This thread is a valuable reference for my incoming project. Great work and thanks a lot for sharing it!
I've a question: how can you be sure that the door gaps are correct without putting the car on its wheels? These are heavy bodies and ar e prone to "open" when they're on jacks.
Thank you!
That's a very good question, it's hard to know if they will "open" or "close" later when everything is put back in the car and it stands on its own wheels. The door-gaps are sliiightly bigger up top than down at the bottom, so I hope that will be enough. And the body will probably be 50% more rigid than before now when all structural problems are gone.
I think that it will stay close to how it is now, the stress a single jackstand, or double jackstands, puts on the body when the engine and everything else is in, is something completely different from when it stands on its own four wheels.
But again, thats just me speculating, if somebody else have any experience of this, please fill in.
Thank you once again for the detailed writeup. I haven't seen such detailed pictures on here and it's exactly what I need.
Today I learned that the inner rocker sheet metal extends past the front fender. I have been toying with the idea of not removing my front fenders, but I haven't done the exploratory lower fender paint removal. I suspect that I will spend a lot of time removing my fenders, only to find metal in decent shape. The alternative was to dip the car and then E-Coat.
It looks like the front fenders need to go if my inner rocker needs replacement.
Regarding your fenders, does W&N sell just the lower fender? I know the full front fenders are expensive, around 700 eur. I don't trust my welding skills enough to blend in a lower fender, so if mine do need replacement the whole thing will go.
Glad you like the pictures, and even better if they can help somebody!
My thought at the beginning of this project was exactly the same, I'm not removing those fenders!!:-o But later when the body was empty I thought it would be unwise not to remove them and do a close inspection there as well.
And that was a very good desicion in retrospect, I would never have forgiven myself in a couple of years when the rust would have started to pop thru the new paint..
But as always, everyone has to draw a line somewhere, it's a lot of work to remove them and put back on, and I understand those who just prays to God and sprays it over with new paint.
W&N sells the lower fenders at $93 each
The fenders are $827 each
The best would absolutely had been to replace my fenders with new ones, but there is that line I was talking about :wink: I think we got the ones I have pretty good and will last many many years if I keep the car dry.
Gransin - you should change your name to Coupe Doctor. Amazing work keeping this thing alive! You deserve a medal or something. I feel like BMW should pick this story up. Just incredible.
Well thank you!
We are doing our best, but there are others out there who does e9 restorations waay more professionally than what we do. This is after all only going to be a well sorted driver, never intended to show or anything like that.
There are also many things that are not original anymore, and so on.
But yeah! It's fun to have gotten to this stage now, all the sheetmetal/body work was getting a bit... monotonous.:-o
