Colton's $38 per Cylinder Restoration: A Probable Financial Disaster

[ColtonBH]

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[XAlt]

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[ColtonBH]

Not much done recently, trying to get my 740il disassembled and out of the drive. Rear subframe is behaving well, as well as coilovers. It's developed a shake coming from the rear when braking, so I'll have to pull that apart again. I reused everything, so one of these days I'll have rotors turned and I have a set of new pads to go on, hopefully that solves problems. I desperately need new tires, but I need to sell my 740il chassis to find them. I also think I'm going to change my long term plan on the interior. I'll do all black, I have everything from my 740il. Gray leather dash lower and center console will be sold, black non leather will take their place, eventually to be wrapped in ultrasuede/alcantara, along with pillars and headliner, which is failing on both cars. Trim will still be restained if I can figure out an efficient way to strip old clear off of everything. The black leather on my 740il seats is recoverable, so that will be transferred over to my gray front seats in order to keep the butt massagers, as well as my 740il driver seat has a short that burns a fuse whenever I move it. Rear seats from the 740il will be moved over, but will get the heaters from the 750il seats. Adjustable rear seat parts will be removed, as they are all basically broken, and I like the look and ease of removal from non adjustable seats better anyways

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[MKIVJZA80]

leather dash in grey interior cars are the same shade as the black dashes. don't get rid of it, one of the biggest pluses the 750s have over the 740.

[ColtonBH]

leather dash in grey interior cars are the same shade as the black dashes. don't get rid of it, one of the biggest pluses the 750s have over the 740.

I should say, I'd be keeping the black upper dash, taking out the gray lower, and covering my black non-leather lower in alcantara and plopping that in.

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[M73PWR]

So you're removing the leather interior for a plastic one?

[ColtonBH]

So you're removing the leather interior for a plastic one?

Sort of. It will be covered in ultrasuede though, eventually. I'd rather cover plastic than leather. The lower dash and center console are in good condition, but everything else is just plain worn out, rips war through, etc. I'm not gonna get rid of everything, upper dash is in very good condition, and it's black, so that'll stay. I might combine some of the still okay leather from the door cards and dye it black.

The main point is, in my opinion, an all black, good condition interior with a little bit of plastic bits looks about 100x better than an worn out, fading, ripped gray leather interior. I'm a college student, if I'm gonna spend money on stuff for my car, it's going to be to get mechanical bits running well, full black leather would be wonderful, but it's not an option right now, so I'm going to make the best with parts that cost only the time it takes to remove them from my parts car

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[ColtonBH]

Wrap my non-leather console and lower dash in Alcantara or have my leather lower dash and console dyed black?

- - - Updated - - -

Also, are these cars really meant to be ran in the 95-105C range? It got chillier so I realized that my t-stat is stuck open because under 60F outside the car doesn't warm up to over 65C, but when its hot, it stays in the 80-84C range, which apparently is still very low. Is the clutch fan meant to be basically always on? Because mine kicks in right around 84-85C. Also, is 95C the coldest M73 stat available?

[computiNATEor]

Vinyl dyes have gotten very good. I'd be concerned that the Alcantara will fade/wear/stain, especially in an area near beverages, and oils from hands and forearms.

They run hot for better emissions control; when my M54 thermostat failed (stuck around 85ºC), the heat didn't work properly. The hotter the combustion chamber, the more toxic gasses can be burned up by the catalytic converters more easily. If the engine is running cold, it will consume more fuel (than it already does), and it may shorten the life of the cats (because they are working harder to burn up the unburned fuel).

The clutch fans are always rotating a little bit; it doesn't fully disengage. My 2015 Behr clutch fan in my 530iA starts making a lot of noise (that heavy truck-like mechanical fan roar) around 94ºC (indicated in OBC test 7), but quiets down very quickly once the car moves off the line.

[ColtonBH]

Alright, I'll have to get that thermostat in quick, especially with winter coming up. That would explain why my cats work like garbage

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[computiNATEor]

Alright, I'll have to get that thermostat in quick, especially with winter coming up. That would explain why my cats work like garbage

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Yeah, if you can smell fuel like an old muscle car, you need a thermostat soon to avoid damaging the cats.

[ColtonBH]

Yeah, if you can smell fuel like an old muscle car, you need a thermostat soon to avoid damaging the cats.

The heaters are gone already, they will eventually get cut and get a DUDMD tune so I can pass emissions. We just have obd2, no visual or sniffer up here.

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[aazevedo]

Congratulations! I'm excited that a millennial knows what a Nikon is, AND appreciates a nice BMW, AND is actually willing to put some work (love) into it.

Happy for you! Keep us posted on the updates.

Good luck!

[ColtonBH]

Haven't updated this in a while, oil change a thousand or so miles ago, I'm up to 188k miles (182 when I bought it). I think I'm set on things that need attending to, still a ways to go on the to-do list. Put my Breyton Flames on, 8.5in with 235/50R18 Michelin HX MXM4 in front, 9.5in with 245/50R18 Pirelli run flat something or other in the rear. Rear rubs once in a while on very tight turns, I need to roll the fenders. T-stat is in the mail, I need that in so the car actually warms up. Over the winter I'm going to start collecting intake manifold gasket parts. Anyway, here are some recent pictures.

[computiNATEor]

Looks great! I dig these wheels on the E38 better than the E39. Lots of rear camber there; I'd recommend correcting that as soon as you can.

[ColtonBH]

Looks great! I dig these wheels on the E38 better than the E39. Lots of rear camber there; I'd recommend correcting that as soon as you can.

Thanks man, I agree, especially on the 750, they go well since there's lots of chrome on the car anyways. I will probably leave the camber for this set of tires, I just have used tires I've had lying around on all corners since the wheels need to be refinished before I spend some cash on new, quality tires. I adjusted the toe and the camber isn't ridiculous, probably around -3-4*, so the wear shouldn't be too bad.

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[sooch]

That first pic looks killer. Looks so much like an e34 there...

I'd love to find a 750 in my area to tool around in. Love the feel of these boats as a DD, much more comfortable than an M. Keep up the great work!

[XAlt]

1 case in 1000 needs new intake manifold gaskets, every other is solved by reinzosil. The gasket prices are nothing more than a scummy money grab.

[ColtonBH]

1 case in 1000 needs new intake manifold gaskets, every other is solved by renzosil. The gasket prices are nothing more than a scummy money grab.

I'll have to do that instead. I have a couple other vac leaks I need to clean up first. I'm just afraid im going to break one of the very fragile and expensive injectors

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[ColtonBH]

That first pic looks killer. Looks so much like an e34 there...

I'd love to find a 750 in my area to tool around in. Love the feel of these boats as a DD, much more comfortable than an M. Keep up the great work!

Thank you man! Speaking of e34s, I need to find a 530i/540i to wrench on and have fun with. The e38 makes a great DD but I want something to make fast and fun

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[ColtonBH]

I forgot to mention one of the things I like about Breyton wheels, they're very streetable. I work/school in the Waukesha/Milwaukee area, full of crappy roads, and I don't have to worry about bending or cracking a set of expensive forged wheels, I swear things thins are more durable than the stock cast wheels.

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