The Bimmer Basement

[Mpower5266]

Well, it was a pretty uneventful weekend. I got my replacement splitter for my M3 bumper and..... its warped too.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I could make it work, but I feel like I shouldn't have to and once I started it would be mine forever. It also sits lower than the OEM lip and its kinda wavy. You all know how I am, and I don't think I will be happy with it. I am trying to return it to Turner, waiting in their response.

We got the E9 in its "service position" in the shop. Its out of the way but we have plenty of room to work on it. Since it wont be moving for a while I grabbed the drivers seat and started my refurb on it. Its going to be tough, its pretty beat. I did clean a small spot, and the results were encouraging.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We are about 3 weeks or so(hopefully not sooner) from the babies getting here so its kinda crunch time on a lot of my projects. I hope to get this seat done this week.

 

[davidstutler]

I absolutely love the ColourLock strong leather cleaner. Every seat refurb I've ever done has started with that cleaner. The mild cleaner is surprisingly good too.

I'd say that small section is very encouraging.

 

[zjohnson1]

That leather cleaner looks great I'll have to get some once I run out of my seemingly infinite supply of Lexol. What kind of conditioner are you using?

Didn't realize the kiddos were coming so soon. We had our youngest in mid April at Fayetteville. Not sure if y'all will be there or Newnan; regardless it's a weird time. No family coming in was strange but it was nice to have a day to just connect with the baby. Also make sure you leave your wrist band on when you sneak out for food, lines get pretty crazy with people trying to get into the hospital to see family but that's a free pass to the front. If y'all need anything please feel free to give me a shout and make sure you "stock up" on sleep because that's about to be a thing of the past. I haven't slept a full night in almost 2 years now!

 

[Mpower5266]

That leather cleaner looks great I'll have to get some once I run out of my seemingly infinite supply of Lexol. What kind of conditioner are you using?

Didn't realize the kiddos were coming so soon. We had our youngest in mid April at Fayetteville. Not sure if y'all will be there or Newnan; regardless it's a weird time. No family coming in was strange but it was nice to have a day to just connect with the baby. Also make sure you leave your wrist band on when you sneak out for food, lines get pretty crazy with people trying to get into the hospital to see family but that's a free pass to the front. If y'all need anything please feel free to give me a shout and make sure you "stock up" on sleep because that's about to be a thing of the past. I haven't slept a full night in almost 2 years now!

I am using Colourlock leather shield. I have some better stuff but thats what they use with the dye. And yeah twins come early, as long as the dr appointments keep going well they will probably induce in 3-4 weeks. I just hope everything keeps going well and we will make that mark or even an extra week or so.


I started on the seat bottom of the e9's drivers seat. The cleaning alone helped a ton.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

There were some bad creases and small tears so I played with some filler I had from the kit I used on my M3 seats. Put a couple light coats of the filler on, dried it with the heat gun and sanded smooth. After that I put a few coats of dye on. I am pretty happy with the results.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

After that, I started on the seat back and the bolster damage. This is going to take a lot more filler and sanding. I am not sure that I can make this passable, but our interior guy said he could replace the panel and I could dye it to match. Since that is possible I figured Id give it a shot.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[Purist]

Looking really good, Nick. The paint on the E9 looks fantastic. Can't wait to see it all corrected and what not.

 

[Arclitgold]

Wow this is all coming together!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mpower5266]

Looking really good, Nick. The paint on the E9 looks fantastic. Can't wait to see it all corrected and what not.

I'm going to start wet sanding it this week I think. I'm a little nervous.

Wow this is all coming together!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It will be a while. Haha.

 

[Mpower5266]

Got the m3 all back together with the stock lip. Turner is letting me return this one. Kinda sad because it looked good but it would always have sagging issues and I am picky.

I also helped my dad unload the E9 hood so the whole car is back home now. After that the rest of the parts came in for my 009 seiko project. I cracked the bezel insert when I was taking the watch apart to put the crystal in so I had to order another one.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And a lume shot of course.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Ok, I am done with this one. Except for maybe a new bracelet. I promise no more watch stuff for a little while, although I am eventually going to do a full build.

 

[Ronin22]

Now you need to build a cool thing/drawer/box/whatever it's called to keep all your watches

 

[smschriefer]

Ronin is right, you need an auto-winder box to store your watches if you don't have one already. Watches are a very slippery slope...

 

[Mpower5266]

Now you need to build a cool thing/drawer/box/whatever it's called to keep all your watches

Ronin is right, you need an auto-winder box to store your watches if you don't have one already. Watches are a very slippery slope...

I have a winder for a few of my nicer auto watches that sit around but I rotate these Seikos out so often that they are usually at least on the correct date when I grab one.

