Reggie's Motorworks Blog

We Moved!

2009-05-29T16:40:00.003-04:00

We are taking this week to do some of the tedious work required to keep our shop going smoothly. Basic maintenance type of stuff, like organizing bolts and washers.... Lots of fun!

Also, I've been working on getting our website up to spec with a new look. We decided to move the blog to the homepage of reggiesmotorworks.com so you can easily access the news and information we bestow upon the world (wide web) each week! So, check it out!

REGGIESMOTORWORKS.COM

Cars, cars, and more cars!

2009-05-26T16:11:00.022-04:00

The Mecum Auto Auction had plenty of eye candy on display at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on May 13-17. Building after building was lined with hot rods, classic cars, and everything in between. Here are a few that caught our eye.

It would be fun to show up to a driving school in this, especially if you were to tell your instructor "This is my first time doing a school, but I'm awesome at drifting"!

This RV was self-proclaimed "Better than Prevost!"

After the cars ran through the auction block, they had some neon signs available.

Tragically, Mr. Goodwrench has been laid off due to GM cut-backs, so the dealer no longer needed this sign:

We had our eye on this double-sided, lighted gem...but it sold for a little more than we were willing to pay.

It may be hard to see, but check out the grenade gear shift knob!

This display drew plenty of attention. Velvet ropes surrounded the area, as well as some security guards.

Pretty price tag!

It is rare to see this many REAL Shelby cars in one place. On Saturday, two of the Cobra roadsters were marked 1,300,000 - no sale (reserve not met). On Sunday one of these was marked "SOLD"....

This is a 1991 Callaway Speedster, which was #8 of 10 403hp super Corvettes

Now this is what happens when two late 70's corvettes have too much to drink....

After cruising the many buildings, we watched the end of the car auctions and some of the neon sign auctions before calling it a night.

RMW's BMW at IMS

2009-05-22T11:22:00.025-04:00

Wednesday, May 20th was Community Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was also Reggie's birthday! And so we thought it would be fun to take the Baur out for a victory lap around the infamous track. Although the speed limit for this event was 30mph, we only clocked about 10mph, following the drivers in front of us. It really allowed us to take in the scenery and get a little bit of a glimpse of what the Indy drivers see at 230mph!

After our victory lap, we checked out some older race cars that were on display in pit row.

Walking through Gasoline Alley, we saw Scott Dixon signing autographs for some lucky fans.

What every race car driver wants to claim - the BorgWarner trophy!

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Name That Tool!

2009-05-15T13:21:00.017-04:00

Happy Friday!

We've got a little quiz for you called Name That Tool! If you know the name and function of this tool, please leave your answer in the comments for this post! Good Luck!

Thanks for playing Name That Tool!
Have a great weekend!

One Clean Cabriolet, check!

2009-05-08T14:43:00.039-04:00

Two things are certain: (1) It's Friday! and (2) Today's subject is finally ready for some spring and summer roadtrips! It's me, Stephanie, writing again for the blog. After spending a couple of days at the Reggie's Motorworks Spa, it has been kept under our roof due to this rainy spell we've endured. According to tomorrow's forecast, it should be safe to deliver it to its owner, Sean. Finally! As you've witnessed over the past several weeks, Sean's cabrio has come such a long way since we first met her. It's time for a trip down memory lane...sit back, relax, and read on... If you would like a little review first, that's fine, take a look here, here, here, here, and here, then come back to this post for the grand finale.

Long, long ago, Reggie's first shop was in Lawrence, Indiana, in a pole barn occupied by various heating and air conditioning equipment and supplies, a few limousines, and other stuff that the owner had accumulated over the years. Reggie knew the owner through his previous career in the cellular industry. Another friend of Reggie knew he worked on ol' BMW's and gave him a call: a white convertible was on its way to the crusher, did he want to look at it? Reggie had another good friend, Sean, whom he thought might be interested in this car, even though it would need a little work. Ahem, make that a lot of work. Sean said "Yeah, that would be cool." So a deal was made that sealed the fate of this hunk of metal, destined to be just that...only crushed to tiny bits and pieces of metal. Plus, the car only had roughly 86,000 miles on the odometer. The car was towed to Reggie's shop. I remember looking at it thinking this was going to be quite a project. An expensive project at that! I mean, the seats and dash were covered in dirt, dust, and grime, just crumbling away. Trash and debris was strewn about the interior. The top was shredded. As for the paint, I could barely tell the car was supposed to be white. Then Reggie cleaned and buffed just a small section of the hood. Wow! There actually was a nice, clean car hidden underneath! Sean saw its potential too, more so than I did, thank goodness, and he was excited to add this car to his collection. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos in our archives of the car when she was unloaded from the tow truck. The ones we do have were taken once it was cleaned up a bit. The white pole barn in the background is where this all began. You'll notice too that the hood was bent - until Reggie fixed it!

