Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Document your Sixer project here.

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Black-Out
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Location: Austin,Texas

Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Black-Out »

I lurk...........A LOT..... So it's been a while since I have posted and I know many of you won't remember me. My name is William- I just figured for all the time I spend traveling for work (which is a lot) and for all the lurking I do, I would give the community an idea of what my project has gone from / to in the last 4yrs that I have had it and the little time that I get to put towards it. I found my 6 series sitting behind my small shop I had about 5yrs ago and it was heavily worn and horribly neglected.

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The paint and interior were all but shot lol. but I jump started it and it ran. Albeit on 5 cylinders, but it ran......good enough for me. I paid $700 and drove it home. I later found out the number 3 fuel injector was stuck shut. After I zapped the injector open with battery voltage (which you really shouldn't do, lol) it ran on all 6 cylinders and it ran astonishingly well considering it had sat for 5yrs prior to me buying it.

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So, after a valve adjustment and some common since service a decision was made to attempt to remove some ugly off my Ruined 6. this was the test spot on the hood. it gave me hopes....lol

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after wash but before the first polish.........

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After the first round of polishing.

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Dented header panel and busted Ellipsoid and fog lamps.......

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After the first polishing session. Not too bad at all. There's still some life left in the old girl.

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The BBS looked a complete wreck before the clean up process. I dreaded the clean up.


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I quickly found the sexiest woman I could find to help with that :0
She also happens to be the most patient person I know to put up with my projects lol...... Love this woman!

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After a scrub and a rinse it was shaping up.......

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And this was after she dried them up...... not bad-

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Then she went above and beyond and decided to polish them.......... yep, she's definitely a keeper......I knew it then, but I figured it out even more so after this....lol


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This was after round 2. My God. I was covered in polish from head to toe but it took wet sanding and polishing to get the car to pop. the paint job was definitely a respray and a 5 dollar one at that after getting a proper look at it the second time around. single stage trash. but just nice enough to give it some sheen from 20 foot away.


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Before...........

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After 2 rounds of polish and 2 full weekends full of shaking my head lol.

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This is after a more recent polish session. some time had passed and it was time to make it look half way pretty again.
this time though I took it a step further and decided that the bent header panel should at least be pushed out some. I pulled the grilles and head lamps and fog lamps while I was at it because I bought some from a part out from a gentleman on Craigs list and he really helped me get things squared away selling me another set of Ellipsoids, Fogs with brand new Hella lenses, a tail lamp lense (mine cracked on me), a spare set of door handles, and he also sold me H&R/Bilstein shocks for the front and new shocks for the rear to get me by until I upgrade in the near future. What a life saver!


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Here's that header panel.........

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Admittedly I used the most crude tools in a tool box, a hammer and a pry bar.... still, could be worse.....

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Here it was after I decided it would be a good idea to put the hammer and crowbar down lol...


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A close up.....

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Then I dealt with the broken head lamp issue by swapping in my replacements

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Fogs.....


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After the head lamps got swapped in. The header panel is now black because I covered it in plasti dip to help prevent corrosion turns out most everyone who sees it thinks its a bra for some odd reason.


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Close up of the header panel after the plasti dip treatment......


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Took it for a quick spin after the suspension was swapped over and I cleaned and repacked the wheel bearings....

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Then I peeled the near 30yrs old window tent, pulled the rear seats and upholstery with plans to replace it or have it redone, and put some new tires on her and got it realigned. By this point I had already installed new drag links and tie rod ends, new sway bar end links and pretty much everything else I could underneath the car. I still need to do the rear subframe bushing and the diff bushing but man does all that make a huge difference after getting tires and an alignment. Makes the car a joy to drive.....


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Also repolished the wheels again, this time with a better metal compound....


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Here's how she sits now...... I plan to start driving her this month and give my Conquest TSi a break....lol

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Anyways this is where I'm at on my project...... truly a budget type undertaking with severe time limitation and one determined individual lol. I plan to keep going and I would eventually like to get a manual trans conversion and then boost the thing. It's not the cleanest car, that's why I nick-named it the Ruined 6. I think it will be the perfect car for me because should I decide to beat on it I wouldn't feel like I was ruining a pristine classic. My car's a 20 footer and I'm ok with that. For some reason I think it's imperfections actually give it a bit of character. But I figured I would share it with the shark community. You guys have been a great source of info and a great source of inspiration. I just want to tell you all now thanks for such a great forum!

William-
Last edited by Black-Out on Wed Dec 28, 2016 2:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
"letting somebody borrow your car is like letting someone borrow your wife- You'll never know if you'll get it back with a rod thrown in it-"

Ron "Santa Claus" Schluettor
baders
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by baders »

=D> Well done William !
1986 635csi LOCUTUS / Arktis Blau Metallic / Pearl Beige / S38B36/ Close ratio dogleg 5sp
2002 E46 M3 / Topaz Blau Metallic / Black Nappa / 6 speed SMG software tuned / Bilstein PSS10 Coilovers / CMP RACP reinforcement
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Spasso
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Spasso »

Nice resurrection.
It's amazing what one can do with good wash and polish.
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Black-Out
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Black-Out »

Thanks Guys, doing my best here with trying to save her on a budget. I love these cars, so it would have been a shame to let it just sit there and continue to rot. It would have just been car cruelty lol.... I plan to keep making it better here and there, until I can live with the results. It sure did clean up nice though. My wife actually doubted it for a minute, then she remembered what my E39 540i -6 looked like when I brought that home and decided she would lend a brotha a hand cleaning up the E24. She looks at it and still can't believe it's the same car. my neighbors are pretty much floored too, considering what it looked like when I brought it home the first day.

