A32 Restoration and Build Journal
 

Hello everyone,

My parents gave me their 1998 A32 and I am using it as my new daily driver. White exterior, tan interior. It's got 136K miles on the engine but still runs smoothly. The car was parked on the street for almost its entire life and most of repairs will be cosmetic. I never started a journal before so I thought this would make a fun project.

Is anyone based in the Los Angeles area and have parts to sell? The car is white with tan interior. Here's what I have planned:

install Aftermarket double DIN head unit
fix/replace front and back leather seats
wood grain steering wheels
upgrade to HID headlights and foglights
new rims and tires
restore/replace windows and sealants
new paint job

Has anyone used Maaco before? Would you recommend them?

It's interesting to me, in the car-guy/gear-head universe, how ... depending on the vehicle type and depending on the generation of the enthusiast proposing the project(s) ... the terms "build" and "restoration" have completely different connotations.

Most Maacos are worth steering clear of. If you do end up going, make sure it's a cooperate one that does a lot of insurance jobs. I worked at a cooperate Maaco a while back and it's a night a day difference compared to your typical scuff and shoot spots. Also, make sure you go for at least a base-clear paint job. Single stage paint jobs won't last, chip easier, and prep work is taken less seriously as a result.

Update! I didn't make as much progress as I wanted in the last few months but I did get a few upgrades--I installed a wood-grain steering wheel and limited door sills. Thanks 95naSTA for the hookup!

Congrats on the new ride !, I too am new to the forum and about restore my grandfathers 96 a32 ( also currently own a 03 a33 ). I’ve been looking for a limited wood grain steering wheel, jealous you found one, so if any one out there has one for sale I’d love to buy it.

Looking forward to seeing the progress on your project, keep it up!

Thanks! It's been really challenging just to find parts for the car because it is so old. It took me over a year to find the wood grain steering wheel. I'll keep an eye out. How far along are you with your A32? My car badly needs new paint and possible new windows. I haven't had much luck cleaning up the windows so may need to replace

Hey Wolf!,
The A32 is coming along, I’m lucky my grandfather kept it in decent shape. Just got my Cefiro headlights in from japan, she’s going into the shop to have the bumpers resprayed, a fender put on and painted as well, and some paintless dent removal done all around. Other than that, it’s been just a lot of overdue maintenance, new shocks and struts, all fluids changed, brakes all around, etc. Boring stuff, but she’s running like a champ. I appreciate you keep an eye out once the steering wheel for me, also feel free to reach out of your ever in need of parts. I have a ton of random **** and a yard not to far from my house always has these things laying around.
Best,
-Leo B.