The cabrio became driveable and somewhat presentable. Sean knew that one day he would want to get the interior back in shape, and take care of a few other odds and ends on the car. A couple years went by, and the cabrio was ok, but just not satisfactory. Not even close. Once winter hit, Sean brought his car back to the shop for her makeover. The carpets have been professionally cleaned, check! The seats have been treated with Leatherique's Rejuvenator Oil and Pristine Clean, check! The driver's seat was reconstructed from a white leather seat, re-dyed with Leatherique's Cardinal Red dye, check! And, the seat heater was reinstalled, check! The passenger seat was reconstructed as well from a donor seat with better leather and foam, check! The rust on the driver's side rear quarter panel was removed, repainted, renewed, check! The air-conditioning system has been updated and fully recharged, ready to battle the summer heat, check! The rust in the battery tray and under the grille was remedied and repainted, check! And, of course, this cabrio was treated to some pampering, a la Reggie's Motorworks Spa, check!

So after almost being hauled off for scrap, after all the poking, prodding, welding, cutting, grinding, painting, and cleaning, this cabrio is a true survivor! She's ready to shine, and will no doubt turn some heads on the road very soon, especially with her Euro smilies. Right now, she's got about 93,000 miles clocked, and we're sure she's bound for many, many more. We thought it would be very fitting and fun to get some proper photos of this pretty cabriolet...finally! Without further adieu...I am happy to present this 1988 BMW 325i in all her Alpine weiss glory!

We're very excited to get the keys to this great car back in her driver's hands. Sean has seen the car's progress, but seeing it totally done and ready to hit the pavement will be the icing on the cake. I'm thinking he may have to fight his wife and daughter to drive it first! Well, ok, his wife Kristen is allowed to drive, but Mason will have to wait 16 more years! Be sure to check it out at our Open House on Saturday, June 20th!

Cut, Grind, Weld, Paint: All in a day's work

2009-04-24T17:46:00.116-04:00

Welcome back to another Friday edition of Reggie's Motorworks Blog! Today's entry is coming to you from my perspective, as Reggie's wife, Stephanie. Hopefully what this post lacks in technical detail and graphic design will be made up by way of illustration. Let's take a closer look at the work Reggie's completed so far on the now infamous Alpine weiss cabriolet.

As you may recall, last week's blog left off right here. Unfortunately, rust had its way with this poor section of metal.

Reggie gets his cutting wheel out and lets the sparks fly when removing this rotten area.

Next he smoothes the edges of the rectangular void. Please remember to wear your safety glasses at all times! You'll see there is a little rust behind this area, and Reggie will address this in just a moment.

Here are the various tools used for this portion of the project. Sounds like a day at the dentist, only much louder!

To make sure that pesky rust doesn't find its way back, Reggie paints on some rust treatment. This area is prepped inside and from behind the quarter panel as well.

So now that there is a piece of this cabrio missing, proper replacement metal must be used to make it whole again. As luck would have it, we had this donor door ready and willing to help. Well, as willing as any inanimate object can be. No matter what the case, this 320i door was going to give up a piece of itself to help out a fellow Bimmer. (Yes, I did just have to ask Reggie the model of this door. I'm still learning!)

The rest was pretty easy as far as I could tell. Reggie traced the old rusty piece to get the perfect size pattern for the new patch.

Then I stood back a good distance while he used the handy cutting wheel to send sparks flying.

Now that the rust treatment is pretty well dry back on the cabrio, Reggie can get the newly cut patch lined up and ready to weld in place.

While the patch was being held in place for a moment, Reggie sprayed some self-etching primer in the battery tray and just under the grille area on the front of the car.

Now back to the patch repair while the self-etching primer has a chance to thoroughly dry.
These magnets proved to be quite useful in holding the patch in place as Reggie welded it on to the rest of the car. He first did some tack welds, just enough to be able to remove the magnets and continue welding.

Note: Reggie wears his welding helmet to prevent damage to his vision. It's also important to protect your eyes while photographing such things. I got the camera focused on the area, closed my eyes, and gave Reggie the ok to proceed. As soon as I heard sparks, I pressed the shutter several times.

The surface of the newly patched area was a little bumpy after welding. So all Reggie needed to do was smoothe it out with the grinder. More sparks!

There are a few little valleys that could stand to be filled in. Reggie mixes up some Bondo. This cabrio needed just a little bit of help getting back on track to a smoother, paint-ready surface.

