Z3 OT: Your "other" cars

[ProductUser]

Bad designs? How about aircraft? I spent years working on the A10-A Warthog that had its design issues. Oh, I forgot about the various F-4's I had the pleasure of crewing back in the day. And there's the F-111, that aircraft took over an hour to launch. F-16, and its hydrazine apu? Yikes! I don't worry too much about bad designs in things that don't fly

[328 Power 04]

Adding this hurricane Harvey restoration to the collection.

328d in need of some love. It's up and running, some minor things left and will be a secondary daily, and roadtrip car.

IMG_20171202_095949re.jpg

[ZGator]

Adding this hurricane Harvey restoration to the collection.

328d in need of some love. It's up and running, some minor things left and will be a secondary daily, and roadtrip car.

IMG_20171202_095949re.jpg

very jealous!

don't be shy with the details of that story, and how it comes out.

[328 Power 04]

Short quick version: I bought it sight unseen from Houston insurance auctions, flooded car from Harvey. The intent is to restore it and have an experiment car, tuning/power, manual conversion, 2wd conversion. A car to beat on and put miles. Inexpensive.

I had been following a few 328d's to see if they may become worth it. And strangely enough the wagon (which I now love) was cheaper than the couple sedans I was following. I wanted a sedan originally.. and this wagon fell in my lap. Scary notion because I didn't have much to go by, just a few pics. Ideally you go and visit the car.

Picked up this week Monday. Way better than expected interior, and someone seemed to have vacuumed it out right after flood. It must have been in slow moving water because it was clean, non-muddy fresh water.
Oil was clean, air filter clean and dry.

This is what the interior looked like at pickup:


IMG_20171127_161531r.jpgIMG_20171127_161527r.jpg



It had traces of water inside, 2-5inches in front, rear maybe 6-8. BMW seems to have wisened up and had very few modules down low... so most was spared actually.
I have replaced some major modules, and will be replacing a couple more. Pulling interior and shampooing what can be washed, replacing what doesn't look good.

Tuesday and Wednesday I refreshed, cleaned, and protected all major power connections, new battery, new rear fusebox. Thursday I spun engine by hand, all good. Hit start button, and it started immediately.

Today I drove it for the first time. After the short drive, it still only had 6 errors. 3 for the seats (seat modules getting replaced), 1 for def fluid low, and 2 for my disconnected telephone module.

Moving in the right direction with it.
Can't seem to want to sell any of the other cars.

[ZGator]

Sounds like the deal of a lifetime - 328d wagons command a premium around here - I have seen a few used for sale but they are still 30k+. Interesting you are doing 2wd conversion - and a manual conversion!? Wow true unicorn - Good luck, and keep us posted on progress.

[328 Power 04]

On this car, full 2wd conversion is a simpler process (compared to E90) of removing front driveshaft from the transfer case, removing front diff, and pulling the 2 front axles.
Then some car coding magic, to make all other modules think it is 2wd. I only really want to do it if it will improve mpg by some amount. I will probably experiment with unplugging transfer case and 2wd coding to see if it will make any difference, before pulling hardware out.



Manual conversion will need the manual transmission from E90/F30 Euro 320d, with shifter parts, driveshaft, and pedals. I have a few contacts in europe that may find me what I need. The rear diff gearing is 2.81 on this car; the Euro manual is 2.93. So no change needed there.

[JKuhn]

It seems there's an E12 or E28 (don't know which one) available for R25k ($1824). Too bad I don't have the cash. If I can get a nice E12 (and aparrently this one is very nice) and have the cash I'll buy it immediately.

[robb1887]

Note to self... Tell friend and new 4runner owner to replace control arms

Just the front lower ball joints, they bolt up to the control arms. Need a good 2 arm puller and socket set and its a 45 minute job.

[Jamesons Viggen]

On this car, full 2wd conversion is a simpler process (compared to E90) of removing front driveshaft from the transfer case, removing front diff, and pulling the 2 front axles.
Then some car coding magic, to make all other modules think it is 2wd. I only really want to do it if it will improve mpg by some amount. I will probably experiment with unplugging transfer case and 2wd coding to see if it will make any difference, before pulling hardware out.



