Southernboy's SCARAB II journal.

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 10:42

I figure since I'm starting from scratch with a "fresh" Z3, I would record the transition of the car from day one.
Here is the first pic of the car taken yesterday at the car wash. I picked the car up from my BMW mechanic who has had the car for the past 10 days going through all the electronics , mechanicals etc etc...and he gave it a full service.
It's a 2001 / 3.0 M54 vehicle. Cosmos Black with a full Black leather interior. Fitted with the OEM HK sound system and a sub-woofer in place of a rear storage box. The ar is essentially stock standard with the original narrow / wide BMW 17" wheels. It has OEM roll hoops and an OEM wind deflector fitted. All the airbags are intact in the dash and doors. The car has a 100% service history from BMW.
Standard 25% LSD diff and OEM exhaust system with chrome tips. Rubber is Bridgestone Potenza 225/45 front and 245 / 40 rear.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 11:21

Look forward to how you get on Barry, but rule no.1 with any new motor is wash it yourself, its a great way to bond

Tim.

Captain · Post by **Captain** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 11:23

Congrats on the new car Barry, looking forward to the transition

martyb · Post by **martyb** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 11:24

Ahh very nice! Enjoy it... im sure you will!

Davejue1 · Post by **Davejue1** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 16:27

Not seen a black and white one before Barry! Is it wrapped!! Look forward to seeing what happens next

Cheers
Dave

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 16:36

Ha ha ha.... "bonding" with the new Z...I did briefly consider doing it myself, but after seeing the hundreds of skeletal and goo remains of a fast drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg, I figured I'd initially take it for a foam wash, then send it off to a company here called 3PE, whoc specialise in car valet services...it needs a seriously good all round clean in and out, claying, buffing, leather clean and treatment, engine and undercar wash, wheels thoroughly cleaned...so gues who gets to do the initial hard work...for £65...

Thanks for all the good wishes guys...

Woody1000 · Post by **Woody1000** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 18:14

Is it a auto or steptronic Barry ?

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 18:31

.....manual shift.

Woody1000 · Post by **Woody1000** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 19:33

Manual shift happy days that's what you wanted right ! I was under the impression you thought it was an auto

bentley-boy · Post by **bentley-boy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 21:03

Hi, Just wanted to ask a quick question: You say you are running on Bridgestone Potenza rubber which is the same as on the front of my zed (225/45/17). However, I get chucked about on poor road surfaces (tramlining?) with these tyres, is this something you suffer from although you appear not to have bad roads! Just trying to decide if it's the yres or bushes or whatever. Looking forward to the 'tweaking' as you progress with ownership, particularly in the cabin. I have had mine on the road for four weeks now

Best wishes BB

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 21:32

To reply to the tramlining question...I haven't done a lot of driving since I bought the car other than the drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg (1500kms aprox)..The drive from CT was done at pretty much over 140kph and often as high as 220kph +...I wasn't aware of any tramlining throughout the trip. Since that drive, I have only done some 50kms of "urban" driving where the general restriction is 60kph and also haven't had any tramlining that I have been aware of. I would imagine that tyre pressures, tread patterns. steering bushes, wheel alignment, wheel balancing and shock absorbers all play a role in the problem of tramlining. As a rule, I tend to run my tyres at below the recommended pressure...ie. if the BMW specification is for 2.2 bar, I will inflate the tyre to 2.0. I have no justification for this from a technical point of view and do so purely from a drive comfort preference. I imagine it possibly increases fuel consumption slightly, but my butt and back are happier especially if the roads are rough or bumpy. I am a stickler for ensuring wheel alignment and balancing are as near a dammit to perfect, and I also never keep a tyre on the car once it has worn to 50% of it's tread. Steering bushes and suspension are checked regularly as this will have a bearing on safety and comfort. Wheel bearings generally are durable (quality of roads will bear on that though) but should also be checked frequently or if you feel there may be a steering problem. Brake discs, callipers and pads are also culprits which may have an effect on handling. A binding calliper / piston or a warped disc will alter the normal smooth rotation of one or more wheels. Shock absorbers are generally the favourite accused when poor handling is the complaint. To correctly check the condition of a shock absorber it is essential for it to be fully removed from the car and tested against it's "original" specifications as well as against the specifications of BMW for the car. Being a roadster, the Z3 suspension springs are fairly stiff, and "bouncing" the car at one of the corners as a means of testing a shock absorber is useless. You cannot compress the spring sufficiently to make any valid judgement as to the effectiveness of the shock absorber in restricting the compression or the recoil.
I hope the above will help to provide you with a guide to checking and ticking off the mechanical possibilities before jumping to laying the blame on the tyres. It certainly would do no harm whatsoever to check all the mechanical elements anyhow, since these cars are aging.
Whether my practice of running a slightly lower tyre pressure has any bearing on tramlining or not, I can't honestly say, but you might try that and determine the result for yourself.