The Bondo was applied to the front and side area of the quarter panel. It doesn't take Bondo long to get set up. It's ready for sanding after about 15 minutes or less. Amazing!

Once the area was satisfactorily sanded, Reggie masked off the area and was one step closer to spraying some paint. Note that there's really not much Bondo left after sanding. Like I said, there were just a few valleys that needed to be filled in. He rolls back the masking tape in a few layers to prevent getting a distinct line when painting. This will help to blend the fresh, new paint with the 21 year old paint. Below the area is masked off and sprayed with self-etching primer.

It's time for the respirator! Reggie mixes up the lovely Alpine weiss paint, along with the proper amount of reducer. Stir it up!

This mixture gets poured through a filter into the jar.

We put a drop cloth over the entire car to prevent any unwanted overspray.

Next Reggie got to work spraying the battery tray under the bonnet, followed by the area under the grille, and then the new area on the quarter panel. Anyone see a pattern here?

And we're back at the driver's side quarter panel, ready for paint.

After just a light sanding to blend the old with the new, the paint looked pretty darn good! Movin' right along!

All that's left to do now is mix up the clearcoat and lay it on. The following photo was taken from the safety of our office. This stuff not only smells horrible (in my opinion!), but it's not advised to be without a respirator when using it or being near it. You guessed it, a shiny round of clearcoat for the battery tray, the area beneath the grille, and, of course, the now invisible patch on the quarter panel.

And here it is...the moment we've all been waiting for...drum roll, please!

Reggie did one heck of a job, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his lucky wife. It really does look great, and I'm so excited to reveal the finished cabrio in a future post! The paint was allowed to cure overnight, and will be ready the next phase. This cabrio will enjoy a relaxing day at the Reggie's Motorworks Spa, with complete detail included. Maybe even a frosty libation with one of those cute little umbrellas too. Ok, now I'm getting carried away. But I do like the idea of a day at the spa...

Rust Repair on our Rescue Convertible, and a New Shop Truck (Wagon)!

2009-04-24T16:35:00.032-04:00

Hello all, Reggie here. This is MY first post. Kipp, my jack-of all trades (web-designer, T-shirt producer, eBay listing writer, and shipping guru) typically handles the blog, along with my wonderful wife/photographer, Stephanie. They have both been taking my experiences in the shop and bringing them to life here on the web.

I want to point out that I am NOT a "trained" professional. I am a former DIY guy that has decided to go "pro" simply meaning that I do this everyday and pay my bills by doing so. The processes I show/describe are ones that I have learned from reading, trying, and believe it or not....watching TV. Most of the projects you see me tackle on this blog are ones that I have done between 0 and 3 times prior. This being said, I can not be responsible for any "less than desired" results if you are using my blog as a how-to guide.

This week I've been doing more work on the 1988 325ic that belongs to my good friend Sean. Just a quick bit of history on this car:

I bought this car back in the summer of '06 for $300 and a scrap Mercedes-Benz 190e. The poor car was literally on the back of a wrecker on its way to be sold for scrap when my towing guy spotted it. He told the scraper that I may be interested in buying it, so brought it by and a deal was made. I purchased the car on Sean's Birthday, and he since happened to already have an '87 325is track car in the same color combo, it seemed like a sign that he should own it. It had around 86,000 miles on it, but it had sat outside for a long time. We've been piecing it back together ever since. We will be calling it done after this last extended stay at RMW, so you will see the final results next week.

For now, we have some rust repair to do!!

Here are the three areas I will be addressing: the battery tray (up front on a convertible)/frame rail, the top of the valance - just under the grille, and the left quarter panel - in front of the wheel and above the rocker.

First I remove the battery and any attached brackets/wiring to expose the majority of the damage:

Next I use a combination of wire wheels and sanding discs on die-grinders to remove most of the scaly rust.

Next I use "Rust Prep" to stop the rust in its tracks. The bottle in the photo is of a product that I have used with decent results, but in the later repairs you will see that I have switched to a Permatex brand product that I like much better. All of these do the same thing. They chemically convert the rust left behind into a black paint-ready surface that will not continue to corrode.

After reading the direction on these products, I find it is necessary to leave them for 24 hours before paint. For this particular project, I will be painting over the pitted metal, as the battery will be sitting on top of it. In an area that is more visible, I would top-coat with a body filler (or replace the bad metal) before painting.

Here are some photos of the prep work on the other areas. All of the work is similar, although the other areas will be sanded and smoothed out much more before paint.

Here is that panel below the kidney grille. As you can see it needed a bit of straightening before the rust could be removed. I sand this with 120, 220, then 400 grit papers to get a nice smooth finish to prime over.

