Deconstruction Thread: How to part-out an E9

Where to start?
Hopefully this reflection will help anyone considering a parts car. I spent the first week researching prices, demand, rarity. I ordered and picked up tools, and talked to some folks on the phone. About 100 emails, PM's and text messages were exchanged. I find myself running back and forth to my car to see what I have versus what I need. To clarify, the parts car is in my garage. I can take any pics as desired for potential buyers. The red coupe is off-site. I am thankful that it isn't too far away. I secured a 5x10 storage locker, as my wife actually gets to use bay #2 to stay out of the Seattle rain. So where do I start?

There is interest in the windshield, and the roof if pending sale (assuming I don't damage it). I'm going to start with the door panels which have speaker holes, then the doors themselves which also have speaker holes. Once the glass is off I will cut off the roof (sniffle :-(). My access to the interior and dashboard will be greatly improved! I plan on selling little parts here and there if accessible. For example, I have about four blue armrests to sell, and I'll post those soon.

I have about $300 in a handful of small parts to distribute locally. The roof is quite possibly the nicest parts car roof that the reputable E9 restorer has seen on a parts car to date! I'm very excited for the buyer, and the roof will ship to the fabricator in the coming weeks. I need to build a pallet/box for it. With the roof selling for $1,000, I am tentatively at 40% of my goal with the other small parts. Financials will not be updated until items are shipped. With my build thread, I have no issues highlighting my expenses. I need to determine how to handle keeping this thread updated while maintaining the privacy of buyers. I will likely have a Misc Sales Bucket that doesn't include the part specifics.

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Playing with my new tester. This should come in real handy when examining the stuff I'm selling!

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Parting out can be fun. I helped parting out a 2800CS a few years ago and it was nice to see parts going all over the world to help other owners get the bits and pieces they needed/wanted. I got a bunch of small parts I did not even know I was missing until the dis-assembly began.
 
Of course progress is slow. I had to repair my Jeep over the weekend. I blew a u-joint, and destroyed my pinion yoke and rear driveshaft in the process.


Wiper Removal:
Surprisingly there isn't much on this. Tools required are a screwdriver, a pryer, and some penetrating lubricant. Lift up your wipers and spray the underside need the splined shafts with penetrating lubricant. The brown film on the chrome is the lubricant (PB Blaster). I forgot to wrap my screwdriver and pry bar with electrical tape, but no damage was done. It helps if the pry bar is wide and blunt.

A small spring clip sits in a detent on the splined shaft. Use a small screwdriver to pop the spring clip out of the detent, while gently prying with the pry bar.

Notice both the screwdriver and the pry bar:
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Notice the detent that the spring clip sits in:
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On a related note, there seems to be enough room to drill a small hole through the detent in the splined shaft if one wanted to run safety wire through the shaft and around the spring clip.
 
I was driving to the Vintage 2 years ago and it began to rain. Suddenly there was no wiper on the passenger side! Fortunately I was at a stop light and the wiper was still on the hood so I retrieved it. The splined part was still in the wiper hub. I used a bit of JB Weld to put it back together. :mrgreen:
 
Markos said:
Just dropped off the AC Grill today. The printing tech is PolyJet:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjXh1RJfA34
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If they do happen to scan the AC grills in order to be able to re-print them, which I am very certain they will do, can you possibly make the 3D file (best case already reverse engineered from scan data) available to us, so others here on the forum have the opportunity to have them printed too if they desire?
That would be absolutely fabulous! :idea:
 
phead82 said:
If they do happen to scan the AC grills in order to be able to re-print them, which I am very certain they will do, can you possibly make the 3D file (best case already reverse engineered from scan data) available to us, so others here on the forum have the opportunity to have them printed too if they desire?
That would be absolutely fabulous! :idea:
Click to expand...

I talked to the guy about that today and he's open to that idea. That works for me! We'll see what happens with the scan. He's going to take the first pass at the file but it may need some intervention from more skilled modelers. My AC grill has a 1cm triangle taken out of it. He said he can fill that in but doesn't know how to add the texture back. He's a 3D printer tech, not a modeler.
 
Markos said:
I talked to the guy about that today and he's open to that idea. That works for me! We'll see what happens with the scan. He's going to take the first pass at the file but it may need some intervention from more skilled modelers. My AC grill has a 1cm triangle taken out of it. He said he can fill that in but doesn't know how to add the texture back. He's a 3D printer tech, not a modeler.
Click to expand...

How does he reproduce the texture on the printed part anyway? It's highly likely it will get lost in the scan - low resolution.
So far I haven't seen a sufficient enough result going straight from scan to part, which is due to the issue of the scan mesh/polygons not translating well.
It would probably need to be reverse engineered anyway, read: rebuilt in CAD.
I might be able to help out on that end, given my skilled modeller friends are available. Not sure how to reproduce the texture though, since that is something that got probably edged into the tool prior to injection molding the part, respectively was already part of the surface of the material used for vacuum molding (not sure whether tha part is injection or vacuum molded?).
 
phead82 said:
How does he reproduce the texture on the printed part anyway? It's highly likely it will get lost in the scan - low resolution.
So far I haven't seen a sufficient enough result going straight from scan to part, which is due to the issue of the scan mesh/polygons not translating well.
It would probably need to be reverse engineered anyway, read: rebuilt in CAD.
I might be able to help out on that end, given my skilled modeller friends are available. Not sure how to reproduce the texture though, since that is something that got probably edged into the tool prior to injection molding the part, respectively was already part of the surface of the material used for vacuum molding (not sure whether tha part is injection or vacuum molded?).
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He said that he thought that the scanner would pick up the texture. I could definitely see it getting lost in the conversion process though. I asked him to send me a screenshot once it was scanned. He said early next week. This isn't a production 3D scanning/printing service, so he's doing it in his free time.
 
