1997 Z3 2.8 M5

[NeedSOM]

So this Z3 sat in someone’s back yard the last 4 years neglected under a tarp. They called me to junk it but after I did a quick inspection, I decided to save it.

Paid the guy $200 bucks and off it went back to my shop.

Dead battery
Rough paint
Leaking roof
Leaking trunk
Air bag light on
Check engine light on
Needs:
door handle surrounds
Window wipers
Oil change
Fresh gas
Rear brakes
And some paint correction

This is what it looked like when I got it.

Only redeeming part of this POS were the 4 brand new continental extreme contact tires.

 

[NeedSOM]

First thing first. Oil change

No milk. So that’s good but last change was 2017 so this stuff was old.

Put a battery charger to it @ 40 amps for 24 hours. Battery boiled and smelled like eggs so it was working good.
Poured 5 gallons of non ethanol 90 to mix with the half a tank that was in it.
Fixed the door handles with parts from BMW.
Replaced the wipers with Bosch focus
And got to work on paint correction using a dewalt single stage using polish and a bit of eradicator
Cleared the headlights using 2000grit and a makita dual stage

 

[NeedSOM]

Rear window was foggy, couldn’t see through it and I’m to cheap to replace it so I did the only logical thing

Polished the poop out of it

 

[NeedSOM]

I had to get the check engine light out. I grabbed a scan tool to pull the code and found codes related to vacuum.

Popped the hood and found one of the vacuum lines was under stress and pinched off. So I re routes it to eliminate the kink.

Check engine light is now off

 

[NeedSOM]

Next up rear brakes, I’ll probably buy the cheapest ones form a local supplier. I’ll post up once I finish them

 

[NeedSOM]

So this thing is going to the drag strip in a couple weeks to get a base line.

Then I’ll start gutting it to see how fast a stock Z3 can go.