Sadly, this area was "repaired" by a "professional" body man less than 8 months ago!! When I went to grind away the big bubble, water splashed me in the face. He just sanded it down a bit and spread some putty on it. As you can see in the photos, this was THROUGH rust that came from the back side. In my experience, you can get by with body filler on pitted rust if it starts on the exterior (if well-prepped), but if it's coming from the back it won't work at all.

Initially I thought I'd be able to weld these holes shut, but some prodding with my pick made it clear that the back of this metal was badly corroded and the rust would continue to eat away at this section.

At this point, it's time to start cutting, and I am out of time for posting.

In the meantime, what do you think of our new shop truck?! Its a 1980 Volvo 245 (wagon). It's got 342K on the clock, and has plenty of character. My decision to buy this old girl is part inspired by the "rat-rod" or survivor car scene, and part inspired by the fact that I see an awful lot of you e30 guys rolling up in Volvos to pick up your parts. I plan to keep this old beater pretty much as-is, aside from replacing some suspension/maintenance parts. This will hold me over until I have time to chop up an e30 for a pick-up truck project!!

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!!

text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHwf3b6tSI/AAAAAAAABBs/-x-yyQ5kZW4/s1600-h/DSC_6032.JPG"></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> \<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHwUraryjI/AAAAAAAABBk/ML6xlAbvc5s/s1600-h/DSC_6074.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHwURZlXkI/AAAAAAAABBc/HppnblejxlY/s1600-h/DSC_5982.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHwUDRllTI/AAAAAAAABBU/aihoBuSMTxI/s1600-h/DSC_5992.JPG"></a> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHv7rX1WqI/AAAAAAAABBM/lnL1F8izy_g/s1600-h/DSC_6041.JPG"></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHvpto99fI/AAAAAAAABBE/_F9mU8PZJcM/s1600-h/DSC_6074.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHvpUXEcWI/AAAAAAAABA8/piVSgR5Vc4s/s1600-h/DSC_6099.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHvpQYOpkI/AAAAAAAABA0/cryewoCmPTI/s1600-h/DSC_6100.JPG"></a> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHvN95iknI/AAAAAAAABAs/Fah4TgkernI/s1600-h/DSC_6108.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHvNsRV0BI/AAAAAAAABAk/Lu_aJcCSTZo/s1600-h/DSC_6110.JPG"></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHum5b-fgI/AAAAAAAABAc/5-vGdkSAGx8/s1600-h/DSC_6128.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHumnOFiMI/AAAAAAAABAU/m3dDvNQ4pl8/s1600-h/DSC_6127.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHumZ66AHI/AAAAAAAABAM/NPyLlqte3eI/s1600-h/DSC_6118.JPG"></a> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHog66-LAI/AAAAAAAAA_s/0wN1H_ZSP10/s1600-h/DSC_6168.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_LbE2qaJr37Q/SfHo0cKKDiI/AAAAAAAAA_0/FLbIed9cWms/s1600-h/DSC_6173.JPG"></a> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div></

Reconditioning an Engine 101

2009-04-17T14:51:00.011-04:00

We received a call awhile back from Barri Stallworth, a great customer that was in somewhat of a tight spot. He said his 88 325i convertible was in the shop, and it needed a new engine. The German mechanic, wanting to make sure the car was absolutely tip-top, insisted on ordering a refurbished motor from BMW to the tune of $4500+... Yikes! We all know the M20 engines are fine for 200+ thousand miles, and our e30's don't exactly hold enough value for most of us to justify an engine in this price range, so we fixed Barri up with a very nice used/partially reconditioned engine for his cabrio.

Luckily we had just pulled the same engine from an '87 325is! The engine was running very well when we pulled it, but we like to do things right the first time, so we started to inspect it. After pulling the valve cover, we found that one of the old style head bolts had broken off. This could likely lead to a head gasket failure in the future, even with the head bolts replaced. At this point we decided to remove the head and have it checked out and reconditioned. On top of that, we offered our services in making the whole engine a little easier on the eyes with some detailing and powdercoating!

We pulled the dirty thing a part and sent the head and some of the top end bits off to the machinist for inspection, rebuild, and a good ultrasonic cleaning. Think of it as a baptism for your car's soul!

We pulled a head kit gasket set and head bolts (we sell this as a complete kit HERE). Important to get new head bolts since the OEM bolts stretch when you install them (the technical term is "torque to yield"). If your M20 engine has head bolts with hex heads heads, you may want to look into swapping them for the newer torx style bolts. Not all of the hex head bolts fail, but it is fairly common. We've had two engines in the shop in the last 6 months wioth broken head bolts. Both of these engines happended to have "Ribe" brand bolts (the brand is embossed on the head). We've not seen any other brands have this issue, but some will say any hex head bolt should be updated.

