Bringing it back to its former glory

[DomiMik]

Now good news is, the Z3 passed german MOT so no need to worry for the next two years. Bad news is the weather which really gives no opportunity to take the Z3 out for a drive. Doesn't get better than this:

Summer shall return next week though - whatever's that supposed to mean as there wasn't any summer this year so far

Anyway, I managed to fix the worn seat bushes. Although there are many repair sets available online, most of them are made of nylon which is too hard in my opinion. Instead I chose to buy a polyurethane mat and make them on my own, very happy with the outcome.

 

[DomiMik]

Now due to this year's non-existent summer I let the Z3 rest in the garage and finally gave my E38 some much needed TLC.

The car was technically sorted but needed lots of cleaning, detailing and swapping some damaged interior parts. Here are a few pictures of the work:

The car is fun to drive but I can't wait to drive my Z3 again next summer

 

[t-tony]

Wow that looks tons better, I bet you're very satisfied with your efforts.

Tony.

 

[DavidM]

Great Work all round - keep with the progress!

 

[Bozzy]

Good evening fellow Zaddicts,

as I'm starting to fix more and more minor (and major) flaws on my Z3, I thought I could as well start to write down the progress.

The car was always maintained properly and never had any noteworthy defects, resulting mainly from the fact that it was carefully looked after and every part that looked worn was replaced preventative.

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The greatest change lately was a new set of wheels, once again. Although I have no problem with keeping my cars several years, I feel the urge to change wheels from time to time. None of us would like to wear the same shoes all the time, would we


As I found a pretty worn set of BBS RS wheels, the idea of refurbishing them (partly) on my own had me firmly in its grip. They had a stainless steel rim protection which already had some kerb marks. Before ripping them off I wanted to try if the damaged spots could be smoothed down.
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Okay, I admit that doesn't look too professional but it worked out. The rim protection was too thin though (1 millimeter I guess) so I had to stop otherwise I would have grinded through the material.
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Plan B than, disassembly and complete restoration. I felt lucky because I had the proper nut among my tools. Didn't even manage to loosen the first bolt though. Must have been superior quality, obviously...
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Another try with proper tools then. When disassembling the rims I can highly recommend to cross arms when grabbing the wheel. Like that you can grab it firmly and loosen the bolts without any problems.
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While the original BBS bolts are made from titanium, the hidden valves (look incredible by the way) are made from steel and therefore have been quite corroded.
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Great tv program while disassembling the wheels
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After I dropped the wheels off for powdercoating I cleaned all of the bolts. Can you tell which one is factory new?
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Some thread cutting was necessary to clean the threads from powdercoating remains.
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When everything was ready for reassembly, it turned out that the new titanium valves were slightly bigger in diameter than the original ones what meant the gasket sealing was peeled off once the valves were screwed in. So I ordered dozens of different gasket seals and made some trial'n'error until I found the right size.
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Last step before reassembly: polishing, lots of polishing. Bolts, valve caps, centre caps.
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I absolutely love the new look. They were powdercoated in 'champagne metallic' and that looks just awesome, especially the way they glow in sunlight.
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Will need to change the indicators though, clear ones will look better I guess.
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Great result, the wheels look great and really suits the car.

 

[DomiMik]

Today I sorted out a small but yet annoying problem:
I replaced the original radio with something more modern some time ago so that I can connect my smartphone easily. For less than 80 Euros I can listen to my Spotify playlist via bluetooth and that's definitely worth a lot to me. The only problem was the black and white display with that nasty bluish shimmer, simply didn't look good in the Z3 interior.

After lots of trial and error I found a transparent vinyl wrap that transformed the blue into a more appropriate orange colour.

Now who said that aftermarket radios don't suit the Z3

 

[t-tony]

That's a great idea @DomiMik I fitted a Sony unit in my Z3 some years ago, luckily you had a choice of the screen colour with one that suited the car.

Tony.

 

[Althulas]

That’s thinking outside the box, a smart solution.

 

[DomiMik]

Good morning folks,
I'd like to share some improvement regarding the seating position!
As I'm nearly 195 centimetres / 6.4 feet tall, I always struggled to find a perfect seating position. After I removed the foam behind the driver's seat, everything was fine and I could sit quite comfortable in my Z3. This modification had a downside though, the steering wheel was a little bit too far away to be grabbed firmly in every situation.
After lots of research, I found an Italian manufacturer who produces steering wheel spacers: https://www.spacershop.com/
It's not cheap, but definitely worth the money. Now the seating position is just perfect, I can highly recommend the spacer, especially if you have the same problems as I did. Also I got my steering wheel reupholstered, definitely love the new look & feeling!

