[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

The trick is to find a BMW body shop that will eventually paint a BMW with your color. Once they set the paint booth up to shoot that car, they will shoot your car for a reduced price.

That would be a pretty smooth move!!!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

That would be a pretty smooth move!!!

I learned this from needing a new mirror for the Z3. My wife (her car) decided to remove the mirror without tools...

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I learned this from needing a new mirror for the Z3. My wife (her car) decided to remove the mirror without tools...

She knows how much you like working on cars, the help is always appreciated!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

She knows how much you like working on cars, the help is always appreciated!

I think she fell in love with me (now long passed ) when I fixed the long-defunct heat in her 1979 VW Bug ragtop. Took me 10 minutes and a 1/4 can of WD-40.

I remember the day when she walked into the garage and saw the entire interior of the Z3 spread out on the floor while I was building a new audio system for it and she completely freaked out. God, that was hilarious!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I think she fell in love with me (now long passed ) when I fixed the long-defunct heat in her 1979 VW Bug ragtop. Took me 10 minutes and a 1/4 can of WD-40.

I remember the day when she walked into the garage and saw the entire interior of the Z3 spread out on the floor while I was building a new audio system for it and she completely freaked out. God, that was hilarious!

She was trying to rekindle that spark with the help of a wing mirror!

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Started out by putting a spare kit together. Them promptly pulling it out, as I have runflats! But I can use it if I want to!

Ok... get rid of that death trap jack. Get a scissor jack from an X5. I had one of those little ramp jacks break (the plastic) on me right as I was putting the lug bolts in.

I had run flats and came out and had one low. Put the "spare" on and drove to a place to have it fixed. Screw in the tread. It took the manager to correct the repair guy that you can fix a run flat if it hasn't been driven on while flat.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

Ok... get rid of that death trap jack. Get a scissor jack from an X5. I had one of those little ramp jacks break (the plastic) on me right as I was putting the lug bolts in.

I had run flats and came out and had one low. Put the "spare" on and drove to a place to have it fixed. Screw in the tread. It took the manager to correct the repair guy that you can fix a run flat if it hasn't been driven on while flat.

Well that must have got your heart rate up!!!

[Greyfox]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Well that must have got your heart rate up!!!

It wasn't the car coming down that scared me... it was that jack launching itself from the side of the car. If anyone would have been in its way, someone's body parts would of hurt or got broken.

[StradaRedlands]

Got to a few of the things on my backlogged to-do list today. The big one was finding the leak in the windshield reservoir. I took a chance that it was the main pump, and got lucky as that was the only part I ordered and had on hand! Pretty straightforward disassembly, something I haven't done before but NBD after getting the front end up.

Originally Posted by Greyfox

TIP... before attempting to put washer tank/pumps back in the fender... pull the side turn/marker light out of the fender. Makes it so much easier to get the tank back in correctly. You don't even have to disconnect the light... just let it dangle.

As Greyfox mentioned, with the reservoir out, it was the perfect opportunity to swap out the side signals. I was also going to do the front side reflectors, but decided that orange is 100% fine for now!



Final job on the front end was installing the under-hood insulation I picked up at the wrecker:



All that was left was swapping out the very weathered rear roundel.
Went from this:



To this:



I need to get a new front cowl piece (they have TRIPLED in price since I last did one!!!). Spray some clearcoat on the front bumper and rear fairing. Find a front right fender in Montego to bolt on. Then do a suspension refresh. None of those things are pressing, just my to-do list. I'd like to get some sport seats at some point, sport steering wheel is ordered and in the mail, eventually some 17" wheels although I really like the 193 18" ones! So a few maintenance items, and the rest are mostly cosmetic.

[Doodledad]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Got to a few of the things on my backlogged to-do list today. The big one was finding the leak in the windshield reservoir. I took a chance that it was the main pump, and got lucky as that was the only part I ordered and had on hand! Pretty straightforward disassembly, something I haven't done before but NBD after getting the front end up.





With the reservoir out, it was the perfect opportunity to swap out the side signals. I was also going to do the front side reflectors, but decided that orange is 100% fine for now!



