Schoolhouse Coupe: My 01 TiAg/Black M Coupe

[Str8f4c3]

...How did I get here?


Hi all! My name is Dawson. ^That’s my 2001 M Coupe, the day I picked it up in August 2022. I’ve been kicking around Bimmerforums for a while, many may recognize me from my last build thread: a 1999 M Coupe in Ferrari Giallo Modena. Over the last few years I’ve had the opportunity to own some neat cars. Here’s pics of all of them. If you want a bit more info on them (or a lot more info on my last shoe), check out my last build thread here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...llow-S52-Coupe



2009 Mazda6, Black/black – my first car. Owned August 2017 to May 2018



2002 BMW M3, Carbon Black/Black, SMG – miss this one the most. Owned June 2018 to July 2020



2002 BMW M3, Silverstone Metallic/Black, 6mt. Rebuilt, repaint, awesome driver. Owned June 2021 to September 2021.



2000 BMW 540i – Titanium Silver/Black, 6mt, Dinan Supercharger/All Dinan Everything, Quaife LSD, 46k miles. Was a fun spring car for me and some friends. Owned April 2021 to June 2021.



1999 BMW M Coupe – Ferrari Yellow/Black. Fantastic car. Owned October 2021 to January 2023.

Now that we’re up to speed, let’s get to how I ended up in the yard of an abandoned school last summer, buying another basket case M Coupe…

[Str8f4c3]

Why, Facebook Marketplace of course!

Rewind to last summer – it’s a Thursday evening in mid-August, not three weeks removed from finishing a 4-month long mechanical restoration on my then-current M Coupe. The plan was to enjoy that car for a few months, not worry about fixing/modifying, and inevitably start tinkering again in the new year. As we all know, things rarely go according to plan…

I’m sitting at home, scrolling through Facebook. And this picture catches my eye:



Now, the title to this post is a bit misleading. The car wasn’t actually listed on Marketplace – it was listed in two private, local, BMW/M groups. I saw it 14 minutes after it was posted. The ad was short, but I didn’t even bother to read beyond the price before messaging.

Bit of backstory: This car has been local to me on Vancouver Island since 2014. In 2021, the engine blew under care of the previous owner. It was parked at a local mechanic for a few months, and was then stored at my buddy’s house, where I got to see it and snap a group pic:



Eventually, the car was moved again, but I wasn’t sure where to – until I met up with the seller the following day, at an abandoned school about 30 minutes out of town, where the car had been sitting for 6 months.

The car was, as expected, very tired and dirty, overgrown with weeds, etc. But I knew I had to have it, and made a deal with the seller on the spot. A few days later, I arrived with my freshly detailed shoe, and snapped a few photos while waiting for the tow truck.





As the driver pulled the car up onto the bed, a couple quarts of oil trailed from under the motor. Definitely not just a spun rod bearing…

[Str8f4c3]

First wash

The next few days are a bit of blur. Lots going on in life. But as soon as we got it to its new resting place, I had to snap a pic of both cars together, something I tried to do often. I knew from the start I wouldn’t end up keeping both.



I had to run back to work, but a few hours later I came back and gave her a thorough wash, clearly the first in a while. It doesn’t show on the photos but MAN this thing was dirty. Here’s one post clean-up, and a neat angle from the deck of both cars.

[Str8f4c3]

Goodies!

Before we get any further into this, here’s some more info on the car.
- Originally sold in Massachusetts, imported into Ontario in 2003, then moved to BC around 2008ish.
- 6 or 7 owners if I counted correctly.
- Clean title – one small claim on the carfax
- Odometer shows 68k miles
- TiAg/Dark Grey, Sunroof from factory.
- Car came with all 4 keys, and two fobs for the dealer-installed alarm system
- As mentioned – motor is toast. A piston short of a set.

