Labor of love from Australia - Malachtgrun convertible running restoration

[Tzantushka]

My original build thread died with the R3V forum update...
So here's the new home for progress updates.

For those who missed the first few installments...

Back in Mar-19 Ended up getting a BMW as a weekend ‘fun & cruising’ car.
Had to be an auto as the wife only has an auto license.
Had to be a four-seater so all three of us could come along.
Always loved the E30, timeless style, easy to work on, built like a BMW should be (you guys know the drill).

I'm in Melbourne, Australia and saw an ’88 320i in Sydney in 2018.
Ended up talking to the PO for a few months remotely and eventually had the car in the driveway back in Mar-19.

The car is original and unmolested and the car is true to original specs:
Prod. Date 1988-02-15
Type 320I (EUR)
Series E30 (3 Series)
Body Type CABRIO
Steering RHD
Engine M20
Displacement 2.00
Power 95kw / 129hp
Transmission Automatic
Colour MALACHITGRUEN METALLIC (205)
Upholstery Natur (0295)

Driver Assistance And Lightning
S520A Fog Lights
S530A Air Conditioning
S540A Cruise Control

Spare time is my biggest issue. I’m realistic what I can get done on the weekends and after work.

Yes, it’s a 320 – would have a loved a 325, but there are hard to find in good condition especially convertible.
Because it’s original, the timing belt, tensioner, water pump & belts are the first things to be done.

In the meantime enjoy the pics.











Oh, and I broke my first rule – ‘…get the critical and important mechanical work done before the cosmetics…’
Spotted a set 14” basket weaves for very reasonable price and had to buy them.

As it turns out the seller was a true gentleman and E30 aficionado. Tyres were Michelins and 90%, rims were in great condition. Some Iron-x, claybar and painting of the centre caps they look awesome. Also hit them with a ceramic coating to make cleaning easier down the track.

[Tzantushka]

Have been tinkering away in the background over a few months.

Back in Jun-19, had a productive weekend with the driver's seat removed on Friday night and ready for re-install on Sunday night.

Leather seats were recovered back in 2016, but had very little love since then - plus the Australian climate and lots of open-top motoring to the beach had taken its toll.
Driver's seat was the worst. Dirty, hard leather, blown shocks, sticky tilt mechanism and the backrest wouldn't stay-up.

Disassembly was straight forward, although one of the two backrest screws had come loose (explains the wobbly seat back!).
Shocks swapped (hat tip to Jeffnhiscars), brake cleaner fixed the recline mechanism plus a new tilt cable and cleaned & painted the rails.

I was skeptical about Leatherique on coated leather.
But my leather had lots of hairline cracks in the protective coating.
The first treatment brought the dirt out.



And lots of it.



After using the rejuvenator oil and pristine clean a second time, the dirt kept coming and the leather became softer and softer.
Final treatment was the oil with cling wrap on the top and a hairdryer.
No more dirt, but the leather was good as new.



After 30 years - time for a new seat belt receptacle.



But the seats look like a million bucks and I don't have to re-cover them.





Also, BMW sport seats are good, but nothing like the V60 Polestar seats V60 :)

[Tzantushka]

Also undertook a headlight restoration.
The lights were in good condition - but cloudy on the inside.



The low beams were easy.
Undo a few screws, wipe the projector lense with a microfibre cloth and IPA spray.
Wipe the inside of the lens with the cloth and rinse with IPA.
Let dry.

The high beams were a bit harder.
Ended up cutting a 1" strip of flannelette, stuffing this down the bulb hole with a bamboo skewer (but leaving a bit sticking our of the bulb hole).
Pour in some IPA, swish and agitate - using the skewer to get onto the hard to reach spots.





The pull out the flannelette, rinse with IPA & let dry.
Brilliant.

[Tzantushka]

When I bought the car, I knew the suspension was tired.
Ended up doing a complete suspension refresh over a few months in weekends & evenings.

Rears
Swapped out the OE shocks after 190,000 km - they were buggered.
The piston went down like a sack of spuds.
Bilstein B4, factory springs, HD upper mounts and new spring perch rubbers worked like charm - No rattles or clunks.
Cleaned & re-painted the wheel well with Rustoleum epoxy satin black.

