New to forum & BMW

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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steve j
Joined: Wed 06 Jun, 2012 18:07
Posts: 27

  Z3 roadster 2.8

New to forum & BMW

Post by steve j »

Hi everyone.

I am new to the forum and BMW's, currently owner of a Mitsubishi FTO GPX, supercharged by myself, for that little something extra thats my Nurburgring weekend track toy.

Please dont judge too harshly, as the narative below will give you an idea of where I am going hopefully.

Ok, 25th wedding aniversary approaching, always wanted to do the Europe road trip, there is a group of us who do the Ring every year, this year the fto was to be mothballed, for my bonus from work I started looking for a nice little soft top to do Europe with the roof down, wind in whatever hair is left on my head, a nice relaxed pace non stressed engine not the revvy jap motor but something with low down torque for reasonale pull to climb the mountains, looked at SLK (too expensive to mod), MX5 (under powered), S2000 (no torque) etc, then one of the ring mates came home with a nice shiny red Z3 2.8, so his old E30 2.5 is garaged whilst the soft top is out to play, quick burble through the salibury plain around stonehenge back roads and I was hooked, I need one.

Never been into BMW but heard about the bomb proof straight 6's, quick google search and I find myself in the knowledge base of this forum, investigating reliability, which models to overlook and which are desirable, ok, ended up finding a nice S plate 2.8 local to me, sorted out the deal and went about servicing and getting used to the car before the road trip, you know the sort of thing, making sure it starts regular, good service, change all the fluids, electrics etc etc, deep clean the fabric roof, a bit of TLC, well the quad exhaust was a hit, as was the other little goodies, got myself a nice clear wind deflector, hey even the misses was enjoying the Z3, long weekend away with the OEM boot rack showed it could be done effectively.

My Mistake.
I made the mistake of letting my son borrow the Z3 as his GT4 ST205 had broken down, my parting words being, be careful in the wet she's a little lively on the rear end, yes he was insured (Third Party Only).....lamp posts are not third parties, lost control and had a front impact resulted in it being sat on the drive, deeply out of pocket with a growing debt from my son and a cancelled Europe trip and a totalled Z3, at least the cherub was not hurt.

This is where I hope you good people forgive me, this is my first post on this forum, and here I am touting a broken P&J, I have been a FTOOC member for 4 years so a car enthusiast, I attend the meets, rolling road days, supercharger conversion threads, and support those not very technical where I can.

The Z3 is breaking on Pistonheads, she is in silver, I am trying to recover some value, I have my eye on a nice Z4 3.0 04 plate, but that is next years bonus, my Europe trip is delayed for a year, the FTO and all the extras you collect over time is up for sale as well. The shiny red Z3 I mentioned earlier is now sporting nice shiny M sport side grills, and a lovely burbly quad exhaust system and my old rear bumper is now red, at least parts of her will survive.

The lesson learnt - be a selfish old git, keep your toys to yourself and dont share with anyone.
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Jonttt
Z Register member
Joined: Sun 28 Dec, 2008 16:32
Posts: 6554

  M roadster S54
Location: Liverpool

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by Jonttt »

Wow thats a hell of a story.

Might be worth you psting some pics up of the car and interior so people can see the spec of whats available or a link to the pistonheads ad.

Good luck with clawing some money back and hopefully its taught your sibling a valuable lesson in respecting a powerful car in the wet ;-) I've spun a few in my time but luckily not caused any damage and I'd like to think the experience made me a better / safer driver whlst still being able to enjoy a fast road run.
Happiness is not around the corner........happiness is the corner
Image Video or Journal Garage: 2015 FFRR Black Edition, Porsche Boxster GTS, 1997 Porsche Carrara C4S, Ex 2001 BMW S54 Z3m Roadster
steve j
Joined: Wed 06 Jun, 2012 18:07
Posts: 27

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by steve j »

Bit of an update, she is slowly coming apart..

Roof went to a nice fella in Poole Dorset, to replace his ripped / torn one, I seriously do not fancy his job putting that in without marking the body.

Rear trailing arms / hubs and drive shafts went to a fella in Romford who is doing an E30 conversion, lucky for me so many parts seem interchangeable.
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wildeboy
Joined: Sat 18 Jun, 2011 19:54
Posts: 149

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Leeds

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by wildeboy »

Slightly off topic but does your mate with the shiney red 2.8 still have his original exhaust? I am looking for a 2.8 cat back exhaust.
1997 Z3 2.8 in Montreal Blue, only 130k on the clock!
OEM Roll Hoops
M50B25 Inlet manifold
BMC CDA Induction kit
Beige roof
steve j
Joined: Wed 06 Jun, 2012 18:07
Posts: 27

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by steve j »

His has a hole in it on one of the box joints, very rusty and no good for anything other than scrap weight I think, its sat beside my Z3 ready to be loaded into an empty shell. Sorry cant help.
steve j
Joined: Wed 06 Jun, 2012 18:07
Posts: 27

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by steve j »

As way of an update.

Wheels sold and are now on a Z3 on this forum.
Front Side wing sold and is now on a Z3 on this forum.
Drivers wing mirror sold and will end up resprayed in blue and will be on a Z3 on this forum.
Roll bars and associated interior trim provisionally sold and will end up on a Z3 on this forum.
Clear side repeaters sold and will end up on a Z3 on this forum.
Electric folding Roof and Msport steering wheel sold and is on Z3 in Poole Dorset, sold via Pistonheads, after talking to the fella he will be joining the forum.
Rear trailing arms and hubs sold and are on a E30 currently being modified by a fella in Romford.
Quad exhausts and rear bumper sold and is now in red and on my friends Z3.

Best of all.
The engine, gearbox, ecu and loom have been sold to my brotherinlaw, he got a really good deal funny enough, he has a 1971 TR6 and he is about to embark on a full transplant for a reliability rebuild, old unreliable triumph 2.5 and overdrive box out, new shinny 2.8l M52 lump in, started stripping yesterday, this will be a very interesting project, the Z3 lump is smaller than the Triumph and significantly lighter, his TR6 being just over a ton in weight will be a flyer.

I love the diversity of the BMW components, the FTO is all bespoke, sharing very little common parts, but the BMW bits seem pretty much interchangable between models.
Mike Fishwick
Joined: Fri 19 Jun, 2009 10:27
Posts: 2093

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Daglan, France

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by Mike Fishwick »

Yes - interchageability and ready spares availbility is one of the many advantages in owning what the media hack like to deride as being a 'Parts bin special!'
A Z3 is not just for Christmas - it's for life!
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: New to forum & BMW

Post by pingu »

The bad news is you lost a Z3, but the good news is that you gained a GT4 :twisted: .
Pingu
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