Felt like updating this thread a bit, haven't been able to do as much to the car as I would have liked but it's definitely come a long way since April. I guess I left off with the de-chroming fiasco. The only thing good that came out of the picture below, the wheels looked pretty cool after the chrome as stripped:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/25AEJ6x]
Once I delivered these to the wheel shop I found that one wheel was incredibly bent, so much so that it could not be repaired and I was stuck with (3) 17x9 M-systems. Found another one on ebay that was said to be perfectly straight (it wasn't) and had delivered directly to the wheel shop (Prince Wheel Services in Monroe, NC- Definitely recommended). I had all of the wheels powdercoated mono-tone silver for simplicity's sake. I've always liked the look, and had a few all silver sets over the years but they were always spray-bombed, so it's good to have a proper set. I may end up painting the inners black at some point, but for now I'm happy with them. Got the wheels mounted and on the car just in time for the Vintage. Also installed 15mm front/10mm rear spacers and MH studs
[url=https://flic.kr/p/JQrha9]
Old pic of the fleet from around that time:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/25Up8cL]
The trip there was alright, keep in mind I had barely driven the car at all up to this point so I was learning about it on the fly. The Ground Control setup is great, the 450/350 rates are really nice and compliant, I got no complaints from my wife on the 3 hr drive from Charlotte to Asheville relating to ride quality. The car did exhibit some odd overheating symptoms, I could hear the fan clutch engaging/disengaging on the hwy and the car was running a tick over halfway on the coolant temp gauge at times. More on that later. For now just a couple pics from the Vintage, some of these were grabbed off of the Vintage FB page, so thanks to whoever took them.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/27xxmpc]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/28VqAVB]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/26u5sgx]
After the Vintage, I was a bit bummed about the car and all of the small issues that I hadn't planned on that were starting to add up in addition to the obvious cosmetic stuff.
-Overheating issue
-No A/C, ineffective heat
-Stereo not working
-RR window regulator no good
-Cluster still wonky, no instrument lighting at night
Good news was my steering wheel showed up:
2018-06-04_06-06-10
2018-06-04_06-05-40
2018-06-04_06-05-55
I didn't really mess with the car for a month or so, and actually went through a period recently that had me considering selling it since my e39 m5 is similarly modified and better in every way... But I've since come back to my senses and am trying to wrap up the mechanical fixes for now. I'll feel a lot better about the car when I can start working on the cosmetic side of things
Current project- Cooling system overhaul
This shitty radiator might be part of my cooling issues. Like everything else on this car, it's ultra dirty from sitting for a long time. I took this apart with the intentions of replacing the thermostat and seeing what that did, but once I got in there I realized that it needed more than that so I'm doing radiator, water pump, hoses, T-stat and giving everything a really good clean.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ka4vmD]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/28P2pW4]
Lastly, threw the covers on the other day. I kinda like it, but ultimately I won't be happy until I get some turbines
[url=https://flic.kr/p/27rWPHv]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/25AEJ6x]Once I delivered these to the wheel shop I found that one wheel was incredibly bent, so much so that it could not be repaired and I was stuck with (3) 17x9 M-systems. Found another one on ebay that was said to be perfectly straight (it wasn't) and had delivered directly to the wheel shop (Prince Wheel Services in Monroe, NC- Definitely recommended). I had all of the wheels powdercoated mono-tone silver for simplicity's sake. I've always liked the look, and had a few all silver sets over the years but they were always spray-bombed, so it's good to have a proper set. I may end up painting the inners black at some point, but for now I'm happy with them. Got the wheels mounted and on the car just in time for the Vintage. Also installed 15mm front/10mm rear spacers and MH studs
[url=https://flic.kr/p/JQrha9]Old pic of the fleet from around that time:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/25Up8cL]The trip there was alright, keep in mind I had barely driven the car at all up to this point so I was learning about it on the fly. The Ground Control setup is great, the 450/350 rates are really nice and compliant, I got no complaints from my wife on the 3 hr drive from Charlotte to Asheville relating to ride quality. The car did exhibit some odd overheating symptoms, I could hear the fan clutch engaging/disengaging on the hwy and the car was running a tick over halfway on the coolant temp gauge at times. More on that later. For now just a couple pics from the Vintage, some of these were grabbed off of the Vintage FB page, so thanks to whoever took them.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/27xxmpc][url=https://flic.kr/p/28VqAVB][url=https://flic.kr/p/26u5sgx]After the Vintage, I was a bit bummed about the car and all of the small issues that I hadn't planned on that were starting to add up in addition to the obvious cosmetic stuff.
-Overheating issue
-No A/C, ineffective heat
-Stereo not working
-RR window regulator no good
-Cluster still wonky, no instrument lighting at night
Good news was my steering wheel showed up:
2018-06-04_06-06-10 2018-06-04_06-05-40 2018-06-04_06-05-55 I didn't really mess with the car for a month or so, and actually went through a period recently that had me considering selling it since my e39 m5 is similarly modified and better in every way... But I've since come back to my senses and am trying to wrap up the mechanical fixes for now. I'll feel a lot better about the car when I can start working on the cosmetic side of things
Current project- Cooling system overhaul
This shitty radiator might be part of my cooling issues. Like everything else on this car, it's ultra dirty from sitting for a long time. I took this apart with the intentions of replacing the thermostat and seeing what that did, but once I got in there I realized that it needed more than that so I'm doing radiator, water pump, hoses, T-stat and giving everything a really good clean.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ka4vmD][url=https://flic.kr/p/28P2pW4]Lastly, threw the covers on the other day. I kinda like it, but ultimately I won't be happy until I get some turbines
[url=https://flic.kr/p/27rWPHv]
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