My 325i Vert Thread

**braddammit** · 03-19-2013, 11:36 PM

Sweet. Looking forward to seeing it whenever it gets done. Nice job!

**csifan99** · 03-26-2013, 12:29 PM

Today I dropped the car off at the paint shop.

Spent only $343 for paint.

2013-03-21_09-43-16_508 by E30Bass, on Flickr

2013-03-21_16-50-07_942 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Finished all the wheels.

2013-03-21_16-50-28_583 by E30Bass, on Flickr

New "is" lip and valance grill.

2013-03-22_18-19-12_495 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Car loaded on the trailer at 5:30 in the morning.

2013-03-26_05-52-08_882 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Last time to see gray on it.

2013-03-26_07-18-25_600 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Should be getting the car back tomorrow morning. Next update WILL have the car with black on it.

**braddammit** · 03-26-2013, 12:44 PM

Very cool. Really anxious to see it. Congrats on the project.

**csifan99** · 03-26-2013, 08:43 PM

Got a present from the painter in the form of an email. No more teasing.

All masked off ready for sealer.

01_masked up_for_paint by E30Bass, on Flickr

02_masked_up_for_paint by E30Bass, on Flickr

Sealer applied ready for basecoat.

03_sealer by E30Bass, on Flickr

04_sealer by E30Bass, on Flickr

Basecoat applied.

05_basecoat by E30Bass, on Flickr

06_basecoat by E30Bass, on Flickr

All the other parts that were not on the car. He used both of his booths to paint the parts and the car.

07_basecoat by E30Bass, on Flickr

Finally clearcoat is on.

08_cleared by E30Bass, on Flickr

09_cleared by E30Bass, on Flickr

10_cleared by E30Bass, on Flickr

11_cleared by E30Bass, on Flickr

12_cleared by E30Bass, on Flickr

Going to pick it up tommorrow morning and bring her back home.

**braddammit** · 03-26-2013, 09:00 PM

Looks absolutely beautiful man! Can't wait to see some HD photos and the final product. Congrats and on awesome job.

**dohcdoh** · 03-26-2013, 09:21 PM

Sexy time sexy time! Wow, that is beautiful.

**csifan99** · 03-27-2013, 09:37 AM

Going to get the car today. Decided to clean the garage up to get it ready for the return.

Nice open spot for the car.

2013-03-27_09-20-07_346 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Got all the parts down to put on the car.

2013-03-27_09-20-20_827 by E30Bass, on Flickr

2013-03-27_09-20-26_662 by E30Bass, on Flickr

Refreshed trunk carpet ready to go. Decided to dye it black instead of the gray it was.

2013-03-27_09-20-35_227 by E30Bass, on Flickr

**Alpinweiss E30** · 03-27-2013, 10:37 AM

Man, this is one of the most impressive builds I've seen on this forum. There are some good ones on here too.
What a transformation. I know you can't wait to get behind the wheel of that beauty.

**omarphi215** · 03-27-2013, 05:24 PM

Wow just discovered this thread today..very inspiring as I have an 88 vert. Looking to get it to mint by next summer. I don't have the space or time right now but I plan on buying another car so that I can focus on the vert so I can have a gem for next summer...keep up the great work!!!

**csifan99** · 03-28-2013, 08:47 PM

Started putting her back together after I got her home.

Loaded up and ready to go home.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

New "is" lip installed on front valance. Both parts were undercoated before painting.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

She is coming together nicely.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Scott at Attitude Custom Painting in Pinellas Park Florida did an awesome job on the paint, even though the outside temp was below the norm. If you are in the Tampa Bay area or surrounding areas, I highly recommend his shop. Great work at a great price.

- - - Updated - - -

Continued working on her when I got home this evening. Got the headlights, washer nozzles, rear bumper, and the fog lights installed.

Looks like it belongs

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Perfect curve

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Oh yea!

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Got alot of parts coming in next week. Plan to color sand and buff the paint Sunday. The euro bumper trim along with the euro grills and kidneys should be here Saturday.

**braddammit** · 03-28-2013, 09:35 PM

Looking very sweet. Keep up the good work.

**future86stancer** · 03-28-2013, 11:22 PM

Badass thread!! Keep up the good work!!

**E30eurostatus** · 03-29-2013, 12:10 PM

Logged in just to subscribe.

