raymond
Zorg Guru (I)
I thought I would start a write up about my car. I bought the car as a bit of an impulse buy never really intending to buy an M but £8000 later the car was mine. It has done 146000 and looking a bit rough around the edges.
Immediate problems were a lack of handbrake, side light not working so no MOT. A trip to a local garage and a bill for two handrake cables of £140 and the car now has an MOT.
Next problem a leaking radiator. A new one from eurocarparts cost £105. Removal was easy but unfortunately one of the bolts holding the oil cooler had fractured.
For now I have bodged a new bracket but I will have to either get a new one or extract the bolt.
With a new lower radiator hose £25 and BMW coolant the car was now roadworthy.
A good look around the car revealed many minor problems. The sills were rusty at the edges. Both rear wings have minor rust, the bonnet has an area of rust, the seats are not the original fitment. The seats that are fitted have been dyed from blue to black for some reason so attention required there. Bodged wiring to the sidelight was fixed with some new wiring, stubby aerial replaced by a normal one, broken boot strut replaced by a new one ,no number plate plinth just screwed onto bumper so second hand one sourced. Also a list of other things that I did not like but I will slowly work through them. It had a K and N air induction kit.
Costs around £136 so visit to Ebay and I got a second hand one for £35. Engine bay looks nicer now I think.
The car came with a hard top which I sold for £750 so I am using this money to finance the restoration. My next item will be a full service. I will get my local garage to do this but will supply the oil and the filter. The oil filter was a genuine BMW part and came with all the washers. I find it easier just to buy parts directly from BMW. Also on Ebay I spotted a genuine Z3 wing. Scratched but rust free for £125. My local paint shop will charge £150 to paint it . I think if you own rear wing has rust you really need to take it of to fix the rust.
When I come to do the other wing I will remove it to fix any rust problems. Both sills will need replacing by new ones which are quite cheap from BMW. When the painted wing comes back ( four shades of estoril blue are available ! ) I will give a write up with pictures. Thats all for now. The saga continues
Immediate problems were a lack of handbrake, side light not working so no MOT. A trip to a local garage and a bill for two handrake cables of £140 and the car now has an MOT.
Next problem a leaking radiator. A new one from eurocarparts cost £105. Removal was easy but unfortunately one of the bolts holding the oil cooler had fractured.
For now I have bodged a new bracket but I will have to either get a new one or extract the bolt.
With a new lower radiator hose £25 and BMW coolant the car was now roadworthy.
A good look around the car revealed many minor problems. The sills were rusty at the edges. Both rear wings have minor rust, the bonnet has an area of rust, the seats are not the original fitment. The seats that are fitted have been dyed from blue to black for some reason so attention required there. Bodged wiring to the sidelight was fixed with some new wiring, stubby aerial replaced by a normal one, broken boot strut replaced by a new one ,no number plate plinth just screwed onto bumper so second hand one sourced. Also a list of other things that I did not like but I will slowly work through them. It had a K and N air induction kit.
Costs around £136 so visit to Ebay and I got a second hand one for £35. Engine bay looks nicer now I think.
The car came with a hard top which I sold for £750 so I am using this money to finance the restoration. My next item will be a full service. I will get my local garage to do this but will supply the oil and the filter. The oil filter was a genuine BMW part and came with all the washers. I find it easier just to buy parts directly from BMW. Also on Ebay I spotted a genuine Z3 wing. Scratched but rust free for £125. My local paint shop will charge £150 to paint it . I think if you own rear wing has rust you really need to take it of to fix the rust.
When I come to do the other wing I will remove it to fix any rust problems. Both sills will need replacing by new ones which are quite cheap from BMW. When the painted wing comes back ( four shades of estoril blue are available ! ) I will give a write up with pictures. Thats all for now. The saga continues
