"New" E36 Owner

aviator · 06-08-2014, 01:50 AM

Well I went and done it... I am now the proud owner of a 1993 325is coupe.
The good news she is black with black leather interior, power everything, 5spd, MtechII suspension etc... mechanically sound, no rust issues except for a small spot on the leading edge of the hood and some surface rust on the grill clip...

the bad-ish news she does have a few minor problems... the driver's outside door handle is missing the trim and needs to be replaced or reconnected it don't work [ok harder to steal/car jack that way lol] the headlights need to be replaced they are "tinted" dark beige [I have nearly new replacements already included in the sale just need to be installed = sweet], the drivers side window only goes down about 1" [I think the the door actuator rod is jamming the window track], the pax side window has operational issues, the sunroof needs a new switch and the panel it sits in, the drivers seat bottom needs to be recovered, it needs a new windshield, the paint is sunblasted to heck and the clear coat is pealing [shedding?]...

she may not be pretty to look at but she'll get you there...
-will post up some pics as soon as I have some...

I'm sure I'll be asking for help in the near future with some of these issues...

for instance does anyone know of a good, and by good I mean cheap lol, paint shop in the GTA [thinking Maaco $500 presidents special type thing] I can do most of the prep work myself... thinking to go matte black...

blk3 · 06-08-2014, 10:11 AM

Marco is bullshit. Better to spend a little more in the paint dept. by the way congrats on the ride

aviator · 06-09-2014, 02:27 AM

IK Maaco is not the best I just want to make her look semi-presentable lol... as I said I can do a lot of the work myself... that being said if anyone here is skilled [semi-skilled?] and has a space they [we] can paint her in I will certainly provide the craft beer and pizza [and paint/primer etc. of course]...

kenmar · 06-09-2014, 07:16 AM

Personally, I wouldn't spend the $$$ to repaint an entire E36 unless it was an M3. You don't necessarily have to repaint the entire body which is expensive to do since there is so much trim removal and masking involved. It's actually pretty amazing what paint restoration is possible. I have personally taken what appears to be flat paint with no shine and made it sparkle just by using a little elbow grease. My recommendation to reduce costs is to restore the shine on the horizontal surfaces like the hood, trunk lid and roof panels (which are usually rust free) and then bring in components like fenders and bumpers for refinishing by a body shop. The paint colour may not match, but you can treat those parts by bringing the car in to have some respraying to blend the colours together

Tom_Solo · 06-09-2014, 10:29 AM

Congrats on the car! I've had mine just over a month and I'm still amazed every time I drive it.

aviator · 06-09-2014, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenmar

Personally, I wouldn't spend the $$$ to repaint an entire E36 unless it was an M3. You don't necessarily have to repaint the entire body which is expensive to do since there is so much trim removal and masking involved. It's actually pretty amazing what paint restoration is possible. I have personally taken what appears to be flat paint with no shine and made it sparkle just by using a little elbow grease. My recommendation to reduce costs is to restore the shine on the horizontal surfaces like the hood, trunk lid and roof panels (which are usually rust free) and then bring in components like fenders and bumpers for refinishing by a body shop. The paint colour may not match, but you can treat those parts by bringing the car in to have some respraying to blend the colours together

Good ideas... the lower body panels are actually in quite good condition it is the upper surfaces [hood, fender tops, trunk, roof] that are sun blasted all to heck and a spot on the roof down to bare [clean] metal... the paint is all intact otherwise but the clear cote is pealing like a 3rd degree sunburn lol...
I'd be interested to know more about your restoration techniques...

bmwm5lover · 06-09-2014, 03:00 PM

I have a good contact that does good work for reasonable prices.
Let me know if you are interested in stopping by. He is located behind my shop on Toryork Dr.

aviator · 06-10-2014, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmwm5lover

I have a good contact that does good work for reasonable prices.
Let me know if you are interested in stopping by. He is located behind my shop on Toryork Dr.

Thanks I may stop by next week sometime after I get mine [back] on the road...
all the gov't/ins. hoops you have to jump through when you make a private sale purchase

.

jay01_brown · 06-10-2014, 12:44 PM

what about vinyl wrap or plastidip? they both offer matte type results

kenmar · 06-10-2014, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aviator

Good ideas... the lower body panels are actually in quite good condition it is the upper surfaces [hood, fender tops, trunk, roof] that are sun blasted all to heck and a spot on the roof down to bare [clean] metal... the paint is all intact otherwise but the clear cote is pealing like a 3rd degree sunburn lol...
I'd be interested to know more about your restoration techniques...

There's no magic involved; just elbow grease and some AutoGlym "Paint Renovator". Went over it twice and then waxed it with Meguiar's. Looks perfect. I started out with 0% gloss. Heck, I didn't even use a buffer; just old fashioned muscle.

kenmar · 06-10-2014, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom_Solo

Congrats on the car! I've had mine just over a month and I'm still amazed every time I drive it.

I actually like driving my E36 more than my E90 335i. Maybe because the former is modded and the E90 is still stock. After 14 years of ownership, I don't want to part with it, but I've come to the conclusion that I must sometime this year ... too many vehicles to insure.

aviator · 06-11-2014, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenmar

I actually like driving my E36 more than my E90 335i. Maybe because the former is modded and the E90 is still stock. After 14 years of ownership, I don't want to part with it, but I've come to the conclusion that I must sometime this year ... too many vehicles to insure.

Seasonal ins.? you put 1 on the road for 6mos and the other just has fire and theft on it then switch...

aviator · 06-11-2014, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenmar

There's no magic involved; just elbow grease and some AutoGlym "Paint Renovator". Went over it twice and then waxed it with Meguiar's. Looks perfect. I started out with 0% gloss. Heck, I didn't even use a buffer; just old fashioned muscle.

had a fee;ing it was something like that... been watching a bunch of utube vids on the various processes/products avail..... some will make them shiney but I still eventually need to do something about the peeling clear...
so you had good results with autoglym? maybe I'll try them to start...