The car came with a few mods:

o Randy Forbes Subframe kit w/ dual ear conversion
o Rogue Engineering e36 diff cover
o Poly subframe/differential bushings – I believe AKG
o H&R Sway bars with AKG reinforcements welded in
o Bilstein B6 shocks with Ground Control rear shock mounts
o Strong Strut front strut and rear subframe braces
o UUC Deluxe pedal cover set
o Whalen Shift Machine
o Clear corner indicators
o PPF on the Front End (nnnnnasty)
o Kenmore head unit (yuck)
o Early-style silver Style 42 wheels (came with original shadow chrome set uninstalled, pretty beat)
o Tubi Exhaust (uninstalled)







I also got a box with goodies from the previous owner:
- Original hardware from the strong strut braces
- Bentley service manual
- Amber corner indicators
- Extra wheel roundels and M badges
- Mobility kit (removed from car, in place of a peake research code reader)
- Minty factory illuminated shift knob
- Some other hardware, etc.
- Factory Outdoor car cover (not pictured)
- A set of OEM wheel locks, and these super awesome OEM covers that make them look like hex bolts





I immediately sold the extra roadstars (both sets needed refinishing, might as well keep the ones with tires), exhaust (since I kept my Stromung from my other M Coupe), and the Whalen shift knob (not to my taste, but what a fantastic piece of machining. I can see why they’re sought after).

Here are a few pics of in/around/under the car. The interior is mint, besides 1) some scratches on the steering wheel trim, and 2) the rear view mirror leaked and bubbled the center console plastic . I immediately removed the mirror and will have it sent for repair. And I need to find a new grey shifter trim…







From the top, you can’t see the carnage lurking below…



I haven’t torn into the car yet, but was able to sneak a pic down the side of the intake manifold. That looks suspiciously like a crank journal…



A few days later the seller dropped off a big stack of service records – dating all the way back to 2002, when the car was sold as a CPO. I spent an evening organizing them, putting them into a binder, and recording everything in an excel sheet. I love curating history for cars like this – always so fascinating. (feat. Kevin from Buff Daddy polishing supplies)



Now we’re at the end of August. I promise we’ll be caught up by the end of the next post!

[Str8f4c3]

Fast forward
After purchasing the car, I haven’t done a whole lot to it. I had a semester of school, while working on getting the yellow coupe sold. So here’s the next 4 months summed up:

In mid-September I washed the car again and put the car cover on it, anticipating our usual rainy season to start in a couple weeks. Instead, we had a fantastic, dry October. The cover lasted all of about two months before it nearly got blown away during a windstorm in December. I never found time to rewash the car and put the cover back on.





In November, I worked on the car for the first time! I stole the low-mile Bilstein shocks from the front of the car, and replaced with the blown stocks from the yellow Coupe. The purpose of this was to make a complete set of bilsteins for the yellow car prior to sale.



Here’s a fun one of both cars with nice fall colors!



About halfway through December, I scored the big piece to get this project off the ground: a new motor! It came from Ontario at a great price, with the following work completed by the previous owner:

• Vanos bulletproofed
• Fresh, 0 mile ACL rod bearings/ARP bolts
• New OE Oil pump
• Headgasket replaced with OE and ARP head studs

The engine was originally scheduled to arrive before Christmas, but was delayed by the most snow we’ve seen in years:



Might not seem like a big deal to those of you who live in more wintery climates, but this more or less shut down the region for the week prior to Christmas. Then, a few days before New Years:



The next day I got it off the pallet and onto the engine stand:





That’s where we stand today. The yellow coupe went off to a new home last weekend, and it’s officially time to move forward with this project! The next couple months will mostly be parts-hoarding; I’ve got a busy couple of months coming up at work. After that, it’ll be full tilt – I’d like to have the car done for a trip with some friends in mid-June. Probably wishful thinking, but I’ll give it my best shot!

Thanks for reading till here – looking forward to sharing the rest of this journey with you all soon!

[moupe54]

Good to see a fresh new thread for a new build Dawson! While the yellow car was stunning, I can firmly say the driving experience of an S54 shoe is worth its weight in gold. Great score on that well set up donor motor. excited to see where this new coupe takes you!

[97Z3TN]

Those are really cool looking cars.

Greg

[ljpviper]

I agree after having 4 S52 cars since 99 finally got an S54 coupe. I bought the full carbon intake and a tune, WOW the car screams. The throttle response is amazing and the way it builds revs.

[Str8f4c3]

Good to see a fresh new thread for a new build Dawson! While the yellow car was stunning, I can firmly say the driving experience of an S54 shoe is worth its weight in gold. Great score on that well set up donor motor. excited to see where this new coupe takes you!

Thanks for the love bro! I'm really excited for this one!

Those are really cool looking cars.

Greg

Thanks much!

I agree after having 4 S52 cars since 99 finally got an S54 coupe. I bought the full carbon intake and a tune, WOW the car screams. The throttle response is amazing and the way it builds revs.

