Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum
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Wellllll alright then. Car is dirty af but it’s back on the ground. Obviously my old wheels are for sale and their replacements are some oem BBS Euroweaves. The smoked headlights went away for some new oem ellipsoids.
The engine bay is largely the same except that I went through the engine harness and peeled off all of the crusty factory sleeving and replaced it with some nicer serving. Most of it is hidden, but it makes working with the harness so much better. I also replaced the soft AC lines with oem lines, new ac compressor, alternator, and oem coolant hoses.
And what I was most excited for was the interior. I traded Tom some stuff from the car for a pair of Recaro SE. I took them to get recovered at Homestyle Custom Upholstery in Milwaukee. After talking to them about the seats and being reassured multiple times that they can recover them while maintaining their look and feel, I moved forward. Well, they butchered the seats. I’m not entirely sure how they managed to do it, but they did. What I have now is actually their second attempt at fixing them. The bolsters all point different directions, the shapes are wrong, the bottom bolsters are flat. It’s been a really disappointing process. The company won’t even acknowledge that they look wrong.
On the flip side, I have version 2 in the works. I will likely save these seats and over time get new foams for them and take them somewhere where the people actually take pride in their work.
Wood steering wheel for full 80s effect.
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Interior V2.0 has begun. Out with the cardinal and in with the black.
I picked up a black leather rear bench this past weekend and a set of gray door cards. Cue the SEM Color Coat paint and it's now all black.
Rear bench went in the car with one of the new seats. They're Recaro LXB with a houndstooth inserts and nappa leather sides. This is what I was envisioning when I started this whole thing. I'm going to order a rear bench cover from zoomzoomzoom-ing to math the front seats in color/texture. They're also going to mimic the stitching on the rears.
I also picked up a new windshield and a clean rust/dent-free hood on marketplace. I put in the windshield and will save the hood until I also find a replacement driver fender.
Last few things to do are:
- Swap in the passenger seat and clean up the interior.
- Install a new DEM relay. I am getting intermittent no start because the fuel pump isn't getting power. I tried jumping the fuel pump relay and that did nothing. Took out and reinserted the DEM relay and it started working completely normal.
- Charge the AC system. I just ordered a new receiver since the system sat open for several months.
- Replace both tail light gaskets. Already have these but I was getting water in the trunk through the tail lights when I washed it.
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That looks amazing! Those seats are perfect in an e30
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That looks amazing! Those seats are perfect in an e30
Thank you! This is what I was always envisioning. I also ordered a rear bench cover from zoomzoomzoom-ing on ebay and they're going to match the stitching of these seats. The rears won't have the houndstooth, but they'll at least compliment the fronts and will be an identical material.
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@Tkuhn uses the Airlift brand. Harbor frieght has their own Pittsburgh tool as well.
Sorry boys. Late to the party but here's a link. Pretty satisfied after only one use.
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niiiiiice
too bad with the reupholstery debacle. did they make any sort of recompense for the shit job?
Dan
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niiiiiice
too bad with the reupholstery debacle. did they make any sort of recompense for the shit job?
Thank you!
They have yet to even acknowledge that they don't look good. I have brought up in my emails several times that this can't be the quality of work that you want to represent your business or as a professional upholsterer you feel this represents your business, etc. Nothing. I am not exaggerating when I say they have not once acknowledged that they don't look right.
I said I wanted the cost of the front seats back. The rear bench came out fine - even though it will still need to be redone if I get the fronts redone since I'll use someone else and they won't have these materials. He offered $300. The interior all together was $2,700. The fronts were about $1,800 with labor and material. I filed a payment dispute with my bank and have given them pictures, emails, and a third-party opinion. I've been issued a temporary reimbursement for the full cost of the seats. They then take all of my "evidence" and make a final decision. Although I assume if they issued me a temporary refund that my chances are good of it getting approved.
Once this is all done, I have a large review written up that I will put wherever I can for the business. The letter I have from the other business addresses how the craftsmanship is garbage and the seats are basically ruined (i.e. all foams will need to be made custom or purchased new and fitted to the frames).
In other news - the new covers for the rear bench are on their way! Matching leather with stitching that matches the front seats.
