Attn: Welders of Oppo

"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
04/22/2019 at 00:03 • Filed to: unnecessary car shopping without E90M3

I went to see this extremely clean E28 today. The body is straight, the paint is great, the interior is in phenomenal shape, it’s pretty much the most promising E28 I’ve ever seen. 1988 535i, 5 speed. Lachsilber paint, cardinal red leather comfort interior. The only thing wrong with it...is some gnarly rust in a weird place. The shock towers, frame rails, and almost all of the floors are perfect. But the front of the drivers floor is...gone. And there’s a couple holes in the rockers, so I’m really not sure how far the rust goes.

I really want it, and if he comes down significantly from $4500, I might. He’s realistic, and knows this could very well be really extensive repair work. But all the rest of the car is so freakin good.... It’s so rare to see E28s around here in such good shape....apart from that section of floor and rocker.

DISCUSSION (42)

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:08

I vote do it. It looks good from 5mph or 5 feet away, that meets my criteria

gmctavish needs more space > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
04/22/2019 at 00:16

If it was just the holes in the rockers I totally would. But I worry about how structural the floor might be between the frame rail and rocker, and it’s part of the bottom of the firewall as well....

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:24

Yeah if the rest is so good I say save the rest of the car. Just shoot POR 15 up into the holes!

Urambo Tauro > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:29

This might be a good place to start. It’s an E30, but the way he went about welding it back up still applies.

VincentMalamute-Kim > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:29

Run away. If those places are that rusted, there’s rust you can’t see or covered up. If he came down to $800, maybe.

Your boy, BJR > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:30

As a previous rusty BMW owner, run, run far away. The rust is def more extensive than you think and unless he’ll take less than $1000, it won’t be worth it.

gmctavish needs more space > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/22/2019 at 00:37

That’s kind of what I was leaning towards, I’m just not sure how structural the area where that hole is should be. I think someone would have to cut a lot away to find good metal, so I was thinking POR15 in the less bad areas, and some sort of metal or fiberglass patch panel siliconed on the inside of the hole, and then POR15 on the outside.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:38

Heck no. That's just the stuff you *can* see. But if you buy it anyway, you'll have our full support and congratulations!

gmctavish needs more space > Your boy, BJR
04/22/2019 at 00:41

I mean the interior and drivetrain is worth more than that....it’s a good M30, good Getrag 260, and a good LSD. And the interior is seriously mint. But the rust really doesn’t look great in that area

gmctavish needs more space > VincentMalamute-Kim
04/22/2019 at 00:42

All the usual areas are totally rust free, not even bubbling, other than the rockers. It’s just his weird floor spot, I don’t even know how it rusted there, but everything else is good. I just don’t know how far it goes in the rockers, or the drivers floor

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:43

It’s CP at that price absolutely. And unless you are planning on doing much of the metal work yourself (or at least all the interior removal, rust removal and prep and then the reassembly) it may well be economically unsalvageable at any price.

Goggles Pizzano > Your boy, BJR
04/22/2019 at 00:43

Kinja'd!!!

Where some things meet , and another thing needs to meet them . All up in there. No bueno.

gmctavish needs more space > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
04/22/2019 at 00:48

Now that’s what I’m talking about

gmctavish needs more space > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
04/22/2019 at 00:49

That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I’d pay $2500 at most, preferably $2000 or less. Though It’s still less rusty than most E28s anywhere around here, it just has rust in a weird spot.

gmctavish needs more space > Goggles Pizzano
04/22/2019 at 00:50

Yeah....it’s a bad spot to have little to no usable metal. And yet I’d still rather be driving it on the Oppo trip than the Subaru...

Goggles Pizzano > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:51

You might get a few good runs out of it. :-)x

gmctavish needs more space > Goggles Pizzano
04/22/2019 at 00:55

I mean my friend had an 86 535i with no rockers at the bottom, and half the rear shock towers rusted out, and he drove it for like a year and a half before patching the towers. And that thing is still on the road with another owner, so it should have a good run...

VincentMalamute-Kim > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:56

It’s so rare to see E28s around here in such good shape.

It’s not in good shape. Oppo is here to knock you out of your delusions.

I’m a rust expert; lived in Wisconsin. I have an E30 that is actually rust-free; Georgia car. I paid $800 for it due to a broken timing belt and I overpaid.

But that’s fixable (along with the broken rocker arm and a slew of bent valves). Rust is not fixable. It always comes back to cause you heartbreak. You’ll cut / weld so much out of that E28, it’s worth is nowhere near $4500. Questionable even if it was under $1000.

Kinja'd!!!

Buy it for the interior and parts. Get a southern or western car with a clapped out interior.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 00:59

There is this old school stuff. You can layer fiberglass in this shit too, it’s super strong, do not get it on your skin. An old Mercedes restorer I know uses it. He swears by it.

Kinja'd!!!

gmctavish needs more space > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/22/2019 at 01:01

Mmm now that’s what I’m talking about

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 01:04

I used it on part of my Datsun, the rear hatch deck before I got a whole new panel during restoration. I lay fiberglass all across the holes and layered it, mine was mainly to keep exhaust from getting in the back. It basically encapsulates rust amd bonds to it. It’s pretty awesome stuff and the restorer I know says smaller holes are stronger than original with it done properly.

