MyE28.com

2-4-11, I still have to do some more welding and cleaning of the welds but got the floor replacement in today.

I am still finding this to be inspiration. Once I get my mechanics up to snuff, I will think about the rust. Mine is bad, bad, bad. But maybe not deadly. My entire passengers floor board has sperated from the rocker (well 60-80% of the seam is gone). My drivers floor and rocker are likely toast as well. The rear valance is academic at this point as well.


Interested in another project?? What is it about these cars that put us through so much abuse, and yet we see a perfect example and we are right back in and at it. I haven't even gotten the driving excitment/satisfaction from mine in ...shoot, seems like years.

2-8-11, I must say after almost 2 months of working on this car I'm feeling as if I'm getting rewarded. Its starting to all come together and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
The floor boards cleaned up very nicely after removing all the tar, shit and surface rust. The drivers side repair is done. I burned thru in a few spots and ended up filling the holes making a few ugly welds....but I'm welding upside down...very awkward.....wine/cheese///wine...

Applied POR15 on the pass side. Seam sealer will go over all the weld joints and seams and then I'll apply the truck bed liner paint. I'll put some kind of sound deadener in also.

Worthy project, and work looks to be well done.
Thanks for the pictorial documentary, inspirational.

Looks great

I cut my last bit of rust out of my car. There was a rusty area on the side of the jack points. From here I will take a piece of cardboard, press it against the hole and the jack support to get a indention of the hole. Then I will cut the cardboard for a template and transfer it to fresh sheet metal, it will show the jack support so I can drill holes for spot welds too.
I've been using weld thru primer on the back sides of the metal and joints. Don't apply more than one coat as its a bitch to weld thru if applied too heavy.
I'm actually surprised in how clean and rust free the inside of the rockers are.



If you ever have your front fenders off....take the time to drill a small water relief hole in your top door hinges....this is a flaw in BMW design as water accumulates in the area. I have seen many hinges nearly rusted thru. The lower hinge is not affected as there is a hole located near the bottom that lets the water pass.

Here I have drilled a hole and applied POR15 for protection.

Removed the ugly heat foam from the underside of the hood today. It took about 3-4 applications of the wax/grease remover and good old elbow grease. This stuff works best as it doesn't melt the paint like paint thinner. I cleaned and sanded for fresh paint too.

Stripped my hood with Aircraft stripper today. It took about 3 applications to get all the paint off. I taped the edges and any air vents off so stripper wouldn't seep down into the vents and remove good paint finish. Then take 80/100 grit and go around the edges to remove the remaining paint.

Use a liberal amount each coating, I used a 2 inch bush.

This was the 2nd coat, also put a piece a plastic over your work to keep the stripper from evaporating. Heat helps too.

You know when it looks like graded cheese its working!!!


Used 100 grit, then 150, then 180 grit, then grease remover and a final tack cloth.

Etching primer

2 coats of black followed by a knock down 800 grit paper, 1 more black and then the clear.
I'll have pics later of the finished piece with new vent rubber, sound/heat mat, rubber and other goodies!
No thats not me, thats my friend who owns the paint shop I have my project in. No he doesn't do rust work but he is a hellava paint!

Kudos to you Ed! This is amazing.

Best,
RCBMW

What I did today, left rocker done, right one to go! I should mention I have some finishing work, grinding and then applying a coat of metal 2 metal filler to cover the rocker weld...then rock guard...almost done with this job...onto paint!




I'm not that great of a welder...especially on my back...but it will look good dressed up with filler and rock guard..

very nice work, keep us updated!

I'm getting better making my replacement pieces and faster. This piece I made for the R front rocker. It fit very well. I just have a small piece to welding ahead of this piece and I'M DONE....! with the rust repair anyway...then a little paint and onto the interior. :-}

So its been a long time since I've updated this thread. The car is off the jacks and out of the body shop. I had it on the ground the day of the Vintage car meet and I had the balls to drive it without even a test drive...but hey...it was only a 30 min drive from my house to Winston Salem.
So the rust repair was a nasty, dirty, filthy job. It took me way longer to complete the job then what I had thought....mostly because I didn't take any short cuts. If something needed replaced or repaired.....I just did it. I ended up replacing pretty much the whole suspension/brakes/rotors front and rear along with many new bushing parts.
Once the metal work was all repaired I POR15 where I could use it and seam sealed everything else....probably went a little over board on the seam sealer....but that wont hurt anything.
The car was in good condition besides the areas I repaired. Thats one of the main reasons I bought this car because I knew if I fixed the rust it had good bones....most people were very afraid of this car....its gonna be a very cool euro m5 "non badge" no spoiler daily drive....baaaaaa-baaaaa! I decided the front spoiler was bit much, I'm probably going with a M5 chin spoiler . The front battery box tray was like new which is surprising as this catches a lot of road crap and rust badly [east coast that is]. Frame rails are in great shape...as you can see by several of the picks after I washed and cleaned the car its in nice shape....a little elbow grease and cleaner....goes a long ways. I'm very excited where the car is now "put back together stage" Heres a few things I've done over the weekend since I've had the car back home:
* crack-free dash
* pulled electric sport seats wiring harness
* painted and polished airbox
* new hoses and hose clamps
* detailed motor bay
* polished Throttle body runners.
* sound mat in floor boards
* front euro signals in
* new door trim
* installed my red car 535is black door cards...in very nice condition.
* installed 535is trunk carpet, also installed battery box cover I got from Chris K. thanks Chris!
* p/u e28 manual seats from upholstery shop...another nice find....yes I was Kohlerized again....thanks Chris!
Also install carpet...thank you David "run the numbers" Maiorana for a nice rug.
I need to run some stereo wires, I have new door rubber/seals, interior bits here and there and the big chore will be to get the HVAC put in place. David again offered his expertise, I only had to shower him with some very fine parts to get a commitment.
More later.
















Saving the best for last....rears are matching. Leather sides, solid grey inside bolsters with Mtech cloth middle.

Last night I was going thru the photo album of the tear down and just how ugly this car looked when I started the project......wow....not sure if I'd take on another project like this one....

This is really cool. Thanks for taking the time to take and post all of the pics. I'm just now discovering what a rusty mess my 535i is. I don't think I'll be in the position to do that kind of work - but it's nice to see someone get it done.

Sadly, the right front corner of my otherwise straight M5 needs this repair. Much respect for taking the job on, Ed. Wish I had something else to drive so I can get started on fixing my M5.