OTOTOTO

[OTOTOTO]

Finally starting a thread for Claudia, the E9 I’ve had for about a month and a half now.
So far this forum has been super helpful in the short amount of time since introduction and I think I’ve surveyed the car enough to have a loose plan.
I have a bit of catching up to do on posted progress, but will start with plans and purchased quality.

Short term 2020-2022
Clean Clean Clean | I love to clean as I go on restorations and keep it visually presentable, on my e28 this was tons of fun and what led me to upgrade to an e9, more on this later.
Maintenance | Tackle the annoying | keep it in good running order, fix the obvious, resist the urge to go off stock mechanically
Rework the interior | Blue interiors are my least favorite so I’m starting the process for change sooner, starting with carpet via KHM. Since interior parts are typically hard to find this is a good way to collect parts as I plan the long term.
Rust inspection | Generally found the rust to be as expected, meaning someday a few years out, I’ll want to strip everything down and replace a few panels. For now, coat and prevent further damage
Drive it! | I want to enjoy this car in its stock patina days before moving on

Long term 2022 and beyond
Mods | My rule for mods is nothing visibly outside its own era. Having said that I keep toying with the idea of an s38 engine swap, however the M30B35 in my 5 series would also suffice. 3rd option would be keeping it stock, but upgrade to triple Weber and associated mods. Open to other ideas since final decision wont happen for a while
Paint | Love the Polaris silver, but the paint is in need of a refresh, will keep the color.
Suspension & wheels | 14” BBS’s are decent, but I have my heart set on Alpinas 15 or 16”, coil overs because I’m terribly indecisive, might do this sooner

Condition at purchase
Engine seems to work well and run strong, top end seems really clean, bottom end, not so much.
Hood was way out of alignment
Rear suspension is on its way out.
Brakes...work but pull a bit, rears seem like they sat a long time
Rust, ran a horoscope behind the front fenders, found some but not full rot yet, haven’t checked the rockers yet, more pics to come later
Interior, much better than expected

Pretty picture

Engine bay

One of the first things I did was some touch up paint on the rear. Grind away surface rust, clean and quick re-spray. Noting a lot of the panel fasteners are corroded with paint rubbed away. On the inside I’m touching up with SilverBullet, outside with Polaris silver. More on the trunk later.

Also, must have the essentials. Snagged both sets of mechanic and parts books for e9. Already helpful.

 

[adawil2002]

Nice.

 

[ablank135]

I ran a horoscope on my car, too. But all it showed was that rust was in retrograde and my moon was in the seventh house.

 

[eriknetherlands]

Those rear bumper mounting points look like they have been pushed inwards. The panel should follow a nice gradual curve from left to right, right through the bolt holes. Something must have happened as well on the sides where the ends of the bumper was attached.
I'd think the rear dents could be removed, but inside there is a reinforcement and a floor that complicate the task. Perhaps pulling it out will work. ( or never look behind the bumper, that will also work)

But anyway, be sure to touch up the paint on the underside and I side, as it must have cracked. The floor to rear panel seam is a notorious one to catch moisture and rust out from the inside.

 

[Krzysztof]

I wish I had such a nice base! Have fun with the restoration and cleaning!

Have you looked above the glovebox interior already? This is the place which tells E9 story.

Not many cars look nice before restoration but most of the E9 do!

 

[OTOTOTO]

I wish I had such a nice base! Have fun with the restoration and cleaning!

Have you looked above the glovebox interior already? This is the place which tells E9 story.

Not many cars look nice before restoration but most of the E9 do!

Driver side is ok. Passenger side behind the glove box, not so much. Looks like they sprayed some rust inhibitor in there, but on the list to cut and replace someday.

 

[OTOTOTO]

Next up was going into the trunk. I have a bit of spare fuel line from the 5 series. The lines seems brittle and time to replace, especially one just under the driver side. I went ahead and pulled out the fuel tank since it was near empty, found spots of surface rust under what was left of the seal. Time to put my collection of wire brushes and wheels to use! What I feared was rust in the corners turned out to be a fair amount of dirt and old glue.

A round of cleaning and a coat of silver bullet paint cleans up well. I may come back but for now used a roll of butyl tape to seal off the perimeter before dropping in a freshly painted tank. The fuel filler cover is ripped and repaired with duct tape, something to keep an eye out for along with a bunch of missing tools from the tool box.

2 of the 3 insets are in good shape with good looking wood, the other had mold and damage, so will have to refab. Seems easy enough if I can find a color match. The plastic wheel well covers don’t seem to fit well. The strut tops were reinforced in a way that they don’t seem to stay down.
For now I’ll leave it like this while I move on to the engine bay for a bit.

