1984 633CSi Rises again!

[87Shark]

That looks great!! Did they shoot the whole car, or just the front end? If not the whole car, how's the paint match? Glad to see the progress! conrats!

[songzunhuang]

That looks great!! Did they shoot the whole car, or just the front end? If not the whole car, how's the paint match? Glad to see the progress! congrats!

They painted the whole front end, hood and fenders. There's also a blend into both the doors about 1/4 of the way. They do good paintwork. There are a few issues that I need to work through, but overall it's shiny! I'll post some more pics and commentary later tonight. I was able to drop by the shop this afternoon and get the radiator in and crank it up after more than 3 months! It's running well. We are so close.

[songzunhuang]

Well, today was mostly a great day. In the afternoon I went to the shop and installed a new radiator. The fan clutch was very tight and I had to cut down the radiator mount tubes about 1/4" to gain enough space for the fan clearance. That took some time. My battery had inexplicably died and I had to get a new one. Afterwards I filled the system with coolant and for the first time in over 3 months, the car was started. It fired on the first crank after about 3-4 seconds. Hooray!

Started after 3 months of sitting.

First Run.png (1.42 MiB) Viewed 2076 times

But all was not well. I quickly realized my power steering pump pulley was bent. It was wobbling all over the place. Dang! I can't get one before the weekend so I am going to have to try and bend the pulley enough to drive the car home. I'll replace it at a later date with another.

But how's the body and paintwork? I must say, it looks pretty darn good. Here's a couple of beauty shots.
First is the side that had sustained the accident and was completely replaced.

This was the side that was completely replaced.

HitSide.png (1.21 MiB) Viewed 2076 times

Next we see the passenger side. Although not damaged, I had them take out a ding on top the fender and then repaint to match everything.

Passenger side was spruced up.

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Finally, here's a profile view. The front of the car, hood and about 1/4 of the door was painted. The doors were done to blend.

Side view showing blend.

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It looks really good, with the only issue being the pinstripe. In the blend over the door, they painted over the stripes! I'm going to have to figure out how to re-stripe the car. For those who are curious, the paint work alone was about $4,900. Prep and spray work was just over $3,200. My cheap hood turned out not to be so cheap as they spent days of labor stripping the old paint. The paint materials came in at $1700 . The complete repair bill is still being tallied. I will settle the rest in a few days. I fear I may have spent more on this than the book value of the car. Sigh, it is a labor of love.

So what's next? In about 2 days I will continue to tinker, assemble bits and make sure all is well. Then over the weekend I will install the headlights and grilles and likely drive the car 40 minutes home. At home I'll continue the millions of little details. For example, the washer system. My hood foam from Germany is in the USA but still in customs. Then I need to repair and install the front airdam - again. Then there's the A/C system and a full evacuate and recharge. I am sure I'll find all kinds of things to keep me busy in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned.

[MrE]

It does look great Song, that new paint looks spectacular!

Congrats, and good on you for saving the car.

What colour is that? Delphin grey?

[songzunhuang]

It does look great Song, that new paint looks spectacular!

Congrats, and good on you for saving the car.

What colour is that? Delphin grey?

Yes, it is Delphin Gray.
The painter did say he had to vary the mix a bit from OEM to get a match. I guess there might have been some fading over the years.
Today I will goto the shop and start to get the front bits onto the car. I feel pretty confident I'll be able to drive it home this weekend. I just have to deal with a bent power steering pump pulley.

I hear my hood foam passed customs. I also had to order annoying bits like emblem grommets and things you normal don't think about.

[kronus]

Delphin is notorious for being highly variable from the factory, so your painter's story is not surprising. It looks great!

[bpoliakoff]

If wanted, I reproduce Euro stripes exactly as original.. If interested, send me your email address and I will send you picture of a car with them on

[87Shark]

Bet you can't wait to get her home! On a side note, in a few of the pics it looks like the back of the drivers door doesn't match up - line wise. Could be the angle of the pic or my eyes. But if it lined up prior to the accident and doesn't now, there could be an issue that the shop missed. Just my 2cents.

It looks great! Lots of props for an amazing rescue after the wreck! I have seen too many beautiful cars get turned into yard art/ junkyard fodder with less damage that should/could have been saved. Thank you for being the out of the ordinary person that you are and having the love to do this!

[songzunhuang]

Yesterday I dropped by the shop on the way home to put on some parts and check any final items needed before I drive her home.
I removed the bent power steering pump (ordered a replacement) and started to put the front back on. You can see in the picture below that the power steering belt is hanging below the car. I also saw a small damp spot under the car. Hmm..what could that be?

Here's the start with one headlight bucket on. I replaced all the lights. I realized my lights bucket could use paint. The replacement one from Ralph was so nicely finished!

Starting to put lights back in.

Lights1.png (1.03 MiB) Viewed 1987 times

Here is it after both sides and the grille. I realized that I want to do some polish and clean work on the kidneys before reinstalling them. The kidneys are not needed for the drive back. Neither is the BMW emblem, which will need the new grommets. Those who are particularly observant will notice that I now have Euro turn signals instead of the USA elephant ears. A nice subtle update.