Del · Post by **Del** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 21:56

Sounds like a great car.

I'm sure you'll get lots of requests to lower it (not from me though) - I can see a generous (sensible

) gap around that rear wheel arch.

bentley-boy · Post by **bentley-boy** » Sun 19 Jan, 2014 22:01

Thanks for that full and comprehensive response, your points are fully valid and make sense. Having just got the car on the road after a recent purchase I am to still go through the car systematically. Front discs and pads were new, shocks and springs appear recent as the sticker is still clean and is marked: Sachs Boge 11 1500 115 538
31-31-1 092 5739
Rear springs are also recent. It is running M Tech sport suspension and as yet have not gone through the other suspension components, suffice to say that it is reasonable to assume wear to be present. Previous threads appear to blame tyres and suggest tryres with thin and therefore flexible sidewalls which are generally a feature of more expensive tyres. That would fit with your suggestion of lower tyre pressures.
I have to say that while envious of your high standards and passion for spirited driving mine is only an 8 valve four potter 1.9 which is what presented itself at the right price . . . . who knows, I may well move up to a 3 litre! Quite happy with it at the moment, has a reasonable turn of speed but just want to eliminate that 'throwing about'.
Thanks everso for your input, early days for me with these cars. Have just written a new post on acquiring the car but haven't sussed how to load the photos to go with it - perhaps soon!

Best wishes, Adrian (alias BB)

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 20:34

Today I got into the interior and stripped out the dashboard and all the ancilliaries required to get it out - 1 1/2 hours of screws, and the pesky screw caps...I was pleasantly surprised to find the now exposed areas were reasonably clean, but the usual unravelling wiring loom tape was apparent all over. As the car is now, it is entirely black in the cockpit with the exception of the matt aluminium OEM center console sections, and the matt aluminium flashes on the door cards. They're not my taste, and somehow seem a precursor to the Z4 finish...very bland & minimalist.
I've dismantled the dashboard to remove the instrument cluster and passenger airbag sections which haD black extended leather applied. This has been stripped off and will shortly be posted off to Dave on this forum in the UK.
I had planned to replace the wing mirrors with M roadster units, but it seems they're a scarce as hen's teeth. I trawled eBay, and spotted a pair of E46 M3 mirrors up for sale on auction..and the more I looked at them, the more I fancied the idea of modding them to fit to the Z3....

The aquisition as it turned out wasn't a straightforward purchase. Firstly, the seller didn't offer international shipping, and since my eBay account details are obviously South African, eBay automatically refused to allow me to bid on the Auction!! I sent a message to the seller and he was agreeable to me participating in the auction provided the goods would be collected in the UK (London) and he wanted paying in cash !! -
The resolution to the problem came with "Bertiejaffa" offering me the use of his address for eBay purposes to accept my bids...Meanwhile the seller would not accept payment via PayPal..

Once again, it was Janijoeli who stepprd up and offered to collect from the seller, check the items and hand over the cash on my behalf...and today after 4 hours of travelling and meeting time, Jani finally got back to his home - with my mirrors...
What wonderful people we have on ths forum!

It now remains to get them over to Johannesburg...

To get these mirrors to fit, I need to find a left and right hand OEM Z3 mirror base...again within an hour of posting a "wanted" notice, Captain and Koolflyer have come up with a left and right hand base respectively..again a potential problem was resolved...thanks guys !

AT this time, I have an M roadster rearview mirror, M console complete with OEM clock and guages and a set of M side gills on their way from the USA, thanks to a serious Z3 enthusiast there - Chris Townsend. He's a member on Bimmerfest.com in the US. and is currently building a supercharged Z3. An absolute bargain for the parts.... all for under $.375.00 shipped.

Also currently on their way are components to retro-fit a cruise control system...a "must have" for me in SA... we have some great roads here, and vast distances for cruising, so it's worth having.

I haven't done anything about having the car professionally cleaned / polished etc...I think I'll do that after I've done all the other changes and made a mess without the concerns of doing any scuffing etc...

I'll post a some pics in a couple of weeks when I've covered some of the items above...