Manual conversion will need the manual transmission from E90/F30 Euro 320d, with shifter parts, driveshaft, and pedals. I have a few contacts in europe that may find me what I need. The rear diff gearing is 2.81 on this car; the Euro manual is 2.93. So no change needed there.

I saw an estoril MSport F31 with the manual conversion. One with RWD conversion on top would be nearly a dream daily.

[steve f]

20170531_162211.jpg sqaure.jpg

[panasonic]

This thread makes me feel bad for not having an mcoupe yet. They're still my dream car, and they've only gone up in value since I've wanted one. Here's two of my other cars, an Esprit and a 928.

[MRFAST]

Bad designs? How about aircraft? I spent years working on the A10-A Warthog that had its design issues. Oh, I forgot about the various F-4's I had the pleasure of crewing back in the day. And there's the F-111, that aircraft took over an hour to launch. F-16, and its hydrazine apu? Yikes! I don't worry too much about bad designs in things that don't fly

F4 -> Faulty Phantom

Seriously though, I loved all of the above birds. Watching each of those do their thing was a joy. And it's no different with my German-made autos.

[328 Power 04]

Short quick version: I bought it sight unseen from Houston insurance auctions, flooded car from Harvey. The intent is to restore it and have an experiment car, tuning/power, manual conversion, 2wd conversion. A car to beat on and put miles. Inexpensive.

I had been following a few 328d's to see if they may become worth it. And strangely enough the wagon (which I now love) was cheaper than the couple sedans I was following. I wanted a sedan originally.. and this wagon fell in my lap. Scary notion because I didn't have much to go by, just a few pics. Ideally you go and visit the car.

Picked up this week Monday. Way better than expected interior, and someone seemed to have vacuumed it out right after flood. It must have been in slow moving water because it was clean, non-muddy fresh water.
Oil was clean, air filter clean and dry.

This is what the interior looked like at pickup:


IMG_20171127_161531r.jpgIMG_20171127_161527r.jpg



It had traces of water inside, 2-5inches in front, rear maybe 6-8. BMW seems to have wisened up and had very few modules down low... so most was spared actually.
I have replaced some major modules, and will be replacing a couple more. Pulling interior and shampooing what can be washed, replacing what doesn't look good.

Tuesday and Wednesday I refreshed, cleaned, and protected all major power connections, new battery, new rear fusebox. Thursday I spun engine by hand, all good. Hit start button, and it started immediately.

Today I drove it for the first time. After the short drive, it still only had 6 errors. 3 for the seats (seat modules getting replaced), 1 for def fluid low, and 2 for my disconnected telephone module.

Moving in the right direction with it.
Can't seem to want to sell any of the other cars.

Small (?) update:


IMG_20171205_183800re.jpg
racecar!

All lower interior is out. All carpets getting shampooed, all wiring checks out, disconnected and protected everything.

*get this*... BMW put ZERO sensors under the carpet of this car. All splices are corrosion proof, and important connectors are water proof/sealed.
The quality and the well thought out design is impressive. I didn't think I'd say that... Maybe it's not true of higher series, but the F30/F31 is not all that bad. But I suppose it depends what options it comes with too.

Wife had a blast pulling the center console (with workshop documents help ), while I pulled the seats.


So far I have about $400 in new AGM battery and a couple of modules that I chose to replace. And I will probably put another $600 in maintenance and little bits and pieces.

[ZGator]

Wife had a blast pulling the center console (with workshop documents help ), while I pulled the seats.

mind exploding.. if I wasn't jealous enough of a 6 speed manual 328d wagon!

