The restoration of the bodywork included new front wings, front and rear repair panels, and lower door skins. These were supplied, along with a vast number of other items, by marque experts Jaymic, so their quality is beyond reproach.
Their fitment is excellent too, and the resulting shutlines speak of many hours of massaging them into the right place. That said, the driver’s door would benefit from being adjusted still further so that its trailing edge sits flush when it is closed, but that’s very firmly in the ‘nice to do’ category.
The paintwork was done with equal diligence, and the Verona Red finish gleams.
Rather than reuse the old stuff that was taken off, new mouldings and rubber seals were fitted when the car was rebuilt. New badges too, and the bumpers were replated.
Of course, the 13-inch OEM alloy wheels were also refurbished, and the result is a show-quality car that needs nothing other than continued love and the odd dollop of polish every now and then.
It also sits on a matching set of 185/70R13 tyres, which were made in 2016 and have plenty of tread left.
We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly.
Other nice touches include a pair of Hella spotlamps on the front bumper; the ones the car was fitted with when he bought it were not correct, and the seller couldn’t countenance leaving them on once he realised…
Other fittings include a chrome fog lamp on the rear bumper and a pair of pressed aluminium numberplates; this is not a car that requires much in the way of jewellery.
As for stuff you might like to look at, the black grilles at the front of the car have some stonechips on them, which isn’t a dealbreaker and are only really noticeable because the rest of the BMW is so clean.
The chrome trim on the nearside grille has a small kink in it on its upper edge too, there are circular scratches to the paint below the (slightly cracked) offside front indicator lens, the front bumper is pitted and starting to rust, and there are scratches to the offside front wing in front of the wheel.
As for the paint more generally, the finish to the rear of the nearside front wing and the boot lid isn’t to the same standard as the rest, with bubbles having formed. The seller has been told this is the primer underneath reacting rather than rust and given the condition of the rest of the vehicle, we suspect this is probably an accurate diagnosis.