Davejue1 · Post by **Davejue1** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 20:52

Blimey you are busy! Keep up the good work. Look forward to some pics

Cheers
Dave

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 22:39

... fortunately I've been here before so most of the "donkey" work is a breeze....I know my way around the Z3 so well...
No worries about pics...there will be quite a few...

bertiejaffa · Post by **bertiejaffa** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 22:43

Always willing to accept deliveries Barry.... Next time I hope its the full car

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 22:47

Thanks Lee...you're very generous!

janijoeli · Post by **janijoeli** » Sat 25 Jan, 2014 23:14

I can't wait to see photos of 'em mirrors on your zed mate!

I hope all goes well with the delivery...

Seller seemed like a nice chap. He was apologetic about the extra hassle, I guess he's just had his share of international deals gone bad and because of that was a bit wary. Definitely a bimmer bloke, had two in his yard, and there were plenty of genuine oohs and aahs when he saw my M Roadster up close.

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 26 Jan, 2014 08:24

... now I understand why it took you 4 hours to get back home...you were "glowing" in the praises heaped on your M....and there I was thinking, I had put you outdoors in shocking weather to collect my mirrors....

To add to the above...the mirrors will be courier collected from Jani on monday, and all being well, I should have them here by next weekend, and can begin serious consideration of the requirements for the modification to fit the OEM door position...

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 26 Jan, 2014 09:00

WASHDAY.....parts, parts parts...

...and restoration too...I stripped off the old foam seal from the vent parts...well, it simply crumbled away...and replaced with new seals...

I bought a roll of this 1mm x 5mm from the local hardware store..it has a peel of release strip with the sticky undeerneath and simply wraps around and should improve the airflow into the cockpit...

janijoeli · Post by **janijoeli** » Sun 26 Jan, 2014 14:11

Nice! When I repaired my heater resistor, I washed any exposed parts and areas I could get my hands to. No one will see the end result, but it just gives a cosy feeling knowing that 15 years worth of dust and grime is now gone... You probably know what I mean.

All ready to go...

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 26 Jan, 2014 14:18

...yes, I know exactly what you mean...it is a seldom encountered opportunity, and one to take as much advantage of as one can....

Nice box you have there Jani....

this is a pic of the scene of the "spaghetti fight"...

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Wed 29 Jan, 2014 18:21

.... So this is the 2nd colour I'll be using on the interior.... The 1st colour is the OEM Black...

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Thu 30 Jan, 2014 19:21

The find of the week...I'll be visiting the seller on Saturday... 18" AC Schnitzer Wheels....£220.00...

And the seller is just 5kms down the way....

janijoeli · Post by **janijoeli** » Thu 30 Jan, 2014 20:17

Those cannot be genuine for that kind of money... Can they??

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Thu 30 Jan, 2014 20:29

..... That may be a possibility...but the seller says they are...I will see when I meet with him on saturday...
There's another seller with the same Type III's for sale here roo...he's asking £420.00 including tyres !! Maybe they're mates, and they both smoke some really good stuff......

g8jka · Post by **g8jka** » Thu 30 Jan, 2014 23:52

Nice find, these are one of the best looking sets of wheels fitted on a Z3

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 08:35

I'm hoping they are genuine...if they need some restoration it's still a very good price !

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 09:17

That's a bargin on them wheels, good find!

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 09:28

.....The good part is they're 18" and I'm hoping the "inserts" for them are still available from a guy in the USA. There are inserts that fit into the "holes" of the star arms, which effectively converts them into Type II appearance....but 1st thing is to establish their authenticity.

PCSAM · Post by **PCSAM** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:01

Southernboy wrote:The find of the week...I'll be visiting the seller on Saturday... 18" AC Schnitzer Wheels....£220.00...
And the seller is just 5kms down the way....

cheap as chips Barry ......... ronel is the thing to look for on them bud........

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:04

You're right Sam...I still have my 17" type III's.... waiting for the right buyer....and not at £220...

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:12

Haven't you finished your zed yet Barry?

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:17

..... I'm taking my time....contemplating the options...waiting for the friggin postal strike to end so I can collect stuff....so, to answer your question..NO!

resunoiz · Post by **resunoiz** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:18

poor zed

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 13:22

..... buon giorno....nice to see you're still here !! You do know that you will regret your choices, and the longing will get to your heart...

Davejue1 · Post by **Davejue1** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 17:45

Do you know the "j" rating on the wheels Barry? Mine are 18x8.5 and there rubbing a tad on full lock even with slightly stretched tyres.

Cheers
Dave

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 31 Jan, 2014 17:52

I currently have 7.5 J on the OEM fronts... But I do have a set of 5mm AC Schnitzer front wheel spacers....bought on auction sometime last year or maybe earlier... I'll use them if needed. My rears are OEM 8.5 J... with 15mm spacers.

