Chris' BMW Projects

[jretal]

ah, good 'ol B-less... It is a $hit hole of a city. The mrs (back when we were dating) used to work at Hopkins, and I used to hate visiting her up there. There are a couple "cool" areas to go out in, but as a whole it's really a hell hole of a town. Don't think you could ever pay me to live there.

Glad she wasnt hurt, and glad you got the car back in one piece. That's the type of $hit you see on the news and never expect it to happen to you (or someone you know).

[loxxrider]

My thoughts exactly! I hate that damned city haha. The only reason she is there is for school. She didn't research the city before picking the school. She's likely going to move out after finishing this December. I'll feel much better after that. She still has to work in MD for a while to keep her student loans to a minimum, but at least I will be able to send mail to her without worrying about it getting stolen off of the doorstep if she isn't right in Baltimore.

[loxxrider]

Oh, and apparently BMW Assist told the police exactly where the car was and that it would be shut off with the flashers on when they got there. The police were like, "Yeah right!" To their disbelief they found it exactly as it was described. They apparently kept commenting on what a neat service it was. It was clear the police weren't going to do a damned thing to find it. If it wasn't for the BMW Assist, it wouldn't have been found for sure, at least not in the state it was in.

[jretal]

Be careful what areas of MD she chooses as well, FYI. There are good areas, and real shady ones (NE of DC come to mind), so be wary of that.

[loxxrider]

Long time no post...

I haven't been home in FL for about six months. That means the E36 (Dad's, not mine), E46, E30, and E24 haven't gotten any love lately! Upon arriving home, I beelined to the pile of parts I have amassed over the last six months. I ordered some for "investment" purposes, others for repair, and some just because. I now have two brand new M3 Sport Evo (real) suede steering wheels, Sport Evo suede illuminated shift knobs, matching Sport Evo Bison leather shift boots, and OEM retrofit kits for the lighted knobs. I bought all of this stuff because there is very little supply left. I hear there are less than 10 knobs left from BMW. They are pricey, but are a major wear item and I suspect that Sport Evo owners who may want to freshen their cars up a bit in 20 years when they are worth well north of their current 150k+ prices will pay a pretty penny for them. Or maybe not! Maybe they'll want to keep the cars original. If so, that'll be fine with me. I will use them for my own enjoyment

I also bought a leather version of the Sport Evo wheel for me to actually use. The leather holds up so much better than the suede and that wheel is to die for in terms of design and feel while driving.



I also bought a new OEM regular M3 knob to replace the crap that came in the car. I installed it that same night.

It's always a nice sight to come home to this car in the garage.



Old vs. New





It feels so much better now.


The E24 (635csi) hadn't been moved for that entire time because of a no-start condition. Luckily my friend Justin (turbo E30) was able to diagnose it. He claimed it was a bad fuel pump, so I bought a new OEM pump and filter.

The morning after I got home, I promptly installed the pump with very little drama other than taking some fuel to the face/mouth in an effort to make sure the pump would be primed properly when I attempted to start the car. The car started right up on the first try (after procuring a new battery), not that I didn't expect that what with the M30 engine's rock solid nature, my excellent mechanical prowess, and Justin's mastery of diagnosis

Here it is out of the overgrown spot in the yard it was sitting in for all that time... the poor thing still has grass cuttings all over it from the lawnmower. I suspect my Dad will tend to that situation soon now that it's back in the driveway again. I'm glad that car has no interior in it right now because bugs were definitely able to get in easily in the area I still haven't patched in the floor



My Dad also informed me that both the 635 and the M3 had bad batteries, so I went out and bought two new ones along with two Battery Tender Plus battery tenders/conditioners. I have gone through enough batteries between cars and boats in the last 5 or 6 years that I finally decided having a few of these would be a worthwhile investment. I'm hoping they keep these batteries fresh for years to come regardless of possible power draws in the cars. I have one on the M5's battery in PA too. They seem well-built and I expect them to do a nice job for a long time.



The E36 doesn't need anything other than two new rear tires, so that's a relief! Keeping the "fleet" up is a lot of work! That car is a true joy to drive. It is set up with stock M3 springs, but Bilstein sport dampers up front and Sachs M3 dampers out back. It makes for a really nice ride that's firm, yet compliant and handles quite well. Solid front control arm bushings from Treehouse Racing are a little harsh too, but having 17's on the car with decent meat on the sidewalls means it isn't too much to live with. They provide extra castor and help the car track straight with no signs of a shimmy (BMWs are notorious for shimmies because of front control arm bushings!) Anyway, I love driving that car. It just needs an LSD to be truly great. An E46 M3 S54 engine wouldn't hurt either Man, that would be the perfect setup

Here it is looking it's best next to the 635csi.





It definitely needs an M3 front bumper (and maybe rear) to come even close to the sexiness of the e24 (at 30 feet ) though!

Finally, I made sure to drive the poor unwanted E46. I'm pretty proud of how I took the car from being a total basket case to being mechanically perfect now. It drives like an absolute dream! Gone are the clunks from the rear diff (solved by poly diff bushing), oil leaks (valve cover and oil filter housing gasket), loss of coolant and terrible, terrible noises (water pump), broken windows (two new regulators), steering shimmy (poly control arm bushings), other rear clunk (new rear struts and strut mounts), and much more. Unfortunately, it has cosmetic issues inside and out. Probably another thousand dollars would fix all or most of that, but then I'd probably have more in it than it's worth. I'll let my Dad decide how he wants to handle it (I kind of gave it to him as "rent" payment for letting me live at his house for free for a year).

