Less rust and hopefully some reliability- the Midwest Daily iS

[mjweimer]

Yes, I've invested in a few different face masks for my work as well, initially a bit uncomfortable but you quickly get used to it.

That's a good plan re: the brackets. I think it will be much easier to place the brackets on the patch panels rather than locate a bigger panel.

I totally agree there is no issue running the vapor line inside the cabin and even mounting the evap tank in the trunk above the fender well. BMW did this in the older cars (E21, 2002, etc.) and I can only assume they moved it all outside to avoid any smells from leaky hoses, etc.

I'm no expert welder but I have successfully used .030 wire (with gas) on the thin bodywork sheetmetal without any issue. The gas and non-flux wire really makes the big difference for my poor skills. The good news is that you can practice and get your settings right on scrap pieces before diving in to the real thing.

This work is not glamorous but it is also pretty fun and you can hone your skills in a fairly hidden area (and cover it all up in coatings ).



MJ

[AWDBOB]

Yes, I've invested in a few different face masks for my work as well, initially a bit uncomfortable but you quickly get used to it.

That's a good plan re: the brackets. I think it will be much easier to place the brackets on the patch panels rather than locate a bigger panel.

I totally agree there is no issue running the vapor line inside the cabin and even mounting the evap tank in the trunk above the fender well. BMW did this in the older cars (E21, 2002, etc.) and I can only assume they moved it all outside to avoid any smells from leaky hoses, etc.

I'm no expert welder but I have successfully used .030 wire (with gas) on the thin bodywork sheetmetal without any issue. The gas and non-flux wire really makes the big difference for my poor skills. The good news is that you can practice and get your settings right on scrap pieces before diving in to the real thing.

This work is not glamorous but it is also pretty fun and you can hone your skills in a fairly hidden area (and cover it all up in coatings ).



MJ

That's really good to know about the curing time (re: your other post)!

I got most of the patch panels made tonight and got the head removed from the parts car. My welder feed gear (internal) is damaged so I can't weld everything up yet. Good ole CAD work and some patience nets a satisfying result.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr


Parts car has some freshie fresh brake and fuel lines. I'm going to snag them to replace the terribly spliced lines on ole rusty.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[mjweimer]

Making good progress! Bummer about the welder.

Awesome that you will be able to transfer all the lines over to the iX and that head looks really clean - that parts car is turning out to be a great purchase.


MJ

[jeenyus]

damnit... now i have to look at my back passenger side wheel well... I think for the battery box, just build that first, then worry about how the valence attaches to it. that's the only part that it connects again. I have had a fun time repairing rust, but starting to long for an actual driving experience.

[AWDBOB]

Making good progress! Bummer about the welder.

Awesome that you will be able to transfer all the lines over to the iX and that head looks really clean - that parts car is turning out to be a great purchase.


MJ

The welder thankfully only needed a $4 part- a hub for the drive wheel!

damnit... now i have to look at my back passenger side wheel well... I think for the battery box, just build that first, then worry about how the valence attaches to it. that's the only part that it connects again. I have had a fun time repairing rust, but starting to long for an actual driving experience.

Yeah, I would check it out and clean it up to stop as much rust as you can from developing back there.

The problem with the battery box is that there are several pieces of metal that come together at the battery box, so to do the patches right it gets a bit more complicated.


-----------------


Made some good progress today!

-Pulled apart the cluster to investigate an inconsistent fuel gauge, alas, no nut/washer! Replaced that and replaced the ODO gears, as the ones in there were original.
-I ordered a stock cam and rockers from Febi (OEM supplier), as well as guide seals. I was going to try the new INA rockers, but they were $5 more per rocker so I decided against it. I used Febi rockers on Linda's last engine with great success, not sure what all of the heat is about online.
-I spent ample time reassembling the interior today. One that that really irks me is interior work done caveman style. Missing clips, missing screws, incorrect hardware, broken brackets etc. Thankfully I have amassed a surplus of this stuff so was able to assemble everything correctly once and for all.
-I tossed in a drivers tan sport seat I had because the comfort seat was miserable (bent, flattened, etc). Bent the handle around the iX trans tunnel. I'm looking for black leather seats, but most are $$. Hopefully I can pick up an affordable pair sometime in the future. I chased the rusty threads, cleaned the carpet under there, etc. I've been spraying RP-342 on the small stuff as I go to slow down this rust as much as possible. This stuff is fantastic. If you drive your e30 regularly in the salt, I would highly recommend picking some up.
-My 5908 was shot (needs caps and a tape deck), so I ordered the Continental/VDO TR7412UB-OR Radio. I have always wanted one of these, and am very excited to get it in. I attached below of the radio in a member's E30 (earthwormjim).
-I installed my 370mm Mtech1 from Linda into the iX because there's no sense in just letting it sit while she is down for the 3.1L.
-When I got the car the driver rear door was pulled apart. I put it all back together today, only to find out why it was pulled apart in the first place. When locked, the door will not close (as in, the mechanism will not stay in the "locked" position. When unlocked, the mechanism stays in the locked position just fine and will stay closed. I rarely have passengers, so my focus was in getting the door to lock and stay close. I got it to where I can close the door with it unlocked, and lock it manually so the car is fully secured.
-I continued to grind down rust as well to see where I need to patch on the rest of the car.
-I installed sound deadening and ensolite on the rear doors since I had them apart. The main goal is to seal the large holes with the sound deadening to cut low frequencies, and use the ensolite across most of the panel to cut high frequencies. The nice thing about this stuff is that if I ever need to get back in there I can simply peel it back to gain access.
-I found a tire supplier that had some NLA Toyo Proxes all seasons and picked up a set in 205/55r15. Next week I'm having the iX weaves straightened and refinished because they're bent. Thankfully I have a hookup for that in Indy so it is quite affordable.


Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on FlickrUntitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
TR7412UB-OR by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[AWDBOB]

And I finished out the weekend by repairing/installing the passenger side sport seat (was stuck in place and no functions worked), cleaning the carpet on that side, and removing the brake and fuel lines from the parts car.

Next update will be the head gasket job and hopefully a working welder resulting in some completed rust repair. I have all of the stuff to delete the TB heater and simplify all of the vacuum lines for the throttle body so I'm going to do that along the way. When the head is off and the engine bay is more accessible I'll install the nice brake/fuel lines from the parts car.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[rzerob]

Hey Bob. Do you know if a regular E30 chassis carpet will fit in a 325ix? My carpet needs replaced(it has holes in it) and I have not been able to find information confirming if they will fit. The trans-tunnel is the reason why I ask. But I have not found a different part number for the 325ix carpet. Your interior is looking good. You should consider just reupholstering those tan sport seats.

[AWDBOB]

Hey Bob. Do you know if a regular E30 chassis carpet will fit in a 325ix? My carpet needs replaced(it has holes in it) and I have not been able to find information confirming if they will fit. The trans-tunnel is the reason why I ask. But I have not found a different part number for the 325ix carpet. Your interior is looking good. You should consider just reupholstering those tan sport seats.

To my knowledge non-iX carpet will "fit", but gets a little weird between the gas pedal and the front seat because of said bump.

Since this is just a hoopty I really don't want to invest the time into recovering these. I am doing my iS seats myself, but for this thing I'll just find some used seats if/when they pop up on the cheap.

[moatilliatta]

Your in Indy right?

Hot under coating shower > Spark shower

[AWDBOB]

Your in Indy right?

Hot under coating shower > Spark shower

Yes- I am right outside of Indy off of i69. And agreed, shortly after the undercoating shower I tried to tack up my plates with a cheap flux machine and was reminded how great a proper spark shower feels

[moatilliatta]

Yes- I am right outside of Indy off of i69. And agreed, shortly after the undercoating shower I tried to tack up my plates with a cheap flux machine and was reminded how great a proper spark shower feels

Ill have to reach out next time up there, Cool to get some E30 folks together.

You make the trip to The Vintage?

You going to use the .023 gas wire?

[AWDBOB]

Ill have to reach out next time up there, Cool to get some E30 folks together.

You make the trip to The Vintage?

You going to use the .023 gas wire?

Agreed! The E30 population up here is slim. There is one cool car, a 3L M20 car with ITBs- he's converting to standalone for next season. The other few guys that I am friends with sold or wrecked their cars. One younger kid doing an LS swap. There is a Lachs E30 M3 that shows up to Cars and Coffee occasionally, but they don't talk to the rest of the E30 folk haha.

Always said I'd make the vintage, never made the vintage. My M3 project is like 3 years behind schedule at this point and Linda is waiting on the motor to be finished with no ETA, so I don't anticipate this year being a success either.

And yep, I'm getting a bottle and regulator this weekend! My POR15 came in so I can start on all of that fun stuff as well.

Got my radio all wired up. It took me a minute to figure out what to do, as this car had a 4ch head unit (common rear speaker ground) but no extra fluff (no premium sound, no fader, no amp). I would love to invert the display on this thing, but I don't think I want to mess with it. There was a rattle in the front right speaker so I pulled it off, looks like they're "upgraded" coaxials. I'm going to save some pennies and buy a set of four new premium sound speakers when I get the chance.

I'm also an idiot and accidentally melted my minty fresh AC button and warped my HVAC panel cover.

I was reminded that my 370mm MT1 is jacked up and sets the horn off randomly. Such a nice wheel, but I can't seem to fix that issue. eBay was good to me, though, and my brother sent me a link to a great deal on an Italvolanti, that I picked up. I also won a bidding auction and got myself a $37 non-airbag under dash panel.

Untitled by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr
italvolanti by Bobbie Morrone, on Flickr

[mjweimer]

Nice score on the steering wheel!

Even if you can't take one of your cars, The Vintage is a great event to attend and soak in all the sights and sounds. I need to make a return trip.


MJ

[AWDBOB]

Nice score on the steering wheel!

Even if you can't take one of your cars, The Vintage is a great event to attend and soak in all the sights and sounds. I need to make a return trip.


MJ

I have always wanted to go! If you end up going and I have a running car, let me know, I may have to caravan down with you.

----------------------------

Well folks.....this car was a hopeful purchase that turned discouraging.

I started to install the good brake and fuel lines I had, and I think I've hit my stopping point with this car. I don't think it'd be safe in an accident.

The car had caulk all over it that was painted over, and I didn't realize the extent of the damage until I started poking around at it. The entire floor area behind the drivers side wheel well is gone, and the seam to the frame rail is rusted almost down the length of the car. I pulled the carpet up and the rocker boxes are rusted from the inside into the floor as well. The front frame rails also have rust, as well as the transfer case mount to the body. In working with the brake/fuel lines today, the whole structural area that the subframe mounts to on the drivers side is gone. The rear frame rails underneath the valance are also completely toast.

I am calling this one quits. Pretty pissed because I wasted a ton of time on this thing. Hopefully I can find a car that isn't a total shitbox.

I'm going to do a partout on this thing if anyone needs iX bits.

Cheers-

[zwill23]

God damn... not where I hoped this was going. RIP

These E30s can hide detrimental rust pretty well, a friend of mine bought a car in PA that looked quite minty from the exterior with no signs of rust until we jacked the car up and I was fearful to get the jackstands under it let alone drive it.

Hopefully something reasonable comes up soon, maybe a rwd with snow tires is the ideal candidate.