Alpine e30 progress/build thread
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Thanks guys!
Had a bit of free time the other night so I decided to clean up two of the wheels, they are actually in much better shape than I thought!
It wont take much to make these perfect again! I will be picking up some aircraft paint stripper and the tools I need to take them apart sometime this week so I can really get going
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those look great!!
menards sells aircraft stripper
(save big money)
its like 9 bucks. kind of a rip off
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those look great!!
menards sells aircraft stripper
(save big money)
its like 9 bucks. kind of a rip off
Thanks!
Unfortunately the nearest Menards is 321 miles from me right now according to their website haha, there is an Ace a few blocks away but its like 16 bucks for a 32oz can...
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This the look youre going for?
Eventually yes! For now I am going to keep them as they are (original barrels) and just make them look as mint as I can
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I split two of the wheels so far, the bolts are a pain to remove from the face, spent an afternoon with a block of wood pounding them out only to have two get very stuck so I brought the faces to the shop in the engineering building and pressed them out, much easier. The bolts are very nice stainless so no polishing or anything is needed which is awesome.
Did a bit of archaeology, the faces were originally painted black and then at one point were painted a sparkly purple/pink/red color and then were crappily rattle-canned silver. I have my work cut out for me with the paint stripper
I soaked the nuts from the first wheel in white vinegar for the last three days just for shits and gigs...and it worked like a damn charm! I didn't have a before picture but they were a solid rust color and they are now perfectly bare metal
One wheel has a slight flat spot in one of the lips (it will still hold air just fine, but is visible if you look closely) so I may take that one to a wheel shop to get it straightened before I split it while I work on the others. More updates to come!
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Looks great, what color are you planning on finishing them in?
Thanks! I'm not sure yet, I am split between a bright silver like the ones Earl posted, possibly a gunmetal color, or maybe even a bronze/gold color as I think it could look pretty good on alpine white. I am also debating blacking out the lug area like the older Alpina wheels, I will have to play around with photoshop to see what I ultimately like the most
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I think silver would look the best. If you wanted to be really cool with them. Paint them black and then polish the face. That would leave it black in between the spokes=)
You mean like this?
I think that would look really awesome, in fact that might be my favorite option now. I have until May to get these things done so I can do just about anything haha
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Well, its been a few months since I've done anything, I got aircraft paint remover and have been slowly working on the wheels and man is progress slow. Two are disassembled and I have begun stripping one of the faces but haven't had much time to get it done, hopefully I can get the ball rolling and have them ready to go by the spring.
I am preparing for a massive overhaul weekend on my spring break in March, I've got everything for a full brake job (except the braided stainless lines), brake fluid reservoir grommets are leaking so those will be replaced too, lower oil pan gasket and oil change, rear differential mount, rear shock mounts, trans/diff fluid change with appropriate redline fluids (I have two quarts of royal purple sychromax but have heard a number of negative things so I am going with redline...anyone want to buy the sychromax?), pulling the cluster and fixing the speedo needle since its like 5 mph off, and tie rod ends/front end alignment. This is all in preparation for the 1000 mile drive back to school, should be interesting for sure haha.
Two things:
recommendations on braided stainless brake lines for someone on a budget? Ireland engineering has a full set (DOT approved, teflon lined/braided/coated) for $95 that I am considering
My radiator looks quite old and is possibly original, do E30's have the same radiator failure expectations as e36's? Mine already has a new t-stat/water pump/hoses/fan clutch.
EDIT: Also need to fix the drivers side headlight, wont light when you turn the switch but if you hit it hard enough it will blink, most likely a connection issue.
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I had Royal Purple Synchromax in my g250 and then switched to 50/50 redline d4 and redline 75w-90NS (only because of gear rattle with lightweight flywheel) and it was much quieter, most likely the noise reduction was due to the increased viscosity though. I use Royal Purple XPS oil in the engine though and it is fantastic. Check my build thread for head pics after 45k miles.
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I had Royal Purple Synchromax in my g250 and then switched to 50/50 redline d4 and redline 75w-90NS (only because of gear rattle with lightweight flywheel) and it was much quieter, most likely the noise reduction was due to the increased viscosity though. I use Royal Purple XPS oil in the engine though and it is fantastic. Check my build thread for head pics after 45k miles.
Ive heard much better things about their engine oils (Saw your pics, incredibly clean!) Its more just the synchromax I have heard sub-par things about, it seems to break down/thin out much faster than other equivalents
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Wheels are looking really good and everything too for that matter. Keep up the good work!
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Id spring for some OE non-stainless brake lines and save some money. Thats just me though.
Would the difference not be noticeable? I figured that while I was replacing the lines I might as well upgrade while I'm in there, but if it isn't worth it that would change my mind
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