I'm on the bandwagon, and that looks amazing.

Edit: Love the valve cover, may have to give it a try

**csifan99** · 03-29-2013, 08:48 PM

Not a whole lot done today, can't do much till the exhaust gets done. However I did get early presents from Fedex and USPS. I got my catalytic converter from Magnaflow and my bumper trim and grills from Abraham Motorsport.

New converter for $96.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

New Euro bumper trim with euro grills and euro kidneys.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Also got my center caps for the wheels back from sandblasting today. Got them painted and now let them dry overnight, then assemble them.

**csifan99** · 03-30-2013, 10:48 PM

Got the center caps assembled today and started work in the trunk. Also started color sanding the car.

They look sweet!

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

In preparation for color sanding.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Tomorrow I will continue working in the trunk. Got alot to do in there.

**csifan99** · 04-01-2013, 04:17 PM

Continued working in the trunk and fabricated a battery hold down and a battery cover. Also got a delivery today, got my new tires and the rest of my exhaust.

Glued black carpet to an aluminum sheet for the battery cover.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Threaded rod and a strip of 1/8" aluminum strip makes a great battery hold down.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

All hidden and clean

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Got two cherry bomb shorties for my mufflers.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

A layout of the exhaust set-up.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

The new 205/55r15 Yokohama Sdrive tires.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Going to get the exhaust done and get the tires mounted on the wheels tomorrow.

**braddammit** · 04-01-2013, 04:46 PM

Coming along nicely man. Where'd you run the positive cable for the battery?

Also, be sure to place a 100amp fuse/breaker on the positive cable as close to the terminal as possible. Things can get real ugly if you get a cable short somewhere between battery and engine compartment (re: fire).

**csifan99** · 04-01-2013, 05:08 PM

I ran the cable all the way along the right side with the other wires under the carpet. I will most definitely get a fuse for the cable. I hate car fires.

**braddammit** · 04-01-2013, 05:43 PM

Yeah, that is WAY too beautiful of a car to have that happen.

**csifan99** · 04-02-2013, 07:38 PM

Brad- I'm thinking that a 100 amp circuit breaker won't be large enough to handle the electrical load on the battery. I think it might pop anytime the car is on. In addition to the car's electrical system, I have three amps that total up to 80 amps. I have a 100 amp fuse on the power wire for those. I would like to connect all my components to the breaker if possible. Thanks for any insight.

**braddammit** · 04-02-2013, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by csifan99

Brad- I'm thinking that a 100 amp circuit breaker won't be large enough to handle the electrical load on the battery. I think it might pop anytime the car is on. In addition to the car's electrical system, I have three amps that total up to 80 amps. I have a 100 amp fuse on the power wire for those. I would like to connect all my components to the breaker if possible. Thanks for any insight.

Wow!!! I just pulled 100 amps as a quick starting point. I've seen 200 Amp setups and breakers as well.

Here's a link to one on Amazon and they are cheap enough you could probably run one for the Amps and another for the rest of the car. It seems to have pretty good reviews although there's only 4 of them.

http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-SGP902.../dp/B003NYHCQ0

**csifan99** · 04-02-2013, 09:19 PM

Got the exhaust done and the tires mounted today. Put the front end on the car and continued working in the trunk.

The tips stick out about 3/4". Video to come tomorrow.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Front end with the euro bumper trim. No sidemarker.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Got the side panel installed.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Front end with euro grills and kidneys.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Only 4" of clearance between the groung and the lip.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Will put the wheels on the car tomorrow and make a video of the exhaust.

**csifan99** · 04-10-2013, 02:42 PM

Since I haven't posted an update in a while I figured I would make a quick one.
The exterior of the car has been colorsanded and buffed. The only thing left for the exterior is the rocker molding. New seat covers will be here Friday and will hopefully install them this weekend. Going tomorrow to the dealer to pick up some parts including the rocker moldings.

The trunk compartment is now complete.

Gotta love a clean setup.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

A little tease with the wheels.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Her new stall.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Pulled up the rear section of the carpet and found dampness and small rust areas. Thankfully it was only surface rust and easily cleaned off.

Passenger side was the worst.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Driver side was not bad, only on little spot to clean.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr

Passenger side plate was loose in the floor.

Untitled by E30Bass, on Flickr