Hello All,
I am new to this forum however, I am not new to BMW's especially Z3's. In the stable I currently have a 96 Z3, 98 Z3 (w/ hardtop) and 99 M Coupe. I have been lurking around for quite some time and just decided to join. Other BMW's in the stable include 91 E34 M5 and 90 325is. Slowly but surely just collecting as I go. Anyway, just wanted to say Hi.
Thanks
Lol. You have a sickness.
Welcome.
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Hi all, My wife just became the owner of a new to her 1997 z3 1.9l with 120k on the clock. It seems to be in pretty good condition on the exterior but the mechanicals and interior needs some work. By default I am going to be the repair shop. Most of my experience is working with motorcycles so this should be an interesting endeavor! First things it appears to need are: a battery (alternator check), tires (dry rotted and seem to shudder a bit when getting rolling so hoping a good balance will fix that) and a full tune up. It idles rough but otherwise runs well so new plugs, wires and coil are in order. Brakes all around, just to make me feel better. All fluids flushed and changed. Then, assuming it is running to my satisfaction I get to work on the interior. I have to replace the headlight switch and AC button. Radio needs replaced. Lid to the box behind the seat is cracked too? Clean up the leather and rear window and she should be good to go. Wow that is quite a list! Didn't realize how long it was till I started typing it all out. Wish me luck and any and all suggestions will be happily accepted!
Chris
Hello, all! I just bought myself a birthday present: 1997 Z3 1.9l. I stumbled onto it, it has 66K miles and I'm the third owner.
In the 1990s I restored a number of Alfa Romeo Spiders, and the 1.9l engine gives me the same "cruising" feel. Yes the 2.8 would have a lot more power, but as I've gotten older I'm not doing autocross or hard driving. Just cruising through the Ouachita and Ozarks, top down, wind in the face! And it makes me feel better that the 1.9 is much less vulnerable to the subframe issues.
I've owned BMWs before but it's been a while. Time to see what I remember!
Hello everyone. My wife has always wanted a BMW and a good friend of ours bought a Z3 a couple of years ago. His neighbor was selling a 97 2.8 Z3 with 64k miles and so my wife and I went and looked at it and bought it. This is our first BMW. We drove it a couple of times and have been replacing things that have come up. Unfortunately this car probably has not had much in the way of maintenance done to it over the years. So it is now parked and we are going through and replacing the things that need done. Latest is an over heating issue the last time we drove it. This is our third convertible two seater. Unfortunately the Miata was totaled in a recent accident where it was rear ended. I want to autocross the Z3 and will be looking at suspension upgrades that will still keep me in the street class. After sorting the maintenance issues hopefully we will have a good car.
Hey I'm Chuck, recently acquired a 1997 Z3 from a gentleman who could no longer enjoy the car due to health issues. The car has spent the last 14 years in a garage, only driven about a thousand miles a year. I am having a few issues getting it to pass emissions tests (I live in middle Tennessee), and have found this forum very helpful.
Hi all, just purchased a 2000 Z3 2.3 with 54K miles from a very nice couple in Wisconsin. We live in FL so had the car shipped down and plan to enjoy it here, especially during the cooler months. The car is in excellent condition and there are a few other Z3 owners in our community that I can look to for advice. Just joined the forum and will be posting a more formal introduction with photos soon. Don
Hi, im Jim, been a mamber for a while, but did have some trouble logging back in, but got introduced to a 1999 Boston green Z3 2.3 roadster a few years ago, had 160k on the clock, because of poor maintenance from PO, I decided to do a complete overhaul, and appreciate all the great info from the forum.
Hey everyone! This is my 3rd M car. I'm not too madly in love with it yet but it's addicting to drive! I started a thread on the work-in-progress budget restoration! It's a 98 Z3 M Roadster.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...et-Fixer-Upper
OK, time to get on the board with first post. Been lurking since 1 Oct and have read almost everything in the Z section. Today, brought home my new toy and 6th BMW over the years. It's a '98 2.8L, 5sp Montrealblau with beige top and interior. I'm the sixth owner since it was new, and it has 103K miles on it and looks like new inside and out. Type 42 BBS's, M50 manifold conversion, AFE intake, Kassel Performance tune, LSD, new top, steering rack, all brakes, stainless lines incl clutch, new Bilsteins and BAVAuto springs, BAV high performance coils, Magnaflow cat-back, cooling system overhaul, Pioneer stereo with upgraded subwoofer, good maintenance history. Floor and diff mount look OK. Everyone that has had this car has obviously loved it. Been a past BMWCCA member, bought my first in GE when I was there with the USAF 1980-86. This is my 66th car/truck/motorcycle (I'm 67) and love modding and autocrossing. Past fun cars include 4 MGs (A, B-GT, Midget, and MGC roadster), 61 XKE coupe, Triumph Spitfire and TR4A-IRS, 61 Mini Cooper S I brought back from Europe, BMW 2800 CS and 3.0 CS, Porsche 911, 3 early GTIs, 66 Impala SS, 71 GTO, 71 Challenger R/T, 99 Miata Sport (modded for autoX), 2008 Mini Cooper S (lots of mods), 2010 STi, Audi's: 2002 TT 225 (lots of mods), 2010 and 2014 S4s, and current 2018 SQ5 which I love, but can't tinker with. So... the Z will be my newest hobby car. Glad to be here learning and sharing. Pics when I'm able to do so. Cheers! Fig
Welcome to the forum Fig! Jealous of your vehicle history! Especially the 911. Good luck with the new hobby car and I’m sure you will enjoy it.
