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

[burkey001]

So, now, it’s painted and mostly sanded & polished… major reassembly can commence.
It will get another mild sand/polish in a few areas once its all done… gives the paint a chance to cure and move a bit too. It’s a ‘hot rod’ paint job, not an OEM one (read… a LOT of paint on the thing…) mixed feelings about it, stone chips will be like craters. But, sure looks nice.
Most of the car will be clear wrapped anyway, so that would mitigate most stone chip concerns.

With reassembly comes parts…. Hundreds and hundreds of new parts. New clips, plugs, screws, nuts, trim, body parts, interior stuff….
To make my life easier, I have ordered all this stuff into bins / tubs / trays so I can find what I need


Theres a fair amount of re-wiring going on. Engine bay in particular, OEM harness is messy. I will not do a ‘tucked’ engine bay, but I will do a ‘motorsport look’ engine bay. i.ee concentric wrap wires, tidy, DR25 tubing etc. I have this on another one and it just looks great and is very functional too. This means much reverse engineering of the body loom…
From the basic scratch pad..

To the ‘this how it works’ view

Speaking looms, the engine bay plugs cop a hammering from heat & ozone… lucky have secured all new plugs for everything

Testing a few label styles

Now, as it’s a ‘hot rod’ paint job, one thing that slightly annoyed me (but have since dealt with) is that every panel was painted separately because ‘that’s how we do it’.
It meant that the bolts that hold the front fenders to body – as one example – were not painted as one… so they would stick out.
Solution.. pro-bolt orange hardware!


Assembly is a really blissful thing, if you have the clear time to spend.. pressing in new clips and plugs is strangely satisfying





And it begins to look like an e30


(don’t worry, door hardware will not remain painted orange… that’s just a dummy set)

I’m putting the OEM side skirts on this, so all holes were drilled and treated before any paint went down… hopefully means no rust

As significant chemical stripped was ladled on the car, I’ve been pretty thorough on hitting every nook and cranny with HEAPS of 3M cavity wax. Really nice stuff, comes with a 1 metre applicator tubes.. gets right down into all the frame rails.. awesome




Behind the windscreen cowl


Lastly.. time to chase a few threads


(cavity wax behind)
Hang a few more things




Heart new hardware

Sometimes you need some shine



Thanks
:)

[FredK]

Whoa. Absolutely stunning!

[pipeuy]

Insane build so far, loving the color you chose. In for more :D

[Melon]

Interested to see how it looks installed.

[MyE30]

oh my.

[burkey001]

Rs components have all that you need��

[econti]

That's a nice idea. Where have you been buying them

[burkey001]

it's a chance to do things smarter too...
I really dont like those plastic cable clips that proliferate in the engine bay.
Much neater to use a rivnut in the original hole and then use a TytonHellermann loom standoff and top if off with a nice Thomas&Betts cable tie :)
no cable rub on body, looks nice neater, easier to keep looms aligned and nice on the body.
example..

[TeXJ]

really looking awesome!

[burkey001]

Nice job!! May I ask how much that cost you? My repaint is next year.

an amount that makes no rational sense, pm.

Wow, that paint is flawless. This project is like an OCDer's wet dream. Awesome work, can't wait to see what's next

Thanks, I hope it all comes together well :)

Looks like some absolutely gorgeous paint work!

Hey thank you, I have a lot of respect for all the projects you've turned out over the years.

[wworm]

phenomenal paint work.

[ZEKTI]

The level of detail is amazing. I like the color choice but after you showed the CQM and Porsche Graphite Blue metallic I love both of those colors. CQM looks so classy.

[Staszek]

Nice job!! May I ask how much that cost you? My repaint is next year.

[Albie325]

Wow, that paint is flawless. This project is like an OCDer's wet dream. Awesome work, can't wait to see what's next

[Melon]

Man, your paint is absolutely flawless, looks beautiful, mine is well, less than flawless.

Car is going to look great when it's done.
Fuereorange crew is growing and growing.