My $150 '85 318i

[SpyHunter]

Picked up this 85 318i last December. It had been hit while the PO had it. Bent the strut, banged up fender and door, and did some minor damage to the unibody.

Anyway, here is the car before and after the accident.

Looks pretty good!



Until the Prius came along... :(



Car has a bit of rust on it here and there. Cracked dash. Blown struts and needs new tierods and A-arms. Was just going to leave it alone. But I couldn't. Started getting grand ideas. Replace door and fender. Get suspension up to speed. Drop it. Wheels. Satin black. Be pretty cool for a DD. So, I went out and found a good fender and door. Got the old ones off.



New fender on....




But when I went to put the door on, thats when I noticed the unibody was damaged. :( The bottom hinge was a good inch away from the door, when the door was closed. Almost decided to forget everything. Just get the car back together and drive it. But I had already put the new fender on. And it was black. So, have to atleast paint the car. LOL. So, did this last night.









Car is 90% sanded. Just need to get the curved areas, and go over the rest of the car a little better. Car is going to be satin black. Won't be a show winner. Door still has some damage, but it isn't alot. Still might do the suspension work, lower it, and do wheels. Haven't decided. Will post more pics once the car is painted.

[GotCone?]

Good luck w/ the project.

I think you should do it up like this!



Use this emoticon as your roundels . Would be sick (pun intended)

Great to see you on this board #1 HUNTA!

laterz

[SpyHunter]

Time for s'more prep pics. In the first set of pics the car itself was 90% sanded. Spent quite awhile sanding since then. I am talking HOURS here, folks. Major commitment time. :p Seriously, though, did go through and make sure it was prepped pretty well. Thanks to Jon (GotCone) for the hand on the trunk. Anyway, on to the pics...









Car should be primered by the end of tonight. Will do some light sanding as needed, then apply the paint on Tuesday night. Goal is to have it ready to roll on Wed.

[Turf1600]

What color will it be?

[SpyHunter]

Sorry, meant to add that. Its going to be satin/semi-gloss black. Won't be show car quality. Just looking for a good 10 footer. Should come out decent, though.

Should add, I will probably go ahead and get the new tie rods, a-arms, and whatnot. Still not sure if I am going to lower it, or not. All depends on how soon I can get another, nicer E30.

[Kwaaahhh]

You should pull the moldings and bumpers off before paint.

[Jean]

You should pull the moldings, mirrors and bumpers off before paint.

[e30this]

+1 to pulling shit off.
how you spraying it? can or gun?

[SpyHunter]

Just using a can. Didn't pull the bumpers or molding on purpose. Wanted them to be body color. I have this picture in my head. Just trying to get there on the cheap. ;)

Here are some pics after primer, tonight. Haven't done any sanding yet.













Forgot to do the grill. Will need to pick up one more can for it. Couple of runs, but nothing big and easily sanded.

Seems I might have been too aggressive sanding, or the grit was too harsh in some areas. Oh, well. The car is what it is.

Still hope to finish paint by the end of tomorrow night. Remember, the primer is flat black. The actual paint will be satin/semi-gloss.

[hi its me alec]

at least get it painted at maaco or something

[E30_fiend]

at least get it painted at maaco or something

[nando]

at least get it painted at maaco or something

it's a $150 318i four door with frame damage.. I think the OP has it right with the satin black - macco would be a waste of money.

a tip on the sanding - do it in varying diameter circles, never back and forth. you will end up with pretty obvious sanding marks that way. I know, it's a rattle can job - but you have to sand it anyway, may as well do it the right way. :p

[SpyHunter]

it's a $150 318i four door with frame damage.. I think the OP has it right with the satin black - macco would be a waste of money.

a tip on the sanding - do it in varying diameter circles, never back and forth. you will end up with pretty obvious sanding marks that way. I know, it's a rattle can job - but you have to sand it anyway, may as well do it the right way. :p

Bingo, we have a winner. I will have less then the purchase of the car into paint when its all said and done. This isn't my nice car. Its a beater I picked up cheap, because the guy was going to sell it for parts. Which is what I will do, once I get a nice E30.

And, yeah, I am paying for back and forth sanding now. Have some spots where I was way too aggressive, and I am not sure I am going to be able to hide it. Might push me back some time wise, but going to see what I can do about it today. And it was just the initial sanding. Went to circular motions after that. But it was too late, apparently.

[ebelements]

It's not too late to fix that, BTW. The beauty of primer. Hit the rough areas with 320 on a block(or if that seems too time consuming, a palm sander) and you're good to go.

[SpyHunter]

It's not too late to fix that, BTW. The beauty of primer. Hit the rough areas with 320 on a block(or if that seems too time consuming, a palm sander) and you're good to go.

Eh, its more then that. The instrument of brute force that I used to sand the car did too well of a job. My car now has texture. Kinda cool in that, "What the hell?! Is that wood?", kinda way. You can't see it from 20 ft, but very noticeable up close.


Car is done, other then wet sanding. Looks about how I expected, minus the texture. Pics up soon.