i hope the top is up.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
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i hope the top is up.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Hard top is on. It's been in storage longer than my car, and it fired right up without even a hint of lifter tick. Gotta love old Japanese cars. Sadly he plans to sell it this summer if no one drives it. If anyone is interested, shoot me a PM, it's a fantastic Miata with the rare R Package (pretty much this car: http://bringatrailer.com/2014/12/12/...mazda-miata-r/). We would love it to go to a good home.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
Seems like you will be very busy for the next few weeks.
I can't wait to see you car with the exhaust installed [emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
http://25.media.tumblr.com/03ce66833...66hlo4_250.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
crap. i'll likely PM you for deets, please.... ugh.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
You can put it on the roof rails of the touring and drive it back.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
This is hilarious. Let us know what the wife thinks.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
popcorn.gif
she definitely wouldn't be on board for putting it on the roof.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
But disassembled in the trunk is a go?Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
i would definitely be up for a "fly out and drive it back" kinda thing. always wanted to do that cross-country.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
my wife is out of town right now. i'm sure when i bring this up she'll freak.
I feel obligated to inform you the NA Miata can accommodate an LS swap.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
i know. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
Loving that this is turning into the "enable Peter thread."
There's no rush, we'll keep it through August at a minimum to enjoy it through the summer one last time.
Jeez William, way to threadjack this thre---oh wait.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
So, you get those LED signals put in yet?
Nah, I won't be picking up my car until Sunday.Quote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
That's a decent little list man, and all relatively "fun" in the scheme of things. You'll have to let me know how the tranny/engine mounts go, I've been debating replacing mine due to shifting into 1st & 2nd being a little tough sometimes. Why are you replacing yours? Your car still has crazy low miles, no real need to replace them. I wanna hear it when you get that exhaust installed too! I've been toying with the idea of an exhaust recently, I just haven't heard one yet that I think I can live with on a DD. What's CQuartz? Never heard of that before.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Yep I've got the M3 mirrors in the mail and should have them back in a couple weeks I'd assume. That poor lonely NB interior is still sitting in my garage waiting it's fate, still undecided there. Going up to my dad's in Seattle this weekend though and I'm taking a piece so we can use the dye I got with his airbrush. I want to see how it turns out. If it looks good, then I'll dye both fronts and stick that interior in there! We're also gonna do some maint stuff; tranny fluid, bleed brakes, check to see if the CDV is there and pull it if so, re-adhere my roof spoiler, etc. Nothing big, I don't want to work him too hard on Father's Day weekend
I bought the engine and transmission mounts because they were cheap(ish) at the time and I figure the current mounts are 12 years old, so why not?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cadeez
We should meet up later this summer once I have the exhaust installed and you can see how that sounds to you, plus the UUC SSK. I know what you mean about a DD exhaust, I'm not sure if the TSE3 will be too much, but I've liked how it sounds in Daniel's car so we'll see.
CQuartz is a ceramic coating that you can have installed over the paint similar to wax or sealant, but lasts a lot longer. Talked with a guy for 15 mins on the phone today about it. He was very helpful and I think I may end up doing it along with some paint correction first sometime later this year.
Let me know how the dye goes, I'll be very interested to see. I'm surprised you haven't checked/removed the CDV yet! It was one of the early things I did. But that other stuff will all be nice to have done. Definitely look forward to seeing your car in person at some point.
Mileage: 55,884 miles
Retrieved my car from storage today. Bird poop EVERYWHERE on the tarp I left over it. The tarp didn't cover everything and I had a generic cloth car cover on it that stopped the other bird poop for the most part, but still had some get through. Not a big deal.
Barn apparently lost a door during a wind storm this winter but didn't suffer any other major damage, and the car itself was fine. I went around and removed all the dryer sheets and moth balls I had strategically placed in and around the car. No rodent nests this time that were immediately visible, just a few spider webs.
The car cranked up fine like I drove it yesterday. No lifter tick or anything. I drove it out of the barn and let it idle and there was some smoke coming out of the front of the car. I think one of the dryer sheets fell back behind the block and is touching something hot behind the block because it's sort of a sweeter smell and it left this plasticky film on the engine cover (which is slightly warped for some reason). Otherwise the car drove fine all the way home. So nice to be back in it.
I plan to wash it when the sun sets a little later and then tomorrow jack it up and see if I can find the culprit for the smoke.
Reunited and it feels so good ... I bet. :roundel
+1.Quote:
Originally Posted by fredo
William, check for stowaways in your head and tail lights too. I had a spider take up residence in my Mazda's reverse light housing, and then die in there, leaving behind his unsightly carcass to forever piss me off.