My dad buttoned up the headliner and then started on the wood dash install on the e9.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

This came out so nice. Especially for someone that that had never really veneered anything before.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Last night on the way home from work, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts when it got overly political. I changed it to another one and more of the same. I went home and tried to relax and made the mistake of checking facebook, and guess what... more politics. I was getting stressed out and frankly I am over it and everyone's opinion. I needed a break, so I put some music on and washed the wagon for a stress relief. It held me over until I checked facebook again. Haha

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[Arclitgold]

Heading out to the garage is always the right decision!

E9 is looking great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[M-technik-3]

Progress on E9 is going great and moving along faster than I expected which is a huge plus to get it done while it's fresh in you brain.

 

[Ronin22]

Progress on E9 is going great and moving along faster than I expected which is a huge plus to get it done while it's fresh in you brain.

I was going to say just this. I was expecting progress to be slower (given what the OP stated before), but now we know that, luckily, he can't be trusted to be slow on a project!

 

[Mpower5266]

Heading out to the garage is always the right decision!

E9 is looking great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was much needed for sure.

Progress on E9 is going great and moving along faster than I expected which is a huge plus to get it done while it's fresh in you brain.

I was going to say just this. I was expecting progress to be slower (given what the OP stated before), but now we know that, luckily, he can't be trusted to be slow on a project!

I would be moving much slower, but I have a very excited retired dad that is working on it. Speaking of that, from the "it aint stupid if it works" files, my dad came up with a way to try to break the rusted headrest loose. (Yes everything really does rust on these cars.)

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

But it technically hasnt worked yet, so its stupid. We sprayed some "panther wiz" as my dad calls it into the tube and he is letting it soak, we will try again today. While the PB blaster was doing its thing my dad put the chrome trim on the dash.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And after that he got started on the dash.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I will probably spend some time sanding on compounding the paint this weekend. I dont know why, its just paint, but I am nervous about it.

 

[gearhead1960]

I will probably spend some time sanding on compounding the paint this weekend. I dont know why, its just paint, but I am nervous about it.

I understand your anxiety. Whenever I try something new on a car, I'm always a little nervous, I'll F*** something up. But in the end, it usually turns out fine. Ultimately, if you break it, it can still be fixed. You seem to do well at everything you try. I'm sure it will go well. Good Luck!

 

[Mpower5266]

I understand your anxiety. Whenever I try something new on a car, I'm always a little nervous, I'll F*** something up. But in the end, it usually turns out fine. Ultimately, if you break it, it can still be fixed. You seem to do well at everything you try. I'm sure it will go well. Good Luck!

I have literally wet sanded 100's of cars with great results, but I keep thinking about the one time I went too far on a Lexus. Haha

 

[Ronin22]

But it technically hasnt worked yet, so its stupid.

 

[Mpower5266]

Well, we got the headrest out of the seat. It was a combination of the contraption my dad made and hitting the stuck post with an air hammer to loosen up the rust. Yes, everything in these cars rusts.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I took the seat back home and got to work. I did a little more sanding to smooth out where I filled in the pealing leather.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And applied a couple coats of dye. It doesn't look great up close but I think its passable for now.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I hauled them back to my dads shop Saturday morning and then got started on the E9's paint. I love the convenience of my wagon, I can just toss parts in it and have fun on the back roads on the way to drop them off.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also got started on the wet sanding of the e9. I started off hitting it with 1500 by hand and then 3000 on the Porter Cable.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

No going back now. I hit it with a couple passes of Jescar correction compound and a Megs Microfiber cutting pad.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It came out great, but it took a lot of passes with the compound. While I was working on the fender my dad sanded the roof. I don't know what he did but it would not correct out. I made a Harbor Freight run for some Megs 101, which they didnt have but I got 105. I also bought one of their sun match lights and stopped by my house to get the dewalt with the woolpad(this is the nuclear option.)

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I got the roof to about 90% perfect. There are some actual scratches in it, so I think my dad picked up some trash in the sandpaper. Its something I will only notice but, I will totally notice it. Not sure what the plan is, I am hoping the polish and coating/wax will hide them a little. I then moved on to the drivers door, with the same process of sanding and microfiber pads but using the Megs 105. It corrected out a little easier but it still took a couple of passes. This light was also making me chase every little mark and swirl, I am pretty impressed, its a nice product.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The door, after correction.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

When working the door, there were a couple little spots were there were nubs in the clear. I sanded those spots a little harder, but when I compounded the car those spots corrected easier. I guess I am knocking the orange peal down level and this is making it easier for the compound to brighten it up. I did a small test spot on the drivers rear 1/4 and it confirmed my theory so I sanded down the panel a little harder than the rest.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And this pretty much corrected out with 1 pass of 105. I think this will be my process on the rest of the car.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

There are a few small areas that I missed. I have a 1" and 2" pneumatic random orbital kit coming, and I am hoping its going to work for the tight areas. More to come this week.

