Project: 'Barn Find' - 1995 Avus Blue M3

[brianc]

Very nice work. I wish I had the funds to just replace a bunch of stuff on my 95 Avus. I actually dumped a little coin into a turbo build for it...priorities. But I recovered the sad door cards and rear panels myself. Even though the dove ones just became available again, I just couldn't justify the expense for new ones

I hear you... the car is only worth so much. I just love it so much I don't care. Six of seven years ago they were selling for like $6k and I would put half that into it just replacing trim pieces - purely aesthetics - kinda crazy but I don't regret it. jaysonx has a really nice car there... it was just sitting for long so just rough on the surface. Can't wait to see what he does... already inspired but what I see..

[jaysonx]

Ohboyohboy, it's really starting to come together now!

Radio delete plate until I figure out what the heck I want to do w this stereo (eyeing a Blaupunkt Bremen SQR)


My wife struggles to understand why I won't hand wash dishes but will hand clean interior panels in the kids bathroom...


Oh snap, check out that backseat!


Getting really close!


I still have some interior work left, but I am holding off on installing the A/C pillars, door cards, etc until I am 100% sure everything is functioning properly (I really, really don't want to put them in and then take them out again). I do need a new glovebox, the latch is broken on the existing one and the button now wont even release it. The sag is also pretty evident. I think this week I will put the seats back in, pop the wheels on and take it for a short spin (for the first time in 15 years!).

[brianc]

Looks great. ...if the faded red seat belt button bothers you those left and right rear seat belt latches are still available, not crazy expense, and only a few seconds to replace.

[jaysonx]

Looks great. ...if the faded red seat belt button bothers you those left and right rear seat belt latches are still available, not crazy expense, and only a few seconds to replace.

Great call - they def do, I’ll look it up!

[RBNetEngr]

Very nice work. I wish I had the funds to just replace a bunch of stuff on my 95 Avus. I actually dumped a little coin into a turbo build for it...priorities. But I recovered the sad door cards and rear panels myself. Even though the dove ones just became available again, I just couldn't justify the expense for new ones, No point in trying to pretend mine is original because 1) it has 200K+ miles and no purist collector would consider it anyway and 2) I like DIY projects. Something I can be proud of.


Keep up the good work. It's inspirational.

I wouldn't be too bothered by a "sheen" in the leather. Looks good from where I'm standing.

The Dove Gray door and side panels are available again? From where? I need all four panels, and have a price quote to get them re-done by an upholstery shop.

Do you know if they are new stock, or 20 year old posts from a warehouse?

Also, what are the part numbers? I pulled my driver’s door panel to get the part number, but it doesn’t match any of the listed panels on realoem.com or bmwmobiletradition-online.com

-rb

1995 Avus Blue M3

[jaysonx]

The Dove Gray door and side panels are available again? From where? I need all four panels, and have a price quote to get them re-done by an upholstery shop.

Do you know if they are new stock, or 20 year old posts from a warehouse?

Also, what are the part numbers? I pulled my driver’s door panel to get the part number, but it doesn’t match any of the listed panels on realoem.com or bmwmobiletradition-online.com

-rb

1995 Avus Blue M3

I personally have been unable to find any, but I do know BMW from time to time will produce limited run interior items (e.g. my carpet which I put in had a 2019 manufacture date).

[Grey Phox]

That's awesome to find one of these just chillin in a barn somewhere. Did you have a shop redo your headliner? If so, who did you use? I'm looking for a shop in or around Morris County or North Jersey I guess if there's nothing close.

[jaysonx]

That's awesome to find one of these just chillin in a barn somewhere. Did you have a shop redo your headliner? If so, who did you use? I'm looking for a shop in or around Morris County or North Jersey I guess if there's nothing close.

I took the headliner out and had https://www.dandrautoandboat.com/ do it - they are right in Morris Plains. The fabric I sourced myself.

[h82crash]

The Dove Gray door and side panels are available again? From where? I need all four panels, and have a price quote to get them re-done by an upholstery shop.

Do you know if they are new stock, or 20 year old posts from a warehouse?

Also, what are the part numbers? I pulled my driver’s door panel to get the part number, but it doesn’t match any of the listed panels on realoem.com or bmwmobiletradition-online.com

-rb

1995 Avus Blue M3

ECS claims to have them (or at least can drop ship).

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/grey-door-panel-left/51418178035/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/51418178036/

They show having rears too @ $215 each with a month lead time.

[RBNetEngr]

Thanks for that info. I just placed an order. Hopefully they will all be available.

