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Labor of love from Australia - Malachtgrun convertible running restoration

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    #16
    Beautiful car!

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      #17
      Very nice! Welcome to the vert club

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        #18
        With a few hours here and there over summer vacation, I've been able to start the cosmetic stuff and fixing small things that bring a smile to your face...
        - Replaced the broken RHD heater control panel
        - New backlight bulbs & cleaned the fibre optics for the heater sliders
        - New A/C switch that finally stays on
        - Cleaned all the trim panels, radio and replaced bulbs in switches

        Now all the controls work and I can see them at night!



        Getting the basics working makes you appreciate them more
        Last edited by Tzantushka; 01-06-2020, 10:06 PM.
        E30 320i vert
        But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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          #19
          Also gave the RH rocker panel a repaint.
          Most of the rocker schutz textured coating was in good shape - but 30+ years of road debris had taken it's toll on the paint.

          Removed & repainted the rear subframe anchor plates for a good finish.



          Scuffed, masked & wipe down with wax & grease remover...



          Mask, mask & mask...







          Preview with the subframe anchor plate installed...

          E30 320i vert
          But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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            #20
            Reason for taking no chances with the masking...

            I have partly finished the paint correction (only the bonnet & RH side done).
            The car has been repainted on a few occasions so the paint is in reasonable condition.
            But was full of marring, scratches and day-to-day wear & tear that made it look worse than what it was.

            After a good wash and:
            1. Claybar plus IronX paint decontamination
            2. Rotary polish (Menzerna IP3000 & orange pad)
            3. Dual action orbital polish (Menzerna SF4000 & black pad)
            4. Oil & residue wipedown
            5. Ceramic coating (CarPro CQuartz UK)

            It came up a treat!
            Really happy with the results - plus it will have low maintenance & durability for those Friday & weekend drives.





            I didn't want the rocker panels to be the standout feature - so the SEM Trim Black blends-in fine.
            Now the front is done... Need to tidy-up the rear bumper and the LH side of the car.
            Last edited by Tzantushka; 01-26-2020, 04:27 AM.
            E30 320i vert
            But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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              #21
              You did a great job.

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                #22
                Like our UK brothers/sisters, used some Coronavirus induced spare time over Easter to do a few fiddly jobs on the car.
                Such as refinish the mis-matched colours on the interior trim.

                Time & sun are not kind to the colourfastness of the Natur trim parts.
                The footwell speaker grills turn a Donald Trump orange, and the door armrest and pocket turn another shade.

                Ended up pulling the door cards & trim for a re-paint & fix loose trim.
                Door cards trim will need to be reglued or replaced.
                I'll do those later.



                Straightened out and glued the backing vinyl.

                Door innards got some love
                - removed the old & leaky vapour barrier
                - cleaned out the dust & crud on the inside
                - treated with penetrol & a coat of body deadener
                - lubricated the window regulator & tracks similar to here (warning OCD content)



                Fitted a new vapor barrier.
                For our AUS viewers ended up using Car Builders Door Restore kit - which is excellent and includes the buytl tape.
                Pro-tip - don't use your old vapour barriers as a template - as the old one's can shrink in our warm climate.



                Painted the parts with 3-4 coats of Dupli Color Medium Beige



                It's a VERY close match to Natur!






                Much better than it was.
                E30 320i vert
                But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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                  #23
                  Not sure if I mentioned previously, but I had my head unit refurbished (wanted the stock look)
                  I've got the BMW branded Alpine CM5905 fitted as standard for the Australian market with the tweeters in the door pods (but no Amp)
                  Alpine Australia did a great job and the unit better than it was back in 1988.

                  Unfortunately, not the speakers.
                  They've suffered the ravages of time, use and UV.
                  I was listening to some tunes a few weeks back and the RH side sounded more craptacular than usual.

                  This is why:



                  Why repair when you can UPGRADE?

                  Lots of information on the interwebs on replacements.
                  And lots of conflicting information.

                  I wouldn't know where to start with car audio today.
                  Given:
                  1) it's a vert
                  2) I'm not after a 'mixing it with the homies'
                  and
                  3) would like to keep it looking reasonably stock with a 'drop-in' replacement...

                  Based on the advice of a local car audio installer, ended up going with a set of component speakers.



                  Audison APK-130

                  On the surface they look pretty well made.

                  First task was to remove old & refit the new tweeters into the OE door pods - they're glued in.
                  If you don't want to keep your old tweeters, here's a pro tip.
                  Boiling water.

                  Boil the kettle, fill a mug to the brim, put the tweeter face down into the mug.
                  Add a splash of hot water to the back and let the glue soften.



                  OE tweeter grill can be pulled out from the front.
                  Use a small hook or screw driver to lift the grill out.
                  Don't pry on the edge of the plastic.



                  The old tweeter comes out from the back.
                  Back into the mug, to loosen the remaining glue.
                  Push out with your thumbs or use some channel locks to pull out.



                  Scrape away any remaining glue with a knife (but don't make the hole too large).
                  Line-up & push in the new tweeter at the edges - Don't bend the mesh.

                  Secure with the clamps provided - or in my case a dab of hot glue.
                  Very compact installation.



                  Comparison of OE & upgrade:



                  Ready to trim & terminate the wires, install the crossover and then the kick panel woofers.
                  E30 320i vert
                  But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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                    #24
                    Nice! Glad you posted this. I have some spare tweeter pods with snapped off wiring pins, was going to junk them as I didn't know you could remove the speaker itself.
                    '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                    Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by Albie325 View Post
                      Nice! Glad you posted this. I have some spare tweeter pods with snapped off wiring pins, was going to junk them as I didn't know you could remove the speaker itself.
                      Always worth hanging onto them - you never know what your next project is...
                      Loving your paint progress by the way.


