Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    Austin, Tx
    Posts
    295

    '04 Imola 6MT/Sedan resurrection

    My introduction and resurrection thread....



    I'm new to ZHPMafia, but not new to E46s. I've had over a dozen E46s and multiple other BMWs and presently have a stock 323iT that is my wifes driver, a 2003 325iT sport wagon, my S54 swapped 323iT and now this '04 Imola ZHP sedan. I've been wrenching professionally on BMWs for over 14yrs now and just in the last 6mos ventured out on my own to pursue a more specific BMW clientele to allow me to do the "fun" stuff like racecars, swaps, hotrods, etc. So while I am mostly interested in the cars BMW never built I still make time for the soccer mom daily drivers as well. Business has been good and because of that my projects have been pushed to the back burner.

    Enter the 2004 Imola ZHP. I've had a Imola M3 and love the color. When this one popped up for sale for a very low price not to far away I did my best to talk myself out of buying it. But that didn't work... I originally bought it with a buddy as a possible S54 swap condidate, but he decided it's a bit more of a project than he was interested in getting into at the moment so it was passed over to me. I've got a few projects ahead of it and so the S54 is on the back burner for the interim. The car is fairly rough and I think I may have overpaid for it considering what it will take to bring it back to it's glory but it's still an Imola ZHP and I love it. Here are my initial findings...


    Water leak in the passenger compartment, most likely a vapor barrier.










    Suspension has seen better days.














    Couple of oil leaks including a massive leak from the steering rack.










    Front bumper is wrecked and minor bumps and bruises over the rest of the body consistent with the age of a daily driver.










    The first step was to pull the carpet back and get the interior dried out. After that was completed the car sat. I have a HPDE coming up this weekend and was planning to take my 332iT, but just sold the Brembos off of it and that leaves the only other viable option, the ZHP. But it needs a ton of work. And did I mention the DE is this weekend? I am thrashing to get it ready so here goes...

    Here's my black friday purchases.






    Started by going after the oil pan gasket. In the process I removed the entire fronts suspension as most of it will be getting replaced.






    Then the oil pan came off. It's dirty but everything looked good and the oil pump nut was tight. That is where we left off last night.






    Current Garage... '00 R11S, '09 HP2S, '12 R12GSA, '00 Black 323iT (wife's), '02 Alpine 325iT (Eileen, Track Wagon), '02 Japan Rot 325iT

    Instagram @ HillPerformanceBimmers
    Email to George@HillPerformance.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Good luck on this project. Hope the car is ready on time.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    22841
    Posts
    9,921
    Subscribed.

    Looking forward to more updates

    His - 2004 Imola Red / Alcantara 330i | 6MT | ZHP |

    Her's - 2005 Black Sapphire Metallic / Black Leather 330i | 6MT | ZHP |

  4. #4
    Man a lift would've been nice for my OPG....

    I want to see how she does during your HPDE!
    -Corey

    2003 Blue ZHP Sedan @ 210k
    Dead due to damaged valve. Parts are being transferred to a wagon:

    2003 325iT Japanrot 6MT @ 230k

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    Austin, Tx
    Posts
    295
    Quote Originally Posted by DeathTrap View Post
    Man a lift would've been nice for my OPG....

    I want to see how she does during your HPDE!
    A lift makes all the difference in the world.

    *I'm updating this as I take a break, please excuse bad photos and grammar, lol.

    OPN safety wired and loctited in place.




    I figured these studs were going to break when i pulled the exhaust and sure enough they did.




    The exhaust manifold gaskets were rattling as well.




    And because the subframe was already lowered I went ahead and pulled the manifolds out to knock the broken studs out and replace the gaskets while I was in there.






    I drill a pilot hole through the stud and then bevel the pilot hole. Heat the stud up with a torch and then zap it with the air hammer and they usually come right out.

