1978 e21 m20 turbo swap, AKA What did I get myself into

[jc43089]

Take pic of passenger side, then switch seats to take pic of drivers side?  I have dark blue seats in my vert that are in good shape if you are looking for a temporary solution to take some pics but I don't want to sell them.  What about high quality seat covers like bavauto sells?  They install nicely and don't look like covers.  They are kinda pricey but in this case would be well worth it.

[wasnt m3]

What color is the interior?

[bfinley]

John, I'll text you. If I could borrow one for a short period of time. I have every intention of setting if there and taking a picture... When I can afford to buy seats I'll get sparcos... I'll check BAV

Other then that it's a tan interior

[wasnt m3]

I might have some mint tan e30 sport seats for sale after this weekend, if you're interested.

[RamRod E28]

I have some tan cloth seat covers off the e28 they seem like they'd fit over ur frames

[jockhater2]

bfinley said:

Does anyone have a drivers seat that isn't torn?

My insurance decided that it cant be insured as a "classic" with the cracked dash and torn seat.... so that they can jump my premium from 100 dollars a year to 560 a year...

I'm going to make the dash at least look fixed... but I don't have a seat to put in.

I have my stock seats. I have recaro's in. So I have no use for the stock seats. They are up in the rafters of my 2nd garage. I can check for tears if you would be interested. They are black. I have both. I may have a bench for the rear as well.

[jockhater2]

bfinley said:

Does anyone have a drivers seat that isn't torn?

My insurance decided that it cant be insured as a "classic" with the cracked dash and torn seat.... so that they can jump my premium from 100 dollars a year to 560 a year...

I'm going to make the dash at least look fixed... but I don't have a seat to put in.

bfinley said:

Does anyone have a drivers seat that isn't torn?

My insurance decided that it cant be insured as a "classic" with the cracked dash and torn seat.... so that they can jump my premium from 100 dollars a year to 560 a year...

I'm going to make the dash at least look fixed... but I don't have a seat to put in.

I have hobbyist plates. But how do you go about getting the insurance company to insure the car as a classic?

[bfinley]

wasnt m3 said:

I might have some mint tan e30 sport seats for sale after this weekend, if you're interested.

Could I get pictures price and location?

[bfinley]

jockhater2 said:

I have hobbyist plates. But how do you go about getting the insurance company to insure the car as a classic?

Mine has Minnesota collector plates... And I guess that based on age and condition they have a classic level of coverage for cars that don't get driven often...

[jockhater2]

bfinley said:

Mine has Minnesota collector plates... And I guess that based on age and condition they have a classic level of coverage for cars that don't get driven often...

I am going to look into that. I've owned my 320i restored since 2007. And have been driving it since 2009. I have only put on 9k for miles.

[bfinley]

Well I went to the shop to pull the seats

Guess I got a little carried away

Still need to get that layer or black tar paper stuff up but it got cold in the shop and I switched to helping my buddy Damien ruin the fenders on his subaru to fit a set of wheels, more to come tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone that offered seats, I won't be trying to outwit the insurance company just yet

[bfinley]

Spent some more time scraping up that tar and poking holes in the floor...

I'll be ordering new floor pans this week, any suggestions on an affordable quality welders?

[jc43089]

I have a Hobart handler 135.  120V and can do mig/flux core.  Works great, look for a used one.  Or you can borrow mine but I don't have a gas bottle yet.

[bfinley]

^

That is on the list of options, I think some of the guys might be buying a shop welder. Or I might bite the bullet and buy the whole thing myself...

No new pictures, put the car up on jack stands so I can start disassembling and getting ready to pull the motor.

I found a source for floor pans, planning to order those today or tomorrow.

My shopmates have issued a 200 day build challenge to get the car done by the campus Automotive Enthusiast Club fall show...

Gonna be a lot of sleepless weekends to pull thAt off but it's doable

[RamRod E28]

I'll join u for the show with the e28 and I'll even give a helping hand!

[Rowleym]

I also have that mig welder. The Hobart handler series is a perfect little mig welder. I don't use gas with it(flux core) because I only use it for simple stuff, and tig everything else.

[bfinley]

Currently waiting for the rest of my shopmates to show up then head to Dubuque to buy a Hobart handler 140.

I had an epiphany last night as I was about to buy the outrageously expensive floor pans. I'm going to build them myself. Sheet steel and tubing is cheap. And I've got the time might as well save the money for things that are harder to do on my own.

My parents are in town today so I have to wait till Sunday to spent some time in the shop getting up the last of the black tar paper, unbolting the exhaust, making cardboard patterns of the needed steel plates...

[bfinley]

Ramze46 said:

I'll join u for the show with the e28 and I'll even give a helping hand!

I'll take you up on that!

[bfinley]

Decided to get the Handler 190 since we have 220 power in the shop.

Had to get it set up and run some beads on a piece of scrap laying around

[jc43089]

Awesome!  Key to flux core welding is the distance/stickout from the gun to the workpiece.  Too much or too little will not weld well, get it right and it works awesome.  Just experiment with different settings and stickout lengths.  If it is like mine there are some rough guidelines on the inside of the wire spool door for voltage/wire speed/stickout.