Elias’ E30 project

[elias 385]

Got a message from the panelbeater tonight that the cad was done. Went and fetched it after work, wasted no time as I was quite excited to have it back. Hired a trailer and jumped in the touareg to collect it. 

overall very happy with how it looks, yes there are some minor imperfections if you’re being very picky but for the money I paid you absolutely cannot complain. Rust hole is fixed (they chopped a piece of the cowl out to access it, then welded it back in and painted it blending up the a pillar), rust holes in firewall fixed, rust around boot seal lip fixed and painted, as well as entire engine bay/front structure painted. All of that cost half of what another shop had quoted for just the engine bay paintwork. 

next up I need to waterblast the underside of the car, strip out all the suspension and under seal the whole underside. If anyone has any reccomendations for a good underseal product that can be applied via brush/roller that would be much appreciated, unfortunately don’t have anywhere where I can spray. 

[elias 385]

Some more progress over the last week or so. Stripped all the suspension out, arms, struts, steering rack, front and rear subframe a, diff handbrake cables etc have all been removed. 

Masked up the engine bay and have begun painting the underside. Just using black Epoxy paint, any spots where there was minor surface rust wire wheeled back to clean metal. Will go over any seams with seam sealer and then do another coat of black epoxy. Very time consuming and messy process but will be worthwhile. Have done the first coat on the front wheel arches and underside of engine bay so far, lots more painting to do. 

also made up a new Clevis pin to adapt the e30 brake booster bracket thing that the pedal pull rod actuates to the e90 booster. 

[elias 385]

Busy weekend lying on the garage floor covered in dirt. Dropped the fuel tank out, and cleaned the whole underside with a drill brush, degreaser etc. Then painted the whole underside. Long day of painting the entire underside with a paintbrush. Looks much better now though. Just need to seam seal a few spots and go over them with the black paint again. Then the fuel tank can go back in. 
 

Next up will be subframes, arms, hubs knuckles etc will all need a good clean (sandblast maybe?) and paint or powdercoat, yet to decide what I want to do. 
 

 

[Eagle 1759]

Did you happen to get a wheel alignment before all this work? E30's trailing arms aren't strong and bent especially given their age 

[elias 385]

3 hours ago, Eagle said:

Did you happen to get a wheel alignment before all this work? E30's trailing arms aren't strong and bent especially given their age 

No unfortunately not, I drove it straight home (bought with a blown head). And took it apart straight away. I have some rear arms I bought off a parts car that I will be using as I am converting to disc brake rear, but also don’t have an alignment report from the car they came off of. 

[Eagle 1759]

Assuming you going to cert it then doing adjustable toe\camber brackets could be a good idea while everything is out,. Bit of a hassle but could well pay off if the arms arent perfect and you are lowering it.  

[elias 385]

Made a bit more progress, making the most of the long weekend. Sandblasted and painted clutch and brake pedals, painted the firewall side of the pedal box, installed the pedals and a new Sachs Master into the pedal box. Got the e90 brake booster fitted as well, still need to make a plan for teeing the front brake lines into the e90 master. Pedal box hooked up to the booster with the linkage too, works smoothly with the stainless clevis pin I made. Painted the fuel tank and put that back in the car also.

installed the heater box with a new genuine gasket to make sure there’s no leaks, hooked up the cables for the controls. 

painted the floor inside the car as well, put the dash back in and started plugging a few things back in, fingers crossed at least the important stuff works. Still need to put a whole bunch of trims and bits and pieces in to complete the dash but it’s a start. Also some wiring to sort out. Some photos below. 

[325iRod 144]

@elias where did you get the stereo blanking plate?

[elias 385]

4 minutes ago, 325iRod said:

@elias where did you get the stereo blanking plate?

I actually found it in the glovebox of the car when I finally managed to open it. The latch was broken, had to drill it out and found all sorts in there. It’s only in the dash temporarily until I find a nice oem looking headunit and sort the wiring out.  

[325iRod 144]

@elias Nice find, if you ever want to sell it ill take it off your hands  

[deedub 102]

2 hours ago, 325iRod said:

@elias Nice find, if you ever want to sell it ill take it off your hands  

Came across this in the past on FCP euro. Considered getting one for my E30 until I could get OEM for it.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-radio-frame-64111368515

Expensive for what it is though. Must be some cheaper after market ones out there.

Edited Tuesday at 05:13 AM by deedub

[elias 385]

3 hours ago, 325iRod said:

@elias Nice find, if you ever want to sell it ill take it off your hands  

I will keep you in mind, once I find a radio I like and remove it, I shall offer it to you first.