E30 Restoration

kdevitt

quenching wrote: »

Where did you get those german plates made, I've been meaning to get a set for my '84 Mercedes 190E and your ones look the best I've seem yet.

Got them from A Z Plates - www.a-zplates.com

Kafer

Lovely car Ken,

Would you not have gone for the black and silver German font plates from Eireplates?

kdevitt

Kafer wrote: »

Lovely car Ken,

Would you not have gone for the black and silver German font plates from Eireplates?

Not a fan of the black and silver - I was about 15 years ago mind you! The white ones look alot cleaner imo.

MercMad

Looks very well indeed, and the plates are a lovely touch !

best of luck with her !

kdevitt

Haven't posted many updates lately - have been doing loads of crappy small jobs. Had the timing belt and a few other bits done. Also adjusted the front seat frames to let them bolt in properly, and got new seat belt latches into it - had no idea pre-facelift were different to facelift!

Anyway - had a set of H&R springs put on at the weekend - they're meant to drop it 35mm, but its dropped a lot more than that!

Took delivery of the gearbox for it as well, so will hopefully get the autobox out before I'm grey and old. (older! )

jozi

Looks great and I think the drop is spot on!

Henry Ford III

Lovely work!

Getting rid of the slushbox will transform it. Go the distance!

Teddy Daniels

class car

Neilw

Hi kdevitt,

Nice car I have a mk2 golf I'm restoring and fitting a 1.8turbo engine to. I'm at the stage where I need to get the car painted.
What is your overall opinion of AC? PM me if you like.

Thanks,
Neil.

alpina

Neilw wrote: »

Hi kdevitt,

Nice car I have a mk2 golf I'm restoring and fitting a 1.8turbo engine to. I'm at the stage where I need to get the car painted.
What is your overall opinion of AC? PM me if you like.

Thanks,
Neil.

Think if you take a read through you will get a pretty clear pic. of AC..

kdevitt

Just a quick update with progress on this (no pics I'm afraid)

Anyway - I emigrated to Australia in August, so this is being taken care of by a friend, who handily enough is a mechanic and is getting all the required work done.

Bought new brakes for it - a WMS big brake kit, which is designed to fit under the 15 inch wheels. They should be a massive improvement on the stock setup, which is probably about as efficient and throwing a parachute out the back.

Also got a new exhaust, stainless steel up the the manifold - struggled to get an exhaust with the tip style I wanted, so bought a mongoose (blueflame) system. I then bought new plain round tips - the ones on the mongoose exhaust will be chopped off and the new ones welded on.

The autobox should be on its way out any day now - as is the engine. Its fine, but totally underpowered. An M20 stroker is being put in, so it'll still look totally original but have about 200BHP on tap. I'm holding onto the original engine so I can put it back to stock if I ever get the urge.

Finally - the paint. It will need to be rectified eventually - some of the runs in it are horrendous, as is the orange peel and deep sanding marks on the bonnet. Worst of all - the bumpers have apparently started peeling. Not a huge surprise...but seriously pissed off about it all the same. Will get some photos up once I have them.

quarryman

kdevitt wrote: »

Finally - the paint. It will need to be rectified eventually - some of the runs in it are horrendous, as is the orange peel and deep sanding marks on the bonnet. Worst of all - the bumpers have apparently started peeling. Not a huge surprise...but seriously pissed off about it all the same. Will get some photos up once I have them.

was expecting this. My post from January:

quarryman wrote: »

I think you're being generous to them kdevitt.

They didn't align the door/panels. They didn't screw the lamp housings in and it soundS like they messed you around in general with getting the work done.

I have first hand experience and found them shoddy and lazy in diagnosis and repair. And they are well able to charge for it too.

That is just my experience though I have heard murmurs of similar stories.

Enjoy the car but if I was getting that treatment (for the hefty price I'm guessing you are paying) I would not be going back in a hurry.

let that be a lesson to anyone considering using AC cars for anything.

kdevitt

quarryman wrote: »

was expecting this.

To be honest, anyone who knows me personally knew that there was hassle with the job from a few weeks in - ('Yeah the car is in primer now' - um, no its not - I was just in there looking at it).

