Deconstruction Thread: How to part-out an E9

[phead82]

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.

Got it.
I might be able to have my friend in Austria scan my intact left AC vent piece. Then it's simply a case of mirroring it and voila - there is your right piece too.
This might take some time though since I'll have to pull the part first and ship it to my friend.
Not sure about the quality of his scans though, since I haven't seen any of his work yet.

 

[mark99]

I think that this part is so simple one could model it without a scan
The printing or manufacturing would be the issue
It would probably be better to pressure from it than print it

 

[Stan]

Looks like you could make a mold and lay fiberglass. Then cut slices

 

[mark99]

sure, fiberglass would be easy, simpler, but the texture would have to be in the tool surface
With pressure formed the texture would be in the sheet material, the tool surface would be the inside of the part
In metal tools the texture is made by chemical process, look up Mold Tech
If you had perfect parts, you could just make a cast off them and make parts from that, simple

 

[mulberryworks]

Parts is parts

If you had perfect parts, you could just make a cast off them and make parts from that, simple

I've got a clean one that came in the trunk of my car when I bought it. I'd love to make a mold from it and crank out some reproductions, it's on the list of things to do.
Unfortunately, metal shrinks when cast and aluminum shrinks more than steel. In this case, it might not be enough to cause huge issues but usually you do have to allow for it by having your mold be a bit larger.
Yes, preserving the texture is a tricky thing. A sand casting would be easy, but it would have a rough surface and lose the texture. It might be possible to make molds, then cast wax in them, then use the wax object to make a lost wax casting. Possible failure at each step, but that could work.

Ian

 

[mark99]

if you are making fiberglass parts you wouldn't need metal tools, just epoxy
I have made fiberglass parts, but never tried to capture a texture so it would be an experiment
If it was me, I would try making a silicon mold, which would perfectly capture the texture, then back that with epoxy
I think you would have to fill the slots, temporally, in the part, like with wax

 

[Markos]

Well I've abandon all timelines. With the rise in temperatures come more yard/house projects. Slow and steady wins this race! I envy those that can spend 8 hours pulling parts off of a car. I'm lucky to spend 30 minutes...

I had great luck removing the chrome window cap on the driver's side door. At some point someone caulked the passenger cap to the glass. I should have taken a pic of the trim "taco'd". This is a 30 second attempt to straighten. I don't really need this part, but I'm confident that it can be straightened out if needed. I tried to line it up to a straight line to illustrate how bent it is. I long narrow screwdriver used to pry up from the center would help quite a bit.

The lower rear window chrome is secured with one screw. The screw is accessed with the door open. See the rusty discoloration on the rubber block - that is where the screw threads into. I taped the screws to the trim piece.

You will find that the chrome sits on a rubber bumper. This bumper is also held on by a small screw. One of mine came right off the sheet metal and is still connected to the chrome trim. The other didn't budge and the screw head will require drilling.

The wiper linkages are easily removed. A set of 22mm nuts and corresponding washers keep the posts bolted in. You should have three parts on each side. I recommend a six point socket, as the nuts are plated and not terribly stout.

The linkages are covered by the cabin intake cover. The cover is held on by two 8mm screws with little spring clips on the engine side of the firewall. Be sure to catch these before they fall.

The linkage is connected to the motor with 3x 10mm nuts. These nuts contain both plastic and metal washers so be careful not to lose.

I received numerous PM's about the wiper linkages. Apparently they like to break. I was honestly a bit apprehensive to sell but mine check out. I can't hoard parts. A local PNW member who is active on this board was desperate to get his wipers back on for the car show season. His threaded splines somehow separated from the wiper shafts. Stan mentioned that his cracked off, so I hope that mine survive. Searching this site, sold eBay listings, and a pending CL add showed linkages and motor for $150. I kept the motor and sold the linkage setup for $100, less $10 in shipping.

So far I've sold four parts and the car is 10% paid off. When all is said and done, I'll need to factor in storage. I'll stop dwelling on that.

Total Sales: $310
Remaining: $3,090

 

[Markos]

Examining the trunk condition. It is in really good shape, better than my target car. The trunk on the 2800s is workable though and contains no dents, just a small rust bubble. I don't really want to spot a polaris trunk so this one will be sold. It has two small dents the size of a pencil eraser.