While the top half was at the machinist, we focused on the bottom half. The mileage on the motor is considerably low, at about 130k. The cylinder bores looked pretty fresh. So we just gave it a good cleaning and then a refinish on the outside using Dupli-Color Ceramic Engine Enamel.

Now the block is all tidy, and we got our head back from Kevin at Head Solutions. As usual we are quite happy with his work!

Now for assembly. As stated before we used all new gaskets for the top end. Of course, following the torque specs and sequence covered in the Bentley repair manual. We put both the bottom end and the head at TDC (top dead center). If you do not have the lower timing cover on to find the make on the shortblock, just put piston #1 at the very top of its stroke.

We installed a new water pump and a new timing belt. The water pump was a must, for two reasons. A. we had no idea how old the other one was, and B. The cooling systems on the 6-cylinder e30's changed in 1988 (the year of the car where this engine will be installed), using a slightly different water pump.

Next we put our freshly powdercoated valve cover, intake manifold, and timing covers on there!

So, if you're ever in a pickle and have a tech telling you to order a new engine from BMW... give us a call. We'll get you setup with a nicely redone M20 that will make all the local E30 guys jealous!

Grooming Black Beauty - Light Touch-up Work!

2009-04-10T10:02:00.011-04:00

When Anna Sewell penned the final pages of her final novel, BLACK BEAUTY, she had not a notion of what influence it would have on pop-culture. Afterall, Black Beauty has become synonymous with romantic yet dark, subtle elegance. Needless to say, applying the age-old moniker to this 325ix might be an audacious claim, but we like to think of these old Bimmers in the same regards as Sewell's 1877 literary debut, as a CLASSIC.. a modern classic. That being said, maintaining the grandeur of such a modern classic is of great importance to us and a challenge we gladly accept!

Doing touch-up on these aged automobiles is a delicate process, especially on Diamond Schwarz Metallic! Getting the new paint to match the 20 year old vintage can be... well.. touchy. With the right tools and knowledge, however, it can be done in a relatively painless process.

We left last week, documenting the prep work, spraying the the basecoat, and starting the clear. The clear coat came out like most clear coats initially: glossy, but with a foggy edge from overspray. This is where the delicate process becomes even more precarious.. Wetsanding and Buffing.

Depending on the area, wetsanding takes a little finesse, as you want the amount of clear coat taken off to be even across that area, as well as blend with the current clear coat on the car. In some areas of the car, following the contour can be tricky. For this, we are using a fine 1500-grit sand paper. Same process as before, but with a finer sand paper for a smoother, finished surface.

The final buff, is a 2-stage process we like to use by 3M. We start with a cutting pad and rubbing compound. Part of the 3M Perfect-It Kit. Starting with a large cutting pad we attack the clear, gradually working our way to the smaller cutting pad. This helps to blend the clear coats together. Like most refinishing you start more aggressive and graduate to a softer touch. Finally, we move to a polishing pad, broadening our coverage, and subtly blending and smoothing the surface.

After a good polishing and washing, we took the car out for some photos in the sun.

Details of the touch-up:

As you can see in the above photo, we've had our hands full this week with general maintenance on customer cars. With 3 different 325ix sedans coming through, if we did have a ranch we'd be set on AWD transport! For some reason, keeping these hard-to-find 325ix on the road is a particularly favored pleasure.. We can't help but love these would-be-workhorses!

Upcoming projects include (but are not limited to):

RUST REPAIR!
M20 Engine (partial) Assembly!

Happy Motoring!

The return of Black Beauty

2009-04-03T17:57:00.022-04:00

Happy Friday! We hope you've been enjoying the latest posts about the white over red cabrio, and we'll be back soon with a wrap-up on that project, along with a little history about how our friend Sean acquired it. You won't want to miss it!

And now for this week's installment, we would like to introduce Black Beauty, who is in need of a little TLC. Our clients, a father and son team, own this week's blog subject - 1990 325ix in Diamond Schwarz Metallic. This all wheel drive black beauty was in need of a few paint touch ups. A few scratches and chips is about all that keeps this four-wheeled stallion from stampeding down the way in a blur. We will address the following areas: the driver's side door and fender, the passenger's side door and fender, and the edge of the bonnet. There were a few other small areas that needed attention, so we took care of those as well while we were at it.

(Driver's side fender and door)

(Passenger's side and bonnet)

Using some 400-grit sandpaper and a bottle of water and a little dish soap, we remove any old touch up paint in these areas. This also gives the paint a little "tooth" so the new paint will stick. We must be very careful so as not to get down to bare metal.

