Well other people are showing off their Zeds so why not I thought..
After 8 years restoring a Corsair 2000E ( yes I know A CORSAIR!!) then selling it just as it was right, then a quick flirt, and I mean quick, with a rusty XJS, I left the hobby motors alone for about 10 years. Then a work colleague showed me his Z3 2.8 and oh dear I was smitten, one drive and I was reaching for my wallet. So I parted with some cash for the 1998 2.8 Zed and my colleague went off and bought a Z4.
So how was the old girl in the real world once I got here home from up North and started to really drive her? well frankly bloody awful! she handled like a greasy pig and tram-lined so bad I needed arms like Popeye to hold on to her, the drivers seat had at least half an inch travel under braking and acceleration (no surprise to all you seasoned Zed owners) To say she was twichy on the rear was an understatement. I had no confidence in hitting the corners at any speed and wasn't impressed with the brakes either. So off to BMW to purchase everything needed to replace the front and rear suspension (not including the front springs) After the nasty shock from the sales guy and me saying HOW MUCH (some words missing there) I started the rebuild over the Christmas hols, all went well until I was fitting the new rear drop links and there it was, a busted nearside spring. Back to BMW for a pair. First Test drive, amazing difference but the tyres were old and hard so a new set of Michelin Pilot sports were fitted and wow! Tram-lining gone, handling is amazing, including in the wet. New set of front calipers and vented drilled disks and she stops on a sixpence now (the old calipers were rusted practically solid)
Since all that she's had a new hood, I've done the seat bushes, had the lovely paintwork detailed to remove years of washing and polishing swirls, upgraded the headlights and rear lights and given the leather a lot of love. I got to say I'm into the old girl for a few quid but she's reasonably low mileage (68k) just hasn't been used much in the last 10 years and has suffered from sitting around, plus I don't see myself getting rid of her anytime soon so I guess the investment is worth it. Just let the sun shine and I'm off to the peaks for a proper spin.
