Toms 1.9 roadster project

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 10:16

Ok so this is my Z3 as of when i first bought her. Shes a 1.9 silver roadster. The last owner crashed her on the motorway with the resulting damage. I will keep this updated on how the repairs are going and list any mods i undergo along the way.

gookah · Post by **gookah** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:09

Not sure on which wheels?

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:16

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the forum, looks like a good project to het your teeth into

Please post some pics as you go along would be great to see how things progress

Tim.

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:29

gookah wrote:Not sure on which wheels?

Talking about wheels...

I have done a couple of things since i got the car, i picked up some BBS split rims from a friend at work....

Given the interior a clean...

and bought some wide rear wings from ebay...

But with it being about minus a thousand outside its not really the weather to be doing much

Tom

Jonttt · Post by **Jonttt** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:35

This is going to be interesting

Are you going to stick with a Z3 colour when you respray or take the chance to make it totally unique with either a non BMW or later colour ?

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:44

mmmmmmmmmm likeing the alloys already

Out of interest, will you get the panels bare metal stripped and repainted off the car, I guess would make sense?

The weather is becoming a real pain now, not washed the 1 Series for 2 weeks which for me is unheard off and just too cold for the mods I was hoping to do over Christmas. Just hope it will warm up next week

Tim.

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:49

TitanTim wrote:mmmmmmmmmm likeing the alloys already

Out of interest, will you get the panels bare metal stripped and repainted off the car, I guess would make sense?

The weather is becoming a real pain now, not washed the 1 Series for 2 weeks which for me is unheard off and just too cold for the mods I was hoping to do over Christmas. Just hope it will warm up next week

Tim.

With all the panels being 'bolt on' (which is very handy) i will, like you say, paint all the panels off the car. I planned to gather up all the panels i need, paint them, and then strip off the old panels and fit the new ones to the car.

With it needing pretty much a full paint anyway i am seriously considering a change of colour. Black really appeals to me, mut i'm not such a fan of sapphire black so i was thinking of Peugeots 'NOIR PERLA NERA NACRE' wich is a nice jet black metallic but has some pearl in there wiich creates colored sparkles.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 11:55

Tom Sanderson wrote:
TitanTim wrote:mmmmmmmmmm likeing the alloys already

Out of interest, will you get the panels bare metal stripped and repainted off the car, I guess would make sense?

The weather is becoming a real pain now, not washed the 1 Series for 2 weeks which for me is unheard off and just too cold for the mods I was hoping to do over Christmas. Just hope it will warm up next week

Tim.
With all the panels being 'bolt on' (which is very handy) i will, like you say, paint all the panels off the car. I planned to gather up all the panels i need, paint them, and then strip off the old panels and fit the new ones to the car.

With it needing pretty much a full paint anyway i am seriously considering a change of colour. Black really appeals to me, mut i'm not such a fan of sapphire black so i was thinking of Peugeots 'NOIR PERLA NERA NACRE' wich is a nice jet black metallic but has some pearl in there wiich creates colored sparkles.

Good stuff Tom, I always think you would probably get a better standard of finish spraying the panels off the car than on, just need to be careful when fitting them back on, I guess the biggest expense will be the bonnet, but I'm sure you can get replicas from somewhere?

Black would be a good choice

Cheers,

Tim.

gypsycatcha · Post by **gypsycatcha** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 12:37

Great little project on a great little car.
Very interested in the rear arches. when you say wide, do you mean they are off the 2.8 zed??

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 12:44

gypsycatcha wrote:Great little project on a great little car.
Very interested in the rear arches. when you say wide, do you mean they are off the 2.8 zed??

Yeah they are from an ///M but i believe they are the same on the 2.8
It was difficult finding any for the pre facelift shape!

Hang_em_high · Post by **Hang_em_high** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 19:07

gypsycatcha wrote:Great little project on a great little car.
Very interested in the rear arches. when you say wide, do you mean they are off the 2.8 zed??

