88' Zinno M3 (Progress Thread)

[jhaurimn]

It took a lot of effort to find a new washer tank as they went NLA, but I finally got my hands on one. Used washer tanks did not look good enough to put in my engine bay :)

[CRBR30]

Just read the whole thing. I'm glad that m3 ended up with the right owner!

[Bimmer_man]

Oh the little shiny bits I see it. Well yeah I see where yiure coming from. Powder coat would be the best option. Didn't that come powder coated from bmw? I know you refinished it just want to make sure my facts are right.

[jhaurimn]

Could we see the air box it looks nice in the pics. I'm a little curious on what you're looking at.

Look at the last set of pictures. On the engine bay picture, the top of the plenum (that says BMW M POWER, not the air filter intake). See those flat black spots? It should be wrinkled, but the old hood insulation wore those spots down.

[Bimmer_man]

Could we see the air box it looks nice in the pics. I'm a little curious on what you're looking at.

[jhaurimn]

I just went through your build thread again. And still as amazing as the first time man. Any new updates? Even if its just a few new shots of the engine bay or car.

Not a lot has been going on with my car really. I did however manage to snag a s14 hood insulation as I found out the one in my car is for an m20! Thankfully my friend picked up another m3 and is swapping ANOTHER s54 into it, so he didnt have a use for the hood pad that came with it :)

Heres a shot of me helping strip it down for paint. Should be done this week actually...


Here is the hood insulation installed after I cleaned it lightly with de-greaser and water then painted it with black trim paint. Came out great!


Heres a recent engine bay shot :) Im not happy with the finish on the airbox after the old hood insulation kept rubbing up against it. I will probably pull it and have it properly powdercoated in the winter.


I also recently bought gaskets for the windshield. I would really like to get the new windshield in before winter...we will see.


Oh, and heres a toolbench I made from scratch one bored sunday. So nice having a bench vice....my god.

[jhaurimn]

Love the approach you are taking. I have to clean every bit I come across: clean, paint, polish, somehow make better! Very detailed. Thank you for sharing pictures and details of your work.

While you were cleaning that foot pad, pop off your pedal covers and toss them in the dishwasher! Accelerator pedal, too!

Are you using a thread restorer at all, or using new fasteners?

Shocked to see you using those perforated hose clamps! No Norma, T-clamp, Oetiker, et al?

The PS hoses are brand new or did you reuse the terminals and have the shells pressed on? I am redoing PS set-up with a new res and hoses on the E30 and E38. Plan to use local hose shop (Colliflower, sells Parker Hoses) to rebuild if price is reasonable. Otherwise, Norma clamps or maybe even Oetiker (would need to purchase kit, ~ $50).

Keep up the good work. The attention to detail and disciplined approach is noteworthy.

PS hoses are brand new. Ive been buying new fastners when neccesary but most hardware is still in good condition.

I have been reusing norma clamps, I'm not going to use oetiker. They arent worth it when you need to remove one in a tight spot without a proper tool.

[TimeMachinE30]

Love the approach you are taking. I have to clean every bit I come across: clean, paint, polish, somehow make better! Very detailed. Thank you for sharing pictures and details of your work.

While you were cleaning that foot pad, pop off your pedal covers and toss them in the dishwasher! Accelerator pedal, too!

Are you using a thread restorer at all, or using new fasteners?

Shocked to see you using those perforated hose clamps! No Norma, T-clamp, Oetiker, et al?

The PS hoses are brand new or did you reuse the terminals and have the shells pressed on? I am redoing PS set-up with a new res and hoses on the E30 and E38. Plan to use local hose shop (Colliflower, sells Parker Hoses) to rebuild if price is reasonable. Otherwise, Norma clamps or maybe even Oetiker (would need to purchase kit, ~ $50).

Keep up the good work. The attention to detail and disciplined approach is noteworthy.

[Bimmer_man]

I just went through your build thread again. And still as amazing as the first time man. Any new updates? Even if its just a few new shots of the engine bay or car.

[anabolice30]

So much respect

[CorvallisBMW]

Shiny new parts :)

[iwantspeed]

Nice work this car is so clean

[jhaurimn]

I literally had a pool of PS fluid in my garage. They were leaking from the low pressure hoses to and from the reservoir. Its pretty obvious why they were leaking like a pig.




I replaced the reservoir when I replaced the rack, so I didn't replace that again. Cleaned up the bracket though.

[2002jm]

good job

Now that is the way to do the resto. on your m3!!!
Looks very good!
jm

[jhaurimn]

Wow, been over 3 months since an update. I shifted focus onto my daily (m52 swap, suspension refresh) so that has something to do with it. But I have some stuff to post now.

To some people, there is nothing wrong with this picture. To others, this is infuriating. Its in the wrong spot...


Moved to the right spot, but the paint in the area was messed up. Thankfully, a little rubbing compound and polish took care of this.


Much better.


Ok, so this is the main part of the update. The car was in a small collision at some point, and there were some parts of the underbody in the front wheel wheels that looked iffy. Also, the front bumper brackets were missing. I had bought the brackets awhile back, and got a welding friend to help me stick them on.


Test fit was good.


The main reason I got the brackets done now was I had plans to redo the underbody in the wheel wells. To do it properly, I took off the side skirts, fenders, and removed the strut housings. You can see in the first pictures some spots I had used por-15 on previously as there was some surface rust starting.




In the process of going down to the metal on the spots that I had concern about. I also hit some spots in the wheel wheel as well. You can tell the body shop that did the repair did not take much care in rust proofing.


Then, por-15 to the fender and all the spots in the wheel well I took care of.


Then, undercoating.


Well, I guess while the strut assemblies are out... ;D




And now...reassembly :) Side skirt hardware was done on the fly by the body shop....well done.


Lets try these


You cant see them in the pictures, but I also added these roll-center spacers.


And the payoff :)