'Tandy' - First project car, first Z3!

John_B

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Hi guys,

This is 'Tandy' (named by the wife). He's only a 1.9 and has done 180k - so it was cheap, and is not the end of the world if I totally f*** it up! I picked him up last weekend and drove him home to tuck him away on my driveway before his current MOT expires. The previous owner sold him as he has failed an MOT and due to his circumstances he didn't have the funds to get the necessary repair work done. I was looking for my first project car where I can get stuck in and 'have a go' without the risk of taking my daily off the road... :banghead:

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I have been after a project car for a long time now, and always just assumed it would be an MX5. (I even preemptively joined an MX5 owners club 😅). But I recently traded my Mondeo daily for a 5 series and have become a BMW convert, so now it had to be a Z3!

Tandy failed his MOT on:

Majors:Advisories:
  • NSF ball joint excessively worn,
  • NSF & OSF tyres have cuts "deep enough to reach the ply"
  • OSR brake pipe excessively corroded
  • Exhaust CO exceeds default limits
  • Front & Rear discs worn
  • OSF ball join worn
  • NSR brake pipe corroded
  • NSR & OSR tyres damaged/perishing/cracking

.... So plenty to 'have a go' at 😂

The plan is to start with giving him a deep clean, then a service and then replacing the suspension arms and fitting new pads, discs & tyres all round. (Obviously I won't be fitting the tyres myself 🤫). And finally replacing the brake lines. I'm not really sure what to do about the high CO content though. My preferred BMW specialist is a 40 min drive away down a dual carriage way, so I'm thinking of just throwing a bottle of redex into the tank and then giving it an Italian tune-up on the way to the MOT. Maybe I'll miss the slip road and have to go a bit further up and back down again 😉 I have read a couple of threads mentioning changing a few sensors and/or replacing the cat, so I might do those too. (Suggestions welcome!). If all that fails I will have to succumb to the experts to diagnose and possibly fix the issue to get it through the MOT and back onto the road.

After that - much like the head-room with the roof down - the sky's the limit! I'd like to fit upgraded suspension, a new exhaust, change the wheels, fit a more up to date stereo, restore the interior. Maybe even have a go at wrapping! It really is just going to be a canvas for tinkering.

I have already started on the deep clean, the outside and the boot is done, 'just' the cabin and engine bay to go. And I have ordered the filters, oil and spark plugs for the service and the replacement suspension arms. Next month brakes and tyres!
 

PhilH67

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hi

looks like you're getting into it already, a couple of Qs, how are you going to tackle the brake lines? I've got to do them on my 2.8 too.
Where are you getting service bits and the suspension arms from?

You're welcome to come to my ZedShed in Stanton and chat over stuff and swap ideas :)

cheers

Phil
 

John_B

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Thanks for the offer Phil!

looks like you're getting into it already, a couple of Qs, how are you going to tackle the brake lines? I've got to do them on my 2.8 too.
Where are you getting service bits and the suspension arms from?
I was going to get this kit from Amazon and have a go. I have never done anything like that before though, so definitely a step into the unknown! How hard can it be.... right? 😂

Suspension arms are coming from The Spares Hut, and service parts from AutoDoc. I've already priced up discs & pads from MTEC, although they can wait until my next payday, I've already blown my budget for this month 🤫. And then I'll try and find a decent deal from ATS or BlackCircles for tyres when I'm about ready for the MOT.

My mantra for the project is to take my time, but now that the car is on my drive and costing me tax & insurance, the mantra has temporarily gone out the window and I do just want to get it on the road asap. Then road testing, diagnosing and deciding what to do next will be much easier. Not to mention just being able to use it when the weather is nice!!
 

John_B

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The 'good clean' continues (I downgraded from "deep clean" having seen some of the lengths you guys go to... wow!). For the time being I will be happy with washed & vacced carpets 😂

The passenger seat motor (forwards and backwards) wasn't working, so I was attempting to follow the power drill 'hack' - complicated by the fact I am parked right next to a wall on the passenger side 🤦‍♂️ I couldn't get the spindles out of the motor, so followed the hail mary method of tw*tting the motor with a hammer, and would you believe it, it worked 😂😂😂

I've also installed a quick-disconnect on the battery. I *despise* anything to do with car batteries after being scarred >20yrs ago by my physics teacher's horror stories about the dangers of high current. Hopefully this project and getting more hands on will build some confidence and abilities when it comes to them. But in the mean-time this makes the job of disconnecting and reconnecting much less anxiety inducing!

Look at this mess 🤢

IMG_0436.jpeg
 

PhilH67

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Yes, yes you are! The rest of us read it just as written. Honest guv
 

John_B

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The cleaning continues! Today I finished the carpets and interior trim. Tomorrow I start on the engine bay!

(Yes, it's the first time I have attempted striping. No, I'm not very good at it! 😂)

IMG_0453.jpeg
 

t-tony

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It took some poor bugger years to get it that filthy, and now you've gone and undone all their hard work.;)=))

Tony.
 

John_B

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Well I think the cleaning has come about as far as I can (or am prepared to do) for now! 😂
IMG_0436.jpeg

IMG_0453.jpeg

IMG_0454.jpeg

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The carpets have come up well, but despite using specific leather and engine bay cleaning products, I'm a bit disappointed with the results of my efforts on the seats and under the bonnet 😔. In the future I would be interested in swapping the seats (and door card inserts) for a darker colour. But if anyone has any recommendations for how to remove the discolouration on the rocker cover and inlet manifold - please let me know.

But for now, I'm happy enough with the cleaning part and am going to crack on with the servicing and correcting the MOT faults 😊
 

Oddly Godly

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Under the bonnet is a big improvement. Unfortunately bmw painted the engine bay in dull paint which never looks brilliant. And you don't have so much black plastic on show as the six cylinder engines which shines up nicely. But it is looking good to me.
I use autoglym vinyl and rubber care on all the plastic in the engine bay and inside the car. I was recommended it by someone on here and it is very good.
Screenshot_20230611_150808_Chrome.jpg

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colb

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Looking good with the clean up, all your other jobs are spanner work but hope you have a decent Code Reader and a 20pin to 16pin cable changer lead to plug into the engine bay diagnostic socket, you are going to need it to chase down the exhaust gas problem. I use a Creator 310+ handheld scanner on my 1999 1.9 and my 2003 2.5 Z4. Also have computer based software BMW INPA and its sister software. Also use BMW Scanner 1.4 on the Laptop which is a good beginners choice as its so easy to install and use on a laptop.
All the diagnostics stuff available on ebay and Amazon the Creator is circa £50 on ebay, you will save that first time you use it rather than paying a garage to code read it.
Keep us updated on your progress.
 

John_B

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You could take them off and get them polished but then you would have the maintenance of them https://www.ejnengineersltd.com/ or take them of and paint them in a colour of you liking to create a vocal point in your engine bay.
Crikey, that's a bit more than I'd plan to do on a 180k mile 1.9 😂 . I was hoping for something I could just spray on and scrub off. Maybe when I have mastered changing brake pads and want to move on to engine swaps and rebuilds
 
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