Don’t feel bad. He basically did the vinwiki garage for free in exchange for Ed to interview him so he could get some vinwiki exposure
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT From a "double" to a DOUBLE
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Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
thetastelingers
Well-known member
Here's an Ego wall mount that I found that works really well.
Hope you are enjoying that new Bronco. Every time I come back into this thread, you make that M3 nicer and nicer. I love it!
Hope you are enjoying that new Bronco. Every time I come back into this thread, you make that M3 nicer and nicer. I love it!
The dinan engine cover is choice. Maybe would have been better to apply coating instead of using jescar and colinite wax. That combo does look nice at times but is almost a waste of time and product since the wax might last a couple daysWell, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it?! And a lot has changed (the cars and garage are all the same, don't worry). I left my company of 18+ years and started a new job in December, so I've been pretty busy onboarding and learning the new EHR software system that I'll be supporting and haven't been spending nearly as much time in the garage/on the cars as I'd like...winter wasn't helping much, either, let's be honest.
Oddly enough, back in October, I entered one of those pointless "like/share/add to your story/etc/" giveaways on Instagram from Liqui Moly. I ended up winning this hat signed by Cody Walker (Paul Walker's brother) and Tyrese Gibson, which was pretty cool. I've got it on display atop my cabinets in the garage now:
Got my new Tekton sockets all organized and sorted using my new Westling rails:
On the M340i front, I picked up a new Dinan carbon fiber engine cover and swapped that in:
Applied a coat of Jescar Powerlock followed by Collinite 845 for some gloss and protection:
Also scored a sick deal on some Dinan strut braces, to go along with the engine cover:
Local detailer was advertising a $90 winter special for an exterior wash and short-term paint protection (probably some ceramic soap), so we took my wife's X5 in for a much needed bath and interior detail (these boys make a mess of the backseat):
I also picked up this "E46 M3" brick (generic legos) set from Petrolbricks:
Also, as my boys continue to grow, we are looking for more family activities to do with them. We hike occasionally, but figured biking could be another thing we can all do together. I was in need of a new bike so figured now would be the time to grab something used but in good shape and a good candidate for future upgrades, if I was so inclined. With that in mind, I began my search for a hardtail mountain bike and settled on this Marin San Quentin 2, which I found about 45 minutes from my house:
Other than being a little dirty and the dropper post sticking a bit, the bike's in great shape. My buddy offered to tune it up for me, so we'll see if we can get that done soon, or else I'll drop it off at the local bike shop and let them do their thing.
And while I don't have any photos of the install, I had a local shop FINALLY (I say finally because I've had it for over 2 years sitting in the garage...blame my back injury!) install the Stealth Hitch on my wife's X5. And I scored a cheap 4 bike Yakima rack off Marketplace that was literally 0.5 miles from my house. So just need to find a bike for my wife on Marketplace, and we should be good to start hitting up the various bike paths in and around our area.
Got the M3 up in the air, ready for some much needed TLC:
It's finally time to overhaul the brakes on the M3. New Powerstop drilled & slotted rotors, carbon fiber brake pads, Motorsport Hardware stud conversion kit, and painting the calipers black was next on the docket (excuse the blurry photos, not sure what is going on lately with what seems like 1/2 of my uploads from my phone to Flickr, but they look 100% fine on my phone, but end up looking blurry/grainy on Flickr and when sharing from Flickr):
I also threw on 20mm H&R spacers up front to try and get the wheel more flush with the fender. It helped, but think there's too much camber so I'll need to take another stab at adjusting that, though I already thought I had as little camber as I could...we shall see.
Also ordered the Radium oil catch can kit for the M3, which I have yet to install, but should help with any oil blow by with the CSL style intake:
Also performed my annual oil change on the M3 and this one was a bit more memorable than most, and not in a good way. Stripped the oil pain drain plug, which is a common issue on these and the E9x M3s. Luckily the bolt is in there good enough and the oil leak is barely a drip, but I'm hoping (weather dependent) to drive the car to a local Cars and Coffee 3/30 at a very reputable BMW Indy shop about 45 minutes north of me and then leave it there for the helicoil repair, which they've had great luck with in the past and have performed on many cars. After that, the next bit of service the M3 is overdue for is replacing the water pump and thermostat, along with the radiator hoses. I have all the parts, but not sure it's a job I feel like undertaking, so I'll probably be bringing it back to this shop later in the Spring to get that work done.
Took her out this past Sunday for the first official drive of the season, which also allowed me to properly bed in the newly installed brakes:
Garage updates:
Not too much here, but some useful changes did occur. First off, in an attempt to try and keep as much cold air out during the winters, I swapped in new garage door hingers from Green Hinge Systems:
I also ended up taking down my air hose reel and selling it. The only thing I've used that for was for filling tires, but with the Milwaukee M18 inflator, the air hose reel was rendered useless and was taking up valuable real estate. So once that was gone and I took down my fastener organizer, I was able to push my Husky toolbox over and up against the NewAge cabinets, giving me room to store my bike on the wall with a SteadyRack. Bear with me as the garage is still a bit of a shitshow (needs a proper spring cleaning/organizing):
More M340i updates. I picked up the AWE Diamond Black tips, so I removed the Infinite AutoWerks tips that were previously installed and sold those off:
I did snap a few bolts while installing the new AWE tips, and just received some replacements, so I still need to get back out there and adjust the tips a bit more...they weren't 100% lined up properly and my OCD is killing me, as a result.
And I FINALLY lowered the car, and would you guess it, using more Dinan parts!
Can't wait to get the HRE's on now that the car is at the proper height. Figure a few more weeks, once the overnight temps are in the mid to high 40s, I'll swap them on. Then give her a proper detail, because she hasn't been cleaned since November, I believe. Yikes!
Well, I think that's all for now. Still haven't done anything with the ProSlat...debating on getting another section of it so I can go 8' high instead of just 4', or selling it (still in the box). Not sure at the moment but will decide soon, just need to clear EVERYTHING out of the garage so I can clean/organize and go from there.
Ohhh, almost forgot, I scored yet another Marketplace deal on some Kies Motorsports carbon fiber mirror caps.
And I ordered a carbon fiber rear diffuse from RW Carbon for the M340i that is still in the box. Just need warmer weather and a clean car before I install. Here is what I ordered:
Last thing that I'm just remembering as I type this...looking for someone local to respray the front bumper. If you'll recall, I had a **** ton of rock chips. So I'll have whoever does it also paint the grey trim under the headlights gloss black to match the rest of the trim on the car, fill the license plate holes, and paint match the orange reflectors. Once that happens, the mirror caps and diffuser are installed and the HREs are back on, the car will pretty much be where I want it!!
Cheers!
That is a nice wall mount. I'm currently hanging mine on my slatwall, but this is a great option should I ever decide to change that up. Appreciate the suggestion.
Thanks for the kind words, man. Crazy I've had the M3 for 7+ years now (longest I've ever had a vehicle, BY FAR). Little by little, I've improved it over time and will continue to do so.
Thanks! And you aren't wrong, but I was just using what I had lying around. Regardless, both the engine cover and the car have been gone for months now.
TX4runner
Well-known member
So now that the snow is gone, how are you liking Bertha? And congrats, I missed out on seeing your car changes. Glad it was the 340 and not the M3 that was on the dinner menu for the rodents. I need to go check under the cover of the Cobra to ensure no guest have showed up as it hasn't been on the rode in 9 months 