                      Finally, with some spare time on my hands, so decided to make a start on the rear of the car.
                      The rear euro bumper needs some straightening and need to fix-up the rear spoiler.

                      The bumper wasn't too bad.
                      Some surface rust.



                      Hardware is not bad either - will get cleaned-up and re-plated in yellow zinc chromate.



                      Ready for plating - bag of bolts with the above picture so nothing gets lost.



                      Also, lots of crud underneath the spoiler.



                      Ugh.
                      Now I have to deal with this.

                      Thankfully it's hidden under the spoiler, so I'm thinking:
                      - strip out the rust
                      - etch primer
                      - few coats of expoy satin black around the hole
                      - small bead of buytl tape around the hole on reassembly.

                      Appreciate thoughts from any body experts out there.





                      E30 320i vert
                      But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

                      Comment


                        #26
                        As a further update...

                        While I had the LH kick-panel out for the speaker upgrade, I may as well run the wires for the upcoming remove central locking kit.

                        Sure enough, I came across every E30 owner's nightmare - THE DREADED AFTERMARKET ALARM INSTALL

                        The Scotch Lock / Snap Lock splice connectors & mis-matched wire sizes were the first clue.



                        Out came the glove box.
                        Signs of water ingress - thanks to no seal on the alarm loom going trough the firewall.

                        More loom splice goodness hidden by PVC electrical tape.



                        It's a Repeller.

                        The only thing this installation has repelled is 2 hours of my life I can't get back.



                        After proper re-splicing, soldering & heat shrinking, good riddance.

                        E30 320i vert
                        But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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                          #27
                          Along with the newly discovered rust under the trunk spoiler, I also had a spot of rust on the LH rear wheel arch.



                          While that and trunk lid rust was being repaired by a local body shop, I turned my attention to the 'is' spoiler.

                          Appears the spoiler was added locally and had been with the car its whole life.
                          After 32 years in the Australian sun, the spoiler looked OK - but needed some work.

                          Cleaned-up the gunk & dead sealant on the underside.
                          (diluted phosphoric acid alloy wheel cleaner did the trick quickly)



                          The top of the spoiler looked OK, but close-up, the rubberised skin was showing cracking & pitting.









                          A light dusting of flexible primer & filler did the trick nicely.
                          Sand with 600-800 grit and it's ready for paint.





                          I wanted to keep it original, so ended up masking the label and giving it a few coats of SEM Trim Black.
                          Gave it a nice satin black colour and matches the rubberised 'sheen' nicely.



                          Even preserved the patina of the 'Heckspoiler' label.



                          Now, to stop water finding it's way in - and to allow for future disassembly - I'm taking no chances.
                          Two stage seal using a self-adhesive closed cell foam pad & small circle of butyl sealant.

                          First make the foam seal & stick to the spoiler:







                          And then a small circle/donut of butyl sealant at the base the of the thread.

                          Ready for assembly!
                          E30 320i vert
                          But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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                            #28
                            Also, finally figured out why my license plate lights were so dim.



                            After some diluted cloudy ammonia + old 1" paint brush, + warm water + meguiars plastic polish and some new bulbs...
                            Good as new.

                            E30 320i vert
                            But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Now the car is back after the rust repair on the LH wheel arch and trunk spoiler holes - I pulled off the trunk seal for the remaining clean & paint correction.
                              Lucky I did, as there was some rust lurking under the trunk seal.

                              I know it's nothing compared to what our north-east brothers have to deal with - but manged to deal with it in the driveway.
                              (grind out, rust convert, primer & epoxy paint)







                              Funny most of the rust was centred around the middle of the seam near the latch.
                              Guess that's where moisture can pool for extended periods.

                              The trunk seal is good and can be reused.
                              Will clean-up and run a thin smear of butyl caulk in the valley of the pinch weld for extra insurance.

                              Definitely a surprise.
                              Be vigilant on rust people!!!
                              E30 320i vert
                              But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Busy weekend with the rear bumper coming back from being re-chromed and the Right Click remote central locking arriving.

                                For our Melbourne Australia, viewers, Modern Plating straightened, stripped, polished and chromed the bumpers.
                                Not cheap, but they look as good better than new, and 10x better than the aftermarket ones!
                                Even all the fasteners came back with a new lease of life.



                                Few assembly tips and photos to help others.

                                Assemble the bar & brackets and test-fit on the car before fitting the rear bumper rubber strip.

                                Assemble the bumper ends with the top bolt snug, ensuring the square shank is seated properly.
                                You can reach the top bolts and tighten fully when the bar is on the car.
                                Rear bolts heads are a bit harder to access as they're covered by the bumper strip and rear cover plates - so best to test fit before final assembly



                                Ideally you haven't forgotten when there brackets fit - I took a photo before removal & disassembly.
                                The top mounting bracket bolt feeds into the trunk compartment - so best to give that a watertight seal (self adhesive rubber or foam gasket works well).



                                Need to ensure the rear bumper strip is evenly positioned.
                                If it's lop-sided you can't get the end caps on.

                                Rubber strip clips can be pressed in the bumper strip channel and turned 90 degrees.
                                No need to slide the clips the length of the bumper strip to line-up with the holes in the bumper.

                                Use a screwdriver to pull the clips through and to lock into place



                                Top and bottom 'leg' should flare out and hold the clip in place.



                                If you mess it up, channel locks can squeeze clip to release.

                                E30 320i vert
                                But daily drive is Volvo V60 Polestar

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