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Bringing my dad's car back to its former glory and beyond

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    Ended up removing the driveshaft to get balanced at a local shop. Guy looked at the adapter and basically refused to work on it. Oh well! However, upon reinstalling, the vibration is gone! Score 1 for me!

    Paint finally came in this week and I got the side mirrors and rear bumper painted to my satisfaction, however the rear trunk lid came out very uneven. I'd ordered from a different supplier this time, so with a heavy heart I ordered from ScratchWizard again. Let me give a little review...

    ScratchWizard.net:
    • Price per can- $30 plus $12 shipping- $42 for 1 can!
    • Need to order clear coat separately (not 2k uv resistant clear coat)
    • Shipping times- we shall see!
    • Pros:
      • Color match
      • Full coverage in 2-3 coats
      • Lots of flake in the Sterling Silver Metallic
    • Cons:
      • Last can ran out of propellant with half a can of paint left in it! WTF!
      • Poor/narrow spray pattern
    Paintscratch.com:
    • Price per can $27- Free shipping over $100
    • Can buy clear coat from them- they have 2k uv resistant clear coat
    • Shipped in a few days- Potential Covid delays
    • Pros:
      • Color match
      • Great/wide/consistent spray pattern
      • Sprays the entire can!
    • Cons:
      • Full coverage in 5+ coats
      • Not much metal flake
    Automotivetouchup.com
    • Price per can- $20 plus $9 shipping- $29 shipped, not bad!
    • Can buy clear coat form them- they have 2k uv resistant clear coat
    • Shipping times- Waited over a week and a half and still hadn't shipped- when I spoke with support they could give me no timeframe for when it would. Cancelled my order.
    • Pros and cons- not yet known.
    Anyways, here are the results from the side mirrors and rear bumper








    And the trunk lid that didn't turn out quite right...


    So now I'm waiting on another can of paint to come in to get the lid finished. But in the mean time, I had a coupe more exhaust pieces come in. I had a hell of a time finding a 3" inlet dual outlet tip that would do a good job of mimicking the stock exhaust, so I ended up just ordering separate parts to make my own. The space will be a little tight and I'll have to cut all these pieces down, but think it'll look pretty buff when it's done! 3" inlet and dual 2.25" outlet y-pipe and two 2.75" inlet 3.5" outlet exhaust tips.


    Plan to get this welded in tomorrow am and then some new exhaust videos for you guys that afternoon!
    Last edited by dadsbmw; 05-15-2020, 10:30 AM.
    2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
    1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
    1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

    Comment


      As promised, got the exhaust finished up today. There were 13" between the back of the muffler and the end the rear valence, while the y-pipe and tips added up to 22" in length, so some cutting would certainly be required. Cut a couple inches off the inlet of the y-pipe, about an inch off the inlet of the exhaust tips, and then sectioned another few inches from the middle of each exhaust tip




      Then welded the exhaust tip upper and lower sections together and went for a test fit. After much laborious lining up I got them pretty much where I wanted them.






      Then tacked them into place. Unfortunately the left tip moved during the tacking process and I ran out of welding wire, so I had to stop, but this is how she sits for now. Will order some more wire and go take a video of the new exhaust later today.


      2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
      1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
      1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

      Comment


        As promised:

        Honestly the original exhaust (stock headers, stock midpipe, 2.5" Varex muffler) had a bit more throat and rumble to it, which I think I like better. This new setup has MUCH better flow however, and surprisingly a deeper and more mellow tone, despite being straight through from header to tip. And frankly, none of them hold a candle to my old M20 setup (stock headers, stock piping, CA legal replacement cat, 2.5" Varex muffler). That thing rumbled like a beast! Was listening to some videos my GF shot of me driving and man was that thing gnarly!
        2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
        1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
        1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

        Comment


          Tips look great. Exhaust sounds amazing!

          Comment


            Thanks Mike! After lookin at my old setup and thinking it stuck out a bit too far, I feel like this one doesn't stick out far enough. When I get new welding wire I'm going to probably pull the tips out another 0.5 to 1 inch/

            Completed another little project today. My drivers side tweeter pod was already broken and basically falling off, and when I went to put the drivers side back on after the side mirror painting, that one broke too! Remembered seeing a while back that someone was selling 3D printed parts to fix it, so I decided to just make my own. Took a couple design edits, but wasn't particularly tough. I've definitely got some calibration to do for prints this small, but it gets the job done.


            Stuck it in the mount




            Threw a little glue on that sucker, and stuck the pod in place


            Unfortunately don't have any clamps or anything to hold it tight while it dries. I'm sure this isn't the type of thing that will hold up to removal and reinstall, but I have no issue redoing it every time I take out the tweeter pods, which is basically never.
            2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
            1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
            1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

            Comment


              So I did a thing...
              2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
              1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
              1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

              Comment


                New tires came today so I got them mounted on the rims and installed the drivers side for a test fit to see how it's all going to go down. Anyone care to take a guess on the tire sizes?












                And when I parked her back in the garage, the difference from drivers to passengers was pretty stark
                2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                Comment


                  After having them on for a couple days and trying to get the fitment dialed in, this is fuckign BEEFCAKE status. They're 215/45/17 in front and 235/45/17 in the rear, which I know everyone here will complain that this sizing is way too large but they're only 1/2" taller/wider than my old setup in front and 1" taller/wider in the rear. I hear a lot about Federal 595's running much larger than other tires, so I feel like that's part of the issue, because frankly they are too big. Unfortunately I'm always one to try new things, and often this means making mistakes, but what are you gonna do!? Despite being the wrong look for the car, they do look pretty freaking buff!

