Is it sacrilegious to put all of my work into a 2002?

[Allenwilson33]

So I'm nearly done gathering my 70mm lug studs to accommodate my 20mm IE hub centric wheel spacers to accommodate my 35mm offset Borbet type C wheels. And I've acquired the four coil-over springs to support my Billy Sports. And I've finally sent the front tubes to the welder for shortening to get this car some legs and feet. Still need to send the fuel tanks to the radiator shop for cleaning, where I'll have my e30 m3 radiator (that's a long story not worth telling) fitted with a pressurized fill cap on top.

The rack and pinion is on the bench, as ZF doesn't offer support for that component since 2015 for fuck's sake, and I was paranoid about the right grease being applied internally. I've contacted Moog to confirm any ole' Moly will be fine for the inner tie rods, but in spite of nearly all recommendations I received for the rack and pinion's internal grease, I've decided to go with Park Tool's bicycle chain grease. Just need to order a pair of polyurethane steering rack bushings from Jesse at Eurocentric and we're done with suspension, both front and rear.

Brakes I've laid out the plans for the Girling setup with e12 master cylinder, and need to find somebody who can run lines. Call me an idiot, but don't call me late for happy hour; I've got the tools and simply don't want to ruin any more precious brake lines or risk some Mickey Mouse flaring I did come back to bite me when the fitting leaks.

My wife and I just had our first kid, a baby girl, three months ago, but at the pace I've been going, I'll be lucky to get this car running by the time she's 16.

Here's the reason for this post: I found a powder coater Inland Powder Coating in Ontario, California, which quoted me a phenomenal price to sand blast and powder coat my e21 frame: $200 for sand blasting and $400 for powder coating! I'd have to remove the rear end and the engine/tranny clip plus the windows. The interior's already stripped, the front end is on the bench, the fuel tanks are on the bench, the trim is all stripped, and the engine bay has seen everything removed except the long block. (I'm not in the least bit concerned with taking the clip and driveshaft plus rear end out before putting it back in.)

I'm a closet 2002 guy at heart, for that's the car which first got me into BMW as a teenager, from the time when my friend's dad took us for a ride in his 74' phoenix orange 2002 with double barrel carb, taking a 90 degree turn down the suburban streets of Miami at 60mph with no skid. I was hooked.
So the question of the hour is: how sacreligous would it be to take all my work and put it in a 2002? I'm either all in on this e21 when I take my tax return and pay the powder coating shop to powder coat this shark-nosed friend Phoenix orange, or I'm all in on a 2002 frame where I'll do the same.
Thoughts?

[WantingAfunE21]

I assume you have done research on the downsides of powder coating a body, and are willing to accept them so I'll leave that alone. My biggest concern would be with that price, as proper blasting (no damage), Proper cleanup (all media and media residue removed), proper prep and metal repair (inevitable, and no filler with powder-coat), and proper powder-coating should each cost more than he is quoting you in total.

[jaredmac11]

Quick googling showed $400 is a fair price. I spent freaking $120 on an intake manifold and valve cover so maybe I'm a sucker.
I just cant believe you can EZ bake a whole car for $400.

In terms of 2002 vs E21... price of admission isn't as steep on an E21 as it is on the 2002; leaves less room for projects. That was my mentality. I prefer the look of the 2002 too but I can get a pristine running car for 1/10 of a rusty shell for a 2002, so I went with an E21. Good luck with doing a project with the kiddo, sincerely. I started mine when my son was in the womb. Probably wont be done til he's 2. And this was just an M42 swap and body refurbish . Like you said, by time I finish they will be asking for the keys to drive it :/

[Neu Alt]

All things being equal I might opt for a 2002 over an E21. But things aren't equal and an E21 can be had for way less than a 2002. Investment-wise, (not worth arguing over cars being bad investments) we know that the 2002 will give you more back.
The E21 on the other hand has a certain charm of its own and 40 years in seems more desirable than it ever was. I love how it makes the E30 driver's head swivel when I drive by. I know, I didn't answer your question.

[amarino]

As the wise Jimbo used to say. E21, friends not food.

[Somjuan]

I mean as a personal opinion I think it'd be a shame not to finish the e21. As a practical matter the 2002 has a larger fanbase and is easier, if more expensive, to source parts from. But then again to practicality, your car is already basically built, and the engine bay is larger for shenanigans.

[Allenwilson33]

Quick googling showed $400 is a fair price. I spent freaking $120 on an intake manifold and valve cover so maybe I'm a sucker.

$120 is a fair price actually for those two.

I just cant believe you can EZ bake a whole car for $400.

I'm stoked on getting it EZ Baked haha. That's a lot of the reason I'm sold on it. I think I might be able to fit a wheel in my kitchen oven, should I get my own powder coat kit haha.

I assume you have done research on the downsides of powder coating a body, and are willing to accept them so I'll leave that alone. My biggest concern would be with that price, as proper blasting (no damage), Proper cleanup (all media and media residue removed), proper prep and metal repair (inevitable, and no filler with powder-coat), and proper powder-coating should each cost more than he is quoting you in total.

I looked all over Los Angeles for a shop that would dip, then EZ Bake my car until I found this shop.
If you know of others that do, please tell.
I wanted to get the whole car dipped {in an acid tank like Joker}, and this shop said they stopped doing that a few years back because of the damage it caused with older cars and their rust. I only have a little rust in the trunk, but I do need to get my welder to fix that. The rest I've removed but there's still some flash rust where I got lazy.
The only drawbacks I'm aware of with powder coating are that you'll never really get that automotive glossy look quite like a regular spray job. Please fill me in on "no filler with powder coat": do you mean no Bondo because it melts? My e21's body doesn't have any if that's the concern..

