In June this year I bought a Van. Nothing too exciting there, I also had an old Merc, which I loved and was in great condition, but my drive was not big enough for my wife's car the van and the Merc. So I hatched a plan, if I were to buy a small car (KA) then I could get them all on the drive and use the small car when I go to the station to catch a train. My Merc was not worth all that much to anyone else, so I kept an eye on local people advertising car swaps. That's how I met my Z.
A small amount of money and one swapped merc later and I was the owner of a 2.8 straight six Z3, with no MOT and some worrying faults. I've owned over 50 cars, It's the only thing I am truly addicted too. In the past I've had three two seater's one MX5 which was driven over by a Ford Transit and written off and two MG Midgets, fun when they ran, which was not very much. The MX5 came after my Midget experiences and it was the car that they could not be, in that it was reliable. fast and cheap to run. I'd got all the little jobs completed on it and had it just so, when it came to it's sticky end. I've owned one other BMW a one series diesel that had so many problems, fixing them cost more than the cars purchase price, but I've always wanted a straight six engine. Many years ago I'd owned a 2.8 v 6 Xr4x4, which was incredible, i was 23 at the time and since then it's been mainly 4 cylinders with the exception of two 5 cylinder diesel Volvo's. So far I can report that I'm a little in Love.
So far apart from getting the z through the MOT, with a wishbone replacement and a good clean of the CAT, all the additions have been focused on adding to what is an already capable car. The first addition was front strut brace, which has helped a little with the tram line effect. Next I had to get rid of the annoying grinding noise from the steering wheel. I'd tried all the recommended fixes, such as lubricating the various steering knuckles, but to no success. Eventually I found this forum and sourced a new slip ring, which conventional wisdom suggested to be the culprit, it was not, even with the slip ring removed and the wheel back on the spindle the noise remained. In my frustration I sprayed a ton of WD40 down the steering column mechanism and guess what no more noise. Next a Stainless exhaust system from Custom Pipes, which I added purely because I'd bought some Polly Bushes for the rear subframe mounts, which up until now are not fitted, but the old exhaust would never have made it through surgery, so why not go for an upgrade? Next was the addition of some lovely roll hoops again sourced from this very forum from JJiM who very kindly fitted them for me. Finally, well for now at least, the addition of the wheels you see in the pictures. The wheels were bought as I needed a new set of tyres on my old wheels as they were all different makes and for only a few quid more than new tyres- I bought these boots with much better rubber than I had before.