An early Delphin convertible

[mlbryant8]

can you post some pics and tell me about the z4 side marker, and how you attached it to the rear of your vert?

[Das Delfin]

I haven't done that to my car.. kinda low on priority right now

[mlbryant8]

Does anyone know anything about using a z4 side marker on the rear of an e30? I would like some detail of what anybody knows and if they have done it, fitment and modifications necessary.

[Das Delfin]

my car thread is clearly one of the more interesting ones on here. I see all these b35 swaps and I'm like... hmm I should check my spark plugs. Anyway I'm currently working on:

euro rear fogs! Taking apart a donor taillight assembly and using the parts to awaken the slumbered hollow reflectors whose purpose was lost on US markets. The idea is to run a wire to a panel where my front ash tray/cigarette lighter is. Because I have a USB radio and don't need any of that. Also I want to add a volt meter there in the process. But that's on hold until the temp drops to bearable levels.

Winter tires! I bought a set on tirerack because they have a killer deal - 4 generals gets you two different $50 mail in rebates, which is essentially buy 2, get 2 free.

A new rear window! I finally broke down and bought one, it's in the mail, and I'll be throwing it on shortly

I've been futzing around with the seals on the top; moving it back and forth by removing shims and whatnot. I currently have zero shims in so the top is as forward as it can be. We'll see if it holds

A new drivers side "vertical window gasket" which is the rubber that goes between the front and back side windows on a convertible. Also I learned "convertible" is how bmw chooses to refer to cars with a soft top, eschewing from "cabrio" which I think sounds more european. But "convertible" sounds more modern. Even though it has American pretentions..

I put a new interior in etc ya know nothing big. Restored the car's original cardinal red. There's a thread somewhere

Still haven't put the drivers side trunk liner back in because there is a rust hole caused by the antenna grommet degrading and allowing water to leak in and pool over time.. have to deal with that at some point. My power antenna was seized so I chucked it and bought a $10 slim mast antenna from a store. Works great with better reception. Between this and the cigarette lighter delete I can pretty much repurpose fuse 28 for whatever I please ;)

When I had the interior redone I also had skins for rear headrests made so whenever the mounting kit arrives I'll put those in

I need to drain some coolant and add water because my mixture seems to be off. I kinda eyeballed it last time and the car runs hotter now... too much antifreeze.

I wanna get a nardi wood steering wheel because they're classy and the leather on my sports wheel was peeling so I just ripped it all off.

At some point I need to hack up my center console and put cup holders between the seats

I need to redye my door cards and seat backs, as well as paint the carpet to match the seats. I'm thinking of redoing the door cards to have tweed inserts which would match the seats even more (ya dig) but need to figure out how to do it

Then there's that 4" rust hole in my floor pan. We'll get to that.

And lastly... I'm mapping out an r134a retrofit next spring. Because fuck driving another summer without it

[Das Delfin]

Got the new window in! Looks great so far. It's ever so slightly warped at the top right and bottom left corners but it was such a bitch putting in I'm not sure if I wanna take it out. I also replaced the drivers side "vertical window gasket," which was way easy. I guess for paying full price for a genuine part it better be easy. The kit to mount my rear seat headrests came in the mail today but I'm really iffy on putting them in. I think I'm going to enjoy being able to see out the back of my car before putting in headrests which would obstruct the view.

[htseng]

[/QUOTE]

Nice job on the rear window. Is it a zip in and where did you get it?
I have a '93 vert that the rear window just started cracking at the folds

[Das Delfin]

Thanks! it's an emiata zip in window. Installation wasn't that bad but you have to be very patient. My old window had cracked at the folds like yours and was letting water in. The new one is 1000 times better and has taken years off the car

[htseng]

looks like Emiata is also Hans Auto Parts on Ebay for $10 less. is the window softer and harder to scratch like they describe? Was there any point in the installatoin that you felt that there was no way you were going to get the window in? I'm might be a little hesitant to unzip my window

[fporro]

Please explain more about vertical window gasket and do you think is possible to saw on a zipper with top in place ?

[Das Delfin]

When you go to pay for the emiata you are directed to a hans auto page so I would assume they are the same. It comes with adhesive, two zipper starts, and a needle and thread, so I would order the metal locking clip beforehand (54318134598 and 54318134599). Just mark the center of the window when it's in the car with a pen or something, then line the new window up with the old once it's out of the car and line up the two centers. After that it shouldn't be hard to get it in place in just a few tries.

The emiata window scratches easily and feels like it's made of a "soft" plastic. The OEM one felt much harder... though mine is 20+ years old so that may be from years of sun degradation, which may have also made it harder to scratch. It's a tough comparison but either way I still don't feel it's worth the extra $500 to get an OEM window

The entire time I felt like I wasn't going to get the new one in, especially after bending the soft zipper metal on my top. But this car always puts up a fight so I just bent it back and kept trying. The trick is to fold your top up so it reduces the strain on the zipper, which prevents bends etc

---

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?381581-E30-325ic-window-seal-replacement

The fastener on my car had a pin which you need to press the center IN (and grab with a long pliers) and pull the rest out, after which you can pull out the flat rubber piece and pull the metal holder off from the bottom. Then the rubber seal slides down and out of the metal holder and the new one slides back in and is held in place by a bit of pressure form the plastic piece at the top. Then you just pop it back onto the window and fit the flat rubber back in place (on my drivers side it was easiest getting the flaps in going counter clockwise)

Not sure about your second question? My top was in place when I put the window in. At times I had to fold up the back part of the top to get the zipper all the way around. If you have a non-zip window I'd just have one pro installed.

[Das Delfin]

Today I got the window in a good place and glued it. I'm not sure if I'm happy with the supplied glue. I might grab some black silicone sealant like I've seen some others use.

Also installed my back headrest kit. I'm super on the fence about how they look. I think a rear spoiler would make them at home ;)

[Das Delfin]

My car's grille and black bumper strips had been bleached in the florida sun, so today I bought a can of spray paint and updated them! Next is the back bumper

Before


During.. I tried to remove these from the car but one of the retaining nuts is squeezed into a space between the inside of the bumper and a metal plate that the bumper shocks bolt into. This means there's about 1.5 inches of space to work with, while at the same time your hand is bent up and into the bumper AND you have to stretch your hand out like 6 inches, holding a wrench and feeling for the nut. I would have been able to get the nut off with a ratcheting wrench but it would have been such a bitch getting it back on that I just taped them. Note the neighbor working on his Scion


During pt. 2


After! It's a good 5 ft paint job, but then again, so is the rest of the car :P

[Aufbau Principle]

Do you happen to work in Manchester by any chance? I'm 99% sure I saw your car across the street back in June when I went to buy my car, small world haha.

[Das Delfin]

Yep that's where I work. There's a guy who worked at one of the stores here during the winter who had a black '88 iX, but it was in terrible shape

You're not the guy I talked to who had just picked up the air bagged wrapped purple plastic bumper convertible?

[Aufbau Principle]

Yep that's where I work. There's a guy who worked at one of the stores here during the winter who had a black '88 iX, but it was in terrible shape

You're not the guy I talked to who had just picked up the air bagged wrapped purple plastic bumper convertible?

I wish my car was that cool, haha. Here's mine as of August, now it's parked at school in NY getting covered in dirt from a construction site. Haven't done anything to it aside from maintenance, but I have a front euro bumper sitting under my bed that's waiting to go on.