 

[Ronin22]

I honestly can't believe how good that seat turned out. You say that from up close it shows it's not mint, but from the pictures, it looks amazing. Awesome turnout!

Out of ignorance: Isn't it better to let the paint cure for a month/3 months (depending on what paint and clearcoat were usted), before wet sanding and polishing?

 

[Mpower5266]

I honestly can't believe how good that seat turned out. You say that from up close it shows it's not mint, but from the pictures, it looks amazing. Awesome turnout!

Out of ignorance: Isn't it better to let the paint cure for a month/3 months (depending on what paint and clearcoat were usted), before wet sanding and polishing?

Thank you, and the seat will be fine but I am a perfectionist. It might be a good excuse to have all the seats redone in a dark red. As for the paint curing 30 days, that is kind of an antiquated thought. New clears are cured when they are rolled out of the booth, and I confirmed this with my painter. We even wet sanded and polished out a test spot on the car when it had only been out of the booth for about an hour.

 

[Ronin22]

Oh, cool. Thanks for the info!

 

[Mpower5266]

Oh, cool. Thanks for the info!

I was worried myself, but my paint guy assured me that it was good to go.

 

[M-technik-3]

Have you seen this 3.0CSL? Need to go back and look at the seat update.

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/robert-downey-jr-1974-bmw-3-0-cs-restomod-2947793/

 

[Mpower5266]

Have you seen this 3.0CSL? Need to go back and look at the seat update.

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/robert-downey-jr-1974-bmw-3-0-cs-restomod-2947793/

That thing has been around for a few years, I guess the Rob Report article has brought it to the mainstream. I like everything, even the auto, except the "wood" trim and the wheels. The bumpers and the splitter aren't bad but it would look awesome with chrome bumpers and old school wheels.

Kinda garage related, I have gained a few lbs since the rona closed my gym. Long story short in Dec, a good friend of mine at work had a massive heart attack at his desk and died while a co-worker and I did cpr. That scared me, so I hit the gym constantly and dropped about 15lbs between Dec and March. My gym finally reopened not to long ago and I tried to go back last night. I had to wait outside because they were at the max capacity of 6..... finally someone left and I walked in to have my temp checked. Then I was informed of what machines I could use and that I had 20 minutes before I would be asked to leave. I could only use my section for that night, which was the weird jungle gym looking cage thing, a sit up bench and a yoga mat. I canceled my membership rather than working out. I will shop some of the other gyms around town but for now I will just try to do something that makes me sweat every night. Last night I fluffed the Tahoe up with a wash and quick interior vac and wipe down. Not really exercise but better than sitting on the couch watching tv.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[zjohnson1]

E9 is looking great! Can't wait to see it in person

I know it's on the other side of town but if you end up and Onelife give me a shout, I haven't been in months and I'm sitting about 30lbs up from my normal. A workout buddy would definitely keep me more accountable and be a reason to get up early/go home later. The old one in the shopping center by Publix is nice since everyone seems to go to the fancier one in Ashley Park

 

[qwerty18]

Eating healthy/right amount is key here.
Pushups/situps/jogging the neighborhood is icing on the cake. Maybe even build a cheap pull up bar.
Don't really need a gym.
Sticking with it is the hardest part.

 

[tennesseewj]

I hear you, man. It has been really tough to stay motivated at home, by myself. I was really consistent from March to June but once we had our second child in June my routine got destroyed and I've not built it back up yet.

It sure looks like you stay pretty active based on how many projects you complete. Keep on keeping on and don't forget to give yourself a little grace [emoji106]

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[M-technik-3]

I feel a gym membership is a waste of money, imo there is so many ways to maintain yourself shape at home. I am fortunate that if I wanted to use the base gym I could it 10 miles away for free but I do enough physical stuff around my property and at work that it keeps me in shape when I watch my bier consumption.

 

[Mpower5266]

My parents have an elliptical machine that I think I am going to borrow from them for a while. I think I am going to set up a little gym area in the garage. I really want a rowing machine but we will see.