Unfortunately, we ran into this very situation along the edge of the bonnet, but fear not! All we have to do is spray on some self-etching primer before applying the base coat. We used SEM self-etching primer after masking off all areas to be primed. The tape protects the rest of the car from any overspray. A little lacquer thinner was applied to further clean the areas before applying the touch up paint.

Quick, light, even coats of primer are applied to all of Black Beauty's spots. (By the way, we named the car for purposes of this blog, just for fun. You might agree when you see this paint! And maybe this name will stick.) Once the primer was applied to our satisfaction and allowed to dry thoroughly, we used 600-grit sandpaper and water to blend the area. We started with 1500-grit, but decided the 600-grit was the way to go. It was a little more aggressive, and did not cut into the paint too much. Again, we had to be careful not to blend the primer down too far, or you run the risk of starting the whole process over!

We mixed up our base coat after assembling the airbrush. We mixed the paint 50-50 with reducer. It's important to read all instructions carefully so you know exactly how to find your paint to reducer ratio. We admit that we actually mixed a little (ok, a lot!) more than we needed for this project, but that's beside the point. We didn't have a proper stir stick, such as a popsicle stick, but the gasket scraper we found worked like a charm! Next, we filter the concoction into the jar, and we're ready to spray!

The basecoat dries flat, and once we get the clearcoat applied, the sheen will be back to match the rest of the car.

Safety Note: It is imperative to wear a proper respirator when painting. And, again, read all instructions on the cans of paint, reducer, and hardener carefully. Our project called for us to mix 2 parts clear coat to 1 part hardener. After mixing way more than we needed (again!), we filtered it into another jar, and set off to spray.

Stay tuned for the final showing of Black Beauty.

How to hog-tie cattle...

2009-03-27T09:36:00.020-04:00

Great day here at the Reggie's Motorworks Ranch. Stephanie, our resident photographer, got handy with the lens and snapped some photos of our soon-to-be-parted 2002, alongside the Baur. Truthfully it's not a ranch at all, but when working with old cowhide, we like to use our imagination.

We are quite smitten with the finished product, so we are going to share exactly how we got it to this point. As stated before, we diluted the dye quite a bit. So it took a couple coats. We let the dye do it's thing; our own way of branding our cattle, if you will. Now it is time for reassembly.

Our passenger seat turned out very well, no assembly required. The driver's seat on the other hand, will be our guinea pig for today's writeup, as we are piecing it together from several different seats.

Here is a summary of what exactly it is we are doing:

Remove upholstery from passenger seat frame
Install heating elements to center section of seats
Piece together driver seat from dyed seat parts
Install on to working driver seat frame

If you've not spent a lot of time doing reupholstery, it might seem a bit intimidating to start. Really all you need is the proper tools, and a mite of determination. We stopped by the local Tractor Supply to pick up some hog rings, and the proper pliers to manipulate them. We're getting closer and closer to our ranchhand dreams every day...

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here... first comes disassembly. We have to remove the bolsters from each seat frame. For this we simply cut the hog rings in the back, like before. Pull the leather off of the foam, and the foam slides off the frame. Then we transfer it to the other frame. If you have a choice of donor seat parts, you'll want to choose the best foam. We put a little spray adhesive on the frame, under the foam to keep it snug.

Time to slide on that dyed hide. This is going to take a little extra care, since we are switching frames. We will be cutting holes in the leather for each of the seat controls, keeping in mind that the bolster will be tightened once attached to the frame. To attach the leather to the frame, we slide the outside to the prongs on the frame, then bend them down. We used a hammer for this part. Now might be a good time to take out some frustration... but not too much. Don't want to damage the recently replenished leather!

Finally, we saddle up and play with some hog-rings. It's really quite simple. Everything should be in order, based on the previous disassembly. We pull the leather down and slip the rings through the holes, making sure they are around the metal bar inside the leather, then around the seat frame. Then we take our special hog-ring pliers to close them tight.

With all the bolsters in their correct place, we need to install the seat bottom. However, before that is done we need to install the working heating element. We start by removing the staples on the side of the seat, opening a sort of envelope in the seats. Then slide the heating elements in, paying close attention to the wiring so they are not damaged. We tested them by hooking them up to a battery, and they work wonderfully. Now we are a go for resealing and installation. We reattach the leather around the seat bottom using staples or hog-rings to keep it taught.

We are ready for the final bit of assembly. Sport seats have a convenient adjustable thigh bolster for under your legs. This needs to be put back on track, located on the bottom of the seat. Get the hog rings out, and attach the leather to the frame. Get the hammer out, there are more prongs that need fixed. Finally we begin assembling the frame and mechanisms, attach the seat back and cables, and we're good to go!