[KeysCoupe]

I guess I can list some of the cars I currently own, but the list is pretty long.
'99 M Coupe
'99 2.8 Coupe (semi-project)
'03 Mini Cooper S
'86 Vw Vanagon syncro (powered by 2.7 Suby flat 6)
'80 Triumph TR8
'62 Healey 3000 tri-carb
projects in the garage;
'70 TVR Vixen 289
'70 Marcos GT
'64 Jag XKE 3.8 coupe
'66 Chevelle SS cvt
'73 Land Rover/Defender 90 hybrid
'69 Beetle cvt
'66 CJ5 V6
in storage;
'74 BMW 2002 (nice original Inka paint, bought new by my mom!)
'57 BMW R69
(2) '72 Norton Commando Combat
'69 Royal Enfield Interceptor
'76 Ducati 900GTS
'76 Triumph 750 Bonneville
'83 VW Scirocco (bought new)
'60 Willys Sedan Delivery
'62 Willys FC150
'65 Corvair Corsa cvt
-Donny

[JKuhn]

Wow. Where do you find space for all of that?

[z3forlife]

I guess I can list some of the cars I currently own, but the list is pretty long.
'99 M Coupe
'99 2.8 Coupe (semi-project)
'03 Mini Cooper S
'86 Vw Vanagon syncro (powered by 2.7 Suby flat 6)
'80 Triumph TR8
'62 Healey 3000 tri-carb
projects in the garage;
'70 TVR Vixen 289
'70 Marcos GT
'64 Jag XKE 3.8 coupe
'66 Chevelle SS cvt
'73 Land Rover/Defender 90 hybrid
'69 Beetle cvt
'66 CJ5 V6
in storage;
'74 BMW 2002 (nice original Inka paint, bought new by my mom!)
'57 BMW R69
(2) '72 Norton Commando Combat
'69 Royal Enfield Interceptor
'76 Ducati 900GTS
'76 Triumph 750 Bonneville
'83 VW Scirocco (bought new)
'60 Willys Sedan Delivery
'62 Willys FC150
'65 Corvair Corsa cvt
-Donny

got any pics of the Malibu ? I used to have a 64 SS H/T and loved that car.

[jrkoupe]

jag coupe.....lets see it


damn donny damn

[rf900rkw]

I thought I had a picture of the Jeep hood, but can't find it now.

[ProductUser]

I guess I can list some of the cars I currently own, but the list is pretty long.
'99 M Coupe
'99 2.8 Coupe (semi-project)
'03 Mini Cooper S
'86 Vw Vanagon syncro (powered by 2.7 Suby flat 6)
'80 Triumph TR8
'62 Healey 3000 tri-carb
projects in the garage;
'70 TVR Vixen 289
'70 Marcos GT
'64 Jag XKE 3.8 coupe
'66 Chevelle SS cvt
'73 Land Rover/Defender 90 hybrid
'69 Beetle cvt
'66 CJ5 V6
in storage;
'74 BMW 2002 (nice original Inka paint, bought new by my mom!)
'57 BMW R69
(2) '72 Norton Commando Combat
'69 Royal Enfield Interceptor
'76 Ducati 900GTS
'76 Triumph 750 Bonneville
'83 VW Scirocco (bought new)
'60 Willys Sedan Delivery
'62 Willys FC150
'65 Corvair Corsa cvt
-Donny

I'm jealous Nice collection.

[dbarton62]

I guess I can list some of the cars I currently own, but the list is pretty long.
'99 M Coupe
'99 2.8 Coupe (semi-project)
'03 Mini Cooper S
'86 Vw Vanagon syncro (powered by 2.7 Suby flat 6)
'80 Triumph TR8
'62 Healey 3000 tri-carb
projects in the garage;
'70 TVR Vixen 289
'70 Marcos GT
'64 Jag XKE 3.8 coupe
'66 Chevelle SS cvt
'73 Land Rover/Defender 90 hybrid
'69 Beetle cvt
'66 CJ5 V6
in storage;
'74 BMW 2002 (nice original Inka paint, bought new by my mom!)
'57 BMW R69
(2) '72 Norton Commando Combat
'69 Royal Enfield Interceptor
'76 Ducati 900GTS
'76 Triumph 750 Bonneville
'83 VW Scirocco (bought new)
'60 Willys Sedan Delivery
'62 Willys FC150
'65 Corvair Corsa cvt
-Donny

Donny,
If you get tired of storing these two give me ping.
Loved my 69 V8 Marcos. I rue the day I sold it.
I believe we had several conversations on the Marcos Forum years ago

[Terry F.]