I tend to agree - while the S52 midrange torque is really nice for driving around town, I've missed having an S54. They are such special engines.

[robb1887]

If the oil pan and pump survived off the windowed motor I would like to help fund your parts hoarding.

Going to be following along regardless. Sad to see the yellow coupe leave so soon

[Str8f4c3]

If the oil pan and pump survived off the windowed motor I would like to help fund your parts hoarding.

Going to be following along regardless. Sad to see the yellow coupe leave so soon

Cheers! Indeed, once the motor is out everything that is of use will be for sale, and the block will hopefully end up as a coffee table. I'll be sure to put the word out when the time comes!

[IndianaRoadster]

I enjoy following build threads, will be fun to watch. Nice find, it's becoming harder to find a good one.

[Str8f4c3]

Since I haven’t touched my own coupe, might as well go see some that actually run… #BestWorstIdeaEver

Probably about time for an update here! But this one won’t be about my car. I was very fortunate to be able to attend Schuh Syndikat 2023 in North Carolina. And I can’t not post about it here!

This journey started around the end of March, when one of my internet friends, Evan, asked if I wanted to co-drive with him as he drove his new coupe across the Midwest from Colorado to Tennessee/North Carolina for the event. I knew immediately I had to try my best to make it happen. The timing was tight as I finished at my job on the Monday, left Tuesday, returned last Sunday and had school on Monday morning, but I’m so so glad we were able to make it happen! Evan is an absolute superstar of a human and I wouldn’t have made this trip without him. I can’t thank him enough for everything. What a guy.

Because of timing, I flew into Kansas city, where Evan picked me up late on Tuesday, and we drove through Missouri till the wee hours of Wednesday morning, before stopping for a few hours and continuing on to the event start point of Greeneville Tennessee on Wednesday evening.

Here’s the coupe in question: LSB over LSB Slicktop! A fantastic example, and I’m so glad it went to a great owner.



From Thursday through late Saturday, we had anywhere from 14 to 35 coupes driving together through the mountains, or parked in lots chatting about mods, drives, experiences, and other general shenanigans. Here are some more random photos I snapped over the weekend:



















The roads and scenery in NC are some of the best I’ve ever seen. Absolutely mind blowing to see so many coupes driving in such a gorgeous place.
For me, the reason I am still so enthusiastic about cars and specifically M Coupes is the people. And Schuh is the ultimate example of that. Everyone is so excited about their cars, other’s cars, and the M Coupe culture in general. I made so many friends and memories that will last forever. Despite travelling almost 3,000 miles, I still felt like I was at home. One of the last moments of the event on Saturday night was a photo of the 3 owners who keep active build threads on this forum: @robb1887, @moupe54, and myself @str8f4c3.



Huge thanks to Eric and Nancy from Bimmerbum for holding a great event. I will try my best to make the trip every year. I’d love to have my own car there someday, as ridiculous an idea as that is. Coupe owners on the east coast should never think twice about making the trek - it’ll be the highlight of your year, guaranteed.
Speaking of my car… I’ve been hoarding parts for the last 6 months, and now that I’m not working ridiculous hours, I’m looking forward to getting this thing on the road! Hopefully I’ll be getting started this weekend, so expect to see lots more from me soon!

[Tim95M3]

It was great to meet you man! Hope to see you (and your coupe) there next year!

[BlueM3Racer]

Nice work on the new build so far and best of luck completing it. Will be following along. I really need to get my car sorted and ready to attend next year's Schuh Syndikat...so much jealousy following along on instagram. In a rut lately where I've had things "fixed" then they wind up breaking again...life with an old car and not to mention the ton of $ I've put into maintaining my E90 which takes away from my ongoing coupe restoration.

Can likely get a Z3 guy or two from So Fla to run up to the Schuh event next year with me. Fingers crossed.

[Str8f4c3]

Nice work on the new build so far and best of luck completing it. Will be following along. I really need to get my car sorted and ready to attend next year's Schuh Syndikat...so much jealousy following along on instagram. In a rut lately where I've had things "fixed" then they wind up breaking again...life with an old car and not to mention the ton of $ I've put into maintaining my E90 which takes away from my ongoing coupe restoration.

Can likely get a Z3 guy or two from So Fla to run up to the Schuh event next year with me. Fingers crossed.

Cheers! I can't recommend Schuh enough - I really hope I can make it a yearly trip. What a fantastic group of people with awesome cars on amazing roads. Highlight of my year.

