New member - located Norway

[fxslin]

Hi All!

New member from Oslo, Norway, although I'm new member here. So have I been a anonymous forum lurker for quite some time and member on other BMW forums for quite some time.

Last summer I spontaneously decided that I needed Z3 roadster. ( had just finished my dailydriver E53 project car, sold now) I was really lucky and just around that time a 97 2.8L manual roadster in right color combo appeared on the market. Together with a friend I went checking the car out and we decided it did need some TLC, but mechanically it was good. So I managed to get it for a very good price (for the norwegian market). I realize I've been extremely lucky afterwards, there has not been any manual 2.8 pre-facelift (or facelifted as well) on the market afterwards here in Norway as I know about. Just a few M's and Coupè's.

It's crazy to buy Roadster in Norway, we only get at max 4 good months to drive with the top down. I extended the season a little by using a proper beany

I had it for a year now and done some work on it:

- Repainted the car (checked everything for rust and fixed it)
- Made sure the car was mechanically in good condition and passed the Norwegian version of MOT
- replaced both mirror bases
- ZHP gear knob
- Fitted a E46 arm rest (retaining the lift/back functionality)
- Fitted Wind deflector
- Fixed seat bushes
- Fitted org. CD43 radio
- Painted interior trim to black
- New engine bay insulation
- Stone guards
- Replaced seat belt guides
- Supersprint exhaust
- New alloys - Replica Alpina Dynamics fitted with 225/275 (saving up for real stuff)
- +++ many more minor stuff

Maybe some pics might be of interest as well?

How it stood when I bought it:


As it stand today:


Last picture is missing Alpina center caps (they on now)


This car is rolling project and I have a long list of minor things thats need to be done. And even longer list of things I want todo

Cheers!

 

[andyglym]

to the Forum from West Cumbria, England. Looks great

 

[Stevo7682]

Hi and welcome from me in Scotland .
Nice looking zed you have and yes pictures are always welcome

 

[mwpe]

Hello and welcome from Surrey, England, very nice looking car, you have done a lot of good work.

 

[GazHyde]

Welcome

 

[hard top]

Welcome on the forum from me too.

 

[Mint]

Hi @fxslin, to the forum from me too in Staffordshire, UK. Good looking Zed

 

[Antm72]

Welcome from me , nice looking car

 

[Grumps]

Hi, looks superb wheel the Alpina wheels on.

 

[DavidM]

Welcome from Ireland! Your car is looking great!

 

[Bazza]

from me

 

[Low Rider]

Welcome

 

[Shelly]

Hi and welcome from me too

 

[fxslin]

Thx a lot everybody!!

 

[Jack Ratt]

Hello and welcome to the best Zed forum on the planet

 

[Robz3sport]

Hello and from Northern Ireland.
Nice car

 

[Nodzed]

Hi & Welcome from Gloucestershire UK Nice looking Zed

 

[duckhunt]

Welcome,
Very nice looking z3.

I have spent a lot of time in Norway, you have some amazing roads. Although I have only been there in the winter so seen the harsh driving conditions. Maybe a hard top and some winter tyres next?

Would you care to share a picture and details of the e46 arm rest install? Cheers

takk på forhånd

 

[fxslin]

Would you care to share a picture and details of the e46 arm rest install? Cheers

Hi @duckhunt
I'm not driving the Z in the winter months at all, due to salt on the roads. Don't want it to be a rust pile :-/

Regarding the E46 intallation, here is the short version of the story. (I have a project thread about the car on a norwegian bimmer forum, however it's all in norwegian, post about the armrest installation is here: http://bimmers.no/forums/topic/8035...0-30d-x-drive-m-sport/?page=5#comment-3149897).

The short version of the process goes like this:
I spent 2 days on the operation, which also involved figuring out how to mount the armrest on a sturdy way. I also did dismantle the whole center console, so I could paint the trims to matt black (plastidip) and reglue a lose part.

Here is some pics from the process:

This was the starting point, I only used the armrest + the hinge part. The rest I gave to a friend working on a E46.

I did spent some time to figure the correct height.



Playing with different mounts ideas and testing their sturdiness. I wanted something really solid but not massive and keep the uplift function of the armrest and lid function to the hidden storage.



Dismantling the center console...



While I was working on the armrest, I also painted the trims and glued some parts:



And checked all wires and cleaning out, while the console was out


The bracket I made on the inside of the center console. The ideas was create a solid mounting platform for the armrest and the same time get as much "spread out" of the down-force from the weight of the driver/passenger arm. I also wanted sturdiness so I wanted many angles to fit the bracket on.



Assembling it all together.


Was a PIA to get it back in, really recommend taking out seats for this operation.



This is the "famous" before picture:



And these are the the after install pictures (I have ZHP shifter installed now, so all colours match up)
I was really pleased with the end result and my driving comfort increased a lot, when I go in "active driving" mode I just flip the whole armrest up/back and regain space for active shifting
And I think it looks OEM as well.







Edit:
I found one pic with "new" gear knob as well.

 

[Robz3sport]

Great work, the armrest really does look OEM