Bi11's S54 M Roadster

[shantybeater]

Ok well as some of you know I recently sold my S50 to my brother because an identical S54 came up at a good price.

Old S50 thread: viewtopic.php?t=20225

I drove the car back on Friday and woke up this morning with the idea of giving it a 'little' clean. So 8 hours later the outside is done!!

What I did:

Engine bay & door shuts:

The bay was filthy (my S50 put it to shame!!). I started with the underside of the bonnet using swiss vax brushes and AG Engine machine cleaner to agitate the dirt. I kept rinsing at intervals and made sure none of the exterior paint was exposed to the cleaner. I repeated the same process with the door shuts, they came up lovely! :



- I then coated the enginer bay in AG Vinyl care and using a sponge to coat evenly
- I also coated the paintwork in the engine bay/door shuts with AG wax then buffed off
- I replaced the worn foils to protect the paintwork




The outside

- Jetwashed then went round washing with AG Shampoo followed by a further rinse
- Dried with Dodo juice towel
- Rubbed on a layer of AG Super Resin polish (inc the wheels to remove marks) and buffed off
- Followed with a coat of AG High Definition Wax, then buffed off





- Rubbed HD wax into wheel arch paint and buffed off
- Rubbed on Tyre Shine
- I used autosol to bring the exhaust tips back to their former glory (they are WIP though and require more elbow grease)




The spec:
- Jan 02
- 45k on the clock
- HK Stereo system
- Strong Strut

Problems i've noticed already:
- Dented door sill needs looking at
- Rear wheel has large kerb mark which is very deep, so might be on the lookout for a single rim
- All wheel refurb is needed
- Headlight washer nozzle missing

The Car now looks great! I'll be doing a full work over on the interior once the audio & ACS hoops are fitted. Comments welcome!!

[yalden]

That's awesome... is the interior spec identical to your previous M?

I'm definitely going to replicate your door shut procedure on mine

P.S. The first photo made me think you'd found on in Alpine Weiss!

[shantybeater]

Cheers mate, yes its identical the only difference being the HK Sub

[Jonttt]

Looks like a genuine unmolested example and bonus having the strong strutt already fitted

I remember getting mine 12 months ago and despite going on holiday I could not resist giving it a "quick" clean first

Re the curbed wheel.....I would get it checked out at a refurbers before deciding to replace as its amazing what they can repair as new

ps I see the couch is still there

[tcrichton]

Dam she's looking good!

Mine's still gleaming from your pre-delivery wash earlier this week!

Took her out for another spin today (first time with the passenger seat empty)... WOW! Such fun! The pedal just keeps on going... and going...

Saw a 330 with an awquardly stuck on M badge... allowed him the pleasure of hearing a real M overtake...

Must resist driving her until I sell the Audi tho!

Keep up the amazing work bro... I'm now saving up for the £162 of cleaning products you've suggested!

Adjusted those bonnet supports today and now a nice 2-3mm of clearance from the bumper

Dare I ask what Terri thinks of the new motor?

Tris.

[yalden]

I dread to know what a womans perspective would be, haha.

I imagine she see's no difference?

[Jonttt]

I bet he's not told her he's swapped it

[shantybeater]

Jon - will do, its quite a dent though , as for the couch, its not mine..my neighbour dumped it there and it hasnt moved since

tris - cheers bro, I drove around for 2 weeks without realising how far the accelarator pedal went down! haha

As for the Terri, I did tell her jon! she would have noticed the roof color change! she says she prefers the old but she doesnt know why! ah well its not for her anyway!

[tcrichton]

Ouch... she's just trying to hit you where it hurts after all you did spend all of today with your car and not her...

[rgf]

Very nice Shanty.
Would you like to come and do mine??

[eame64]

Very nice, love that colour combination.

[tcrichton]

Hi Bro...

Just found out something scary...

Was looking into tax on mine out of interest... and saw that as your car was made after March 2001 your should fit into the new road tax brackets...

Before March 2001 it was based on engine size: Under 1549 = £125, over 1549 = £205

I can only find the co2 emissions for the M3 Evo (with a quick google) which puts out 267g/km co2...

This is the highest bracket (M) which is £435 per year!!!

I'm hoping you're not in this bracket somehow....

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Ow ... G_10012524

Tris.

[tcrichton]

Phew... just read this line:

* Band K includes cars that have a CO2 figure over 225g/km but were registered before 23 March 2006

= £245.00

Not so bad after all

[tcrichton]

Found something even more rare for you...

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C69910/



Little expensive... there's a 4.7L roadster somewhere too...

[Jonttt]

Don't worry about the tax band "mistake", your borther fell for that one himself (if I remember correctly) when I traded my S50 in for an S54 but he was "educated" on here

Re the Hartge Coupe, its well known and well overpriced, the guy who owns it has been trygin to sell it for ages

[shantybeater]

Thanks for the comments

Bro - As Jon said I had the same impression a while back, had it been in the new tax bracket I would have had second thoughts, £400 on tax a year is crazy. That hartge coupe is lovely, I managed to track a thread somewhere which was about the roadster, I thinks in Europe somewhere!, it changed hands for a fair bit less than the coupe's up for!