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Once this is all done, I have a large review written up that I will put wherever I can for the business. The letter I have from the other business addresses how the craftsmanship is garbage and the seats are basically ruined (i.e. all foams will need to be made custom or purchased new and fitted to the frames).
In other news - the new covers for the rear bench are on their way! Matching leather with stitching that matches the front seats.
Good, they deserve every bit of your bad reviews. Such an obvious qaulity issue and then to offer a abysmal resolution
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What's the time frame to make that drive?
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What's the time frame to make that drive?
Driving out Wednesday and Thursday. Rally is Friday and Saturday (also Sunday but I'm not staying for that portion). Drive home Sunday and Monday. Google Maps says 3500 miles but will be more because of the rally portion.
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Took the e30 out for a test run today. Everything seemed to be working great. I bed in the brakes and they are fantastic and then it died. The dead fuel pump issue again. Called my wife, while she was getting ready to leave the driveway, the car miraculously started up like nothing was wrong and I drove it home. This is the same issue when I first tried starting it this year. I put in a new DEM relay and fuel pump relay. I thought that cured it but apparently not. The other thing I did was a new Delphi fuel pump. I have heard very mixed reviews on them, so I wonder if the pump is just a piece of shit. I'm going to get a Bosch fuel pump to swap out the pump on the old assembly that was in there before.
Then while parked I noticed a little puddle under the car. Got home and the RMS is dripping really bad. Parked in the garage for 30 minutes had left a few inch spot with visible drips out the weep hole. I'm taking it somewhere to replace the RMS. I'm not doing it again. I have to get to the 850 which needs suspensions desperately.
That's where I'm at.
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I tossed in my old pump and took the car for another drive and I didn't have any issues. So I'm assuming it was the Delphi pump that was bad and working intermittently. I ordered a Bosch replacement pump and fitting it to the factory assembly took way more modification than I would have liked. It required cutting off the bottom tray, soldering on new power/ground wires to the assembly to accommodate the plug for the Bosch pump. I could not get worm clamp to fit through the opening in the tank so I used zip ties. The fuel level sender is such a snug fit that I didn't notice the placement of one of the zip tie ends was in its path and had to take everything back out just to rotate the zip tie. Then the sheer thickness of the zip tie made it difficult to the level sender in.
I'm going to remove it and use some stainless steel zip ties to clean it up, but I ended up ordering an OEM pump assembly last night.
Then I went to install the UUC skid plate I got. Turns out they don't fit if you have an e36/e46 steering rack. So I had to notch out the skid plate to clear that. Then the whole way they install in the front didn't make any sense or fit anywhere. Ended up tack welding the mounting bracket to the bottom side of the frame on the front of the car and will get shorter bolts with lock washers.
I remember when June 1 was my goal to start driving it. Then it became July 1. And now it's August.
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skid plate on an m20 car? that's a terrifying thought hitting something so tall you'd need a plate for that.
Dan
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skid plate on an m20 car? that's a terrifying thought hitting something so tall you'd need a plate for that.
I'd rather toss on a skid plate than risk breaking an oil pan on gravel roads in Utah.
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I've been driving it. And so far the Bosch fuel pump has been working. I returned the Delphi and OEM pump to FCP. I ended up using stainless steel "hobby wire" to secure the pump to the housing by wrapping the pump and the housing then tightly twisting the ends and folding that over. I felt the most confident in that.
After driving the car some it was getting hot with the AC on when in slow traffic and even then still running a bit warm. The aux fan was not turning on with the AC and traced it back to the fan to body harness connector not staying secure. Replaced that with a new connector.
Also swapped in a new engine fan clutch with an Behr clutch rather than the Uro one I put in there originally and realized that the fan that came with the car is from an early model. So I got the correct fan.
And then keeping with tradition of recycling parts between @The Full Banana and myself, I bought his MaxJax from him since he has decided he no longer wants a garage. I have that set up, waiting on some DeWalt Anchor Epoxy from Grainger to finish installing the anchors. And the only good place to put the lift was centered with the overhead door. But that meant the garage door opener robbed me of about 12" of lift. Out with that and in with a wall-mount unit.
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Nice! I've got a MaxJax on my wish list. Eventually I need to just bite the bullet and buy one. Was it difficult to convert from the ceiling mount to wall mount?
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