    Current Garage... '00 R11S, '09 HP2S, '12 R12GSA, '00 Black 323iT (wife's), '02 Alpine 325iT (Eileen, Track Wagon), '02 Japan Rot 325iT

    Instagram @ HillPerformanceBimmers
    Email to George@HillPerformance.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Atlanta GA
    Posts
    1,279
    nice! tricks of the trade awesome work George.
    2003 ZHP 332i | S54 6 speed
    2002 ZHP Touring | M54 6 Speed

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    Austin, Tx
    Posts
    295
    Front suspension cleaned and ready for install. New Control arms and bushings, Reman rack from rack doctor and new outer tie rods, new steering coupler and new engine mounts. My S54 wagon has been on 323 "built" suspension but I'm swapping all M3 stuff into it so that left over some goodies to go around with the other projects. So I'm also including the Bilstein coilovers, H&R swap bars and a Dinan strut tower brace.




    Once everything was bolted back in you can see how much the engine mounts were collapsed. The engine support bar is now loose since the engine is sitting higher in the chassis.






    I started feeling the time crunch so I didn't take as many pics as I would like too. P/S hoses from the tank to the pump and the pump to the rack were also installed.


    I bought a replacement clutch but really wasn't planning to install it, But I had the driveshaft out and was replacing the trans mounts. I pulled the slave and inspected the self adjusting clutch to see how much adjustment it had left and it was maxed out. So more things added to the to do list, lol.








    With the clutch out, I replaced the pilot bearing, clutch fork and installed a stainless steel pivot pin. The selector shaft seal was leaking so it got replaced as well. Then the selector rod joint, shift arm bushings front and rear were also replaced.










    The driveshaft was removed and the guibo was replaced. With the driveshaft out I then pulled the final drive assembly and replaced all (3) bushings.











    Rear trailing arm bushings were trashed and they were replaced as well.








    Then the same as the front. The Bilstein coilovers off of my wagon and H&R sway bar. New sway bar end links were installled and rear shock mounts and gaskets.









    The exhaust went back on with new hardware. Note the factory bolts are so expensive I decided to try out some aftermarket bolts with the OE nuts. To get a 12mm thread bolt the head ended up being 17mm and one wouldn't clear the O2 sensor so it had to be installed in reverse.




    The car came with a couple of crankcase vent hoses. The previous owner had replaced both intake hoses but he said it still ran rough and thought it needed a vent valve. From underneath you could the see the vent valve drain hose was leaking and had a hole in it, so I replaced it. But I also noticed the intake hoses were not installed properly. Pulled that apart and corrected it.






    Then lastly the car got new stainless steel brake lines and pads at all 4 corners from stoptech along with a brake bleed and flush. The rotors were turned and reinstalled.


    The HPDE is at MSR-Cresson, outside Fort Worth, Tx and the weather is supposed to be nasty all week. The LF window regulator has been acting up so last thing I wanted was to get stuck with a broken regulator in the rain, lol. I pulled the door panel off and then was able to confirm my suspicions on the water leak. The vapor barrier was completely separated at the bottom side. It needs to be replaced, but I didn't have one in hand. I went ahead and put a new regulator in it (aftermarket junk piece installed), then installed new ribbon sealer at the bottom edge and ran the perimeter with a heat gun and roller to reseat the ribbon sealer.






    The tires were junk from the ZHP, but I had a set of Apec ARC-8s on the wagon, I installed them andwhile they are matte black they look really good (maybe I'll refinish them in gloss?). The wagon had a big rear spring pad so I pulled it and put a stock sedan pad in but I didn't have a chance to play with the ride height of the coilovers. I set it on the ground and it was decent so my "test" drive was to the alignment shop. Everything lined up like we'd expected although I wish I had camber plates to get a bit more neg camber in it, but no big deal. That pretty much leads us to now. I'm at the track, the car is on the trailer behind the RV and I'm typing this up waiting for the rest of my group to arrive. I put about 25 miles on the car and everything seemed great. Trial by fire as they say, we'll see how it goes.
    Current Garage... '00 R11S, '09 HP2S, '12 R12GSA, '00 Black 323iT (wife's), '02 Alpine 325iT (Eileen, Track Wagon), '02 Japan Rot 325iT

    Instagram @ HillPerformanceBimmers
    Email to George@HillPerformance.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Wow ... That's a lot of work done in a short time frame. GL at the track.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    1,193
    I am late to the party, but I see a big amount of work was done already! Great job sir!
    Welcome to the forum and save Imola!!!

    Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Great job rescuing this beautiful Imola RED ZHP, keep coming...

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