P.s I suppose I better change my sig photo now!

[hornel Z3M]

Looks great shantybeater. I am picking mine up Saturday so i will be wax on wax off sunday.

[Dolfan]

Very nice Shanty, you also have the detailing bug!

[shantybeater]

cheers guys

Hornel - I hope the sale all goes to plan

[shantybeater]

Ok since the girlfriend was away for the weekend I decided i'd crack on with the stereo install & clean the interior.

- I removed the CD changer from the boot and placed my JL 300/4 amp in its space.
- I then installed my Focal 130KP K2 components in the doors/footwells and put the crossovers behind the headunit
- I also refitted my rare AC Schnitzer hoops from the S50 (they REALLY didnt want to go in!)
- Then out came the HK sub and after dynamatting the space I put in my custom enclosure with a JL 6w3v3 (Thanks to Glen aka 'Dooby')



- Finally I replaced the Headunit with my Pioneer DEH-6700MP



The sound is fantastic, the focals have good clarity and the impressive little 6" Sub compliments with a nice little boom. My god it moves as well!!!

Then came the clean. It was nice to see some beading after last weeks wax



- I started with a hoover, then went round with a damp cloth to remove the layer of dust/dirt.
- I then polished the rear window with some SRP



- Next I coated all the leather with AG leather care
- Then all the plastics with AG Vinyl Shine
- All the rubber was coated with Gummipfledge
- After that the windows/exterior lights/gauges/mirrors got a polish with some AG Glass polish
- Finally I polished up the hoops

[CP00black]

Looks great! How much Dynamat did you put in? Did you fill with any other additional damping?

-P

[shantybeater]

I lined all the sides and any surface which comes into contact with the enclosure. I plan on leaving the sub loose for now to see if any rattles appear

[Razor]

Nice job on your car and sound system. Would like to see what you did with your amp in the back. I'm fitting a in dash GPS,TV unit and was think of upgrading my sound aswell but don't know what to do with the amp.

[tcrichton]

The sub has a brilliant finish, sits right in... bit visible from the window tho...

Cool that you managed to get the amp in the boot, not sure if I've got enough space behind my seat for it... could do the passenger's tho I guess.

When you next heading down this way, would be good to hear the setup.

Tris.

P.S. Still not sold the Audi

[shantybeater]

Razor - cheers mate as it stands its bolted to the carpet so I can remove if necessary. It needs some tidying up though before i show any photos. I'll be interested to see how you get on with yours

Tris - I did think about it being a bit of a 'steal me' factor because its so obvious...probably its only let down but my car is rarely parked anywhere in public. Maybe you could get a 6" speaker grill to cover it if you will park on a road?. As for when you get your amp I really would suggest putting it in the boot since its tidier..Its not THAT much extra effort once you know what to do. Either that or under the seat like you mentioned (if there's room!)

I will hopefully be coming down in the next few weeks..either that or as long as christmas! The sound is great, i took her out for a quick spin earlier and with the roof up the sub really performs well. It sounds more like a 10"!

Have you had any interest in the audi?

[dennisedlin]

That's looking great.......I just love that colour combo

[dooby]

Glad you really happy with it mate, as you know any future questions im only a call away.

[shantybeater]

Dennis - It is nice! when i first got the car i wasnt sure about the roof but its definately growing on me

Dooby - Cheers mate, hopefully ill we bump into each other at a meet/show and you can fine tune it for me!

[Gazza]

I see the old blue sofa is still around

[shantybeater]

yep the valet sofa lives on!

[shantybeater]

A quick update: The car is going in for a bearing shell replacement tomorrow. This is purely a preventative measure

I've asked him to hang on to the old shells so I can post up pics incase any other S54 owners are interested. I'm also intrigued to find out what condition they are in.

[shantybeater]

Well the bearing shell replacement was carried out at my trusty BMW specialist. £675 lighter but worthwhile for future proofing. All genuine parts & Castrol Edge 10w60

Here are close ups of some of the bearing shells, they look in good condition but for peace of mind I suggest it for any S54 owner:



The sump was completely cleaned out whilst it was off ready for fresh oil & oil filter. Even after a run the oil still came out like golden syrup on the dipstick I'll be running the car in for 1200 miles or so just to be on the safe side

[tcrichton]

Where's the pic of the old ones?

[shantybeater]

Haha yeah they don't look too bad, the way I see it is it just means the car has probably led a gentle life. Now this is done I can have her remapped without worrying

[robertbentley]

Looks good - who did the work ? I'll keep an eye out for you in Bmth - I have an estoril M3 saloon...

