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Thread: Poor Man's Z8 Project

  1. #101
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    Nice work, it's looking really good.

  2. #102
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
    Nice work, it's looking really good.
    Thanks man


    Recently painted the bumper... not super happy with how it came out but at least the car is all one color now. I will end up repainting the whole car at some point so this finish was always going to be temporary but still would have been happier if it came out better, oh well







    Trying out black coil cover trim pieces as well, I think I still prefer the silver though



    Polished the headlights as well, before/after






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  3. #103
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    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Nice to see it all back together!

  4. #104
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Nice to see it all back together!
    I think so too! I also improved the cooling system with different electric fans installed, so quite a few little changes have been made recently and am now focusing a bit more on cosmetics. Have put about 350 miles on it so far, really enjoying it


    Heres a video from when the roads were a bit wet... breaking loose at 40mph


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  5. #105
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    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Sound good. It this with the different diff?

  6. #106
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    Yes this is with the 3.15 ratio diff (previously it had a 4.27)

  7. #107
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    I've managed to put just under 700 miles on the car. It's a lot of fun. Although on the last few trips it would occasionally develop a misfire and until the last drive the misfire could always be resolved by re-seating the coil packs. So I thought I would swap them from cylinder to cylinder as I was starting to suspect some had gone bad. Cylinder 8 really put up a fight. When it finally let go, it was... approximately 2/3 of a coil



    The Bosch coils I bought have been superseded by Delphi units which are in the mail to me now. I also still haven't installed the updated spark plugs I bought awhile ago and since I've already got a return package going to FCP I figured I may as well return the plugs, so new plugs and coils will go in shortly


    Couple drive-by videos from the last few drives, just thought it'd be cool to see it from somewhere other than the dashboard. Next time I'll get someone else to film from the outside, with a better quality camera. Not flooring it here either, just wanted to hear it under acceleration. I didn't realize how much it squatted but the rear end is holding up fine so far so that's good




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  8. #108
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    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    That sound is music to my ears, just like a V8 with the proper exhaust should sound like.

  9. #109
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    99 528iT
    Really nice project. My M roadster used to squat a decent amount even with the S52
    :: 1999 BMW 528iT ::
    LS3 / T56 swapped

  10. #110
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    Sounds very nice indeed. Awesome to see this thing move!

  11. #111
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    Thanks guys

    Just realized I never posted my favorite picture of the car I've taken yet...



    I've also gone back to the silver valve cover trims



    New coils also arrived and were installed along with new plugs, but don't think I've put more than 50 miles on it since then as I've been getting lots of overtime at work and I'm looking to buy a house sometime next year so I'm taking as many hours I can get to save up what I can for a down payment. My free time has mostly been spent cleaning out my storage unit and trying to sell all my spare bits and free up some cash...

    The one test drive with the new coils I took it on was really great though and my fiance is away this weekend so I think I might take it out tonight once the temperature drops a bit more. It's finally cooled down here and I'm really eager to get it out in this weather as with my other cars I really feel a difference in power when its cooler out

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  12. #112
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    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Nice pics, car looks good, guess you painted the bumper and changed the intake tubing.
    Last edited by JimLev; 11-19-2022 at 12:02 AM.

  13. #113
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Nice pics, car looks good, guess you painted the bumper and changed the intake tubing.
    Yup did that a little while ago, the bumper didn't come out amazing but the inake is very nice, it takes in air from both brake duct openings





    I haven't driven it a ton recently, though I have taken it out a handful of times. One time when it was ~50 degrees the difference in performance was startling. Flooring it in second from 2000 rpm it'd spin the tires. Tried filming some runs that day but I had to focus on keeping it on the road. The lack of traction control didn't seem to be an issue previously but it seems the cooler weather is keeping the tires from sticking as well and also giving the engine a noticeable increase in performance. Maybe after a few runs the tires would be properly warmed up but with how loud it is I try not to do multiple pulls in the same area for fear of drawing unwanted attention...


    Tonight I took it out for a quick little jaunt and it was struggling for traction despite the roads being completely dry. Had some people ask me for more videos so I managed to film something though in the video I let up significantly on the throttle in second. Definitely not my best run of the night but the only run that I filmed. I should really invest in a suction cup mount or something, so I can get some video while still being able to steer and shift at the same time



    Also still haven't installed the power steering lol. I took home my box of power steering stuff from storage so I have all the parts here - the supply line I already fabricated, I'm going to use an E46 power steering cooling loop attached to two of the mounting locations for the aux fan as pictured below and the high/low pressure lines I just need to jack the car up and get em done. It really shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours to get it all done and that's assuming both the high pressure lines need fairly extensive modification. But whenever I have free time, I decide to go drive the car instead of working on it...
    And yes the car is filthy, I drove it through some really bad weather a couple weeks ago and haven't bothered to clean it



    And in very, very unimportant news, I found this brake fluid reservoir in my storage unit and I think I'm going to replace the one on the car with it. I think it looks nicer, the shape seems like it makes more sense in the space and will give better access to the coils/plugs, the electrical connector will sit over the reservoir instead of "floating" in the void and as a nerdy plus, I think it's the same reservoir the V12 Z3 used...


