Yet another rescued E36 328i M Sport project...
Discussion
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BlueMR2 said:
My Uncles 328i coupe was the first RWD car I'd ever been in.
Quite fancied one since, however the nice ones are getting pretty expensive and I'm not really in the know of a good local bodyshop to do such an involved project myself.
Good luck getting it ready for summer, looks like a nice car.
These things are not for those who can't afford them or understand the commitment that they require. Youngsters who buy an E36 318 and then spend their time begging parts on forums... Quite fancied one since, however the nice ones are getting pretty expensive and I'm not really in the know of a good local bodyshop to do such an involved project myself.
Good luck getting it ready for summer, looks like a nice car.
Ruinously expensive...
The car has now been two part epoxy primed.
Here you can see that the holes for the side skirts have been drilled-out.
The bodywork around the tops of the doors didn't need priming but have been sanded back ready for the final paint.
The lip between the boot and the bumper has had the surface rust treated and been primed.
The doors.
The rear light recesses.
And the door shuts.
Here you can see that the holes for the side skirts have been drilled-out.
The bodywork around the tops of the doors didn't need priming but have been sanded back ready for the final paint.
The lip between the boot and the bumper has had the surface rust treated and been primed.
The doors.
The rear light recesses.
And the door shuts.
And now for the final painting.
The quality of the finish that Rob has done with the car is outstanding. Just goes to show what over thirty years in the trade can achieve.
The door shuts and the finish after all the welding is amazing.
The doors.
The rear bodywork.
An amazing job all round.
Nice attention to detail.
The final lacquer coat was then flattened back with 2500 grit to remove any slight imperfections.
And then the polishing began.
This is the result of the first pass on the polishing. Once all the remaining panels have been finished to the same level, the the whole car will be finally mopped.
Gonna look outstanding with that paint job and all the new trim parts fitted.
Once the car body panels have all been refitted, it goes off to another garage to have the brakes, clutch servo, braided stainless steel flexi lines, suspension, engine ancillaries finished and the interior refitted....
The quality of the finish that Rob has done with the car is outstanding. Just goes to show what over thirty years in the trade can achieve.
The door shuts and the finish after all the welding is amazing.
The doors.
The rear bodywork.
An amazing job all round.
Nice attention to detail.
The final lacquer coat was then flattened back with 2500 grit to remove any slight imperfections.
And then the polishing began.
This is the result of the first pass on the polishing. Once all the remaining panels have been finished to the same level, the the whole car will be finally mopped.
Gonna look outstanding with that paint job and all the new trim parts fitted.
Once the car body panels have all been refitted, it goes off to another garage to have the brakes, clutch servo, braided stainless steel flexi lines, suspension, engine ancillaries finished and the interior refitted....
Went over to the spray shop this afternoon and the car has been completely de-masked and is looking very good. It hasn't been mopped yet as that will only happen once all the other panels have been finished and put back on the car.
The suspension housings in the engine bay have been properly finished with a coat of lacquer.
Gonna look absolutely stunning, once its finished and back together.
Can't wait to see it finished... Starting to feel like a little kid the week before
The suspension housings in the engine bay have been properly finished with a coat of lacquer.
Gonna look absolutely stunning, once its finished and back together.
Can't wait to see it finished... Starting to feel like a little kid the week before
willis90 said:
Looking forward to seeing this finished.
Can I ask who you used to do the bodywork? Looks like a great job and would be handy to know as I’m also in Bristol.
His name is Rob and his unit is just outside of Keynsham. His number is 07846772544. Mention me - Rick - when you call him. Highly recommended.Can I ask who you used to do the bodywork? Looks like a great job and would be handy to know as I’m also in Bristol.
Small update.
Went back to the spray shop again today. The bonnet and front bumper have now been painted.
The freshly painted rear bumper is now back on the car and finishes 'that ass' off really well.
Very nice job indeed!
Although I bought new after-market front wings - because of surface rust on the undersides - DON'T bother. The door shut lines, molding lines, etc all looked wrong. Even though the after-markets were Euro parts platinum range....
So, as the originals only had surface rust on the undersides AND in general were in good condition, I decided to get them sorted and put back on the car. Lucky that no one on Arsebook took up my offer when I tried to sell them!..
Went back to the spray shop again today. The bonnet and front bumper have now been painted.
The freshly painted rear bumper is now back on the car and finishes 'that ass' off really well.
Very nice job indeed!
Although I bought new after-market front wings - because of surface rust on the undersides - DON'T bother. The door shut lines, molding lines, etc all looked wrong. Even though the after-markets were Euro parts platinum range....
So, as the originals only had surface rust on the undersides AND in general were in good condition, I decided to get them sorted and put back on the car. Lucky that no one on Arsebook took up my offer when I tried to sell them!..