[shantybeater]

Hi robert, I often see an estoril blue M3 around. I've got such a soft spot for them, seeing an E36 is a breath of fresh air compared to the common as muck e46, I'll give you a wave if i see you

The work was done at MVT at holton heath. Its a one man band, Paul Skippy, I cant recommend the guy enough, he bends over backwards to meet your needs and takes very good care of the car (unlike some other garages). He is a qualified BMW service manager, worked for BMW for something like 15 years. I would take it to him over a dealership any day of the week since I know only he is working on my car not some lazy apprentice. If you do go to him name drop me (James the Z3M owner), i'm sure he'll do anything to meet your needs, even if its just a chat!

[robertbentley]

cheers - I'll keep him in mind if I need someone...

[shantybeater]

Quick update, i decided to address the usual rear window issue where the fabric roof seperates from the rubber surround. Using some loctite clear sealant I injected it underneath the cloth but ontop of the plastic window where the rubber sits (where it is not visible and the previous adhesive is).

After injecting around 10cm worth I carefully pushed the fabric underneath the rubber with a credit card. I worked my way round the top and corners until all of the fabric was tucked back in place. I then pushed down on the fabric about a centermeter away from the rubber to flatten the material back down and tuck the material further in place.

The worse part (on a corner) had come away and wouldnt sit in place on its own so I left the card tucked under the rubber at the center of the corner forcing the material in place, after 20 mins or so the sealant had dried enough to hold the material in place.

Before :



After:


I'd highly recommend anyone else with the same problem to take a stab at it, it takes 15 mins and smartens up the look massively!!

If you do:
- Make sure the area is bone dry especially inbetween the window and the roof
- Don't go crazy with the sealant, you need enough to hold but once tucked in if you use too much it can spill out, a bit too much will end up on the credit card or the rubber which you can wipe clean but i imagine if you go crazy it could get on the fabric so be careful!

[marcusplowman]

Good work on the window seal! I got black silicone to do mine a few months ago but havnt got round to doing it yet...its too cold in the garage at the moment

[tcrichton]

Nice one!!!

I'll do this on mine soon! Have got some black sealant too!

Tris.

[Jonttt]

Nice job

If anyone is going to do this don't forget to open up the roof a little (you only need to release the tension by unlocking and lifting the front edge an inch), makes it a lot easier to work on without any tension in the cloth.

I left mine overnight to ensure fully dry before closing the roof but if car is outside you could probably just leave it a few hours ?

[shantybeater]

^^ good advice! i didnt think of that!

[Buz007]

is black silicone the best material, I have exactly the same problem and was gonna use superglue!?!

[Jonttt]

I would not use superglue

You can get the black silicon from Halfords

[Ian Kelly]

I got mine off e-bay for a couple of quid...

Item number: 370131786303

[///MRoops]

Wow how wonderful to see my old car on here! Glad you are enjoying it! Whilst i had it was very well looked after. I was going to take the strong strut off but I felt that it made the car and couldn't let the new owner experience life without it.

Car looks great - all the best

[shantybeater]

Hi MRoops, always nice to hear from a previous owner!! How long did you own the car for? Don't worry i'm taking good care of her!

[///MRoops]

I had the M for around 2 years - purchased it when it had around 20,000 miles and sold 15,000 odd miles later. Bought it around 2006. It really was a great car I miss is so badly; owned a few cars over the years but this one was just a perfect balance of rawness and day to day drivability. I sold the car (due to the arrival of my daughter) at a TVR garage in Henley, few weeks later the garage went into receivership and I never managed to track the car down again (as I was seriously considering a buy back and keeping as a weekend car).

On those rare and sunny days I still think about the zingy, raspy s54 and then snap into the reality of my diesel clap, clonk, cang Alpina D3. I will definitelty own another s54 maybe in CSL guise and hold on to it until i'm old and grey

All the best buddy and I really enjoyed reading through this thread with all all the great work you've done on the car.

[shantybeater]

ahh ok so you must have been the previous owner for the guy I bought it off, its strange because the car came up for sale before I bought my S50, unfortunately he beat me to it, two years later it comes up and I only find out its the same car once i'd put a deposit down!! - fate intervening?

I have to agree its a good balance, its my daily driver and I have no problems(although due to pump prices it may end up becoming a weekend toy)

One quick question, did you have an annoying rattle coming from the passenger side of the dash? I'm having a nightmare trying to track it down!!! It resonates as you go over bumps etc..

A CSL is a great choice, good luck on your hunt!

[///More]

Well the bearing shell replacement was carried out at my trusty BMW specialist. £675 lighter but worthwhile for future proofing. All genuine parts & Castrol Edge 10w60

Here are close ups of some of the bearing shells, they look in good condition but for peace of mind I suggest it for any S54 owner:




The sump was completely cleaned out whilst it was off ready for fresh oil & oil filter. Even after a run the oil still came out like golden syrup on the dipstick I'll be running the car in for 1200 miles or so just to be on the safe side

Hi all,

I'm new here on this great forum, on even more great car. Apologies to jump in like this as a newbie but, I have to ask how were the bearings changed? With the motor still in it's place, from underneath the car? Also was both, crankshaft bearings and rod bearings changed? Asking as I recently had a 12 yr dream come true and got my own Z3M. Planning to eliminate few weakest links on it, bearings being the priority.