One Bad V12 - 1998 750iL E38

[Aitch]

Nice work man..where did you get the lowering suspension set from?

I found it on Craigslist. Brand new but at a used price.

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[Aitch]

SitRep: Exterior vinyl is done. Interior vinyl is mostly done. Headlights now have aftermarket bixenon projectors in both the high and low beam housings, because the passenger OEM low beam housing had also lost it's reflective surface. So I just went full aftermarket. I still need to adjust the beams a little bit. I also added the front bumper splitters from eBay.

Also had to replace my radiator (which sprung a leak), drive belts, and top radiator hose (which was slightly too big and rubbing on the fan when it got hot and expanded).

The exterior vinyl is Gloss Midnight Blue from Arlon, which was discontinued this year so I got it at a killer price. Close up there are a few areas that aren't perfect, but considering I didn't pay a shop $2-4000 I'm more than satisfied.






























I took these photos in the same spot as my first ones, so you can see the before and after.

[MJ DOOM]

Looks stunning!

[M73PWR]

Looks great bro!!
I wish you used facelifted sideskirts to make the sides flow a little more, but nonetheless it looks fantastic!!

[Aitch]

Thanks guys. Facelifted side skirts would be nice, but I've tried to moderate how much I'm spending on it. Luckily the vinyl stuck really well to the existing rocker panels, so this was a good compromise.

[TxDarth]

Like your front bumper treatment....looks familiar.

[dannyzabolotny]

That turned out real nice! i'm also diggin the interior wood trim wrap, what'd you use for that?

[Aitch]

Like your front bumper treatment....looks familiar.

Yeah, wonder where I got the idea from?

[4liter]

Looking good!

[DorinDav]

Which X5 gave you the visors and grabs? Thanks

[Aitch]

Which X5 gave you the visors and grabs? Thanks

I don't know the exact model. I just grabbed ones labeled E53 from eBay. The visors are a felt material and the grab handles are all plastic.

[purplecty]

4.6is has black handles and visors

[RVAE34]

M5 visors work too but not the grab handles. The E53 4.6is X5 black handles usually run about $45 a set on eBay. The X5 visors are cloth but the M5's can be had in leather.

[MSportE382001]

Did you do the full length brake light? Two BMW's now, both rear ended when I was stopped. Want to avoid that on my third BMW. Please tell how and where... Thanks!

[Aitch]

Never got around to it. The rear spoiler I bought didn't fit (bad mould) and I didn't buy another after.

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[NordmanMg]

Cheers to the guy who does your photos, beautiful pictures

[Aitch]

Thanks! That's me too behind the camera

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[NordmanMg]

Thanks! That's me too behind the camera

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Okay, let's move you closer to Colorado lol

[Aitch]

Okay, let's move you closer to Colorado lol

Haha, JUST got the family moved to San Diego.

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[Aitch]

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I deleted my rear mufflers last year. The sound was pretty decent - a bit more bass, and a mild roar when accelerating into the upper rev range.

However there's been lots of buzz recently about installing an X-pipe in place of the factory resonator (which is itself a sort of x-pipe; the two exhaust pipes are perforated inside of the resonator). I bit the bullet and purchased a stamped X-pipe from Amazon in the stock exhaust diameter (link); my thinking was that by not going to a larger diameter I'd avoid too much bass in the exhaust. I really wanted the high-end wail of the V12 to come through, without too much booming on the low end.

Well, I got the wail, but there is some low-end drone/resonance on cold start-ups and while driving at low speeds around 2000 rpms. I put together a bit of video showing me driving around this morning, along with a couple of full-throttle pulls towards the end. (Excuse my squeaky steering wheel clockspring).



(Click to 2:05 if you want to hear it from outside the car)

I may still need to put some small straight-through mufflers on the back to try and tame this drone. On the highway it's fine, which makes me think it might be partly due to the down-turn exhaust tips exiting under the trunk - the sound is getting reflected and concentrated at low speeds. Perhaps changing that, and adding some damping material or foam around the spare tire (to help change the acoustics of the trunk) will help.

[Aitch]

I ordered a new leather steering wheel wrap off of eBay. They only recently came out with the version for the 3-spoke M-Sport wheel, I know, I've been looking for 6 months lol. Perfect timing for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised with the box it arrived in, with good instructions, double-sided tape to help installation, and the thread and needle all included.









Nicely labeled as well:


My existing wheel was ok, but the leather surface had delaminated.





I could have gone tri-color stitching with some foresight, but I wasn't sure how it would turn out and how easily I could do nice stitches, so I went all red. This way any mistakes aren't as glaring.



Overall it came out very nicely. It was REALLY tight to stretch over the wheel, to the point I think they could have a bit more material in there and it would still be fine. The edges on the side spokes are tricky to align and here too a bit more material would have been useful. But for $50 and my own time, I'm happy vs. what it would have cost a shop to do.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/21LDgDP]

[clarkitect]

That looks fantastic. Love the matte wood trim wrap too. Car looks great overall.

Must be nice not having to deal with snow and road salt and the resulting rust.

[purplecty]

I ordered a new leather steering wheel wrap off of eBay. They only recently came out with the version for the 3-spoke M-Sport wheel, I know, I've been looking for 6 months lol. Perfect timing for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised with the box it arrived in, with good instructions, double-sided tape to help installation, and the thread and needle all included.









Nicely labeled as well:


My existing wheel was ok, but the leather surface had delaminated.





I could have gone tri-color stitching with some foresight, but I wasn't sure how it would turn out and how easily I could do nice stitches, so I went all red. This way any mistakes aren't as glaring.



Overall it came out very nicely. It was REALLY tight to stretch over the wheel, to the point I think they could have a bit more material in there and it would still be fine. The edges on the side spokes are tricky to align and here too a bit more material would have been useful. But for $50 and my own time, I'm happy vs. what it would have cost a shop to do.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/21LDgDP]

Wow that looks great! Have a link?

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[Aitch]

Wow that looks great! Have a link?

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Sure, it's here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Real-...3/122806674800

[haynes740]

Very nice job sir. I will save the link. Thanks for sharing.


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