Olaf

Awesome, thanks Harm. I had thought of re-masking (it had gotten damp); cutting corners based on not enough time cost me dearly. I’d looked into the manufacturer’s recommendations for cleanup, they weren’t at all obvious! Ive got to do some wide beads with MS at home between plastered concrete and cement board, I’ll definitely mask for that. PS: Can Guns were on my list but never realised. I've ordered a pair now! PPS: Tef-Gel, looks like a winner. Will try to get some.

Date: 16 Jun 2021 Distance: 262884kms 1. Hardlines and Fueltank Balance Tube Some minor surface fust forming was observed last WoF, so I put the car up high, scuffed the hardlines with a scotchbrite, treated with KB Rust Blast, masked up, then painted with Epoxy KB Rust Seal. Before After. 2. Exhaust Leak WhiIe addressing the hardlines, I noticed soot on the exhaust near where the shape is squished a little to pass the back axle. A little Y-shaped split had formed. This was a welding job, Jon at Auto38 executed admirably. Before Exhaust repaired. 3. Pre annual trip checks Replaced front RH indicator bulb. Oil (Penrite HPR5), Filter (Mahle OX91), and 65ml of MBL8. EDIT: Last oil change was 260672 in Nov 2019, 2212kms/20 months ago. Emptied boot. 4. Boot spoiler & bootlid seal replacement My original spoiler had distorted and lifted, and was letting water into the boot. As the car's in dry storage it was less of an issue, but of concern when contemplating a wet journey or outdoor parking. The BMW factory spoilers have a steel rib within them, and threaded mounting tabs for six 10mm plastic mounting nuts, each with a closed cell foam washer. Water works its way into the spoiler, rusting the steel, distorting the shape. I think we’ll see this more often as these cars age. I'd acquired a replacement spoiler more than a year ago, though it needed paint prep as it was body colour Delfin. My original was the standard unfinished matt black. I discussed with the team at Union Hardware, wanting guidance on how to refinish. They reconnended prepping by first cleaning, then wet sanding with 400 grit wet and dry followed by 600 grit. Then a coat of Plastic Adhesion Promoter, Etch Primer, and then Primer Surfacer. If left overnight, dry rubbed back with 600 grit wet and dry. Then the usual body colour plus clear coat. They noted I'd get a matt finish, so not to go to the expense of the UPOL clear I usually use. They also recommended using windscreen sealant to assist with keeping the water out. I duly bought the supplies I didn't already have, and then mentally prepared. I also ordered new spoiler nuts and gasket washers. Sanding the spoiler was fun, a light touch is essential, and patience as the W&D used wet is slow work. I used a foam block for the straight parts. I used KB Rust Blast as a precautionary measure on the mounting bolts, rinsing and drying after 20 mins. I masked off the threads in preparation for paint. Plastic Adhesion Promoter is unusual to use, it goes on clear, flashes off and that's it. You don't let it dry. Etch Primer is a dust coat only. I'm still working on that, my OCD alter-ego wants a uniform finish. The Primer Filler is easy to spray, and levels out nicely. It'll fill minor imperfections. I left the spoiler to cure. My lesson from this section: when using aerosols, spray a quick burst onto your masking paper away from the job, before applying paint. I got a splat of something gluey first shot with the Etch, that I had to sand out later. Fast forward to painting time. What can I say. Dust coat, flash time, 3 wetter coats with ~10 mins in-between. For all of the painting I used my customary water bath technique to help the paint flow better. For the clear coat I got the temperature too high, and the can distorted. I was lucky. Use *warm*, not HOT water! A water bath, recently. Primer Filler (in case you were wondering). I left the spoiler to dry overnight, and turned to the boot lid seal. Lachssilbered-up and cleared. The old boot seal was visuallly in good shape, though it had lost its elasticity and had a couple of small tears. The new one looked great. Removing the trim is a pain, punching down the centre of the plastic trim rivets. I was concerned about what I'd find beneath the seal. I needn't have worried. For a 31 year old car it was in good shape, mior surface crust in two spots (the corners above the tail lights). A light scuff and rust blast, follwed by drying with the heat gun sorted that. As a precautionary measure I brushed on Rust Seal paint along the seam between the rear tail light panel and the seal mounting edge, and left it overnight to cure/dry. Nice bit of flange that. New Seal ready to install. Installing the seal was easy. Find the centre of the seal, work from the back (beneath the rear screen) and push fit your way around. A little rubber grease eases the process. If you've got it right, it'll meet neatly in the centre to the right of the latch. One part slides into the other - it’s correct length right out of the packet. The new seal makes it harder to close the boot lid, and it sounds amazing - "cl-UNK", on closing. Job's a good un. A perfect join. Mounting the spoiler was a be-atch. These are not designed to use sealant. I test-fitted. I used a thin bead of sealant before applying to the car, being careful around the two drains not to block them with too much material. Holding the foam gaskets to the nuts with a tiny dab of sealant helps. You need 1/4" 10mm socket with an extension for this job. Old gasket seals and nuts as removed. New gasket seals and plastic nuts When I attached the spoiler and started tightening it down, It seemed to be proud at the leading edge, so I added more. Not recommended! Lessons. Mask up if you're using sealant. Prepsol is great for removing from the spoiler. I used Isopropyl and it took off some of the paint, though lifted it from the panel with ease. Prepsol was great, not harming the paint but thinning and further preading the sealant. Loads of clean rags recommended. Buy trim rivets when you order the boot seal, and order 8 or 10 gasket washers in case you lose one. The spoiler looks good, on reflection I could more easily have used Satin Black instead. All that remains before the next road trip is a wash, new battery (or take a jump pack), and get my (new-ish) phone to consistently pair with the stereo.

