1982 315 Restoration Project

[Pimms105]

Hi everyone,

Whilst randomly looking for parts for my dad's E30 which we're planning on restoring, I came across the very E21 which he used to own from new and wished he never sold. I went to have a look and couldn't resist purchasing it. 17 years after he sold it, I was very surprised to discover it still existed and isn't beyond repair!

It's a 1982 315 (1.6l) 123000 miles (199000km) left hand drive.

The bodywork seems in good condition for its age, floor hasn't rusted through. It starts and drives, just about moves as it needs a complete set of new tyres. The plan is to keep everything completely original and try and get it looking like it did when it left the factory!


Took a tow truck to go and pick it up from Essex

Loaded and ready to go

In the compound near Portsmouth

The interior needs a lot of work! I know the seats of the E21 are prone to wearing but these are something else. After taking the awful dirty covers off, I noticed that even the rear seat is badly ripped.

Needs a good clean! Radio missing - would like to track down an original Blaupunkt cassette radio!

Am very much looking forward to the project and keeping you updated with the progress!

Thanks,

George

[Jeroen]

Wow, what are the chances if finding that back, and even in a pretty decent and unmolested condition? Hope the tin worm hasn't done too much work then it really looks like it was meant to come back with you guys! Nice to read and see, good luck and keep us posted!

[uwbuurman]

Very nice find! Good luck on restoring that one, looking forward to the pics!

[brennon]

Good to see some pics up! Going to keep an eye on this for sure.

I'm 99% sure I've got a blue rear seat in the garage that isn't ripped. You know where I am

[Pimms105]

Cheers guys!
Car is coming down to my garage on Saturday morning so will be able to start work on it then and put some more pictures up.

@Brennon
Sounds good mate, I'd be very interested in this, look forward to paying you another visit soon.

[LeeLee]

Glad to see someone keeping there's original look forward to seeing this one being restored take pics as you work

[Pimms105]

Loaded on the recovery truck and bound for the garage!


Car finally in the garage, time to start the restoration!


This is the condition of the passenger seat, the drivers seat is even worse. Not sure whether to get them reupholstered or get replacements...


Interior being stripped out and cleaned, will then attempt to dye the carpets back to their original blue.



Bodywork and engine are cleaning up nicely, still a lot of work needed though!


I am replacing the damaged rear lights and tyres before addressing any bodywork issues and replacing the bumpers.


Prepping the wheels for a respray.

I am working on the car every spare weekend I have. Other issues which I hope to solve in the upcoming weeks are:

Replace engine intake hose
Identify cause of a blowing exhaust
Fix hazard light switch (needs to be permanently held in place to avoid activation)
Replace faulty indicator & wiper module

Will keep you all posted as the car begins to take shape!

Cheers,

George

[Jeroen]

Nice! Indicator issue is likely to be related to the issue with the hazards, multiple threads on these issues in our Top Tech Topics section.

Good luck with da project!

[steed]

good to see another of the 1.6 being restored, and in hampshire no less! i've just transportred mine from gosport to southampton. if you need any engine bits i'd be happy to see if i have some kicking about in my stash...

[Pimms105]

I have had a little more time to work on the car lately am pleased that it's starting to look a lot better.

The seats should be off to the re-upholsterers later this week, which will give me the chance to re-dye the interior carpet as it is in reasonably good condition. After that, I will start to work on the engine, brakes and bodywork.

Here are a few pictures of my progress. I should be able to spend more time on the car over the next few months as my aim is to get it roadworthy for the summer!

[url=http://s44.photobucket.com/user/Pompey1 ... 6.jpg.html]

[URL=http://s44.photobucket.com/user/Pompey1 ... f.jpg.html]

[url=http://s44.photobucket.com/user/Pompey1 ... 1.jpg.html]

[Pimms105]

@Steed - Will definitely get in touch regarding parts as I'm only down the road.

If anyone has any seats in better condition than mine - (of course I'll keep on checking the forums) then please PM me. These seats are Pacific Blue cloth.

Am still weighing up whether it will be better to get them re-upholstered or to get replacements as they seem very hard to find!

The next items on my shopping list:

Full exhaust system
Windscreen wiper relay
New front brake discs & calipers

Please feel free to send me a message if you think you may be able to help with parts!

All the best,

George

[uwbuurman]

Lots of work done! Mayby look for a continental passengerseat? Those are better than most driversseats but still in de same place as your driverseat, car beeing RHD and all.

[E21noob]

I have a windscreen wiper complete with relay I am happy to send you for cost of postage and a beer.

[Pimms105]

It's been a while since I last posted and I wanted to show you the updates.

So what has happened since?

The interior trim has been reupholstered and the carpets re-sprayed. I still need to add a few more layers to darken the colour of the carpets.
I have given the engine a service - fresh oil and new filter, new air filter, spark plugs and fuel. It seemed to respond well to this. The old exhaust downpipe section from the manifold has been replaced and the car is running and sounding much better.

It's starting to take shape, although progress remains slow. This is mainly due to lack of proper facilities in the garage and my inability to quickly remove stubborn rusted-on bolts!

There is some minor non-structural welding work to be done but the plan is to get it roadworthy this summer and do the remaining bits as a rolling restoration, so I can drive it to specialists if necessary. After all, I'm not looking for perfection, just to keep originality and save one of these from the scrapyard, and trying to do as much of the work myself!

Whilst moving it today, I noticed that the clutch seems to have very little pressure in it. The next job will be to overhaul the brakes and bleed the whole system, with new pads and discs. I will also replace the clutch slave cylinder if bleeding the system doesn't help.

George

[steed]

some good progress there, the interior is looking very sharp now!