Alright, let’s talk about this bmw-303 project I got myself into. It wasn’t planned, really. Just sort of happened. Found this old E30 sedan, looked pretty sad, sitting under a tarp for who knows how long. Thought, “Yeah, I can save this.” Famous last words, right?
First thing was dragging it back to my garage. That itself was a whole ordeal. Flat tires, seized brakes. Had to use skates under the wheels. Once inside, the real fun began. Pulled off the tarp, and wow. More rust than actual car in some places. Interior smelled like wet dog and old socks. Definitely needed a full strip-down.
The Teardown Phase
So, I started taking things apart. Everything. Seats out, carpet out (or what was left of it), dash out. Bagged and tagged every screw, every clip. You learn real quick to stay organized, otherwise, you’ll never get it back together. Found some interesting stuff under the seats – old coins, a fossilized french fry. Classic.
The engine bay was next. Pulled the M20 engine and transmission. Greasy, grimy mess. Spent days just cleaning parts with degreaser and a wire brush. My hands were stained black for weeks. Found the usual suspects:
- Leaky gaskets everywhere.
- Cracked hoses.
- Wiring harness looked chewed up in spots. Mice, probably.
Honestly, seeing it all laid out in pieces, I had that moment of “What have I done?”. Looked like a bomb went off in my garage.
Tackling the Rust Monster
Bodywork. Ugh. This was the part I dreaded. The floor pans were swiss cheese. Rocker panels? Gone. Wheel arches? Crusty. Got out the angle grinder and started cutting out the bad metal. Sparks flying everywhere. Felt like a battlefield surgeon, cutting away the disease.
Learned to weld on this project. Bought a cheap MIG welder. Watched a bunch of videos, practiced on scrap metal. My first welds looked like pigeon droppings. Seriously bad. But eventually, I got the hang of it. Started patching in new metal. Floor pans first, then the rockers. Slow, tedious work. Measure twice, cut once, weld, grind, repeat. Forever.
Then came the prep for paint. Sanding. So. Much. Sanding. Stripped it down to bare metal in most spots. Skim coat of filler here and there to smooth things out. More sanding. Primer. More sanding. Felt like I was losing my fingerprints.
Mechanical Bits and Putting it Back
While the bodywork was slowly progressing, I tackled the engine. Decided on a basic refresh. New gaskets, timing belt, water pump, hoses. Cleaned the injectors. Nothing too crazy, just wanted it reliable. The transmission seemed okay, just needed new fluid and seals.
Getting parts was sometimes a pain. Some stuff is easy to find for these old BMWs, other bits are like hunting for unicorn tears. Spent hours scrolling through forums and classifieds (the old-school kind, not fancy websites). Found a decent wiring harness from a partout.
Reassembly is where you really test your patience and your labeling system. Started putting the suspension back together with new bushings. Bolted the engine and transmission back in. Slowly, slowly, it started looking like a car again. Hooking up the wiring was nerve-wracking. So many connectors. Prayed I didn’t mix anything up.
Interior went back in after a deep clean and some repairs. Found some used seats in better condition. New carpet. It actually started smelling decent inside.
Finally got it to a point where it could start. Turned the key… and nothing. Just clicks. Typical. Traced the wiring, found a bad ground. Fixed that. Turned the key again… and it sputtered to life! Rough, but running. Huge relief.
Still lots to do. Needs proper paint, sorting out the final bits and pieces. But yeah, that’s the bmw-303 story so far. It’s been a grind, learned a ton, cursed a lot. But seeing it come back from the dead? Pretty satisfying.
