New e28 = New Member

[Mitkyl]

I recently had to drastically reduce my personal budget, with one benefit: once again owning an e28. Family members and I (my old 'IS' below) have owned several these amazing cars over the years.


I had a month to find my new passion and ended up with this lady back in March:




1983 533i with 133K miles. Apparently, this car is not a stranger to everyone. Last weekend up at Road Atlanta, I met a fellow BMCCA'er who had looked at buying the car. Also, in my many myE28.com visits, I discovered someone else had too: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?p=542194 . In addition to the post’s extra "before" photos, I discovered WKohler's mind-blowing knowledge of these cars.


Title in hand, my automotive obsess'ion' compulsive disorder, A-OCD, kicked in.
- gutted the car
- removed the limo tint
- replaced the deteriorating hood insulation
- seafoamed the engine
- lipo'd the bumpers
- repainted all exterior black plastic items & wheel wells
- vacuumed A/C
- deoxidized and recoated the anodized aluminum items
- steamed the carpets
- borrowed black mats from rental car
- recovered rear deck with a window curtain (turned out great btw)
- new weatherproofing
- installed pair of $125 e30 sport seats (thanks to Blur95 for the brackets)
- clay-barred the paint
- re-dyed the existing pearl beige interior & doodoo brown e30 seats "Acura Tan". I went back and forth on this color but the contrast with the exterior paint (especially in the sun) makes it snap.




A F T E R





Although in love with style-42 wheels, I went up to 16" with a set of e38 wheels. Ideally I would have gone with a little less profile tire, but the existing tires were becoming a safety issue. With the help of Shawn D.'s bad-ass spreadsheet, I was able to marry a set of 16" wheels with some 5% used tires - all for less than a new set of tires. I figure this will buy me some time until I can address the stance.





So that's where I'm at - for now. 1 new e28, 1 less girlfriend. Net result is still in my favor.
Glad to be here.

[MShimon]

Fantastic! Just fantastic! I love your enthusiasm and motivation. Great job on cleaning it back up, I really love how it looks right now. Aaand that paint color is one of my favs. I'd say you are +1 right now for sure. What tire size are you running btw?

[dunnojack]

what kind of dye did you use? i want to redo my interior, but not sure what kind of dye would have the best outcome.

Great clean car man... i'm hoping to do the same for my car too.

[Mitkyl]

Thanks. Is nice to share with folks who can relate. All of my buddies are incredibly NOT automotive people.

I had planned on going with 205/55/16 but when they went to mount them, the tires (Pirelli) had a huge gash. Since I wanted a matching set I went through their inventory and found some 205/*60*/16 (Continentals), that when next to the Pirelli's where very similar in overall height. Plus with Atlanta's steel plate covered roads, I didn't mind one bit.

As far as the dye, I used the SEM leather/vinyl dye aerosol. I think Sandstone is the closest match to the pearl beige, but wanted a little more color. In the pictures above, the front seat shot is in direct sunlight, while the rear seat photo isn't.

[TSMacNeil]

really nice...good job.

[MShimon]

I know what you're talking about, my buddies are not car guys either. That's why I made new friends...jk, but seriously.

[shagrath]

Chose the car over the chick. Nice.

Welcome home.

[tschultz]

The car looks great, I love those manual sport seats.

[dunnojack]

wow, so the dye was just a spray? does it only work if the color's close? i ahve a set of sport seats in brown that i want to make black...

[wkohler]

Another one saved. Well done!!!

[atle36m3]

it was good meeting you at RA... car looks great!

my friend has a burgundyrot e30 sedan, he wanted your car to be the big brother...

[muleskinner]

sho turned out purdee

[desay1]

are you for hire?

[Mitkyl]

Dunnojack - it'll work regardless of the colors. Granted I had to use a little more on the darker seats, since going with a lighter color. Since you are looking to dye them black, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

I think I used two cans per seat, which might have been a little overkill, but balanced out with "peace of mind".

[dunnojack]

Dunnojack - it'll work regardless of the colors. Granted I had to use a little more on the darker seats, since going with a lighter color. Since you are looking to dye them black, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

I think I used two cans per seat, which might have been a little overkill, but balanced out with "peace of mind".

cool, good to know. Does it leave a "crunchy" feeling?

your car is great man... i hope to put in just as much time and effort into mine soon too.

[twin55]

It's nice to see the rhythm of the rain. Btw, Sweet looking car.