As if I didn't have enough projects, I decided to buy another ZHP, lol.

Back in the fall of '18 a member of a semi-local FB BMW group rear ended another car in his ZHP. It took out the headlights, hood, core support and some other misc items.




He started fixing it and somewhere along the way it decided to no longer start.












Fast forward a few more months and he decided to part ways with the project.






I picked the car up Tuesday night after a 400 mile round trip with the truck and trailer.










First impressions are it is surprisingly nice. Other than the hood and a couple of small marks the body is in really good shape. The car came with a Mishimoto e-fan kit, but it's beat up so I'll probably ditch it for a mechanical fan and shroud or ZHP e-fan. Also installed is a TMS under drive pulley kit, I'll probably pull that off and return to stock as well. The previous owner already replaced the core support, rad and condenser, but I might have to pull that all back apart to audit his install.

Inside the car is a black leather interior, no heated seats and no fold down rear seats (that's a big bummer ). It has an aftermarket Eonon style stereo in it. Alcantara steering wheel is in tact but heavily matted, hopefully it cleans up well. A-pillar covers are in really good shape, but B's and C's are rough and the headliner is starting to sag. Sunroof is supposed to work but I have not tried it yet.


















I had an idea of the cause for the no start and after a bit of diagnosis I confirmed my suspicions. The 3.0L M54 engines have tendency to flood if not run long enough in cold temperatures and this car experienced this situation. A little oil down the cylinders and some extended cranking to restore piston ring seal and it fired right up.

The new radiator he installed ended up being cracked and so it leaks water almost as fast as you can put it in. I was able to back the car off the trailer and get it parked out of the way, but much more and I'll have to get the cooling system all sorted out first.

https://www.facebook.com/SmashAndCra...0952142198061/


That is where the project is as of now. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it, maybe my wife will take it and I'll get her wagon to do something fun with. Other options could be a 6spd conversion or maybe it'll get a S54 swap?