1972 E3 2500 Bare Metal Respray

E

E3_UK

Well-Known Member
Messages
290
Reaction score
85
I've owned my E3 for around twelve years now and there had always been a few bubbles in the paint, not bad but enough to annoy me every time I looked at it. The car was painted some time in the late 90's and had new front wings and a good used bonnet fitted but is otherwise original. I could have just had the suspect areas repaired and repainted but I would never have been happy with this, especially as I don't know how good the prep' was for the previous respray so I've opted for a full bare metal respray to ensure any other issues are found and treated accordingly. The paint is being mechanically removed not blasted, all trim and glass is removed for this. Underneath the floor pan is excellent having been wax treated from new. So far all that has been found is a hole on the bonnet front edge (there are other visible repairs to the bonnet but these are still ok) and some holes in the front passenger door, pretty much where the paint was bubbling, so hopefully that will be the extent of the corrosion which is far better than I ever expected given how badly these rust, especially for a UK car.

FB_IMG_1761749547173.jpg
FB_IMG_1761920241850.jpg
FB_IMG_1761920250748.jpg
FB_IMG_1761920259652.jpg
FB_IMG_1761920268117.jpg
FB_IMG_1761931373643.jpg
IMG_0671.jpeg
IMG_0674.jpeg
IMG_0683.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I loved my E3 3.0s but sold it in February this year after 12 years. Loved driving it - a great cruiser.

The rust had gone to town in my C pillars - and whilst we get rust here in Oz, it is nothing like the UK. Glad you’ve got what looks like a good one.
 
Mine survived better than most as the original owner never used it as an everyday car, it was used sparingly for holidays, days out etc. It was rust proofed by BMW when new so that may also have helped.

20161010_094916.jpg
 
I suppose it was a brave attempt to at least keep it sound until the warranty expired but ultimately unless periodically applied it was never going to save it from dissolving. The underside of mine has obviously been liberally coated many times during its life and this has undoubtedly saved it. The areas that can't be easily treated are obviously going to suffer, such as the door bottoms, but thankfully these can be easily repaired unlike major structural corrosion. I imagine that if I were to use it in all weathers, particularly on salt covered winter roads, it would probably suffer just as they did back in the day. Having a couple of British cars from the 60's I certainly know how quickly things can turn nasty if left to fester !.
 
This is one of the most interesting and informative E3 build blogs... looking forward to seeing more images as you dismantle, clean & prep the car.

Your photos are helping me to plan my own E3 restoration.
 
Screens removed and body being masked for initial epoxy primer coat. Panels will then be fefitted and gaps adjusted prior to blocking and shaping process after which all panels will be removed again before final primer coat.

FB_IMG_1763126341467.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dlc
Thanks. The problem is, it was very good to start with so isn't really going to look much different once completed. However going back to bare metal is the only way I can be assured that there are no issues with previous bodges or festering corrosion. It's starting with a clean slate I suppose and fortunately it has turned out to be very sound beneath the paint. The shop gave me the choice of just repairing the obvious rust and painting over the existing colour with no guarantees of not suffering further issues, or bare metal and piece of mind of longevity and as I have no intention of selling it, the latter made more sense to me, if not my bank account :)
 
rblongboarder said:
I was curious - do you work in the auto restoration business as a professional - or is this just a personal project?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I should have clarified at the beginning, I'm not doing the work it's a shop so I am but the messenger unfortunately. Apologies if I gave the impression that I was personally doing the work. I wish I could, and perhaps I could have stripped the paint off myself but time and lack of suitable premises prevented me from doing so. The same shop has previously worked on a couple of other cars for myself and my brother so I know that their work is top notch so I bit the bullet on this one also.
 
E3_UK said:
Sorry, I should have clarified at the beginning, I'm not doing the work it's a shop so I am but the messenger unfortunately. Apologies if I gave the impression that I was personally doing the work. I wish I could, and perhaps I could have stripped the paint off myself but time and lack of suitable premises prevented me from doing so. The same shop has previously worked on a couple of other cars for myself and my brother so I know that their work is top notch so I bit the bullet on this one also.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update.

You must be pretty good friends with the shop owner - over here on the other side of the pond, most shop owners won't let you hang out and take photographs. I sincerely believe there are a number of E3 owners here who would like to say thank you to the shop owner for letting you document this transformation. I'm definitely one of those owners.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing a driving video in the forums someday! (Honestly, my retirement dream is to ship my '70 2800 to Europe, meet up with fellow E3 and E9 owners, drive through rural western europe (wine country) and go drive some tracks over there. Nurburgring would be the ultimate... the Mallorca vintage rally is a close 2nd... Your photos and @StephenZ 's keep the dream alive.)
 
It's the guys from the shop taking the photo's. There will be a YouTube video at the end showing the full process. This is partly why I chose them as they are very transparent with their methods and processes and won't hide anything they don't want you to see.
 
Looks awesome. bare metal is the only way to go really if do you want it the way you really want it, and you do! It’s a sickness.
It’s always the door jams, bottom side of the bonnet, boot and engine bay that get neglected.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top