Z3 1.9 '98 - Project Misty

[Frank]

Hi All!

I heard a rumour that a good project/progress thread is appreciated - and if you're wishing to live vicariously or after a good laugh - here I am at the beginning of mine.

Misty is a 1998 Atlantic Blue 1.9L Z3 pic as my profile, but plenty more pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/LXd4Sxmc2ErJpdjY9

Misty is also in pretty poor shape. Today I took her to a local BMW specialist for a vehicle check to find out precisely what needs doing to get her up to speed - it's a lot!

So I was advised by the chap there that I have a decision to make - save the £2500+ in parts and labour and buy myself another that is in better condition or start out on what is likely to be an expensive journey with no promise of a happy ending.

I said that I'd sleep on it. However...

I'm heading up to Redditch tomorrow morning to see Steve (Low Rider) to buy a new drivers door with a functional mirror and raising mechanism. Sunday I'm off to Woking to see Andy (spurs fan in a coupe) about other bits and pieces.

...think I've made my decision.

Wish me luck!

Any advice, comments, thoughts etc., whether related to forum/thread etiquette and style or pointers on what I should prioritise, or indeed anything constructive, are most welcome.

Frank and Misty

 

[Althulas]

Hi Frank that list don't look to bad and some easy fixes on there. Suspension if going standard can be bought cheaply enough from euro car parts. I'm sure @Lee can point you in the right direction where the zedshed picks most of its parts from. Looks like labour the biggest cost and I'm sure your visit to Andy's recycling centre will be worth the trip. Look forward to your updates.

 

[5harp3y]

Suspension is dead easy to swap too

 

[t-tony]

A fair bit of labour involved Frank, if you were nearer to me I would offer some time and help. Good luck, you made the right choice mate.

Tony.

 

[Frank]

Crumbs, and I thought I was a night owl! Thanks chaps!

 

[t-tony]

Tony.

 

[Stevo7682]

Hi and welcome from me in Scotland

 

[DavidM]

Welcome from Ireland!

The price given by BMW - does it include discount on the parts?

Anyway - by the time you've finished with the mods after that list is complete you'll be spending a lot more - new alloys - wind breaker - tonneau cover - hard top - sound system - ambience lighting in the cabin - drinks cabinet - the list goes on! Oh - and you'll never be out of the car. You have definitely made the right choice - it's addictive!! Best of luck!

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

See you Sunday mate

 

[Shelly]

Hi and welcome from me too
Good luck with your project

 

[Tracy Dee]

Are you sure he is a mechanic who wrote that check list and not a Doctor with that writing.
Anyway good luck. Even seeking a better condition car does not guarantee it does not need work.
My car has a full service history and all its bills mot s i bought at 74k and it's still needed work
I think the only way you could buy a better zed is from an enthusiast on here that has done a lot of documented work.
That would be my choice buying. Zed.
As they are 20 years old I think it might be ongoing until all consumables are replaced.
Best of luck.

 

[Frank]

Thanks for the support and words of encouragement all.

So Saturday saw me head up the M40 to Redditch to have a look at a drivers side door that would potentially kill three birds with one stone:

- it has a wing mirror that needs no tape to secure it
- the window raising mechanism is functional and
- it doesn't have a bash in the top of it like Misty's current door

-

I knew staightaway that I had to have it - the thought that I do not possess the skills to swap out the locking mechanism didn't occur to me until later! Steve introduced me to his Zed, I'm not sure it has a name, but I shall now think of as TeeBee after he referred to it as Trigger's Broom - possibly one of the funniest real-life references to OF&H.

Here's Treacle (Misty's not really equipped to transport Z3 donor parts of this size) meeting TeeBee.

After a chat over a piping hot cup of tea - in which the friendly and sociable nature of the members this forum was discussed - I noticed that there was something else that would help me achieve my goal of returning Misty to her former glory (current company excepted) -

Steve agreed that having this look down at me from my bookshelf would remind me of the task I have set myself, and after a short negotiation, MiniMisty was acquired. Not sure whether to keep it in the box or not - seems a shame not to play with it...

