[E91WAG3N]

Not much in the way of car updates in the COVID era. I've been working significantly more hours due to changes in business and layoffs within my company.

I have however started a garage makeover. We bought the house about 7 years ago and immediately my E36 project was rendered immobile, with occasional spurts of driveability. The garage turned into a junkyard of sorts, I parted an E36 vert to harvest the 5 speed swap from, we accumulated random boxes of crap and it became well... a garage. This house was and still is not my "forever" home so I'm always riding the line between making it nice enough to live in while we're here vs. going overboard since I'll turn it into a rental one day.





With the E36 gone I have a bit of a chance to go back in time and have a nice fresh slate in the garage, something I planned to do back in 2013.





Supplies!



I finished painting the garage walls and ceiling. The drywall was bare and soaked up paint at different rates with the batches of primer + paint I'd applied through the years. I grabbed a really light gray to finish things off with. Also added a fridge and old bedroom tv!



I began prepping the floor and filling the cracks -





Sad wagons living outside -



Finally the part I'd been looking forward to the most, the floors! I used a Rustoleium kit. Lots of prep work in cleaning the floors, decreasing, patching cracks, etc.





Really excited to see things at this stage. I'll wait to let everything cure before deciding whether I'll do the clear coat or not. The "baseboard" concrete was really badly poured. I attempted to grind, patch, and smooth a section of it but the patch would not stick. The height and depth of the concrete isn't consistent on the 3 walls, either. My thought is to paint the sides gray to match the floor (and better hide the pitting/holes) and leave the middle wall alone since it'll be mostly covered and is the best of the 3 walls.

I'd like to do some NewAge cabinets and some new tool storage but I'll likely wait until the world calms down. The ghetto lighting setup also needs to be dealt with. But for now, clean cars in an empty shiny garage, and a fridge full of beer

[M-technik-3]

Very nice. E36 head off to a lemon's team?

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Very nice. E36 head off to a lemon's team?

Unfortunately it went straight to the wrecking yard. The shock towers were pretty rusty and the underside was pretty bad as well. I held onto the car for 10 years and didn't realize how bad it was until I started tearing into the suspension. It was an early 92 build, not sure if the anti-rust measures were as stout as later years. I would have really like to have saved the car but I couldn't justify it.

[M-technik-3]

I get it, I still have 2 e36's.

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

I get it, I still have 2 e36's.

They're great. I had a few coupes, a sedan, and a Ti. Also had a vert as a parts car. Hoping to pick up a wagon now that they're legal to import

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

They're great. I had a few coupes, a sedan, and a Ti. Also had a vert as a parts car. Hoping to pick up a wagon now that they're legal to import

I think I've had 9 or 10 e36's but at least 3 of those were just parts cars that lived with me for a year or so...

Like stray dogs, they seem to follow me home... I finally got rid of everything I was hoarding and only have the keepers. A wagon is high up on my shortlist and I have a donor 4dr 97 M3 for when I find one... they are just normally pretty thrashed or crazy expensive because the person knows exactly what they have. Haven't given the whole import thing a decent look but maybe it's worth a second glance.

Looking forward to how your garage turns out... I'm kinda wanting to do this on my shop floor but with ///M motorsport color flakes on the floor.

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

I think I've had 9 or 10 e36's but at least 3 of those were just parts cars that lived with me for a year or so...

Like stray dogs, they seem to follow me home... I finally got rid of everything I was hoarding and only have the keepers. A wagon is high up on my shortlist and I have a donor 4dr 97 M3 for when I find one... they are just normally pretty thrashed or crazy expensive because the person knows exactly what they have. Haven't given the whole import thing a decent look but maybe it's worth a second glance.

Looking forward to how your garage turns out... I'm kinda wanting to do this on my shop floor but with ///M motorsport color flakes on the floor.

Same deal here with E36s, my first was in in 2001. That sedan was supposed to be my keeper since it belonged to my brother. I had 3 coupes that were keepers through the years, the M3 was 8 or 9 years I think and I had the Ti for 3 or 4 years. I also had a bunch of rare OEM parts I sold off in the last year or two and tossed/gave away/sold all the junk I'd accumulated. I'll start from scratch in a few years again. I'll end up paying a premium for some bits but I'm glad to have the space.

MPOWER5266 used custom M color flakes on his garage IIRC. He has quite the build thread over on the garagejournal forum. The default flakes in the kit I bought are black which will match my cabinets and white and blue, which of course match the roundel and Bavarian flag. Close enough for government work on this job. Still need to lay down the clear coat.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Same deal here with E36s, my first was in in 2001. That sedan was supposed to be my keeper since it belonged to my brother. I had 3 coupes that were keepers through the years, the M3 was 8 or 9 years I think and I had the Ti for 3 or 4 years. I also had a bunch of rare OEM parts I sold off in the last year or two and tossed/gave away/sold all the junk I'd accumulated. I'll start from scratch in a few years again. I'll end up paying a premium for some bits but I'm glad to have the space.

