It's Summer and it's time to clean the shop...

I've gotten to the point where the garage/shop is such a mess that I HAVE to clean it out. I can't find tools. Parts are missing (when things like door panels go missing, you know you have a problem.... just kidding.). The entire place looks like a tornado hit it. It's time to organize and clean up for a better restoration effort!

On this blog you will find a contest. How many rust marks did I grind out on the driver's side door??? Now, you will note the word "find" because there are possibly more lurking under the paint. I do have a great way to detect even the most minor rust pin points on a car: 1) sand the panel with a flat hand sander (110 grit) to raise up the clearcoat. This will highlight any imperfections on the surface, which is usually the first symptom of rust. 2) take a grinder or better yet, a cutting wheel air tool to grind right down to the steel in each spot. 3) rust treat the entire panel. 4) sand again with the hand flat sander right down to bright steel. 5) treat with "Zinc It" or other zinc primer to galvanize the areas stripped down. 6) resand and glaze as needed to match the finish surface prior to finish prime and paint.


The door photo is shown below:














Okay, there are 163!!!! pit marks on the door! YIKES! Each one was a potential rust hole in this door. All were treated with rust converter and then reground and galvanized with "Zinc It" primer (which is AWESOME! when you sand this stuff, it's like sanding a big zing block.) Can you imagine just leaving this door alone? The resulotion on the pics here is dismal, but let me tell you that each spot was at least 20 mm across by the time I grinded down past the paint and got right to the metal. Rust blossoms and spreads a lot farther than what you can see.

(Update: I've managed to get at least half the shop cleaned up! Wow! I have parts I didn't even know I had!)

Almost done with the Front....

It's been a particulary interesting effort to strip and find as much of that rust as possible. I decided to remove the remaining a/c parts as the compressor was not there. The condensor was easy enough to remove, but all the piping was seized up and I had to resort to breaking it. Now I have room to install the turbo... The rust treatment on the wing panel areas is done and the areas are now primed (zinc) coated with paint and then coated with rubberized undercoating. That should help for next few years.

I have managed to locate a battery relocation kit and K&N air filter retrofit kit, so that will go in once the rebuilding starts. Right now, I have the parts to cut out and install the new sills and front wing panels. I am debating about getting a new air dam (the "while I'm here" syndrome) and trashing the bent existing one. The company that supplies this package is located at: http://www.racetep.com/e21.html

This is for the E21 fans. They also do engine rebuilds/ modifications. Temping, very temping. Okay, back to the rust I mean bodywork...


The car looks like a complete horror with the bonnet removed, side wing panels stripped off and the entire headlight, air dam and other parts removed. I also purchased a new compressor to run the air tools which are so vital to working on the car. Forget drills with stripping wheels! A good air grinder makes fast work on any rust. I was going deaf with the small compressor and I searched high and low on Craigslist (TM) to find a used one. The prices drove me to just buy new and have the warranty in case.

I also ordered a new power antenna for the refurbished radio. I'll let you know how that works out when it comes in. I have to have all these items in and correctly installed prior to close up of the front end.

The battery relocation and new air intake should really help things up front. Then it's tackling the rust UNDER the car.... not looking forward to that, but it has to be done.

That's in Euros, if you please....

My bank managed to help me out with my purchase of parts. It turns out you can't use a debit card to buy things in Germany from the US.... In any case, the problem is solved and the funds are heading to Walloth and Nesch for my parts!! Good thing, I managed to get all those parts off the car on the weekend.

Now back to finding and grinding all that rust off!

Thanks Evelyn and Katie at LNB for helping out!
Maybe I'll make it for crusing nite!

Oh, that's how it comes off!

There's nothing like taking apart a car to find out just how much thought was put into the design and construction of a car. I have always been of the opinion that BMW's of the 70's-early 80's were assembled with at least some logical process.

It's great when you can use a simple socket wrench to take a car apart. I managed to dissasemble the front end and side wing panels along with most other parts with either that wrench or a disciplined ability to pull things apart...



The biggest effort is finding the right tools to "do the job". I have grinding tools (air tools are the best), abrasive wheels (mounted to a drill, 3M make the best ones), or you can use that crazy stripper tool that you see on TV that uses a set of rods mounted to a hub to strip paint and rust. It works pretty well, but you have to be very patient and DEFINITELY wear eye protection!! Some of the wires came off during the agressive stripping process and you need to be clear of those!
Here's a shot of that wonderfull side wing area. I managed to strip the entire surface and rust treat the panel. If I knew that the back of the wheel well was plastic and a separate part, I could have unbolted the wing panel entirely and got it off fast. It still managed to be a standard "here's how be build them" situation. If you can bolt it together, you can take it apart.

Anyone attempting to restore a rusty E21 like I have, you need to get a collection of rust removal tools (strippers, grinders, etc.) and also get a supply of rust treatment chemicals (naval jelly, rust stop spray) along with zinc paint. The zinc paint is critical to the long term treatment of the steel on the car. With sprays like "Zinc It" you can treat the raw panels so that they are basically galvanized.

My experience with treating the rust on this car is that there are specific areas where the rust developed. The main areas (obviously) are the ones where constant water/salt spray/ stones have contacted the car. These are the front end, back of the wheel wells and anywhere the moisture has been allowed to accumulate.

I'll be useing the panels I have pulled off the car to make new metal panels to patch the rusty areas.

Digging Deeper

The last couple of days has had me grinding, sanding, rust treating and glazing. Lather, rinse, repeat.... It is truly amazing how many tiny stone nicks kicked up from the front tires have pitted the doors. As my process of stripping this car continues the "bondo" areas are showing up. I've used it before, but it's like a sponge! The stuff just attracts moisture and in a year or so the area around the patch is rusted out. My method is grind and cut then reweld new steel where you can. Otherwise get replacement panels where the damage just isn't worth spending the time.
So, with that being said. The approach to this restoration rust issue is as follows:
1) grind all rust spots and blistered areas down to bare metal using the air grinding tool;
2) clean off the area with a dry rag;
3) treat area with rust converter (which I trust about as far as I can throw the car);
4) restrip the area to remove any trace about of rust possible and retreat;
5) prime with self-etching primer;
6) resand area and reprime with sandable primer coats;
7) resand to bring out any imperfections in the treated area;
8) use a spare amount of glazing putty to build up the spot;
9) resand and reprime;
10) resand and reglaze as needed;
11) prime smooth areas with new sandable primer;
12) wet sand to remove any defects;
13) spray with a base coat of the preferred new color;
14) perform steps 1-13 on ENTIRE car prior to shipping to paint shop for full repainting.

I didn't mention the cutting out of rotted panels/steeel and welding of new metal, or the other non-body related issues. As far as using those "fillers" for fixing holes, I avoid them like the plauge. I'd rather use steel, grind the flanged edges and use just enough filler to blend the seam. The less the better.

You can find panels at Walloth n. Nesch a fantastic supplier in Germany. You pay about 50% of the cost of parts for shipping, but they have complete panels and parts you can not find anywhere else. http://www.wallothnesch.com/

My order consists of front wing panels (bondo victims), rocker panels (salt victims), and parts for my euro bumpers (YES!).

I know some restorers HATE anything to do with rust, but I found that if you have time and are very thorough you can derust a car, or at least go far enough to delay further corrosion until you can replace or trace those hard-to-get spots.