Page 1 of 7

20 years in the family

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:42 am
by kos
hello all

the car is 1986 635csi auto, zinnobar red, black leather all original. dad bought in in 89 and is the 3rd owner on it. as you are aware e24's rust and rust and rust. this one is ok though, but it has gone in the usual places though but its all cosmetic. NS fron wing, (OS is fine, as i was replaced 8 years ago) NS rear arch, both outer sills have got some rot coming thru and a few bits here and there. new pannels trims have been orders and the car will be fully painted once all rust issues have been sorted. paint work aside, the new trims rubbers, and some other essential parts will be fitted
the car had been standing for maybe 18-24 months, we've started it and run it every now and then but before we started with any body work, some mechanical things will be checked over. the brakes were over hauled before it got parked up, but they will be given a once over, as will the suspension bushes etc. we may replace the shocks and lower her a touch but in all honesty she drives fine. what will be replaced are all the fluids (oil water coolant etc) replace the plugs and dizzy etc to she will run fine. a new rads going in, and air con to be over hauled, new condenser will be fitted as well.

a couple "up grades" will be done, a set of 16" alpina staggerd wheels will go on, and alpina steering wheel. as mcuh as i'd like to keep it original i'm not paying £1000 plus for 4 new michelin TRX tyres which cruble away and i dont think the alpinas take away form the originaly at all as they are a correct period wheel.

on a final note, the front drivers seat is worn, so the front pair will be re trimmed to match the condition of the rears.

that kind of sums it up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:44 am
by kos
here are some pics of the car as is, not particular order but it bits an peices showing the overall condition of it, and the areas of concern


Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image


the new rad, and air con condencer were fitted today. some fabrication had to be done on the air con condencer as the mounting brackets for the fan differed for some reason ?? but its on and all works perfectly. the car was started and it fired up on the first turn of the key, sat at a perfect idle. not bas for a car that been sitting for ages.

was run up to temp, no air locks in the cooling system so on when the trade plates and off we when for a quick drive !:)

the stright six still purs and growls when you open her up, i've missed this car but soon now she will be at her former glory.

on a slight down side, the alpina wheels returned from the refurb company. all i can say is now that i have lost all faith in Spit & Polish. their attitude stinks. the only reason for using them is that in the past they have always done well with my wheels and thye collect form my local tyre place. but this time they have fucked up. so they were called up, given a load of abuse and sent back.

The again form spit n polish, and they have done a decent job this time round. not perfect but i was never expecting that as they where quite badly pitted, especialy the centre caps. new badges are on, O rings and lock covers and i also orderd the small hooks which are used to remove the lock covers, yep i'm that particular at times. the wheels have been finished in a brighter shade of silver, and they really do sparkle and stand out now. 4 new tires are going on as well, falken 452's, tried and tested tyre which i'm me more than happy with on this car. 205/55/16 up front and 225/50/16 on the back, i did toy with the idea on going 225/50 on the fornt and 245/45 on the back, but the rears in that size are hard to get, and can be quite expensive. i know the cars costing me lots of money but when i dont need to go wider i cant justify blowing the extra cash there for no reason. so i'll stick woth the recomended Alpina sizes.

the car has been strippped and some repairs have started, rear wheel arch has been done, and some other repairs here and there. other bits of rust has been found but nothing to worry about too much. the car is structually sound and thats the main thing.

one nasty surprise has come up though, the sun roof pannel has some rust, and at over £400 for a new one, its kinda a kick in the bollocks it can be repaired but there is the risk of rust coming back, however its only one pannel and can be easily sorted again laer down the line but not sure if i can be bothered to do it in few years!

a front wing has been sourced, £200 for a VERY clean used one, arch repair kit was also sourced in germany.

finally, other trim peices, bumper rubbers, and grills, clips etc have been priced up........ £1500 for the small details that will make the car. its got to be done, and the budget has now been blown , well thats life, and thats me all over.

some pics of the strip down and the prep

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:49 am
by kos
the wheels

rare in this firment, 7j & 8j 16" staggered set et11 and et24, for the e23,e24,e28, now fully refurbed in a high power bright silver, new badges, lock bugs and small hook tool to remove them. wrapped in sexy Falken 452's. hell of and improvement on the old micheln TRX's

as i said before they were done by spit n polish, 3 attempts to get them right, and considering how bad they were to start i'm now pretty happy with them. not 100% but good enough considering the pitting they had

Image

Image

any way, some parts need to be "restored" as i will not buy them new and buying used parts can often be a lost cause as they are some times no better than what i have.

rear lights, these were scrated, with swirl marks on them, chrome was faded and because rubbers had perrished moss/alge was groing inside them.
so i set to them and i'm happy with the results and here are some before and after pics