573 said:
Oh hang about, reviewing the pics, they haven't painted the boot this time have they? So it was the previous time it was done that they painted over the numberplate pads.
This time they've opened the boot and masked it.
Why when you're having a metallic done didn't you get the boot painted too?
Apologies if I'm coming across a bit unnecessary, but I'm baffled by the amount of people who don't seem to tbe able to see the issues and are proclaiming it a great paint job. I wonder what they're comparing to and how much experience they have of bodyshops. For the amount of effort, it would have been worth doing it properly, in my opinion.
well my friend, to answer you, and all the other comments on this particular page. To strip down the boot and have the boot and wing repainted would have cost a lot more money - believe me I have spent a small fortune over the last three years and need to reign-in the spending now!This time they've opened the boot and masked it.
Why when you're having a metallic done didn't you get the boot painted too? Apologies if I'm coming across a bit unnecessary, but I'm baffled by the amount of people who don't seem to tbe able to see the issues and are proclaiming it a great paint job. I wonder what they're comparing to and how much experience they have of bodyshops. For the amount of effort, it would have been worth doing it properly, in my opinion.
The paint was done by a different - and much better painter - who has over thirty years experience in his trade. It was painted using a booth with the lights that allows the painter to see if they have a perfect colour match.
If you look back to the early part of this thread you will see that new arches were welded onto the car, although I didn't have enough experience at the time to notice that the original people left too much filler on them before painting. You will also notice that I have been round the houses on that particulr issue in the past. I asked the guy doing the job now, about re-doing the arches profile to correct the issue - once again, it would have cost more money. This is something that can still be addressed at some point in the future, when I have the stomach to shell out more cash!
573 said:
I wasn't going to go into that, but how exactly you lacquer the inner wings when they still have the loom etc attached to them and the whole bay is full of dust I have no idea.
If you two want to occupy your time b
hing about st, that's entirely up to you. But go somewhere else and do it... 
Ok. Then I'm really fking happy with it! The painter's done a really good job and this isn't a bare metal respray. As far as previous goes, look at your own comments and try and be less acerbic with your remarks.
There has been a whole world of st that I've had to deal to try and get this project over the line. Stuff that I've not put up here.....
Just trying to bolster my own enthusiasm here...
king happy with it! The painter's done a really good job and this isn't a bare metal respray. As far as previous goes, look at your own comments and try and be less acerbic with your remarks.There has been a whole world of s
t that I've had to deal to try and get this project over the line. Stuff that I've not put up here.....Just trying to bolster my own enthusiasm here...
Edited by RickBristol on Thursday 15th March 17:33
C70R said:
Nobody is trying to take the wind out of your sails - you could quite easily have spent the entire thread telling people how happy you were with it, and nobody would have disagreed. However, you went all hyperbolic, and people will call you out on things like that when they have more experience.
Fair shout, but mate, you have no idea about a whole load of less positive stuff I've had to battle with this project...As far as putting it out there goes....
"I need the electric fan and body that bolts to the slam panel in front if the radiator. Also want the main top engine cover as mine are damaged..." Have been Arsebooking this for weeks, with loads of people saying they have and not delivering.... You or anyone else out there that can actually help with these? 😁
E36Ross said:
Good to see you using original wings..... Fairly obvious the pattern ones were pattern ones. Side repeater was in the wrong place!
Personally I'd have also removed the rear glass/rubbers and likes of door strikes instead of masking and painting to an edge.
Nice to see an E36 being looked after though and not just another track/drift build.
Congrats! The only person to notice that the front wing indicator slots were in the wrong position. Everything about the after market wings was wrong. As they were Euro parts platinum range - which are apparently fine usually - it was assumed that they would be good to go. Wrong! Might work well on a Ford, but rubbish on a Beemer... Anyway, being sorted properly now. Just glad that i didnt manage to sell the originals...Personally I'd have also removed the rear glass/rubbers and likes of door strikes instead of masking and painting to an edge.
Nice to see an E36 being looked after though and not just another track/drift build.
Believe me, there may have been numerous other things that could have been removed... But it has turned out really well. Take a look at the last pic that I posted. May well re-do the rear arches at some point in the future but for now have to draw a line in the sand. The car is now rust free, which many with a tidy original example can't expect or be sure of.
Will go like a cat with a rocket up its arse, and you'll probably hit your head on the windscreen if you hit the brakes too hard!
Still have a little way to go bit should be done in the next few weeks... Can't wait!
Leptons said:
iSore said:
They must have used the saloon wings as a template!
Pre face and Facelift had different side repeaters and fittings.Car is looking great!
Last day in the spray shop.
The new swage line body trims and side repeaters have been fitted. Most of the swage line body trims were replaced with new BMW parts as the original metal strips moulded into the back of the trims had suffered from corrosion and made it almost impossible to fit the plastic clips.
Fitting the new clips ready to attach the side skirts.
Side skirts fitted.
