1983 Henna Red 323i

[BigSam]

This car is absolutely gorgeous.

[kdevitt]

The postman was kind today - so it meant I could stick the centre console back in.

Picked up this centre armrest on eBay - it was unused, and hence in excellent condition.









Thankfully - I also picked up an unused centre console on eBay a long time ago





I didn't take any photos of the install - its a case of bolt, screw, drill, bolt , curse, drill again etc.

Its actually quite handy - it slides on its mount, so can clear the handbrake.





Also got the door cards back on - had gotten vinyl doorcards, but they had different fittings in them, and I wasn't in the mood of stripping the door and all doorcards down. So I put the original ones back in - will probably have the retrimmed in the motorsport style (leather inserts) at some stage.



Have a few trim covers that need to go back in under the bonnet. Opened it up and my rad was just sitting loose -



Not sure there is clearance for the bonnet to shut if I just use a bolt and nut, so left it as is until I find out what exactly to use.

Anyway - took a photo before I packed up for the night. It was late and dark - and it was probably the first time I've ever taken my camera off fully auto

[kdevitt]

If a slightly stretched headliner is the only quibble with that car, I reckon you've done ok.

That is one seriously, painfully brilliant piece of chrome-bumpered awesomeness.

Haha - I know, but I'm quite fussy. It'll annoy me every time I look at it until its sorted!

[Iain]

"Small bumpers"? "Series 1 E30"?

[RainierHooker]

If a slightly stretched headliner is the only quibble with that car, I reckon you've done ok.

That is one seriously, painfully brilliant piece of chrome-bumpered awesomeness.

without the chrome on the bumpers, naturally...

[Iain]

If a slightly stretched headliner is the only quibble with that car, I reckon you've done ok.

That is one seriously, painfully brilliant piece of chrome-bumpered awesomeness.

[kdevitt]

Managed to do some of the interior today -

So heres the blank canvas -



One trim panel in



And then in with the seats. Serious pain to get in. The bench is a different design to the one which came out - it bolted in, but this is the newer type which 'clips' in. Anyone ever come up with a neat way to do this properly?





While I had the bench out I changed the fuel level sender (again). The new one I'd bought just wouldn't sit right, and petrol had started seeping out. I used the working one from my 320i and all is good.

In slightly more annoying news - the rear headliner wasn't stretched correctly when the glass went back in, so it'll need to be fixed up. Not a great photo, but you can just about see where its loose.

[Court M3]

One of these days, my car will be complete like yours. Loving the progress

[kdevitt]

Yep, same ones I tried to order. Let me know if you still have them :)

Don't have them I'm afraid!

[kdevitt]

So after a nice relaxing weekend, it was time to get stuck in...

First step was to try and tidy up this mess slightly :D







Some of the parts were junk - and went in the bin. Everything else got thrown in the garden so I could sort it out - don't think my arch liner should have been sitting in there though :D



So first things first - the rubber door seals hadn't been put back on so I tackled them first.

They basically just clip into place, small mallet came in handy too. Well lump hammer more like.





Next up was the doors. They weren't aligned correctly at all - you can see the gap narrowing towards the bottom of the door. Fixing this involved rehanging the door, and aligned the lock catch. Its fair to say this took quite a while, and wouldn't have been finished without the help of my mate.



This is the lock catch - thankfully I had the other E30 there to compare with. As an FYI - I accidentally changed the camera setting, so some of these are in arty B&W!



And voila - one perfectly aligned door



Next up was the passenger side door - only slightly off :D







Once again there was quite a bit of playing around involved, still needs some work as it stands as its not perfect.

Managed to collect a few bits from the dealer yesterday too -



Good bit of this was trim for the fuel lid -

Put in the new rubber trunk section, and a new fuel lid - didn;t like the old chrome one!



Added the trim piece for around the locking pin as well -



@JapAndrew - heres the lid I removed, you still want this?



Managed to improve the gap on the front wing / bonnet too. None of the bolts on the wing were tightened at all - could remove them all by hand. You can see the gap widening as it approaches the headlight area. My mate held the wing in while I tightened the nuts, and its much improved!



And last up for the day - some stickers!



This is for the rear bumper -

Before



After



Thats all for today - was baltic out, and I'm down with a bad cold :(

[Hyelifecl]

Thats very nice!

[Jean]

Here you go:

51 71 1 937 625
51 71 1 937 626

Yep, same ones I tried to order. Let me know if you still have them :)

[kdevitt]

Would it be too much to ask to post the pn you got for them?

Thanks!

Here you go:

51 71 1 937 625
51 71 1 937 626

[kdevitt]

Would it be too much to ask to post the pn you got for them?

Thanks!

Got it off bmwfans.info - will dig it out for you. If they're still in the car I'll post them to you, won't be needing them myself!

[Jean]

Yep - had no hassle getting it?

They were of no use apparently

Would it be too much to ask to post the pn you got for them?

Thanks!