So Sunday saw me head down to Andy's recycling centre nr Woking. Again, another nice friendly member of the forum with plenty of experience to match the amount of Zed parts in his possession. It was quite the learning curve for me - and compounding the previous day's realisation I have still have *so* much to learn about these vehicles, but clearly in Andy lies plenty of knowledge and experience. I departed a happy man with these gems -

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted the positioning of the wing mirror - that was entirely my doing - idiot that I am, I underestimated the force required to lift and rotate the neck once not attached to a Zed. I spent an hour this evening with various business cards and coins in a very labour-intensive and slow process to prise the neck of the wing mirror away from the base so I could rotate it back and thus make attaching it to Misty relatively straight forward.

Note to self - do not 'fiddle' with things.

So, thanks again to both Steve @Low Rider and Andy @spurs fan in a coupe for their time, patience and advice.

Next steps will be to book Misty in for some TLC at the garage where we will start crossing some of those issues (see my previous post on this thread) off the laundry list.

 

[FRANKIE]

Thanks for the support and words of encouragement all.

So Saturday saw me head up the M40 to Redditch to have a look at a drivers side door that would potentially kill three birds with one stone:

- it has a wing mirror that needs no tape to secure it
- the window raising mechanism is functional and
- it doesn't have a bash in the top of it like Misty's current door

-

I knew staightaway that I had to have it - the thought that I do not possess the skills to swap out the locking mechanism didn't occur to me until later! Steve introduced me to his Zed, I'm not sure it has a name, but I shall now think of as TeeBee after he referred to it as Trigger's Broom - possibly one of the funniest real-life references to OF&H.

Here's Treacle (Misty's not really equipped to transport Z3 donor parts of this size) meeting TeeBee.

After a chat over a piping hot cup of tea - in which the friendly and sociable nature of the members this forum was discussed - I noticed that there was something else that would help me achieve my goal of returning Misty to her former glory (current company excepted) -

Steve agreed that having this look down at me from my bookshelf would remind me of the task I have set myself, and after a short negotiation, MiniMisty was acquired. Not sure whether to keep it in the box or not - seems a shame not to play with it...

So Sunday saw me head down to Andy's recycling centre nr Woking. Again, another nice friendly member of the forum with plenty of experience to match the amount of Zed parts in his possession. It was quite the learning curve for me - and compounding the previous day's realisation I have still have *so* much to learn about these vehicles, but clearly in Andy lies plenty of knowledge and experience. I departed a happy man with these gems -

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted the positioning of the wing mirror - that was entirely my doing - idiot that I am, I underestimated the force required to lift and rotate the neck once not attached to a Zed. I spent an hour this evening with various business cards and coins in a very labour-intensive and slow process to prise the neck of the wing mirror away from the base so I could rotate it back and thus make attaching it to Misty relatively straight forward.

Note to self - do not 'fiddle' with things.

So, thanks again to both Steve @Low Rider and Andy @spurs fan in a coupe for their time, patience and advice.

Next steps will be to book Misty in for some TLC at the garage where we will start crossing some of those issues (see my previous post on this thread) off the laundry list.

Happy that you're going to keep the car. I have to do several things to my '96 1.9. I bought a driver's seat from a Z 4 and have to see if I can swap the out. My mirrors have bases that look like they have the pox and I'd either have to replace them or take them apart and repair the paint job. I was reading intently about how you took off the mirrors and will have to do the same thing. The door panels or cards need replacing. I bought used ones 2 years ago and never opened the box to even look at them yet. I should get new carpets and floor mats. And there's other things. I'll keep an eye on your progress to see if I can learn something from you ...................Frankie

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

Thanks for the support and words of encouragement all.

So Saturday saw me head up the M40 to Redditch to have a look at a drivers side door that would potentially kill three birds with one stone:

- it has a wing mirror that needs no tape to secure it
- the window raising mechanism is functional and
- it doesn't have a bash in the top of it like Misty's current door

-

I knew staightaway that I had to have it - the thought that I do not possess the skills to swap out the locking mechanism didn't occur to me until later! Steve introduced me to his Zed, I'm not sure it has a name, but I shall now think of as TeeBee after he referred to it as Trigger's Broom - possibly one of the funniest real-life references to OF&H.

Here's Treacle (Misty's not really equipped to transport Z3 donor parts of this size) meeting TeeBee.

After a chat over a piping hot cup of tea - in which the friendly and sociable nature of the members this forum was discussed - I noticed that there was something else that would help me achieve my goal of returning Misty to her former glory (current company excepted) -

Steve agreed that having this look down at me from my bookshelf would remind me of the task I have set myself, and after a short negotiation, MiniMisty was acquired. Not sure whether to keep it in the box or not - seems a shame not to play with it...