I'm already way behind schedule. My storage locker is untouched and empty. I need to pull some parts this week to get back on track. I haven't formally started selling parts, but I let a few parts to go some local contacts and a few folks that I've been PM'ing.

Sold the air box and the accompanying bracket. I used a cutoff wheel to start and switched to a reciprocating saw with a stubby blade to avoid all the sparks and metal dust.

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I sold the good passenger wiper and I am giving away the driver wiper with the missing deflector.

One problem with parting a car is that you can't really sell the suspension bits unless you put the car on jack stands or have a lift. A local member has offered to lend me a custom dolly used to restore the car. In addition to being very helpful, it will help me assess the approach for my looming restoration.

Total Sales: $220
Remaining: $3,180
 
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Could you do a photo diary of removing the rear subframe and tearing it down if it's not too much trouble?! Thanks!
 
dj,

I just did mine this weekend, sorry no pictures of the removal but I did of the bearing replacement.

#1 Raise the rear of the car on jack stands

#2 Remove wheels and tires.

#3 Separate the brake lines at the underside of chassis or axle carrier, your choice but if you are going to replace with SS braided lines.... 14mm (IIFRC) and 11mm

#4 Separate drive shaft from differential, 17mm Open ended wrench, my boxedend was too big, the bolts won't turn on you 'cause they are flat against the inner shaft flange surface, need to put it in gear or pull the hand brake to keep it from turning.

#5 Support the axle carrier assembly with a hydraulic jack under the differential.

#6 Remove the bottom shock mount, 22mm I think, don't need to remove whole shock.

#7 Undo the two 15mm "pushrod" bolts at the leading end, then the big 19MM (I think) to remove the "push rod" from the pin.

#7 You'll need to get in the cab and disassemble the ebrake, you can't push the cables through , at least I couldn't with out doing it.

8 Lower the assembly carefully, I did it by myself, it would be easier with a helper bee. About 4 hrs.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=3435-USA-03-1972-E9-BMW-30CS&diagId=33_0920
 
dj_efk said:
Could you do a photo diary of removing the rear subframe and tearing it down if it's not too much trouble?! Thanks!
Click to expand...

If there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that I will take/post lots of 1024x768 pics. :)
 
obscure parts to save

Hi Markos, the strut bushings are usually shot on older cars but sometimes they are not. If there is no play in the bearings they can be washed out with solvent and re-packed saving 400.00. I saved mine from my first e9 and cleaned and re-packed them and then put them in the Polaris coupe because those were completely destroyed. The re-packed bearings work perfectly. Just a thought.
 
Markos: Are you done with this? Sent you a PM twice about a couple of things I need but have received no reply. Thanks, L.
 
Luis A. said:
Markos: Are you done with this? Sent you a PM twice about a couple of things I need but have received no reply. Thanks, L.
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Hi Luis,

I haven't started yet unfortunately. I'm finishing up another vehicle project first. Selling my jeep after 15 years. I'll get back to your PM shortly. Thanks!
 
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A quick update on the 3D printing. My contact has an excellent 3D printer, but the parts scanner is a low end hand held. I got the AC vent back, and it's sub-par. I haven't lost hope on the 3D printing front, but I'll need to look at parts scanning elsewhere. Shifting priorities to the part-out process.
 
I need to rent a trailer today to haul some yard debris. I figured that this would be a good time to move some parts into storage (which has been sitting completely empty for over a month).

I started with the driver's door. This was a good intro into the magnitude of tiny parts that I'll be dealing with. Disassembly is easy enough. I had already read about popping the vent window knob cover plate with a hex wrench from the back side. The arm rest had some non-factory screws in place. The door panels have two speakers in each door, so these panels have come off quite a few times in their lifetime.

Basic hand tools get the job done for the most part.

I generally don't use 12 point wrenches, but 6 point box wrench makes removing the leading nut on the belt line trim a little tedious.
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A 12 point "triple square" bit is required to remove the leading bolt on the upper door hinge. I opted to remove the door via the bolts on the door, rather than the screws on the body. They didn't want to move. I'll work on those later.
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Other screws that won't budge, the flag mirror, and the door handle. I'll need to drill them all out.

This is worth a pic. When removing the welts around the perimeter of the door, watch out for the tiny screws holding them in place. If you have a dark interior, they are difficult to spot.
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The door is in good shape. I see no evidence of cancer on the bottom of the door. The top has some bubbling on the inside, but nothing significant. Sadly, those familiar with the inside of an e9 door might recognize the metal that has been hacked.
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Definitive answer on "how large is the thin bolt that holds the luck tumbler in place". It's 30mm.
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When shopping for an e9, remove the rear seat. This car has rot in the driver's side wheel well, and a hole that was patched with fiberglass. To remove the rear seat, simply pull up on it, then out.
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A closer look at that hole. Notice the fiberglass.
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Conclusion:
This was a fun couple of hours. Based on my findings I will likely keep the rear leather and dye it black. Then I can reupholster my front seats. I will be selling the rear panels. I need to check my target coupe to see if I have the aluminum strips. My replacement black panels are missing those so I may scavange the strips from the blue panels. The carpet is in really good shape actually. I pressure wash the pieces and sell them a la carte. I've pressure washed auto carpets before, it does a great job of cleaning them up.

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The wood behind the rear armrests is in great shape. I will be keeping these as the ones in the target coupe suffered water damage.
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Lastly, some parts that I am after - the wood...
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