Gonna have to have wheels that will fill the arches now they are wide.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 19:32

Hang_em_high wrote:
gypsycatcha wrote:Great little project on a great little car.
Very interested in the rear arches. when you say wide, do you mean they are off the 2.8 zed??
Gonna have to have wheels that will fill the arches now they are wide.

Daft question, but isn't the axle width different on the M from the other models? hence why the wheel offset is so low. So are the widebody panels the same for say the M and a 2.8? Just wandering if there is any implications fitting wide body arches to a non wide body Zed

Tim.

gypsycatcha · Post by **gypsycatcha** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 21:53

TitanTim wrote:
Hang_em_high wrote:
gypsycatcha wrote:Great little project on a great little car.
Very interested in the rear arches. when you say wide, do you mean they are off the 2.8 zed??
Gonna have to have wheels that will fill the arches now they are wide.
Daft question, but isn't the axle width different on the M from the other models? hence why the wheel offset is so low. So are the widebody panels the same for say the M and a 2.8? Just wandering if there is any implications fitting wide body arches to a non wide body Zed

Tim.

That was exactly what i was thinking with the axle width. Not only that but isnt the rear bumper wider on the 2.8s aswell?
Id love to throw on some wider rear arches but thought it was more than just fitting the new arches...?

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 22:02

gypsycatcha wrote:
TitanTim wrote:
Hang_em_high wrote: Gonna have to have wheels that will fill the arches now they are wide.
Daft question, but isn't the axle width different on the M from the other models? hence why the wheel offset is so low. So are the widebody panels the same for say the M and a 2.8? Just wandering if there is any implications fitting wide body arches to a non wide body Zed

Tim.
That was exactly what i was thinking with the axle width. Not only that but isnt the rear bumper wider on the 2.8s aswell?
Id love to throw on some wider rear arches but thought it was more than just fitting the new arches...?

Yes the rear wings, bumper, sills, arch liners and fuel flap are different. From what i have researched the trailing arms are the same (maybe someone can confirm) and the extra width is taken up by the deeper dished rear wheels. I am going for the non ///M rear bumper so i dont have to replace the tailgate (wich houses the number plate on ///M versions). Not sure on the wheel issue as of yet but my BBS rears are an inch wider than the fronts so i will hopefully be able to take up the extra width with spacers.

Tom

markrnorton · Post by **markrnorton** » Sun 26 Dec, 2010 23:52

Nice to see somebody doing something different

Will the standard pre facelift rear bumper stretch enough to match the wider arches?

will be interesting to see this.

i hope you will follow up with some engine work

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Mon 27 Dec, 2010 07:04

markrnorton wrote:Nice to see somebody doing something different

Will the standard pre facelift rear bumper stretch enough to match the wider arches?

will be interesting to see this.

i hope you will follow up with some engine work

No i will need the wider rear bumper too.

What good modifications can be done to the 1.9 engine? I read that replacing the viscous fan with an electric one is a good idea for starters as this saps a lot of fuel economy and power?

hornel Z3M · Post by **hornel Z3M** » Mon 27 Dec, 2010 10:22

I think you could fit a 3.2 in it

.. Save you all the work why dont you buy an M Roadster

Well done though

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Mon 27 Dec, 2010 10:27

hornel Z3M wrote:I think you could fit a 3.2 in it .. Save you all the work why dont you buy an M Roadster Well done though

Yes!

Insurance may become an issue though

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Mon 27 Dec, 2010 10:53

Tom. wrote:
markrnorton wrote:Nice to see somebody doing something different

Will the standard pre facelift rear bumper stretch enough to match the wider arches?

will be interesting to see this.

i hope you will follow up with some engine work
No i will need the wider rear bumper too.

What good modifications can be done to the 1.9 engine? I read that replacing the viscous fan with an electric one is a good idea for starters as this saps a lot of fuel economy and power?

Hi Tom,

If youre looking at a little more power then your best best is get the exhaust done then a remap. I'm looking at these guys for a remap in the spring, heard very good things about them,

http://www.e-maps.co.uk/products/BMW/Z3+Roadster/

Not sure about the replacing the viscous fan. I wouldn't bother with the air filter as personally think its a waste of time and money replacing these.

