The car that stole my life

[Spyke]

Let's do it! You know we're going to be outnumbered by all the e90s otherwise

[e36 sloth]

O yes we are, last year i had the only e32 their, and Dakota was 1 of 3 e36's

[Alex01930]

Absolute love this story great gob with the build great parts and nice pics I love seeing a bad abused e36 being turned into a well loved machine

[Spyke]

O yes we are, last year i had the only e32 their, and Dakota was 1 of 3 e36's

Hey both of you should add me so we can plan our meetup, my name is the same as here.

Absolute love this story great gob with the build great parts and nice pics I love seeing a bad abused e36 being turned into a well loved machine

Thanks Alex! Our e30 is also a rescue

[e36 sloth]

[QUOTE=Spyke;26465340]Hey both of you should add me so we can plan our meetup, my name is the same as here.



Facebook is being stupid for me right now -_-it said you accepted then i clicked and it was like ''add as friend''... damn Facebook

[Spyke]

I got you both. July is going to be awesome-o

[e36 sloth]

Hell yea it is, hopefully the lowering springs will be ordered and on Cassie

[airforce7882]

That event looks awesome. I am also interested and in the area. But I would feel weird showing up in a bone stock car.

[e36 sloth]

Don't worry man, I showed up in a bone stock e32 and still had a blast, should should try to make it out!

[airforce7882]

Well then count me in! probably. I'll have to clear it with work and everything.

[Spyke]

Definitely make it out Andrew, there will be plenty of stock cars I'm positive

[DakotaE36]

The more e36's the better, stock or modified. Mine is barely modified at all.

[Spyke]

Pics from EuroSunday were all trash. So damn bright out and I was rushing. Car is dirty and faded, only thing clean is wheels.


IMG_6275 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr


IMG_6277 by Spyke e36/e30, on Flickr

[Btraang]

This is the most inspiring thread I read so far. Holy respect to you man

[Spyke]

Our shop is finally doing good again for the first time in over 5 years, just made our quarter so a nice bonus is coming up. Can't wait to do the wrap now!!

[bwmguy]

looks great man. nice work.

[Nizzle508]

I absolutely love this thread and how you put so much work into Veronica. If only I had the money to do a complete rebuild like that on my beater bimmer.

[LWRNCE]

Great build. Good job.

[jgromada]

thanks for sharing your build details with us. You have some really cool features. I am curious about the rear window moldings. Your DIY looks straight forward and my car needs that too. Is it the stock BMW part or did you use aftermarket molding? Details would be very appreciated!

[Spyke]

thanks for sharing your build details with us. You have some really cool features. I am curious about the rear window moldings. Your DIY looks straight forward and my car needs that too. Is it the stock BMW part or did you use aftermarket molding? Details would be very appreciated!

OEM parts, you can confirm part numbers on RealOEM.com of course, and order through Pelican Parts or someone similar.

[jgromada]

OEM parts, you can confirm part numbers on RealOEM.com of course, and order through Pelican Parts or someone similar.

thanks i found them. came up only like $40 on ECS. I'll put that on my list after i replace my power steering hoses. I want to do those underdash LED lights as well.

BTW is that the standard M50 engine? the cover throws it off a bit.

Curious how well the sharpie holds up ? will you have to reapply after 6 months or so? I remember seeing something more modes in an issue of Performance BMW magazine using sharpies. But it was only a small portion, something like a Keith Haring design but in silver sharpie. I thought that was pretty cool too.

Also you mentioned maybe doing a full wrap. Just curious what that runs around?

[Spyke]

Yep, just a tame M50 in there, won't have money/time for an engine swap for a few years. The Sharpie holds up pretty well considering, about 3-6 months before it becomes obviously faded. Fades quicker in summer of course. There's been some other cars that have used the Sharpie paint pens to do designs, but I'm the only person I know of who's covered a car completely with standard Sharpie so far...

The material & tools for a wrap really aren't too bad, maybe 200-300 cost for good vinyl, standard colors and 350-700 for good vinyl, specialty vinyls like metallic/brushed metal/pearl etc. It's the labor that gets you... hours and hours of removing bumpers and trim, wrapping body panels and into seams, then putting everything back on. It can take multiple days to do a proper job on a full wrap. I also have to do a bunch of surface prep like getting dents and dings out, and smoothing rock chip areas before I can even wrap. I have some serious work ahead of me for that, I have no experience doing body work.

[jgromada]

I know what you mean about the tame M50, but I am working out of state at the moment (F*cking economy) and with gas well over $4 / gallon the M50 has a good side as well. Not to mention it cruises very comfortably at 80-85 on these long 6 hour trips. Not bad for an engine with 186K on its clock. If i had something faster it would probably just mean more tickets (got 2 already on these long trips).

I was actually thinking of maybe just doing a wrap on hood, roof and trunk in something that might be a complementary color and in a matte finish. My car is Boston Green. I actually kind of like that color right now because it is on the rare side for BMWs. So if you stick to just the surfaces like i described is that pretty easy to do or would i be better off having it professionally applied? Any vendors you would recommend? thanks again

[Spyke]

I hear you on the gas front man, at least my commute is only 11 miles each way right now. Gearing always makes it more fun, I have a 3.46 diff just begging to get dropped in... with 50/50 city/street shouldn't hurt mileage at all either.

If you just want to do those areas, certainly DIY if you are comfy using your hands. I would recommend nothing else but 3M Scothcprint 1080 series wrap vinyl. Horizontal applications age much faster than anything else but the 3M is the only one that offers a 1 year warranty on horizontal and it will hold up a lot better. It also has lots of nice features like air release on the adhesive side to eliminate bubbles (even when applied dry), and if you goof up when applying you can peel it back and reset/keep applying. If you get a car cover, it will keep it looking even better for a longer time. Just do a Google search to see who has the best current price, there's tons of sources for vinyl luckily. You can PM me with questions you have about wrapping.

[e36 sloth]

I know this is completely off topic, but are you ready for sunday?!?!?