1981 BMW E12 M535i - Gold

[tonybmw]

Sept 16, 2010 21:39:12 GMT mirafioriman said:

Always liked the E12 and this one looks lovely. Work has stalled on my Fiat 130 for various reasons but I hope to get it done in the near future.

I wondered where you had got too, really missing your Fiat Project, hope you can get back to it soon

Tony

[danblez]

I was looking through page 1 thinking 'thats some mighty fine work, I haven't seen work as good as that since the last TonyBMW thread'. Lo and behold it's you again!

Really fantastic, I love watching people work with an eye for detail and the skill to back it up.

Please keep on sharing!

[mantakev]

Sept 12, 2010 19:35:10 GMT tonybmw said:

BMW still supply the battery tray panel, so that saved trying to make one

I bet you were disappointed they supplied one as that meant you didn't have to make it
You Sir are an inspiration ( trying not to sound too kiss ) honestly i put the computer on about a hour ago as i was bored and had thought " nothing to see", then you popped up again.
Great work, looking forward to your restoration on your BMW
Your threads make me want to go into the garage and chop bits of the Manta out and butt weld fresh steel in, love it, thank's
Kev

[mk2polobloke]

I know its already been said many times over, but your repair work is simply stunning. There can't be many people who are able to work to this sort of standard. Outstanding results Tony.

I don't suppose you'll ever be using this painter again then?
Obviously he is capable of doing a decent job that almost meets your requirements, but why does it take him three goes to do it?

Keep us updated and the pics coming.

Cheers,
Richard.

[tonybmw]

Danblez - Yes its me back again, sorry its been so long

Manta Kev - Nah its not too kiss , ;D glad to help with Mojo boosting

MK2polobloke - I think the problem with the painter is that he has been doing too many quick blow ins and spot repairs for too long and has forgotten what really goes into a good paintjob, from the day he got the car, he started complaining that it was more work than he remembered.

He even said to me, after I had rejected it for the second time, that it was a nice shiny job and "your average Joe would be more than happy with the job"

Well I've been called a lot of things in my time, but Never an Average Joe.

I would not have minded had I not been through the whole car with him, before he even priced for the work, telling him exactly what I wanted and what I would be looking for when it was done, so he really had no excuse, shame really as I quite liked the bloke.

Guess I will have to start the search again for the next one

[dbdb]

Your beautiful metalwork is a pleasure to behold. I have always liked the E12. My father and grandfather had a pair of matching E28s in the early 1980s and I have liked them ever since. For me they are one of the prettiest saloon cars, and I like the E12 equally. I love Jags, but these BMWs rival them for elegance!
I love the colour of this one too, and with the resto work it looks new and untouched from the factory; a superb job.

You're right about the size! The current 3 series dwarfs the old 5!

David

[tonybmw]

David

I agree with you, definitely one of the nicest saloons and the colour really suits the Retro feel of the car, I may have hated the colour 10 years ago, but I love it now.

Tony

[charnock]

nice website with a good few pictures of e12's enjoyed that

[surprisingskoda]

Sept 15, 2010 18:05:41 GMT tonybmw said:

David

Almost right, you are really getting the hang of this now,

It is really the weld itself that shrinks more than the surrounding metal, hence if you try to keep the weld as cool as possible by welding in short bursts to start with, then again the distortion, or shrinkage as you rightly point out is reduced.

If your weld was laid down huge and hot then it contracts at a greater rate, this causing more distortion

That is also why if you gas weld a joint, you can hammer it after to remove the distortion, as you reffered to in an earlier post, as this has the effect of stretching the weld area back to where it was before it shrank, it is often wrongly assumed that welding distortion is the metal expanding, but it is actually the metal shrinking, hence why most distortion in panels has a BOING affect when you push on them, the way to get rid of it is to stretch the panel.
This is not to be confused with distortion from impact or crash damage, as that is the metal stretching and it then needs to be shrunk to get it back to shape

It has been said, but I have never personally tried it as I don't have gas welding gear, that part of the problem is the differing metals between the panel and the welding wire contracting at different rates this increases the distortion, and that if you can fuse the 2 parts together without the use of any welding wire, then distortion will be greatly reduced. But to do this you need to be very good at welding and make sure your repairs are very tight and edge to edge before you start to weld them

As an example of this when I used to work on the shop floor, if we had a gap in a joint of box section or something like that, we would tack it first, and then systematically heat each tack up, and each time it cooled it would pull the joint closer together, until eventually it was tight and then we would fully weld it, also if you had a spar that was slightly out of square you could square it up by laying the weld down in a specific direction, what would happen is that as you welded along the joint the weld got hotter and hotter, and therefore the point that you finished the weld would be hotter than the point where you started the weld, and the hotter point would shrink more and the spar would be pulled that way, obviously if you welded it the wrong way then the spar would be pulled the wrong way and it would be more out of square, for this to work effectively though you must only have small tacks, as a large tack can hold the joint and prevent it from moving.

