E30 Touring Resto Project (Picture heavy)

jozi

Been awhile since I did an update. I was getting the hang of the zinc plating and then it went to **** and just couldnt get a nice plate. I cooked up a new batch of electrolite and it's pretty much been working 100% since. For anyone thinking of doing it, you need patience and it's prob less hassle to let the pro's do it

This is more or less what I've done so far


Most of the bolts for the door lock, the lock brackets and bit are plated and a few other bolts from around the door also. Have started on doing the subframe nuts/bolts also, eccentric washers and nuts below for the rear arms. They were new but I decided to strip the coating from them and make them more shiny and maybe? more resistant to rust than what ever bmw had on them.



I also gave the rack a good clean, new inner track rods (don't have or can't find outer ones) and new rubber boots, hardlines got some surface rust removed and a coat of paint, likewise with the spline and the two banjo bolts were zinc plated.

jozi

Small update as progress has been nearly non-existant since starting a new job 5 weeks ago.

Old shell is another step closer to being scrap ready now that I got the last of the shadowline trim removed last weekend and the rear quarter glass.






And yes that one pice of glass missing


Good thing I have spare from the red shell that has been restored.

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If a mod sees/reads this could they move this to the new project section please

jozi

Little bit of progress this weekend, quite happy with what I got done for once

Subframes were looking a bit worse for wear with dust from the paint shop and some paint chipped etc from being moved around. Decided to make use of some of bmw's own stone chip, more like a heavy rubberized paint than anything else, and treat the underside of the front subframe and the whole rear subframe with it, and some satin paint to make it look a little better. Both are ready to be refitted once I do the same with the trailing arms and wishones next time I'm home.





Close up of the slightly textured finish.


I also got the front of the car soundproofing started, made patterns using the old car as a template. Front of the car is done, will be adding more to some of the larger empty areas and I have another product I might use to cover the whole floor pan.

Ded_Zebra

How come this hasn't been moved to the project forum

I thought the idea for that forum was triggered by this thread :P

jozi

Ded_Zebra wrote: »

How come this hasn't been moved to the project forum

I thought the idea for that forum was triggered by this thread :P

I was meant to pm a moderator, which I haven't done yet.

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I've mostly been tidying up small bits here and there before I refit the subframes again. Plan is to also use Bilthmaber underseal in the arches and possibly a few other places under the car, it's a nasty looking black coating though.

I've only so far fitted the front subframe and rack and the rear end can be bolted up once I have brake lines made and do up the clamps on the new cv boots.




Anyone with BC Coils notice the rear rubber above the top mount perishing? I've had them maybe 2 years and 0 miles and the rubber is full of cracks.

unkel

jozi wrote: »

I was meant to pm a moderator, which I haven't done yet.

Moved to Projects!

jozi

unkel wrote: »

Moved to Projects!

Thanks unkel. I prob should have pmed you ages ago

Interslice

What's the story with your sound deadening material? I'm trying to figure out the best way to do my floor and wheel arches.

jozi

It's 2mm silent coat. The idea with it really is to cover 25-50% of a panel but I decided to copy the original BMW deadening. I'll be adding some more where BMW didn't use any and additionally I also have a decoupling layer and a sound proofing layer but I've not decided if I will use these yet as I'd be adding a substantial amount of weight. Have a browse of talk audio forums, there's a lot of info on there and some other sites.

jozi

Just a small update

Got a start made on rebuilding the trailing arms, new kunifer brake lines, stainless brake nuts and stainless goodridge braided hoses



Tools used


One finished brake line


And one trailing arm


I have to zinc a few of the bolts that are used on the parking brake and get some new pads before I can finish the brakes of. Discs also need a bit of de-rusting and if my kit can manage I'll zinc plate them also.

jozi

For the past few weeks I've been prepping the arches for some undersealing and finally last weekend and this weekend I got it done. I had 4L of bilthamber dynax ub lying around dying to be used so, purists look away because this won't be to your liking






And up close


It's a slightly tacky finish, stuff will probably stick to it but I had my reasons for using it and there's no way it's gonna rust under there!

Also, got a few more parts plated, few bolts were new and re-plated and the rest was cleaned up, de-rusted and replated


The diff is in a big tub de-rusting, my attempt at eletrolysis didn't really work, think I used the wrong powder and I couldnt find the right stuff at the time so I've put a load of bilthamber dynax powder in the tub, a little water pump and a aquarium heater to help the process along.

I've a few more parts to plate but I think I might have enough done to start putting subframe's back on the car next weekend :dance:

Anyone know how to remove the top mount bolts from bc coilovers? The look pressed in. They have gone a little grubby and I want to plate them like the nuts on them

jozi

Small update, didn't get as much done as I wanted to over the weekend. Ran out of paint and my handbrake cable doesn't fit :mad:

Had the diff soaking in deox c for the past week with a little aquarium pump and heater. Came out nearly spotless with next to no rust


Few little spots like this left but painted it up anyway




Ran out of paint so only one coat, will do another coat next weekend and should be fine. Also got new bolts, yellow passivated them so they are pretty. Just need some washer and zinc the speed sensor plate and it can all go back together.

