E12 M535i bodywork and paint journey

Cooperman · Post by **Cooperman** » Apr 30, 2014 7:22 PM

DAYUM.

That is a lot of thoroughness going on up in there.

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Apr 30, 2014 7:30 PM

It starts getting fun now that the disassembly is done and it's going back together.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Apr 30, 2014 10:30 PM

Thanks guys, yes I'm amazed at just how thorough and extensive the replacement and repair is, and how warranted it was. The car was nearing the point of unsafe from what he told me because the diff mount and body/sheet metal for the trunk floor and under the subframe was so twisted. There's a cross piece that the diff mount reinforcement for the E12 goes to (see #4 below) and mine was twisted and shredded all to shit.

You can see it a few pictures up in the hands of the body guy, what's left of it in 2 pieces once he cut it out. The E12 factory diff mount repair kit alone would not have fixed the state my car was in. Not only did he put the new piece in that I bought from BMW (again #4 above, they are still available as of now), but he welded in a bit of extra metal to strengthen that piece laterally even more. We didn't even use the factory diff mount repair kit I have. If you have an E12 and are worried about your diff mount, you may want to really look at this area closely (remove the subframe and the entire rear end of the car) to assess the state of affairs. I wonder how many burnouts previous owners of my M535i did?

They will also be cutting the inner lips of the rear fenders/quarters to clear my 245 width tires and cleaning it up nicely with sealer and some custom work. They don't have a fender roller, but when you're going back to basics like this on a fresh, unpainted quarter panel, they can craft an even better solution.

Jelmer538i · Post by **Jelmer538i** » May 01, 2014 1:59 AM

This is great! Looks very very nice!!

What is the part number of this repair piece?

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 09, 2014 1:15 PM

Getting closer to the end of phase 1. Just stopped by today and they've done some of the undercoating. They have the message loud and clear not to drill into the new quarter panels for side marker lenses, we're staying euro now! They get the message.

They still have to drill some holes in Eric Q's trunklid for the rear spoiler, and a few other areas to finish up. You can see the trimming they did to the inside of the quarters to clear the 9" wide rear wheels.

The total job should finish out at around 150 hours in case anyone's curious what kind of time this takes.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 09, 2014 1:22 PM

Oops, I forgot the pictures that show how they trimmed the insides of the quarters to clear the wheels/tires.

leadphut · Post by **leadphut** » May 09, 2014 2:05 PM

bravo!

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » May 09, 2014 2:06 PM

Adam - it looks great. It may be expensive but you have a no-nonsense, no questions job back there. They do great work.

unt0uchable · Post by **unt0uchable** » May 09, 2014 3:22 PM

I'm stealing a line from another thread I've read today.

Ho. Lee. Crap.

rubix_cube12 · Post by **rubix_cube12** » May 09, 2014 4:25 PM

This is freakin awesome.

Keep it up.

Matthias · Post by **Matthias** » May 10, 2014 12:51 AM

Thanks for sharing! Fascinating to watch the progress. Kudos!

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » May 10, 2014 9:21 AM

I assume that 150 hours just for the bodywork, and doesn't cover finishing and paint?

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 10, 2014 1:27 PM

The paint work in this phase only consists of priming and undercoating which is included in the 150 hrs.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 10, 2014 7:11 PM

From the latest Roundel. Justification for my endeavor!?

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » May 11, 2014 9:16 PM

Interesting that you have the E28 towhook on your spare tire well. Just noticed that. I think some really late E12s had that too, though. Same part otherwise and it's not as prone to rusting like the E12 one was.

Interesting article in the Roundel, though it doesn't really say much. I'd like to think that in a few years these cars should see more of the appreciation they deserve. In about 10 years, my car will be done.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 11, 2014 10:11 PM

wkohler wrote:Interesting that you have the E28 towhook on your spare tire well. Just noticed that. I think some really late E12s had that too, though. Same part otherwise and it's not as prone to rusting like the E12 one was.

Hmm good eye, I wouldn't have noticed. Perhaps it's because I bought the replacement bmw panels and they updated it with the last run of spare tire well panels?

davintosh · Post by **davintosh** » May 12, 2014 12:15 AM

Holy schnockers! That's some serious work!

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » May 12, 2014 12:19 AM

Adam W in MN wrote:
wkohler wrote:Interesting that you have the E28 towhook on your spare tire well. Just noticed that. I think some really late E12s had that too, though. Same part otherwise and it's not as prone to rusting like the E12 one was.
Hmm good eye, I wouldn't have noticed. Perhaps it's because I bought the replacement bmw panels and they updated it with the last run of spare tire well panels?