I am sure I have said it before, but once you understand how metal works, it becomes much easier to manipulate it

Hope this helps and I have not made it too complicated

Tony

This is great Tony, and it's making me think about some welding I have still to do and thinking that I could do it even better if I applied these words.

Can I ask as well what specifically the painter had done wrong on the first and second attempts? Just from curiosity of course, but I'm curious nonetheless.

[tonybmw]

Skoda - the reason for the repaints was mainly down to bad preparation, the first time you could see the edge of filler repairs, and sanding marks etc in the base coat, then he tried to repair them and blow them in, which left it all patchy and colour mismatched, then finally he flatted the whole car down and painted the complete thing again. Much better this the final time, but a lot of heartache along the way.

[tonybmw]

Well then when I opened the bonnet, I noticed that there was dry overspray all on the inside face of the bonnet, being 2 pack there was no real way to get rid of this, but to repaint it, so I took the bonnet off and back it went to the painters. I wont repeat what he said, but he did repaint it.

While the bonnet was off there were some areas of the engine bay paintwork that I was not happy with and this seemed like the ideal time to put them right.

So I flattened it down






Made good any repairs and reprimered




Seam sealered




and then repainted it









by this time the bonnet was back so that was refitted, a very nerve wracking moment trying not to damage the paintwork










and a couple of shots to show before, during and after













and that is me up to date know, so progress will be more "real time"

Still quite a list of things to do, including tidy up some wheels, sort out an exhaust, fit a better carpet, finish fitting the trims, and a bundle of other miscellaneous items

[zetecvan]

I must spend too much time on Facebook. I've just been looking for the 'like' button...

[tonybmw]

Painted one of the wheels today, I have actually been busy with them all week, but was sick of sanding them so wanted to at least get 1 in paint


16" cross spokes from a 7 series, this is after I spent an hour with "wonder wheels", getting the brake dust off





A bit grotty down the sides of the spokes






and very grotty on the backs, what is it with 7 series drivers, don't they ever clean their wheels ??






Much sanding later







insides all cleaned, primered and flatted







and painted






Centre cap, we have new badges, should look smart





I have to say if anyone ever hears me say, "yes I will paint your cross spokes" please give me a slap. My poking/sanding finger is really sore now and there are still 3 left to do

Tony

[tali100]

Said to be only 450rhd of these -the vast majority in White - Gold must be ultra rare

[tonybmw]

Tali - Yes the gold ones are pretty rare indeed

Meanwhile I have spent all of last week and the weekend, finishing the wheels off, and I am glad to say that they are all done. The pain seems almost worth it now


Hope you like











Can't wait to get them fitted

[mk2polobloke]

Yet more outstanding work Tony.
I'm surprised you haven't had the engine/transmission/suspension etc out for cleaning and comprehensive detailing? Not having a moan, it's just that considering the standard of your work I'm surprised you haven't done work in this area? Or maybe you intend to or have mentioned your plans previously and I should just shut up!?
Keep the pics coming Tony, 'tis a superb car.
Richard.

[Littlepixel]

Great resto job. If they were mine I'd get in there with a pot of black humbrol and paint in those 'fake' spoke holes. Bimmer will thankyou for it...

[countvauxalot]

Wheels look great and all your repairs have come out very well too.

[tonybmw]

Sept 28, 2010 21:26:07 GMT mk2polobloke said:

Yet more outstanding work Tony.
I'm surprised you haven't had the engine/transmission/suspension etc out for cleaning and comprehensive detailing? Not having a moan, it's just that considering the standard of your work I'm surprised you haven't done work in this area? Or maybe you intend to or have mentioned your plans previously and I should just shut up!?
Keep the pics coming Tony, 'tis a superb car.
Richard.

Richard

I won't pretend that I have not thought about detailing the engine bay, but as its not my car and I have already had it longer than originally intended, then I will continue to try to fight the urge.

Liitlepixel - what a superb idea, I wish I had thought of that, and especially before I had laquered the wheels and fitted the centre cap badges, I might bounce that one of my friend and see what he says.

Top photoshopping by the way

[stefan]

Good idea on the wheel littlepixel that would look great. Top work as always Mr BMW