Keeping the project alive

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

I'm listening

Thanks for the comments guys, I will be going up to the body shop with the bumpers to do some final measurements. The car will be primed at least one more time so I will have a chance to revisit the rear holes. Maybe you folks can tell me this in advance; I was thinking of fitting the steel/rubber "shelf" that goes between the body and the 74 bumpers on the car, I would have to cut it a bit, and then I thought I would make some plugs for the rear holes rather than weld them up, that way if the rear chrome bumper got destroyed I could at least fit the newer one on there temporarily. I'm not sure if there is enough room to mount the "shelf" with the older bumpers- Any thoughts or pictures you could share would be appreciated.

Cheers,

 

[alanmcg]

no room

as you can see from the pic, the euro bumper is almost touching the rear sheet metal, so def no room for a shelf.
re holes, if you dont weld them you HAVE to plug them, and make sure the plug is watertight, else rust has straight shot into your trunk and rear sub-frame. trust me, once you put your euro bumpers on you will never go back to the diving boards, even if your euro bumper gets crunched, so weld up those holes now while its cheap and easy.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Got it!

And thanks for the pictures- your e9 is beautiful!

 

[pamp]

+ 1 Alan. Body fill the holes now. This can always be un-done once big bumpers come back in style (I am not holding my breath) When I did my car we metal filled all the extraneous holes from the DOT stuff, there were many.

 

[aalto]

The car is looking great!

+2 on the filling. I initially hesitated on filling them in (like you i thought about plugging them) but then changed my mind . . . and i've never looked back. The big holes for the 74+ bumpers were clearly added hastily and those nasty welds are going be just slightly visible behind the chrome bumper.

I did thoroughly rust-proof/paint the inside of these holes because once they are welded up you have fully enclosed cavities with limited access.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

finally some color

These are just the first coats, but I thought some might be interested in the process. the color looks almost black until the clear was sprayed.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

one door at a time

Out of the booth this morning! It's hard to get a good pic inside the shop with a cell phone :-(

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

just some more pics

This is after the first coat of clear- it was being wet sanded when I went by today. They are supposed to re-clear it tomorrow, then dry over the weekend before.. what's next I don't know. And, yes, I made plugs for the rear holes but before I use them I am going to try a bumper mounting system I put together. Austin Texas is the "rear-end" capitol of Texas!

 

[WALTER]

Looks fantastic. I might have missed this, but what color did you paint it?

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

color

Hi Walter, I ended up using a newer BMW color; Indigo Blue. I just got off the phone with the painter and it's going in for its final coats of clear this evening and drying over the weekend. Monday I should have the "semi-finished" product, so I'll be picking her up on Monday or Tuesday- fingers crossed- I'll post lots of pictures

Thanks!

 

[WALTER]

I've been thinking about two new BMW colors for a project car: jerez black or carbon black. Both "blacks" are actually dark blue. The dark blue color of your car has convinced me that it would work on my project. Keep the updates coming.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

more pics

Final sanding and buffing should happen today, looking at a Wednesday pick-up

 

[Stan]

Beautiful!

Will you go with chrome side gills and hood grills!
What about the aluminum belt line trim? I recommend Dan Ross at Speedway in Santa Ana CA. Polish and ceramic coat that trim for a fraction of the new cost!

 

[The Don]

Beautiful! +1

Excellent colour choice,

That blue will really gleam in the sunshine

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

questions I had not thought of

Thanks Stan & Don, maybe you can point me in the right direction. The original gills and grills (as far as I can tell) were black, I still have them -all prettied up- I was just going to put them back on.. Any pictures of chrome on dark colors? Also, belt line (I guess high waists are back in style) I polished the originals and they look pretty good, I was going to slap those on as well thinking it would give the car an "original" look since they'll obviously not look brand new. The bumpers are looking pretty much brand new, no pits in the chrome and I re-worked the rubber inside and out, so my thought was to put everything back on and then go from there.... but always open to suggestion(s).

Thanks all

 

[Stevehose]

Looking very nice. there is no correct color scheme - I have seen dark cars with black and chrome, I vote chrome as it compliments the beltline and pops a little ;-)

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

now I have a goal

Thanks Steve. Thought I'd put up a before and after

 

[Sven]

I agree. I think the chrome grills will look better against the dark color, especially since most of the rest of the trim is also chrome / anodized alum.

The color looks great.

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

tried for some detail shots

Hi Folks, thought I would post a few closer up shots of the paint, it's a little dusty but... just in the interest of keeping it going!