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| BMW E28 |
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| AdeV:
Old car + Lathe = :proj: I may be a bit biased, speaking of which, time to go update my old build log... |
| DavidA:
Eric, a 350 powered BMW. Sounds scary. My aim is to get my car back to original. Even keep the steel wheels and the BMW hubcaps. There is a plan to fit a Citroen 1.8 Diesel purely from the economy point of view. Both BMW and Citroen engines are canted over at about the same angle and in the same direction, so apart from the need of a sandwich adapter plate and a new front mount for the XUD engine it shouldn't be too hard. Ade, Let's see the updates. I need all the inspiration I can get. On with the story. So I bought this lathe. Problem now was that the BMW and it's successor the Citroen ZX, were between the gate and the shed. How to the the lathe into the shed ? Time for some serious thinking. The Citroen starts up ok and will drive out. But have to be careful as there is bad corrosion around the front suspension tops and I don't want them to break out and ruin the otherwise good body, (future project; all part of the master plan). The BMW will start, but the high pressure fuel lines are rotten and are weeping fuel. Big risk of them blowing out and spraying petrol everywhere. But wait! My brother has a tow hook on his car. There's still a problem. Our local police are not known for their sense of humour. So I dare not leave the cars out on the road overnight. The morning arrives. so does brother. We tow out the BMW. Drive out the Citroen. The wagon arrives with the lathe and uses it's hiab to pace the machine about half way down the drive. We spend the next few hours moving the lathe into the shed. Drive the Citroen down to the shed doors and place the BMW on the paved area where I can get a good look at it and decide on it's future. Below are a few pics of the task in hand. |
| DavidA:
After giving the car a serious coat of looking-at, I decided to give it a go. The floor pan and most of the body work is not too bad. But where it is bad it is rotten. There is a lot of surface corrosion on the sub frames and rear suspension parts. But nothing that copious amounts of elbow grease can't deal with. I ordered up a new front of-side wing, both sills, both rear wheel arches and a front apron. Total cost about £240 . There is a very good company who import this bodywork from Denmark. So, where to start ? Start at the back and work forward. First job, remove all the rear suspension etc. This will allow easy access when replacing the fuel lines and fitting new brake lines. |
| DavidA:
Just a bit more on the background to this project. While my car was quietly rotting away on my drive there was another one very similar that I used to pass occasionally on a street close to me. It was a dark blue 520i. just a year younger than my own. The same E28 body but with the bigger straight six engine. One day it was found to be parked up in the owners garden with a 'for sale' notice on the windscreen. I think the price was £600. It sat there for a few weeks then disappeared. Only to reappear just down the street from me. The lad who bought it replaced the same wing as I am having problems with, and the same front apron. But it looks fabulous. That is what pushed me into re building my 518i. These cars are quite rare these days, and to have two runners on the same street is very unusual. Got to stick with the master plan. Dave. |
| DavidA:
Succeeded in removing all (with the exception of one shock absorber) of the rear suspension. Surprisingly all the bolts came free with very little effort. Good German steel. With the suspension out of the way I can now replace the fuel lines and make a start on fixing the bodywork. Fist though, the suspension needs to be de-rusted and painted. Below are a few pics of the suspension as it is now. The last picture is a before and after comparison of the tie bars. Dave |
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