Tim.

markrnorton · Post by **markrnorton** » Mon 27 Dec, 2010 15:12

Tom

easy, small , power gains for the 1.9.

ITG air filter and cold air feed (specifically ITG, it makes a difference)
viscous fan removal and replace with electric
exhaust
sports cat
remap from somebody who knows the engine

good luck with the project

M

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 17:05

I was in town today so i picked up a few service bits

Oil and filter
Fuel filter
Spark plugs

I decided it would be a good idea to do these bits while the car is off the road. I started with the fuel filter as this would be the hardest to do being underneath the car and then the rest, theres even a handy tool under the plug cover for removing the HT leads, how cool is that! The fuel filter looked like the original one

So probably a good 12 year old or so, a fair bit of smeg come out of it.

The engine runs 10 times better now, it seemed a bit lumpy at idle before

Also what is this hole for behind the handbrake in the center console, what should be in it?

swamper · Post by **swamper** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 17:26

err you got me with the bottom pic........

mine has a red light (never seen it lit up) in the middle and 2 blank switches either side

need to know now

its for electric roof op

GazHyde · Post by **GazHyde** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 17:49

Mine has the switch for the electric roof, a red light (alarm) and a blanking panel.

HTH, Gaz

Post by **Robert T** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 18:06

swamper wrote:err you got me with the bottom pic........
mine has a red light (never seen it lit up) in the middle and 2 blank switches either side

need to know now

its for electric roof op

There are a number of different things that go in that hole - it can either be an oddments tray or a switch plate with three holes. On mine, I have the alarm LED and heated rear windscreen switch (I have a hardtop). On other cars the alarm LED is up front and the electric roof switch can be placed here (mine is up front).

The red light should flash when the alarm is set.

In the above photo I can't see any wiring, so it may have been an oddments tray.

Cheers R.

markrnorton · Post by **markrnorton** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 18:08

true, mine has the oddments tray where that hole is. my electric hood switch is in the dash panel

seems there are differences

swamper · Post by **swamper** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 18:14

Robert T wrote:
The red light should flash when the alarm is set.

Cheers R.

im going out to check.........

yes it does

jontymo · Post by **jontymo** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 19:59

Mine has the oddments tray, the alarm led is in front of the ashtray and flashes when set until it goes into power saving mode after a while.

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 20:32

Ahh my alarm light hood switch are below the heater controls, odment tray it is then, i just need to find one now

Post by **Robert T** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 21:05

Tom. wrote:Ahh my alarm light hood switch are below the heater controls, odment tray it is then, i just need to find one now

Part #19 on this diagram. Should be less than a fiver from the dealer.

Cheers R.

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 21:19

Facelift has the alarm armed light and looks like two blanking holes,

If the switch for rear heated screen for the hard top goes here, is the wiring already in situ?

Tim.

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Wed 29 Dec, 2010 21:23

Robert T wrote:
Tom. wrote:Ahh my alarm light hood switch are below the heater controls, odment tray it is then, i just need to find one now
Part #19 on this diagram. Should be less than a fiver from the dealer.

Cheers R.

Nice one

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sat 08 Jan, 2011 09:27

My new rear bumper arrived today. Apparently there was a problem with his delivery company so he got one of his men to deliver it (from Devon to North Lincs for £15) He said it was no problem, how generous is that! Its in great condition too, but in titan silver

I've also ordered an oddments tray and some new mats but they havnt come yet so i will post some pics up of them when they do.

Tom

gypsycatcha · Post by **gypsycatcha** » Sat 08 Jan, 2011 16:03

Im very interested in seeing how this all looks once the wider wings and wider bumper are fitted. If the rear wheels are spaced to line with the arches, this will look great.
Fair play for doing this

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 09:09

I have had some spare time this week so i managed to get my old panels off, trial fit my new ones and then get them painted. As you can probably see i also picked up some ///M Alloys, front bumper and some new headlights. Here are the pictures of the car with the old panels off...

