My $150 '85 318i

[ebelements]

The instrument of brute force that I used to sand the car did too well of a job.

Hahahaha. A beater I picked up a few years back was sanded with a wire wheel.

I'm all for texture though, rock it out.

[SpyHunter]

Haha! A wire wheel!?~ Seriously? LOL. That is a bit more aggresive then I used. I feel a little better now. But not too much. ;)

And so it is time for the reveal. Still needs wet sanding and the roundels put back on, but all in all, I like how it turned out. Time to save up for the suspension mods/maintenance. If I get crazy, it will get lowered and a set of gloss black diamond racing wheels, or maybe the wheels that are currently on my Miata, powerder coated gloss black.

Pics.

[SpartanTiger81]

You should have pulled all of it off. I would have at least pulled that dent out of the rear door. To me I thought it look better before...

[kamotors]

i like

[SpyHunter]

You should have pulled all of it off. I would have at least pulled that dent out of the rear door. To me I thought it look better before...

You thought it looked better with a mis-matched fender/significantly worse body damage, pealing clear coat, and visible rust? To each his own, I guess.

As for pulling it all off, sure, I would have been able to spray the body underneath those parts. But I would have still painted them. Didn't want ANY chrome on the car. If you don't "get it", thats fine. This car is heading toward being a rat rod. It won't/can't be saved and made nice. Much too late for that.

Thanks for the input, though! :D I am sure you will like my next E30 much better.

[ebelements]

All-red those tails and satin black those sidemarkers front and rear.

Oh and roundels. Don't forget those.

[scabzzzz]

Just keep wetsanding. I think the look is good. Just hate seeing the spray marks. But Im sure you feel the same.

Drop it like its hot next with period correct wheels and it'll be fine.
Buy new bumper surrounds. Would really clean the car up a lot.

[SpyHunter]

Just keep wetsanding. I think the look is good. Just hate seeing the spray marks. But Im sure you feel the same.

Drop it like its hot next with period correct wheels and it'll be fine.
Buy new bumper surrounds. Would really clean the car up a lot.

You aren't really seeing spray marks, if you think you are. The paint actually came out nice and consistant. What you are probably seeing is the "texture" I mentioned before. According to those that have seen it, the car has a "wood grain like finish", or a "polished aluminum that has been painted black look".

I do, however, plan on wet sanding it. Might even add another coat.

Yes, I would love to do a drop. That is still up in the air, though. This car is on a budget. Serious budget. As for wheels.... Still loving the Diamond racing steelies with the round holes. If I can find some old school wheels for very little scratch, I might go that route. Time will tell there.

All-red those tails and satin black those sidemarkers front and rear.

I do like the all red tails look, but I think the blacked out markers might be too much. I will think about it, though. ;) Oh, and just waiting on the new grommets a friend has for me, to put the roundels back on.

[GotCone?]

roundels are back on. :D

[bimmerboy12]

batmobile on a budget :)
Looks good! I did a similar (more $$) job on an 85 318i I got for $750. Check it out:

http://r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=48328

[KenC]

I'd try to find some straight bumper surrounds. I think it would make the car look WAY better.

[SpyHunter]

Update. Car is now dropped like its hawt, has new tierods and A-arms, and a stereo upgrade. Oh, and a dash pad to hide all the farkin cracks in the dash! Next up, fix the damn windows (none go up or down now), and stud kit + red steelies. 8) And that is pretty much where it will stay. Probably put too much into it as it is. But had to make it liveable, even if its only a beater.

On to the pics....

First the stereo. Thanks to Stereoinstaller1 for the help. Added a cheap headunit ($99) that has MP3, USB, and iPod capability, Polk for the front speakers, my extra Alpine Type Rs for the rear, and a 4 channel amp (FREE!) to power it all. Rewired the entire car.





Dirty and apart for all the suspension work. Front end is all new, with a Cab front sway, offset CAB's, control arms, tierods, and the (used) H&R Cup Kit, all off Ebay. ;)



Annnnnnd DrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrOP!





All cleaned up and back home with the Blue car. Time to start working on that once, again. (Shut up, GotCone! :p) That and the garage! :crazy:

[SpyHunter]

I'd try to find some straight bumper surrounds. I think it would make the car look WAY better.

Might go look for some in the local yards. Forgot to mention I need a new passenger side light set. The bright is a fish bowl! :pimp: We'll see.

[Jean]

Weird, your 318i has 4 speed fan switch? Did you replace it? Does it have power windows?

[Bimmerista]

+1 on the bumper surrounds...the front just doesn't look good right now.

You should consider doing something with the wheels....like paint it black. But then if you do that, then you have to go Darth Vader & tint the windows really dark.