This one is difficult to price out. The last sale I spotted on here was $200. Since then several people have been looking for them. No real e9 trunk lid sales to speak of on eBay. I have $300 in my head. Hopefully I'm not off base.

This car is riddled with overspray, it's just everywhere. Notice the 'Polaris' elephant skins...

Very small amount of surface rust on the inner lip. The only place I found rust.

 

[Markos]

Note to self. When installing arm rests, avoid using 4" screws. The power windows will bend the screw the first time you attempt to roll down the window. Pure genius!

 

[MyFemurHurts]

Doh.

 

[GolfBavaria]

Note to self. When installing arm rests, avoid using 4" screws. The power windows will bend the screw the first time you attempt to roll down the window. Pure genius!

I'm actually amazed at how long the original screws are just for that reason, I thought if I screwed in just a little too much it would scrape the glass.

 

[Markos]

I'm actually amazed at how long the original screws are just for that reason, I thought if I screwed in just a little too much it would scrape the glass.

Apparently the window motors are pretty strong! Initially I thought that someone manually bent the screw to hold it in place, then I figured it out. What you can't see in the pic is that the screw sticks out another inch. I had to stop in my tracks last night because I didn't want to wake the family sawing through a bolt. I have giant bolt cutters that I will use but I didn't feel like rummaging through the shed at night.

Edit: pics of said bolt cutters. like butter...

 

[Markos]

The door pockets have five studs. One stud at each corner and one in the middle of the bottom edge. On the backside, you should find five plated washers with an 8mm nut.

I need to consider shipping costs. The door pockets cost more to ship than I anticipated. They are close to 15" long. I have an array of very shallow Amazon boxes, all were under 15". Shipping from west coast to west coast was $17 for the 14"x12"x6" 4lb box. I sold the door pockets for $40 shipped.

Total Sales: $333
Remaining: $3,067

 

[Arde]

Great thread, nice to see the two cars side by side at the onset.

I would mark the donor car with a big X just like surgeons do...

 

[Markos]

Great thread, nice to see the two cars side by side at the onset.

I would mark the donor car with a big X just like surgeons do...

No doubt! Should I cut into the one with the terrible body and decent interior or the one with the terrible interior and decent body?

 

[Markos]

Some chatter recently about the different radiator brackets. Apparently the auto bracket is larger since the radiator has an integrated transmission cooler. The manual bracket is about 50mm wide between the rubber buffers.

The bracket is held in place by one 11mm hex screw and two 10mm hex screws

I sold that little guy to a member in need for $20. I also sold the hood but I won't add that in until it ships.

Total Sales: $353
Remaining: $3,047

 

[Markos]

Clearing out the trunk area and working on tidbits here and there.

The stuff I'm keeping:

Like most of the car, the tails have silver over spray on them (suggestions anyone?). If you look closely you can see the driver's side lens has a hairline crack running vertically, just left of the reflector:

Two piece BMW Roundel. The patina looks cool when it's not on your car.

 

[Markos]

Tonight I got around to removing the trunk lid. I removed the badges and emblems earlier this week.

As you can see the theme of this thread (and most of my threads) is "lots of pictures". This serves as a visual record that I can reference later when I have to put a car back together. Hopefully others find it useful as well.

Ignoring the horrendous over spray, making note of the torsion bar mounting point. There are four pieces sandwiched together.

I'm using zip ties to keep nuts and washers with their associated part. Note that the bump in the trunk supports faces the inside of the trunk. The over spray ensures that I won't mix that up.

I purchased a TV moving box from home depot. It's a bit pricey at $20, but it includes a foam sleeve and corner guards. I forgot to snap a pic, but I used cellophane wrap to secure the caps. With the odd shape on the windscreen end of the trunk, they didn't want to stay on.

The package weighs about 44lbs. It is approximately 43"x59". Shipping to California is $111+ my $20 box. Obtain a Quote

I sold the trunk to a member who inquired for $400 shipped. I estimated shipping at $100. With the box, that comes to $269 after he wired me $400. Good deal for buyer IMO.

I have recovered 20% of my investment to date.

Total Sales: $622
Remaining: $2,778

 

[adawil2002]

Regarding the 2 piece roundel, they are easy to repaint.

 

[Markos]

Regarding the 2 piece roundel, they are easy to repaint.

Thanks Andrew! I think that will most certainly be the plan. I wI'll need to pick up a decent airbrush. I read on here that testers has a nice blue that is a match.