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 01 Feb, 2014 08:06

..... having been to see the wheels I can understand why they are so cheap...The seller obviously has issues with spatial perception ! All the rims have severe pavement damage and without putting them on a lathe and checking they aren't also out of true, they can stay with him.. The genuine thing 8.5 J and ET 38....Dissapointing, but a pleasant top down drive for that....

Davejue1 · Post by **Davejue1** » Sat 01 Feb, 2014 08:33

That's a shame mate, wouldn't they be worth investing a few £'s into if there genuine BM rims??

Cheers
Dave

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 01 Feb, 2014 08:36

...the damage on them is serious...It would cost at least as much again to have them repaired... I can wait...something will turn up.

resunoiz · Post by **resunoiz** » Sat 01 Feb, 2014 12:20

Southernboy wrote:..... buon giorno....nice to see you're still here !! You do know that you will regret your choices, and the longing will get to your heart...

yep, why leave?

zed will always be on my heart. and has still two weeks to go. today I fixed the rheostat light

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sat 01 Feb, 2014 15:44

.... you will miss the small surgeries required to keep the heart of the beast ticking !.......

Today was tidy and clean all the underdash wiring...the bits of 13 year old tape which had become unravelled in places have been re-wound, and 1mm wide cable ties fitted to stop them unravelling again.I used some mineral turps on a rag to wipe the wiring and remove the sticky from the tape off them too. That done, I moved the Hood switch from the rear between the seats position to the front console area - prefer it there...at my age turning more than 100 degrees isn't an option. There was a nice blanking plate in the console, so now it'll occupy that position...and the blanking plate will move to the back....
I removed and tested all the micro lights as in the AC / Heater control housing...both are fused, so new ones to be fitted.. The heater matrix is now super clean and all the aother surrounding structure, carpeting etc which is usually out of sight has been brushed and vacumed...

Sadly, the postal workers are still on strike, so I'm sort of stuck in limbo until they decide to return to work...I'm waiting on cruise control parts as well as new M center console and guages amongst other bits...
Tomorrow, it's remove the front wheels, remove the centers of the splits, and start cleaning / polishing etc... Fortunately I have a decent buff wheel which can be drill driven, and the correct buffing bars to go with it....
Fortunately I came across a website where someone had posted all the torque specs for these bolts...I've posted a separate link today for anyone else wanting to refer to it....

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 02 Feb, 2014 10:32

...You know those little lightbulbs with socket ~ 61138353797....The ones that BMW charge £8.00 for....

I had a look at them this morning...needing three...2 for the heater controls and 1 for the ashtray light...here in SA, bmw ask £.10 per bulb...!!
I decided to have a closer look...and with 6 pieces of 25mm long thin copper wire, a soldering iron and a .5mm drill bit, I converted the 3 plastic socket to now accept the more common little push in bulbs...which I can buy here for around 15p ea...
Some might say I don't have anything better to do...but I'd rather have £29 to spend elsewhere, and replacements will be no less difficult under the console...

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 02 Feb, 2014 10:43

Here's a small guide....

RockyDave · Post by **RockyDave** » Sun 02 Feb, 2014 10:47

Typical! I have just spent ~£20 on three of the self same bulbs from my local dealer, only saving grace was that he gave me 10% off as a BMWCARCLUB member

and they were cheaper than any I could find on eBay! Let's hope changing the heater and ashtray tray bulbs is a "one time operation".

By the way SouthernBoy love the picture at the bottom of your post

Chapman's Peak drive near Hout Bay? It certainly would be a treat to drive the Zed down that bit of road

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Sun 02 Feb, 2014 10:51

....you've spent time in CT then....yes, some seriously good drives there !!

RockyDave · Post by **RockyDave** » Sun 02 Feb, 2014 11:15

Sure have, my father was born in Simonstown and we had a mega road trip in 1986 driving from Jo'burg through the Free state and the Drakensburg to Durban, then down and around the coast past Port Elizabeth to Cape Town then back up to Jo'Burg through the Karoo. Just a shame it wasn't in a car like the Zed

Southernboy · Post by **Southernboy** » Fri 07 Feb, 2014 13:34

....I got bored waiting for the auto trimmer...!
Went to the local metal supply centre...picked up a 75mmlong x 60mm diameter pice of aluminium round bar...
Decide I wanted a unique "heavy metal" gearknob..I had the hole drilled and the slot for the insert cut...then had the basic oval shape turned and a taper down to a 4mm wall around the hole...kinda like an oval cone offset to the hole.. I used the plastic insert from my OEM gearknob...
Here I go....getting the basic shape right...

...and after some preliminary buffing / polishing...we're almost there...