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Big Al's Revenge: an OEM+, MTech1 325e restoration

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    Seems like an SI battery problem. Ask Greg about it, he'll help you out.

    RISING EDGE

    Let's drive fast and have fun.

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      speaking of that, my SI battery isn't working either, I have to look at my receipt to see if I had BavRest replace it.
      Paynemw
      1986 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - Sold!
      the ebb and flow of 325is ownership - In RVA
      1988 BMW 535is - RIP but my dream BMW

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        Digitalwave yah I'll have to reach out, just wanted to avoid removing the cluster again and taking it apart. I'd like to avoid shipping the whole thing out to him again.
        '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

        Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

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          I just a thought regarding you SI Board issues. Did you use the wrong set of screws to hold the bezel back in place? If you use the longer screws, they go too far and damage the SI board. People often mix up the longer and shorter sets of screws when reinstalling the cluster.

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            Yeah, I feel you about having to ship it off again. I need to have something done about my Tach needle, it is loose and wanders around. My tach readings are all over the place.
            I do things.

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              the story about your neighbor is awesome! Something about the F80 just looks so good. My neighbors are gear heads, but Subaru fans. Him and his wife both have Subarus. One has an FRS and the other has a Legacy? Great work on this!

              Comment


                Originally posted by mike.bmw
                I just a thought regarding you SI Board issues. Did you use the wrong set of screws to hold the bezel back in place? If you use the longer screws, they go too far and damage the SI board. People often mix up the longer and shorter sets of screws when reinstalling the cluster.
                Yah I've read enough horror stories to make sure the screws are correct, but good thought. If it were that and the thing was damaged you'd think it wouldn't have worked form the get-go, however had been working fine for a few months up until recently. Maybe was damaged by a prior owner (it was a spare I had), I'll have to pull it out and check but don't remember seeing any damage on it when I took it apart.

                Melon, hoping he'll let me send out just the SI board, will update.

                jeenyus too bad about the Sub's, although a gear head is still a gear head. My fianceé and I always argue about who the worst drivers on the road are between Subaru's and Prius drivers (my vote is for the Prius all day long). Although I guess Subaru WRX/FRS drivers are cut from a different cloth than kale chip-eating, birkenstock-wearing Forester drivers.
                '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

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                  Don't forget if you remove the cluster and drive the car, the alternator isn't going to work so it will drain your battery quickly.

                  RISING EDGE

                  Let's drive fast and have fun.

                  Comment


                    Digitalwave, damn, never knew that. If I have to send it out I have a few spare clusters I can use in the meantime.
                    '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                    Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                    Comment


                      It's a weird design but the alternator excites through the battery bulb in the bottom of the cluster. If you keep that bulb plugged in (even with the cluster removed), it will complete the circuit and excite the alternator.

                      RISING EDGE

                      Let's drive fast and have fun.

                      Comment


                        Yeup, there is an exciter wire that runs to the alternator. I had a similar issue and wanted to drive my car without my cluster while I had it rebuilt by BavRest... but that damn wire got me.
                        Paynemw
                        1986 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - Sold!
                        the ebb and flow of 325is ownership - In RVA
                        1988 BMW 535is - RIP but my dream BMW

                        Comment


                          Not much of an update, but I finally did a thing today:



                          Picked up all my supplies! And it was much cheaper than I thought it would be. I was thinking I'd need a gallon of base coat (which in color code 138 was super pricey, like $265/qt pricey), however didn't realize that when you add reducer, 2 quarts of base makes you a gallon of sprayable paint, basically cut my estimate in half. Plus, I ended up going with Octoral base coat (a new product made by Valspar) at the advice of my paint guy. It's a direct competitor to Axalta Cromax and is even a bit higher quality, and he's had a lot of his customers prefer it. That, AND Valspar was running a special to encourage people to try it at 50% off, so roughly 1/4 of what I was prepared to spend. I was pleased as punch.



