And then there was Bella

[Julien]

Looking great! Are those 205/50/15's? I just bought a set of Ronals too and can't decide what tires to go with

yep, on the fence about going back to 205/55r15 but tire selection is :down:

[Jb325is]

Looking great! Are those 205/50/15's? I just bought a set of Ronals too and can't decide what tires to go with

[Mike36]

I wish you would've seen that crack in the seat a bit sooner, I had like three seat bottoms I just threw away over the weekend.

[freeride53]

Lovely progress! Looks great, can't wait to see it soon!

[Julien]

One final update for the weekend.

I finally got around to installing the Walbro I bought on eBay. Taking my fuel pump out, I was surprised to see if was original and still running fine!


(Clamp got replaced by a zip tie as it wouldn't fit in the tank opening )

I fixed up and installed a black 325is trunklid I bought off Mike36. Finally no more shaved look.

Needs an emblem.. I know

And last but not least... the passenger seat!


This side had a crack in it that had to be welded:


My welds usually aren't pretty


I did not get the covers to fit as nicely as the driver seat. According to Auto Custom leather I got some "belly" leather. I'm guessing old girl had stretch marks. They'll send me new pieces but for now this works.

Put the back side out in the sun for a bit.

And... Done!


His and hers:


Hopefully a few days in the sun/heat will flatten out some of the smaller wrinkles. Eagerly awaiting for the back seat and door panels to arrive

It's been a long thanksgiving weekend :yawn:


Cheers.

[blizzard]

Got some Garagistic love in the mail recently!

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.

Zero degrees was what I liked on track at the time that I did the alignment.

[Jean]

Sexy interior !

[laidback93]

Nice write up. Can't wait to see that interior finished!

[Julien]

why’d they draw a nutsack on your odometer gears

IT's A CHIN AND A NOSE

[kronus]

why’d they draw a nutsack on your odometer gears

[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.

[2mAn]

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

[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.

[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]

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