[jaredmac11]

I say go for it and please post back results. I wasnt aware that powdercoat is actually pretty durable, so thats a huge plus. Plus all the added benefits of having a protective layer that isnt prone to damage from brake line leaks, etc. pretty cool.


Are you getting a brand new carpet or ditching it all together or was yours in good shape? I cant imagine safely getting the carpet out of the car. Mine was really prone to cracking due to it being so brittle.

[Layne]

I can't see how you'd powdercoat a whole car. You just don't use seam sealer or undercoating? Or you apply it over the PC? $400 to coat a car with any type of colored coating is incredibly cheap. I'd be suspicious of their work. I know from experience that having large sheet metal parts PCd is hard work. Many came back with fisheyes, dribbles, and other flaws. Only the best PC shops were capable of doing the job, but not too many would just turn it down.

I'm totally over PC for random small parts anyway. It costs a fortune, and is NOT tougher than paint. In fact it's significantly less tough than industrial paints like Imron. It gets scratched pretty easily, and is not readily repairable like paint. Removing it later if you need to ranges from a huge hassle to a totally impossibility. And you cannot just sand it and paint over it.

[Allenwilson33]

I can't see how you'd powdercoat a whole car. You just don't use seam sealer or undercoating?

This is definitely an option for track cars but I'm interested in the car's creature comforts, including pretty paint color.

Or you apply it over the PC? $400 to coat a car with any type of colored coating is incredibly cheap. I'd be suspicious of their work. I know from experience that having large sheet metal parts PCd is hard work. Many came back with fisheyes, dribbles, and other flaws. Only the best PC shops were capable of doing the job, but not too many would just turn it down.

I think you may be right about the quality being less than great at this price point, but remember that $400 quote is based on my delivering the car to their shop with the axles, drive axle, engine and transmission, interior, and trim completely removed. I'm paying $200 for the sand blasting which has zero prep work except using a forklift or dollies to put it in place. Still yet, the large sheet metal woes you describe do make me a little weary. Will need to see more solid examples of their work, come to think of it.

I'm totally over PC for random small parts anyway. It costs a fortune, and is NOT tougher than paint. ..... It gets scratched pretty easily, and is not readily repairable like paint. Removing it later if you need to ranges from a huge hassle to a totally impossibility. And you cannot just sand it and paint over it.

My experience is the opposite of yours here. I've had nothing but great results with powder coating, starting with a Mac Pro tower. All the car parts I've painted with everything under the sun chips however, even after I've applied base primer coats, clear coats, baked them in the oven--you name it and I've tried all variations in between. Powder coating on the other hand has never let me down, and while it's hard to repair like you said, it takes a heavy, sharp object used with intent to scratch a good powder coated surface. You will get minor scrapes of course, which will lead to the overall look declining with time, but the overall purpose of paint, after all, is to protect the metal, which the powder coating does all the better IMHO.

In fact it's significantly less tough than industrial paints like Imron.

'Imron' meaning single stage urethane? I wish I could use that stuff! When I began researching three years ago, my estimate for using that stuff was around $600 in paint alone (closer to $800 if painting the trunk and engine bay.)

If I bring the car prepped with no engine or windows, several painters are willing to spray it for about the same. So $1,500 is the bare minimum, all under a huge assumption--that I'm doing the prep work. I've stripped the exterior using 80 grit discs but it takes a gazillion man hours even with the right tools. Maybe another 40 man-hours to actually get the metal in shape for such expensive paint. Or another $1,500 minimum in prep work, so we're already spending $3,000 if we're using decent paint.

There's a reason expensive cars have expensive paint. I've never been much of an expensive cars kind of guy however, so I'm pretty stoked on the powder coating...

[Allenwilson33]

I say go for it and please post back results. I wasnt aware that powdercoat is actually pretty durable, so thats a huge plus. Plus all the added benefits of having a protective layer that isnt prone to damage from brake line leaks, etc. pretty cool.


Are you getting a brand new carpet or ditching it all together or was yours in good shape? I cant imagine safely getting the carpet out of the car. Mine was really prone to cracking due to it being so brittle.

I ripped the carpet out when I got the car in 2014, along with the seats and door cards, trim, etc. No, I don't plan on replacing the carpet or even bothering with sound deadener. I can't recall if the e9 models had carpets, but they certainly didn't have sound deadener

[Layne]

Yes, Imron is a single stage polyurethane. It's a Dupont brand name. I wouldn't paint a car body with it either (maybe an offroad truck), but I do plan to paint engines and such with it. You can't clear coat it, it can't be metallic, and I doubt you can polish it like normal car paint. I brush painted a 20ft shipping container with it, and I grantee you could not chip it with a hammer. About $200/gallon, but so is any automotive paint once you buy the hardener and reducer etc.

I certainly understand wanting to go cheap. But for me, the risk of PC is too great. If it's crap, you cannot remove it and you cannot paint over it. The car would be scrap. At least if a paint job stinks you could just go redo it, either immediately or later. Personally I just want to learn to paint myself. The little bit that I've done so far has come out great without too much effort (spraying everything I could find with rattle cans ever since I was 8 years old probably helps). The prep is the hard part by far.