Also got the diff cover cleaned up and painted



Anyone know the correct orientation for the bush?

jozi

I just had a few days of tidying up some lose ends and loads of small job which meant I finally made some progress by the end of today

Few touch-ups to the front struts and disc backing plates


I had to get custom handbrake cables made as a result of chopping up 10cm of the metal tube under the car in which it runs. From what I remember I bought a cable in a motor factors and got a company to make me a pair exactly the same only with 10cm added to the outer cable. All well and good till I went to fit it, the little eye let was to wide and to wide :mad: Some minutes later on a bench grinder and 40mins in the zinc tank and she fits


When I pulled of the bearing from the struts I found this


Pretty bad I thought for a pair of bearings with no miles on them that has been on a car that was sitting up. Treated them and painted up the worst of it with alloy wheel silver, came up lovely.




I only realised today I forgot the backing plates, luckily I was able to pull the bearings of again, the nearly slid of.

Rear discs were also a bit rust, cleaned them up with a wire wheel and some paint on the bells (I'll pull the masking tape of the brake surface when she's ready to go on the road)


Diff painted up with 2x coats of hammerite after I ran out of spray paint, bit shiny but it will do, diff cover also painted with wheel silver. Just got to zinc the sensor plate and the 2x alen bolts for filling her up.


And finally today with some help of my brother we got the lot bolted up under the car :dance:

All thats left to do it tighten everything up to their torque value's set the camber/caster and a couple more small jobs but she's as good as ready for wheels to be put on.




Front end also all bolted up and ready for wheels after all the bolts are torqued up right.


I zinc plated the rear subframe brackets and painted them silver since I ran out of black, came out fine though.


And here's a little something I've been working on as well

jozi

Slowly but surely things are coming together. I spent the last 4 days or so doing the brake and fuel lines.

I didn't enjoy these 2 jobs at all and hope not to have to do them for a long time! I used kunifer hardlines all round with stainless braided lines and also stainless brake nuts.

I had bought a new T-Piece which turned out to be imperial so I atacked the old one with the angle grinder and used it, should be fine anyway.



Lines at the rear of the car


Few small problems When I mocked up my ABS relocation I must have used the E30 servo, which I think isn't as deep as the Clio one


With everything tightened up properly there's maybe 2mm between the two, might just have to shave a corner of the abs cover!

I also have a problem with the servo and a brake line clip getting in the way of each other


Dent the servo or shave a little of the clip? If I space the servo out I might not be able to bolt it up and it will foul the ABS unit.

Another problem noticed when doing the brake lines is that my diff isn't centred, is this normal, should I be worried? I couldnt seem to move it to the centre when I tried.

I also got the fuel lines installed but no pics apparently, just need to trim them in the back and by the tank next tiem I'm home.

Anyone know can the tank go on with the subframe in place or does it need to come off?

I'm also missing the 2x pipes that are supposed to run over the top of the tank if anyone has them?

jozi

Small update, started cleaning the engine today, with looking about as good as I think I'll get it without stripping it all down and getting everything vapour blasted or using some other method to clean alloys.

I used Frost Ali-Clean to clean everthing after a de-greasing. While it does work it doesn't seem to get it spotless, the rough area's come up better than the smooth areas. You also need to protect the alloy again or it will corrode in no time, I'm using ACF-50 after hearing good things about it.

Before and after for one of the engine arms



And just an after from the engine, it wasn't bad (started cleaning it before) but it had a bit of white corrosion over most of it.



The exhaust side came up much better then the intake side. I'm debating doing the stat housing, oil filter housing, alternator and a few other parts myself or getting them vapour blasted.

jozi

Quick update with some stuff from last week, back working to just get the weekends at it from now on

This here is the reason I started zinc plating everything, the original ones just looked crap next to the fresh paint.



I got the doors built back up as well, just need to cable tie the wiring to the door and a few other little bits.




One of the rear motor's had seized, turns out that you can use the motors from a front winder. Just 2x screws, pull it of and fit it to the other.

Anyone know if this looks right, wasn't sure which way it went back on.


Decided to splash out on some goodies, M52 BBTB, Mishimoto silicone elbow and rear top mount reinforcement plates

jozi

Gave the inside of the car a bit of a clean last weekend and started on the loom.

I did my best to keep it all neat when removed from the old car and I rolled up each loom run after I put it into the new shell. It didn't work out though :mad: I spent a good while untangling various parts of it while laying it out inside the front of the car.

The rear end for the most part is in, it need clipping together here and there but it should all be in the right place.


Front is still a bit of a mess, looms run where they should but arent tied down with anything clips or what not.


I'll try sort out this mess and work from there next time


Few things I'm unsure of, are these bullit connectors meant to be there, they both have a wire coming out of them with a connector on the end


This plug is close to the fuel tank under the rear bench, driver side, I've not got a clue what it plugged into anymore?


