My land hatch build

[arturb]

new to forum here,
coming up on one year of ownership of the car its coming close to being "finished". Figured id share what I'm doing.
i feel in love with sedans last year and after seeing Matt Waln's e38 i pulled the trigger and bought one.
1996 740iL. Previous owner's DD through summer and canadian winters.
unfortunately i didn't take any pictures of it before i started tearing it apart, but it was black, sitting on chrome m par reps. front was completely pitted, headliner falling, broken trims and everything else you'd expect from a 96.






started sanding the hood down as it was the worst part. Rock chips everywhere, headlight lenses completely pitted. Also had to replace 3 out of 4 doors because the bottoms were pretty rusty and rotted out.





i only had plans to do the hood, but one thing lead to another and this happened





decided to go balls deep and just paint the whole car.
acquire some custom built BC Br series coils with swift springs and finally made up my mind on what shoes to put on her.
fixed some odds and ends inside, and got my headliner wrapped in black suede. painted all the trims to match.
had a hiccup for a while as one of the wheel locks snapped on me. After a lot of time, effort, and carbide bits later (cobalt drill bits didn't work) i got the wheel lock off and was able to finish installing my coils




wanted to do something different inside while keeping the class, so i sanded the original wood trim and went over it with a satin varnish for a nice matte look





Wheels....i wanted to keep an OEM look to it. I decided i wanted wide 3 piece, 19" style 5s. oddly enough i found a set that just been built by Spintech. 18" faces stepped up to 19" and converted to three piece. 9.5/10.5 wide, 2" and 3" lips, but that wasn't going to cut it for me.





i ordered bigger, 4.5" lips for the rear, and moved the 3" ones to the fronts, making them 19x10.5/12.
painted the centres, acquired polished aluminum hex caps, and finished it with red/gold bbs emblems




decided to verify the size of the rears lol











a quick test to see where i was at and figure out my next move











the fronts didn't clear my struts so spacers were added to my list. rears cleared no problem, but i wanted to tuck the 12s and the -2 degrees of camber the stock adjustment allows just wouldn't cut it.
did a lot of research in order to figure out how to get more camber in the back. Since there is virtually zero aftermarket for this car i did it stance works style and built adjustable control arms myself. pics to come


got some rubber for the BBS. Went with Feds 595. 215/35 and 245/35. The rears didn't fit unfortunately so i had to upsize it to 255/40. Didn't mind the bigger side wall in the back either.




worked my rear fenders on the inside aaaaand got her sitting pretty








i had some bad rust on my passenger rear quarter, so had to do a little bit of repair







30mm H&R spacer went in upfront, alpina rep lip went on, started masking the car for paint...
nothing rubs or makes weird sounds. She drives nice and that 4.4 v8 groooowwwlllss..
anyway if you've made this far, thanks for reading...she currently sits like this patiently awaiting paint.

[M I C H A E L]

nice work and good job saving another one from death! and welcome : can't wait to see it completely finshed!

[Jamos]

I love that matte wood!!!

I think I know this car. .. did you get it from brampton or toronto ?

[arturb]

nice work and good job saving another one from death! and welcome : can't wait to see it completely finshed!

Thank you

I love that matte wood!!!

I think I know this car. .. did you get it from brampton or toronto ?

Thanks man, saw it on a gl at the auto show and loved it. Yea I did, some guy I'm Brampton I think it was. Or sauga I think

[SEVEN40iL]

Great build!

Can't wait to see the finished product!

[xboss]

Nice

[iDreadnaught]

muy bueno

[TheLadiesMan]

I'm planning on a similar embark this coming year without the slammage.. It's looking good!

Good luck and keep us updated

[arturb]

As you could see, one of my doors had bad rust around the handle.
i sourced out a replacement today, which to my surprise was ming and it fits perfectly! barely adjusted anything.
the only thing that sucks is that it came off a newer e38 with more options, such as lit door handles, and some chrome trim inside i don't have now i want!

[blackknight530i]

Really not a fan of stretched tires, but the rest of the car looks great! Good job man!

[Jamos]

Yeah the tires aren't really my thing either but that's what makes this car unique!

All that rust work, I was looking at that car before I got mine from Brampton. I remember seeing the chrome M-Pars and thinking, "damn if only they were the polished ones I'd pull the trigger!"

Rust is popping up on my car, passenger door, passenger side rear fender is getting carried away (still bubbling paint no brown VISIBLE yet) and passenger side lower trim is bubbling up underneath. I HATE rust. Under the hood lip is rusting, and trunk line where people put that chrome strip is starting to rust. I figure I've got another winter with it before I do all the body work. I understand that it's one of those, THE SOONER THE BETTER things between not having the cash to do it and worrying that more will just show up right away anyway, I'm putting it off. Plan on doing windscreen and bodywork/paint at the same time because the PO GLUED the windscreen gromet in place and it's a disaster if I remove it.

All this body work you're doing is making me jealous though! Wish I had the necessary setup to do the same!! =D

[Old city bimmer]

Looks good

[COLO740iSport]

Yea the stretched tire is not really my thing either (tho some think I stretched mine - not so much. ) With the rear angled out like that you have to be going through tires I'd think? Rocky Mountain 2000 740i Sport

[pizzaman09]

This is some impressive work mate! You are diving in way deeper into body work then I ever would.

I am not a big fan of the matte look on the trim. It makes it look way to much like the really fake wood trim on my 99 Oldsmobile.

I kind of like the stretched tires. I am not sure how good that is for tire life but it is an interesting look.

[xboss]

Yeah the tires aren't really my thing either but that's what makes this car unique!

