New E9 owner all the way from the UK - How doo! :)

Hey all,

Looks like I won' get a chance to spend any quality time with the beast for a few weeks as i'm off on holiday soon.

I need to find someone to re-cover my rear rear rest and will varnish the dashboard when I am next there.

Even nearly 6 months into the project it's still really exciting!!

o :)
 
Glad to see the car coming together..... Very nice to see. Keep us 'in the loop' - And holler if you have any questions (not that you don't already). :) :)
 
Hey all,

Not much been going on with the CSI with the exception of planning the next moves.

I'm going to get the brakes sorted next and then get the car through it's MOT. Once this is done i'm going to take it to the specialist I use to get the leak into the interior professionally fixed before fitted a new carpet set.

WIll be doing some work this month, will let you know how it goes.

Cheers all,

o :)
 
Looks like it's coming on great! New carpets aren't that expensive from Coverdale, Owen - I've just bought a set with soundproofing and it came to 150 quid - Small money when you consider how fresh it will make your interior look.

I think you had a great project car to start with - My car initially looked in about the same condition as yours but it's turned out to need a HELL of a lot of fabricated metal repairs underneath!
 
Hey all,

Thought i'd give you all an update as its been a fairly busy few days with the CSI.

dj - Good advice, thanks for that - I think mine may also need a bit of metal work also, keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't too bad :) I've sent the carpet off to re-newed but a place in Norfolk already but thanks for the steer - i'll look these guys up next time.

With regards to my CSI, i've been doing the list of jobs I have before it goes in for it's MOT. First up was finishing off the headlight access flaps. They now look like new :)
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Before they go back on I polished the slam panel to make sure it doesn't look shabby against the nice restored flaps when they go back on.
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The underside of the metal garnish that covers the brake fluid resevoir was a bit corroded so I ground that out, sealed and painted it.
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The cover over the wiper arms had a bit of surface rust so I ground this out and here it is in rust inhibitor - I will be re-painting this is satin black soon.
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While I was under the bonnet I did more detailing, here i'm polishing the inner wing.
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The dashboard staining was done a few weeks ago so here is the first layer of laquer...
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And the second...
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I did four coats in the end and it looks great!!!

This is the passenger-side headlight bracket getting a re-paint in black and silver - looking great after three coats. I still need to complete the driver's side one.
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I have cleaned-up and waxed the headlight securing rings which i'll take a pic of next time i'm up with the car.

Other jobs included undersealing in the front area behind the headlights (messy but v important for long-term rust prevention) and taking the rest of the interior carpet out to act as a template for the trimmers to use for the new set.

Comments welcome as always :)

o
 
All looks great Owen, you're doing all the jobs I'd like to get done in the next few months, so will be nice to keep an eye on your progress.

Would be interested to get info on the fella who did the respray for you too. Can pass you the details of an excellent MOT station in London that a friend recommended to me last month. Was very worried but passed no problems.

I think I have a spare chrome wiper arm in the boot - the other one fell off on the motorway so replaced them both with black ones, they're hard to get a hold of now and silly money. Your little screw you mention isn't original, it's a fix someone has done as the spindle has a tendency to shear, or maybe it's the wiper arms, but they just stop spinning as mine have now. Another job to do before I lose those too.

Cheers.
 
Hello all,

Its been a while since i've done an update as i'm currently immersed in getting my other BMW prepared for its season of racing in the MSV track day trophy.

I did get a few hours with the old girl this Saturday to start puttin her back together again for the MOT which will hopefully get done, time and work permitting, some time next.

So, on with the work; 1. Fit good used lenses to the freshly refurbished headlight holder which cleaned up chrome rims.
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Next up is fitting into the freshly painted front end;

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Then finally the fitting of the cleaned up, treated and polished passenger side front grille - am pretty delighted with the looks - its like new now :)

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Next up is the finishing of the dashboard and putting the seats and seat belts back in for the MOT.

Comments welcome all!

o :)
 
Looking very nice Owen.

What did you use to clean up the grilles? I've attempted this with mine a couple of times, as they're a liitle but faded (practically grey in places). I've only ever tried simoniz 'back to black', which has a very immediate effect, but they seem to fade back to being dull very quickly.
 
Hey James,

I use Autoglym bumper treatment for everything plastic related - it works wonders!

