the Black Spot... a euro bumper '87 325is with track mods

[paynemw]

I need one of these BMW Selector Rod Joint - Genuine BMW 25117503525 and I definitely want to get an AKG Stage 2 trans mounted shifter.

[paynemw]

Over the summer my parents have had a bunch of rain, and there's been standing water in the driver's side of the truck. I've cleaned the sun roof gutters, blown them out with compressed air, cleaned the trunk lid deck and the gasket, replaced the tail light gaskets and finally got to replacing the rear breathing covers (PN: 64221922739). When I pulled them out, they looked like this:


the caulk is heavy and the gasket is trashed


Here's the breather from the driver's side


I picked up two new gaskets (PN: 64221922280) and cleaned the hell out of the breathing covers. Here's a look at the clean product before installation:


I do need another cap (PN: 64221922652)


Let's hope this reduces water coming in. I do have the Garagistic antenna delete grommet that might be contributing. God I hope this stops the water.

If all goes well, I'll be getting something cool done in the next month!

[paynemw]

A quick update. I've been traveling for work for a while, but while I've been gone I ordered a 5th Style 5 and will have those shipped to Ehrlich Wheel Works to be filled, drilled to 4x100 and painted. They also just did a set, so this is what I'm hoping to have in 3 or 4 weeks:


sending the 5x style 5's off


I was reading through mike.bmw's thread and saw he recently installed some H4/H1s. Well my pops drives my car regularly and absolutely hates the 30 year old lighting. I went ahead and bought the same kit from http://classicgarage.com/53hehekit.html . Decent price too.

I also purchased an AKG Short Shifter and DSSR, so stoked.

[paynemw]

So i pulled this off my car...

...and this too


to put on something really cool!

I also put on those headlights, which went really well. The only thing that sucks is I realized I have mismatching headlight trim.

[sampayne]

Wheels come in yet?

[paynemw]

Wheels come in yet?

Hey Sam, not yet. I talked with Paul and they should be getting finished up next week. I hope to pick them up the week of the 12th.

Since I pulled the Z3 shifter out, I replaced it with this gorgeous body mounted shifter.


But if you look closely to this picture, there's something different besides the shifter. Which has to do with this...

...Thanks to Schneller 3er! I bought early model manual window regulators and modified the Mkah panels.

I also removed the door wire harness since I don't run tweeters, don't have a functional central locking system and now have the manual window regulators, which is great because the junction for the driver's side harness was destroyed and didn't function.

I got rid of the gauge mount that took place of the OEM ashtray and put the ashtray back, but modified. I put the USB power outlet in the place of the cigarette lighter, but had to do some trimming, then I took some parts out of the ashtray to make it more useful.


only thing that sucks, you can see the screw holes from the aftermarket gauge mount...



I also got the interior lights to work, but only when I open the passenger door. I need to fix the driver side door switch.

[paynemw]

Yesterday I pulled the unused cruise control system from the car while I was tidying up the door wire harnesses (since I've deleted those in the door). You have to first disconnect a rounded plug from the cruise controller and push that through the engine bay. I grabbed a 17mm rubber plug to fill the hole in the firewall boot. Then while I had the cluster out and the center HVAC out, I pulled the harness out and the computer (which is above the ECU). This sucked because you literally have to pull those out and unclip the harness retainers to remove the harness, but it's a separate harness, so you don't have to cut any wires.


BMW 325i Cruise Control Computer Module E30 85-91 OEM 1 371 714.9


BMW Cruise Control Switch E30 OEM 61311377246


BMW Cruise Control Actuator OEM 1 373 681.9


Here you can see that you'll need to purchase and install a new cable (PN 65711386243)


I also got these amazing door cards from my manual window conversion purchase from Schneller 3er which I have listed for sale. They are the same door cards that go in late model coupes, check this out:

[2mAn]

Find yourself one more of those blanking plates that are on the passenger side so you can delete the mirror adjustment piece. Piece by Piece the weight drops... Its a great thing. The center console without the window switch cutouts will be a pain to find though, and likely wont be cheap.

