The quick turnaround

[Lee46]

Hi chaps, after my trusty alfa 159 cam belt came loose i needed a car to ‘get around in’ which led to looking at all sorts of cheap cars, nevertheless i ended up bidding on a z3 2.8 which like many other cars on ebay looked great on ebay.

So far we’ve spent alot more on bringing this old girl back up to standard than i payed for it but after having a few other old bmw’s it’s like coming home and am very grateful to find that the z3 is very easy to work on.

After picking the car up from an irish gentleman in an aggregate yard i quickly came coming to the conclusion that the car had been through a few backhanded MOT’s we started with a complete overhaul of the suspension - lower arms, powerflex bushes, shocks all round, track rod ends, anti rollbar bushes. What a difference!!

Now the car had obviously not been used in what i can assume via the MOT history in a good five years, so the interior was a complete state! Not helped by the torn rear window. The canvas had a couple of tears and was quickly swapped out for a whole new roof metal work included which was picked up via a bargain found on ebay. After doing a bit more digging on here i should of had the canvas/window changed by jack smiths but it was an improvement on what was there.

The car had a bit a lacquer peal on the drivers wing and the front bumper had seen better day’s so was replaced and sent to the paint shop.

The seats needed to be removed to treat the wet carpet which gave me a chance to try my hand at trying to save the seats.

Finally the standard wheels have recently been swapped out for a set of style 78 wheels which have made a huge difference to the look and feel of the car.

Along with what feels like a million other jobs the car is starting to feel great and is nice to be in such an analogue vehicle.

Nice to finally sign up to this forum as you’ve all certainly helped with the car up to this stage with all of the hints and tips.

Safe to say we’ve missed the prime opportunity to sell the car so it looks like it’s staying for the formidable future.

 

[Mazza]

Hi and welcome to the forum from Bognor Regis

Great pics and write up

 

[andyglym]

to the forum from West Cumbria. Great save, looking good

 

[Althulas]

Hi and welcome from Oxfordshire. Nice to see something put back to rights.

 

[Jack Ratt]

Hi Lee welcome to the forum. Everything you've done or still have to do are "standard" or usual jobs for a 20yr old car, but your car looks great now. Z3's are generally easy and straight forward to work on as you've found out.

 

[PHILIP BAXTER]

Hi Lee, and welcome from me in Cardiff. Great work.

 

[t-tony]

Hi Lee, the car has come on a million miles in those pictures. Great to see another one being rescued. Where are you located please?

Tony.

 

[Lee46]

Cheers everyone, the car was only supposed to be a run around untill the alfa romeo was put back the road but it seems that it’ll be staying for a while yet. The deeper we dig the more work we find as I’m sure your all well aware of. The plan is once i have a garage in the next couple of months is to pull the drive train apart and tackle the dreaded backlash in the diff and fit the polybushes to the rear subframe along with tackling the airbag light. From taking the car out of the previous owners yard and sliding it all the way down the road it’s safe to say it’s alot more rewarding to drive now. A new throttle cable, disc and pads have certainly made thing’s a tad safer.

With the clocks going back i still have many more nights working in the dark/rain yet!

 

[Lee46]

Located just outside of Leicester t-tony

 

[Keet]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[t-tony]

Located just outside of Leicester t-tony

Local to @benf then mate also @Faheem and @Brian4 plus others.

Tony.

 

[Grumps]

Hi from Mansfield. Car looks loads better, sounds like you know your stuff.

 

[FRANKIE]

Hi chaps, after my trusty alfa 159 cam belt came loose i needed a car to ‘get around in’ which led to looking at all sorts of cheap cars, nevertheless i ended up bidding on a z3 2.8 which like many other cars on ebay looked great on ebay.

So far we’ve spent alot more on bringing this old girl back up to standard than i payed for it but after having a few other old bmw’s it’s like coming home and am very grateful to find that the z3 is very easy to work on.

After picking the car up from an irish gentleman in an aggregate yard i quickly came coming to the conclusion that the car had been through a few backhanded MOT’s we started with a complete overhaul of the suspension - lower arms, powerflex bushes, shocks all round, track rod ends, anti rollbar bushes. What a difference!!

Now the car had obviously not been used in what i can assume via the MOT history in a good five years, so the interior was a complete state! Not helped by the torn rear window. The canvas had a couple of tears and was quickly swapped out for a whole new roof metal work included which was picked up via a bargain found on ebay. After doing a bit more digging on here i should of had the canvas/window changed by jack smiths but it was an improvement on what was there.

The car had a bit a lacquer peal on the drivers wing and the front bumper had seen better day’s so was replaced and sent to the paint shop.

The seats needed to be removed to treat the wet carpet which gave me a chance to try my hand at trying to save the seats.

Finally the standard wheels have recently been swapped out for a set of style 78 wheels which have made a huge difference to the look and feel of the car.

Along with what feels like a million other jobs the car is starting to feel great and is nice to be in such an analogue vehicle.

Nice to finally sign up to this forum as you’ve all certainly helped with the car up to this stage with all of the hints and tips.

Safe to say we’ve missed the prime opportunity to sell the car so it looks like it’s staying for the formidable future.

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Welcome to the forum from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey..................Frankie

 

[benf]

Hi and welcome from ashby Leicestershire cars looking great.

 

[Oddly Godly]

Looks fantastic. I bought a 2.8 earlier this year and all I have done is put new black & white badges and a gear knob on it. I am now feeling slightly inadequate oh and I nearly forgot new dustcaps and a nodding dog

 

[mrscalex]

You're tackling some fairly advanced stuff there. You've done well managing that on your own - do you have a history with repairing cars?

 

[Lee46]

Taking the roof off on my own made an interesting evening and so far had been the hardest part of the project so far. Would definitely not recommend that stressful task to anyone! Unfortunately with all the rain we’ve recently had it seems a bit of water is making its way in where the rear screen meets the hood in the bottom corners. Can anyone recommend a decent replacement screen?

Being able to use all of the useful threads on this forum it has certainly made every step easier. Cheers everybody, i can see why the little cars have such a following

 

[mrscalex]

Opinion will be split on the rear screen. Some sucessfully do a DIY replacement. I would go straight to a new hood at £335 from Jack Smith in Swansea. Superb quality despite the low price.

 

[Lee46]

Opinion will be split on the rear screen. Some sucessfully do a DIY replacement. I would go straight to a new hood at £335 from Jack Smith in Swansea. Superb quality despite the low price.

At that price it seems a bit of a no brainer, a replacement screen would obviously be cheaper but separating and reattaching the zip may cause a few problems.

 

[mrscalex]

You either get lucky with the screen replacement or you don't. The ends of the zip are open with no starter like on clothing. The ends fray, you have to get the 2 sides aligned on the right teeth and it can pull apart as you go round a corner. The roof may be shrunk and difficult to tuck under the piping. The stitching can need doing on the roof.

That said others will tell you they have done it successfully and are happy with the result.

Plus with a new roof you get the rear bulkhead professionally sealed up from leaks and a spanking new roof. And if you have a headlining it can go moldy under there so that gets a refresh too.

And you get to spend 2-3 hours in Swansea . I recommend the Potters Wheel Wetherspoons with the old blokes supping their pints. Proper Welsh folk Of which I'm not one but as you'll see from my location I spend half my week living there.