Not it's best pose, and not clean at all (thanks Justin! ) but here it is from Sunday at my Mom's place ready to make the hour-long trip to the airport so I can fly back to work.



These cars may not all seem that special, but I enjoy each one for separate reasons. I love taking care of them all and helping them drive another day.

[chaloux]

Wish I could muster up that passion for my jetta TDI daily pos wagon. I fix what needs fixing, and mechanically it's fine, but otherwise I keep beating on it just like the last owner(s).

Nice work Chris. That's a helluva fleet to maintain lol

[scubagli]

Really nice group of cars.

[loxxrider]

Wish I could muster up that passion for my jetta TDI daily pos wagon. I fix what needs fixing, and mechanically it's fine, but otherwise I keep beating on it just like the last owner(s).

Nice work Chris. That's a helluva fleet to maintain lol

I think the problem is that you need an e30ix as a beater instead

[vt10vt]

Wish I could muster up that passion for my jetta TDI daily pos wagon. I fix what needs fixing, and mechanically it's fine, but otherwise I keep beating on it just like the last owner(s).

Nice work Chris. That's a helluva fleet to maintain lol

I think the problem is that you need an e30ix as a beater instead

That or...

There's another marque that makes snow capable cars...

Just wish I could remember which one...




Welp, maybe another night I will.

[loxxrider]

Indeed. Any Audi before 1997 or so is A-OK in my book!

[Aktapod]

These cars may not all seem that special

Wut. I am literally jealous of every one of these cars. Seriously, I love seeing updates in this thread! That 635 is timelessly good-looking.

[loxxrider]

Some interesting things are coming up soon in the non-Audi world.

I will be doing a water pump and thermostat (I suspect it is partially stuck open) on the Cayenne due to issues I've had keeping the car at operating temp in sub 60 degree ambient air. I keep getting a coolant check engine light too related to the system not warming up in time. The parts are all ordered and I will have to execute this in one day this coming Saturday.

I will also be receiving the 620 hp tune from EVOMS (thanks Sam!) on Saturday. I am looking forward to testing it out, although I'm a little nervous about not having upgraded DVs in there yet. I do think the 958 diverters are ones rated for more boost and not really known for failure though, so hopefully it'll be OK until I can get something else in there.

Chris Thuve and I have been collaborating on some carbon fiber parts. I will be sure to post some pictures of the gorgeous parts when they arrive! Tell your Porsche friends to be on the lookout 8)

[loxxrider]

Just a quick update to this thread... The cayenne is now sold! Yay! That financial burden is gone, so audi projects will get most of the love now

I've finally finished up that wideband gauge project I set out on last year. The only thing keeping it from working was more accurate 3d printing capabilities, so I finally but the bullet and had solid concepts print it out for me. It ended up costing waaaaaaay too much, but sometimes that what it takes to get a good prototype. It isn't perfect, but it's the best I've seen from this technology yet.

I applied a film to the front of the gauge, inserted, and all was in order Now to install it in the car next time I'm in FL (I was just there over the weekend, darn!)


As a final note here, I've been thinking of getting rid of both the m3 and m5 for an f355. Thoughts? I feel like that car is the epitome of a driver's car and would easily take the place of the other two. I'd miss having the others, but I really do think the prancing horse would make up for it from multiple angles.

[durq]

http://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-you-should-never-buy-a-ferrari-f355-1706976075

[audifreakjim]

Yikes!

[loxxrider]

Is that a yay or a nay? Lol

[chaloux]

Whatever just go for it VROOOOM

[chaloux]

I'll buy the e30 for free

[loxxrider]

lol I'm well aware of the cost of ownership of these things. So you budget $5k per year on maintenance at a maximum. I would be buying a lift and doing engine out services myself if I took on ownership on one of these. Another thing to consider is that these will *continue* appreciating in the coming years. I don't think there is any doubt about that, and the appreciation will surpass that of the E30 M3. It may or may not make up for the cost of maintenance, but that is just a plus if it does.

The only real question in my mind is what is going to happen to the industry and my job/location in the coming months/years. If things don't settle down and I am not able to stay in one place, then none of the cars are going to work out! Might have to just downsize and have one awesome one (and of course the Audi(s)).

[alxdgr8]

F355 are my favorite Ferrari, but lots of horror stories. 07k swap one!

[loxxrider]

A few more pictures of the wideband display for documentation purposes, and also a few pictures of BMWs from last weekend because why not.





(The toys are all out!)

[loxxrider]

Just wanted to show the finished product of my zeitronix wideband panel blanks for 80s and 90s BMWs. I'm not sure exactly which cars has panels like this in them, but I know they work with e30s and e24s at least which probably means they work in e28s and early 7 series as well. Maybe there are others too.

I was compromising in some areas before, but now I've got a design that I really like and don't feel needs any changes. The panel itself mounts in the dash with two clips. Then the display mounts to the panel blank with screws and brass inserts. When the number display is inserted into the panel, it makes the panel impossible to remove providing for very secure mounting.

Mounting is flush and with fitment comparable to the stock panel blanks. The finish is textured. It isn't exactly the same as stock texture, but it is as close as I can get with this method of manufacturing currently and at the price I can produce them for and it still looks pretty good. It is only noticeably different in how it reflects light at certain angles of incidence. The blank panel next to it is OEM.

[audifreakjim]

Is that for the hacker display? Very cool

[loxxrider]

Yep! If you have an idea for somewhere you want to put one of those let me know and I can probably help you out with a design and make some for you.

[loxxrider]

Here are a few more pictures

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Failures lol

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