Brian,

Have fun. All that bodywork stuff looks and sounds very familiar to me. I don't envy you one little bit. Get a firm quote from your bodyshop before you let them get stuck into it.

When are you planning to have it back together again?

Peter

Hi,

a proffesional has done all the work (scuttle, sunroof, above numberplate etc. etc.) 2 weeks ago, now we are waiting for the bloody windscreen, BMW said it should only take 3 days, now we are 3 weeks further  (and over here in Holland it is very sunny at the moment, so even more: )

Regards Joep

Hi Brian, I've been busy too....my Evo2

Excuse the poor picture quality!

BMG M3 wrote: That's cheating Paul! You have a workshop and lift How's the bodywork on the Evo2,any rust ?

Yes, plenty!  I'll start another topic in a few days with some close up shots.

Having the workshop and 2 poster lift is a great help to say the least! Looks like you are soon going to run out of room.

Join the club!

Spent last week stripping the Ewok, getting rid of all the sound deadening and cleaning it up prior to spraying, but have found some worriying things underneath all that foam and plastic

Firstly the foot wells were totally sodden with water and although there only appears to be surface rust on the metal, there must be some kind of water leak from the bulkhead. Wouldn't have thought it was the scuttle since this was fixed by ML not too long ago.

Most worrying part is the roof though... It appears that at some point in its life it has taken a really bad knock (possible roll?). Where the passenger seat belt pillar meets the roof is buckled and is suffering very badly from rust (which you can see coming through the sunroof) and there's a lot of filler above this area instead of metal

Other than that, the rest of the car is quite good

I dont quite get why these cars rust so badly... I mean my dad's old Audi 80 Sport ('83) never had a problem... but I'm guessing that's because Audi starting galvanising cars way before even BMW?

Brian, I know what you mean.....something looks very minimal, untill you attack it with a screwdriver, then you've got a hole almost the size of your fist!!  Not only does the plastic panels hide a multitude of sines, but also the factory sealer and underseal.

Good work though....keep going! Don't think about how you're gonna feel when putting it back together, I am sure there are many of us who will help when we can  I hope so anyway!

It will be worth it in the end. I think your plan to have the shell blast cleaned, at least in some areas, looks like a good one.

I am very impressed with all the tags on the wiring loom.

My one bit of advice is that you should keep up with labelling and bagging up every item and its fasteners. I thought that I had done this in enough detail but still found bits that I could not easily identify when putting it all back together.

Peter

Hello Brian,

Awesome task you have there. Just finishing the Alpina so know what you are in for. If you need any help with the heavier items, give me a call. Only to happy to help.

Starting project M2 shortly, so I`m sure there will be lots of tinworm as well.

Take your time, and your efforts will be rewarded, and take lots of Photo`s. They become inspriations when you can see from where you have progressed.

Brian, youre a good navigator round the ring so you are welcome anytime to jump in.

Regards,

Dave

Brain,

that looks like a mamoth task mate but keep at it, the car will be fantastic when you have finished.

Sunny

Its being done by a friend of mine who would have done my SE if I thought he could handle my fussyness. But he wanted to have a go, and I have seen his work....as good as the SE finish. Its SGH Bodyworks in Bristol. I will pm you his number if you want it.

I have to say that my Evo 2 didn't look too bad, even with all the parts stripped off it, but removing the paint has shown even more nastyness. It has already had a back panel at some stage in its life, but the one on there has corroded under the rear bumper. Also the rear wings where they join onto the rear panel has corroded too. So I may buy new rear wing half sections and ask him to cut and use to replace the corroded parts. Its gonna take some work, but it'll be worth the hassle.

On a note about the SE, CVS in Cirencester did the bodywork. The finish is superb, but the top coat they used marks so bl**dy easily. We are going to use a different top coat for the Evo2.

I will post some pics once on my PC.

Here you go Brian.....

The last pic is taken from outside the car (OSR behind bumper) looking in at battery tray in boot!!

Its having a new bonnet, scuttle, rear panel, lower rear wing sections, outer door sills (NOT covers!), and "UK" front wings for now. The roof and rear wings had little or no filler but the scuttle was full of fibreglass. There is some nastyness under where the fusebox goes, Uwe was right with this one, it has a hole! Didn't become apparent untill removing the sealer under the NSF inner wheel arch. There is some cracking to the bulkhead too so the shell will be put on a jig, pulled in line if needed (doubt it), welded and strengthened where it had cracked.

I never intended to go this far with this one, as it was supposed to be an everyday driver/engine/management project car, but it should turn out as good, if not better than my black SE. I can't wait to get it back on the road.....me is missing it.  And I now have a C/F Airbox to go on too

Now on the look out for a replica Evo3 rear spoiler and flap.

Also, has anyone got a genuine Evo2 lower rear spoiler too? The one on this one was a cheap fibreglass copy and broke when removing.

Well, I was going to get it blasted, but when I turned up last week, the lads had already put about 3 gallons of paint stripper on it, so now I guess I will leave them to carry on with what they are doing. Underneath is as good as the SE was if you can remember what it looked like underneath?

Mine too has a hole on the nsr where the jack and tools are kept, although nothing like the osr. The scuttle is gone in 4 places. But judging by the amount of paint that came off, its been re-sprayed a few times I reckon. I was suprised however of the lack of dents in it. There was one bit of filler above the nsr wheel arch. Looks like a shopping trolley accident. Its a very straight car - honestly!

As to the SE, I am pleased with the finish....but maintaining it is a nightmare! We are going to used different paint and top coat with the Evo2. Apparently there is a very hard top coat out that is very resistant to scratching. Its expensive, but I'm looking at it.

Good luck with your's too Brian, these cars are very good at hiding all sorts of nastyness. Looking at yours and my Evo2, you would have never have knew how much rust can actually be there.

Great thread lads, you find out something new every day, keep the pics coming.

Brian, this is just the things I found on my Evo2, although not so bad at the strutt tops, although someone has repaired these in the past.

With areas that have been "sealed" from the factory, it is very deceptive, as when you remove this sealer you can find nastyness as you have. It makes you wonder what would be left if the shell was acid dipped or shot blasted.  

Mine has halted for now untill next month as the bodyshop is bust with other work, and I havn't had the time off work to do anymore to it.

I also still have the sunroof-less roof panel too if you would like it?

Brian, hows your project comming along. Mine is nearly done now Nearly 2 and a half years later  and alot of grief from said bodyshop.

After all that time I am looking forward to getting it back up and running, but not looking forward to the time between now and then... its just been sooo long I stripped it. I am sure bits have gone astray, missing, thrown out etc.

You live and learn.

respect to you guys. keep up the good work.

in the words of an ex alcoholic(namely me) one day at a time.

look forward to seeing them finished.

then you can come start mine.

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