Project: BMW E21
Discussion
olly22n said:
Good work Eddie. One thing, is that electrical tape you have used on the loom? Best off with a permeable tape so it doesn't hold water and potentially rot the loom.
Try this;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wiring-loom-harness-adhe...
Great advice insulating tape is horrible especially in an engine bay where it gets a bit warm and ooozes but frankly the proper cloth tape is better anywhereTry this;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wiring-loom-harness-adhe...
You are doing a nice job - one day when I get started properly I'll put a thread up about my rally car
Got a few bits done this weekend, including some seam sealer on the repairs:
I noticed that the sealer had cracked on the upright repair, anyone know why this would happen?
Arches undersealed:
Yesterday I noticed that the sill on the drivers side has been damaged:
No idea how that has happened, but obviously I was pretty gutted.
Fortunately Lee gave me the rest of the tin of paint used to respray the car, so I got a modelers brush out, and touched it in.
Not perfect, but a hell of a lot better than it was.
Random shot:
Also, picked up my upgraded front end.
All of this has been kindly donated to my by the lads on the E21 forum, I have to say I've been massively humbled by their generosity, cannot thank them enough.
Spec:
- 323i ARB (6mm thicker than my 316, and slightly improved design)
- Series 2 control arms (to allow the fitment of the 323i ARB)
- Stongflex polybushes (90A hardness, bushes for ARB, control arms and diff)
Gave the ARB a hit with the wire wheel and some white spirit and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
A good weekend in all, coilovers should be soon, and I need to chase up the status on my wheels.
I noticed that the sealer had cracked on the upright repair, anyone know why this would happen?
Arches undersealed:
Yesterday I noticed that the sill on the drivers side has been damaged:
No idea how that has happened, but obviously I was pretty gutted.
Fortunately Lee gave me the rest of the tin of paint used to respray the car, so I got a modelers brush out, and touched it in.
Not perfect, but a hell of a lot better than it was.
Random shot:
Also, picked up my upgraded front end.
All of this has been kindly donated to my by the lads on the E21 forum, I have to say I've been massively humbled by their generosity, cannot thank them enough.
Spec:
- 323i ARB (6mm thicker than my 316, and slightly improved design)
- Series 2 control arms (to allow the fitment of the 323i ARB)
- Stongflex polybushes (90A hardness, bushes for ARB, control arms and diff)
Gave the ARB a hit with the wire wheel and some white spirit and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
A good weekend in all, coilovers should be soon, and I need to chase up the status on my wheels.
This is shaping up very nicely Eddie! You'll have a lovely car when it's done. Series I E21s are thin on the ground these days too so definitely worth the effort.
vsonix said:
I found my pic that I took of the one I saw in the same colour as yours... hope you don't mind me posting it - will get rid if it clashes! 
That would be my old car! It had a genuine 35k miles on the clock and was in practically concours condition when I sold it. A fantastic old thing and sorely missed! OldSpeed said:
This is shaping up very nicely Eddie! You'll have a lovely car when it's done. Series I E21s are thin on the ground these days too so definitely worth the effort.
I thought about buying this but knew I wouldn't have left it stock so decided against it. It's a lovely example.vsonix said:
I found my pic that I took of the one I saw in the same colour as yours... hope you don't mind me posting it - will get rid if it clashes!
That would be my old car! It had a genuine 35k miles on the clock and was in practically concours condition when I sold it. A fantastic old thing and sorely missed! e21Mark said:
OldSpeed said:
This is shaping up very nicely Eddie! You'll have a lovely car when it's done. Series I E21s are thin on the ground these days too so definitely worth the effort.
I thought about buying this but knew I wouldn't have left it stock so decided against it. It's a lovely example.vsonix said:
I found my pic that I took of the one I saw in the same colour as yours... hope you don't mind me posting it - will get rid if it clashes!
That would be my old car! It had a genuine 35k miles on the clock and was in practically concours condition when I sold it. A fantastic old thing and sorely missed! vsonix said:
e21Mark said:
OldSpeed said:
This is shaping up very nicely Eddie! You'll have a lovely car when it's done. Series I E21s are thin on the ground these days too so definitely worth the effort.
I thought about buying this but knew I wouldn't have left it stock so decided against it. It's a lovely example.vsonix said:
I found my pic that I took of the one I saw in the same colour as yours... hope you don't mind me posting it - will get rid if it clashes!
That would be my old car! It had a genuine 35k miles on the clock and was in practically concours condition when I sold it. A fantastic old thing and sorely missed! 
Some progress.
Yesterday myself and Christopher got to work on the suspension. Namely, fitting the new dampers.
First off, it was a fraught day, everything we tried to do just went up the wall.
- New ARB doesn't fit, had to revert back to my original one and clean the threads up on the control arms.
- Coilovers appear to be missing a thread on the caliper mounting bracket, need to investigate further.
- 323i hubs I bought so the 323i coilovers would fit, have a cross-threaded wheel bolt hole.
- Retaining screw on the 323i discs was rounded to hell, and I had to angle grind it out, meaning the thread is still in the hub.
All in all, a tedious day, that said, we did achieve victory:
With the wing test fitted:
Need to do some work on the wing, it doesn't seem to quite fit properly atm.
I'll get some better pictures of the front suspension over the rest of the weekend.
Got the door stops on too:
Still lots to do, but it's getting there, if a little slowly!
Yesterday myself and Christopher got to work on the suspension. Namely, fitting the new dampers.
First off, it was a fraught day, everything we tried to do just went up the wall.
- New ARB doesn't fit, had to revert back to my original one and clean the threads up on the control arms.
- Coilovers appear to be missing a thread on the caliper mounting bracket, need to investigate further.
- 323i hubs I bought so the 323i coilovers would fit, have a cross-threaded wheel bolt hole.
- Retaining screw on the 323i discs was rounded to hell, and I had to angle grind it out, meaning the thread is still in the hub.
All in all, a tedious day, that said, we did achieve victory:
With the wing test fitted:
Need to do some work on the wing, it doesn't seem to quite fit properly atm.
I'll get some better pictures of the front suspension over the rest of the weekend.
Got the door stops on too:
Still lots to do, but it's getting there, if a little slowly!
So, it's starting to look more and more like a car!
Yesterday was glass day, got all but the passenger door and the windscreen in.
First up, clean the glass with some white spirit, eraser and Tardis:
The cleaned the seal up a little bit, and offered it up:
Seal fitted:
Making sure I'm extra careful, wouldn't want to lose the original glass:
Some YouTube videos gave me a good idea of how to use the "string method" to pop the windows into the car.
First one fitted:
Rear screen:
Got the drivers door mechanism in, so it opens and closes correctly, only issue is the door won't lock when closed to the car. It'll lock if the door is open and you mechanically close the latch, so we think it's an alignment issue.
Also grabbed some photos of the painted drums:
Front discs:
And front coilovers:
Still a mountain to climb, but it's getting there
Yesterday was glass day, got all but the passenger door and the windscreen in.
First up, clean the glass with some white spirit, eraser and Tardis:
The cleaned the seal up a little bit, and offered it up:
Seal fitted:
Making sure I'm extra careful, wouldn't want to lose the original glass:
Some YouTube videos gave me a good idea of how to use the "string method" to pop the windows into the car.
First one fitted:
Rear screen:
Got the drivers door mechanism in, so it opens and closes correctly, only issue is the door won't lock when closed to the car. It'll lock if the door is open and you mechanically close the latch, so we think it's an alignment issue.
Also grabbed some photos of the painted drums:
Front discs:
And front coilovers:
Still a mountain to climb, but it's getting there
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