Does anyone know which way BMW routed the battery to boot cable in the 324 or 325ix tourings? Should there be anything other than the standard wiring cover and what happens the wires running along the rear arch behind the trim panel?


This mess here will also need tidying up over the next few weeks :eek:

jozi

Not much to update really, have kinda lost a bit of interest for different reasons. Forgot I had these photo's on my camera.



The white stuff is just carpet underlay which I'll be using as a decoupling layer between the car body and the sound deadening I'm using. I'm not sure if I'll be covering everything but at least I'll be doing behind the dash, under the rear seats and the boot area.



I also had a few parts from the engine vapour blasted, they look as good as new if not better! I have them all well soaked in ACF50 which should keep them from getting corroded again!



Anyone looking to use/buy reinforcement plates for on a touring, they need a little modification to be made fit.

jozi

Things have been quiet on the touring front for the last while. After a few setbacks and holdups I finally got bolting up some of the vapour blasted parts. While those were being done I also had what ever brackets and nuts/bolts I could find sent of for powder coating and zinc plating (the later being one of the holdups...)

Still piecing things back together bit by bit, loom is just loosely sitting on the engine


Never mind the grubby bolts for the damper thing, they will be replaced with shorter ones after it gets a clean up.


All the alloy bits came up like new


I thought the PS pump was black it was that dirty when I got it


New water pump and stat housing also got a quick clean as they had gone white from sitting up the last year


Replated studs



Some of the other bits I had plated




Also undersealed the front crossmember with Bilthamber UB. I previously used this in the arches and brushed it on, for what ever reason I didn't think of it at the time but using a roller gives it a slightly nice looking finish.



Anyone know where these two studs belong?

jozi

I had these little guys made recently and decided to try them out after a few modifications so they would fit.



The old shifter linkage has had everything removed from it and all will be replaced with new parts before it goes back into the car again.



For the bush to fit you need tile file of the little bits sticking out so the bush will slide on




Here's where the whole lot goes



I've got some spare delrin that I might use to make up some more parts if theres enough interest?

Darraghmh91.

Are you goin puttin new glass and all in this car for a full restoration

jozi

That wasn't something I've thought about. The front screen was only a year old when I pulled her of the road. I dont know the cost of new glass but I doubt I want to know. Old glass will be going back in.

Darraghmh91.

If it's good glass then keep it there just clean them up
I'd like to get new glass for my own project but 400 for rear window is pricy

jozi

Darraghmh91. wrote: »

If it's good glass then keep it there just clean them up
I'd like to get new glass for my own project but 400 for rear window is pricy

For an E30? Do you have a thread?

I think the glass is good, I can't remember being unhappy or anything with it. Might look into getting some sort of polishing compound to see if little scratches can be buffed out with the DA.

Darraghmh91.

No sorry man nor an e30 I only gave a starlet ha
I'd say there if definatly somethin you can get to bring it and get the buffer to it then maybe use auto glym glass polish and see if it helps if image It would help with it

jozi

This thread is long over due an update! Not much has happened this year between it being to cold, no interest/motivation and not going home most weekends to work on the touring not a lot has happened!

The good news is the touring now looks like this:


Few bits stored inside for transport:


An E30 equipped Alfa 147:



A few weeks ago myself and a member e30owners got ourselves a shed, it's only about 15-30mins drive depending on traffic from where I live in Dublin. The past two weekends I've (with a lot of help from the brother) done a bit of tidying up around and gathered parts and so far done two runs with the Alfa stashed full of E30 parts. I still need to get the E30 trailered down (proving to be expensive or difficult) which I hope to sort this week or asap so I can get cracking on.


"Storage room" is slowly turning back into a spare bedroom:


Few pics I found which I hadn't up loaded yet from last December, some other little bits and pieces have been done but nothing major.

E30 323i (I think) flywheel I got a few years ago, had it skimmed ages ago, needed a little cleaning with a wirebrush.




There isn't much I can do with out the touring being here other than some small bits and pieces in preparation. Started polishing the glass this evening, plan is to get them nice and clean and then treat them with some sort of rain repellent on the outside and anti fog on the inside.


Once the glass is all polished and coated my first priority is to get it all fitted and wash her cause it looks nasty!

kdevitt

Hows the paint holding up with the car being left outdoors?

jozi

Besides being covered in a year's worth of dust it's probably fine.



Once washed I don't see any problems with it. Not noticed any bubbling or defects but it's not exactly easy to see anything with the ****e on it

kdevitt

Probably best letting the dirt protect it

Can't imagine you'll have any paint issues to be honest. When do you think you'll get this finished?

jozi

That was my thinking as well I didn't want to chance a cover, with constant wind blowing I'd be afraid of it scratching eventually.

Id like to drive it this summer, even if it's the end of the summer, but I don't know how achievable that is. Have it in a shed as of last sat, hopefully get a bit more time spent on it. Your more than welcome to pop down for a nosey