BMW's galore!

[Mark]

A bit more progress on the e30 and the red bits are now the same shade of orange as MIB my e21 daily. I think it looks way better for it too! 8) We've also replaced the cracked front screen and single wiper conversion. The brake upgrade has been just a case of going with Wilwood dynalite 4 pot calipers and some decent pads. I can't rate Wilwood highly enough and have used them for a couple of years with no issues at all. They're incredibly light too, especially when you compare them to OE cast items!
The 16'' TSW rims are really just so that I can keep the Toyo888's for the track and sprints. They're just too expensive to use on the street in winter. They're not great in ice either. All that's left is to fit the new LSD and track a slight oil weep from somewhere that I hope isn't serious! I'm going to run it as a daily for a couple of weeks to get used to how it feels as it's very different to an e21. I don't mean drive like a lunatic on public roads but just get used to the feel, the brakes and the handling so that when I do make it to a track-day, it doesn't overwhelm me when I start trying to get the most out of it. It's no M3 I know, but being so much lighter than a standard car it should be great fun. I noticed my local rubbish tip has a weigh bridge and I plan to go make use of it so I can see just how much weight I've been able to lose from it?

MIB is going in for some paint very soon. It still looks good but being a daily driver that does between 10 & 12k miles a year it has a few blemishes that need sorting before rust takes a hold. I have a pair of new front wings and stones etc have punished the sills and rear lower panel behind the back wheels. I'll also get the hole welded up from where I removed the second wiper. It's had a piece of sticky-backed plastic over it for the past 2 years! It's such a good colour match that no-one has noticed it but I know it's there. I also want the original seat mounts chopped out and the proper Corbeau seat mounts bolted to the floor directly so I can finally get some headroom.

If anyone has a small business they'd like to advertise there's room for a new livery. We're not talking big bucks either and I know RPM did pretty well for exposure on my old e21 track car.

[Mark]

Got the e30 back today and really pleased with the way it feels now its a fair chunk lighter than before. It's so much more nimble than before and performance is much improved too. Happy days!











Did a photo shoot for Total BMW on the way over. 4 hours standing around in the cold but the photos looked epic!



New wings and stone chips to be sorted on MIB. Going to remove the rear seat and the OE seat mounts to get the Corbeau sitting lower in the car.

[Mark]

I've been working on rebuilding the BBS split-rims that I bought cheap a few weeks ago. I also discovered just why it was that they were so cheap in the first place! The donkey that had stripped them down had snapped several bolts and must have used a hammer & chisel to split the outer rim from the barrel. I managed to get the sheared bolts out - eventually - and ran a tap down the threads to clean them up. I polished the outer lips with polishing compound by hand and it has to be one of the most boring jobs ever. They came up OK though and most of the pitting polished out. The only real worry was sealing the lip and the barrel when putting them together. I was worried the chisel marks or whatever they are, would cause air leaks. Luckily though, the silicon I used seems to have done the job.

Anyway, this was the end result yesterday, once they were finally ready for new valves and tyres. I'm pretty chuffed.







While my orange e21 is off having wings and paint I'm running the track car as a daily driver. The best thing about that, is that I'm getting used to how different it feels. It's not what you'd ever call comfy but it'll definitely put a smile on your face when you take it out for a blast through the lanes. It sounds bloody lovely too!

[Mark]

I got sick of taking pics with my phone so bought this second-hand. I just need to figure out how to use it now.



Did a few small jobs on the e30 and got the new rev counter and shift light ready to install.

[Mark]

MIB is undergoing extensive surgery at www.pristinebodyworks.co.uk this week.

It just goes to show just how much corrosion can fester under the surface. It's only been 4 years since the last time the shell was stripped and painted but because it's a daily that lives on the street and earns its keep, I guess it was never going to last the way it would in a nice, warm garage & never seeing snow, rain & that wonderful crud the council enjoying throwing around in Winter!

The OE seat mounts are being chopped out and Corbeau mounts & runners will be fitted directly to the floor-pan. That means the seats will no longer sit too high, which is a problem when you swap seats in an e21.

Roll on the weekend!

[Mark]

More progress. Good to see fresh metal and threw some protection at it in the hope it'll last longer than a year or two.

[iane]

Wow!!! You've been busy! That reminds me my e12 needs some minor work underneath.

[Mark]

Can you do any welding yourself Ian? Hopefully there won't be any horrors but be sure to check where the brake lines and stuff run along and keep crud against the floorpan & sill seam.

