bmwe21.net forums

Tonight, it got a simple clean, just to freshen it up.

It was also a chance to test how watertight it is, the answer: Not very

Sunroof leaks badly, so some investigation needs doing.

Anyway, a few write up shots:

Before:









Zaino, the only choice IMO:



After:







Not a great deal to look at, but I'm so in love with the colour, late evening sun and some Zymol Glasur and it'll look amazing.

Just joined this forum, just seen this car... STUNNING

True it's a lovely car and colour too, keep up the good works

amazing colour mate. loving it.

This one is going to come out

Got a fair bit done tonight:



Heater control panel, clocks, and lower control panel all fitted and wired in.

Just need a battery now to check it all works!

Should see some good progress this weekend.

I've got a spare 4cyl rev counter if u ever want to get rid if the giant clock

One that will fit/work with mine?

MrEdd off here gave me a couple of spare clocks, one has a perfect housing, another has a 6cyl rev counter. I was going to play with the resistors to get the rev counter working with a 4cyl.

If you've got one I'd happily purchase it off you, if you're okay with that?

Yea man no worries. Wiring should be there but essentially all you will need is a +/- and a feed from the negative terminal on your ignition coil.

Ill send it up with Jamie next time he comes over. a tenner?

Sounds good mate, let me know when he's next up and I'll send the money over.

So, as promised, updates from the weekend

First up, my new grub screws arrived, meaning I could fit my wing mirrors. I love them, and they're a lovely feature of the car:



After that, we took the brake calipers off, as the hoses need replacing (more on that in a few days).





They were cleaned up:



And given a couple of coats of paint:



Wheelarch section of brake line that will be replaced by something, a little more premium



One of the worst design flaws of the BMW E21 is the front sunroof drainpipes, which pass down the A pillar, and through the chassis, but instead of emptying onto the floor, they empty into the sill.

As you can expect, this is a haven for rust and rot, so I decided to reroute the drain into the wheelarch.

So I drilled a 20mm hole in the back of the arch, into the space behind the speaker, then ran the rubber drain through there and into the wheelarch, so the water can now drain freely onto the road.

The hole was sealed up after taking some shots.





Next job on the list was to sort out a couple of damaged threads.

The caliper mounting point on the coilover had been drilled prior to me owning them, presumably to remove a stiff bolt.

So, I ordered a Helicoil kit off eBay, I didn't fancy paying the high prices for a genuine kit, so a £12 eBay special was ordered and frankly, it was perfect. If anything, the crappy keyless chuck on my drill let me down more than anything else.

Caliper mount with it's new M12x1.5 thread:



Also, to use the coilovers, I needed to upgrade to the bigger 323i hubs, which I did a few months back. Unfortunately one of the threads for the wheel bolts was crossthreaded, so to save me having to use just 3 wheelbolts, I drilled it out, ran a tap through it, and inserted a new M12x1.5 Helicoil.



With all that done, it was time to do some "fun" work, in the form of carpets

Started out with a nicely underlayed cabin:



No progress shots, as there isn't much to see, and unfortunately these two photos are actually the best I have, shocking I know

Anyway, a good amount of carpet fitted:





Centre console is only mocked up for now, but it gives a good idea of how it will look.

Massive, massive thanks to Rhys and Jon, who put in a monumental effort this weekend to help out. They sanded the wheels. Hot, dusty, minging work, but they didn't give stick once, cheers lads

Nice progress, again!

yeh BIG respect mate the amount of work you've done is amazing .....




.....ayds

i am enjoying reading your thread as well. there's some good inspiration