[Str8f4c3]

Finally, some progress
After what felt like a lifetime, I’ve actually managed to turn some wrenches on this thing! On Wednesday evening I enlisted some help from family/friends to get the car pushed down the driveway, turned around and pushed back up. Much to my surprise, this went rather smoothly. (feat all the dirt that I washed off the car last summer #justschoolyardthings)



Thursday was the real starting line. I got the car up in the air and started disassembling the front end in prep for pulling the motor. Over the course of Thursday and Friday, I was able to get the front end completely removed, Power steering pump and AC Compressor disconnected, as well as the driveshaft and shifter assembly. . As it sits, there are only a few small things that need to be disconnected before the engine/transmission can come out. Among those are the wiring harness, the clutch line, and some coolant lines.









I decided to remove the core support and pull the drivetrain out the front as I felt this was the best method given the tools and space available to me. The one tricky bit here is the A/C system – I’m trying my best not to drain/disassemble the system, so the condenser needs to be swung out of the way whenever I’m working. Very manageable, just a little annoying is all.
Saturday was a little more of a chill day – I am trying to hold off on pulling the drivetrain due to space constraints, so I took some time to strip the donor engine of its accessories. I plan to prep and spray the engine block so that it looks a little more presentable, and then piece together the accessories using bits from both the original and donor engines. Whatever doesn’t get used will be kept for future use or put up for sale. Please excuse the poor photos – I really need to do a better job of taking pictures of things.





My original plan was to put some time in today to prep the block for paint, but with it being Mother’s Day, the car fell by the wayside. I’ll be back to wrenching hopefully come Thursday afternoon, and should have lots of time to make progress as the following Monday is a holiday. Cheers!

[Hamdamann]

It was great meeting you at Schuh. I had the boston green that was there all week. Look forward to seeing your progress on your coupe and hope to see it at the next schuh.

[Str8f4c3]

It was great meeting you at Schuh. I had the boston green that was there all week. Look forward to seeing your progress on your coupe and hope to see it at the next schuh.

Likewise! Your car is fantastic - absolutely love Boston Green, looks so good all the time. I am going to try my best to make it out again next year!

[Str8f4c3]

Lots of moving parts, still no moving car :P Engine prep, 6 speed swap!

Catching up on the last couple weeks of progress! We left off with the new engine stripped of its accessories, and the old engine nearly ready to be pulled from the car. I picked up the following weekend with some more focus on the drivetrain.

On Thursday afternoon I took a wire wheel to the block of the donor engine and cleaned up the majority of the rust and peeling/cracked paint. Took all of about 5 minutes for me to remember how much I hate that kind of prep work haha. I sprayed the block on Friday Morning and left it to cure. Unfortunately I got zero photos of this process, still absolutely terrible at taking photos of the progress on this car!

The rest of Friday was dedicated to pulling the original drivetrain out of the coupe. Overall I’m really happy with how this went, especially as my first engine pull on less-than-flat driveway.



I immediately set about pulling the harness, transmission and accessories off the old motor. With everything out of the way, we can see the carnage: catastrophic engine failure at it’s finest.



There is an equally large hole on the other side of the block as well – if you look close you can see the outline of the oxygen sensor on the other side of the block. Bit of a shame to be honest; the engine and car were clearly very clean prior to this incident. That said – if this engine hadn’t popped, I never would have had the opportunity to buy the car!

I didn’t get too much more finished that weekend as I was feeling unwell, but over the course of Saturday/Sunday and into this past weekend, I prepped the new engine for install.



Here’s a quick and dirty list of what I did, as well as what was completed by the previous owner.

Me:

• Painted engine block
• Various hardware ultrasonic cleaned
• Transferred motor arms, wiring harnesses waterpump/tstat housing/coolant dist pipe/fuel injectors/ignition coils (low mile per receipts from PO) from old engine
• Replaced oil filter housing gasket, oil temp sensor, and reinstalled thermostat in oil filter housing, new hardware
• Installed Rogue Engineering vanos line
• Replaced valve cover gasket set
• New NGK Iridium IX spark plugs
• Installed Megan Racing Catless Headers
• New Valeo starter (just received, will install this weekend)
• Replaced M Badge on beauty cover, sourced replacement titanium nuts as all of mine were toast (not installed yet, will wait till last to do this)
• Replaced rear main seal/housing with Genuine BMW kit