Final job on the front end was installing the under-hood insulation I picked up at the wrecker:



All that was left was swapping out the very weathered rear roundel.
Went from this:



To this:



I need to get a new front cowl piece (they have JUMPED in price since I last did one!!!). Spray new clearcoat on the front bumper and rear fairing. Find a front right fender in Montego to bolt on. Then do a suspension refresh. None of those things are pressing, just my to-do list. I'd like to get some sport seats at some point, sport steering wheel is ordered and in the mail, eventually some 17" wheels [...]

Nice! I just did the windshield washer pump and agree- once free it was easy.

Regarding the hood insulation: was this from pre-LCI? I don’t think mine (2010) came with it. Does it make much of a difference sound wise?

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Doodledad

Nice! I just did the windshield washer pump and agree- once free it was easy.

Regarding the hood insulation: was this from pre-LCI? I don’t think mine (2010) came with it. Does it make much of a difference sound wise?

Yeah, glad it wasn't one of the other pumps or the reservoir itself!

I don't recall what year the donor was... just a random car on the lot that had one in the best condition. It makes zero difference at speed IMO, but it makes a lot of difference when I slam the hood shut... that's the only reason I wanted it LOL.

Oh yeah, I need to replace the three little fasteners holding on the rear wheel liner. They just fell to pieces when I pushed the pins through.

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I'm also worried about the FRM... it's showing both brake lights and both DRLs being out... does that sound plausible, or more likely the FRM is going bad? Brake lights work when pressed, so??? Lots of codes, but here's the summary on the CIC:

If nothing else, at least I got everything on this screen cleaned up!

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

All that was left was swapping out the very weathered rear roundel.
Went from this:



To this:



I need to get a new front cowl piece (they have TRIPLED in price since I last did one!!!). Spray some clearcoat on the front bumper and rear fairing. Find a front right fender in Montego to bolt on. Then do a suspension refresh. None of those things are pressing, just my to-do list. I'd like to get some sport seats at some point, sport steering wheel is ordered and in the mail, eventually some 17" wheels although I really like the 193 18" ones! So a few maintenance items, and the rest is mostly cosmetic.

Hope you splurged for a genuine BMW roundel. I replaced one on my old 325 using a $10 Amazon special but within a year it faded and cracked. I'd rather drop the $40 and have the real one last me another 15-20 years.

I have a spare sport steering wheel (no airbag or trim) that I could have given to you. It's collecting dust in my garage. I wanted to install it on my 335 because it has the bumps/cutouts for the thumbs which I prefer, but then I'd lose the paddles; I rarely use them however. Ideally I'd get a LCI wheel with the bumps and paddles.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

Hope you splurged for a genuine BMW roundel. I replaced one on my old 325 using a $10 Amazon special but within a year it faded and cracked. I'd rather drop the $40 and have the real one last me another 15-20 years.

I have a spare sport steering wheel (no airbag or trim) that I could have given to you. It's collecting dust in my garage. I wanted to install it on my 335 because it has the bumps/cutouts for the thumbs which I prefer, but then I'd lose the paddles; I rarely use them however. Ideally I'd get a LCI wheel with the bumps and paddles.

E91s have a model specific rear roundel, so no aftermarket options. I feel better about paying $50 for it now!!!

And THANK YOU for the offer on the wheel! I wanted one that had heating as well, as I don't want to give that up. So sport + heating coming up hopefully. You never quite know what you're going to get used...
But again, thanks for the offer!

[StradaRedlands]

Fender procured!
Ordered it from the U.K. (where it is referred to as a wing!) for $200 shipped!
Will know in a few weeks if it is as represented, but it has to be better than the one I have now!
A small but not insignificant chance they'll try to throw some additional costs or fees at me, but fingers crossed it all works out!

[Tambohamilton]

Yep, wing/bonnet/boot = fender/hood/trunk... I'm sure there are more

[ForestHillsJackie]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

E91s have a model specific rear roundel, so no aftermarket options. I feel better about paying $50 for it now!!!

And THANK YOU for the offer on the wheel! I wanted one that had heating as well, as I don't want to give that up. So sport + heating coming up hopefully. You never quite know what you're going to get used...
But again, thanks for the offer!

