmiata’s kit looks very comprehensive but is a little spendy once I factor in exchange rates, shipping and import taxes. $8-9k local dollars for a swap kit is certainly up there.

Onto other news, finally have some more interior progress underway, the rear seats are being made at the moment. Some progress and prototyping pics…

Initial rough out


Slightly M3 / cabrio inspired shaping. Basically just trying to introduce a little bit of shape and texture to what was originally a very plain stretch of fabric. But with an arm rest




Laying out some ideas, tweaking a few rounds. This is an early view


Another early view. This was too much for my liking, so the sizes have been pulled back. This is all picking up styling queues from the front seats



Few stitches in the Spinneybeck Copenhagen leather



And here are the inserts, the sizing has been dialled back. Looking better (in my eyes)


Starting to do the squab




And lastly got my eibach springs powercoated orange…. Why not?




So, I will be able to put suspension in finally this weekend. Happy days.


Until next time

[Vantablack]

In my opinion* the m42 is still the ideal choice:

- keeps the car light and balanced
- proven to last nearly forever
- I don't need a particularly fast car to enjoy driving it.

I considered an engine swap as well and I might do electric one day when the technology has advanced more. But for now, I decided against it.

What are you planning for a diff? My 318is has an open 4.10, I was looking for a small case LSD 4.10 or 3.91 but wasn't ever able to find either of them.

[amcp]

My 2 pennies, this is not a OE concurs car. Put a decent motor with some power in it. Doesnt have to be a LS3 but something more fun that the weak m42.