The $2k Imola/Nat Brown 6MT "Beater" Transformation

[fredo]

Amazing results. I bet the PO would like to buy the car back.

[johnrando]

Heck of a list, nice werk!

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[t.er]

Amazing! Mind if I ask roughly what you're into it for?

[akoshok]

I have Bavsound, good kit. I had the same issue as you with with the parcel shelf. New subwoofers fixed it for me.

I have the Dynavin N7-E46 PRO - how do you like your Avant?

[cjulian]

Love seeing people take neglected worn ZHPs and bring them back like this Well done!



fixed

Thanks Jacob!


Until I looked over these "finished" pictures above, I forgot just now sexy a very clean and polished Imola ZHP looks. OP really did a fantastic job restoring his ZHP!

Thank you and same to you on both of your projects!

[cjulian]

Thank you all for the kind words. I know this car's fate was likely a scrapyard / chop shop somewhere and I just couldn't allow that to happen. It's been fun to work on and ultra rewarding for me to see the progress and to get the compliments here and IRL in the wild.

Amazing! Mind if I ask roughly what you're into it for?

I don't mind sharing but it's getting beyond justifiable and shifting more towards an expensive hobby / passion project... I'm in it around $20k. Here's a quick breakdown of what I've spent to date with some approximations:

-$2,000 purchase price
-$6,200 on mechanical repairs or preventative replacements w/ local, ind. mechanic (cooling, steering, suspension, brakes, a/c compressor)
-$6,500 (ouch) on body work
-$3,000 on interior trim parts
-$2,100 on interior seat and headliner replacements/repairs
-$1,100 on upgrades (Avant HU, Bavsound, angel eyes, etc)

My biggest takeaway from this project has been that bodywork is the most difficult and expensive. If I didn't have to respray most of the car, I'd be sitting pretty with my investment but that put me over the edge. I still would do all this again and have no regrets as I LOVE the car!

[cjulian]

I should also say that re: body work, I paid a hefty premium to have everything done right with an ultra-reputable shop that works on high end cars all day. This was *not* a MAACO situation...

[GeorgeH]

I should also say that re: body work, I paid a hefty premium to have everything done right with an ultra-reputable shop that works on high end cars all day. This was *not* a MAACO situation...

What shop? And would you use them again?

[t.er]

Yup, bodywork is insanely labour intensive and not really something you can DIY if you want quality. Definitely requires some prerequisite experience and tools, compared to turning wrenches.

But hey, seems like you'll have pretty much a new car after this. And mad props for saving one from presumably being parted out!

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[fredo]

I should also say that re: body work, I paid a hefty premium to have everything done right with an ultra-reputable shop that works on high end cars all day. This was *not* a MAACO situation...

Did you go to Berli's for the body work ?