door handle surround

[David Cullen]

done a job today on the door handle rubber, got the part on e-bay for like 15 euro all in and changed it today, easy enough task after a bit of thinking and fiddling around with the back of the handle. Here are a few pics of before and after ;-)

after

simple job for small money and makes the world of difference ;-)

 

[t-tony]

Sound job Dave looks like new. Much tidier.

Tony.

 

[Brian H]

This is one of those jobs that subtly tidies up the car, well done , did you find the small grommet on the edge of the door?

 

[David Cullen]

thanks Brian/Tony, I did find the grommet but it didn't give mr any ideas lol so went and took off the door card and pulled the holding plate from inside the door door card has been off that many times now I can do it in my sleep ;-)

 

[oldcarman]

When I used to judge cars at shows this is exactly the kind of thing I looked for. My biggest peeve by far was using improper head screws and just plain laziness on the part of owners. Some of the cars that won trophies were not the overall best cars but the owners had taken the time to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be, such as your gasket, and was cleanly presented. Nicely done! JIM

 

[David Cullen]

to be honest Jim, that sort of thing just gets to me, I cant look at something every day knowing its wrong and not do something about it, if I can, money is always a factor and there are plenty more things I need to do but will have to wait :-/ its nice to see that people appreciate the simple but not insignificant things ;-)

 

[hard top]

We all do David, small things like your fix make a big difference. People will probably not even notice it but they would have the way it was before.

 

[oldcarman]

It used to p*** me off that people spent thousands on body and paint and reused old handle gaskets, etc. they stuck out more than if a fender was missing in my eye. I had to explain this to way too many people after judging marks were presented. Fortunately many paid attention but most just " didn't get it".

 

[t-tony]

It's all in the ATD Jim.

 

[t-tony]

And to be honest, that is why I would never want to "Show" my car. I want to drive and use it, It would never be ready to be put on show. I respect those who want to but it's not for me.
I want my car, what ever it is, to be different than anyone else's, to be "mine" and individual in it's own right. Even down to the stickers.
I hope you can understand that. It's not .net it's .org.

Tony.

 

[oldcarman]

I agree Tony, most of my experience was judging charity car shows that featured everything from show cars to everyday drivers. Only requirement was to be driven in not trailered. The judging was done with this taken into consideration. What shocked me was that people were willing to put piles of cash into their cars but would install their interior trim with wood screws. Drywall screws in a 58 corvette just isn't right. I'm by no means a perfectionist or drive the cleanest car around but I do, as do you, drive the car and when something needs replacing put the proper pieces back in place. As HT stated people may not notice what David has done but surely would notice if it was left to deteriorate further. Well that's my rant for the day. New tires go on the Zed Tuesday then a bit more to get the HT fittings right and bring on the snow, JIM

 

[smartbear]

I've just done the same thing with the rubber gasket/trim surrounding the rear lights, the old ones looked pretty moth-eaten! The price stung a bit for simple strips of rubber, I think they were £18 each
Regards

 

[vintage42]

I did the door handle gaskets using these DIYs and others:
http://www.roadstersolutions.com/media/PDF/Z3DoorHandleTrimSurround.pdf
http://www.bmw4life.com/doorHandle.htm
But I was glad to have the door cards off for other work in the doors. It was a lot easier to push the sliding plate back with a screwdriver blade than to grope blindly in the grommet hole with a pick to find the plate and pull it back.

 

[David Cullen]

like Tony and Jim, my car is a daily, thats why i had to fix it lol
re a comment Tony made about individualising his car, i am the same, up to this i drove hondas and it was all about modds to the car and standing out from the crowd, without being a ricer lol but with this Z3 that i have i find it hard to come up with anything different, have been checking out a few things but there is not much can be done and i am thinking to myself " maybe this is a good thing "
i will personalise it somehow though, just not sure how at the moment

 

[t-tony]

There a lot you can do Dave, you just have to use your imagination ( and a few stickers )
Chrome roll hoops
Chrome/clear side repeaters
magnetic stoneguards
DRL's
all chrome headlights
wheel spacers
exhaust pipe tips
door handle covers

To name but a few, check out ebay .com USA there's lot's on accessories/styling bits on there.

 

[David Cullen]

only one problem Tony, i frickin hate chrome ;-)
im still waiting on a new set of M3 wheels that i gave to a guy 3 months ago grrrrr
and wheel spacers are a must, also coilovers and poly bushes but thats all standard stuff, body wise im at a loss :-/ halo lights, yes, that will be my next purchase and i seen a front lip or spats, ahh sure look, leave it with me lol

 

[t-tony]

Halo headlights with black background? Mine has been lowered too and that's something you can see from outside, poly bushes you can't or braided brake hoses either, although they're on my to-do list. I have some black exhaust tips I took off my car if you want them.

Tony.

 

[David Cullen]

halos anyway Tony, not sure about the black back ground, will look at that when the time comes
i have mine lowered 35mm but want the coilovers for the handling
braided lines is something i was looking at but was also going to upgrade the brakes, that will be in a while as i have just refurbed the existing brakes so dont want to waste money so quickly lol
throw me a price on the exhaust tips Tony and i will get them from you as i have chrome there at the moment and i hate them lol
oem mats are on the list as well, have fitted ones there at the moment and they are fine but would like oem
and m pedals and a few other bits but at the moment the wheels are driving me nuts ( excuse the pun ;-) )

 

[oldcarman]

You can tell when the designers got it right when there's very little that you can find that you'd like to change. It usually comes down to simple bolt ons such as wheel choice, upgraded mirrors, etc. Or you go full custom with body work and new interior. That's $$$$$+. Or you import one of my project cars and have something very few in the UK have. Just send cash and get the ball rolling. lol JIM

 

[David Cullen]

your right Jim, the designer did get it right, why? because he was Japanese ;-) i think thats what made me chose this car rather than another Jap car, my friends could not believe i had bought a German lol but after a bit of reading i find out it was designed by a Japanese designer, and when you look at her you can see it plain as day ;-)