All I can say is for an investment of $2,250 all in I'm doing pretty well so far :D you definitely won't hear me complaining any time soon!

You're right Spasso- a wash and a polish can work wonders. if this car would have been a bit better off mechanically I could have probably shaved about $1,300 off the money in it so far. I didn't expect that though, considering the age, and the way the car was kept on the interior. I kind of expected the suspension and the stuff I have replaced so far to be worn out. I still have a little ways to go with it though. The rear diff bushings and gear oil need to be done and the rear subframe bushings need to be installed. Then it's on to the right rear window regulator and trying to get the interior redone or replaced which will probably cost me near twice what I have in it now, depending on the material I opt for. Wish me luck on that end for sure....

William-
"letting somebody borrow your car is like letting someone borrow your wife- You'll never know if you'll get it back with a rod thrown in it-"

Ron "Santa Claus" Schluettor
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by slofut »

Awesome transformation William! Did you have to color sand the paint before you buffed it? Which compounds did you use?
'87 635csi, 5sp man, dk blu on pearl beige
'88 635csi, auto, black on grey
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GazM3
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by GazM3 »

It has come together really well.
Red is a colour that deteriorates when not looked after and after some loving the results are spectacular
BMW’s
84 E24 M635csi
90 E34 M5 3.6
94 E34 540i/6 SC E85
97 E36 M3 euro SC U/C
97 Z3 2.8 widebody

OTHERS
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Black-Out
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Black-Out »

Slofut Thanks man!

Yea, I wet sanded it twice. Used a 1500 grit then followed it up with a light sanding of 2500 before hitting it with 4 stages of polishing with foam pads and then removing each stage with a wool pad. It takes forever, but with the correct technique and a lot a patients, the results can't be argued. it took me 2 and 1/2 days to bust it out.

I washed the car with Maguire's car wash then used 2 different Turtle wax rubbing compounds, one medium, one fine. I followed that up with Maguire's Ultimate polish, then washed the car again, then I used Zano brothers claybar, then polished one last time, then I used 2 coats Maguire's Carnuba Car Wax, and sealed it all in using 3M paint sealant. after that I washed it dried it and what you see is what you get.
I used a variable speed buffer with the speed at full trigger set to about 4.8 and I used a fresh wool pad to remove the polish from between the first and second rounds. The wool pad I used to remove the second round of polish was the same pad I used to remove the wax and the sealer. I also made sure not to polish too close near the sharp corners and folds of the body to avoid rub through (removing paint down to the primer) which can happen if you're hanging the buffer over an edge to long and or using too much pressure pressing down on the buffer which is also a no-no.

I'm no professional mind you so I know there's plenty I could have done differently, this is just how I did mine.


William-
Last edited by Black-Out on Thu Dec 22, 2016 7:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"letting somebody borrow your car is like letting someone borrow your wife- You'll never know if you'll get it back with a rod thrown in it-"

Ron "Santa Claus" Schluettor
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Black-Out
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Black-Out »

Gaz M3 You're not kidding. That paint was so wrecked, that it'd leave your fingers pink. It took a bit love and attention but man it proves that paint can be pretty resilient if you take your time with it. Definitely a pleasant surprise. Now all I need do is just polish it and wax it every now and then with a fine foam pad and a fresh wool pad to keep it looking like it does now. Should only take a few hours every 3-4 months or so to keep it pretty.

William-
"letting somebody borrow your car is like letting someone borrow your wife- You'll never know if you'll get it back with a rod thrown in it-"

Ron "Santa Claus" Schluettor
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by jdb »

Nice save William,
Your patience has paid off and the end result is another coupe to be enjoyed.
Thanks for sharing,
Jeff
82-323i
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Black-Out
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Re: Project Ruined - 6 *picture heavy*

Post by Black-Out »

Thank jdb, I love this thing. I had a love affair with the E24 since I was a kid. Later on when I was 17yrs old, I ran across a widow who, when I asked about the car because it hadn't moved in a few years, was willing to sell her husbands car to me because he had passed. She asked for $5k. It was still in great shape and was easily worth more. My dad shot that one down though, (I think he wasn't about to let his kid have a better car than his! lol) but I knew I would eventually have one. That 633 had an impact on me. I love the lines and I love the feel of the car. The styling will always be classy. My next step is to try and find an upholstery shop and get pricing for the ratted out interior. It's gonna hurt, but it'll be worth it in the end. Thanks for the kind words and motivation for my old project! keeps me going. I even got my personalized plates in the mail for it the other day. Ruined6 is what they say :D

William-
"letting somebody borrow your car is like letting someone borrow your wife- You'll never know if you'll get it back with a rod thrown in it-"

Ron "Santa Claus" Schluettor
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