Previous Owner

• ACL Rod bearings with ARP bolts, new oil pan gasket
• Head gasket replaced with OEM, added ARP head studs
• Full Beisan Vanos job, new timing chain guides all around
• New OEM oil pump
• Valve Adjustment
• Valeo Alternator

All in all, I’m really happy with the state of the engine. It cleaned up reasonably well and will hopefully (knock wood) run healthy for a long time to come with all that's been done. I had originally planned to use more parts from the original engine like the ITBs and oil filter housing as they are a fair bit cleaner, but my paranoia with regards to metal shavings got the better of me. The cooling system was undamaged, so I was happy to reuse those parts, but the only parts for air intake that were reused were a couple of small pipes on the vacuum and ICV systems. These were also cleaned thoroughly.

For this reason, I also sourced a second-hand oil cooler/set of oil cooler lines that should be arriving in the next day or two. I really want to make sure this engine has the best possible shot of running healthy!

I also cleaned up the engine bay – amazing what a few minutes with some simple green and a pressure washer will do. Here’s a quick before/after.





Then, I turned my focus to the new transmission. Did I need a new transmission? No. But, as they say, “while you’re in there”…

Those words are bad for my bank account. I sourced a 6 speed Getrag 420g transmission to swap into the car. Coincidentally, the box came from the same car as the engine! Not a ton of photos, but I did a little refreshing here too, but nothing crazy:

• Replaced selector rod seal
• New clutch fork, pivot pin (solid) and retaining clip
• New throwout bearing guide sleeve
• New slave cylinder w/ Rogue engineering clutch line
• New OEM LUK clutch and flywheel

There are also some plans in the works for the driveshaft and shifter solution; those are the two big items I’m still waiting to receive, so I’ll speak more about them when they are delivered!

Last Saturday I mated the transmission and engine and managed to get everything back in the car! Here’s a photo before everything was bolted up – we ended up putting the engine on a small pallet and mating that way, the bins were just to keep things steady while I worked on the individual pieces.



Again, I’m awful at taking progress photos – but here’s an “after” the engine and transmission were put back in. Again went fairly smooth for my first try at something like this. Was nice to have some helping hands from family.



The motor mounts were replaced with OEM Corteco prior to install, and the new (larger) transmission bolts right up with use of the Euro E36 M3 transmission brace. I also installed Rogue Engineering upgraded rubber transmission mounts.

This is more or less where we stand today – I started hooking up some wiring and other bits, but without the starter last weekend I wanted to wait to maintain easy access.

I hope to get the car running and on the road within the next two weekends – I am going on a trip with some friends in a few weeks and would like to have the car ready to go for that. It’s very doable so long as the parts I’m waiting on arrive soon.

I’ll be back wrenching tomorrow afternoon – this coming weekend will be all about suspension and brakes, and I’ll try my best to update early next week. Thanks for reading!

[robb1887]

Nice work. Glad the front core support removal went well. Definitely the easiest route IMO to get this done vice shoe horning the angle to get the trans/subframe/oil pan to clear

[Hoyt Clagwell]

'nice work. 'way above my pay scale.

I don't get the reasoning behind stock engine mounts paired with firmer transmission mounts. I went the opposite. Revshift 80A motor mounts with stock transmission mounts. The car seems a little pepier (more responsive) and is more stable in the twisties.

[nevan]

I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but subscribed now... And definitely far beyond my wrenching tricks.

[Str8f4c3]

Nice work. Glad the front core support removal went well. Definitely the easiest route IMO to get this done vice shoe horning the angle to get the trans/subframe/oil pan to clear

I agree! Reinstall was a little more tricky with the longer transmission but nothing outrageous. I definitely did not want to pull the trans out the bottom, that would not have been fun haha

'nice work. 'way above my pay scale.

I don't get the reasoning behind stock engine mounts paired with firmer transmission mounts. I went the opposite. Revshift 80A motor mounts with stock transmission mounts. The car seems a little pepier (more responsive) and is more stable in the twisties.

Cheers! I'll always stick to fresh OEM engine mounts for a street car purely for NVH reasons. My cars are uncomfortable enough as is, no need to make it worse with all those vibrations coming through the chassis. The Rogue transmission mounts are still rubber so they add negligible NVH while also giving a better shift feel. My last coupe used transmission mounts from an E21 3-series - they are beefier than stock but still rubber so they achieve the same thing. Only downside to the e21 mounts is you need to widen the holes on the crossmember where Rogue is plug and play.