One annoying thing is that there was remnants of the old grommets that I picked out, resulting in some of the paint underneath showing through. Although this will be under the emblem and not visible, I'm going to touch up that paint. Yea, I'm being goofy, but why not?

All done with grille

Light complete.png (1.19 MiB) Viewed 1987 times

Finally, I put on the bumper side caps. It was starting to get dark so that was going to be it for the day.

Another view with grille

Lights Hit Side.png (1.42 MiB) Viewed 1987 times

I also noted a tiny coolant leak. I hope it's not anything serious and will check in the morning when I go back to install the new pulley. The shop also put new pinstripes on the car, but the white they used was too bright. I am thinking that I may res-tripe the car with black. Something to think about in the future. This should be the last post before I actually drive the shark back home.

===< update on 9/19/22 >===
My tiny coolant leak wasn't actually a coolant leak. Since my windshield washer system is not there, the "leak" was the washer fluid squirting out and dripping below the car. So, false alarm.

[songzunhuang]

If wanted, I reproduce Euro stripes exactly as original.. If interested, send me your email address and I will send you picture of a car with them on

Sure, I'd love to see what you have. Email: [email protected]

[songzunhuang]

Delphin is notorious for being highly variable from the factory, so your painter's story is not surprising. It looks great!

The shop gave me about a pint of the color coat they used, leftover from the job.
I learned that they used a water based PPG paint. Interesting. When I did the roof, I used a catalyzed DuPont paint called Cromax. It was definitely NOT water based. I guess I'll need to learn a bit about the new paint and see if I can still use the primer and clearcoat I have in my garage. I already see a few minor spots I'd like to touch up in the future under the hood. I guess I'm being a bit nitpicky.

[songzunhuang]

Bet you can't wait to get her home! On a side note, in a few of the pics it looks like the back of the drivers door doesn't match up - line wise. Could be the angle of the pic or my eyes. But if it lined up prior to the accident and doesn't now, there could be an issue that the shop missed. Just my 2cents.

It looks great! Lots of props for an amazing rescue after the wreck! I have seen too many beautiful cars get turned into yard art/ junkyard fodder with less damage that should/could have been saved. Thank you for being the out of the ordinary person that you are and having the love to do this!

Your eyes do not deceive you. In those pictures the door wasn't fully shut. If fully shut, it is lined up. So it appears to be slightly droopy, but it was that way before all this. I'll tend to that later.

It's definitely a labor of love. I could have just gotten another car, but the amount of work that I have put into this one to update the mechanicals, all a/c system and related climate systems, suspension, electrical, interior and top end of the motor, made it a well known quantity. Another vehicle would have basically been like starting over! I plan to get a lot more miles out of this car.

[GRNSHRK]

Great work Song

Just in time for you to make it to PSF

[songzunhuang]

Well, the shark is roadworthy again. Almost all systems have been reinstalled and ready to go. It was such a ridiculously long day. I'm just posting a few pictures and also an appeal for help on a weird headlight situation.

First, the update. I pulled my car into the garage to work as it was a rare rainy day in California! Here's the car on rhino ramps and the airdam next to it. The airdam was going to need some repairs before install. This was the start of a wickely long day of work.

Pulled in to work in a dry space.

In garage.png (1.34 MiB) Viewed 1927 times

This day I would do the following.

1. Install the hood badge
2. Paint, unbend and install the A/C condenser
3. Replace the receiver/drier
4. Install all the A/C hoses
5. Evacuate and recharge the A/C, blowing around 44 degrees.
6. Repair the cracks in the airdam
7. Install the airdam.
8. Wireup the fog lights and the temp sensor.
9. Repair, clean up and install the kidney grilles


Almost every activity described had some other side issue that I had to address first. for example, the receiver dryer weld around my 4 seasons brand replacement unit was too thick, interfering with the pressure sensor. I had to grind the weld down to get everything to fit. What a pain.

In the end, around 9pm at night, I finally fired up the car and checked all the systems. Almost everything was ok, except I am getting a weird headlight situation. In the picture below, the right picture is the normal headlight operations with the foglight on. It all looks good. However, when I turn on the high beam, I get the left picture. Anyone have an idea what's going on?

My passenger side high beam comes on, but the normal headlight turns off. On the driver side, nothing changes.
Any insight would be appreciated.

Odd High Beam behavior

Weird headlight bahavior.png (622.34 KiB) Viewed 1927 times

So what do I have left to do? Well, I got all hoses and fittings to completely re-plumb the windshield washer system. I need to adjust my headlights.
I also noticed that the body shop didn't completely paint the underside of my hood. So I'll need to freshen that up before I install the new hood foam I got from Germany (hasn't arrived yet).

So that's the quick update. I am exhausted from a long day - time for sleep.

[Ralph in Socal]

Re headlights: Check your fuse for the hazard switch.

Ralph

[songzunhuang]

Re headlights: Check your fuse for the hazard switch.

