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Episode 1 of the BMW E30 325i project Car Restoration. In this Episode, I show my progress so far with the project and complete the restoration of the front Struts for the BMW E30.

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Tools & equpitment used:
Quartz Lacquer - https://goo.gl/8PTVKM
Base Coat Paint - https://goo.gl/mWhufG
Rust Remover - https://goo.gl/13gopW
Moldex Full Face Mask - https://goo.gl/NNYGrv
FGL 5 Spray gun - https://goo.gl/Acg5rd
A.N.I. R150-T Mini Spray gun - https://goo.gl/cHTJS2
Colad Washable Overalls - https://goo.gl/3Css9E
Colad Mixing Cups - https://goo.gl/8DYmE8
Colad TurboMix Sticks - https://goo.gl/cYZfks
Colad Synthetic Paint Strainers - https://goo.gl/H79ZgL
Steel wire bits - http://geni.us/keyaD
Rotary Tool - http://geni.us/HGed
Concentrate Degreaser - http://geni.us/yUn9
Mannesmann Socket Set - http://geni.us/HCDZ

In this episode, I bring you up to date with the progress on my E30 that I started two years ago. Due to time and money constraints, I haven't done any work on it in quite a while. That is about to change! Any parts I have already restored before I started YT will be purchased and done again just for you guys. That includes an engine!

Firstly I removed the struts from the car. As I mentioned in the video, the yellow springs are the wrong springs for this car. Someone sent me the wrong ones. So, compressing them was vital as they jacked the car up by about 3 inches and had a lot of pressure built up. Once they were compressed safely I began removing the top mounts, spring mounts, rubbers, discs and protection plates. I needed to put the strut assembly back on the car so I could more easily remove the hub nuts, hubs and cups. I needed to use some heat to loosen one of the nuts and then a puller to remove both hubs.

Once everything else was off the struts, it was time to remove the shock absorbers themselves. This took a lot of time as the nuts were completely stuck. Once removed you could see how worn they actually were. Along with many other parts. Parts that I decide to replace later on. After straightening a few cable mounts on the struts, it was time to blast them to remove any paint and rust.

I then had to weld a hole that was on the bottom of one of the struts and used a belt sander to remove any weld splatter from either me or the factory. It was then time to etch, prime, sand, paint and lacquer the struts. Once all of the new parts had arrived it was time to reassemble the struts with the new parts. Luckily I didn't have to compress the new springs as they were so much shorter than what was in there. I wasn't and still aren't 100% sure what I do with those big long rubbers if I have the dust tubes and bump stops in, they only fit on top of the bump stops, not over. If someone knows if and how they fit in, I would appreciate it if you left it down in the comments. Once I was happy to leave it as it was, I tightened the spring down using a digital torque wrench adaptor. Once the disc protection plates and cups were back on, it was back on the car to attach the new hubs.

Firstly I had to attach the hubs to the discs to be able to get them on the strut shafts more easily. This was still very difficult. I found pushing the hub on a little and then pulling it off, leave the race behind meant that I could then thread the old nut on and center the race, then whack the hub and disc on knowing it's going on straight. It was then a few twists with the impact gun to tighten everything up. I'm waiting for a more power torque wrench to arrive to tighten those to the correct specs. Finally, I had to push two top caps onto the top of the strut assembly. This proved to be the most stressful part of the restoration, they just didn't want to go in. A small amount of heat and they were in. The restoration was complete.

Thanks for watching!

- Disclaimer: I am no professional. I am completely self-taught and would appreciate any feedback, advice or constructive criticism.

I don't add music to these videos so that you can choose to listen to what you like if you would like to.

#BMW #E30 #Restoration

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