Oh, and I couldn't resist to expand my collection of Z3 wheels, found a set of staggered styling 32 and 42 in good condition (already had the styling 32 powdercoated). The more wheels the better, it's like changing underwear

 

[DomiMik]

Today I finally started my rear axle overhaul, #ZedShed style
Once the differential is removed I'll clean all the parts and then decide whether they need to be powdercoated or not.
Still unsure about powdercoating though, not sure if it will prove resistant against damage such as stone chipping etc.

Any long-term experience?
@Lee

 

[Lee]

Today I finally started my rear axle overhaul, #ZedShed style
Once the differential is removed I'll clean all the parts and then decide whether they need to be powdercoated or not.
Still unsure about powdercoating though, not sure if it will prove resistant against damage such as stone chipping etc.

Any long-term experience?
@Lee

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Looking good so far.

We’ve looked at the first car we powder coated which is around 18months ago now, once you wipe the dirt off the surface it looks like new again. The car is stored in a garage so this will be an on going thing to see how hard wearing the powder coating is on other cars.

A beam and two swing arms is only £60 to powder coat so it’s a no brainier for us.

 

[DomiMik]

Thanks Lee! Now powdercoating is much more expensive over here, the rear axle would cost me roughly three times as much so it's a matter of price as well as durability.

 

[DomiMik]

A little update on what a poor b*****d I am how expensive everything here is ( @Lee )

Picked up everything from my powdercoater today, rear axle + spare wheel carrier + x-brace + some smaller parts for a total of €400 / £330.

Now it's time to take care of the differential, the prop shafts and the brakes.

 

[Lee]

That finish is lovely.

 

[DomiMik]

It's been a long time since I updated this thread, the work has been finished in april but since then I hadn't really much time to sort out the pictures.

Finally I have less work at the moment so I can share some pics. Basically everything on the suspension and underbody has been renewed except for the original sport suspension springs, didn't want to go lower than that with an aftermarket suspension. I used mainly Lemfoerder bushings, wishbones, tie rods and stabilisers as they are OEM, SKF wheel bearings, Sachs strut bearings, ATE discs with Ceramic pads, BMW diff rubber mounting and Monroe shocks.

Most of the parts have been sandblasted and painted, the differential was resealed including new shaft seals and new main gasket, the output shafts got some fresh grease and new rubber sleeves. The brake calipers got new ATE brake caliper seals along with new pistons.





The drive shaft got a new center bearing and rubber disc (I don't know how it's called, sorry ). Not to mention loads of new bolts, nuts and various smaller pieces such as brake hoses.



Was it worth it? Definitely 'yes', one can't describe how totally different the car feels and drives after all this work done.

Of course nearly everything has been cleaned while I was working at it (yeah, the project got out of hand I must admit...). At the moment I'm looking for a wax based sealing to keep everything new and shiny, not successful though so far. All this stuff is sticky as hell so operation 'clean underbody' is undergoing a lot of trial and error. Won't drive the car anyway as it's raining almost every day here, so no need to hurry



Here is a picture of one area with (allegedly) non sticky underbody wax after I threw some pebbles and dust against it:

 

[backseateducation]

Fantastic. Looks brand new!

 

[DomiMik]

Not the best pictures, sorry. I'm not much of a photographer and don't have the patience to be one anyway. As soon as the car is on a lift I'll take some better pictures from below.

 

[Althulas]

Man after my own heart there cracking work.

 

[Duncodin]

Good morning folks,
I'd like to share some improvement regarding the seating position!
As I'm nearly 195 centimetres / 6.4 feet tall, I always struggled to find a perfect seating position. After I removed the foam behind the driver's seat, everything was fine and I could sit quite comfortable in my Z3. This modification had a downside though, the steering wheel was a little bit too far away to be grabbed firmly in every situation.
After lots of research, I found an Italian manufacturer who produces steering wheel spacers: https://www.spacershop.com/
It's not cheap, but definitely worth the money. Now the seating position is just perfect, I can highly recommend the spacer, especially if you have the same problems as I did. Also I got my steering wheel reupholstered, definitely love the new look & feeling!
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Oh, and I couldn't resist to expand my collection of Z3 wheels, found a set of staggered styling 32 and 42 in good condition (already had the styling 32 powdercoated). The more wheels the better, it's like changing underwear
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Interesting mods there for your height. I'm around 186cm and if I sit 'normal' i think my head sticks up above the windscreen. So i slide my bum foreward in the seat to bring my head 'inside the vehicle'.

How do you manage without arriving at your destination with dead flies stuck to your forehead?

 

[Z Victor 1]

Looks superb, you're making an excellent job of renovating the car.