blalor's ZHP project journal

[blalor]

Seems like all the cool kids are doing one of these, so I thought I'd join in, too.



(Yes, I *know* those aren't the ZHP wheels. They're in the trunk.)

PD98162 is an '04 330Ci. I bought him (name TBD) two weeks ago from the 3rd owner with about 104,000 miles on the clock. Lots of preventative stuff's already been done, and the car spent about a week with Kieran at Bell Buckle Motor Works in Bell Buckle, TN for a PPI and to address the check engine light (the vanquishment of which was a precondition of the sale). After 42 hours and 1,100 miles of travel with a stop-over at my dad's in Raleigh I made it home with no real issues, save a cracked wheel courtesy of the Tappan Zee Bridge.



So the car's home and safely tucked into my garage. It's on summer tires and we've had actual winter weather here since I've been home. The nerve.

Between my wife and I, we've got two '06 MINI Cooper Ses and now the ZHP. Neither of us drive to work. We do love roadtrips, however. I'm a trackday enthusiast and amateur road racer (LeMons mainly). We're planning to return to the Bonneville Salt Flats for the 3rd time late this summer and will be taking the ZHP. My focus is going to be on handling without sacrificing comfort or drivability.

Before bringing the car home I had to buy new tires. I don't know how anybody manages to end up with dry-rotted tires on a daily driver, but maybe that's because I haven't kept a set of tires for longer than two years. I'm hoping the tire on the cracked rim isn't damaged, but that's a likelihood. At least it holds air…

The long drive really pointed out some slop in the front end. I've got new Powerflex front control arm bushings and heavy-duty front sway bar end links that I'll be installing at a new DIY garage up in Newton, NH on Sunday. I'm hoping that will tighten things up a lot.

Other items on the list to fix or buy, in no particular order:

•*shocks
• 2nd key (only got one from the PO)
•*battery
•*windows don't index correctly when opening the doors
• subframe reinforcement
• strut tower reinforcement
• replacement shift knob (done, thanks to MiniD)
• fix/replace leaking washer fluid reservoir
• floor mats
• A, B and C pillars (fabric's sagging)
• slight wind noise at driver's door
• replace OEM nav with Business CD
• arm rest delete
•*refurbish steering wheel (Alcantara, but with the texture of dried boogers)
•*clear reflectors on front bumper
• black kidneys
• braided clutch and brake lines
• clutch delay valve-ectomy
• bluetooth audio of some kind (Raspberry Pi, perhaps)
• sunroof reversing before closed
• heated seat retrofit

For the most part, this is what I expect for a 10-year-old car with over 100k miles. I'll be updating this thread as I work my way through the list!

If anyone wants 3 18" Style 269 wheels (7.5" front, 8.5" rear, I think) let me know. I'll be selling the ones that are still round. :-)

[gmurphy]

Can't wait to see more! Nice car


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[brettbimmer]

Congratulations on the new edition. Look forward to more on your projects, and if you have a chance, I would love to hear more about your Lemons experience.

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[blalor]

Thanks! I've been racing an '87 325is for …*I guess this is the 7th year. Hard to believe. Harder to believe it's continued to run this long. My team consists of BMWCCA members from the White Mountain chapter. The initial cadre were all MINI owners, but we're now a solid crew of MINI and BMW aficionados. The car's a legitimate $500 piece of crap. It had 250,000 miles on it when we got it and there are a few spots where you can see through the floor and body. We stripped out every bit of extra weight we could, to the point that the doors, trunk and hood were down to flimsy pieces of steel without any reinforcement. We actually removed *too much* weight and now keep an extra set of wheels strapped to the trunk floor for better balance. The car's been pretty much bullet-proof despite the 15+ races we've done. We did break a couple of rocker arms in 2012, but that's not really surprising. It's a fun, fast car. I'd be totally happy driving nothing else on the track. It's so fast it feels like a cheater, but it honestly isn't. There are some opportunities now to take a LeMons car and run with other non-crapcan bodies, like the SCCA. We're probably doing our last year with this car and would like to get something that we can build a little more safely. Our cage -- a bolt-in Autopower job -- looks pretty marginal and I don't think any of us would be thrilled if we got into a big smashup with it.

We jumped at the chance to run LeMons when they first came to Stafford Springs, CT in 2008 (?), and then we did all the New Hampshire events plus the one at the Monticello Motor Club in NY last April. We pretty consistently finish in the top 10 (and there were 140 cars at the last race in October!). We're not an overly organized group of fellas; while we do a handful of work days before each race, we pretty much show up and hope for the best. :-)

I've been doing 5-7 days on the track per year for about 10 years, now. I did the BMWCCA club race school at NJMP last June with my BRZ (which was replaced by the ZHP). My teammates are all experienced HPDE students (with one instructor). Some of the yokels you see on the track at a LeMons event have never been away from traffic lights and road signs before (and some you'd swear had never seen the inside of a car). So there's a pretty wide range of ability. The racing (and organizing) have become more civilized since we started. Most folks behave well on and off the track, but with 140 cars and a minimum of 560(!) drivers, you're bound to have some moments. I absolutely love getting to go wheel-to-wheel with other cars, and it is "real" racing, as far as I'm concerned. 140 cars is too damn many by half and you spend a good part of the first of the two days in traffic or under yellow. That can be really frustrating.

This year we're going to do the NJMP race in May, plus a couple of others. I'm personally trying to strike a balance between racing, vacationing with my wife, doing track days with the ZHP, *repairing* the ZHP, plus doing other non-car-related stuff, all on a fairly limited number of vacation days. In addition to my day job I'm also working with a startup in Seattle (Autosport Labs), and I'm hoping to get out there to do a LeMons race with them in July. Crap, that's a lot…

Uh, what else can I tell you? :-)

[Avetiso]

I think your current wheels are one of the few better styles for the zhp.