Now we dust off our boots, and take a gander at what we have accomplished...
(click them... they get bigger!)

BEFORE

AFTER

We're going to clean up, do some detail work - including some touch up (oops) - and install these cardinals. We'll be back.

All photos courtesy of Stewart Imagery

You can poke a cow, but can you sand it?? We think yes..

2009-03-20T13:05:00.017-04:00

We thought since our seats are getting a nice sunbath, we might as well get to enjoy the sun as well. The weather has been really nice recently and driving the Euro 318 Baur/TC has been a real treat! What's even more exciting about nice weather is the motivation that comes with it to get the cabrio in tip-top(less) shape! Now back to the good stuff...

Below: Cardinal Red seat
after Leatherique treatment,
before prep/dye

After allowing the Rejuvenator Oil a good soak, we brought them back in and got the Pristine Clean ready. Essentially, the same theory applies with Pristine Clean. Using a spray bottle, we coat the seat evenly. Then, using a cloth rag of some sort, wipe the Pristine Clean of the seats. The way the process works is really quite interesting. The Rejuvenator Oil permeates the pores in the leather, giving it some life, at the same time floating all the dirt that has settled in these 20+ year old seats. Since we are doing a dye process on these seats, it is especially important to get all the Oil off the seat. If you are working with extremely tough leather, you will want to repeat this process to your desired level of rejuvenation.

Donor seats to be made into a complete driver seat.

Now that all of our leather has been given the Leatherique treatment, it is time for prepping and dying. As you can see in some of our pictures, we have a couple of Lotus White seats that were taken from a '92 Cabrio. These are being used for "donor" seats. They have been nearly lost to neglect, but we didn't give up hope and decided the white would be a great "blank canvas" for matching the original Cardinal Red interior.

To prep the seats for dye we need the Leatherique Prepping agent, 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper, Leatherique crack filler, and of course the Leatherique dye. We can supply most OEM BMW interior colors by request!

Since we are mixing and matching various color seats and seat parts, we are going to disassemble a good portion of the donor seats to ensure we cover all the little corners adequately.

Start by removing trim. For the rear section, the side lever trim must be removed first. This is very easy to do using a screw driver to pry them off of the lever. Next, we remove the two screws at the bottom of the back of the seat on each side. After that it is a simple pull out (from the bottom) then a push upwards to slide off the retainer clips at the top. Once the rear cover is off you will see where the hinge/recliner mechanism mounts to the rear section.

We are removing the side bolsters and seat bottom from the driver seat and replacing them with the re-dyed bolsters and seat bottom (from the donor seats), then transferring this to the driver seat frame. It sounds pretty intense, but we feel the finished product will reward such work!

To disassemble the bulk of the seat, we start by pulling the leather from the metal tabs at the top of the seat frame. Then cut the hog rings in the back of the bolsters. Voila, one very bare driver seat, anxiously awaiting surgery.

I bet you never thought you would take a piece of sand-paper to your fine German Leather interior, especially in attempts to restore it! However, the concept is fundamentally the same as re-painting a car. The original finish needs to be broken down, in order for the new coat to fully adhere/absorb to the leather. Depending on the condition of the leather, the sanding will take a bit of finesse. As you can see, these Lotus White seats have seen better days. We even found evidence of a prior re-dye. The leather is as tough and dirty as a cowboy. Since we ain't no cowpokin' ranch hands, we want a little more supple seat in our BMW. Also, since we are changing the color entirely, they will need quite a bit of atten tion. For less worn seats, just a light pass of the sandpaper should do.

If you have ever wet-sanded a car, you'll know exactly what you're doing. Basically the sand-paper will need to be wet to allow it to evenly break down the surface of the leather as you work along the entire length of the seat. We are using 320-grit and 400-grit wet/dry sand paper and a sponge block to really go at these seats. We keep the paper good and wet, avoiding the stitching. (Sand-paper and 20 year old thread do not mix well.) We then apply a good bit of prepping agent and start wiping. You'll notice a lot of the old dye is just wiping away at this point. This is good news! For severely hard/dirty leather, another application of Rejuvenator Oil/Pristine clean is needed after sanding. Since the leather is that much more porous post-attack, the Rejuvenator Oil will soak into the leather very quickly.

We decided to do this black seat out of a 325es while we were at it!

Now that we have a good surface to work with, it is time we fill those evil cracks. Again, depending on the condition of the leather, this can be quick and easy, or a little bit more time consuming for the really ratty seats. We like to think of it as "bondo for seats." We apply the filler in small amounts, then smooth it out with a business card. It is vital that this be done with discretion as we don't want to build up too much on the surface. We start with the deepest cracks and work from there. In some areas, building up the filler with multiple layers/coats is needed. Once the crack filler has dried, (6 hours or more, depending on the amount) we take a finer grit sand paper and lightly smooth out any uneven areas.

