| imaradiostar |
Posted
Thursday, Sep 27th 10:14pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1081
Nashville, TN
81 323i, 82 525i, 85 524td, 90 535i |
It seems the time comes in every person's life when you have to take stock and prioritize- this time for me is now. I love my little 323i but it's starting to rust away to nothingness and I've got other things that have to get done- a California 2002 that's being fixed up to be sold, a daily-driver rabbit ground-up rebuild (future Maine winter beater), a hand made boat...and staying married!
I'm driving the 323i up to my parent's house in Pennsylvania where I'll park the car in their concrete floored (and mostly climate controlled) barn with plastic beneath and on top of it. I'm going to put a fuel stabilizer in the gas tank at the last fillup before parking the car and probably put some of those moisture-absorbing buckets with the silicate material on the floor and in the trunk. I'll probably put the battery in the trunk of my 524td (which I just bought from my grandfather) and take it back to Tennessee where it can power the rabbit in a few months.
Any suggestions on how to curb rust while the thing sits over the winter? Any other ideas of things I can do to preserve the car? I'd like to bring it back to Tennessee in early spring but it depends on the status of other projects. If I don't have the boat and the rabbit done I won't have the space to bring it back and it'll sit a while longer- maybe till the following fall when I can get it media blasted and epoxy primed.
To make things even more painful I've got a second cylinder head at the machine shop right now with a 283 cam and metric mechanic valve springs ready to be installed, hopefully this weekend. I'm really gonna miss my little car!
jamie |
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| MayanArch |
Posted
Friday, Sep 28th 2:29am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1399
Florida, USA
Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978 |
My suggestion.......have someone in Philly pull it apart and box and bag all the parts in an organized fashion. DO you have someone you trust...that will work for cheap and do it slowly over time?
The best way to prevent rust is to blast it away...cut it away....and repaint. I think there is only one cost effective way to do that.....pull the entire car apart.
You are either going to pay a body shop to do all the pull-apart and put-together work and pay through the nose.........or you and a friend can do it slowly and have noghting but a shell to work on.
You can then find someone to blast the car for about $250 to $350.......prime it....and repaint it for a small fraction of what it would cost to do it normally.......and with no chance of spray getting where you dont want it.
It is the long and arduous way of doing things.........but I highly regret the money I put into my Baur prior to this rebuild. It was all a waste to try to fix a thing here and a thing there.
The costly things are storage and labor to do things with a fast turn around for a shop. You have all the storage and time in the world.....so take advantage of it. Dont just let your car sit and decay. Make use of the time....throw someone a few bucks to pull it apart and box and bag the parts.
If you are mechanically sound, and dont want to spend the money.....then leave the subframes intact and just unbolt them from the body.
In my opinion, a musty carpet and dirt and grime are just as bad as humidity when it comes to causing rust. Pull that interior if it is dirty and musty. Get all those dead leaves out from the nooks and crannys.
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| chupchup |
Posted
Friday, Sep 28th 4:03pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 248
Singapore
320m20 |
Yeah if there is rust on the car, the rust will just eat the car away when you cold storage it, and then everything elese will just freeze up....the FI, engine, bearings etc.
The point about musty carpets is very valid....
Gd luck and have fun.... |
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| JJG323 |
Posted
Saturday, Sep 29th 3:41pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1334
Reading MA USA
1979 BMW 323i |
Ray put his away and left the forum.
Dont leave |
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| imaradiostar |
Posted
Saturday, Sep 29th 11:01pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1082
Nashville, TN
81 323i, 82 525i, 85 524td, 90 535i |
thanks for the tips guys. I figured parked in a dry barn should be better for the car than being driven around during a miserable rainy Nashville winter. The car shouldn't be put away for too long- I have a feeling I'm going to want to drive it again as soon as possible.
I've had the carpet out of the car recently and done some body repairs in various areas so I'm not that worried about moisture. Next summer/fall I'm going to strip the car down to the bare frame and have it media blasted.
Anyway...too much to do.
jamie |
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| chupchup |
Posted
Tuesday, Oct 2nd 6:26pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 252
Singapore
320m20 |
You can always use a "carcoon". another way is to coat your car with "steelgard" or similar stuff - NOT WD40!! |
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