Making a thread for my car finally Just updated my local forum thread so this is copy and paste, usernames, places, etc. may not apply here, as well as end few posts might be really irrelevant but I'm posting it anyways it has a few details, anyways deal with it.
Lots of pictures I'll try to explain most of them. Not with too much detail I don't wanna bore you guys to death. Mostly cell phone pics, no real quality shots.
Car is slowly coming along needs the front bumper, nose panel, hood and mirrors all repainted from a bad spray, but it'll get done for free when I have time. Mechanical issues come first in my books, still have a rough idle that I may be able to solve tomorrow, along with only having "semi boosted" brakes as I think a vacuum leak is the issue. Also need to find bolts for the ac compressor as I seemed to have lost them all or at least 2 of the 3 (don't have any idea how but they're gone and its rattling/dangling from the lines) Real oem diagrams are wrong lets see what the dealership tells me tomorrow when I ask haha. Anyways on with the pictures...
If you don't read anything else read this: I did some digging and found all my pictures, my car was not in a recent accident, I'm a great driver I'll let you all know that, at least I think so, I'm going to start from when I purchased the car. It was in an accident from the PO, I bought it cheap, dad's friend owns a body shop and did the work labor for labor trade, all I paid for was paint and parts.
Damage when I bought it, all i have is 4 pictures, this is all damage to the the drivers side in case you're wondering:
Under side of the rocker
Side of rocker
Where rocker meets the fender
Quarter panel, back of door sill and rocker
The night I bought it and got it back to my dads shop, as you can see there was also front end damage, I'll explain the accident how I assume it happened. Yes we slapped a permit on and drove it from Surrey to Abbotsford door roped shut and window closed up with vapor barrier and tuck tape (never use that **** it doesn't come off without good solvents) Follow by my mom in her E39 540i, a mini bimmer convoy if you wanna call it that. No we didn't take the highway, we're not that reckless, I couldn't drive stick at the time so my dad drove, after almost missing our turn and the road having a large 4 way stop my dad figured he would see what the little m42's got power sliding through some gravel on the edge of the road we made it home without a second accident although you really couldn't damage it any worse at that point. Now for any who care my short summary of what I assumed happened was this, I know he was on his way home in the snow (freak snow storm of jan 2011, I'm sure we all remember it) and he said going around a corner he spun out, hitting a light pole, he then drove home "because he was only a few blocks away." A block from his house we noticed a light pole with missing caps on the bolts facing the street and missing white paint on the fire hydrant, which was roughly a couple feet away. Car spun and hit the pole, front end lightly touched the hydrant. Reason the rocker is all ripped to shreds is because he drove it off the pole, the bolts/caps of the bolts, sunk into the rocker and peel it back like a soup can as he tried to be a hero. His loss my gain.
Started taking it all apart to save the body shop extra labor
Rocker section cut out waiting fro new one to be welded in. Dave from bimmerparts helped me out by cutting a rocker section from a ti he had in the yard and shipping that with a door and some other bits to the body shop.
Door and rocker being fitted
Rear bumper removed
Bumper awaiting prep for paint
Then came the paint! Lots of parts were painted but not the entire car, here what was done, both bumpers, rear to color match and lose the two tone, front bumper was an m3 ebay special (probably why the paint didn't bond well), nose panel, hood, entire drivers side, both mirrors (i think unless the paint guy got lazy, and if I remember correctly now I think he did just do one my passenger side is really scuffed), rockers were rock guarded, as in the textured coating and then sprayed body color instead of black (its a 95 no plastic skirts just the sheet metal rockers) to understand the look of the rockers being sprayed with a textured coating you'll have to see them in person, I was unaware it was being done but I actually liked the end result, some of you may not like them, but to each their own.
Paint time! That's not me, its the owner of the body shop checking out his guys work and showing it to me.
More paint
Back at my dad's shop, first time outside after being reassembled
Other side, the non fresh painted side
Lm's as they sat at the time, photo makes them look better than they were, more on that later
Fresh back at home after the work was done
