Larger projects . . .

This BMW E36 convertible, as you can see from the photo, suffered quite a substantial thump. The nearside inner wing and chassis leg had totally collapsed. The nearside floor plan had bowed downwards as a result of the impact on the nearside front leg. As you can see the passenger door had curled outwards, the offside leg had been pulled around to the passenger side and the bulk head had been pushed back into the car. The front sub-frame was twisted, power steering rack destroyed, along with most of the front suspension. The offside rear suspension had also suffered an impact on the offside wheel, damagin the lower arm. The car had sat outside for some 12 months or so, with nobody paying any attention to it. The fuse box, which is located just infront of the passenger bulk head, was completely obliterated. The engine also had a hole in the sump, the cam cover was damaged, power steering pump and alternator were also wrecked. You're obviously thinking what we were... "Total loss", and you'd be 100% right.

However, as we've been involved with the repair of these cars for some years, we've acquired a large number of parts and panels. It was in a conversation with two friends, who were later to pay a massive contribution to the finished item, that we decided to fix it. All the front panels were cut off, the bonet removed and the wiring loom untangled from the twisted chassis. N.B. all mechanical and electrical operations were carried out by Chris Farrell "Top technician" courtesy of www.newhallcars.com He actually clocked up over 100 hours on this project. Next he removed the engine, gearbox and exhaust and untangled all wiring connections into the damaged fuse box. Eventually pulling the wiring through to the passenger footwell of the car (believe me, there are a lot of wires). Control units and ECU's were also removed from the bulk head. Fortunately these had all survived the impact. As the wiring loom runs under the passenger seat, it was also necessary to remove the interior.

Unfortunately, we did document all of this, but due to a computer error we lost a great deal of the photographic evidence. Next, because of the shape of the floor plan and sill arrangements there wasn't an easy way of fixing the vehicle to the jig, therefore brackets had to be fabricated and welded into place. This was done by Kevin Lloyd, another major player in the project. When this was completed, the car was fixed solidly to a jig bed. Once all the clamps and chains were attached, the twisted chassis was carefully pulled straight. Because of the strength of the car as it has no fixed roof, a great deal of heat had to be administered especially to the kinks in the chassis legs. The nearside suspension turret had to be destroyed in order to pull the bulk head back to its original location. Once again, a lot of heat was used to soften the metal. The offside leg was now heated with a sideways pull in order to bring it back to true. Once the car measured up, the passenger leg and inner wing were cut away and new panels welded in place. Once again, this operation was carried out by Mr Lloyd. The engine bay was repaired, painted and completely finished before any major work was carried out on the exterior. After painting, Chris Farrell began refitting all the bay components, meticulosly replacing all the correct bolts, clips and fasteners in their original position.

The car was beginning to take shape - the engine bay looked like new. Next he rebuilt the front suspension, brakes and steering. We had sent the sump away to a local firm to be aluminium welded, which turned out to be a complete success. Once Chris had rebuilt the damaged fuse box, he repaired all the damaged engine parts and eventually refitted the engine box. He did this on a Monday evening, when he left he commented "That'll go tomorrow". Nobody commented, but I'm sure they all thought like me "You're f'in jokin". Anyhow, as is most often the case with a bit of coaxing it would appear that he was right. As well as that, it sounded perfect. We were quite astounded and very pleasantly surprised as the car had come to us as a non-runner. The car was left on the jig as it was an excellent anchor, allowing us to bash it into shape. This did not take a great deal of time. As soon as it was repaired and in surfacer it was removed for painting. The fabricated brackets were then removed from the floor panel.

Next step, the colour chosen is a very vibrant gold "Most see-through". This was painted over a white ground coat. All panels were removed in order to paint in appetures and edges. Once done, it was reassembled and fully painted. As the colour was so translucent, no less than 26 coats were applied before lacquering. Once this was done the car was painstakingly fitted back. The rear window had to be replaced as the roll over protection bars had fired in the impact and pierced the original window. The car is fitted with a later E46 type front bumper, which has been modded to fit, as have the alluminium ducts for the brake disc cooling. The front fog lamps are from a mini cooper and fit quite well. The interior was supplied and fitted by www.trimtechnik.net - as you can see, a top quality job. Finally, Chris Farrell fitted wheels and tyres and road tested the car, then to www.newhallcars.com where all the functions were reset, I believe on a most expensive computer.

People to thank . . .

Mechanical and suspension	Newhall Cars
	Chris Farrell
Body work	Kev Lloyd
Upholstery	Trim Technik

Contact us
0151 630 5728