It so so does! I won't drive it much until I can figure out and hopefully remove the source of the smoke (95% sure it's a left over dryer sheet).Quote:
Originally Posted by fredo
That's a good point, will do a more thorough inspection tomorrow. I already have a teeny tiny little spider carcass in my left replacement tail light but it has since been shifted so you can only see it from a certain angle and only if you're looking for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
Excited to hear how charred mouse tastes fresh off the exhaust manifold.
Like disappointment.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
"So why not?" Haha that's my excuse like half the time when I buy stuff. When I was under the car this weekend I meant to check the mounts but totally spaced it. We definitely need to meet up this summer though, I need to see your car and hear that exhaust. I'm sure the exhaust will sound great, I've heard a couple clips on youtube and it sounds pretty cleanQuote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Sounds cool, but I'm sure it's not cheap. Is your paint in bad shape? Did you contact places like 503 Motoring, or are there smaller detail shops that do it?
The dye actually went really well, after we figured out how to do it. Took a bit of trial and error, but the section we did turned out really good, and it completely covered this nasty stain I had on the back seat. I plan to do the fronts next, that's all I really care about, no one ever sees or sits in the back. I'll post some pics up in my project thread a little later today. That CDV was a bitch to do! I couldn't get the lines screwed back together, and I must've leaked all of the fluid out of the entire system, because when we were finally done there was zero clutch and my entire left side was soaked with brake fluid. It took us a ton of fluid and time to bleed the slave cylinder, but got there eventually. The clutch feel is completely different, at first I was worried because it felt like crap, but after the long drive home from Seattle it felt much better. Tranny feels great now too, shifts much smoother. I drained just over a quart of nasty black fluid out, and put in just about 2 quarts of Redline MT/90
"So why not" is going to catch up to me at some point, but until then, live that lyfe!Quote:
Originally Posted by Cadeez
I wouldn't think visually checking the mounts will do much, but I honestly don't know. Hence why I'm just replacing them. I'll let you know once the exhaust is in and we can meet up. I'm not looking forward to the process, and I still need to purchase the gaskets, but I'll get it done one way or another. I'm really hoping I won't need a torch to get off the exhaust bolts, seeing as I don't have a torch or hot gloves for handling.
My paint's in pretty darn good shape, but it definitely could use a full detail. It has the standard wispy and superficial microscratches all over from weather and wear working away at the clear coat, making the clear coat look kind of like spider webs. Not a great description and sounds a lot worse than it is, but it'd be great to just get all of them removed and then put a nice protective ceramic coat over all of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cadeez
There are a few shops that install CQuartz across the U.S., two of them local (one in Sherwood and another up in Vancouver). All in for the coating is $600 which isn't cheap by any measure, but also not eye-watering expensive. I have made no commitment but I'm leaning towards it since I've seen Rovert's car in person and it has a CQuartz coating and it looks gorgeous.
I saw the pics, it does look good! Interesting that the best method was to use a sponge to put it on. I look forward to seeing itQuote:
Originally Posted by Cadeez
It's funny, I had trouble with the CDV on the other end because I was replacing the clutch line at the same time with a stainless steel line. Had no problem removing/reattaching the SS line with the modified CDV that I have (amounts to the same thing as deleting the CDV), but dear lord I could not remove the line at the other end. Had brake fluid all over myself as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cadeez
Glad to hear it's improved clutch feel.
$600 for paint correction and CQuartz is a good price. Very well worth it. Is that a quote based on them seeing your paint in person? Sounds like you might need more steps for the correction.
First and foremost, it is SO nice to be back in my car. I love it. The sound, the sensation, everything. I forgot just how good the Gruppe M sounds above 4,500 RPM at wide open throttle. Hnggggggg.
http://i.imgur.com/0w5UAMX.gif
Updates:
1. Source of the smoke
The source of the smoke was never found but it has since stopped smoking so whatever it was (most likely a rogue dryer sheet) either burned off or dislodged itself and fell out. When I'm under there for the TSE3 install or something else I'll take a look.
2. Interior smell
The interior smells like fresh laundry and moth balls since that is what it has housed for six months. I have both driven the car and left the car parked with the windows open in order to dissipate some of the smell. It has been somewhat effective, especially eliminating the moth ball smell, but I will continue to keep all windows open for a while.
3. Wash - 06/19/2017 (55,911 miles)
Gave the car a much needed wash. Not much else to say about that.
