How hard was the shifter swap, I keep reading about it on here, and wonder if I should go through with it. Where did you get the Z3 shifter? Also I see you did a lot of factory bushings, are you OK saying what all the bushings cost you, as this is my next move on my vert.
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Shifter swap was pretty easy, since I had the driveshaft out to do guibo and csb.
I bought the shift kit that Blunt sell, which includes almost everything needed. I bought the rest of the bushings, and little plastic washers from the local dealer.
All-in I think was around $225 I think. I have a bad habit of immediately forgetting how much I spend on this car ;-)
The toughest part of the shifter upgrade was the bitch clip. Get the radiator hose pick from harbor freight. Search the forum for a picture and part #. Once I bought that, the process was simple.
shift boot from topgaiters/ebay really finished it off nicely.
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Spot on car. Not too low are stretched and poked.
No hate, but get a proper detail to get that paint back to perfection man! Lots of swirls in it. Other than that I love your cars looks.Comment
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Thanks for the kind comments! It's pretty much exactly the look I wanted. I left the oem top hats on, and may go with the e90 drop hats at some point.
The paint on the car isn't that great, I don't think, but it would benefit from a good detail.Comment
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Like I said almost a year ago...the potential was there and now look at it...NICE! :up:Comment
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looks good, verts are the cheesebuild thread - http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=277740Comment
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i love this carComment
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Aw man, thanks!Originally posted by bastianshaw View Post
When I first started lurking on this forum, I saw someone comment that after they parked their e30 and were walking away they would stop and look back at it. I didn't understand this until I had this car in my life. I totally get that now, and do it all the time!Comment
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I'm not a huge convertible fan but that car is looking good! Nice work.Comment
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Hello my R3v brethren...
It's been ages since I've done anything besides drive and maintain my little baby. Thought i would share some updates, and some relatively minor plans (compared to most of the build threads on this site!)
She was my daily driver from mid 2012 until the end of 2017. Didn't do anything but basic maintenance and enjoy the drive! Over that time I had two instances of being stranded. One was a failed clutch master cylinder, and the other was a failed fuel pump. Not too bad for an aging beauty!
In December 2017 the company I work for gave me a company car (base model Ford Explorer) so I parked the beauty and used the Explorer.
Recently I have been messing with a 3D printer and made flat caps for the wheels:
Changed out the old soft brake lines for braided stainless steel, added a wheel stud kit, and re did the brakes
More recently I started swapping out the old and worn tan vinyl interior for cardinal red. All I have so far are the door cards which I bought through R3V's for sale forum, but will recover the seats within the next few months. Will also have to replace the piece on the convertible top cover, and either replace or dye/paint the carpet and the front speaker kick panels
She passed CA smog test recently which was nice
Lastly, I've never really like the look of her rear end. She seemed naked without an apron. First I found a Zender apron, but turned out to be the wrong type, so I sold that. https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...r-rear-valance Then I found a Racing Dynamics apron that is correct for a diving board car, and finally got around to installing it. I've got an affliction where I'll buy parts then let them sit in the garage for months or years before doing anything with them. I think it's a fairly common affliction.
Test Fitting:
And mounted:
The apron came with the cover for the tow hook, but no way to attach it. I think I'll model it and 3D print something eventually
I mounted the apron using clamps for putting a camper on a pickup truck. Not sure if that's the correct way, but I couldn't really find anything online in the way of a DIY.
For the sides I cut a little piece of metal, screwed it into the top lip of the apron and attached to the car using the existing bumper surround mounting screw
I've noticed two problems that I'm not sure how to address. Open to any suggestions on these.
One problem is the exhaust tail pipes are uneven
And the other is that the apron is bowed/bent a little on the right side of the exhaust opening.
You can see how it kind of hangs down further than it should.
I'm planning on doing some work on the exhuast at some point. A new muffler at least, and maybe then I can figure out the tilting tail pipes.
Not sure what to do about the sagging apron. Maybe glue some kind of brace on the inside to hold it up?
Upcoming plans:
finish interior color change
replace all the dry rotted weather stripping
new exhaust - probably just cat-back, replace exhaust manifold gaskets
dent removal
replace rusty windshield trim w/ black
replace/fix automatic radio antenna
replace stereo - really want the Blaupunkt SQR 46 Bremen DAB
That's all for now. Thank you to all the R3V community who have been so supportive and provided many, many hours of fun reading and tons of useful information.
LONG LIVE R3VLIMITED!!!
Last edited by MoreMayhem; 01-29-2021, 10:21 AM.Comment
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The flat caps turned out really well. Nice work. The rear apron does virually balance the car front to rear quite nicely.
Solid ~8 year thread update. :-)Comment
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that rear apron does help a lot. I always wanted something to balance the rear out. The way you mounted it may not be the "correct" way but it is def secure and looks goodComment
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Nice update. For the apron I dont know, I am sure there is some bodywork person who can help, but maybe you an heat it up and bend it back to form.
As for the exhaust, mine did not fit right when I measured up the Mtech bumper, I wanted new tips anyway, so we cut off the original tips an welded on new ones so the tips would look right. They have a kick but they fit.
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Originally posted by Staszek View Post
I showed it to my brother and he suggested the same thing to shape the apron. I've got a heat gun so maybe an easy solve.
Your exhaust tips look great like that. You said they're new tips? Is it common for shop to have different tips on hand? I've never done anything even approaching custom exhaust work so don't really know where to begin. My muffler has some cracks in it (probably why it passed CA smog these past couple times), and I want to replace it too. Was thinking either Stromung or Super Sprint cat-back setups, but would it be lame to put that kind of money out and then cut/ re weld the tips if they don't line up? Would the properties of stainless steel be lost if it were cut/welded?
Da Bulls!
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People weld and cut exhausts all the time I wouldnt worry about that. I dont think that the exhaust shop would have the tips, I mean its possible. My exhaust is off an E36 M3 we just cut the OEM tips off and put on new ones that I bought. There are many exhausts that you can buy without tips to add what you like.
I am not sure about super sprint and stromung without tips, but I know that they already come angled a bit, if you are replacing the exhaust a good exhaust shop should be able to get it to hang right so the tips line up.
Here is where I bought mine.
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/exhaus.../exhaust-tips/
These are the exact ones I bought.
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/3-0-br...p-2-5-weld-on/
I am sure you can get cheaper tips on EBay etc, I wanted really nice ones to go along with the finished car.
Here is a close up without the Mtech bumper on, you can see how they just added to the exhaust so they could add the tips at an angle.
Last edited by Staszek; 02-24-2021, 12:41 PM.Comment
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