I'm not sure how I missed this thread, but subscribed now... And definitely far beyond my wrenching tricks.

Cheers! I'll try my best to keep you entertained! I got lots done last weekend and will hopefully have some solid progress to report when I find the time to write an update in the next day or two!

[Str8f4c3]

A moment for the shifter… and other stuff :P

Big update time! I’ve been really moving trying to get this thing on the road in time for the trip next week. Hoping I’ll be able to make it, still one outstanding part but I’ll get to that.

We pick up about a week ago – I wanted a bit of a chill evening, so I spent a few hours disassembling the trunk in anticipation of new suspension. My new suspension setup will be TC Kline single adjustable coilovers, with 400# front springs and 500# rear. However, in an effort to minimize stack height up front and maximize shock travel all around, I went with Ground Control race camber plates and (important for this job) the “tall” rear shock mounts. These mounts raise the rear shock shafts about an inch, which minimizes droop and adds extra travel, which is key for lowered cars so they spend less time on the bump stops.

These shock mounts have plates with studs accessible from below, which usually would mean no holes in the carpet – except they sit so high that a hole is required for shock to clear. So away I went! Here’s a pic of the shock mount installed:



And another after I cut a hole in the sound deadening:



I used the Bilstein shocks that came on the car to mark and drill the appropriate hole for the shock to come up through the carpet. The billy’s actually wouldn’t need a hole, but the TCK Koni-based shocks definitely do. Here’s a photo of the hole, and one with the shock installed:





Next up was refreshing the rear end suspension. I was met with this lovely little surprise when I stuck my head under the car:



Wonderful. This car had H&R sway bars installed a couple of owners back, and at that time AKG sway bar reinforcements were welded in – on the trailing arm. Clearly doesn’t do much for the chassis mounts! The passenger side mount was snapped clean off, and the driver side mount was on its last legs. With no time and no off-the shelf reinforcements available for these mount points, I decided to just run without a rear bar for the time being. Frustrating, but not many options that will keep me on schedule at the moment. If anyone has dealt with this issue, would love to hear experiences.

Anyways, back to rear suspension. I dropped the rear subframe to tackle a couple of things. First up was bushings. The car had AKG Subframe bushings installed already, but I wanted to take the time to install the Condor Speed Shop 12mm riser bushings. These units raise the subframe 12mm, which helps correct the suspension geometry on lowered cars. I had them on my last coupe and in tandem with adjustable rear trailing arm bushings, they are a great solution for camber/toe correction without the need to weld on the subframe.



Off to work getting them installed. The old AKG bushings popped right out – wayyyyy nicer than drilling/cutting out old OEM bushings like last time. I cleaned up the subframe a bit – there is some surface rust, but again no time to make things perfect unfortunately. I have a feeling this won’t be the last iteration of this build, so for the moment I’m not too worried.



Here’s my handy dandy Home Depot special RTAB tool. Plumbing pipe, threaded rod, nuts, washers, and an 11/16” socket to press the bushing out. Works a treat!



Also pulled the factory differential out of the car. It had a Rogue Engineering e36 finned diff cover on it as well.





Why did I pull the diff? To swap in a new one of course! To pair with the 6 speed transmission, I sourced a 3.73 differential to put in the car. HUGE thank-you to Nick (moupe) for this – absolute gem of a human being and real blessing for the Coupe community. I had the diff rebuilt with fresh bearings, seals, and a 3-clutch LSD unit.

I also traded the Rogue cover to a buddy for a minty OEM e36 cover and cash – should help with ground clearance as the car gets lowered. Of course I didn’t take any photos of the diff before I installed it on the subframe, so here’s one of the subframe just before we reinstalled.



Obviously there is plastic wrap on the diff instead of a cover – the courier delayed delivery of the cover on the Friday, and I didn’t feel like waiting for it to show up, so the subframe went back in and the diff was supported by the jack until I found time to install the cover today.



After the subframe was back in, it was time to focus on the brakes. I refinished the calipers in black, and added new Pagid coated rotors, Akebono Euro Ceramic brake pads, and Stoptech stainless steel brake lines. This combo is almost identical to my last car – it was a great quiet, clean street setup.

I also removed the fender liners, spent a few minutes pressure washing the fender wells, and added a quick coat of plastic dressing on the liners. Here’s a before/after on the rear wells – pretty solid difference.





Suspension continued next post!