In this picture you can see just how much bigger the new E46 330 front discs are. They pretty much fill the 17" wheels.
New BMW skutle panel fitted.
I had the suspension mounts in the engine bay lacquered to stop any minor rust pitting or corrosion.
Bought two brand new BMW kidney grills as one had been damaged and the other was slightly faded. Only £29 each as well!...
The bonnet looks amazing.
Waiting outside of the spray unit, ready for collection.
It now goes off to a new mechanic who is going to finish the last of the mechanical jobs and get the interior fitted.
The new swage line body trims and side repeaters have been fitted. Most of the swage line body trims were replaced with new BMW parts as the original metal strips moulded into the back of the trims had suffered from corrosion and made it almost impossible to fit the plastic clips.
Fitting the new clips ready to attach the side skirts.
Side skirts fitted.
In this picture you can see just how much bigger the new E46 330 front discs are. They pretty much fill the 17" wheels.
New BMW skutle panel fitted.
I had the suspension mounts in the engine bay lacquered to stop any minor rust pitting or corrosion.
Bought two brand new BMW kidney grills as one had been damaged and the other was slightly faded. Only £29 each as well!...
The bonnet looks amazing.
Waiting outside of the spray unit, ready for collection.
It now goes off to a new mechanic who is going to finish the last of the mechanical jobs and get the interior fitted.
Edited by RickBristol on Friday 30th March 14:45
Well, I'm now - hopefully - onto the final push to get this project over the finish line.
The car has now gone to another garage to get the final mechanical works completed. It's then going to be four wheel tracked, to sort out the new suspension setup, and then will be stage 1 mapped, to sort the engine and exhaust changes.
As seems to be the way with this car, I had to replace the new battery that I bought just before it went to Southampton, some two years ago - wouldn't hold any charge. So I treated the car to a new Bosch battery.
The replacement return mechanism for the fuel tank was then fitted, as the previous mechanic managed to break the original when he removed the fuel tank.....
Now comes the beginning of the fun part NOT!!!!! The car was starting just before it recently went to the paint shop, and guess what?
Damn thing won't turn over, and shows no signs of life whatsoever! AND the ignition barrel has also decided to give up the ghost and just spins round and round.......
Annoyingly, after stripping off the ignition starter switch from the ignition barrel, when turned, we can hear both the fuel pump working and the relays clicking away when we try to start the car, sooooo.... It's diagnostics time.
The diagnostics found things that we were expecting, such as the missing oxygen sensors - decat exhaust, but found no other issues with starter relays or the like. SO, we're now hoping that it probably comes down to the fked ignition barrel which might be causing the immobiliser to kick-in.
Surprisingly, I took my V5 document and driving licence to BMW and they ordered a new ignition barrel - custom made in Germany - and only cost me £77 all-in, AND arrived only 5 working days later, get-in!
I then set about starting to install the new interior. I started by getting the dash fitted and all the electrics reinstalled.
I then got the replacement headlining, grab handles, lights and sun visors installed.
And finally, for this installment, I fitted the replacement carpet.
And I managed to do all of the interior fitting in about 5 hours..... DON'T try this at home, it was a real pain in the arse!
The car has now gone to another garage to get the final mechanical works completed. It's then going to be four wheel tracked, to sort out the new suspension setup, and then will be stage 1 mapped, to sort the engine and exhaust changes.
As seems to be the way with this car, I had to replace the new battery that I bought just before it went to Southampton, some two years ago - wouldn't hold any charge. So I treated the car to a new Bosch battery.
The replacement return mechanism for the fuel tank was then fitted, as the previous mechanic managed to break the original when he removed the fuel tank.....
Now comes the beginning of the fun part NOT!!!!! The car was starting just before it recently went to the paint shop, and guess what?
Damn thing won't turn over, and shows no signs of life whatsoever! AND the ignition barrel has also decided to give up the ghost and just spins round and round.......
Annoyingly, after stripping off the ignition starter switch from the ignition barrel, when turned, we can hear both the fuel pump working and the relays clicking away when we try to start the car, sooooo.... It's diagnostics time.The diagnostics found things that we were expecting, such as the missing oxygen sensors - decat exhaust, but found no other issues with starter relays or the like. SO, we're now hoping that it probably comes down to the f
ked ignition barrel which might be causing the immobiliser to kick-in.Surprisingly, I took my V5 document and driving licence to BMW and they ordered a new ignition barrel - custom made in Germany - and only cost me £77 all-in, AND arrived only 5 working days later, get-in!
I then set about starting to install the new interior. I started by getting the dash fitted and all the electrics reinstalled.
I then got the replacement headlining, grab handles, lights and sun visors installed.
And finally, for this installment, I fitted the replacement carpet.
And I managed to do all of the interior fitting in about 5 hours..... DON'T try this at home, it was a real pain in the arse!
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