Uwbuurman: 1978 323i polaris: almost done

[uwbuurman]

Real fast forward to July 19th 2012.

I finally made a start on cleaning the shell. Started to get all the insulation out, and I am bound to find some rust and holes, I think. The more I can find and repair before sandblasting, the better it is. After the cleaning up, getting rid of filler and putty and crap like that. I will have the shell sandblasted and coated in epoxy.
So what did I find on the first cleanup?





Rust! Under and around the floor caps. I expected that already, so got the donormaterial already!





In the enginebay it looks like a big, thick layer of filler. From a distance it looks all nice, but on a closer look…. Oh ooo….



And some junctions, seams.…



I will carry on, but, sandblasting is very much needed…

[uwbuurman]

Last week I collected some steel bars to fabricate the turning supports for the chassisframe. Arnold D. helped to weld.

First I cutted the parts to size:





I want to flip the frame both ways, so left and right on the supportframe adapters need to be welded.



Welding laying down...







The outer bar holds the sidepillar, the angle holds the supportpillar. Nice big bolt and everything is secured.



And the sidepillars:



And…. I found rust and holes underneath 5mm of filler on the wheelhouses inside the car. Will have to grain that down to find out what the real damage is.

[uwbuurman]

Yes, I will have to have it all… But all turns out to be more than I hoped for, again and again… Every time I thought I was there, more awaits around the corner…
Some pics…

Right side wheelhouse, on the outside, underneath a patch is welded in, but the rot is on the upper side. What to do if you are a BWM Restorer with a big name? Just hammer out some rust and smear it with filler. Done! Right? WRONG!!





Left side: even more rotten.. Bigger holes, they even run behind the separation head to the boot.







Is this “rustpreventing filler”? Rust all the way to the back…



Thick layers of filler. So I took a hammer and started banging away. No dents, all cracks…





Oh, did I already mentioned the fact that they used filler in my car?



And here is the famous torsioncrack.




Ergo, one side is beyond repairs and the other side needs more investigation. I'm afraid that repairs won't help. It will take serious amounts of time and work, while the rust won't be taken out all together. That will lead to fast rusting of repaired parts. What to do, what to do. For now:

[uwbuurman]

I'll try to update this topic to 2013 asap. 2013 was a busy year, did lots of welding and repairing. Currently I'm working on the floorpanels on the left side.

Any comments so far?

[Jeroen]

Glad there's nothing left of this business once considered reputable. Their convertible conversions, restorations and car trade... they had one good guy but the owner went for the quick money, stories popping up all around us. I guess people from across the globe will see the same. Businesses that start off with the right idea, being enthusiasts and working to help other enthusiasts. Then they smell more money and out comes the filler, speedo adjustments and heartbreaking fairytales of widows weeping when saying goodbye to their long cherished classic car.

But ok, that's one side. The other side is that these cars are old and rust is a known issue. In most cases people choose to weld the holes, clean up the rest and spray some fresh paint. Then there's this guy that absolutely wants to make sure there's not a hidden corner of rust left and takes the car apart completely. One of the most thorough jobs I've ever seen and if this long term project is finished one day, you will have an E21 that will last and bring you joy the rest of your life as it is better put together and protected than when it left the factory.

It is real sad that Brové did the worst job that can be compared with what we call a Balkan-1-hour-restore which hasn't done anything to preserve this car, only made things worse and caused more work for you to do. It will take lots more time and personally I would have abandoned it a long time ago already, so the more respect for your hard work and impressive attention to detail. As this may become THE E21 restoration bible I'm real grateful you're sharing this with us in such a detailed way!

[uwbuurman]

Many Thanks for your very kind words, J.

[gerrit323]

Amazing job you did so far .. respect

[nas80]

im sorry to see you have so many problems.. however, as you are clearly determined I have no doubt you will succeed.

[uwbuurman]

Tnx Gerrit, and Nas, you havent seen the most of it yet but I'm very determined indeed

[Duracel79]

I do keep reading with great interest at the lengths you are going to to get a rust free E21.
Wish I had the space, time and funds to attack mine in a simialr fashion

I'm still thinking of your old roof, maybe Sharknose 2015 if you still have it

Ben

[uwbuurman]

The roof is still waiting for you, doesn't have to go, so sm15 sounds good, Ben!

[uwbuurman]

November 3th, 2012 Look what I’ve picked up at the dealers….

Bunch of crappy Nokia pics. This phone was hot way back in the past century:





,

In short: the game is on! Soon to rip big pieces out of my car….

[uwbuurman]

And just 6 days later, a call from the Glassgarage: The last brandnew popout widow I needed, from BMW



And I picked up some more steel bars to ajust the supportframe



Having to replace the wheelhousings, the supportframe has to be changed. As it is, the car sits on it at the rearshockmounts in the wheelhouses. I need a new spportpoint…



I bought a new weldingmachine, on the steel bars I can practice, before burning up my car….



Left is the second attempt, little more CO2 and wire.



New supportbar with wheels. This way I can change them back lateron.





These parts need to be sorted and then I can finaly go to work on the car again.

[uwbuurman]

but first:

[uwbuurman]