I order from Maximillian Importing/BMW Mobile Tradition. Prices were a little better.

https://bmwmobiletradition-online.com

-rb

[GG///M3]

Love seeing this stuff getting done

[RBNetEngr]

The Gray/Gray door panels for my Dove Gray interior arrived today! They look fantastic! They are apparently made by Boshoku Automotive Europe, which looks like it’s now owned by Toyota (since 2011):

https://www.toyota-boshoku.com/globa...il.php?id=2078

There is a sticker on them, with Boshoku Automotive Europe, and a manufacturing date from 2016.

Unfortunately, the rear side panels are not available, but I will continue to pursue them.

Also, the holes for door mounted speakers, and the side mirror control, are not cut in the panels, so I’ll need to get those holes cut. There are slight circular impressions on the back sides of the panels, where the speaker holes should be.

The plastic pieces on the back side, which mount the panels to the doors, are much sturdier than the crap that was used when they were built.

Here are a few photos.





The mirror control switch hole and speaker holes need to be cut out:





If you zoom in on that green sticker you’ll see the name of the company that made them, and the manufacture date.

*Hoping for rear side panels to be available again...*

-rb

1995 Avus Blue M3

[h82crash]

The Gray/Gray door panels for my Dove Gray interior arrived today! They look fantastic!

-rb

1995 Avus Blue M3

That's great. Glad to hear it.

[soundofspeed]

great story and great work. This is an awesome color combo. How is it ongoing with the upholstering of the seats?
The e36 become better and better every day.
Here in the US we have a 98 M3, in Germany I have a 1990 325i and a 1998 318i Touring ...
Umbau 318i auf 325i - E36 Limousine - E36-Talk - Dein BMW E36 Forum (e36-talk.com)


IMG_0749.jpgIMG_0561.jpg

[jaysonx]

Just a bit of an update here, progress on this has stalled as I have been chasing a short SOMEWHERE in this car. It was not there before so a wire was pinched somewhere in re-install. Symptoms are the same as the shorted trunk wire, no dash lights, dimmer does not function, etc. Car runs and drives fine otherwise. I think I am going to need a long week to tear back into the interior to try and figure out what the heck is going on. If anyone has experience in chasing shorts under the carpet or behind the dash - I am all ears!

[E85STI]

I hope you find the short causing all those issues. The one thing I have never been good at over the years is dealing with automotive electrical issues. I just purchased a 98 M3 that I have started going through and restoring it from top to bottom and I am hoping I don't run into any electrical issues like you have.

Good luck man!

[jaysonx]

Well, it's the start of fall and time to swing back around on the project! I forget if I mentioned in this thread before but I had a very significant hip surgery in Jan 2020- one that put a damper on my passion for endurance sports (running/cycling). Well, the good news is that after a year and 1/2 my recovery has finally turned a corner and I was able to spend many days on the bike and running as often as possible. Between that, work, vacations, not much time was left for the languishing M3 sitting in the garage with an electrical short. Well - this week that changed! I finally had a week off of work and time on my hands to dig back into things.

First up - found the short. The center console wire was pinched under the armrest on reassembly. I ended up taking out the entire dash/headliner/etc/etc before I found it. Honestly, I did not totally mind because now that I had learned from the first disassembly/reassembly experience I was able to do it fairly swiftly over the course of two afternoons. I may have even stumbled upon a few reassembly mistakes that have now been corrected the 2nd go around.

With the interior back together and the electrical gremlins in the rearview mirror, I decided that I would start digging into a few key areas. Firstly, when I last drove the car the engine was flawless, but the suspension is a total disaster. I don't think there is a single ball joint, bushing, or component that is salvageable. Looks like ill be yanking the front / rear suspension and subframe out over the next few months. Since that sounds like a lot of work, let's have some fun procrastinating and playing with the paint!

While the car was in the barn, it was protected by a colony of cats. The good news is there were no mice. The bad news is the car was used as a scratching post. So let's speed things up with some wetsanding


2500 grit by hand with a soft block, followed by M105 on a microfiber cutting pad


Check out that Avus Blue flake!
[

Before too long (ok, 3ish hours) I had the trunk lid looking perfect.


Followed by the passenger side...


I also did most of the hood - but frankly, my motivation was waning at that point, especially considering the fact that the hood's paint is likely too far gone and will be needing a full respray.

I am finding my interest gravitating back toward this project and I am looking forward to continuing. Thank you for following along if you have been reading this thus far. Sounds like I have some more parts to order!

