Car: BMW E3 2500
Colour: Black

History:
Restored for a friend of mine
Superficially this car didn't look bad, it had had new front wings fitted, but they just hid the horrors underneath, as with all BMW's of this era, the boot floor and lower rear quarters also needed attention

Thoughts:
This was a cool car and great fun to drive, even though it only had a 3 speed auto box

Rust had also started around each of the trim clips

Stone chips all ground down to bare metal

Lower rear quarters removed

Part boot floor also affected by rust around the lower quarter

This is what lay hidden under the recently fitted front wings

same on both sides

End of sill and lower corner of the rear door also affected

Other side lower corner just the same, I have seen this so many times on E21's, CS's and 02's of the same era

Petrol tank removed for obvious reasons

New homemade panels let in

Same area cleaned up and primered ready for paint

New Lower corner let in, these were the only new panels bought, all others were homemade

Lots of work needed to the front end

All the welding complete now for the paint preparation, with a black car like this with big flat sides the preparation is critical for a good finish.

It was better to strip the front valance to bare metal to deal with all the minor rust spots

After primering and flatting, minor imperfections being filled again, I always block sand car panels as this gives a truer finish

The finished job, owner was very happy

All the hard work in the preparation stages pays off