Elias’ E30 project

[elias 327]

Saturdays progress. Engine and gearbox are out, and at the scrapyard. Removed sound deadening, removed rear seat, removed boot trims. Pretty much stripped as far back as it needs to be at this point for rust repair/paint. Still trying to workout the best way to get rust and paint sorted without spending a fortune. 
 

 

engine and box out. Was not a fun Job as I couldn’t use a ratchet strap to lift the back of the gearbox once the engine was up and out, so I needed to lift the whole thing up and over the front core support by hand, not a fun job extremely heavy thing. But got it done.

brake booster/master are out too pretty much a bare engine bay apart from some wiring and brake lines. Yet to figure out how to get the fuse box out. Most of the stuff on the firewall is glue residue but there are also some rusty spots that will need some attention, no holes however. 

[Eagle 1726]

42 minutes ago, elias said:

Still trying to workout the best way to get rust and paint sorted without spending a fortune. 

Flap disc take it back to clean metal, probably need a die grinder, dremel  and\or a finger sander for the blower motor area. If its too thin or gone through in areas then get someone to weld some patches in. Brush on 2k epoxy primer, seam sealer where needed. 1k base coat matched to body colour if you dont want to spend on a 2k base coat, probably get away with it since that area is not subject to much wear and UV. Cavity wax back sides of any areas you cant paint if especially if welding. Should be around a few hundred in paint and supplies then whatever welding costs are if needed (maybe a local member etc can do it for cheap).

[elias 327]

14 hours ago, Eagle said:

Flap disc take it back to clean metal, probably need a die grinder, dremel  and\or a finger sander for the blower motor area. If its too thin or gone through in areas then get someone to weld some patches in. Brush on 2k epoxy primer, seam sealer where needed. 1k base coat matched to body colour if you dont want to spend on a 2k base coat, probably get away with it since that area is not subject to much wear and UV. Cavity wax back sides of any areas you cant paint if especially if welding. Should be around a few hundred in paint and supplies then whatever welding costs are if needed (maybe a local member etc can do it for cheap).

Sweet yeah that sounds like a good plan will do that for the areas I can do myself. Just a bit stuck on what to do about the rust hole underneath the cowling near the inner guard. That’s probably not a job I’d take on myself. 

[Eagle 1726]

Yeah need right tools for sure. Worst case it may have to all cut out and a patch welded in.

[Neil McCauley 424]

Can recommend Dinitrol cavity wax for the back sides and spaces that will be hidden away.

[modz 151]

On 3/5/2025 at 10:30 AM, nick496 said:

I'm running the Sachs m20 clutch in mine and it's great for daily use. 

Haven't had any issues with the axles on my swap, but aside from a few track days it's seen mostly daily use (though now it's more of a Sunday driver). 

I have a clio booster, and after testing someone else's e30 with an e90 one, I want to swap mine. 

Def go the e90 booster over the clio one. #1 easier to find (and remove from donor) and #2 better booster feel. 

[elias 327]

12 minutes ago, modz said:

Def go the e90 booster over the clio one. #1 easier to find (and remove from donor) and #2 better booster feel. 

Good to hear, have got the 2002 reservoir, grommets and adapters for brake lines already, just need to find the time to go to pickapart to grab a booster.

[e30ftw 428]

I did a similar repair on mine. That part is borderline impossible to get to without cutting open more of the chassis. The rust starts on this piece underneath and spreads to the cowling area and under the windscreen. Check through the opening the inside of the lower windows in the corner, it usually starts from the inside. Take the fender off and you can slice open the inner fender. 

Also check the inside through those openings, feel up under the bottom of the windscreen and down (shown where I cut below). Generally the lower windshield corners rust from the inside out.

Edited March 17 by e30ftw

[elias 327]

10 hours ago, e30ftw said:

I did a similar repair on mine. That part is borderline impossible to get to without cutting open more of the chassis. The rust starts on this piece underneath and spreads to the cowling area and under the windscreen. Check through the opening the inside of the lower windows in the corner, it usually starts from the inside. Take the fender off and you can slice open the inner fender. 

Also check the inside through those openings, feel up under the bottom of the windscreen and down (shown where I cut below). Generally the lower windshield corners rust from the inside out.

That’s a lot of cutting. Probably not something I want to be doing myself, will try and talk to some panelbeaters and see what they reckon. Will pull the fender off and see how much more rust I discover. 

[elias 327]

Took the drivers side guard off to have a look and see if I find any more rust. But appears to be in good shape, rust appears to be limited to the one hole and hasn’t spread. 
 

will be getting the rust hole repair quoted by some panelbeaters not something I want to take on myself.