And then there was Bella

[2mAn]

finally there's a thread jeez

it's gonna be a good car

IF he keeps it for longer than a month

[rzerob]

Subscribed.

[zwill23]

Man, that roof rack picture had me do a double take. So similar, but so far away from my car. Really puts it perspective where mine could be at one day.

I spent a couple hours buffing my hood and trunk like you recommend a while back, it's very far from perfect but still a vast improvement. Thanks for the advice!

[Julien]

Man, that roof rack picture had me do a double take. So similar, but so far away from my car. Really puts it perspective where mine could be at one day.

I spent a couple hours buffing my hood and trunk like you recommend a while back, it's very far from perfect but still a vast improvement. Thanks for the advice!

Nice dude!! I did clay bar, meguiars ultimate compound, polish, wax with my high speed buffer.

[Bimmerman325i]

Nice work! It's come a long way.


I need to get my act together and work on my moneypits.

[Albie325]

You wouldn't be willing to part with that spare Nardi Woodline would you...

Excited to see what you have in store, nice car

[TeXJ]

loving the progress! Subscribed.

[Mike36]

Anyone want to start a pool and see how long he keeps this one for?!

[Julien]

Nice work! It's come a long way.


I need to get my act together and work on my moneypits.

Lemme borrow that s54 real quick ;)

You wouldn't be willing to part with that spare Nardi Woodline would you...

Excited to see what you have in store, nice car

Sure

loving the progress! Subscribed.

Thanks!

Anyone want to start a pool and see how long he keeps this one for?!

y so mean








I'm thinking of giving the title to kronus or something so I can't sell her

[Julien]

Got some Garagistic love in the mail recently!

(an e36 rack swap kit and some odometer gears)

Took a couple of the spare instrument clusters I had apart to make one good one with a working odometer. Almost all of these were a mix of motometer an vdo parts. Always check your actual speedo before ordering gears.


All new and shiny:


I decided to be fancy and install chrome cluster rings. I'll pull them out if I have a change of heart about them, but for now I like them.


Next up was swapping in the Z3 (2.7 turn lock to lock linear) rebuilt steering rack I got on Ebay. Everything went pretty straight forward.


My rebuilt e30 steering rack (4 turns lock to lock) that I'm not sure what to do with. Maybe somebody will want it, someday.


Did a quick alignment check with my buddy Dirk's tool. Pretty cool gadget for sure, uses mirrors to check front toe. Mine was right at 0 degrees (somehow) so I left it for now.


Drove the car a lot in really bad air quality :-?

(Because no cabin filter)

Last mechanical work I did to the car was a bit of a marathon. I fixed a camseal that was leaking. Replaced the timing belt as it had a few years on it but very little miles. Replaced the front rotors (well Kronus did that). Fix a leak at the Z3 rack banjo bolt, Drop down my exhaust and weld a leaking connection, and swap springs (Kronus did that too) *gasp* it was a long day.

Leaky seal:


Weitec (green) vs H&R Race (red) Springs and matching feet.


Did the spring swap as the car was getting a little too harsh for daily driving with the Race springs. So far I'm pretty happy with the Weitecs that Kronus had laying around. The change of springs Raised the car up about 3/4"


More to come. Soon.

[Julien]

My seat upholstery came in from Auto Custom Leather. This is my second order with them, the first was for Betty. Since Bella had M3 seats swapped into her at some point I decided to spring for something special. Evo Cloth!!

First, lets discuss my current (hideous) interior. It was sewn by someone half blind, completely drunk, at night using the worlds hardest and shiniest vinyl. BLECH.

Look at those wavy door panels.


No Comment


I could shave in that it's so reflective


And here is today's patient.


On the exam table:


My very patient gf doing blackfriday stuff:


Steaming the Foam


Stretching and hog ringing the leather in place


Top side done


Steaming the bottom side:


Here is a little trick I use to fold the upholstery over the foam. Since it's hard to anchor hog rings into foam I put a little bailing wire to snug things up:


Once I check everything is centered I hog ring away on both sides and remove the bailing wire:


Here is the completed product:


Installed:


Hopefully getting to the other seat soon. Back seat and door cards are still on their way here.

'till next time, cheers.

[2mAn]

Interior is looking fresh. I hope you do keep this one

[lukeADE335i]

This car is what i mean when I tell people to buy the best car you can find and make it better.

Here, here. Always best to start with the best starting point you can!

Well done on the seat work OP - vast improvement over the vinyl that was there!

Nice work on the car overall, turning into a great daily.

[kronus]

why’d they draw a nutsack on your odometer gears

[Julien]

why’d they draw a nutsack on your odometer gears

IT's A CHIN AND A NOSE