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[blalor]

Thanks. I like the look, too. Unfortunately I've only got three of those, now. *sigh* The staggered setup bothers me, both from handling and tire-rotate-ability perspectives. I'm going to be buying wheels for track use, and I also need a set of winter wheels. I was planning on selling the 269s to put money toward a new set (something square, possibly 17"). They appear to be flawless and are worth some money… The ZHP wheels are a bit rough, and the PO thinks one has a crack leading to a slow leak. If that's the case I'll just get it repaired (oh please let it be repairable!). I don't think I'm going to spend the $800 to get them refinished, however. At least not right now.

[JKO_ZHP]

Congrats on the purchase! You are the coolest of the cool kids since yours is a coupe, plus bonus points for silver grey.
......

[blalor]

Ha! I wish it were a slick-top. And a brighter color. Those'd make me sub-zero! One MINI's Chili Red with a black roof and viper stripes, the other's Hyper Blue with a white roof, and the BRZ was Wicked Rare Blue -- er, sorry, World Rally Blue. They're all awesome colors. The Silbergrau is pretty, but it's still a bit BMW Boring. Imola Red or one of the lighter blues (LeMans, or Interlagos, neither of which were available the ZHP, I don't think) would be ideal.

[ELCID86]

Congrats on the purchase. Sorry about the wheel woes. Hope at least the tire is ok. But wait,,, "I bought him..." I thought all cars were girls!?

[brettbimmer]

Thanks! I've been racing an '87 325is for …*I guess this is the 7th year. Hard to believe. Harder to believe it's continued to run this long. My team consists of BMWCCA members from the White Mountain chapter. The initial cadre were all MINI owners, but we're now a solid crew of MINI and BMW aficionados. The car's a legitimate $500 piece of crap. It had 250,000 miles on it when we got it and there are a few spots where you can see through the floor and body. We stripped out every bit of extra weight we could, to the point that the doors, trunk and hood were down to flimsy pieces of steel without any reinforcement. We actually removed *too much* weight and now keep an extra set of wheels strapped to the trunk floor for better balance. The car's been pretty much bullet-proof despite the 15+ races we've done. We did break a couple of rocker arms in 2012, but that's not really surprising. It's a fun, fast car. I'd be totally happy driving nothing else on the track. It's so fast it feels like a cheater, but it honestly isn't. There are some opportunities now to take a LeMons car and run with other non-crapcan bodies, like the SCCA. We're probably doing our last year with this car and would like to get something that we can build a little more safely. Our cage -- a bolt-in Autopower job -- looks pretty marginal and I don't think any of us would be thrilled if we got into a big smashup with it.

We jumped at the chance to run LeMons when they first came to Stafford Springs, CT in 2008 (?), and then we did all the New Hampshire events plus the one at the Monticello Motor Club in NY last April. We pretty consistently finish in the top 10 (and there were 140 cars at the last race in October!). We're not an overly organized group of fellas; while we do a handful of work days before each race, we pretty much show up and hope for the best. :-)

I've been doing 5-7 days on the track per year for about 10 years, now. I did the BMWCCA club race school at NJMP last June with my BRZ (which was replaced by the ZHP). My teammates are all experienced HPDE students (with one instructor). Some of the yokels you see on the track at a LeMons event have never been away from traffic lights and road signs before (and some you'd swear had never seen the inside of a car). So there's a pretty wide range of ability. The racing (and organizing) have become more civilized since we started. Most folks behave well on and off the track, but with 140 cars and a minimum of 560(!) drivers, you're bound to have some moments. I absolutely love getting to go wheel-to-wheel with other cars, and it is "real" racing, as far as I'm concerned. 140 cars is too damn many by half and you spend a good part of the first of the two days in traffic or under yellow. That can be really frustrating.

This year we're going to do the NJMP race in May, plus a couple of others. I'm personally trying to strike a balance between racing, vacationing with my wife, doing track days with the ZHP, *repairing* the ZHP, plus doing other non-car-related stuff, all on a fairly limited number of vacation days. In addition to my day job I'm also working with a startup in Seattle (Autosport Labs), and I'm hoping to get out there to do a LeMons race with them in July. Crap, that's a lot…

Uh, what else can I tell you? :-)

Haha thanks, that's awesome! A passionate German car guy who just happens to enjoy running an E30 for Lemons! Having rebuilt a 1990 E30 in my past, I am not surprised that your race car is still running strong. Bavarian Motor Works seems to have the formula down for building quality engines, even if you need to keep up with timing belt replacements on the M20. As I am sure that you know, when one of them breaks, it can cause a heck of a mess. Lemons is on my bucket list someday, having read multiple articles on the races, one of which was written by Sam Smith and his mis-adventures there. Sounds like a blast.

LOL at your commentary on some of the other "drivers". I would imagine that there is quite a diverse spread of experience out there which could make for a very interesting experience I am sure. Fantastic that you have a good group of HPDE students and one instructor on your team. You are probably heads above a lot of the other teams that usually ride the bus. Heck, I have seen some interesting drivers at the various HPDE events which I have attended since 2004 as well!

I was just reading the dates for the NJMP race, and it looks to be the weekend after the ZHP Mafia family reunion. Otherwise I was going to suggest that they add this to the mix of events during the meet, since it is being held in Cape May, NJ this year. Nonetheless, if you can break away the weekend before, the Mafia family reunion is highly recommended.

Anyway, welcome to the mafia and good luck with the new ZHP and MINIs. Perhaps a thread on the Lemons stuff as time permits with some photos if you have them would be great in the future. I know that I am not the only person on this forum that would love to see more on Lemons lunacy.