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:51 am
by kos
as you can see, most repair work is done and moving on to the prep work
most of the filler that was on the pannels has now dissapeared.

next step , the screens will be removed and prep work will be finished off and get ready for paint

the areas which have had some metal work and filler have has a coat of sealer and 1st coat of primer. this will be rubbed down, and a 2nd coat will follow before it gets its final prep for paint

the sealer coat simply seals the areas where filler has beens used. even though it is minimal, there is always a risk of sinkage. this will prevent that.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:53 am
by kos
90% of the new bits and peices have arrived form bmw GB and AG, some parts i was not happy with so i sent back, and some got sent back for a 2nd time. garage at home now looks like a BMW parts dept with lots of e24 parts, M3 parts and some other car scrap lying around!!
but today was fun i had the pleasure of helping out on the car. last few bits before paint have been done, windows all trimmings have been totaly stripped and car rolled in to the booth for paint.

a couple of pics to show whats been done

rear pannel "stone chiped" factory style. this was done on the rear arch return lips as well

Image
a random of the fron spoiler, this as you can see is fully stripped for paint. un like some other lessed twats who painted it years ago who left on some mouldings and just masked it up and got some over spray which i never noticed till it was fully stripped. also some other f*** ups have come to light while this car has been worked on but i wont waste your time telling you

Image

Image


in to the paint booth it goes, masked and papered up ready for paint, final wipe down with pannel wipe, and tag rag

Image

door closed, paint in gun

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

the car has been painted with a water based colour base coat and toped off with a clear coat. 2 reasons for this. one, red traditionally fades, the clear coat gives it protection agains UV rays etc. 2 its the way BMW's did it form the factory lol
i am usually a fan of 2 pack paint, i find it tends to have more depth than base with a clear coat with straight colours ( ie non metalics) however with paint technology improving, the clear coat finish should actually work better with this car
anyway the 1st coat whent on all the edges, shuts, screen surrounds etc then it follwed with a light coat on to area that were primered.

then car was given a 4 more coats of paint. between each one drying, it was wiped down with a tack rag to remove any dust which will leave impuriteis, imperfections and any thing else that might have landed on the base. it was been done in the booth which does help and minimises any chance of this but no chances taken here

it was then toped off with on light of laquer and 3 full coats.

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:58 am
by kos
after paint, was time to get the wet and dry out a flat it back to smooth finish

Image

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:00 am
by kos
and then polished and slowly re fitted

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

re fit in progress

Image

Image

new front screen, rubber and trim

Image

Image

Image

new door handle gaskets

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:03 am
by kos
the car was them mot'd, taxed and taken to a nice clean dust free unit to be finished off, final polish and waxed. It was getting pretty close to a show and i was due to go on holiday. so i gate it to a friend to do


fully assembled and detailed to perfection

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:11 am
by kos
and from there i took it to the Ultimate BMW show

for a bit of fun entered it into the show and shine

the car won "best original" :D

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:34 am
by The Sixer Kid
Welcome to the family :D :D .

Car looks great. I can't believe how much rust had to be fixed.

The only suggestion I can offer to improve the looks is to reduce the fender gap. The front seems to sit a little higher than the back.

Keep up the good work!

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:58 am
by Da_Hose
Looks like you do paint for a living.

Very nice work and welcome.

Jose

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:17 am
by Paul Humpage
Brilliant series of posts, i'm hugely impressed with the results. Well done. Car looks superb.

Regards
Paul

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:36 am
by hoadie
That's a really impressive car, thanks for sharing.

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:27 am
by e24trapt
That is a gorgeous car, i must disagree with you on waterbourne paint sucks.
I spray Glasurit waterbourne base and dupont solvent base, colour matching is easier to achieve with waterbourne, the base lays down smoother, it flashes quick with blowdriers and you get no dry spray when doing metallics. I love dupont and that's what my 6er is done with but as far as colour goes, waterbourne is nicer. Comeplete coverage is achieved usually in 2 wet coats, reds etc take more.

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:49 am
by Colin C
Impressive job.............fancy doing the same to mine :wink:

20 years

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:30 am
by ron
What a superb job. Aren't they doing an article on it in

Total BMW? Do you paint for a living? Ron.

Re: 20 years

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:35 pm
by kos
Thanks for all the comments, it is appreciated
thesixerkid wrote:
Car looks great. I can't believe how much rust had to be fixed.

