Fresh piccies...

[JerseySi]

Been getting busy with the car the last couple of days, thought i'd share them with ya all :D
(Because it's always good to see pics of e34's, right?! That, and it gets my post count up!)



First off - I know it still looks rough - the white patchy bits are primer, not paint - hence the colour not matching (although for standard white primer, it's pretty close!)
There's still a lot of 'bits n pieces' left to do to the bodywork, lots of 'patches' on edges of bodywork where it's obviously been hit too hard with a buffing machine & compund, so it will need a total respray yet - but it's also my daily (& only) driver, and I dont have much 'spare' cash to throw at it, hence work's being done as & when & it gets driven around looking patchy for now..

Before (This was at the car's old home, the day I picked it up):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/102_1851.jpg
After (taken this afternoon):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-02019Large.jpg

[JerseySi]

Damn - too many pics in one post!


Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/102_1852.jpg
After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-02039Large.jpg

Before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/102_1850.jpg
After:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-02017.jpg

[angrypancake]

hot damn thats so much better. cant wait til its finished!

[JerseySi]

hot damn thats so much better. cant wait til its finished!

You & me both mate, you & me both!!

[CharlesAFerg]

Dude, is that a C class?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/102_1852.jpg

[JerseySi]

nope, it's one of these:
http://www.aftonbladet.se/bil/skrivbord/vw-polo-MEDEL.jpg

New shape VW Polo :D

[Phil Sanderson]

...I like the door handles painted out.

regards
Phil

[angrypancake]

next up clear tail lights, shadowline, and 20% window tint :). rock on.

[Evan]

how about some 40% tint!

[JerseySi]

Have thought about clear tail-lights, and to be honest - I'd do it - if i could find some all-clear ones, but with the lights in the right place (if ya know what i mean - ie, not the new style "crystal" one or owt, just std but clear all over :D )
Shadowline being the chrome trim round the windows yea? I did it a while ago, but only with black tape - which is starting to peel off... Gonna spray them black next i think!
Tint? Will go for a 30% "light grey smoke" style - more than 30% and our local police will pull me & tell me to take it off (they're pretty strict over here)

[swenpro]

Jersey, that looks VERY good. I'm especially intrigued by your painted door handles... how did you go about painting those and was it worth it?

[ILoveMPower]

Car looks awesome! Very classy indeed ;)

If you want some clear tails, check out procarparts.com (for DEPOs)

[JerseySi]

Jersey, that looks VERY good. I'm especially intrigued by your painted door handles... how did you go about painting those and was it worth it?

:D I think painted handles suit it well

They, like so many other parts of the car at the moment, are still only in white primer at the moment - like I said, the primer matches quite well really!
I didn't even take them off the car as i remember, just masked very carefully arounds them, making sure the black "seal" was masked too, and the whole surrounding area..
Then was just a case of 3/4 light coats of primer - and presto, done! (so far :D)

When it comes to spraying the car, I'll take them off the doors & do them 'properly' then - until then i reckon they llook fine as they are

Worth doing it (or having it doen)? Definately, in my opinion... That alone makes the car look newer

[Rory525]

That looks great, I love the wheels with the white car :)

I see your from Jersey - lovely place, been there on holiday. Dont the small roads frustrate you though? You need to take it to france / uk to really open her up :)

[JerseySi]

:D Cheers

Yea, it is a really pretty island, Jersey, it's true what they say - the grass is always greener on the other side!
Roads - you get used to the roads, although yea - I'd love to take the BM away! (Haven't done it yet, been too skint)
Small roads, best suited to the likes of tuned Mini's etc, a lot of lanes that are only a couple of feet wider than the 5! Gets 'interesting' at times, although if you know the roads well enough it's pretty cool

[Robin-535im]

Are those rims just the 15" basketweaves w/a fresh paint scheme? The polished lip makes them look like 16"... or did you get E38 basketweaves?

Very nice look. Stock yet sporty.

[Macv]

Very pretty, the only thing that would bother me is the molding under the passenger door. My driver door has a small tear like that and it makes me want to cry. Well .... at least be upset. But anyways your car is looking pretty good! Keep up the good work.

[NY535iManual]

I really dig the black centers on the wheels - looks v. sharp on a white car! Good Luck!

[Incantation]

looks great.. i like how you painted the door handles to match the body colour

[JerseySi]

Cheers everyone for the comments :D
Ideally I'd like to replace all 4 of the trims under the doors, but the drivers door (rhd remember ;) ) is the only one thats torn.. Kinda looks worse now it's been painted white too..

The wheels are standard metric sized e34 rims, tyres are 240/45/415 Michelin MXTs. Thinking logically, I dont really know why i've bothered doing these wheels, when it comes to replacing tyres it'l be as cheap to get new rims too, in a more readily available size!
Ah well, gave me something to do for a few minutes! :D
]A pic of a dirty back wheel...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-06-22001Medium.jpg

[E34 530]

write-up on how you painted the sideskirts now :D .

[we_call_him_doher]

wow what a transformation! If my car was white I would be very jealous of yours.

[HDhandyman]

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/8453/beautifulj7ye.jpg

[JerseySi]

:applause: :D

Someone has too much spare time i see ;)

I Like it!

[JerseySi]

write-up on how you painted the sideskirts now :D .

It's just the standard sill panels, haven't got the plastic skirt kit on it sadly..

Simple really - again, they're stilll just primer at the moment, whole car will get a fresh coat of paint once all the little dings & dents are fixed..
Just a case of masking the bottom of the doors, from just above the black trim line, and letting rip with the rattle-cans :D
(went over the sill panel with some 400-grit sandpaper just to take the shine etc off it first too, and wiped over it with panel wipe to remove dust.. then spray & go :D )

[JerseySi]

Update: More work done

Originally I took all the badges off the boot, BMW badge & all... Decided it didn't look right, so I put the original badge back on (as you see in the pics above)
being the original badge, it was starting to look tatty, paint flaking off etc, so I decided to replace it...
With a small badge - the plastic one from the centre of the steering wheel.. (I had one spare from and old 318) Roughly half the size of the original, I've had to resize the recess that the badge sits in - surprisingly easy with a little filler! Although I didn't get any pics of the process, I think the result is pretty good!
Still wears a BMW badge with pride, I think it looks better & yet still looks 'standard' to someone who doesn't know any better

Bear in mind it's still only in primer, but here's a couple of (moody-lit evening) pics for ya of it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-08016Large.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-08017Large.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-08005Large.jpg
Gratuitous front shot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-08010Large.jpg

[Qube]

What the heck? That boot/trunk badge is so tiny! Are you using a wheel badge instead?

Love the colored door handles btw ;)

EDIT: Nevermind. Reread the text. It's a steering wheel badge heh. Nice work.

.

[Evan]

Nice! You have a great creative mind... let's see some more mods

[JerseySi]

A great creative mind eh? Nice one! hehe

More mods? Hmmm... Well see - I don't wanna start going too crazy (i think) - want it to look like it came from the factory, just want it to look a bit more 'special' that all the others!
I do have a bonnet vent planned - although again, subtle (definately no Imprezza vents or anything!)..
But you'll have to wait & see that one when I get around to it! ;)

[JerseySi]

was bored :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v114/RoverDog/Beemer/2006-07-08-chop2.jpg