Ralph

Thanks Ralph! I can always count on you for assistance in a pinch. I’ll check that in a few days. I’ve got a long day of work in front of me. It’s the start of a conference in San Fran. It’ll be easily an 14-16 hour day for me.

Also, your bag of fasteners was a life saver. I had to replace broken clips and hunt down various nuts, bolts and screws throughout the project. I am sure you saved me more than one trip to the hardware store!

[songzunhuang]

Re headlights: Check your fuse for the hazard switch.

Ralph

Checked this yesterday and the fuse is fine. The search continues.

[songzunhuang]

As those who have been following my build know, I was looking for a source of the underhood foam that was closer to original and not ridiculously expensive. OEM foam is $500-600 these days due to supply chain issues I guess. It's ridiculous for foam.

Anyway, I found a company in Germany selling a foam kit for about $57. With shipping to the USA at $31, it totaled $88. Was it any good?
Well, it arrived this week and I have to say I am very happy. Here is it in pictures.

The rather large box contained well packed content with no damage or unnecessary folds.

Packed very well. No damage.

Hoodfoam 1.png (1.1 MiB) Viewed 1847 times

Laid out, you can see the accurate cut. It looks like it will fit rather well.

Laying out the pieces.

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Finally, a closeup where you can see the cross section of the foam that's over 1/2" and also how the backing for the self adhesive looks. No dealing with spraying glues or anything. The OEM foam I purchased years back was also adhesive backed.

Cross section.

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Overall I think this is a great option. The website address is clear on the sticker in the last picture. Only drawback is that the delivery time was about 3 weeks from Germany. The company was super responsive and easy to deal with as well. I need to do some underhood work before I can install this, but I'll post my impressions when I do.

[songzunhuang]

Well, this week we reached a milestone.
The e24 is back home and parked it its spot in my driveway. With the new bodywork and paint, it's beautiful. Three month 10 day ordeal is near completion. OK no more words. I'll let pictures do the talking.

Here's the side that was restored.

Side that was hit

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And the side view.

Side view

Back Home Side.png (1.25 MiB) Viewed 1847 times

Tis' a thing of beauty.

[Ralph in Socal]

Re headlights: Check your fuse for the hazard switch.

Ralph

Checked this yesterday and the fuse is fine. The search continues.

Recent similar experience with an 88 e28 was solved by replacing a bad fuse. Make sure you have proper voltage at the fuse. It may also be the switch itself.

Most exterior lighting goes through the hazard switch. Also check your relays for the headlights

Ralph

[Ralph in Socal]

Well, this week we reached a milestone.
The e24 is back home and parked it its spot in my driveway. With the new bodywork and paint, it's beautiful. Three month 10 day ordeal is near completion. OK no more words. I'll let pictures do the talking.

Here's the side that was restored.
Back Home 3_4.png

And the side view.
Back Home Side.png

Tis' a thing of beauty.

SCHWEEEET

Ralph

[RossDinan6]

The car looks wonderful. Great outcome.

Regarding the lights, did you check the fuse with a meter? I never assume a fuse is good with a visual inspection. While normally a burned fuse can be seen I have had them look good but my meter disagrees.

[songzunhuang]

So today was the beginning of fixing up various items under the hood. The first order of business was getting all of the spots that the bodyshop didn't paint and a few spots with poor coverage. I guess they thought it was under the hood and no one would see. Well, I'll see it! I must of spent 2-3 hours sanding 220 to 800 grit preparing the underside for paint. This is after the wet sanding and before I wiped it all down with alcohol to remove any residue and grease.

Preparing for paint.

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Luckily the shop gave me quite a bit of the leftover paint from the repair. So I gave the underside of the hood 2 coats of color. Once again I used my HVLP gun . Since I didn't have any reducer, I sprayed with a 1.7mm tip at right around 26psi. It turned out quite well. This was also the first time I have shot a waterborne car paint. This was a PPG Environbase.

After 2 coats of color.

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While the paint was drying, I started to rebuild my washer system. All the rubber sealing these old nozzles are so brittle! However, with replacement nozzles at $120 each (it's criminal!) I was intent on making these work.

Fixing the super expensive nozzles.

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I had ordered all new lines, but for some reason my 12 feet order was cut into 4 ft lengths. Ack! I ended up using some old lines since they were still good, although a bit discolored. Then a small thing, but nice thing. These very hard to obtain vent grilles. In the 7 years I've had this car so far, I have never had these. Finally I get to install a set of these.

I've never had these before.

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So that wraps for today. Tomorrow, I install the hood foam, finish the washer hoses, re-install the electrics including the hood lamp, and I re-stripe my car with black stripes. The white that the shop used was too bright and didn't match the previous grey stripes. I think black will be nice and subtle. We shall see. Also, I still need to de-bug my weird headlight and high beam behavior. I'll be another busy day.

[Slownrusty]

$88 for that hood foam is a great deal!

[songzunhuang]

$88 for that hood foam is a great deal!

It also worked out really well. I'll post pics in a few minutes.
It was super easy to install with really strong self adhesive.