I've seen the TR-8! Me want. And bits of the 2.8. Oh, and the M Coupe often, but not recently....

[bigbird]

B59F662C-6CDF-470D-93ED-4F547D85BDE9.jpeg

Some neat engineering for sure. Actually pretty roomy and 51 mpg so far. If asked, I say I drive a Z!

7F494F18-545F-42F3-9247-D947AD55B64C.jpeg

[328 Power 04]

Small (?) update:


IMG_20171205_183800re.jpg
racecar!

All lower interior is out. All carpets getting shampooed, all wiring checks out, disconnected and protected everything.

*get this*... BMW put ZERO sensors under the carpet of this car. All splices are corrosion proof, and important connectors are water proof/sealed.
The quality and the well thought out design is impressive. I didn't think I'd say that... Maybe it's not true of higher series, but the F30/F31 is not all that bad. But I suppose it depends what options it comes with too.

Wife had a blast pulling the center console (with workshop documents help ), while I pulled the seats.


So far I have about $400 in new AGM battery and a couple of modules that I chose to replace. And I will probably put another $600 in maintenance and little bits and pieces.

Update time:


I washed and dried the carpets and other panels that needed to be cleaned. Worked real well with laundry detergent (Tide Original), and lots of scrubbing and rinsing.

Here is the car being worked on (my wife in the back) a bit more inside my dad's machine shop/my storage place, refreshing the final details before putting the interior inside.

IMG_20171213_115441ed.jpg



I finally had a chance to use the lift to flush all drivetrain fluids.

IMG_20171220_144233ed.jpg


Yummy transfer case whipped cream

IMG_20171220_142203ed.jpg



Rear diff had a little bit of water, transfer case had a lot more, front diff negligible. Transmission and engine oil were clean. I flushed rear diff (and drove car in air) 4-5 times with cheap gear oil and put Redline 75w-90 as final. Transfer case got flushed 8-9 times and received BMW DTF1 fluid. Front diff was drained and received Redline 75w-90.
Transmission service kit coming in with new fluid and filter soon.




I have replaced anything that was even remotely touched by water, to prevent any issues in the future. Anything needing programming/coding, I will do myself.
Wiring is good, no signs of damage at all. It has all been cleaned and spray protected.


Parts list so far:

-rear fusebox (dealer new, $126)
-H7 AGM battery (local parts store, plus discounts and rewards points, $119.99)
-passenger seat heating module (ebay used $34)
-driver’s seat module (ebay used $58)
-telematics module (optional, ebay used $53)
-amplifier (ebay used $75)
-FEM, front electronics module: has EWS, security, body control, light control modules, gateway all consolidated into 1, (ebay used $55, + $100 data cloning procedure by a forum member)
-tailgate latch, (ebay used $75)
-ZF 8HP transmission oil pan with bolts, plus 7 liters of LiquiMoly 8HP fluid ($172)


Went to the dealer and picked up driver's door handle grip rubber ($60), as it was melty from PO using hand lotion, very common.
(Coincidentally and ironically, this dealer visit got me a job in clinical research, exactly what I need for my career.)

I broke the throttle pedal connector end on the wiring to the pedal while disconnecting it..

IMG_20171205_184914ed.jpg


So I also bought a new connector part number 61138383300 ($3); disassembled and de-pinned the old one, and re-pinned it into new connector.

Progress is good. I filled the DEF and the "729 miles to no start" error cleared.




I am starting to learn how to tune this ecu (Bosch DDE701, actually an EDC17C50), I have read the ECU memory and begun sorting out the maps necessary for more power, while saving efficiency. I have some excellent support and information from contacts, so this will be fun as well.
Briefly looking through things, this car is capable of around 220whp and some 380ft-lbs of torque with stock hardware. (Dinan dynoed the 328d and got 194hp and 297ft-lbs torque, a bit more over official numbers)
A mild tune of +20-25 hp and +50ft-lbs is easy, but pushing the last 20-30hp will require some rescaling and expanding of maps.

[BimmerBreaker]

Awesome work on that wagon!