All that rust work, I was looking at that car before I got mine from Brampton. I remember seeing the chrome M-Pars and thinking, "damn if only they were the polished ones I'd pull the trigger!"

Rust is popping up on my car, passenger door, passenger side rear fender is getting carried away (still bubbling paint no brown VISIBLE yet) and passenger side lower trim is bubbling up underneath. I HATE rust. Under the hood lip is rusting, and trunk line where people put that chrome strip is starting to rust. I figure I've got another winter with it before I do all the body work. I understand that it's one of those, THE SOONER THE BETTER things between not having the cash to do it and worrying that more will just show up right away anyway, I'm putting it off. Plan on doing windscreen and bodywork/paint at the same time because the PO GLUED the windscreen gromet in place and it's a disaster if I remove it.

All this body work you're doing is making me jealous though! Wish I had the necessary setup to do the same!! =D

I made a thread a while back about rust protection and if anybody ever used a rust proofing service and got zero responses, I think I will be having mine done this Winter. Underbody steam and spray sealant , wheels wells, doors etc and rust stopped and sealed up. So far no rust on this thing! I need to act fast!

[arturb]

Yeah the tires aren't really my thing either but that's what makes this car unique!

All that rust work, I was looking at that car before I got mine from Brampton. I remember seeing the chrome M-Pars and thinking, "damn if only they were the polished ones I'd pull the trigger!"

Rust is popping up on my car, passenger door, passenger side rear fender is getting carried away (still bubbling paint no brown VISIBLE yet) and passenger side lower trim is bubbling up underneath. I HATE rust. Under the hood lip is rusting, and trunk line where people put that chrome strip is starting to rust. I figure I've got another winter with it before I do all the body work. I understand that it's one of those, THE SOONER THE BETTER things between not having the cash to do it and worrying that more will just show up right away anyway, I'm putting it off. Plan on doing windscreen and bodywork/paint at the same time because the PO GLUED the windscreen gromet in place and it's a disaster if I remove it.

All this body work you're doing is making me jealous though! Wish I had the necessary setup to do the same!! =D

That's funny dude! Yea I had to replace 3/4 doors on this thing bec they were rotted. Then the rear quarter. Other that that it wasn't bad, I bought it mainly bec the guy did the major maintenance on the engine.
That wind screen is a pain in the ass man I'm replacing all the clips on it plus the rubber trim too

Looks good

thanks!

Yea the stretched tire is not really my thing either (tho some think I stretched mine - not so much. ) With the rear angled out like that you have to be going through tires I'd think? Rocky Mountain 2000 740i Sport

Yea it's definitely not everyone's cup of yea. With a fitment like this though it's functional for ta purpose right. And no not really, as Lon as your toe is good it won't wear out too bad

This is some impressive work mate! You are diving in way deeper into body work then I ever would.

I am not a big fan of the matte look on the trim. It makes it look way to much like the really fake wood trim on my 99 Oldsmobile.

I kind of like the stretched tires. I am not sure how good that is for tire life but it is an interesting look.

Thanks man, it was hard to dive into it at first but I figured it was a good way to learn the ropes.
I'm the opposite I didn't like the glossy wood. Looked plasticy and cheap to me and the vinyls most people put inside are super tacky , but again everyone's different right

[arturb]

did a few more things recently...



welded my original muffler tips back on since i deleted the mufflers



never ending body work.... getting rid of a few dents



a few parts I've accumulated over this build. Replacing door trims, led plate lights, and a few3 other miscellaneous things. i deleted the headlight washers as well as the plate holder for a cleaner look up front. New kidney grills, fog lights, door seals, mirrors
Ive also replaced the interior lights with leds, added halos to my headlights and wired them to my euroswitch so i can control them independently. They were also flickering so i fixed that up. i also have new bmw roundels on order.

on the to do list i still have:
replace speakers (mine all suck)
new head unit with nav, iPod control etc.
parking sensors
back up camera
door handle lighting (a little brighter than oem)
misc lighting (vip style)
vip tables
full seat re-uphostery
folding mirrors
rear seat fridge possibly haha
cayenne bbk
....turbo ls1 swap muahahaha

[kulgan]

Awesome work dude. Looking forward to seeing the finished product..
I like the matt finish on the wood too.

[Evilyeti]

Nice work and this looks very promising, but damn, that rear suspension looks rusty as hell even to me who is used to road salt and rust

[FirmShark]

I LOVE this. Dem wheels as well!!!

[mboor]

Nice work so far, im excited to see the final product. What are you doing with the chrome M-par repops? I need one for my winter tires. Hit a pothole last winter and cracked one.... keep up the good work!

[arturb]

I LOVE this. Dem wheels as well!!!

haha thanks man

Nice work so far, im excited to see the final product. What are you doing with the chrome M-par repops? I need one for my winter tires. Hit a pothole last winter and cracked one.... keep up the good work!

i actually sold the m-pars in the spring sorry man

Nice work and this looks very promising, but damn, that rear suspension looks rusty as hell even to me who is used to road salt and rust

thanks man, i know! the PO drove this year round and I'm not sure he rust proofed it. the rust all around this car was brutal when i first got it, bottom of the doors i could literally push my fingers right through them

[arturb]

So I tried somethig out today



Porsche cayenne 6 piston brakes. I have some work to do in order for it to fit but I think it can be done. Ie already found where to get custom lines made and rotors should be an issue I think. Just fabbing up a mounting bracket will be the tricky part. I plan on putting 4 pistons in the rear too.
Well see how this project will turn out

[arturb]

Getting ready to build my paint booth today

[haromaster87]

What a slick restoration you're doing, good for you! You're going to end up with one excellent looking e38 and you earned it! Those BBS wheels are beyond killer. Keep up the good work man.