The leather is rejuvenated, the cracks are filled, all the prep work is done. It is finally time to dye these little gems! In the past we have used brushes, mostly to touch up faded areas or cracks that have been filled. We even used a brush to do the entire seat once. A good finished product can be had using these tools. However, can end up blotchy or streaky if you're not careful. So this time we opted to go with an airbrush. The dye is mixed about 40/60 dye-to-distilled water, allowing for a good flow. This will take several coats though. Again, this process is similar to that of painting a car. Thin even coats across the entirety of the leather. Start with the areas that need most attention like filled cracks and crevices.

We've finished the first few coats. We're going to let them dry and see if more is needed. Check back next week for the assembly and finished product!

Down but not out!

2009-03-13T15:49:00.014-04:00

A long time friend of ours, Sean, has had this Alpine White convertible for some time. He mostly keeps it for cruising those hot summer nights. Over the years we’ve gone through almost every corner of this little cabrio. Slowly but surely, we are turning it in to one fine example of what a classic Bimmer should be. Today, we are finally giving some attention to the once plush Cardinal Red interior.

If you’re not familiar with the e30 Cabriolet, they’ve got some pretty unique characteristics. For example, every cabrio came with a Sport interior from the factory. On top of that, the sport seats, with their extra large bolsters for keeping you from flying off the edge of your seat, have horizontal stitching (instead of vertical like coupes). If the devil’s in the details, this is one HELL of a car! Needless to say, keeping up such a fine interior is key to maintaining the appeal and value of these beauties. Unfortunately, they are often neglected and left in the sun with the top down, open to the elements, etc. Luckily, we discovered a great tool for restoring, and more importantly, maintaining interiors of such pedigree.

Leatherique is a process that is really quite easy to do if you have some down time.

We're going to great extents to take care of our friend's car. Including filling cracked leather, dying, and repairing these old seats. However, if you're seats are not quite as weathered, the two-step Leatherique system is a breeze! Find it here in our store, it even comes with instructions!

THE PLAN!

Repair/replace heating elements, bolsters, and mechanics using parts from donor seats
Apply Leatherique to all leather parts
Dye both front seats
Replace rear seat with a re-upholstered vinyl seat

This process begins with a little prep work. Now, it is possible to do this with the seats still in the car, but with all the work we are doing to these, we find it easier to take them out. First step is to clean the seats. We use an air hose to blow out all the bits from the seats as well as go over them thoroughly with a vacuum. While you are at it, you should blow out debris from the mechanical parts and spray them with white lithium grease, or similar lubricant. This is an important step, as these seats will actually malfunction if they are not kept clean and lubricated. I have “fixed” several seats that had issues with the backs not sta

ying latched into place by simply cleaning and lubricating these mechanisms, so don't be shy!

Next we apply the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil. We find it quite handy to use a spray nozzle to coat the seat surface evenly. Now it's time to put on some gloves and get a little oily. To really get the full effect, the oil needs to be rubbed into the leather quite generously.

Once the seats have been fully immersed in Rejuvenator Oil, they will need to sit for several hours to completely absorb the oil. We like to cover them with plastic bags so that they can be handled/moved easily. We then place the seats in the sun or under a hot lamp of sorts to allow a decent amount of heat to permeate the leather. Covering the seats with bags, also helps protect the seats in this step, so they are not in direct light. If you are leaving the seats in your car, you can easily park your car in the sun with the windows up to create a sort of "sauna" for the leather.

We're going to let these seats soak in the sun while we work on the next project. Check back later as we go over the rest of the Leatherique process, and try to get this gem of a cabrio shined up a bit. We'll also be covering other interesting BImmer projects such as the '69 2002, and potentially a [gasp] ~~e30 325 pickup truck~~...

We're blogging!

2009-03-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

Friday, March 6, 2009

Welcome to Reggie's Motorworks' Blog! The purpose of this blog is to keep all of you enthusiasts and Bimmer fans updated on the latest projects we're working on. And do we have some great stuff lined up! It's going to be a very exciting and very busy 2009!

Everybody loves Fridays, so we're going to make them even better by sharing a little taste of what's new at Reggie's Motorworks. Here on the blog you will find everything from how we do fairly easy projects, like restoring your leather interior, to step-by-step outlines of complete renovation of these modern classics, the e30, and more. Click on the link on the right to subscribe for updates. Feel free to leave comments and ask questions.

Be sure to check our website for more information.
Back to work. Stay tuned for more!