Looks like they changed it in 5/81. Just like with everything else, the latest revision supersedes. It's the same part number for E12 and E28. I think in the long run, it's a better move. The old one rusted out there because they couldn't get undercoating in the void between the spot-welded portion and the hook itself. Traps moisture and crap and it rusts above that. E28s don't seem to have that issue. Robert Knowlton's Polaris car had the late one.

DMS · Post by **DMS** » May 12, 2014 5:21 AM

Adam W in MN wrote:Oops, I forgot the pictures that show how they trimmed the insides of the quarters to clear the wheels/tires.

Can you point out where they made the changes. Is it a rolled lip or are there other things they addressed?

Concerning the towhook: Thanks for pointing that out. I'm renovating my E12 and that's a nice upgrade I'll incorporate. My Original tow hook has the rust issues you're talking about.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 12, 2014 8:58 AM

DMS wrote:Can you point out where they made the changes. Is it a rolled lip or are there other things they addressed?

Sorry, it's subtle in that picture. I attempted to circle it freehand in my image editing tool here. You can see how beginning at the ends of the circle I drew, there is material removed from the quarter panel. There is also some finishing work done inside that lip (that you can't see in this picture) to seal it up nicely.

fulanorock · Post by **fulanorock** » May 17, 2014 3:03 AM

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 20, 2014 1:57 PM

Car gets flatbedded home tomorrow, we're finished with phase 1. They also have a pickup that will tag along to ferry the other parts we're not putting back on yet, exhaust, bumper, rear spoiler, other trim.

It was a pleasure meeting Matt (BimmerSog) and his friend Mike today over at the bodyshop. Matt drove his white E12 M535i that is well known on this forum and he'll be looking to get an assessment from the bodyshop doing the work on my car in the future. It's always fun to see new-to-me E12 M535i 4145xxx car in person!

I'll post more pics soon and update on progress for further disassembly.

BimmerSog · Post by **BimmerSog** » May 20, 2014 4:52 PM

Nice meeting you Adam and seeing the car in person! Looking forward to future updates and the finalized product.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 21, 2014 10:06 AM

A few photos. I brought the better camera (duh) vs the first 3 pages of this thread where I used my iphone (lame planning).

jodystevens · Post by **jodystevens** » May 21, 2014 10:35 AM

Any shots of how they did the diff reinforcement?

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 21, 2014 12:02 PM

Yes, I'll take some detailed shots underneath when I remove the diff. Some of the strengthening they did on the lateral (driver side crossing over to passenger side) piece is between the channel so I may not be able to see it.

(same image from page #3 of this thread, look at part # 4 they used and the left to right side channel there. The space in between is covered by the trunk floor, but that's where they put in a cross piece or metal bar to give it greater rigidity).

EDIT: Any advice from this group on removing the interior and carpet? I've never done it before. I'm also interested in opinions about sound deadening material, do I need to remove the factory crud myself and if so, what's the recommended replacement? I see a lot of people use that dynomat stuff. I don't want the thing to be a quiet vault, I still like the rawness of the E12, but I don't want to ignore newer, better solutions that I can consider.

Also with the carpet, do most people reuse it? Mine doesn't smell or have any obvious issues, so my thought was to clean it and reuse it. Any issues with that?

jodystevens · Post by **jodystevens** » May 21, 2014 2:18 PM

Sweet, I look forward to the pictures! I need to get mine done up too.

I thought about using FatMat since it's fairly cheap on ebay. Not sure yet, but I doubt there is much noticeable difference between the various "mats".

Re-use your carpet if it's still in good shape because its damn near impossible to find a molded carpet for an e12 and they are NLA. I've been looking for a used cut-n-sewn set to have reproduced but I can't even find that.

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » May 21, 2014 10:33 PM

Adam,
Thanks for the update. I really enjoy following projects of this magnitude.
At this stage of my life, I don't think I have the balls, willpower or checkbook for something like you're doing.

You and guys like Chris K are an inspiration for the rest of us.

Thatguy087 · Post by **Thatguy087** » May 21, 2014 11:41 PM

Great commitment to an awesome car!

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » May 22, 2014 9:07 AM

Karl Grau wrote:Adam,
Thanks for the update. I really enjoy following projects of this magnitude.
At this stage of my life, I don't think I have the balls, willpower or checkbook for something like you're doing.
You and guys like Chris K are an inspiration for the rest of us.

Thatguy087 wrote:Great commitment to an awesome car!

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I can certainly identify with watching someone else light hundred dollar bills on fire with their car project, and admiring the progress through the web and picture threads like this. I've done it many times, but it's finally my turn to go down this path.

I'll be honest, I do have worries about putting her all back together when said and done. I'm good at taking things apart and starting projects, but sometimes I have to really kick myself to finish them! I don't want to end up with an expensive, freshly painted car with new bodywork, but a lack of motivation to reinstall the interior, drivetrain, and all the other little details that need to be done.

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

E12 M535i bodywork and paint journey

Updates