New member, old car, probably a lot of time and effort most people would scoff at, but a little back story first. I recently sold off a real nice Fiat 500 Abarth, that no matter the mods, money, or time I dropped into, I could never establish a care for. I still don't miss it one bit, and the thing never even gave me any problems! Wasn't difficult to work on, modded real easily, great little motor, and with some suspension and tires did well at auto-x. I always just felt a little eh about it though. Probably a subconscious thing, but I digress. I sold it and it left me with an open garage.
I had seen this old red e30 convertible for sale outside a local repair shop on and off for over a year. Looked pretty decent if you asked me!
IMG_20180213_131239 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
I stopped to look at it on a few occasions, it was oxidized, and dusty, but it looked really rust free. Being from New England, this immediately turned me on. No rust... The things I could do with this! There was also a little dent on the drivers fender and below the drivers headlight. The interior wasn't half bad either, like one small crack in the dash and decent seats. Did I mention "NEEDS MOTOR" was written across the front windshield?
IMG_20180213_131143 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
IMG_20180213_131206 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
Well I stopped by one day to speak with the shop owner and see what the deal was with the car. He said it had been his car for a few years, he had enjoyed it, but the timing belt went and he couldn't ever find the time to get to it. I can understand this, I often find myself wishing I had more time to do a thing I like, versus the things that pay. So I offered him $500 for it. He turned me down, saying he needed $800 out of it, and told me all about how the tires were brand new... They are the wrong size, just fyi. Whatever, He wouldn't haggle. Unfortunately, we had a week of torrential rain coming. And the poor e30's rear window was almost non existent.
IMG_20180213_131232 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
It hurt me inside to think about it getting filled with water, the floorpans rusting away, seats molding. So I ponied up, went back to see the man, and paid him. Then I payed for a tow back to my garage.
IMG_20180214_142131 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
It also happened to be Valentines day.. And I didn't get my girlfriend anything. She has her own BMW, a e90 335d, and took it well though. Said a little red convertible was a great gift, even if she didn't expect to ride or drive it for another 2 years. I hope she knows it mine!
So now I've got this thing taking up all my garage. I feel better, like nothing is missing in my life. Except when I go out to the garage, and see that it literally needs most everything! I still don't have a plan for it, besides pulling things apart and taking stock of the situation. I don't wanna spend any money on it, so first thing is pull out the interior. See how well off this car actually is.
IMG_20180216_220446 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
Not bad. One offender found on the passenger floor pan.
IMG_20180216_220523 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]
Little crusty here and there, but this is ok. Right? This is probably a good point to say, I have never rebuilt an entire car. I have never done any rust repair. I have never pulled a motor. I have never found a wad of cash in an old car... Well there are a lot of things I haven't done. Putting a plan together for this car though should be on the list. So I let everything dry out and started reading.
I had seen this old red e30 convertible for sale outside a local repair shop on and off for over a year. Looked pretty decent if you asked me!
IMG_20180213_131239 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]I stopped to look at it on a few occasions, it was oxidized, and dusty, but it looked really rust free. Being from New England, this immediately turned me on. No rust... The things I could do with this! There was also a little dent on the drivers fender and below the drivers headlight. The interior wasn't half bad either, like one small crack in the dash and decent seats. Did I mention "NEEDS MOTOR" was written across the front windshield?
IMG_20180213_131143 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]IMG_20180213_131206 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]Well I stopped by one day to speak with the shop owner and see what the deal was with the car. He said it had been his car for a few years, he had enjoyed it, but the timing belt went and he couldn't ever find the time to get to it. I can understand this, I often find myself wishing I had more time to do a thing I like, versus the things that pay. So I offered him $500 for it. He turned me down, saying he needed $800 out of it, and told me all about how the tires were brand new... They are the wrong size, just fyi. Whatever, He wouldn't haggle. Unfortunately, we had a week of torrential rain coming. And the poor e30's rear window was almost non existent.
IMG_20180213_131232 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]It hurt me inside to think about it getting filled with water, the floorpans rusting away, seats molding. So I ponied up, went back to see the man, and paid him. Then I payed for a tow back to my garage.
IMG_20180214_142131 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]It also happened to be Valentines day.. And I didn't get my girlfriend anything. She has her own BMW, a e90 335d, and took it well though. Said a little red convertible was a great gift, even if she didn't expect to ride or drive it for another 2 years. I hope she knows it mine!
So now I've got this thing taking up all my garage. I feel better, like nothing is missing in my life. Except when I go out to the garage, and see that it literally needs most everything! I still don't have a plan for it, besides pulling things apart and taking stock of the situation. I don't wanna spend any money on it, so first thing is pull out the interior. See how well off this car actually is.
IMG_20180216_220446 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]Not bad. One offender found on the passenger floor pan.
IMG_20180216_220523 by [URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/153148878@N02/"]Little crusty here and there, but this is ok. Right? This is probably a good point to say, I have never rebuilt an entire car. I have never done any rust repair. I have never pulled a motor. I have never found a wad of cash in an old car... Well there are a lot of things I haven't done. Putting a plan together for this car though should be on the list. So I let everything dry out and started reading.
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