4. Installed LED reverse lights - 06/19/2017 (55,911 miles)
I've been hunting for a LED solution for the reverse lights in order to complete my all-LED exterior lighting. I believe it was Nate who suggested these JDM ASTAR LED bulbs from Amazon in size 1156 (link). Install was easy: just open the trunk, remove the trunk carpet pin things (I used a couple of my forked trim tools which made it very easy) and then pulled back the carpet. You can remove just two on each side, but I thought it was easier to remove three (pictured below)
http://i.imgur.com/1nYgXa2.jpg
Then it is simply a matter of pulling back the carpet, pulling out the reverse light harness/backing, and swapping bulbs. I made sure to test that the LED bulb was properly installed on each side before reinstalling the reverse light housing, carpet, carpet pins, and buttoning everything back up. I would have made a simple DIY for people (surprising that there weren't many when I searched Google), but it was dark and pictures weren't good. I might go back later and make one if I'm not super lazy. Pics:
Factory incandescent bulb on the left, JDM ASTAR LED bulb on the right
http://i.imgur.com/RC5iQGt.jpg
Shitty comparison of the light output. Left is JDM ASTAR LED bulb, right is factory incandescent bulb.
http://i.imgur.com/RGpf8F0.jpg
Overall I am very pleased with the purchase as it is much brighter and inched me closer to all LED lighting for the exterior. No issues with the gauge cluster showing bulb out either.
5. Installed LED front turn signal bulbs - 06/20/2017 (55,911 miles)
I picked up a pair of Philips X-Treme Ultinon bulbs from Nate which he was selling in the classifieds (link).
Factory bulb and harness in my palm, LED bulbs in mah fingertips
http://i.imgur.com/96RatKG.jpg
Install was relatively straight forward on the driver's side. Just turn the bulb harness and remove, swap out the bulb (testing that polarity is correct) and reinstall. I found it was easiest to have the hazards on to help see and orient the harness back into place. I did have to move some wires out of the way as the large lip that seals the harness to the turn signal housing would get caught on them. I also used some baby needle nose pliers to turn and lock the harness into place once I had routed the harness back into the housing.
The passenger side was a little harder as it is more crowded by both the car's frame and the windshield washer fluid reservoir. I unbolted the single bolt holding the reservoir in place and moved it to the side and then performed the same installation method as the driver's side, albeit with a few more curse words thrown in because of the narrower work area.
Me, installing the LED bulb in the passenger's side:
http://i.imgur.com/Yh0qrK0.gif
Again, I am quite pleased with the new bulbs. They're bright enough for day time and I love the instant on/off that LEDs provide. No bulb out warnings either. I'd code out the cold checks through PA Soft, but my old laptop that had the software decided to go kaput while I was away in DC (it was 13 years old doe).
6. Swapped the Style 135 wheels for my APEX ARC8 wheels - 06/20/2017 (55,911 miles)
Cleaned up the Style 135 wheels a bit before storing them. I really do not enjoy cleaning those lead bricks, but they do look good. Ran up the hill to the local gas station and pumped the APEXes up to 38 PSI on all corners.
7. Installed used yellow fog light housings and painted/refreshed the fog light covers - 06/20/2017 (55,911 miles)
I picked up and installed a pair of used yellow fog light housings from Spenser that were previously installed in his Estoril coupe (my car has a piece of motoring history, waddup snitches). I think they were originally installed in the Estoril coupe by Peter. I believe they are manufactured by Ziza, part no. 010290ZIZ01A. At any rate, they are clear lenses rather than fluted and I think they suit my car's Orient Blue Metallic paint. Spenser was a gentleman and a scholar to include an extra set of bulbs as well.
I decided at the same time to refresh the fog light covers as they were a little faded and had some pitting. I removed them, cleaned them, and then painted them with Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Semi-Gloss Protective Enamel spray paint (link) that I had used for the lower grille (link). I gave them three coats and let them dry for 24 hours. They came out decent, nothing to write home about. Less expensive than buying new covers, although new ones are cheap (something like $7 a side).
Before:
http://i.imgur.com/VQ7VSiz.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/oZIJ3i8.jpg
After (picture isn't great, but it looks better than before):
http://i.imgur.com/tLYd0K4.jpg
All together:
http://i.imgur.com/10RuWj5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/LKFGVug.jpg
8. Had the car inspected at the DEQ (passed) and renewed the registration - 06/21/2017 (55,935 miles)
Relatively painless. No wait at the DEQ station and got a compliment on the car while waiting to finish up the paperwork. Maybe seven minutes total and I was on my way. I think they upped the price though, now it's $145, good for two years.