So Sunday saw me head down to Andy's recycling centre nr Woking. Again, another nice friendly member of the forum with plenty of experience to match the amount of Zed parts in his possession. It was quite the learning curve for me - and compounding the previous day's realisation I have still have *so* much to learn about these vehicles, but clearly in Andy lies plenty of knowledge and experience. I departed a happy man with these gems -

The sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted the positioning of the wing mirror - that was entirely my doing - idiot that I am, I underestimated the force required to lift and rotate the neck once not attached to a Zed. I spent an hour this evening with various business cards and coins in a very labour-intensive and slow process to prise the neck of the wing mirror away from the base so I could rotate it back and thus make attaching it to Misty relatively straight forward.

Note to self - do not 'fiddle' with things.

So, thanks again to both Steve @Low Rider and Andy @spurs fan in a coupe for their time, patience and advice.

Next steps will be to book Misty in for some TLC at the garage where we will start crossing some of those issues (see my previous post on this thread) off the laundry list.

You're very welcome Frank. Nice to meet you. Mistey will be ship shape soon

 

[BMBabe]

Good luck with the project
If you are ever over Aylesbury way give us a shout @Mnbrennan amd me are always up for a drive

 

[Frank]

You're very welcome Frank. Nice to meet you. Mistey will be ship shape soon

We're on our way

 

[Frank]

Evening All!

Right, so this update is pretty much just about wing mirrors and very little else - you have been warned!

After I posted my hello to you all here https://zroadster.org/threads/hello.17124/ I mentioned that I was considering attaching some non-stock wing mirrors to Misty. After a pretty universal thumbs down to that idea...

(- take a bow a very quick off the mark @5harp3y, a slightly more subtle @GazHyde, a very decisive @Andy McDonnell, a friendly warning from @Nodzed, along with @mwpe, @oldcarman, @Grumpy, @DavidM, and a distinct plea from @BMBabe )

...I listened and took your collective advice (and linked you here so that you can bear witness to the fruits of your collective keyboard labour!) and after messages from both @Low Rider and @spurs fan in a coupe decided that perhaps stock was the way forward after all....! Wing mirros acquired from these two helpful chaps and I'm ready to embark on my first bit of work.

So today, after a full day of days work on my 41st birthday - they seem to be flying by at an alarming rate now - this is where I started this evening - after acquiring a couple of bootles of decent Czech beer from the Co-op, obvs.

and

Full gallery of works here - https://imgur.com/a/b3llT - warning, not for the faint of heart.

So after stripping away the various bits of 'repairs' that included, but was not limited to superglue, tape, filler, phillips screws, and, I think, some kind of not of this earth putty I was finally able to access the allen bolts that were buried beneath. *So* glad I was able to rotate the neck of the wing mirror body back last night otherwise I'd have totally wasted the remaining evening light.

The mirrors came away easily enough - I was expecting a bit more difficulty, but the replacement of the second was a fairly straightforward process once the first one was out of the way.

Can anyone tell me what this bolt is for:

I was having difficulty getting through the crud on the outside so thought that this bolt would help me remove the wingmirror - not sure it does anything at all, but am guessing it's there for a reason...

Anyway, a couple of beers later, a bit of assistance from flatmate Dan (in exchange for a beer of course!) - I may need to dig out my camping headtorch - and this is where we are -

Doesn't Misty look as if she might actually be smiling?!! Anyway, tomorrow will find me re-attaching door cards as best I'm able and, weather permitting, taking her out for a top-down (dry-out!) spin to Kingston. Will also be chatting to the garage about prioritising works and working out a logical order of works that we should prioritise.

And having leftover birthday cake too of course - I discovered I share the same date of birth as Dolly Parton - not the day, the date...!

Hope I've not bored you too much, take care all.

 

[Low Rider]

Happy birthday Frank.
Keep up the good work and Misty will get there. Both door mirrors have made your evening worth while.

 

[oldcarman]

Happy Birthday from Canada and nice work on the mirrors!! @spurs fan in a coupe can likely tell us what that bolt is for! JIM

 

[Low Rider]

I would have thought that bolt holds the quarter light window in place