1998 M3 Restoration

I have a 98 M3 (Dakkar Yellow) four door auto. It is a great vehicle and I would like to restore the interior and exterior to its original "like new" condition. The inside is sun dried, the leather is cracked, the door panels are very loose, and so on... The exterior is in good shape with no rust. LOTS of paint ships, some dings in odd places, and all the gaskets are falling to pieces (around the door handles, windows, and windshield). Finally, the original rims are corroded from years of brake dust. There is more but I cannot list it all.

So - are there any folks out there who can recommend first steps, vendors, products, or places to go to have some of this done? I would like to do it myself if at all possible though...

Thanks much, JM Erie, PA

Reply to
jmiller0666
Loading thread data ...

JM,

Before you go hog wild with your restoration, you should know (or determine for yourself) what the value of the fully restored car would be and what it might become in the future. Unless you plan on being buried in it I guess...

My estimation is that an M3 4-door with an automatic transmission is the least desireable configuration ever made and not likely to command much now or in the future. If you fancy the car, then do just enough to put it back into good daily driver condition, but don't go crazy with a full restoration.

YMMV

Reply to
Fred W

Reply to
Rex B

The leather may or may not be slvagable. If it's dry rotted or sunbaked and cracked, no, but it's it's just lots of minor crackage than it cane be made to look new.

Spend some quality time with the leatherique.com site it's a little bit wacky but the stuff absolutely works as advertised and even with the cracks you can get it new looking. Short of buying a new interior it's the way to go. Be aware that aftermarket leather replacements will not be the same leather.

Fist you condition/soften the leather with that oil stuff (which ian't actually an oil) then on small cracks you use this crack filler stuff. FOr bigger cracks you glue a piece of leather behind the crack THEN use the crack filler. Then you use a their prep liquid then you dye the whole thing with their dyes whcih they color match to a sample you sent (that you typically take from under the seat so they don't color match faded leather). It honestly looks like new when done.

I have no relation to these guys. I'm just a fan.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

Yep, they did, for a few years and they were particularly common in the E36 4-door version they made for a few years. Just a regular auto too, not even a step-tronic.

Reply to
Fred W

Thanks Fred - I do see the point. I am looking for a manual two door version at the moment but this is all I have. Its a great car and I would still like to fix it up as much as possible on a limited budget.

JM

Fred W wrote:

Reply to
jmiller0666

Reply to
jmiller0666

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.