E30 M3 Steel Bodywork Conversion

[bmwmech1]

Thanks everybody... working through some gremlins, but I moved it under it's own power tonight! I pulled it out behind the shop and was going to do a video of a little tire spinning action but... I ran out of gas, lol! I only put a gallon or so in it and between all of the run time and troubleshooting little things, I consumed the gallon... very funny. I ran and got some more, but it was all but dark by then, so no video yet. I did lay a nice set of twin stripes into the shop and took a picture with my phone, but it has a giant white orb in the center of the picture, so I'll get one tomorrow with my camera. The clutch was time consuming to get bled out, but ended up good... it hooks up and spins the tires rather effortlessly... kind of scary, but in a good way. What a hoot to actually drive this car, which I've never driven... remember, it was a non-running shell when I drug it up here from Baltimore, so it was a good feeling for sure! More photos and videos soon...

I appreciate all the support,

Garey

[MattAvino]

Truly Incredible transformation.

[TrentW]

A milestone which I'm sure brought on school girl giggles.

Just went back to page 1 for a flashback. You gotta feel pretttty proud of this.

[kingston]

Garey, now driver to Guten Fest! Hahahah! I kid, I kid! Congratulations, man! Really psyched for ya!

[euroshark]

Still loving every second of this thread. I wish I didn't live on the other side of the country because I'd really like to see this car up close.

[zxert]

Sounds sooooo nice. I've been watching since day one. When I heard it start I wanted to jump up and yell. Then I realized... I'm at work.

We are proud of you. Keep it up.

[bmwmech1]

Thanks man, it's been nice to have all the support through this ridiculously long project... thanks for sticking with it!

Garey

[LJ851]

Giggity

Well said.

[Cletonius]

coming along nicely! looks and sounds great Garey!

[euroshark]

Thanks man, it's been nice to have all the support through this ridiculously long project... thanks for sticking with it!

Garey

lol. My 6 has been off the road since this time three years ago. I'm just now finishing up the welding and starting with epoxy and primer work. I'd say you're doing pretty damn well!

[bmwmech1]

lol. My 6 has been off the road since this time three years ago. I'm just now finishing up the welding and starting with epoxy and primer work. I'd say you're doing pretty damn well!

Yeah, but the 6 is bigger, so it takes longer, lol! Honestly, it's not really about the time involved, as I've really enjoyed it. It just seems like a long time when you tell a non-enthusiast that you've been working on it for 2+ years... they tend to look at you like you have 6 heads and never really grasp the amount of time it takes to do something like this, lol...Thanks man,

Garey

[DTM190]

2+ years for what you have done is GOOD Garey. Congrats mate!

[hamilton325i]

Yes Garey! So excited to hear this beauty is ready to thrash around. Enjoy it. You earned it.

[85e325]

How is she coming together???

[bmwmech1]

How is she coming together???

Thanks for asking, here's a small update...

Since the car has a cage, but I wanted a full interior in it as well, I pushed the cage tubes out into the A and B-pillars as far as I could, but they're not completely buried. This creates an issue with all of the factory panels fitting back in without having to modify them. Thankfully, the dash required modification only to the brackets that bolt to the car and nothing else. Not the same case with the pillar covers and the rear seat side panels. I knew these would require some finessing, so not a big deal. I started on the rear seat side panels this week...

First thing I did was to get some PVC in 2"ID by 2' long and cut it in half lengthwise. This will serve as my mold for my tubing reliefs on all of the panels I need to make/modify. Then I laid up 2 reliefs and let them cure, using vaseline as my mold release. Next, I stripped off all of the factory vinyl and padding from the side panels and marked where my reliefs needed to go. Then I glassed the reliefs onto the front of the panel and once cured, I flipped the panel over, cut out the sections that corresponded to the reliefs and glassed the setup from behind, as well. After that cured I had a small piece that needed to be added at the top to clear the start of the bend of the cage up the B-pillar. Pictures say a thousand words, so...





I also covered my HVAC delete panel in a 3M vinyl with a black, brushed, anodized finish, which didn't photograph well, but you can see the effect a little in the first picture. I covered the headlight switch panel, the trim that goes over the column, the HVAC panel and the gauge bezel. I looks nice and appropriate. I had originally thought about C/F, but this looks much better, since there is no C/F on the car anywhere else. It blends in, but looks custom at the same time, so it fits my theme for the interior perfectly...





Keen observers will also notice the DEI micro relay boxes on the trans tunnel... I did the E38/9 window switch mod, with both windows controlled by the second detente on the drivers switch. It's a pretty slick mod and pretty easy to do and is really cool to be able to drop both windows at the same time from the drivers switch.

Until the next update...

Garey

PS Anyone have a minty headlight switch they want to donate, lol? The original one looks like dogs*%t with the new panels. I also need a set of plastic kick panels. I have a drivers side, so I guess I only need a P/S really. PM with any details...