Things to return to:

- Bumper dents, thanks ErikNetherlands for the note!
- fuel filler rubber
- trunk tools
- fuel side panel
- little plastic cap on the right side hinge
- refit wheel well plastic covers
- US reflector delete

 

[eriknetherlands]

Walloth&Nesh sell the fuel filler rubber boot as reproductions (has their logo on it unfortunately). I haven't used one, so I can't say how well it will fit. Not all Walloth&Nesch rubber products are as good as their sheet metal repair patches.

 

[Eric V]

@OTOTOTO I’ve got an extra little plastic cap for the hinge, message me if you need it.

 

[OTOTOTO]

Walloth&Nesh sell the fuel filler rubber boot as reproductions (has their logo on it unfortunately). I haven't used one, so I can't say how well it will fit. Not all Walloth&Nesch rubber products are as good as their sheet metal repair patches.

Wealth of knowledge sir! Ordered.

 

[Krzysztof]

What a healthy body parts! I would do the same... repair rubber and have fun driving the car.

Maybe it would be worth to protect by some wax-based body protection (after cleaning)

 

[OTOTOTO]

Next up on “tackle the annoying”. The tar insulation in and around the cowl is absolutely hideous, seal and drain paths full of crud, latches gummy, and fan out. This area really had me on the fence buying this car but decided to pull the trigger and deal with it.

I was generally expecting to find sadness under the tar but surprisingly not bad. The rust I did find seems to be in the dead man’s zone on the passenger side, showing up at the seam between panels. From what I saw behind the glove compartment we’re looking at replacing some panels in there. Nevertheless, once I got all the tar off things were easy to clean up, finally seeing the really unique looking panel overlaps.

The latches; I dropped in a gallon of parts cleaner, which worked pretty well. Once re-installed with a fresh seal they actually hold tension on the hood.

The wiper linkages got a cleaning and quick rattle can coat but will go on the powder coating list for the future. Motor seems strong, unlike my e28 which I had to crack open and regrease.

I got most of the really dirty bits down to the metal before the re-coat, only skipping over the fan housing which I think I’ll have to access from the other side.

While in the area I decided to address the wiper sprayer. It wasn’t seized, but close to it so I went all new with the tank, motor and lines. To unclog the sprayers, I hooked up a hand pump and put some pressure on the line with soapy water until it cleaned out, did the trick! Now it sprays nice and strong.

Last, got a fresh new Bosch fan in and repainted the cover with some matte black SEM paint.

Things to revisit:
- vin # decal is almost faded away, any way to refurb?
- The air filter housing is really close to the firewall, no room for a crossbar and not what I see in other engine bays. It does have Webers but not sure if that’s the cause.
- the vent fan seems to blow air out instead of in, not sure if that’s correct.
- I want to integrate some carbon filters into the vent fan

Once this was complete I went for a much needed drive! Realization I need to have more fun driving. Next stop, interior!

 

[adawil2002]

Usually a lot of ills behind that tar in the engine bay. Looks like you have been lucky so far.

Repro VIN tags are available, I have yet to see anyone get then number stamping to match the original. Could make a vinyl or dry transfer from a repro or a good original.

Vent fan should blow into the cabin, not out.

Highly suggest rebuilding the air control box flaps with new material then integrating a heater bypass valve in the engine bay.

I'm a proponent of paint over powder coating. Paint can be touched up easily. Only things to powder coated are wheels.

 

[Stevehose]

The closest oem match for painting pieces black is SEM satin black #39143

 

[JFENG]

Beautiful work. Great example of rolling restoration work.

“- The air filter housing is really close to the firewall, no room for a crossbar and not what I see in other engine bays. It does have Webers but not sure if that’s the cause”

Some older Weber adapter plates move the housing rearward almost 2”. The adapters sold today put the housing mounting bolt/stud directly over the carb throats. Check yours.

This shows one version that positions the air cleaner for more clearance to the firewall

BMW 2.5 / 2.8 / 3.0 Bavaria x 2 32/36 DGAV | Webcon UK Ltd

BMW 2.5 / 2.8 / 3.0 Bavaria x 2 32/36 DGAV

www.webcon.co.uk

I would not use a version that puts too much hardware over the carb throats (eBay versions).

John

 

[OTOTOTO]

Time to lighten up this interior! One of the first “gifts” I bought Claudia was fresh carpet via Klaus Herman Meyer. It was well worth the wait! I chose Haargarn-Boucle square weave in light grey, feeling it’s a better base color for the future plans I have. The square weave feels quite premium and color is right where I want to. I kind of wish I waited longer to do carpets as this will be a challenge to keep clean, but I generally kept it light with 3m upholstery glue, enough to keep it in place with hopefully to tearing when I go back under.

Before, about 3 weeks ago.