From this picture you can see the difference between the width of the old wing and the new rear bumper, also the amount the ///M wheels stick out beyond the original rear wing.

Here are the pictures of the car with the new parts fitted after painting, i've still got to do the bonnet and doors but its looking good so far i think!

Hopefully i'll be picking a bonnet up this afternoon and i will uplad a few pictures of that when its done.

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 12:29

looking good tom

i always thought that M wheels would stick out to far because the axles were differenet??

but you have just proved this wrong....
dam... i had a chance to buy a set for £250 with new tyres but didnt because i thought they wouldnt fit my wide body?????!!!!

Ian_C · Post by **Ian_C** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 12:53

Z3cade wrote: i always thought that M wheels would stick out to far because the axles were differenet??

but you have just proved this wrong....
dam... i had a chance to buy a set for £250 with new tyres but didnt because i thought they wouldnt fit my wide body?????!!!!

The 1.9 axles are the same length as the ///M but the narrower body means the ///M wheels protrude. Tom is fitting wide body rear panels to a 1.9 so the ///M wheels should be fine

Z3cade · Post by **Z3cade** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 12:58

oh i get ya now

now im glad i didnt buy them!

J1SUA · Post by **J1SUA** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 15:33

Nice work, well done for saving the Z and for rebuilding one that will look even better than when it first rolled out the factory

seasurfer · Post by **seasurfer** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 19:08

Thats looking brilliant, love those headlights, and best colour too, well done.

Gill

TitanTim · Post by **TitanTim** » Sat 09 Jul, 2011 20:18

Looking great, that paint job looks spot on

been very well done

Tim.

Daz3 · Post by **Daz3** » Sun 10 Jul, 2011 07:48

TitanTim wrote:Looking great, that paint job looks spot on been very well done

Tim.

+1 That has some serious shine on it good job on saving the zed it looks great!

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sat 16 Jul, 2011 10:48

Heres a few more pictures as promised, I picked my bonnet up the other day and its already in primer so thats saved me a job, i can get the final few bits painted now.

Also i bought a new exhaust system, Its the cobra one from ebay, i would recommend it to anyone it was a great fit, looks good and sounds good. Its not too noisy either which is how i wanted it

shantybeater · Post by **shantybeater** » Sat 16 Jul, 2011 11:32

wow alot of works gone into this car, well done! a vast improvement over when you got her, looking forward to seeing the finished article

si-forks · Post by **si-forks** » Fri 22 Jul, 2011 21:03

Fantastic job the car is looking great

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 11:12

Cheers for the comments guys

I've got my doors painted now and also painted the bit around the windscreen matt black. Heres the photos...

I've made some stoneguards too, you can just about see them

shantybeater · Post by **shantybeater** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 15:27

The stone guards look very subtle, good job! she could do with a bit of lowering to finish the job off!

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 16:43

Yeah i will be lowering it at some point.

I painted the bonnet yesterday, so i've got that fitted on now and i've took some decent pictures with my camera rather than my phone

I hope you like it, i certainly do, i think it looks a lot better now thats its black. Now i want to lower it fit some decent speakers and head unit and mabye try and make it a bit faster.

spurs fan in a coupe · Post by **spurs fan in a coupe** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 16:47

Wow, great effort there Tom, a true transformation.

Out of interest what do you do for a living?

Wonderful looking car, love the Z3M wheels and the matt black windscreen surround. well done!

Tom. · Post by **Tom.** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 16:52

spurs fan in a coupe wrote:Wow, great effort there Tom, a true transformation.

Out of interest what do you do for a living?

Wonderful looking car, love the Z3M wheels and the matt black windscreen surround. well done!

Thanks, I'm a Panelbeater/Painter (hope it shows

)

Justin Time · Post by **Justin Time** » Sun 07 Aug, 2011 17:18

Hats off to you, it's a brilliant piece of work.

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Toms 1.9 roadster project

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