Fronts
A bit more involved as I had some minor surface rust due to a missing lower RHS splash guard panel.
Admittedly, the rust I was repairing was nothing to some of the stuff you guys have!

RHS Before wash-down:


LHS dirt before wash-down


LHS after washdown


After a good clean & degrease, painted on some more Epoxy satin black.
New wheel arch liners, lower control arms - ready to receive the rebuilt struts.


Which reminds me...
August was 'strut month' with new Bilstein B4 inserts going in, along with bump stops boots and spring seat rubbers and new strut tops.
Plus a good lick of satin black.

[Tzantushka]

Also ended up designing & making my own lower control arm assembly tool.

Thanks to the guys at work, laser cut some 6mm steel, machined a locating pin.
Bought some M8 all-thread and fasteners

Works a treat!






Plus with the notched plate - it doubles as a puller to take the lollipop OFF the control arm.

[Tzantushka]

Finally getting close to having the wheels on the ground again.

30+ year old leaky power steering reservoir cleaned up with new ZF reservoir + new suction & return hoses.

Front stoppers also had a refurbish and upgrade.
ATE calipers stripped, cleaned, painted with ceramic caliper paint cured and reassembled with new seals/guides.

Before...





During...



After...





For those Australians who are interested - rotors are DBA T2 Street Series and Q-FM HP-X Pads from DVS Performance.

I have this set-up on the wife's Volvo V50 and it's a great combo for a daily driver (less dust and good initial bite)

[lukeADE335i]

Some excellent work going on here - your car is looking great! My e30 started life as a 320i - the 2.0L M20 is very smooth, works well with the automatic and is very enjoyable as a cruiser :)

You can always throw a 2.5L in there in the future if you want more performance as the late AUS spec 320i basically had everything a 325i does except for a small case diff in the rear, which is easily swapped.

[Tzantushka]

Some excellent work going on here - your car is looking great! My e30 started life as a 320i - the 2.0L M20 is very smooth, works well with the automatic and is very enjoyable as a cruiser :)

You can always throw a 2.5L in there in the future if you want more performance as the late AUS spec 320i basically had everything a 325i does except for a small case diff in the rear, which is easily swapped.

Good to know.
I'm not going crazy on the motor, as the 325 or stroker is an option later on.
The car has 190,000 km (115k miles) so it's just broken in.

[Albie325]

Nice work! The leather seat treatment came out great, will have to look into that for my e46

[Tzantushka]

Changed the convertible hood struts today - the 2x gas struts for the roof lid and the 2x gas struts for the roof frame.

Always like supporting a fellow R3V member, hat tip to Jeffnhiscars, packaged well and fast delivery to Australia.

Reasonably easy job.
Although for the roof frame gas struts I followed these instructions.


Ugh.
Mine were pretty rusty and took dexterity and brute force to remove.





But what a difference after installation!
Eventually when I get new tension straps opening the roof will be a cinch.

[moatilliatta]

What were the products you used on the Leather?

[Tzantushka]

What were the products you used on the Leather?

The Leatherique 2-stage system the rejuvenator oil and the pristine clean

[Tzantushka]

Finally got everything back together after...
- front suspension overhaul
- rust removed & re-chromed the front bumper
- dodgy rear muffler removed and replaced
- fixed up the blocked cat.

Few photos from the test drive.





Now for the club registration (reduced cost) and a good paint correction she is finally ready for Aussie summer.

[gnmzl]

This looks gorgeous.... good work!

[Tzantushka]

This looks gorgeous.... good work!

Thanks for the kind words

Club license done and took the car for it's first registered drive to and from work.
Happened to be a glorious 33 deg C / 91 deg F on the drive home.

NOW I finally get whole cabrio thing - the sunset in the evening made it even more special.



The 320i with an auto transmission is, er... not exactly quick.
But after the blocked cat was replaced the old girl has some go in the upper rev band.
At 4-5,000 rpm, merging on the freeway sounds fantastic.