The price jumped by 50% when it was almost finished, I asked for the car to be given back and I'd put it back together myself, but was asked to let them finish it so it would be perfect when I got it. Kind of highlights the porkies the owner has been telling people that I knew I was getting a disassembled car back, and would return it once I'd fitted the door rubbers (you have to ask yourself why I would drive a car across Dublin, with doors that wouldn't close, just to spend 10 minutes fitting two pieces of rubber, and then drive back across Dublin with said non closing doors!)

I've had loads of other problems previously which again people who know me know of - breaking headlight level sensor when fitting springs on my M3, booking me in to fit parts they actually didn't have, charging me for attempting to fit a part they said they could do, but then admitted they couldn't - I could go on - wasn't going to post about it until it ran its course though as they'd always made good eventually.

One of the most annoying things with the E30 is that they lost one of the speaker covers from the footwell - they're period Pioneer jobbies, and I haven't been able to find one anywhere :mad:

VolvoMan

kdevitt wrote: »

To be honest, anyone who knows me personally knew that there was hassle with the job from a few weeks in - ('Yeah the car is in primer now' - um, no its not - I was just in there looking at it).

The price jumped by 50% when it was almost finished, I asked for the car to be given back and I'd put it back together myself, but was asked to let them finish it so it would be perfect when I got it. Kind of highlights the porkies the owner has been telling people that I knew I was getting a disassembled car back, and would return it once I'd fitted the door rubbers (you have to ask yourself why I would drive a car across Dublin, with doors that wouldn't close, just to spend 10 minutes fitting two pieces of rubber, and then drive back across Dublin with said non closing doors!)

I've had loads of other problems previously which again people who know me know of - breaking headlight level sensor when fitting springs on my M3, booking me in to fit parts they actually didn't have, charging me for attempting to fit a part they said they could do, but then admitted they couldn't - I could go on - wasn't going to post about it until it ran its course though as they'd always made good eventually.

Surprised to hear that to be honest. I always knew their labour rates were dear but didn't think anyone had a bad word to say about them.

One of the most annoying things with the E30 is that they lost one of the speaker covers from the footwell - they're period Pioneer jobbies, and I haven't been able to find one anywhere :mad:

That would really irritate me.

Anan1

VolvoMan wrote: »

Surprised to hear that to be honest. I always knew their labour rates were dear but didn't think anyone had a bad word to say about them.

I used to be the same, but this isn't the first bad story i've heard in recent times.

Dades

kdevitt, just looking back through your pics - your reg number is only 3 after mine (83 D 4550)! I regged mine in October 2009...

Hope your issues sort themselves out.

hairyman

I was lucky enough to see this car in the steel(project finished) in a garage on the north side.
Honestly guys, the pics do no justice,this car is truly lovely.

One of the those cars that makes you smile,,:)

kdevitt

So a bit of a minor thread revival here - landed back in Ireland from my stint in Australia at the end of March. Have been pretty busy getting things sorted out, but managed to pop out to look at the E30 last weekend.

Unfortunately not much has happened with it since I left -its still auto, and still with the original M20B23 in place. The lad who built the stroker doesn't have time to work on the car, and was struggling to find someone to touch an engine they didn't rebuild themselves. So a quick decision was made to sell the engine on - pretty cheap too.

Ultimately, I was never fully at ease with removing a very original 49k mile engine from the car and replacing with a stroked 100k example. At the end of the day, I have an E46 M3 and an E36 which can provide my speed thrills, so I just don't actually need this car to be fast - its not going to see any track time, and I just want it to be enjoyable and handle pretty well.

So first port of call is to fix the alternator. Its a bit poorly (its smoking apparently - I didn't put it to the test!) - I got it off last night, and will be dropping it off for repair this evening, rather than replacing with a spurious item. Next up is the manual box - and I've sourced a company who will do it quickly for me. Last thing I want is the car to be stuck somewhere for months again while the job is done in someones spare time.

With that done I'll have the brakes done, fit a Bilstein / Eibach B12 kit and have the exhaust done.

