My Son's Vert.....Project

[franko2490]

my first car is a vert ... trust me he will like it . He will like it even more because he has the m20b25 in it ... mine is a m40b18 but it runs like a champ and my life is all around it :D

[benge100]

Thanks for the comments guys.....

I am sure that he will respect the car.

UPDATE:

I got the new carpet in, What a difficult job.... Laid new wiring for the stereo while I was at it.



new carpet in.



I also got a reallly good deal on some Cabrio seats in grey so I snatched them, I got grey as I intend to leatherique them and change the color back to red. I didnt like the look with red door cards so I found some black ones, much better IMO.

pics







I finally pulld the car out of the shop. Not too low !!!!!

I put new spring pads a well as springs an shocks so it has to settle a way.



i found some wheels on craigslist, they are Enkei's 17x7 42mm offsett with YOKO 215/45/17's, I got hold of some H&R spacers 15mm in front and 22mm in rear, I got this size as they have the hubcentric lips and they would mount better and have less vibration..... Whatcha think ???

No centre's in these pics

[benge100]

Convertible top time.

Pain in the Arse job warning !!!!

This was one of the hardest jobs on the car so far.

The top was in good condition to start with but no rear screen and whenI started to take off the material the stitching started to come apart so it had to be totally restitched.

I called BMW for a OEM price for a rear screen. Absolute shocking price for a piece of plastic ! I went to my trusty pickapart and found a rear screen that I could cut down for this car. $5.00 Deal !!!

So easy to remove the top from the car.



Different story with the material from the frame.









I sent the material to a local upholstery guy who stitched in the rear screen and restitched all of the top. Got it back looking great but it took hours to get it back on the frame. This is not a job for the feint hearted. I have the top back on the car but I havnt took any pics ..... yet.

[benge100]

I wanted to tighten up the gearshift.

I ordered the kit from Pelican including the bushed, mount and selector.





I thought while I am in here I will do the Trans Monts, Do you think it needed them ??





How about a center bearing and support...... It may need this also ??



Guibo was not that bad at all realy so I didnt take a pic but I DID replace it anyway....

Drove the car. Fells nice but Vibration in the rear when turning left. rear end noise. This car is a LSD car so I pulled an open diff fron a pickapart (again!) and replace the diff. No noise at all, different car. I will be getting the diff rebuilt later on.

[einstein57]

I think you should adopt me. LOL. do you still have your old front end?

[Dragowl]

Nice progress!

[twothrees]

I am interested to see how the top came out. I did this and it was a pain in the rear, well, actually pain in my back. I restitched the window while it was on the car and by the time I got done, I wanted to set it on fire. I should have at least removed the frame from the car, but you live and learn. I ended up buying a perfect condition top/frame from one of the guys here on r3v. Now that's how you do it right.

Thank you for bringing another cabrio back, good job.

[e30vert]

You really have shown attention to detail and it really makes the outcome much better. Keep it up!

[AL FHA Q!]

wow! i like your cars progress:up:

[napabavarian]

Awsome! Motivation to go out in the cold and change my gas tank and transmission :D

[bruno6491]

great looking vert and lots of work has been done. Being 17 and also was given my 1988 325i vert as a birthday present in june. I have done all the work on my car, with help from my dad and neighbor. Trust me when i say that it makes a HUGE difference with me working on the car, i know that if something goes wrong i can probably fix the problem or at least know what it is. Get your son involved and it will make a difference in how he drives. I drive other cars balls to the walls, but i baby mine and take care of it.

Keep the pics and progress coming

Bruno

[shmutzigE30]

Update please

[ian e30 318is]

Couple of things here..

I don't drive a BMW. I do, however, envy an E30.

So think about what I said: let's dissect it.


"Kids usually crash their first car"

so...

"buy him a volvo" - So you don't ruin the BMW.

Think about it ;-)

dont jinx the kid...jeez. haha i didnt crash my car in my teenage years *knock on wood* and im now 22. vert looks good thouogh. good luck with the project. i know i loved my car when i first got it at 16. but definitely get your son involved. he'll appreciate the car more.

[TexasTerp]

I definitely suggest getting your son to work on the car with you! I grew up working on my e30 with my dad since he bought it of the lot in 86! I am a complete e30 and bmw fanatic because of it! I'm 24 now own 2 e30's (plus parts car) and am finally restoring and rebuilding the family 325i I've been driving since I turned 16! It's the car that got me into engineering. Great build and I look forward to seeing the finished project.

[Motorsports]

I like the way the car is turning out. Good to see that your giving your son an E30 instead of some civic. Make sure to get him to help you out with the car. That will get him more interested and he'll appreciate it.