                  Part of the issue is certainly fitment. Because they're 8.5" +20 all around, I have to run spacers in front to clear the struts (the wheel lip sits exactly on the spring mount of the shortened struts). I started off with 6mm spacers in front with the coilovers raised almost an inch, and 8mm of spacers in the rear with the coilovers raised slightly more than an inch. After driving it around and realizing what a friggin monster truck she was, I made a few adjustments. It's hard to really capture how beefy she is in a picture, but the one below does the best job.


                  In an attempt to rein them in a bit, I moved to 5mm spacers in front and 3mm in the rear, and dropped it down all around by about 1/2".

                  Anyways, I can finally put the power down! It's like a whole different car! I can't always keep traction going WOT in 1st, but on grippy roads it'll hold, and damn does she move. This is literally the first time I've been able to feel the acceleration in 1st, as it would previously just spin. It also pulls HARD shifting into 2nd gear. Previously, as seen in my exhaust videos, it would spin all through 2nd gear if I shifted hard. Now it will get a bit of slip but absolutely freight train once it grabs. The car feels seriously fast. Unfortunately I think my brand new guibo is already starting to give out, or my diff going out. She's starting to get a pretty awful vibration when going WOT.

                  Anyways, I think I've got the fitment about as good as it's going to get. Doing a bit of testing on the direction I want to go with the look of the car:
                  • 80's- Blacked out window trim and front kidneys, gunmetal/grey wheels, tinted windows, stock pinstripe
                  • Classic- Polished window trim, windshield trim, rear window trim, and front kidneys, silver wheels with polished lips, non-tinted windows, lose stock pinstripe
                  Will have some example pics to follow
                  2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                  1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                  1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                  Comment


                    Where abouts in SF Bay are you? greetings from campbell :P

                    I noticed you 3d printed a hose barb for your booster where normally a check valve would go. Might want a check valve so you have brakes if your engine dies.

                    The vibration you have could be the oreilly axle. I broke several OEM axles with an N/A s52. in my experience the diff and DS are not the weak point.
                    The oreilly axles also have a smaller CV joint than OEM judging by your pictures. Does the vibration come through to the gear lever?

                    I have to agree with you about fitment issues. Your wheels are square width so I don't understand the purpose of staggered tire sizes. You'd be a lot better off with something like 235/40 square, which the the widest size you can realistically fit on stock fenders. That would require a fender roll and front camber plates though.

                    here's 235/40 on my car




                    cheers
                    Last edited by pandaboo911; 06-14-2020, 05:20 PM.

                    Comment


                      Happy 4th of July!
                      2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                      1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                      1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                      Comment


                        Car looks great, its come quite far!
                        Simon
                        Current Cars:
                        -1999 996.1 911 4/98 3.8L 6-Speed, 21st Century Beetle

                        Make R3V Great Again -2020

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by 2mAn View Post
                          Car looks great, its come quite far!
                          Thanks mang!

                          A few things have happened since I last posted. When I moved several months ago I knew I'd need to move down to 2 cars by October. When putting myself into this situation, I had come to terms with the idea that the car to be disposed of was my 1997 Ford Probe GT. I've been in the PGT game since 2001, and owned that car in particular since 2008. It was tough to come to the decision, but after letting it digest for several months, I finally pulled it into the garage to pull parts of value, and send it off to the JY. The unfortunate fact is that these cars have basically no resale value, and in California, they are completely forgotten about. Time to move on I suppose.






                          So now I am at two... but... getting rid of a car, just creates another itch. So, as of this weekend, a new car was purchased to replace both the project and the daily. For now her name is Mazikeen, we'll see if it sticks. She's a 2011 z4 sdrive35i in black with red interior and a manual trans. VERY HARD TO FIND. I've been vaguely looking for a few years and finally found one and pulled the trigger as of a little over a week ago. This particular example happens to have 45k miles, Pure stage 2 turbos with all supporting mods, and ~450whp at a conservative 18psi. It is... fun. The 2003 Z4 will be sorely missed, but after driving this thing for the weekend, I'm pretty damn stoked about the decision.




                          2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                          1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                          1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                          Comment


                            Gorgeous color combo on the Z4 - the E89 has a more timeless design than the E85 and IMHO looks waaay better than the current G29. Well done.



                            MJ

                            Comment


                              Agreed! The black with red interior really sets the car apart. I'd actually been looking for this color combo for so long I had concluded it would never be an option. Then somehow I managed to find 3 within the course of 2 weeks! For context if you look for a sdrive35i with manual trans across the country, there are like 5 for sale at any given time. There are tons of false positives saying they're manual even though they're actually DCT.

                              Definitely much better looking that the G29, but I think it's pretty neck and neck against the e85 z4m
                              2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed- Silver, 19's, daily driver
                              1990 Silver 325i- Lowered on H&R OE Sports, e90 drop hats, KYB shocks, color matched rocker panels, 16" Emortal RS wheels on 205/50/16 tires... Currently getting a full refresh including an S52 swap!
                              1997 Black Ford Probe GT- Stripped to 2220lbs, MS3X, Forged motor in midst of assembly... Dyno results and 1/4 mile times pending

                              Comment


                                Very nice build!!!
                                BMW E30 M3 - S50B32
                                www.e30.is

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