First venture into the world of BMW's, lots of E30 questions:

[KaiserRolls]

awesome!!

[Brian.]

I'm liking where this is going.

What color are you painting it? And where are you taking it? I'm half tempted to take my E28 somewhere to get it painted. Setting up my full car booth is a hassle...

[Earl]

This thing will be great=)

[ClassE]

Same color, just fixing some minor body issues. PO had a minor low speed incident with a pole that I want sorted out. Paint appears to be great on this car, but I plan on a good clay bar/buff this weekend to see what I'm working with.

I will only take my paint stuff to Kurt at Inline Autobody here in Oshkosh. He did some work on my white car quite a few years back, and does a killer job. I won't take my paint stuff anywhere else.

Picking up battery and buffing compounds tonight, I think Saturday afternoon I'll be buffing everything out and getting it up in stands to start timing belt/waterpump/etc...

[jc43089]

I use clay from griotsgarage.com it's great stuff, much better than meguiars etc.  Top notch car care stuff.

[ClassE]

I've always used the Meguiars compounds and had no issues. I've gotta find someplace locally to pick up a mid-range cut, I think automotive supply carries it.

Picked up a battery and checked a bunch of electrical stuff last night. Everything seems to work great so far, but I'll reserve my happiness until it's driving.

Getting a battery was kind of a PITA though, made a bunch of calls:

-Advance: "Doesn't carry one for that car"

-Batteries Plus: $120

-NAPA: $120

-Oriellys: $120

-Fleet Farm Appleton: "Doesn't carry one for that car"

-Fleey Farm Oshkosh: $83

Mans Mall it was!!!!

[jc43089]

I'm not saying the Meguiars is bad, just the griotsgarage stuff is really nice.  If its not at fleet farm you don't need it.

[ClassE]

Tomorrow night is gonna be fun! Starting the timing belt, tensioner, waterpump, and thermostat swap so I can drive this thing to paint next week!

Pics to follow as we dig into it!

[ClassE]

Dirty, nasty, stock M20:

Pulling stuff apart to get to timing belt and tensioner:

[Earl]

Whats the bmw color name on the strut tower?

[ClassE]

Got the water pump replaced, and have everything ready to swap timing belt and tensioner..... That'll be tomorrow nights project.

How we left it for the evening:

Thanks to Brian for swinging over and lending a hand!

[ClassE]

"lachssilber-metallic"

[KaiserRolls]

did you ever find a fender?

[ClassE]

Nope, still need one.

[Brian.]

No problem man! I love wrenching on cars. Hit me up whenever, you got my #!

[ClassE]

Bergstroms wants $265 for that passenger front fender. Not super expensive... But not cheap.

[Earl]

How much does certifit want? They would definitely be cheaper and would work as long as the fit is decent.

http://www.certifit.com/Default.aspx?

[ClassE]

They only list the 5-Series on their website when choosing your car. I've got a line on one in Minnesota, just waiting to hear shipping info.

[YoungCR]

If interested I could get you a oem fender for probably $160

[ClassE]

I would take you up on that - but just arranged to have one delivered from Minnesota for $85!!!

Just got into garage, gonna finish up timing belt install and work on reassembly. Then it's just oil change, fuel filter, plugs and start it up!!!

If all goes right, I'll make my paint appointment on Monday!