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Hi all, Adrian here!
As with all of us, I'm a long time lurker who finally got the bug and snagged myself a bmw
My first car was a 2001 vw plane Jane Jetta and that's what I used to learn how to work on my own cars.
Jane was a fine car, great to learn on but as always, I wanted something a little faster and less "pedestrian" but I still wanted a sedan. So began the hunt!
Spent a week scouting the ads and booked a Friday off work and more or less just picked one and hoped for the best! Found something promising, 2001 325i slightly modified on lowering springs, aftermarket double din, meh knock of m3 rims and a few cosmetic things, drove out 2 hours and picked it up. I was pretty much over the moon with excitement and took pictures every gas stop.
Finally got her home around midnight and woke up to this beauty!
Took it out for 3 early morning coffee runs because I couldn't get enough of this thing!
And her first day at work
Started to fool around with the radio, had and still have zero radio signal, but bluetooth works so it can wait
My job is in construction so the thing looks a bit out of place but I dig it anyways...
Then I left it in town while I road tripped for a 2 week vacation >_>
First cosmetic mod finally, I know not much of a "build"
Fixed a common evap leak, stupid lower air hose..
Then I discovered this stupid non sense, one of the four rims is a different offset....
so new rims are now on the list....
more shots because I can't get enough of this car
aaaaaand the problem with working in construction and driving a lowered bmw....
Literally the only entrance to my site for a few months
Fixing PO's bs halo wiring.....
ended up ditching them entirely, both inverters were blown anyways
Lense refresh attempt #1... more on this later
Windy commute to work and these are common to be loose apparently... another item on the list
And more common bmw problems, interior glue isn't the best so the liners sag on EVERY SINGLE PILLAR
Oil level and pressure sensor replacement!
Got the replacement signals, not a fan with how chrome and shiny they are but it is what it is for now,
Then I found these baddies a few minutes away
SOLD!
Specs are 8inch front 9 inch rear. They came with a 235 on the front and 255 on the rear, waaaay too wide to fit. They're from the 5 series, I was told they won't fit but I managed to get a 225/45/17 on them all and they fit nicely, fitment pictures soon! Slightly stretched on the rear but manageable.
Oh, this is a regular occurrence here in Canada btw
annnnnnnnnd then this happened, it was low to begin with, and frozen, didn't notice it was popped until down the road :/
dirty dirty fitment
Finally got to test the new rims!
And yes they rubbed A LOT. I put the 8 inch 235 on temporarily while I sourced the proper rubbers.
Then got some actual summers and proper sizes!
Roof Rack! Which is needed, no folding rear seats sadly...
And finally getting rid of these awful chromed out signals!
Scrap yard $10 special! Kinda got shafted, paid $90 for the chrome set.... Live and learn I guess
So the rack came with a ski holder and two bike holders too! for $100 I'd say it was robbery! Love the used market.
My pathetic attempt at mocking up some wind deflector, because $120 is too much for the real deal imo..
Thought this was pretty cool how the dirt was perfectly spread...
Sticking caliper rebuild!
Oh and this one didn't come with a sun shade mysteriously.... another $10 scrap yard special!
As mentioned before, EVERY PILLAR
And this was gross.
And then I got artsy with it...
Incredibly pleased with how it turned out!
So after several attempts with those refinishing kits and buffing wheels, sandpaper and wet sanding I said to hell with it, hit the lens with 1000 grit sandpaper and then clear coat....
Not sure if I should be mad or happy with the results, after spending literally hours getting no where to just spend 20 minutes doing this and getting results like this! I went and did both the headlights and the fogs, they needed it.
$2 for a trunk lip from the scrapyard! Man I love that place
And this brings us to where I start to care about this car... rust repair. I've never done bondo work or real paint work before so please be gentle on me :s
It still needs wet sanding, clear coat and blending but I don't **** the look to be honest...
Then I uncovered this beast....
And ignored it for now.
You can tell there's bondo but from 20 feet you can't :')
Next side,
Went in a bit too hot... also this stuff was really thick, a lot of built up rust on these fenders.
Yeah way too hot, That's what I get for using a brand new grinder wheel
building up the bondo.... *cringe*
And knocking most of it down,
Oh I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry, a bit of collective brainstorming
recalculating....
And that's where I'm at! Please be easy on me, I know this isn't much of a build just yet but I'm working on it! Advice is welcomed if not encourage honestly! Thanks for your time and I'm excited to hear what you like and don't like about what I've done so far!