[paynemw]

I forgot to post but I installed those headlights I got a while back. While I was in there, I found that I have disgusting mismatched headlight trim.


but I cleaned them up.


You can see the clarity of the new bulbs vs the old sealed beams...


The finished product is soo much nicer:

...and at night, damn the difference is crazy!

Oh!! That body mount shifter I showed earlier...

...and selector rod...

and new shifter linkage

is NIGHT and DAY difference from the Z3 shifter. I actually prefer how tight and short the AKG shifter is. At first I was almost overwhelmed, but after driving it daily for two weeks, it's become very comfortable and easy.

I ended up fixing the driver's side interior light switch, which was a pain in the ass. The PO hacked the harness to the point of me having to bypass the interior light timer controller (which is listed for sale) but that was quite easy after reading through the ETM. I also spent some time removing the central locking module and part of that harness. I am still in a pickle with my sunroof. After removing the door harness I can't get the sunroof to work even though I've done some preliminary diagnosis. I think I need to spend a few more hours breaking down the diagram to close that out. Thank the lord I saved the circuit breaker harness and breaker... I wouldn't mind deleting the sunroof all together, but that's way down the line.

I also pick up the style 5's from Ehrlich Wheel Works next week! I won't put them on the car for a while because I'm back to being a student after 10 years. Let the hustle begin.

[AWDBOB]

That headlight resto looks great! Can’t wait to see your car on the style 5s.

[paynemw]

Can’t wait to see your car on the style 5s.

Yea, I'm stoked to see too! The wheels are done, Paul is just finishing up the center caps, and will ship them up here. I am on student salary again (after 11 years)... so i won't put them on immediately, I'll wait a while (maybe before the Vintage?!) to get tires and put them on.

I did snag the $25 3D printed OBC delete and put it in today.



It makes the center console look much cleaner, and I don't feel overwhelmed with the OBC and can soon throw a phone mount in the space.



And to close out, The only concern I have with the AKG so far is a bit of binding when under load when making a tight left turn going from 1st to 2nd gear. Other than that, I'm happy with it! My wife hates it though!

[zwill23]

That OBC delete looks great! I like that is sits flush, mine is recessed just behind the panel face.

Car is looking sweet, though I might be biased

[paynemw]

I just got some pictures.... and these bad boys should be coming back to me this week! I

f you guys remember, I fell onto a $50 or $60 set of e34 Style 5 wheels (BMW PN 1179774) and decided to get them filled & drilled. I sent them off to Ehlrich WheelWorks in NC.

[paynemw]

My brother took the whip out early the other day to snag some new photos to keep me motivated.























I'm hoping to scrape enough money together to put tires on the Style 5s, buy tuner lugs, get the right size hub rings and do a tune up for the Vintage. Keep your fingers crossed.

[paynemw]

While COVID-19 has given me the ability to be remote, the wife and I relocated back to RVA. This weekend I worked on the e30 a bit. I was going to work on my bimmerworld studs to make them the appropriate length to run my e34 Style 5s, but I ended up spending too much time helping my pops this weekend. So i only got the steering coupler bushing swapped in.
I had this in my parts box and figured it was time to swap it in.


Jack the car up and find the passenger side of the oil pan is covered.. err..


Since I installed the Garagistic aluminum bushings, I just unbolted everything, left the lower portion of the steering coupler on and pulled the top off. I didn't even half to loosen the rack.


I knew the coupler bushing was worn, I could feel it. Here's the evidence:


More evidence:

New bushing installed:




I also installed another o-shit handle for the driver seat. I attempted to get the check panel oil light to go off, but I think I got the wires backwards, I'll to fix that later this week. I'm also hoping to order some tires for the Style 5s and get them mounted now that I have the 8mm spacers for the front that are required to clear the brakes.