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  14. #114
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    Finally got power steering stuff installed... one line needed some customizing, the rest was just normal lines from various BMW's, a little trimming of some rubber but nothing major



    Need some fluid for the trans, drained it recently when I had a little drama with the transmission not shifting out of 1st after launching it really hard. Got it figured out though and hoping to get back out there to do some proper dragy runs

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  15. #115
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    are there chunks missing on that pulley? replace that sucker before it blows up on you. Love the build/thread!!

  16. #116
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    Yeah quite a few chunks missing. I have a spare n62 power steering pump in my storage, I'm going to swap pulleys before running it. Waiting on a few parts from FCP before it gets back on the road

  17. #117
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    Quote Originally Posted by E36M3LX View Post
    are there chunks missing on that pulley? replace that sucker before it blows up on you. Love the build/thread!!
    Weight reduction program, it will rev quicker.
    Nice work Graham.

  18. #118
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    Non air-cooled P/S pulley, additional idler pulley and stock belt installed



    Also tidied up a lot of other odds and ends, wanted it back on the road for my birthday which is coming up so I finished it earlier today and took it on a long test drive. I always say I'm just going to go around the block but then I take every detour I can until I'm 45 minutes from home lol

    Anyways, a few nice shots of it from earlier today







    The color combo really matches the tan/green of the desert out here lol



    Walk-around video as well... just because why not



    And a short one for fun, here is is with a heavy foot in first gear, when the roads are damp it will spin tires all day if you let it. I was managing to spin it through the top of 2nd lol (didn't video that though, it's quite a handful). I haven't had the balls yet to spin it through 3rd lol

    Last edited by BimmerBreaker; 01-16-2023 at 05:20 PM.

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  19. #119
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    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Nice pics. I like the plate too.

  20. #120
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Nice pics. I like the plate too.
    Thanks. I wanted to match my coupe haha


  21. #121
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    Still jam-packed in the chassis if you ever have to do major maintenance, but man that is a clean swap.

  22. #122
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    I did get a little concerned recently when I thought I might have wrecked the trans but luckily it ended up that wasn't the case... But I got right up to the "remove bellhousing bolts" step of removing the trans and it seems like to remove it I may have to drop the subframe slightly to lower the engine and tilt the engine back to be able to slide the trans out without hitting the firewall. I could access the bolts but I don't think it would be able to slide it rearwards past the clutch assembly to be removed. So that may be a bit bigger job than a normal car...

    However I've accessed pretty much everything else on the car without any trouble. Believe it or not it's actually easier to work on than the chassis that came with this engine from the factory. With it installed I've already done everything from coils/plugs/valve covers to replacing the alternator and the recently installed power steering wasn't really anything beyond the same process for a stock car. I was very mindful of the "someday I may need to repair this" aspect while building the car. The transmission being as large as it is I didn't have many options for, but with how I've been driving it I'm likely to need a new clutch sooner rather than later so time will tell what the trans removal process actually looks like...

  23. #123
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    Recently got it on H&R's/Konis (cut a strut type)





    Before:



    After:




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  24. #124
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    Sitting perfectly now!
    2002 BMW Titanium Silver 540i/6-speed Sport - ZHP Shift Knob - M5 Clutch/TTV Racing 15.6lb Flywheel - M60 Intake Manifold - N62 84mm TB - Dinan Intake Tube - 4" MAF Tube - DUDMD Tune - Magnaflow Resonator - Eibach 18mm Rear Sway Bar - Powerflex Front Sway Bar Bushings - CDV Delete - UUC SS Brake Lines - Koni Yellow Shocks/Struts - Eibach Springs - Zionsville Radiator & FDM

  25. #125
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    Haha. Sweet. Looks like a fun swapped z!
    95 turbo 330ti. 01 maxpsi m3 e85. 01 m5. 01 m coupe. 03 AIM 996t e85. 06 x3 w/Meyers plow and winter daily. Prussian Motors is hiring!! prussianmotors.com/jobs
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