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Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone was safe and had fun for the holidays!
While many of you were relaxing by the warm fire, spending time with loved ones while in town, I spent the days after Christmas in the cold repairing Lindsey's (my wife) 85 528e. This after she had a tonsilectomy. Fun times to be had by all. Many of you know she got into an accident Friday, Dec. 21. She was following a bit to close and (combined with not having ABS) slid into the back of a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.
We determined that a radiator core support was an order. The frame and bumper were untouched. The hood was too... however the driver side hood latch later seized into the support, so it necessitated bending the original hood to get it off. No worries. A local friend had another for me. Thursday night after Lindsey's surgery, we towed the parts car and drove her car to my buddy's shop/storage facility down the street. May the mayhem begin.
So I used my "project car" which later turned into a parts car to donate it's radiator core support.
So the cutting began.
Whoops. Forgot the drain pan for the water pump.
Chillin. That is Gunther sittin on Vogtlands. Performed that in front of my apartment.
Drilling out the tack welds.
Ready now for her new nose.
Waiting patiently while older sister is getting surgery.
The nose and finally time to put her in place, measure, and weld.
We didn't want to cut away the lower support beam that held the radiator and welded to the frame rails. It wasn't mangled and would have added quite a few hours to our work. Not to mention we decided that the less that needed to get cut and refitted, the less chance there was for failure and misalignment. This night in particular kinda sucked because the welder had started acting out. We found the feed wheel inside had a flat spot. For you welders out there you know this can cause many issues.
We prevailed though.
Almost done! Just some bottom fender repair mount work and putting the panels back together. Everything was already premeasured and outfitted before final welding. We also primered the welds to protect from rust. This was a tough job.
The results. We were tickled to death that this went as well as it did. The weld points were reinforced and the body is structurally in very good shape. Thanks to my friends Matt, Mike, and Robert for the cutting and welding. 4 days of work and tireless nights and days with family on our backs... it finally came out looking pretty good. Now ready for paint for the body. She'll be back.
In the shop
Future plans for the car: I am taking Matt (friend who helped weld) my other set of 16" style 29's for bend and curb repair. They will be powercoated pink, with a black lip, and then have white zebra stripes painted on them. As for the car, we will paint or plasti dip it black, and shadowline the trim white. The bumpers and grilles will remain black.
Other mods:
-magnaflow exhaust
-GC coilovers
-Euro bumpers and trim, exterior and interior
-tint
-e to i swap?
Stay tuned
While many of you were relaxing by the warm fire, spending time with loved ones while in town, I spent the days after Christmas in the cold repairing Lindsey's (my wife) 85 528e. This after she had a tonsilectomy. Fun times to be had by all. Many of you know she got into an accident Friday, Dec. 21. She was following a bit to close and (combined with not having ABS) slid into the back of a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.
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| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
We determined that a radiator core support was an order. The frame and bumper were untouched. The hood was too... however the driver side hood latch later seized into the support, so it necessitated bending the original hood to get it off. No worries. A local friend had another for me. Thursday night after Lindsey's surgery, we towed the parts car and drove her car to my buddy's shop/storage facility down the street. May the mayhem begin.
So I used my "project car" which later turned into a parts car to donate it's radiator core support.
 |
| From Cassandra |
So the cutting began.
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
Whoops. Forgot the drain pan for the water pump.
 |
| From Cassandra |
Chillin. That is Gunther sittin on Vogtlands. Performed that in front of my apartment.
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
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| From Cassandra |
Drilling out the tack welds.
 |
| From Cassandra |
Ready now for her new nose.
 |
| From Cassandra |
Waiting patiently while older sister is getting surgery.
 |
| From Cassandra |
The nose and finally time to put her in place, measure, and weld.
We didn't want to cut away the lower support beam that held the radiator and welded to the frame rails. It wasn't mangled and would have added quite a few hours to our work. Not to mention we decided that the less that needed to get cut and refitted, the less chance there was for failure and misalignment. This night in particular kinda sucked because the welder had started acting out. We found the feed wheel inside had a flat spot. For you welders out there you know this can cause many issues.
We prevailed though.
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
Almost done! Just some bottom fender repair mount work and putting the panels back together. Everything was already premeasured and outfitted before final welding. We also primered the welds to protect from rust. This was a tough job.
 |
| From Cassandra |
The results. We were tickled to death that this went as well as it did. The weld points were reinforced and the body is structurally in very good shape. Thanks to my friends Matt, Mike, and Robert for the cutting and welding. 4 days of work and tireless nights and days with family on our backs... it finally came out looking pretty good. Now ready for paint for the body. She'll be back.
In the shop
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
 |
| From Cassandra |
Future plans for the car: I am taking Matt (friend who helped weld) my other set of 16" style 29's for bend and curb repair. They will be powercoated pink, with a black lip, and then have white zebra stripes painted on them. As for the car, we will paint or plasti dip it black, and shadowline the trim white. The bumpers and grilles will remain black.
Other mods:
-magnaflow exhaust
-GC coilovers
-Euro bumpers and trim, exterior and interior
-tint
-e to i swap?
Stay tuned
?? 
thumbs up for doing something dif.
) T5 straight piped :P, remade inlet pipe + K&N cone, poly mounts. (down and out)
I am particularly proud of my work and the welding and grinding work my homeboys performed on her car. It's why we love cars to begin with.
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