Adrian.
As with all of us, I'm a long time lurker who finally got the bug and snagged myself a bmw
My first car was a 2001 vw plane Jane Jetta and that's what I used to learn how to work on my own cars.
Jane was a fine car, great to learn on but as always, I wanted something a little faster and less "pedestrian" but I still wanted a sedan. So began the hunt!
Spent a week scouting the ads and booked a Friday off work and more or less just picked one and hoped for the best! Found something promising, 2001 325i slightly modified on lowering springs, aftermarket double din, meh knock of m3 rims and a few cosmetic things, drove out 2 hours and picked it up. I was pretty much over the moon with excitement and took pictures every gas stop.
Finally got her home around midnight and woke up to this beauty!
Took it out for 3 early morning coffee runs because I couldn't get enough of this thing!
And her first day at work
Started to fool around with the radio, had and still have zero radio signal, but bluetooth works so it can wait
My job is in construction so the thing looks a bit out of place but I dig it anyways...
Then I left it in town while I road tripped for a 2 week vacation >_>
First cosmetic mod finally, I know not much of a "build"
Fixed a common evap leak, stupid lower air hose..
Then I discovered this stupid non sense, one of the four rims is a different offset....
so new rims are now on the list....
more shots because I can't get enough of this car
aaaaaand the problem with working in construction and driving a lowered bmw....
Literally the only entrance to my site for a few months
Fixing PO's bs halo wiring.....
ended up ditching them entirely, both inverters were blown anyways
Lense refresh attempt #1... more on this later
Windy commute to work and these are common to be loose apparently... another item on the list
And more common bmw problems, interior glue isn't the best so the liners sag on EVERY SINGLE PILLAR
Oil level and pressure sensor replacement!
Got the replacement signals, not a fan with how chrome and shiny they are but it is what it is for now,
Then I found these baddies a few minutes away
SOLD!
Specs are 8inch front 9 inch rear. They came with a 235 on the front and 255 on the rear, waaaay too wide to fit. They're from the 5 series, I was told they won't fit but I managed to get a 225/45/17 on them all and they fit nicely, fitment pictures soon! Slightly stretched on the rear but manageable.
Oh, this is a regular occurrence here in Canada btw
annnnnnnnnd then this happened, it was low to begin with, and frozen, didn't notice it was popped until down the road :/
dirty dirty fitment
Finally got to test the new rims!
And yes they rubbed A LOT. I put the 8 inch 235 on temporarily while I sourced the proper rubbers.
Then got some actual summers and proper sizes!
Roof Rack! Which is needed, no folding rear seats sadly...
And finally getting rid of these awful chromed out signals!
Scrap yard $10 special! Kinda got shafted, paid $90 for the chrome set.... Live and learn I guess
So the rack came with a ski holder and two bike holders too! for $100 I'd say it was robbery! Love the used market.
My pathetic attempt at mocking up some wind deflector, because $120 is too much for the real deal imo..
Thought this was pretty cool how the dirt was perfectly spread...
Sticking caliper rebuild!
Oh and this one didn't come with a sun shade mysteriously.... another $10 scrap yard special!
As mentioned before, EVERY PILLAR
And this was gross.
And then I got artsy with it...
Incredibly pleased with how it turned out!
So after several attempts with those refinishing kits and buffing wheels, sandpaper and wet sanding I said to hell with it, hit the lens with 1000 grit sandpaper and then clear coat....
Not sure if I should be mad or happy with the results, after spending literally hours getting no where to just spend 20 minutes doing this and getting results like this! I went and did both the headlights and the fogs, they needed it.
$2 for a trunk lip from the scrapyard! Man I love that place
And this brings us to where I start to care about this car... rust repair. I've never done bondo work or real paint work before so please be gentle on me :s
It still needs wet sanding, clear coat and blending but I don't **** the look to be honest...
Then I uncovered this beast....
And ignored it for now.
You can tell there's bondo but from 20 feet you can't :')
Next side,
Went in a bit too hot... also this stuff was really thick, a lot of built up rust on these fenders.
Yeah way too hot, That's what I get for using a brand new grinder wheel
building up the bondo.... *cringe*
And knocking most of it down,
Oh I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry, a bit of collective brainstorming
recalculating....
And that's where I'm at! Please be easy on me, I know this isn't much of a build just yet but I'm working on it! Advice is welcomed if not encourage honestly! Thanks for your time and I'm excited to hear what you like and don't like about what I've done so far!
Adrian.
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