Alpine e30 progress/build thread
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Picked up the car from the tow lot it was sitting in today
Finally got a good look at the damage, it really doesn't look horrible, definitely fixable. It'll just take a bit of work,,,
Top of the core support is pushed back about 3 inches, the valence is touching the drivers front wheel as well. I'm hoping to get all of the junk panels pulled off in the next few days to see what kind of structural work will be needed.
I'm hoping to use this as an opportunity to really get some good work done. I'm planning on painting the entire car, removing the AC because the condenser is trashed and it never worked anyway, doing a fan delete and installing an electric fan (my aux fan is destroyed), and a whole host of other things. The goal is to have a better car than before the accident, I'm definitely not letting this one end up in a junkyard.
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Took off work yesterday and used my morning to dig into the E30 a bit:
^ Here are some close-ups of the majority of the damage. I didn't have a big enough torx bit to get the bumper off so I can't get a good look at the frame rail yet but it looks straight with only a bit of deformation at the very end. I got the fender/bumper/hood off and was able to bend the valence away from the wheel far enough to allow it to turn freely. I also pulled out the fan shroud and was able to bend the AC condenser and radiator back into 'place' so that I could safely run the engine. I drove it around the block and the engine runs great, suspension is straight and it stops straight as well, so that is a good sign.
The ABS pump looks like it took a decent hit, so I may delete the ABS, although I am not sure about that one yet.
\On an interesting note, I found the main lense from my ellipsoid headlight, its bigger than I expected.
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Picked up this from andyhundley last weekend:
I'm going to use the body panels/trim pieces to repair my 318is, and then over time replace those panels and build this into something cool down the road.
I also got the bumper off to get a good look at the structure underneath.
Here is a top down view and a comparison to the undamaged side:
I also managed to get a mint OEM euro rear plate filler for a good price on r3v!
I'm hopefully going to be able to pick up the pace soon
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I wish I was making progress, but I haven't. I'm looking for a good body shop to replace the core support and pull the rest of the structure straight so all the panels line up properly. If anyone knows of a reputable shop that does quality work around Milwaukee that would take on this job please let me know!
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Got the car running again this morning, had to jump it and it was tough to start (the old gas probably didn't help) but once it warmed up it ran great. I was prepping it to drive over to the concours/umanksy body shop for an estimate, looks like I'll be able to do it in the next week or two. Drove it around the block a few times and it got me excited/motivated about getting it back on the road again!
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Moved into a new garage over the weekend! My old one was barely big enough for my car and I couldn't even put my toolbox in there. I finally found and signed a nice 2.5 car garage and moved the car there on Sunday. All I have to do now is organize all my parts and get the electricity hooked up and I'll be ready to dig into this thing. Also, I sold the '92 vert on Saturday night so I have one less thing in the way of me working on this.
Hasn't seen the light of day in a while...
Tons of space and outlets everywhere! Can't wait to finally have the space to really do what I want with this thing and fix it myself. My goal is to have the car back on the road by the E30 picnic next summer.
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The local active E30 population seems to be thinning out a bit compared to 4-5 years ago. I look forward to having another e30 back on the road. Will a particular power-adder be involved in this winters work?
Me too! I really miss driving mine. The M3 is quick and fun but it's not the same. Right now, the plans are to repair the sheet metal and rebuild the suspension/drivetrain front and rear. The main goal is just to have a solid running and driving car with straight body work by the picnic. I want to get it back to a straight/functional E30 and get it into a few auto-crosses, etc. in the start of the season. Following that though, the plan is to get it running on megasquirt in N/A form, and then start pursuing the particular power-adder you speak of.
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ooo nice you found a garage! looks like a good one, too. can't wait to see updates. are you considering a removal core support with the rebuild?
Dan
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