Alpine e30 progress/build thread

[m42b32]

I'll have to give lifting it a shot haha... I think the right thing to do is pull the motor now since its so much less work in the long run. My goal of back on the road by spring might not happen but it will be totally worth it.

[Earl]

Going through and doing all of the seals on an m42 does take long as long as you aren't repainting absolutely everything...lol

[m42b32]

Earl said:

Going through and doing all of the seals on an m42 does take long as long as you aren't repainting absolutely everything...lol

I probably won't be going as in depth as you have haha. Just planning to fix some leaks and repaint a lot of the major stuff so it looks nicer. I'm mostly planning to work on the engine bay, since it'll be easier to pull the wiper linkage and fix the cowl damage, run new brake lines to delete the ABS pump, and generally clean up the whole thing since it's pretty nasty.

[jc43089]

Be careful, my car is a shell because it made sense to "do it all at once"...

[m42b32]

jc43089 said:

Be careful, my car is a shell because it made sense to "do it all at once"... 

That's definitely a concern of mine, but I'm ok with this turning into a longer term project. I've been planning this car in my head for a number of years and over the last few months decided that now is as good a time as ever to get started on it.

[KaiserRolls]

m42b32 said:

jc43089 said:

Be careful, my car is a shell because it made sense to "do it all at once"... 

That's definitely a concern of mine, but I'm ok with this turning into a longer term project. I've been planning this car in my head for a number of years and over the last few months decided that now is as good a time as ever to get started on it.

It's a good feeling when you get shit squared away and have the time to do what you want to your "fun" car

[straight6pwr]

but an e30 stuck in a garage is an e30 not being driven! its needs to be a balance, for sure.

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

but an e30 stuck in a garage is an e30 not being driven! its needs to be a balance, for sure.

For the last year the car has been a wrecked e30 which is definitely worse than an in-progress e30! I'm hoping to have it back on the road, at least for a little while, next summer. The initial plan was have it ready the minute the snow melts but I think, with pulling the engine, I'll say mid to late summer is a goal.

[KaiserRolls]

When I re did mine over the last two winters I missed a few of the larger events I really wanted to go. I convinced myself that doing it right the first time would be worth it. When the stars aligned and I got to autox at road America on good tires it all made sense. That one event was worth it, the car felt awesome. Especially knowing you had done it all yourself. Even if it's going to be a daily cruiser or weekend warrior. Just knowing that you did it right the first time is great

[m42b32]

Been making some minor progress, worked on Wednesday but cut it short because it was 15 degrees in the garage...Got the rear section of the exhaust out (crappy muffler was welded to the hangers, what a PITA to get off) popped out the o2 sensor, about to drop the mid-section when I decided I liked not having hypothermia.

Also started tearing down the front struts to clean and repaint

They already have VAC sway bar mount reinforcments welded on, and on closer inspection I found a nice surprise:

I didn't notice them initially because they are a bit crusty and blend in really well, but there are a pair of fixed camber plates attached to the strut mounts that I had no idea were there. I love little surprises like these. They seem pretty simple to swap in and out, so it will be interesting to see what they do to the handling once the car is back on the road.

[Jdesign]

Thats cool! It looks like something from when the car was still somewhat new.

[straight6pwr]

its going be hard to remove those hex key bolts from the rust!

[KaiserRolls]

straight6pwr said:

its going be hard to remove those hex key bolts from the rust!

Kroil

Heat

Swear

Kroil

Heat

Swear

Kroil

Heat

Swear

Try ratchet

Starts to strip

Try again

It loosens

Try again

IT STRIPS

DRILL IT OUT

THROW PLATES IN TRASH

rethink life

[m42b32]

straight6pwr said:

its going be hard to remove those hex key bolts from the rust!

That was my thoughts at first too, but if you look closely they are actually welded to the plate around the edges. The strut tops had the original studs punched out and then the camber plate installs through the resulting holes. There are some rusty nyloc nuts on the back that I can hopefully get off without too much trouble. Worst case scenario, I snap a screw and carry out the last two lines of Kaiser's post...

[HipMF]

Haven't been following this thread too closely, but reading the last couple pages, it looks like you're on the right track. Good to see you're saving the car. Wish I would have had the time and resources to do something with mine after I crashed it.

[patsbimmer1]

Inductive tools work wonders!  I've used this one personally and for anyone who spends any large amount of time working on old or rusty cars this is a lifesaver!

[Jdesign]

patsbimmer1 said:

Inductive tools work wonders!  I've used this one personally and for anyone who spends any large amount of time working on old or rusty cars this is a lifesaver!

Well thats interesting. I have never seen such a thing.

[m42b32]

Those are incredible! I got to use one when I was replacing the control arms on my e36. They seem to be quite expensive but the ability to heat nuts and bolts without heating everything around it is probably worth it. Maybe some day...

[straight6pwr]

works better than a torch?

[andyhundley]

Those flame less torches are great.