Z3 Coupe content

[Bassboy3313]

Figured I would get the car on the lift and prepped for work this winter. Had to do some multiple up-downs with the jack and lift in order to get the tallest lift feet under it. These are needed for when I install the dssr since they give the most clearance between the lift surface and underside of car for exhaust removal and such. 

Also decided to take the wheels off and throw the Motorsport Hardware 78mm stud kit on too. The studs are too long to reuse the oem BBS screw-on center caps, but that's not a problem.

I have something planned for different center caps that involves the 3d printer for mock up and test fitting. Stay tuned!

[Bassboy3313]

Took some measurements of the OEM center caps and drew something up in TinkerCAD. 

Getting the threads correct was the hardest part. Nice thing about McMaster-Carr is that they have the CAD files for every part they sell. Once I figured out the thread pitch I found a bolt on McMaster that matched and pulled it into TinkerCAD. 

Worked like a charm and fits perfectly!

Now I'll be able to run these wheels with the Motorsport Hardware stud kit installed.

Gotta figure out if I want to get these wheels refinished this winter too

[Bassboy3313]

And just like that, goes from 3D printed plastic to machined aluminum.

I was about to call up some machine shops, but ended up finding a company called Bimmertune out of Lithuania. They already sold the custom centercaps for BBS RC wheels at a very nice price. Free shipping was incredibly fast as well. Some new domed BBS center cap stickers are on their way as well.

I also picked up a throttle body adapter plate from them while I was at it.

It's to mount the M52TUB28 throttle body to an M54B30 manifold. I have the B30 manifold on the shelf already and hear it's great gains up top without affecting the low end torque for the TUB engines. That will be a project for when I feel very confident, lol.

[YoungCR]

very cool! what's the purpose of the hex on the inside?

[Bassboy3313]

YoungCR said:

very cool! what's the purpose of the hex on the inside?

From what I can think, its to assist with removing/installing it onto the wheel if there is any corrosion. Since it threads onto the wheel and doesn't clip on like usual. You would use a socket from back side.

[Bassboy3313]

Figured I'd start with more interior work.

Firstly started with installing the Never Done glove box sag fix.

I then moved on to removing the seats and center console. This is to prep for the dash replacement and to install the restored Z3M center console pieces.

Center console painted and assembled with Z3M center pieces and new VDO classic gauges. 

[YoungCR]

Man that looks great! That glove box kit is a cool product.

[Bassboy3313]

Really got after it with the warm weather today. Dashboard and front half carpet removed. Dashboard was fairly straight forward and simple. The carpet removal would not have been purist approved. Had to cut it back behind center console otherwise the heater core and many other things would have to have been removed in order to get carpet out whole. Wasn't going to get that involved. Plus where I cut will never be seen when new carpet goes in. 

Dashboard was disassembled and the "pods" were prepped for paint. Along with the kick panels too. New black dashboard didn't come with the "pods" and are near impossible/expensive to find.

LVP paint applied to all pieces. Need to get another can for final coats. 

Once new front half carpet arrives in mail things can start getting reassembled again.

[Bassboy3313]

So the douchebag on ebay I purchased the black carpet set from cancelled my order for no reason. Decided to try my hand at dying my existing carpet. Non of the purists will want it anyways after I strategically cut it to remove. So here goes nothing...

I am terrible at taking pics while I'm in the zone, so these are all I have.

After a vacuuming and cleaning

And done. Was hard to get the color to show in the pics due to the lighting in garage. Trust me when I say it actually turned out pretty well with consistent dark black color. And still feels relatively soft.

I will be giving it one last light mist coat in the morning and throwing it back in the car. Then I can get the remainder of the interior back together as well.

[Bassboy3313]

And back in...

[Bassboy3313]

Dash starting to look complete once again

[YoungCR]

All looks great in pictures

[Jdesign]

Looks good from this side of the monitor!

[Rekpoint]

I am excited to see the whole interior put together!

[Bassboy3313]

Thanks guys! I am happy with how it's turning out for sure.

[Bassboy3313]

Dash and cluster back in.

[Bassboy3313]

Went to wire up the center gauges and install center console, but ran into a whoops moment. While testing the interior dash lights, I bumped a couple terminals with my small pick tool and shorted it out. Dash lights immediately turned off and wouldn't work again.

Checked the fuses, radio fuse was blown. Good, easy fix. Nope wasn't the issue although probably part of it. Did some googling and came up with the rheostat inside the headlight switch that dims the dash lights easily fry apparently. 

One fix is jumpering some pins in the headlight switch to bypass the rheostat. Tried that and I was able to turn the entire car on by pulling the headlight knob out. Ummm, no thanks! Reversed that.

Another fix is completely disassembling the headlight switch to solder the broken area and everything should work as normal. Let's give it a try!

Disassembled the switch

Found the spot on the rheostat that fried. Hard to see but it's the very first coil of the spring behind the silver tab.

Soldering this small is nearly impossible for my giant solder gun, so big blob it is. 

I tested the continuity between the end of the tab and the other end of the coil spring wire. Looks good to me. 

Threw it back together and into the car. All works as it should! Sorry no pics of that yet. Glad I was able to save some cash as every part of this car seems to be priced like gold. We shall see how long it lasts now.

[Bassboy3313]

Got the center console in and everything hooked up. What a huge pain in the ass that was! Hooking things up with little to no space to put hand behind was super frustrating. Hopefully everything works as it should or it's gonna stay that way for awhile, lol. 

[Bassboy3313]

Started on some brittle plastic repair since any screw you remove from these cars seems to disintegrate the plastic. Glovebox mounting points were some of those. Used some metal brackets to cut up and epoxy on. Was skeptical at first and went a little heavy on the epoxy, but it actually turned out great. Super strong too. Call me impressed.

Also started repairing the new door panels I picked up. The mounts tend to tear away from the press board material that the panels are made out of. So I got some epoxy, 3d printed some new ABS mounts and secured them back on. 

Just gotta do the same with the one map pocket that got detached and I can move onto customizing the door panel inserts to walnut brown for my interior color scheme.

[Bassboy3313]

I've been working on a side project for the Coupe. Knowing that you have to remove the entire interior to access the top rear strut mounts, wasn't ideal for coilovers and dampening adjustments.

Took a chance to design some 3d printed access caps that can be installed in the carpet humps that cover the strut tops. Will allow dampening adjustments for coilovers or regular access to the strut tops for replacements or repairs without the need to remove the interior. 

First go around was a little ambitious with a threaded cap into a flange set that sandwiches the carpet for mounting.

Got the opinion of a true mechanical engineer (aka Brian) who gave me the idea of making it a press fit with oring instead of threads. Made designing and printing easier. Also added a slot on the side for a flat head screwdriver to pry cap off when removing. Seems to work pretty well. 

Next up is test fitting to the carpet and if all is good, getting these printed in ABS for longevity and heat resistance.