Chariotoflove > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 01:19

A high school buddy of mine had a ‘65 Mustang with the driver’s side floor missing. He just covered it up with a floor mat. Not that I’m giving you advice or anything.

promoted by the color red > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 01:21

This is a very nice parts car. That’s about it.

gmctavish needs more space > promoted by the color red
04/22/2019 at 01:40

Are you thinking it’s that bad? Or do cars not rust much where you are?

gmctavish needs more space > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
04/22/2019 at 01:46

That’s really good to know about, because if I could seal it up without digging into it, I think I’d be happy enough. For a few years at least

Peter Monshizadeh > Urambo Tauro
04/22/2019 at 07:38

But i f I could do it again, I wouldn’t. It takes all the time and then some.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 07:41

Um that first shot looks like a spray foam/bondo mess!

I’ve tackled some pretty heavy steel work, but that looks like a mess someone else has already tried to deal with and failed.

RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 07:42

You just can’t see the rust/bubbles because it has been “fixed” once already judging by the spray foam/bondo in the first pic.

66P1800inpieces > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 08:16

Painting over rust does not make it stronger. See if you can find an exploded view of the body panels in this section. On most unibody cars there are probably three layers there, the inter 1 or two are structural (outer rocker is probably for show), and it looks like all three are rusted through. Look for a southern car. It’s pretty cheap to ship. I have sent stuff from CA to NJ twice and it was $1,100 to $1,200 each time, one was enclosed.

arl > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 08:29

Do you own a welder? Do you know how to weld? Do you have metal forming tools and a garage? Do you have lots of time, patience, and money?

If you do, then I would go for it.

If not, then I would pass.

dumpsterfire! > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 08:32

as others have already said, the rust you can’t see behind the gaping hole will be an issue. another is rust at the jack points .

it’s doable, but not easy, and not likely to be financially viable after. i taught myself to weld, not well, cutting out iron cancer and i was lucky enough to do most of it on less structural areas.

Your boy, BJR > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 09:12

The rust automatically makes the rest of the car worthless. Sure theoretically those are worth more, but who’s got time to part out?

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 10:54

I have told people that know a lot about cars and many have never heard of it. I know and old bush pilot turned Mercedes guru, Kent Bergsma and he gave me a bunch of strips of various fiberglass and I layered them. Fatty first and then a tight weave. I think you let it set a bit and then keep going before it dries completely. You can do as many layers as you want so you could fill some stuff in gaps. It says you can spray it but oh man you do not want this stuff on anything or you! I have por 15 on my Mercedes all in the boot and underneath, the guy I bought it from did a good spray job, this stuff would be even better.

promoted by the color red > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 11:17

Yes to both, though cars closer to the coast had more rust than mine ever did. My V olvo has a touch of floor pan rust and some repairable rust but that was due to the previous owner being a surfer.

That first underbody shot with the lift point having partially broken off scares me. As others have said, rust only gets worse from there. Don’t be David Tracy and try to keep this on the road unless you’re feeling brave or have friends who can help .

Fly to sunny California and buy one of our many dry BMWs without rot. It would probably cost you less in the long run to drive/ship it back than it would to fix whatever’s lurking underneath this one.

Here’s a clean 635csi for $4900:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/chino-hills-1985-bmw-635csi-all/6860032279.html

gmctavish needs more space > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
04/22/2019 at 11:37

It might just be a weird photo, but there was no bondo or anything, that’s the factory undercoating

gmctavish needs more space > 66P1800inpieces
04/22/2019 at 11:39

That’s a whole can of worms I don’t want to get into, for shipping reasons, and also because of the hassle of getting a car inspected to be insured here

gmctavish needs more space > Your boy, BJR
04/22/2019 at 11:41

Hopefully the current owner, it would be a shame for all that to get junked

gmctavish needs more space > promoted by the color red
04/22/2019 at 11:44

I want to like that idea more, but I have no passport, and getting out of province cars to pass inspection to be insured can be a pain in the ass. Not something I could afford to do for a while, and by then I might as well do what I really want, and import a good euro one, if there are even any left for reasonable money a few years from now...

gmctavish needs more space > VincentMalamute-Kim
04/22/2019 at 11:49

What I mean is most of the car is in fantastic shape. The interior looks almost new, the body is straight and the paint is good. And all the normal rust areas are clean, except the front of the rockers, and the very bad spot in the floor.

I guess it is just a really good parts car now, but it’s a shame. If I had space to keep a parts car, I would.

I don’t have a passport, and getting out of province cars inspected here is a hassle

VincentMalamute-Kim > gmctavish needs more space
04/22/2019 at 12:25

What I mean is most of the car is in fantastic shape.

I know what you meant.

There, there. (pats you on the back with sym pathy). You’ll find the love of your life eventually. One w ith less baggage.

Urambo Tauro > Peter Monshizadeh
04/22/2019 at 18:02

Hm. Well it was a valuable experience anyway, and I’m glad you shared it with the rest of us.

Peter Monshizadeh > Urambo Tauro
04/23/2019 at 07:19

Very true, and I’m happy to have been able to share the experience. I do think if the car means enough to someone , then the time/ cost of rust repair can be justified.