Final piece of the jigsaw is some more paintwork - unfortunately highlighting what a ****e job AC Cars did originally. The front bumper is peeling badly (probably no flex agent added to the paint), and a bubble of rust has appeared on the offside scuttle panel, theres even moisture bubbles appearing from them not using a moisture trap on the gun. I'm pretty hopeful I'll escape without having to pay for another full respray, but I will definitely need all new window seals as they butchered the ones I supplied at the time of the original respray.

For a car thats been sitting for a while, the interior is remarkably fresh though - and the recolouring of the leather interior I did years ago has held up great.

Finally - since the car has hit the 30 year mark, its eligible for vintage status here. Major upside of that, apart form the obvious kudos, is that the annual road tax goes from €1034 per year to €52 per year! So I'm actually saving money with this thing

Will have photos soon!

macplaxton

Thanks for the thread revival. Makes a change from the usual ones done at beer o'clock...

kdevitt wrote: »

to €52 per year! So I'm actually saving money with this thing

You're in for a shock when you go to tax it. It's gone up to a whopping €56 pa whilst you've been away!

kdevitt

macplaxton wrote: »

You're in for a shock when you go to tax it. It's gone up to a whopping €56 pa whilst you've been away!

Damn - might need to reconsider

Silvera

kdevitt wrote: »

Finally - since the car has hit the 30 year mark, its eligible for vintage status here. Major upside of that, apart form the obvious kudos, is that the annual road tax goes from €1034 per year to €52 per year! So I'm actually saving money with this thing

This is a prime example of why we should have a reduced road tax rate for 'collectors cars' aged between 20 - 30 years (even at half the rate - €517 - the govt would get an increased number of classic/weekend cars back on the roads).

Looking forward to the pics!

kdevitt

This isn't much of an update, but I need to get back in the habit of getting work done on the car, and of taking photos of whats been done!

Here's the alternator that came off yesterday - the one I had to stick into it was from a 1985 323i, but it had a separate black connector (this one has a threaded section, but without the black shielding - I reckon it would have bolted up ok), and it also had an earthing strap which isn't present on the old one.



Will hopefully have this one all fixed up by next weekend. Also ordered a new battery from BMW to replace the dead, spurious one which was sitting in the engine bay.

B1gft

Can you please put up some finished photos, the photos you did put up are not showing (for me)
Thanks

kdevitt

B1gft wrote: »

Can you please put up some finished photos, the photos you did put up are not showing (for me)
Thanks

Sorry about that - the guys I sold my old website to selectively deleted some of my photos for some reason, can't edit the threads on here either because they're old.

Should be some photos here - http://www.performancecar.ie/Forum/showthread.php?800-1983-E30-Henna-Red-323i

Madman2

Good to see your at it again Ken, how did the roof fair out with the paint? I have an alternator form an 83/84 (same as your original one) here if you ever want it, as i've gone for the stroker...... you were wise to keep it original, yours didn't have many miles on it anyway did it

kdevitt

Madman2 wrote: »

Good to see your at it again Ken, how did the roof fair out with the paint? I have an alternator form an 83/84 (same as your original one) here if you ever want it, as i've gone for the stroker...... you were wise to keep it original, yours didn't have many miles on it anyway did it

Not sure how much of it needs paint again to be honest, I've no desire for a full respray again though. Roof isn't too bad - bonnet, and both bumpers need to be re-done. Probably need to get the wings done if the bonnet is having attention though.

kdevitt

Postman arrived today! Very exciting.



Its a jumper!



..and also a 370mm Tech 1 wheel. Tried sourcing one of these new, and it just wasn't happening. BMW Classic couldn't supply one either, and I really wanted to avoid putting in a Tech 2 wheel. The box has been sealed back up and its being posted off for an OEM looking retrim.

Madman2

Very very nice what part of the globe did you source that one Ken? (i've been looking for one for ages)

kdevitt

Madman2 wrote: »

Very very nice what part of the globe did you source that one Ken? (i've been looking for one for ages)

From an E30Owners user - ad was on donedeal!

kdevitt

You realise just how naff German style reg plates have become when you see them on a Mitsubishi Galant (complete with E46 M3 style side grilles!). Ordered these from eireplates.com - very quick delivery as usual.