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Fizzy Bimmer - DOUBLE JEOPARDY


dc2100k

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Why don't you weld it? Looks easier to do than the faff of trying to get glue to bond. 

Epoxy isn't very flexible and as the roof on the body flexes a lot, it's likely to break pretty quickly. Also a E30 cab will have reinforcement in the door and won't rely on the roof to stop the body flexing. 

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Welders and roof skins don’t mix very well it’s really easy to get it all wobbly and set the inside of the car on fire at the same time .

I recon I’d be tempted to bond the repair too but there’s special stuff Automotive stuff that allows a bit of flex . Most modern BMW’s are glued together a anyway .

 

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21 minutes ago, cort16 said:

Welders and roof skins don’t mix very well it’s really easy to get it all wobbly and set the inside of the car on fire at the same time .

I recon I’d be tempted to bond the repair too but there’s special stuff Automotive stuff that allows a bit of flex . Most modern BMW’s are glued together a anyway .

 

I did look at getting some of the 3M panel adhesive but expediency won out and I had the Devcon Steel Epoxy to hand, and a large hole that was letting the rain in!

 

38 minutes ago, SiC said:

Why don't you weld it? Looks easier to do than the faff of trying to get glue to bond. 

Epoxy isn't very flexible and as the roof on the body flexes a lot, it's likely to break pretty quickly. Also a E30 cab will have reinforcement in the door and won't rely on the roof to stop the body flexing. 

I did consider it but I'd read about the concerns that cort16 raised and I just want the hole filled so the car is watertight and I can concentrate on the underside. I'm prepared to revisit this down the line.

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37 minutes ago, volvov70 said:

I’d be checking out the no see um rust and sorting that before any cosmetic shiz 

Once I’ve got the car watertight (there’s a leak into the boot via the tail light to sort out too it seems) I’m going to get it up on axle stands and have a good poke around underneath. The floors seem serviceable from what I can see but I haven’t tried to remove the sound deadening. 

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So I have had a closer look at the 3M panel adhesive and it turns out that it is not flexible but is just a two part epoxy that is specifically designed for fixing roof skins etc. I think the Devcon steel epoxy putty will work exactly the same. I fixed the repair panel in place with a few tec screws to clamp it tight and then let it set. After it was cured I hit it with a 60 grade flap disc and it is completely solid, not going anywhere, and i'll prep it with body filler later. I will revisit this down the line, once the car is up and running and has a few hundred miles of flex on it but for the time being it is watertight and is no longer the immediate concern. The repair panel actually goes over the existing skin at the front and between the skin and sunroof frame at the back.

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Very little progress to report as I have been looking after the offspring and trying my best to do some actual productive work. I’ve been looking out for suitable drivetrain donors but they seem to be few and far between in the M42-engined flavour. I turned down a nice 318TI for less than £1k a couple of weeks ago as it was an Auto, I may come to regret that. 

 

I have bought another pair of axle stands in the meantime so hopefully one day next week I’ll raise her into the sky and get a good look underneath. I’ve got my garage lined up to pick her up next month and take her in for welding repairs. 

 

In the meantime the market for these cars seems to have gone completely crazy: 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333629047209

Nearly £9k and the roof looks a real state on that one! I slapped a bit of Fibral and some primer on my roof repair to waterproof it and sealed up the sunroof perimeter. Next up to sort is the bootlid seal and then I can stop worrying every time it rains.

 

 

 

 

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Bit of an update on this car, much neglected for the last month - as seems to have been her fate since 2009! The car is still in my pal's yard and the virus means my time off for fixorating is limited. I managed to pick up a running M44 engine with all ancillaries for £50, and a Getrag 240 gearbox with prop and 4.27 small case diff also for £50, so the drivetrain is starting to take shape. I also bagged a nice set of 14" basketweaves which is what the car would have come with originally.

 

However, on my searches for a rollcage for the car I have been offered a complete running 318is rally car with everything done, MOT'd and in need of nowhere near as much attention as this car. The price is less than I had budgeted to get this old girl back on the road, let alone rally prepared so I have decided to go for the completed car and I will put this car up for sale as an unfinished project. It's a shame as the new car is red and I don't like that anywhere near as much as the Diamondschwarz but I have to be sensible about the time & cost savings involved. Anyway the new car has a fizzy roof too so we can have a bit more ROOF RUST OMG fun sorting that out, but it is much better underneath and has a running M42 in situ and a bunch of spares. Should be picking the new car up next week and in the meantime I’ll try to find a new home for this old girl.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 6 months later...

Here we are nearly a year later and what a wasted year it’s been. The red bimmer has been out a few times for a blast but all events last year were cancelled after the Mull Classic in March so no proper action. Now that we are hopefully heading out of total lockdown in the next month or so I have taken to preparing the old girl for the 2021 season. Need to get a ticket so the most pressing issue is to wire up the front lights - tricky as it had sealed beams H4 and fogs to comply with the road rally regs but I'd like to go back to the standard setup. Otherwise I think it'll go through no problems (apart from the tester even getting into it).

Plan for this year is mostly tarmac based so I've put some 7.5" rims and Rainsports on her and some fast-road springs. Also the cut up front valance and cracked bumper was doing my head in so I found a cheap Hellrot bumper/replica MTech 2 skirt and am mid-way through sorting out all the fabrications required to attach it to the car. Easier than prepping, painting and fitting an original valance I suppose 🤪

Finally the car has had the PAS removed so is pretty hard to steer at low speeds and was fitted with a pretty rough 300mm wheel. Imagine my joy when FB marketplace helpfully pointed my nose in the direction of a lovely 2-spoke MOMO dished wheel for sale locally. Channeling my inner Delta S4 & Integrale now...

 

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  • 1 month later...

Big day today, the E30 went for a drive on a public road to a garage for some last little bits and pieces/its test, officer. Most of the rust *repairs are done and she's been tarted up a little bit. Words are boring, pics better:

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Unpainted filler is the preferred look.

 

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Still need to be lowered c.40mm on the front.

 

 

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  • 7 months later...

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