Don’t you live in California? Where are you driving that car that requires a heated steering wheel? 😋

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Yep, wing/bonnet/boot = fender/hood/trunk... I'm sure there are more

The other thing I had to decipher over the years was NS and OS in the descriptions...
Let me see if I get this right:
- NS = nearside = passenger side in the UK (so left side of the car)
- OS = offside = driver's side in the UK (so right side of the car)

😀

One thing I still don't understand is the "plate" system jargon. 05 plate this, N plate that. I need a reference guide.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Yep, wing/bonnet/boot = fender/hood/trunk... I'm sure there are more

And the bonus i in aluminium!

Originally Posted by ForestHillsJackie

Don’t you live in California? Where are you driving that car that requires a heated steering wheel? 😋

Oh yes, it might drop into the 50's this weekend!!!

Brrrrr.....

[TyroneShoelaces]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

E91s have a model specific rear roundel, so no aftermarket options. I feel better about paying $50 for it now!!!

And THANK YOU for the offer on the wheel! I wanted one that had heating as well, as I don't want to give that up. So sport + heating coming up hopefully. You never quite know what you're going to get used...
But again, thanks for the offer!

My E91 with sport had a heated wheel that I swapped out for a non heated sport wheel. I *think* the wagon one is only one version that has heat and it doesn't have thumb recesses. I still have the heated one sitting in my bin of parts when I sell my wagon I'll include it.

I had to repin the connector when I broke the wagon clock spring and I haven't had a rear window wiper for a long time. I occasionally look in wrecking yards for a heated wheel car to get a clock spring from but tough to find in fl.

[Onizukachan]

That’s what I’ve read as well. Normal, normal with heat, or sport/ msport no heat.

Though I haven’t looked at m3 wheels.


I’ve oft wondered if you could get one recovered amd have the grid layer included, or if you’d have to strip and cannabalize it from a heated regular wheel for the leather guy to include during a refurbishment.

It was one of those convenient luxury features I loved about my msport f31. That and rear heated seats for cold mornings.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Onizukachan

That’s what I’ve read as well. Normal, normal with heat, or sport/ msport no heat.

Though I haven’t looked at m3 wheels.


I’ve oft wondered if you could get one recovered amd have the grid layer included, or if you’d have to strip and cannabalize it from a heated regular wheel for the leather guy to include during a refurbishment.

It was one of those convenient luxury features I loved about my msport f31. That and rear heated seats for cold mornings.

There is a heated Sport version just not M Sport.
I took a Sport heated wheel and covered it with perforated leather cover to mimic M Sport look. It gives it a nice thicker feel and heat still works well.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by eljay

The other thing I had to decipher over the years was NS and OS in the descriptions...
Let me see if I get this right:
- NS = nearside = passenger side in the UK (so left side of the car)
- OS = offside = driver's side in the UK (so right side of the car)

😀

One thing I still don't understand is the "plate" system jargon. 05 plate this, N plate that. I need a reference guide.

Yes, NS and OS are from the perspective of a pedestrian. No idea why. Driver's L or driver's R would be so much more obvious... I guess that why we don't use them; far too user-friendly!

Hey, there's another one; we have 'number plates', you have 'license plates'.

There probably is a reference somewhere, but the numerical ones at least are quite simple:
AB05CDE would have been first registered in the first half of 2005 (or very late 2004)
AB55CDE is 2nd half of 2005
AB10CDE is 1st half 2010 (or very late 2009)
AB60CDE is 2nd half 2010
And so on... 20 is early 2020, 70 is late 2020... My car is YD57CMV. It's a "57 plate".
That came in in late 2001, I think? Can't really remember now. Because we ran out of letters in the previous system, where the first letter of the registration referred to the year. And we skipped a few, for clarity; I, O, and Z, I think. So my old car was H638UGK, which was a 1990 VW Jetta; "H reg."... Which I transplanted a VR6 engine from an R reg Golf into
Before that, the format was the opposite way around, but the system the same; UGK638H would be an "old H reg". I have no clue what year that would be