I'm wondering *why* one would feel compelled to lower one of these. It's not like you need to lower its centre of gravity to improve the handling on touring roads in any meaningful way. Plus *let's unleash 507hp on Goodrides!!!* 😱

I think a Honda Elite scooter from the 1980's has been missing since a collision with this car. [Image linked from Wikipedia under CC SA 3.0] That front bumper - at least in its current state on that car, at this time, is dugly.

this thread is meta discussion from Facebook, and a spammage posting of a frankly dodgy "theft". The facts are not available.

I take it one step further. Open flap, fill gas, close flap, lock, pay, come back, unlock, drive off.

oh man, you'd come so far. Sorry to hear, Mark @modz.

Finally, the other item I forgot to include in my runthrough of what you need you consider as part of your M5x swap is - amongst your certing, suspension refresh, and brakes - the 5 stud swap. If you want to know how it's done, don't ask - google. A specific form of e36 front control arms, some knuckles, the rear from one of the Z3's or a Ti (I forget which), and then of course the right rotors, calipers, pads etc. You'll find more -ve camber, and a big selection of wheels... join the long queues of e30 conversion owners looking for a diminishing supply of the same 16 and 17 inch 5 stud wheels. Have you bought a car yet?

@Autoglym @Neal

awesome. [edit] - could this be a great opportunity for me to pick up an affordable e46 M3? Surely there'll be many displaced by carefully sourced GR Yaris.... I heard Toyota did bring some in - all pre-sold.

Good vidjo! [EDIT] mein gott some of their camera positions get the shot but are a bit risky! [EDIT II] Their editing is fresh; lots of candid footage from multiple cameras, tightly edited to avoid 'too much filler', they're using ND filters on their cameras and grading the output in post so it looks good. Contrast that to the Fab Rats version that has way too much saturation and contrast. I've been watching Jerry from Bullshitkorner for years. Discovered his e46 repair videos, laughed at his batchelor cooking videos, and was won over by his excellent engineering projects. You get garage, outdoor, and four wheeling projects, and the occasional rant. (this one's NSFW for some of the language)

Awesome. What's prompted the 5-stud conversion on the racecar, more brakes? I should note that's a decent collection of Resene cans there too. Waterborne enamels FTW!

^^^ this post needs PICTURES!!! 😀

what, so it blends in those obviously stuck-on arch extensions to look 'factory'? The whole look is based on paying homage to race cars, while getting a wildly extended track 'street legal', and it works. Frenching-in extensions will probably crack anyway, which is why it went out of vogue.

but the runflat rims are stronger and heavier - made for that extra demand RFTs place on them.

No. Austere models - now referred to as 'poverty spec' are low-cost, optioned down, to keep the price low. It usually added $1000 or thereabouts to the price to add an autobox. So no, the 'luxury' of Automatic has no place in a poverty spec car of the 70's or 80's. Go buy a car already! PS - poverty spec is a pretty ironic reference for a cheap 4 cyl BMW that cost more than half the price of a three bedroom house in a second or third-tier suburb back around '87-90.

tht's not poverty-spec, it's got powah windows! and foglights, and rear headrests. try no tacho, wind-up windows, slicktop, manual, no aircon. Just an electric antenna and a radio cassette.

so you factor in some welding, or a door skin, or a door if you can find one for a coupe. You can pick holes in it from your armchair, or you can get an inspection done (by a BMW specialist!) or go see it for yourself. They're thirty year old classics, a perfect one will cost you over $30k now, and if it's rare it'll cost you $60k. They all need work, it's a question of being sure what needs doing, and is it worth it to you.

if you buy a very tidy coupe and buy an M52 (and the right sump) and appropriate gearbox and do the full service of all those parts mentioned earlier and conversion finishes with around $25k outlay (it costs a bit more to do an M52 conversion than an M20). So $13k - unless it's a complete basket case - isn't unreasonable. Question is, where do you want to be for your $25k?

All the work's been done, and it's certed. Not to say you wouldn't spend a few $k on sorting the body - does it have the usual e30 rust or is it clean and sorted? My personal view is those wheels are dugly, but one many's meat is another's poison! It might need a few $k on bringing maintenance up to spec, or it could be good. But hey, if it's certed, wof'd, and rego'd, and it's an M52B28, and a slicktop coupe, for $13k. Worth investigating at least. [EDIT: wonder which gearbox they used?] I suspect it'll shift quickly unless there's something glaringly wrong. Note: this is not a recommendation for you to buy. Caveat emptor.

shame your tyre shop didn't mention the buckles! +10 points for Dukes of Hazzard action, though.

Friends don't let friends go to VTNZ. Find a good independent, develop a trust relationship with them instead. VTNZ commented on my WoF sheet that the oil was low. The oil was in fact perfect - they didn't know how to read an M54 dipstick.

PS: http://www.unixnerd.co.uk/e30models.html

I can't afford the real thing, even if I could find one. So I'm rolling my own.

there's a project thread if you look for it. I'm not sure being the voice of reason is entirely useful, it has a short shelf life.