The only suggestion I can offer to improve the looks is to reduce the fender gap. The front seems to sit a little higher than the back.
i im looking to lowering the car, maybe a set of M635csi springs, if not Eibach or H&R, comined with set of Bilsteins, B4's the black bodied ones.
e24trapt wrote:That is a gorgeous car, i must disagree with you on waterbourne paint sucks.
I spray Glasurit waterbourne base and dupont solvent base, colour matching is easier to achieve with waterbourne, the base lays down smoother, it flashes quick with blowdriers and you get no dry spray when doing metallics. I love dupont and that's what my 6er is done with but as far as colour goes, waterbourne is nicer. Comeplete coverage is achieved usually in 2 wet coats, reds etc take more.
we used a Glasurit base on this car with Dupont clear. as for water based, just not fan of it.

Da_Hose wrote:Looks like you do paint for a living.

Very nice work and welcome.

Jose

and
Colin C wrote:Impressive job.............fancy doing the same to mine :wink:
ron wrote:What a superb job. Aren't they doing an article on it in

Total BMW? Do you paint for a living? Ron.
I helped in the prep and finishing. the only thing dont do is paint, yet. It just a hobby for me but i'm privilaged to have friends who reallu know what they are doing

the car should be in Total BMW some stage this year. having the interior done as soon as i fine s few more peices of leather to match up with the original.

only the driver seat is bad, just worn down leather and frames/mechs are a tiered. sourced a couple of seats whichhave good mechs and foams, and an other seat in black leather. together i'll use the best available to have the front seats in as good a condition as possible.

i've chosen to stay away from a re trim or partial re trim as the rear seats are in very very good condition, and the fronts will be hard to match, in colour, grain and "shine".

i've used the car a couple of times, but with the weather the way it is i stay off the roads during the winter months.

roll on spring and summer :D

one again thanks all

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:30 pm
by GWL
Outstanding car, well done. I am fortunate that my 80 Euro 635CSi (in family for 28 years now) spent most of it's life with me in Arizona. = no rust.

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:21 am
by The Sixer Kid
GWL wrote:I am fortunate that my 80 Euro 635CSi (in family for 28 years now) spent most of it's life with me in Arizona. = no rust.
Same here. I've got 42 (combined) years in the family with both of my e24s. They've never left California.

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:44 am
by kos
you guys are lucky that your cars dont rust :D

This is awesome

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:20 pm
by lawlesracn
I just joined the group and was looking over some of the cars in the gallery and just fell head over heals with the detail of yours. I haven't looked at profiles so I'm not certain what area of the world your in but would love to get some contact details for your part suppliers. I live in a small town in Maryland, USA and finding trim, body and rubber items is near impossible. Mine is a 1979 Euro, i have been ordering from a catalog, Bavarian Auto. They seem ok but i really don't have much to compare them with. Any advice or contacts for suppliers would be vey much appreciated, from anyone. And again that is a beautiful car.

Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:14 pm
by kos
i have often just viewed on this forum, but joined up to share and gain information as and where i can.

i have to say that there are some stunning cars on here from al round the world and lots of people that can help you. its not as active as some other bmw forums like e30 zone and bmw 5 forum ( both UK based) but non the less there is lots of info here when you use the the search function

most of my parts come from the main dealers, and few parts come from specialist suppliers and trade contacts and e bay. but i will always view before i purchase. its not often that i buy blind

thanks for the positive comments, i hope its of some inspiration to you :D

Re: This is awesome

Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:26 am
by The Sixer Kid
lawlesracn wrote:I just joined the group and was looking over some of the cars in the gallery and just fell head over heals with the detail of yours. I haven't looked at profiles so I'm not certain what area of the world your in but would love to get some contact details for your part suppliers. I live in a small town in Maryland, USA and finding trim, body and rubber items is near impossible. Mine is a 1979 Euro, i have been ordering from a catalog, Bavarian Auto. They seem ok but i really don't have much to compare them with. Any advice or contacts for suppliers would be vey much appreciated, from anyone. And again that is a beautiful car.
Bavrian Autosport has some decent stuff, but in general I find them overpriced.

For mechanical pieces try www.autohausaz.com they stock quite a few parts and have good prices.

For aftermarket pieces you can also try Steve Haygood. Steve has unbelievable prices and he often organizes group buys for rare or hard to find parts.

There is another member from Balitmore (Bobby, username buellrider) he and picked apart an '77 e24 back in December. He hasn't been real active recently, but he always seems to know what Maryland junkyards have e24.

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:34 pm
by BacknBlack
Very nice, Ahhhhhh :P I could smell the paint from here in New Jersey.

Where are you located, and what are you going to do with the original tires...never seen those kind of TRX,s.

Do you want to sell?

Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 3:23 am
by E28_Turbopanzer
This is my new favorite 6 on the forum!

It definitely has me reconsidering Zinno as the color for my 6er instead of Achatgrun... I bet this would look AMAZING with a lower stance and some 17" Throwing Stars.