First, shortly before the tear down, the steering wheel. I just wasn’t a fan of the BWA. I much prefer the Petri wheel in wood. Big thanks to @eriknetherlands for sending me one. It fit the bill so I don’t have to stare at the other one any longer. Sorry to the previous owner.

Likely, I will take several passes with the interior. This time was a chance to clean, search for more rust, find out what’s missing/broken, and plan better for the actual build. Like the rest of the car...lots of dust and dirt, now with tree seeds! The insulation was not terrible. The foam blocks in the foot wells were properly broken up but easy to glue back. Center console was ok for the most part. The outer fan cover was broken up but @Markos sent me some 3D files to re-print. Pretty awesome!

.

Unfortunately, a lot of the tunnel and rocker panel carpets tore on its way out, but if anyone wants nice spares, I saved them. I did remove the little metal clips to re-install on the new carpets. All were interacts expect 1! I decided not to tackle insulation. Since I plan to repaint some day. I think I’ll have a better chance of being able to remove it with the existing insulation.

The new carpet was a wonder to work with, perfect match everywhere and easy to work with. I really like the unique look of its overlaps and ease of re-installing new clips. They polished right up with a quick Dremel brush.

The reality of having to keep this clean is setting in.

The big pain of doing all this was getting the old carpet off. The seats and console removal was a lot easier than expected. I remember doing the same with my 5 series and all the fragile 80’s plastic really slowed things down. I absolutely love the detail bits and how they interface a console that looks like it was made in wood shop. The boot leather was pretty torn up so I got a replacement ready to staple in. This time around I’m going to avoid all things radio/HVAC.

The shifter surround had what seemed like a bunch of foam mattress materials torn apart and stuffed down between the transmission and tunnel. I pulled it all out, cleaned, dropped in some Noico insulation and a leftover rubber boot I have from the e28, it seems to fit well and feel nice. I got an eBay shift knob to replace the old cracked one since options out there seem limited, but its pretty awful (should have known), cheap looking, logo off center. I want something like the Garglastic milled ones. Not sure if they’ll fit.

My wife isn’t a fan of the heavy 3 point belt so I got these aviation style retractable ones. (Saving the old ones). These are ok, but didn’t like either style mounting on the ceiling. It cuts across my neck while driving. It look like other years models had them coming out just ahead of the rear armrests, but I haven’t removed any door cards yet.

While in the neighborhood, I pulled and cleaned up the door latches.

The seats are in need of reupholstering, both seeing tears in the leather and both running low on horse hair. I was able to tighten up the bracket a bit which helped the driver seat finally latch down. The passenger size is missing the little rubber surrounds so there is a lot of play in that seat when latched. (At least I think that’s the cause)

All back together and the interior reads much lighter and “floaty”, so far the intent. The square weave shows up well in photos and smells fresh. Engine started up and all things work the same as they did before!

Things to revisit

- loose passenger seat
- find a seat upholsterer
- Audio upgrade plan (I’m a huge fan of hidden speakers, my 5 has a home made spare tire sub and a rear deck delete, may repeat)
- sunroof and headliner refurb
- decide on door card colors
- seat belt redo (again)
- passenger side door wood insert is damaged
- rear deck wood is trashed
- would like to convert all lights to LED

Pretty pictures.

 

[HonaloochieBoogie]

The light gray looks amazing. Well done!

 

[JMinPDX]

Looks Great! Thanks for documenting your work.
I’ll be taking my console apart soon to install Becker Grand Prix

 

[Stan]

Beautiful work. Great example of rolling restoration work.

“- The air filter housing is really close to the firewall, no room for a crossbar and not what I see in other engine bays. It does have Webers but not sure if that’s the cause”

Some older Weber adapter plates move the housing rearward almost 2”. The adapters sold today put the housing mounting bolt/stud directly over the carb throats. Check yours.

This shows one version that positions the air cleaner for more clearance to the firewall

BMW 2.5 / 2.8 / 3.0 Bavaria x 2 32/36 DGAV | Webcon UK Ltd

BMW 2.5 / 2.8 / 3.0 Bavaria x 2 32/36 DGAV

www.webcon.co.uk

I would not use a version that puts too much hardware over the carb throats (eBay versions).

John

A notch in the air filter housing allowed for the Ireland Engineering strut bar to fit.
The Weber Carbruetors still sit a bit high.

 

[OTOTOTO]

Thanks @Stan & @bfeng. I removed the air filter to take a look. I haven’t checked the paperwork for when this was done but the Weber looks tired. Underside looks like it’s leaking oil in spots and on the top end one of the threaded spots are broken off and seems to have been re-tapped. Definitely needs an overhaul, although surprisingly it runs smooth cold and hot. I’m already pretty annoyed the firewall side clip is so close it requires a lot of bending around to remove.

Kind of want to upgrade to tripe Weber but I haven’t looked at the engine enough to plan anything.