There are a couple of oily jobs to be done too. The 'O' ring for the dipstick tube needs replacing, as it started weeping, plus there's a similar weep from one of the diff seals. The diff had been rebuilt but, because it had been stored prior to fitting, one of the seals must have dried out but its easily sorted.

One of the best changes has been chopping out the OE seat brackets. Whenever you fit different seats in an e21 they end up being way too high. It's probably only a couple of inches but as I'm nearly 6' 3'' anyway, there's not much in the way of headroom. Now though, we've fitted the Corbeau runners that came with the seats and I can finally feel that I'm sat in, rather than on, the car when I drive it.

Next on the agenda will be removing the rear seat, re-carpet and rear cage. I also want to fit a 75bhp shot of Nitrous but that won't be for a while yet as I have the TWR/Alpina to restore first.

[teaboy]

Feb 15, 2012 11:44:39 GMT Mark said:

It just goes to show just how much corrosion can fester under the surface. It's only been 4 years since the last time the shell was stripped and painted

I didn't realise it was such a rotten old dog Mark ;D

Four years doesn't seem very long for it to get like that, even in daily use.

Nice to see the old girl getting some love, it is still one of my favorites.

[Mark]

Feb 18, 2012 10:10:40 GMT teaboy said:

Feb 15, 2012 11:44:39 GMT Mark said:

It just goes to show just how much corrosion can fester under the surface. It's only been 4 years since the last time the shell was stripped and painted

I didn't realise it was such a rotten old dog Mark ;D

Four years doesn't seem very long for it to get like that, even in daily use.

Nice to see the old girl getting some love, it is still one of my favorites.

;D

Just proves you can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter!

I know what you mean though, but then again, there's been plenty of rain, snow, ice and road salt in that 4 years and it lives outside 24/7.

Roll on Tuesday when it finally comes home. There are a few subtle changes too, like the Engelmann mirrors I've had sat around since I first bought it. They weren't cheap but when you break them down into their component parts, to paint them, you get to see just what good quality parts they are and why they cost so much to buy! Hopefully, I'll get some decent pics.

[tonybmw]

Looks like you made the right decision to get it sorted before it got too bad

[Mark]

I think so Tony. When my 6 numbers finally come up I'll have the whole shell media blasted and galvanised prior to repairs and repaint. It'll be time to slot in the V10 engine from an M5 then and full Group 5 arch kit with mammoth BBS splitrims to fill them. Who needs Ferraris?

I had hoped to be getting MIB back tomorrow but there was a delay getting the fitting kits for the Engelmann mirrors. Mick @ Pristine has removed the OE door mirrors and made up some blanking plates. Early cars didn't have the large plastic mirrors but the whole window frame changed when they were brought in.

These come off.



These go on.





The group 2 cars had Engelmann mirrors.



The lottery win look.





I know where this genuine ex works car is for sale too - £40k though.

[Mark]

MIB came back today. Job done.







I like the Engelmann mirrors. It's a subtle change but unusual on an e21 except the Group 2 & 5 cars.

[rodney]

thats lovely,.

[GT4ME]

That looks great Mark, you must be well pleased with it.
Lewis,

[Mark]

Mick @ Pristine did a really great job and it's nice to know there's no rust anywhere anymore. I might even go for a blast up to Race Retro this weekend?

[tonybmw]

Beautiful

[Bigdoors]

Fanbleedingtastic!!! Can't wait to get mine back on the road with it's new power ;-)

[Mark]

Since coming back from www.pristinebodyworks.co.uk I have been racking up the miles with MIB in daily use once again. A week or so ago though, the exhaust developed a really annoying rattle at about 1800rpm. It sounded like a loose clip or something but closer inspection revealed a couple of manifold nuts were loose! 12mm spanner in hand I figured I would just nip them up but they simply pulled out with my fingers and revealed the thread was stripped. Not good. A combination of not much room and hands like shovels means I think I will struggle to re-tap the head with a new, coarse thread. I'm thinking that if I have to go to the trouble of taking the engine out, to re-tap the threads, I may as well take the opportunity to do a few other jobs? I'd like a proper 6 branch rather than the modified stock e36 item and the OE fuse box and wiring loom could also be junked in favour of fitting a modern fuse box & fuses and custom loom. I can pretty up the whole engine bay. So, fingers crossed, the manifold lasts with 2 less bolts while I save my pocket money. Anyone else fitting an M52 engine, be sure to fiddle with your nuts!

Seeing as the weather is getting better I also refitted my Minilites and 888's. The Yokohamas were great during the winter but they couldn't compete with 888's on a sunny day. Especially along country roads.

[Bigdoors]

EPIC!!!!
I wish I had more spare time to get mine finished.