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Hi I wonder if anyone can give me a bit of advice as to what to aim for with my 1.6 Baur.

A bit of history first - In 2004 I was knocked off my motorbike & left disabled. I lost my job & ended up in a bit of a mess.
Before the accident I'd been helping a friend with a few jobs on his Saab convertible & we'd talked about getting something to restore together. He ended up getting this Baur. I had my crash before we could start it, & it sat in his garage until he & his wife split up, & he moved out. The car ended up parked on the street, in a student area, & ended up with a slashed roof & tyres, smashed mirrors & other minor damage.
He decided it had to go, & out of the blue turned up in it at my house, it was already signed over to me, & he wanted me to have it as a project, hoping it would help to lift my mood
Unfortunately it was beyond my capabilities both physically & financially, & it's just sat in the garage ever since.

The last 9 years have been very difficult for us as a family, particularly on my wife, & for a long time now I've wanted to restore the car as a present for her, to say thank you, & show how much I appreciate everything she's done for me.

I'm now in a position to get the car restored, but I'm not sure exactly what to do with it & I know very little about the E21.
It's been heavily welded in the boot & rear wheel arches. I thought it best to have it stripped right back, all the old, patched panels removed & new ones fitted.

The engine is a 1.6, it ran when it was driven into the garage so shouldn't take too much to get running again.

The interior is rough upholstery wise, butt the dash has no cracks & is in good condition.

Can anyone advise me on what to aim for with the restoration? It's due to go over to Jaymic soon to be assessed with a view to having it done, but i'm open to any ideas & suggestions.

I'd like it to remain pretty standard looking, & keep it the same colour, but am not against modifications for safety or performance (mpg rather than speed), so upgrading brakes, suspension, even fitting a new engine are not out of the question. As I can now only drive an Auto, we may even consider converting it so I can drive it too, although it will be primarily for my wife.

Any advice at all is welcome, also with an idea as to the budget I should be expecting. I don't want it to turn into a moneypit.

I'd add a few pictures of it, but I can't seem to get them to work.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post
Al

Hi Al,

First of all, welcome here! Quite a story, good to hear you're making the best of things in every aspect.

Any issues with interior, engine or desirable upgrades won't break the bank, the chassis and mainly rust is what might make this project costly. Welding has already been done, needs to be redone, some new points perhaps, and when you start a full restore you will guaranteed find more points of attention. So establishing how good the chassis still is would be my suggested starting point, and have a few decent estimates on the cost for getting the chassis in a good shape again.

That would be the moment to start thinking about your options. Restore or not, or look for a similar car. I guess you're based in the UK and prices aren't too steep over there so buying a good example may be a much cheaper option.

Finally:
- auto conversion is pretty straight forward
- get some more info on E21 weakpoints in our FAQ section

Perhaps you can put some photos up or indicate your location, pretty sure there will be an E21 nut that's not to far from you.
Useful link: Howto: posting photos and movies

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

Here are a few pics, They aren't great quality, but give an idea of what I'm starting with.











It's exciting to finally be at the start of our journey with this car. Can't wait to get it back on the road.

Quite a stoy indeed! My respects to you for getting it al together!

It's a type 1, thats nice! It has recaro seats, they are worth som bucks. Does it have a 5speed gearbox aswell?

From the look of the pics it doesn't seem to bad, but I can't really tell. Emotionally I think you should restore it poperly, but thats very expensive. So It would take it partly apart and see what it looks like. Than just make her good enough to go back on the road, or not if she's in a bad condition.

+1! Doesn't look too bad at first sight!

You've hit the nail on the head there. Emotionally I'd have it brought back to look like it had just come out of the factory. We'll see what Jaymic have to say about it. Hopefully it's going to be picked up this week.

If necessary I'll make sure the bodywork is done properly, & that she runs nicely, & worry about the other bits & pieces later on.
I haven't actually driven it myself, but my wife has, & she thinks it's a 5 speed box. The seats are in really good condition, just a bit grubby.
If there are any E21 experts in the Tamworth area that can pop over & take a look for me I'd appreciate it. Might even make you a cuppa!

Welcome.

Car certainly looks saveable from pics.

Have PM'd you.

Al, if it is a 5 speed then that will certainly raise some funds from the E21 & '02 guys (assuming it's ok). I have a partially stripped 320 auto if you want to drag it back from Co. Durham. I'm not sure if the bellhousing is the same for 4 & 6 cylinders.

Hi again.
It's been a while, but I now have some updates on the Baur.

She was taken to the Garage around Easter time for assessment & an idea of cost.
Work began a couple of months ago & appears to be progressing well.
It's been completely stripped down & blasted. Seeing as there were a lot of patches & horrible welding, particularly in the boot, I wanted it all cut out & replaced with new panels.
Once it's all finished the chassis should be as good as new.

There are a few small jobs to finish with the welding, mainly cosmetic & cleaning up. Then hopefully we should start to see a difference.

I'm really hoping to get it back before the weather breaks so we can enjoy it for a little while.
Seeing as it's a gift for my wife I plan to drive her over to Norfolk to pick it up on the premise of visiting someone or other, when in reality i'll be taking her to pick up this as a surprise. I hope she doesn't hate it... "What did you get me that for? I wanted a Fiat 500..."

Anyway, the following are a few pictures of progress that the chaps at Jaymic forwarded to me.

Work just about to begin. Bye bye rust...



They discovered a ton more rust as more bits came off






Bits starting to go back on




Really excited to see this project finally get moving. It's sat in my garage for almost 9 years since my accident & has been a real downer for me in that I knew I wanted to do it but just wasn't capable anymore. I've finally saved up enough money to get someone to do it for me, & even though i'm a bit sad that I won't have done it all myself, at least we can (soon) start to enjoy the car.

Once it's all done would love to get together with anyone in the Birmingham or Tamworth area.

Al

That's some serious repairs they're doing there! It should be a lovely car once finished.

Serious work indeed! Good to hear this project is moving now and I really hope she turns out as you had in mind, and that you are able to enjoy it... asap indeed! Any indication if the Mrs might love or hate it?

that's exactly what the car needed to happen, its going to be a beautiful car when its finished.

where abouts are you based?

Nah, I think she'll love it really. She was keen for us to do it up when we first had it, but once she saw it was getting me down she wanted it gone. She thinks I've got rid of it so she's given up on it now.
We had talked about a Fiat 500 but I can't fit my chair in the boot so it's out of the question.

Nas. I'm based just outside Tamworth. Am I right in thinking you're from round the Manchester area? (Been lurking for a long time...)

Work is progressing on the Baur. The rust was fairly extensive & as more bits came off, more was discovered. Majority of the welding has been completed now & it just needs tidying up.

Passenger floor removed

& replaced

A lot of previous repairs had been done & looked like this. But I only discovered how bad it was once I got through layers and layers of underseal. I think one of the previous owners had just tipped a whole tin in the boot & spread it about.

I wanted it all gone so it was all cut away and new panels fitted

One interesting thing (well to me anyway...) was that they found it had been converted from L to RHD at some point. It's funny, I've got stacks of paperwork but nowhere does it mention the conversion, which apparently is pretty rough, but being tidied up & sorted out...

New sills

Can't wait to get it back, it's great to see the progress, & i'm just hoping it's done before the bad weather really sets in...

Just blown away by the extent of this restoration! Fantastic work.