8. Installed E46 M3 dead pedal (used) - 06/21/2017 (55,950 miles)
I purchased an E46 M3 dead pedal (part no. 51432695411) from Shawn via eBay. This was a bit of a pain to install, mainly because I hate anything that involves BMW's brittle plastic. I found info from a few different guides (link 1, link 2) but I didn't feel they were particularly useful for removing the sill from the sill clips. In short I stuck my fingers underneath the sill nearest the pedals and pulled up as evenly as I could on both sides. It took a lot of force but the trim clip finally let go and popped out the front of the sill. I popped out one more sill clip to provide enough space for the dead pedal to slide by the sill. I removed the sill clips using a set of pliers since the clips were still in the body of the car. Next I removed the philips screw in the hood release handle and then the screw underneath the handle holding the dead pedal into the sidewall. After that I removed the three screws of the bottom dash cover, popped out the plastic twist screw near the gas pedal, and the plastic pop rivet by the center console, releasing the bottom dash cover. I left the wiring for the OBD port and the light attached and just moved the cover out of the way. This made the removal of the dead pedal much easier (I had attempted to do this without fully removing the dash cover and it would not work for me). I highly suggest removing the lower dash cover if you're removing your dead pedal. I swapped over my trunk release button as it had smoother button action/movement than the one that came with the M3 dead pedal. I then reinstalled everything, which was a bit annoying itself. The whole process took me a lot longer than it should have, but I got it all done. The only nagging thing is that the M3 pedal is missing a clip at the top of the pedal that hooks into the bottom dash cover, but it's not a big deal, functionally or visually.
Overall I'm happy with the swap, I think it looks quite good:
Aforementioned clip/hook on my old dead pedal (missing in the used M3 pedal)
http://i.imgur.com/P1ND2EQ.jpg
Installed
http://i.imgur.com/9F15EMA.jpg
I agree, I felt the price was fair for what I would get. The paint correction is separate and not included in the price of the CQuartz install ($600 for most compact sedans/coupes). Paint correction prices vary on car size and what needs to be done.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
Hell of a detailed update. Nicely done.
http://i.imgur.com/HR7WaAi.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
Nice werk man! The yellow fogs look great on your car just as they do on my jet black. And great job on the fog light covers.
I have a M3 dead pedal sitting around which I bought from slater. I hate yanking at the door sill to get this installed. The last time I did it to replace the cracked dead pedal, it was not fun. I also have OEM performance pedals which need installing. Too many parts sitting around - a good problem to have :)
meh. i thought it was lacking pictures.Quote:
Originally Posted by 704sw
:ducking
not even half-joking aside, glad to see updates. love the ARC-8s. i think a 5-7mm spacer out back would really improve aesthetics. also excited to see how the CQuartz thing turns out.
you haven't installed that yet? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by anandoc
+1 on the fogs/covers - they look great, william.
Thanks! Yeah, I don't enjoy anything that has to do with BMW's plastic. I do have the benefit of some free time this summer so I can knock these out relatively unburdened with things like a "job" or "responsibilities." You'll get to the dead pedal soon enough, I'm sure!Quote:
Originally Posted by anandoc
OH HO HO HO I see what you did thereQuote:
Originally Posted by slater
I've thought about some spacers, but it's low on the list at the moment. I'll probably just wait around until someone sells their used set. What are the best brands? I know very little about spacers.Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
Attachment 30356Quote:
Originally Posted by slater
Def good stuff!
Mileage: 56,103
Installed a used M3 strut bar that I purchased from a guy over on E46Fanatics while I was still in DC. It's in great condition and even has all of the black caps for the longer nuts. Only noticeable damage to the strut bar is circular scratches caused by the four nuts on the bar itself, which I don't think is avoidable.
Install was straightforward enough. I just followed Madrussian's guide (Link) and your guys' suggestion for order of nut installation (base plates first, then bar).
Obligatory crappy phone pic:
http://i.imgur.com/m30iwXL.jpg
Great werk!Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
The GruppeM looks crappy in your engine bay - you should get rid of it ASAP at a ridiculously low price. Heck, I will even find you a buyer :) :)
http://i.imgur.com/39gsgsd.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by anandoc
Sadly, you'll have to take a number! Three people have already inquired about the GruppeM and my BMW Performance intake whenever I decide which one I want to keep.
Decided to quickly verify that the airbag I received in the recall wasn't a part of this secondary recall (brought to my attention by ZHPizza's post here):
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...7V047-4533.pdf
These are all white labels so it appears my airbag is A-OK
http://i.imgur.com/dRXaJdX.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8EiSqVH.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2mC6mEI.jpg
Don't want to hijack your thread but I will be selling my Gruppe M soon, tell them to check our classifieds soon.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Yeah, dude. Recall issued airbags are good. The secondary recall was to check cars that weren't originally part of the recall, but may have had the airbag replaced during regular [post accident?] service during the time that they were installing the yellow tagged claymores.Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWCurves
Not that that helps you and the other neurotic mafiosos sleep any better. Y'all gotta check it out for yourselves, of course.