[GG///M3]

That looks amazing. Make me miss my avus 95

[jaysonx]

Thanks for that info. I just placed an order. Hopefully they will all be available.

I order from Maximillian Importing/BMW Mobile Tradition. Prices were a little better.

https://bmwmobiletradition-online.com

-rb

Those panels look amazing! Can you confirm the exact part numbers you ordered? There seems to be a few options & id like the same ones you have.

[RBNetEngr]

Those panels look amazing! Can you confirm the exact part numbers you ordered? There seems to be a few options & id like the same ones you have.

The door panels I ordered are:

51418178035 (Left door)

51418178036 (Right door)

I also ordered two new door liners (sound insulation)

51488161501

I removed the old adhesive for the old sound insulation panels and used this 3M sealer to attach the new ones:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...ler/mmm0/08610

The scariest thing with these new, long-awaited door panels, is that the speaker holes and mirror control hole were not cut into the panels, so I had to do that myself. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to mess them up. But I finally got up the nerve to cut the holes, and they came out perfectly.

I used this to cut the speaker holes:

https://www.harborfreight.com/carbid...ter-68117.html

I chose it because it can be set to any size. I used one of my old door panels to cut a few practice holes, so I knew what to expect.

For the mirror control hole, I used my dremel tool and THIS 561 cutting bit:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-1...-561/202263174

I used a file to clean up the edges.

-rb

[jaysonx]

The door panels I ordered are:

51418178035 (Left door)

51418178036 (Right door)

I also ordered two new door liners (sound insulation)

51488161501

I removed the old adhesive for the old sound insulation panels and used this 3M sealer to attach the new ones:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...ler/mmm0/08610

The scariest thing with these new, long-awaited door panels, is that the speaker holes and mirror control hole were not cut into the panels, so I had to do that myself. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to mess them up. But I finally got up the nerve to cut the holes, and they came out perfectly.

I used this to cut the speaker holes:

https://www.harborfreight.com/carbid...ter-68117.html

I chose it because it can be set to any size. I used one of my old door panels to cut a few practice holes, so I knew what to expect.

For the mirror control hole, I used my dremel tool and THIS 561 cutting bit:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dremel-1...-561/202263174

I used a file to clean up the edges.

-rb

This is a huge help, thank you. I am ordering the panels today - I think mine are shot, in particular the backside mounts. I think I am doing radio delete on this build so no worries about the speaker holes for me (though the 95's didn't have them anyways).

[RBNetEngr]

This is a huge help, thank you. I am ordering the panels today - I think mine are shot, in particular the backside mounts. I think I am doing radio delete on this build so no worries about the speaker holes for me (though the 95's didn't have them anyways).

I have a ‘95, and it came with a 10-speaker system standard. Two speakers in each door, a kick panel speaker on each side, and two speakers on each side of the rear deck. I replaced them all with the BavSound setup, and replaced the stock cassette/CD changer setup with a Kenwood KMM-X704 Media Player.

The door panels come with all new mounting parts on the rear, as well as those white fasteners, so they’re ready to install, other than cutting the holes.

Good luck! Hopefully the panels are still available.

I tried ordering the rear side panels, which have also bubbled on my car, but they are not available right now.


-rb

[jaysonx]

I tried ordering the rear side panels, which have also bubbled on my car, but they are not available right now.


-rb

I would love to do the rears as well - heres to hoping that they make some more!

[jaysonx]

Anyone have any exhaust tip recommendations? The car has a Gen 1 Active Autowerke exhaust which is in perfect condition aside from these tips - would like to have new ones welded on.

Dimensions are:

2in Inlet
3in Outlet
6in Length

Years ago I ordered some tips from 'DiMisa' on Bimmerpost but it looks like they are no longer in business. Reco's apprecited!

[Jim E.]

Anyone have any exhaust tip recommendations? The car has a Gen 1 Active Autowerke exhaust which is in perfect condition aside from these tips - would like to have new ones welded on.

Dimensions are:

2in Inlet
3in Outlet
6in Length

Years ago I ordered some tips from 'DiMisa' on Bimmerpost but it looks like they are no longer in business. Reco's apprecited!

Yes.

This one is 3" and about 5" long. They normally go over the M Performance exhaust and use a pin screw to hold in place. You can have your guy weld them in and fabricate something.



This one is 3-1/4" in diameter and also about 5" in length.




18 30 2 406 604 3" version
18 30 2 354 364 3-1/4" version