Used it to take the family to the beach for a week. Parked at the cabin:
Washed it:
Could stand a good buffing. Couple dings. Looks pretty good cleaned up though.
Interior shot:
Ordered new TRW rear wishbones, an armrest center tray, and an OBD cover repair kit. Also bought a vavona console from Aquila that should show up next week. I'll install those and the cupholder I got from BCM to bring to console area up to speed.
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-21-2020 at 10:36 AM. Reason: Correcting the error of photobucket
Something with the phone cradle?
Lol no, that was the PO put a black vinyl covered wood block in there. I ordered a tray to stick in there instead. I was wondering why two of the photos got inserted and one was an attached thumbnail. I uploaded them all the same way but with different results.
A little frustrated with the functionality of the forum is all. Ended up using photobucket images instead.
Last edited by clarkitect; 08-15-2015 at 07:45 AM.
NICE! What kinda box is that and how much was it? How do you like it?
1969 GTO Warwick Blue/Parchment
2000 740i Sport 6 speed
The box is a Thule my wife scored locally for I think $100. Works awesome and matches both of our black BMWs. The roof rack is el cheapo $50 rain gutter model from prolineracks.com. Had to do some minor tweaks to make it fit but it works perfectly now.
The box is nice and it's stable on the highway at 75-80 mph. Has locks and nice system to clamp to the roof rack. Had all the room we needed for a week at the beach. Pic doesn't look like the beach though, but it's Maine and that's how it looks a stones throw from the ocean.
Ha, yeah! I ended up uploading them to PB and re-linking. Much better.
EDIT: I have tried to migrate all pictures to postimages.org. Easier to use, less ads. If you notice something not working please pm me.
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-22-2020 at 11:21 AM.
Another update on the lovin’ this shorty is getting. Really trying to get the interior fixed up, and also get all the mechanical bits sorted out. Most of the suspension has been replaced, but still need new struts/shocks at some point. Changing the ATF and filter has been on my mind for the past several thousand miles, so finally did that the other day using Valvoline Max Life ATF and a Mann filter kit from FCP. What a pain of a job crawling under the car only to realize you need an H8 rather than an H7 bit. Made more difficult by the last guy who did the job and buggered up the fill plug, making it difficult to get the bit in there. Finally got it and changed the fluid, but did not flush the TC from the cooler hoses. Might do it again in a year, and will flush at that point.
While I was in there I noticed the trans mounts were SHAWT.
Sheesh these were doing absolutely nothing. I have been experiencing a vibration at highway speeds that seems to come and go and was hoping this would take care of it.
Also did motor mounts, although these were not as bad as the trans mounts. Still was time for replacement. Less than two hours to do both trans and motor mounts. Not a bad job although the upper trans mount nuts are a bear to get to.
Car shifts nice and smooth, but the highway speed vibration is still evident. I am wondering if the driveshaft u-joint is bad. I do get a *ping* once in a while when I put it into gear. If it is I won't be doing that job, I'll be farming it out. I am super sore from laying on the ground under this car.
I also replaced the A/C belt tensioner I did not replace when I did the guides. And got sick of the piece of wood someone had fashioned to replace the removed cell phone. Picked up the replacement bin and installed it, along with fixing some broken screws in the armrest and disconnecting much of the phone wiring in there.
Still need to install some parts sitting in boxes in the garage - wood console, cupholder, fuel filter, WP belt tensioner. Also need front brake pads and rotors.
Parts needs: Front fender liners and left and right coverings that go behind the wheel wells. Passenger side hood piece with the lever arm that opens the vent flap when you close the hood. Passenger front door moulding. S62 and 6-speed...
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-21-2020 at 10:39 AM. Reason: This is a nut...this is a bolt..:-)
I have new febi trans mounts sitting in my trunk. How was the install?
Install was pretty easy. All you need is a 13mm wrench and 13mm socket, ratchet and short extension. I put the front up on ramps then jacked the back end up on blocks. Still tight under there but doable. It would be too tight underneath without jacking up the rear. Use a jack and block of wood under the tranny to lift it up to slide the old mounts out and new ones in. Make sure the bump on the mount goes up and the slot goes down, and that the slot aligns with the bumps on the tranny support. (Passenger side of the bolt hole).
I read the DIY on E38.org first. The hardest part is fitting the wrench up around the exhaust pipes, then you can only swing about a quarter turn. A ratcheting box wrench helps. All in all it took less than an hour to do those mounts, and another maybe 45 mins to do the motor mounts.
I'd bet dollars to doughnuts yours are shot too. Seems they are not a typical maintenance item for owners except for guys like us.
Last edited by clarkitect; 09-24-2015 at 01:21 PM. Reason: Hard to type on this phome.
I got new mounting clips and epoxied them to the side skirt at the front, and fastened them back on. It was just the front two clips that have the studs and nuts to attach into the holes. Had to pull the inner fender liner out a bit to reattach them. Seems to be holding up so far.
What I really should have done is remove them altogether, touch up any rust, then reinstall. I think I'll get it oil undercoated before winter, so that should help with the rust.
See first post for the parts and maintenance list and full accounting of the expenditures to date.
Last edited by clarkitect; 01-11-2017 at 12:38 PM. Reason: Moved maintenance log to first page as a warning to anyone who thinks they can cheap out.
Last edited by clarkitect; 03-15-2021 at 02:39 PM.
Yeah that's the set. I didn't even notice it until I started scraping and sanding them. I got a guy who knows what he's doing and can weld it up but he says cracks might show up in a different location. I'll have him fix it and I'll check it from time to time.
I'll also keep my eye out for a used rear wheel. Everyone on Ebay thinks they are worth a fortune!
I think nothing bad about welding it, especially for winter use
Instagram.com/nordmanmg
Your current situation is not your final destination
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I think he was just covering himself in case it doesn't work. Fixing cracks is nothing new, right? There are wheel places around that list crack repair as a service, just not around here. This cat is a welding instructor.
Gotta go pick up some welding rods for him and drop it off today.
Picked up my wheel from the repair guy today. I met this guy at a seminar for high school sophomores where I was there to discuss the glory of being an architect, and he was discussing the glory of welding. Turns out he used to work on aircraft engines, so welding this crack was a piece of cake for him. He is also an instructor at a local technical center, so the cost was basically free, except for some welding rods, wire brushes, then the final pound of flesh, five gallons of ethanol free gas for the power mechanics class. All in all less than $60. Not bad.
I think it turned out great. He had to cut out the cracked piece and slowly fill back in with 5356 aluminum rod. The crack looks like it had been cracked for a long time, since it appeared to be a casting defect.
Some pix:
The crack removed from the host:
You can see how dirty is was in there - that crack was old.
Couple shots of the finished work:
I am pretty psyched! Now I can paint the wheels and get the winter tires mounted up. It's bound to snow sometime soon, but hopefully not too soon.
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-22-2020 at 11:29 AM.
That seem like a good job
Instagram.com/nordmanmg
Your current situation is not your final destination
Nice save on the MPars. If their just replicas Discount sells them cheap.My touring came with them and they took a beating not a bad wheel.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fil...=prca&toggled=
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-22-2020 at 11:32 AM. Reason: Update images
Last edited by clarkitect; 05-22-2020 at 11:36 AM.
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