TWR 335i

[e21-Mark]

Maybe.

Right now the seats are the least of my concern.

[e21-Mark]

Start of a new day.

BJ's trimming quote price for headlining and finish the job even quicker than they estimated! Looks lovely.

Car is on route to Mick @ Pristine now.

[arshad76]

Your unsavoury experience reminds me a lot of what I went through the first time I took my car in for bodywork at the College I worked at. They said they'd have it out in 4-6 months. It was in there for 3 years. In that time kids broke the aerial, indicator stalks and other damage, parts were lost, others ruined as a result of accidents or bad storage. Then, to add insult to injury they said it's not a place to store it and please take your car out. Not easy when it had no doors or windows. I was fuming and had just started drafting a letter to the Principal when there was one good teacher who was good enough to take it on properly and got the job done.
I felt like going in there little lecturers den and giving them a world of pain, it's better to just move on and make sure everyone knows how poor their work is. Karma will deal with the rest. The biggest positive though is that at least your car is still in one piece

[e21-Mark]

What pi55e5 me off the most is that I considered the guy a friend. I also fronted a big chunk of cash and went out of my way to get him work and publicity. In return I was taken for a mug and lied to time and time again. It's just good fortune that I was sensible enough to keep every text and e-mail sent over the past 18 months and I have irrefutable proof of his lies and poor workmanship. All of which will be presented in court.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. I went over to Pristine today and took photos for the solicitor. In the end we just had to laugh. Before you look at the next few photos, bear in mind that on December 10th I was told the engine was running and sounded lovely!





The answer is missing head bolts, no oil spray bar, a lack of adjusters etc etc. We even checked the bores and sure enough, this engine hasn't run in bloody years let alone a few weeks ago!



Not the usual way of removing dents from a chassis rail but at least it confirms just what a solid & rust-free shell it is.



The engine and box is coming back out over the weekend and we can start removing the paint - again! It will go on a spit first though (for real this time!) and the underneath can finally be properly protected. The rear subframe and trailing arms need powder coating too.

I had a good look at the brake calipers too and they are the old AP units that came on the good old Austin Princess! They were a common upgrade on old Fords. It looks as though they were supplied to TWR un-drilled, enabling them to drill them to fit themselves. Obviously they're not as light as Wilwoods but they should still work pretty well.

The original Bilsteins are going back on too. They were rebuilt before I bought the car, or so I believe, and the progressive rate springs seem fine too.

New headlining went in but still some fettling to be done.



Anyway, all being well there should be some real progress soon enough.

[Jeroen]

With one of the first pictures you shared I still thought you were kidding, but this is horrible, setting you back months while you were expecting almost to be there. All the work this joker has done defo needs to be redone or checked over and over again.. You can pull that head too, better start over again, would never trust this kind of work. Incredible example of someone you can only send your mother in law to.

[Peter V.]

It's a terrible discovery and as Jeroen said you must check everything double. Keep up the spirit because the car is special enough for that.

[dannyboy]

at least you have mick@ pristine on your side!!!
i shall wait till mick's done with your 2 and maybe try him again this time, (i know he had a lot on at that time, but still)... i have a good body shop in park royal but know nothing about E21's(he still call's it a 325i).. at least mick's would be a one stop shop.. his work does speak for itself and he knows his bean's with the M30 conversions..

[e21-Mark]

My only concern is the head. I hope he hasn't torqued down the few bolts he has fitted (going by the rest of the work I'm guessing they'll be finger tight!) because the head was a new casting that had been extensively flowed with bigger valves from an e34. Mind you, even that will have to be checked now.
I'm not worried about it though. It's a relief just to have everything back even if it does mean starting all over again.

[m3gaz]

Mate,sorry to here about all the sh*t.But better to find out now than in a puddle of oil,water and scrap metal on the M25.

[dannyboy]

As gaz said sorry to see this happen to you mark.. i know you know what you need/do ect , but if i can offer any help just let me know..

[e21-Mark]

Thanks guys.

It's pretty much all sorted now and it's only the fact I've wasted 18 months that still stings a bit. It seems there are quite a few people out there who are quite content to take money for jobs that they haven't done. In my case he was given every opportunity to do the job and put things right but what little work he did do, was just rushed and botched. Now it's going to cost to put right.

The other thing is that liars need good memories! I've kept every e-mail and text message over the past 18 months and it'll be interesting to see just how many of his excuses he actually remembers? Very few I'm sure. Example number one being ''the cars upside down on a spit in my mates workshop being properly undersealed''. Yet here we are 18 months later and the only undersealing is a hurriedly sprayed rattle car in one wheel arch! No doubt done for the photograph that was sent as proof of his work. Maybe he just believed his own lies? Whatever, it's in the hands of the courts now anyway so let him bull5hit them and see where it gets him.

[Jacko]

Glad you're binned that wanker off now Mark, hope the restoration gets back on track now.

[e21-Mark]

I'm actually looking forward to it again now. We were stood around it chatting and there's just something about it. The way it sits, the engine etc. It just has a real muscle car feel to it. I can't wait for it to get fired up for the first time. I've told Mick I just have to be there.

[e21-Mark]

Got a cheap model e21 and noticed something different about it.

[problemchild75]