Hi All! I've been a member since 2012 when I had a 2005 325Ci. I only owned that one for 9 months, too many electrical issues that I didn't have time to deal with at the time, so I traded it off. I found a somewhat local 2.8 roadster automatic (groan, I know) in Sienna Red with style 42's on Craigslist back in September and pulled the trigger. I knew it was a fixer upper, I've got more time now and needed something to do! I've been lurking daily since September, and since then I've learned so much here! Here's a list of what I've done so far, front to back: hi-beam bulb in low beams, fan shroud, fan, fan clutch, water pump, coolant flush, Vanos rebuild, spark plugs, coolant cap, new stereo, sub, rear speakers, seat bushing replacement (both of them), fixed the security system (that damn radio switch ;0), reattached driver's seat heater, glove box fix, many interior trim pieces, made my own tenax screws (before I found out what they were called, because I wasn't going to pay $24ea for the BMW ones!), door handle seals (and somehow broke the driver handle frame in the process so I'm looking for one of those right now), fixed trunk latch actuator, replaced rear tire air deflectors, diff fluid, one jack pad, new tires. I've done it all myself except the water pump and the coolant flush (I took it into the local shop for the coolant flush and the next day the water pump started leaking so they gave me free labor on replacing the pump) ECS Tuning and BMWdirectparts are my new Amazon! As you can see there was a lot of "deferred maintenance" over the years so it feels like i'm doing a restoration. Next up: the tweeters in the doors (one blown for sure), window actuator slides, the door handle, and then next spring will be a new front suspension and brakes (keeping it stock), and both front fender liners. I'm still fighting the airbag light and random P1542 and P1188/P1189 codes, so I am going to post questions about those pretty soon before I start throwing parts at it, like Randy F likes to say! Thanks again to all on this forum-the collective knowledge of all of you saves all of us noobs a lot of time!!
Welcome. Sounds like you could teach us a few tricks as well.
Last edited by Tigershark48; 02-10-2019 at 08:37 PM. Reason: Missing word in sentence
I've owned many many BMW models in the past 20+ years now have my first Z3. 99 2.8 manual model. Still have my MPOW3R plate from when I owned a M3
IMG_0327.jpgIMG_0326.jpg
Sijayray,
Paint came out real nice with your cleanup. Have you figured out how everything got wet and corroded? Could the leaking coolant have gotten into the interior?
Incidentally, I bought mine from Virginia and had it shipped here.
Last edited by Tigershark48; 12-29-2018 at 09:02 PM.
So far I think the water was getting in through the window seals on the top (original from 1999). I bought new ones and it seemed to have resolved the issue as far as I can tell. The car was parked on a slight incline for quite a while (side incline), so I'm thinking that was the issue. I didn't do anything with the trunk or top rear lining I'm still monitoring the issue, but I'm not seeing any water in the cabin or the trunk and I've left it mostly outside.
There are threads on stopping roof leaks. Good place to look if you end up stumped.
Hey! Whats going on guys. I just purchased a 2002 Z3 2.5i Roadster with 16K miles on her. It was my partners mom's car, garaged in Florida, and driven weekly to keep her from sitting around and rotting. The 22 hour drive back to Boston was absolutely memorable. Just wanted to say high and I look forward to making the Z something special.
- Brenton
Last edited by Bimmerman4ever; 01-03-2019 at 04:45 PM.
Hi Everyone, name is Eric and living in Sacramento, CA area. I recently purchased a 2001 Z3m with 44,000 miles including hard top accessory. Really enjoying the car so far, hope to meet some other enthusiasts and get some good advice as I progress on my Z3m journey. Exterior is silver, interior is solid black, car is fully stock except for the radio head but I have the original still.
Cheers and happy driving
Welcome, Eric! I'm in south Sacramento county north of Herald with my 2002 M Coupe that now has 103K miles on it. My advice is to change the oil every 5K miles, and do a Blackstone Lab analysis each time to check for any signs of rod bearing wear. Other than that, just drive it!
Marty
What's up Dudes. I found my beauty in a salvage yard in line for the crusher. Paint and interior were in horrible shape but the motor looked surprisingly in good shape. I bought her for a song and brought her home and began to disassemble. With my trusted mechanic friend as my guide, I slowly brought her back to life. Dash shows 143K on the miles but the motor has been replaced and purrs like a kitten.
Hi everybody. I just bought this:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...m-roadster-20/
Note: I bought a convertible in the middle of winter on the day record-setting low temperatures were being set around the country.
Signed up for this:
http://events.dominionraceway.com/trackattack/
The car's pretty cherry. Completely stock except for the rear view mirror. Can't wait till it warms up enough to put the top down.
I also have 2011 E90 328i.
Very nice. Bought ours from a Winchester, Virginia dealership in November and we’re also looking forward to spring. Been planning our routes on Google Maps.
Enjoy!
Last edited by Tigershark48; 02-11-2019 at 09:12 AM.
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