                          Looks like Zinno to me:



                          Came out a little dark in the photo, but I held the lid up to the car it's it's a dead-on match.

                          I'm almost 100% done prepping the MTech kit (had to fill a few rock chips and a few drill holes that had been in the wrong locations, they will be totally ready for primer by the end of the weekend. I didn't want to start breaking down and sanding the car until I at least had some epoxy primer on hand to seal any bare metal. Will hopefully get going on stripping the car over the next week or so.
                          '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                          Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

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                            Man! Stoked for you! Super cool that the price came down, must add a little extra motivation to get going. Tho I don't envy the thought of going the finishing stages of all those little grooves on the bottom of the air dam. BUT as they say, it'll really tie the room together and definitely feel satisfying to finish.

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                              Had a weird thing happen yesterday after work. Pulled into the garage and noticed a weird rattle coming from the engine bay. Car was driving fine, and I was hauling on the way home too. Noticed my harmonic balancer and power steering pulley seamed a bit loose. I went out this morning to take a better look after the engine cooled down and sure enough, the six bolts holding the pulley and balancer were loose to the point that I'm shocked they didn't come flying off:



                              I had torqued everything to spec according to the Bentley when I did the timing belt/crank seals, and all it called for were some wave washers on the bolts, no LocTite. Needless to say, they're Loc-Tite'd, and they ain't going anywhere now. Wasted the better part of my evening fixing that boo-boo, as I continue to lose time on breaking the car down. The Vintage is looking less and less plausible at this point, sigh.
                              '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                              Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

                              Comment


                                Finally some progress worthy of a post:

                                The last couple weeks have been spent rearranging the garage and selling some parts so that I could clean up and start priming. I also had to do a few last little repairs on the MTech parts as well as get my compressor setup mocked up to achieve as best a result as possible.

                                I ended up moving my compressor into my other garage to avoid the fan kicking up all kind of dust, with a 5 micron filter right at the regulator:





                                I ran the hose from the compressor into the garage where I'll be doing the spraying, allowing the air to cool a bit before hitting a dual-stage 5 micron filter, followed by a Motor Guard air drying filter, followed by a Motor Guard charcoal filter. Maybe a bit overboard, but the last thing I want is any water in my paint. I mocked it up so I have a T valve to two separate hoses, one directly after the dual stage filter for my air tools and such, and a second line after the dryer/charcoal filter for paint so I don't use up the drying filters on sanding/grinding
                                .






                                I also have a DeVilbiss in-line filter right at the connection of the air hose into the gun. If I get any water droplets in the paint it certainly isn't for lack of effort.

                                I don't care as much for primer since it's heavy and the over spray isn't as bad, but when I move on to base/clear I'll have the entire garage covered in plastic, Dexter style.

                                I've been secretly dreading getting the first bit of primer on because I just don't want to fuck it up. I've done every other little errand in preparation for it, cleaned, re-cleaned, re-re-cleaned all the parts. Today I finally had to bite the bullet.

                                Wish me luck!



                                I got the front and sides in high-build 2K primer, took a minute to get the hang of it but ended up coming out pretty good!












                                I definitely need a bunch more practice before it starts feeling natural but I'm pretty happy with how they came out. I plan on getting the rear apron and spoiler insert primed this weekend, then I'll start blocking all these parts so that I can let the primer sit and cure for a few weeks while I start breaking the car itself down.

                                On a side note, the guy who ended up buying some of my MTech parts is in Charlotte and does auto painting for a living. He's E30Riley on Instagram, and he's the man. Has been giving me a bunch of painting tips and answering a ton of my endless questions. He's currently working on an MTech vert so check out his social media for updates. One of the best parts of this hobby is connecting with guys like that, willing to lend a hand and some expertise to someone like me who's never done this before.

                                Stay tuned...
                                '86 325e Zinnoberrot /// '02 325ci Schwarz II /// '18 M4 Azurite Black Metallic ///

                                Albie325 Build Thread | Albie325 COTM Jan 2021

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