Cheers and i'll post an update asap :)

o :)
 
Hey all,

Its been a while but now it's getting lighter in the evenings I will be posting up more updates on the CSi as progress really gets going again,

Comments welcome,

o :)
 
Hi all,

Work has been progressing slowly on the E9 and i've made the decision to take it to a specialist to get the following items done;
MOT
Front brake balance
Sunroof fix
New headlining

Once that's done i'm going to re-fit the new carpets and do the detailing myself, then enjoy the smooth riding and stunning looks :)

o
 
Hey all,

Now spring is here I can spend more time getting the CSi into tip-top condition.

I'm getting the car ready for its trip to the specialist in the next two weeks to get its MOT done. Today I did a few jobs and took some new pictures.

First job was the dashboard. The covering some coming loose so I got busy with the spray adhesive to make it look like new again.

Before (Peeling at either end)
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After (Sorted!)
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The passenger side rear floor looked a bit crispy at a couple of corners so I took out the remainder of the sound deadening material and ground out the surface rust. There were a couple of small holes that I will get professionally repaired by the E9 specialist that I am going to use.

It hadn't be run in a while so I charged up the battery, turned the key and she started first time!! Proper delighted with that. I backed her out of the garage and took some pictures.
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After I few drives up and down the drive to give her a little run I drove her back into the garage to re-fit the front passenger side grill and the front hub caps, then took her out again for more pictures. She's looking gooooood in my own, terribly biased opinion.
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I'm really happy with how she's looking and can't wait to get the last few bits and bobs done so I can actually starting driving her

Comments very welcome,

o :)
 
She's been dropped off to get finished!

Hi guys,

I've owned her for nearly a year now and today after many weeks of faffing around trying to find trailers and tow cars I finally managed to take her to the E9 specialist I found near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.

The plan is for the garage to get her fixed up for her MOT and to do all the little jobs that I haven't had time to get around to doing. These include the brake fluid change and power steering leak fix as well as fixing the hole in the floor and getting the wipers working.

It was a beautiful day today, all the better for showing off the deep red paint applied a few months back. I'm really happy with how the headlights and grills turned out, too.

Here she is ready to go on the back of the trailer with my dad and little bro there helping if I needed it.

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And here she is strapped down and ready to go

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After 60 miles and 90 minutes we were at the Old Compton Garage where Dominic went about checking out what needed doing

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We agreed on what needed doing then I set off back to London.

She's been parked up next to one of her older (and lighter) CSL sisters before work starts on Monday morning. I'll report back on what comes out of the garage report and MOT.

Thanks guys, comments welcome as always

o :)

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Hey all,

Little update. The garage has now done a full evaluation of the car and put it through it's MOT to see what it fails on.

Its good news as its failed on what I thought it would and no more - some welding at the rear, dodgy wipers and washers, some blown bulbs and brake issues.

The brakes have now been stripped down and the following is getting done (at no small costs..)
1. New rear disks
2. New handbrake cables
3. Refurbished front brake calipers
4. New pads all round
5. New pad fitting kits all round (These are very expensive!)

I'm going to get a clearer idea on welding shortly but its looks like both rear floor sections need renewing plus some additional work on the sills where they join.

I'll be hearing more from the garage later this week and will keep you updated on progress.

Thanks and comments would be appreciated,

o :)
 
Brake callipers

I was talking with a local classic BMW specialist about a problem there may be with the 3.0 CSA we're considering, and the subject of callipers came up. His recommendation was that refurbed callipers are fine, but unless you're really using the car very regularly, you could be doing the same job again in 2-3 years time.

Replacement callipers are available from BMW and while around twice the price, will last 10-12 years, at least.

I had a pair of callipers for a Mercedes refurbed by a local machine shop who custom-machined stainless steel pistons. Cost was the same as buying a refurbed pair and they work very well. Can't comment yet on whether they'll seize again or not!
 
Hey both, thanks for the response.

gjm - I want the re-build to be done well so cost isn't too much of an issue and I did think of this route. The garage has assured me though that they have a great company who really go-to-town on the reconditioning and the quality is spot-on so i'll give that a shot first.

Thanks Quincey - I like getting my hands dirty with cars and this one is so beautiful its a pleasure to work on :)

o :)
 
Rebuilt should be fine - on my car they were done c 12 years ago and are perfect to this day.

there is an issue with splitting the calipers however and some people do not advise splitting them when refurbing.
 
Good call on the splitting, its what the garage say they are going to do so all fine there.

Thanks, will get an update from the garage shortly.

o :)
 
I think the WSM says something like "if they aren't leaking, don't split 'em". I can't comment on the BMW callipers, but I have seen cases where folk have tried to pry the two halves of a calliper apart, ruining it in the process.

I've never refurbed a split calliper but have had an engineering workshop do it for me. Is there an approved technique for pulling them apart?
 
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