MPOWER5266 used custom M color flakes on his garage IIRC. He has quite the build thread over on the garagejournal forum. The default flakes in the kit I bought are black which will match my cabinets and white and blue, which of course match the roundel and Bavarian flag. Close enough for government work on this job. Still need to lay down the clear coat.

I haven't see the GJ thread, but I know of MPOWER5266 e91 wagon... I'll have to check it out since I think I saw he is building a killer detail area/carport. Thats another thing on my list.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

As I can see you have adopted your new team quite nicely... these colors also play well!

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

As I can see you have adopted your new team quite nicely... these colors also play well!

Ha! I'm a life long A's and Raiders fan. I prefer the green and gold color scheme, personally.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Ha! I'm a life long A's and Raiders fan. I prefer the green and gold color scheme, personally.

Yeah but then it could get interpreted as packers... lol *gross*

[E91WAG3N]

Some updates on the floor progress -

I was on the fence whether or not to go forward the second step of adding the clear coat. After letting the epoxy cure for a few days, it was apparent that the finish was rather dull. The flakes were not really locked in place and weren't adhered to the floor very well. With that, it was onto the clear 4 days after application of the epoxy.

Here's the kit, I bought 2.


And the result.





The clear coat went on fairly thick and I was fighting to get the last quarter of the floor covered, definitely buy extra. It was pretty tricky to apply in that it's literally invisible other than where it catches a reflection so as you're applying it, it's very difficult to tell if you missed any areas. I had a couple of thin spots and will open up the second kit to give it a second coat, patching in the areas I missed along the way.

Overall, it looks great. It's a 8/10 job, which is enough in my book for a garage in a house that isn't a forever home. It has some imperfections here and there, and the flake distribution isn't completely uniform. It's a space that will be used, tools will be dropped, beers will be spilled.

I went at the job myself given the COVID situation. It would be much easier with a friend lending a hand. For nothing but time spent cleaning, prepping, applying, and under $500 in materials, I'm very happy with the results. It's a drastic improvement and feels like a much nicer space. Just a few finishing touches are needed to the "baseboard" areas and a few days to let it all cure. Can't wait to get the cars in there and do some wrenching!

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

I picked up some OEM Euro amber flashing tail lights from across the pond.

E91WAG3N - can you share where you got these and part #'s ?

Thank you!

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by POBEP

E91WAG3N - can you share where you got these and part #'s ?

Thank you!

I snagged a pair from a dealer in the UK that had them on clearance. Part number for the pair is 63214871754. They can be ordered individually as well. Schmiedmann is usually my go to for rest of world parts if I can’t find a deal.

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Part number for the pair is 63214871754.

E91WAG3N - thank you!
I ordered mine on flebay from UK dealer

Very nice floor finish!
You are missing signage

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by POBEP

E91WAG3N - thank you!
I ordered mine on flebay from UK dealer

Very nice floor finish!
You are missing signage

Awesome, you’ll love them. Subtle but great mod.

Great suggestion, I’m planning on adding some more art after my cabinets are in.

[E91WAG3N]

Annnd we're in!!

[mattpete13]

Damn! Looking good

[E91WAG3N]

Originally Posted by mattpete13

Damn! Looking good

Thanks, I’m really happy with the progress!

[bkwld]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Annnd we're in!!

Good job! Floor looks fantastic. We all should, if you’ve been stuck in this Covid-19 to come out it with something good.

[E91WAG3N]

Work on the cars has resumed!

The rear tires were nearing the end of their usable life on the Sparkling Graphite car so I swapped my Style 194's along with spacers over.





For the Black Sapphire car, I ordered 2 brand new 18x8.5 Style 260s to complete my set as well as new tires. There wasn't sufficient stock in the States so they are on their way over from Germany at the moment. I was on the fence whether the 9.5's could work for me but ultimately I decided I didn't want to run any sort of a stretched tire.

I still can't make up my mind on cabinets so for now there is a bunch of clutter along the far wall of the garage. I've narrowed down the NewAge set I want but haven't made a decision on the details of the color scheme and worktop material.

[BWK]

Originally Posted by E91WAG3N

Work on the cars has resumed!

The rear tires were nearing the end of their usable life on the Sparkling Graphite car so I swapped my Style 194's along with spacers over.

Just bought a set of 194's for my E91. What spacers were you using on your LCI with them?