So last week I ordered a sapphire crystal for my Fifty Five Fathoms mod Seiko. I tried to press it in but it was a no go. I ended up kinda bending the cheap press I had so I figured that was the issue and of course I ordered a really nice press.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I tried to press it in but it was still a no go. It would press really unevenly and then it would just pop right out. I figured out the original gasket was bad so I decided to use the one I ordered with the crystal. But since every project I start turns into what my dad would call a "Charlie Frank" it was wrong.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The crystal is 29mm, the gasket is decidedly not.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

So my little $55 quickly pop a crystal in project is at $175 now that I have ordered a press, and a new oem gasket. I also noticed that the face on this watch was kinda hacked up and its not on properly so I may need a new face, some tools, and if I am going to do all that I might as well swap the movement which would require tools so I would be at about $320 into this little project. This might be the last watch I mess with. Frustrated, I put my earbuds in and washed my wagon.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[Arclitgold]

Nice to have the ability to do it in the dark eh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mpower5266]

Nice to have the ability to do it in the dark eh?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its great. I cant wait for winter. Our temps are usually fairly mild and I have hot water, so I can wash all year but daylight savings usually messes that up. By the time I get home from work its usually dark so I really only get to wash in the dark.

Anyway, like every project my dad and I work on there are usually some steps back. He was buttoning up the dash and was about to install the cluster when he noticed something. When we tried to put in the hood over over cluster it scratched the wood and the hood wouldnt fit right. Our plan was to keep moving forward and touch up the damage to the wood. Well he tried to install the cluster and we figured out why the wood was scratched, the veneer was covering a hole. So everything came out and my dad cut out the hole.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Even better news, the scratches will be covered so no need to touch up. So the dash is back out, but the wood is back in and the cluster is installed. I guess this was kind of a step to the side vs a step back?

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Hopefully we can get the dash back in soon. I was planning on working on the drivers side headrest but we had a power outage for a few hours so I took my 02 out for a cruise instead.

IMG_7976 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

 

[wout]

Really really nice picture of the 2002!!
Cropped to only the car and a very little surroundings, it’s even stronger imo. Just tried it on my phone and took a screenshot of it.

Wout

 

[Mpower5266]

Really really nice picture of the 2002!!
Cropped to only the car and a very little surroundings, it’s even stronger imo. Just tried it on my phone and took a screenshot of it.

Wout

I took it to enter it in a photo contest. They wanted the car with some Structure/architecture in the shot so I left the windows. I framed another shot a little differently with less windows but it wasnt as crisp.

 

[Ronin22]

Really really nice picture of the 2002!!
Cropped to only the car and a very little surroundings, it’s even stronger imo. Just tried it on my phone and took a screenshot of it.

Wout

IMHO, from a photographer's point of view, the picture is great as it is.
It accomplishes the rule of thirds to perfection. Cropped like that, the car is kind of overwhelming, your eyes (your mind actually) don't know exactly where to focus, and the car is like just "floating" there in the middle.

The crop is nice for a forum signature though

Sorry, couldn't help it

 

[Vette60]

Don't post too often, but congrats on the twins and have enjoyed all your work on the BMWs, especially the E9. The watch stuff is really interesting as well - I have a couple of nicer watches - my wife bought me a Omega Seamaster 300M for an anniversary gift 15 years ago and I picked up a Hamilton Titanium Field Watch a few years back...

Never have been gutsy enough to start messing with the crystal, dial, etc, but yours looks great (once you get the gasket!).

Really tough to hear about your coworker and understand completely the need to get moving - I'm up about 10 pounds since this all started, mostly from a strange work schedule leading to poor meal choices and an increase in malted beverage consumption...

My kiddos and wife are on my case about being better and I will be working hard to do just that...

Again, thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Mpower5266]

Thank you for stopping by Vette60.

I have small update going into a long weekend. The dash and gauge cluster are in.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

They even light up and work and stuff.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Hopefully I will get a lot done this weekend.

 

[111R]

I always liked E9s, ever since seeing one brand new in the metal back around 1973. It was in the tiny showroom that Global Imports had at their dealership back when it was located on Pharr Road in Buckhead, just a block off of Peachtree Street.

I think it could only hold something like 2-3 cars and they had very few in the lot outside as well. I seem to remember that it was around $17k back then, which was crazy money at the time. Nearby Baker Motors, located a block away on Peachtree, sold everything from Alfas to Ferraris. Around that same time, they had a Dino 246 GTS for around $12k and a Daytona for $24k if I remember correctly. The 3.0 CS slotted right between those two, so that puts it in perspective.

The color combo on the one you guys are restoring looks just right, as it really shows off the beautiful styling of the car.

 

[Mpower5266]

I always liked E9s, ever since seeing one brand new in the metal back around 1973. It was in the tiny showroom that Global Imports had at their dealership back when it was located on Pharr Road in Buckhead, just a block off of Peachtree Street.

I think it could only hold something like 2-3 cars and they had very few in the lot outside as well. I seem to remember that it was around $17k back then, which was crazy money at the time. Nearby Baker Motors, located a block away on Peachtree, sold everything from Alfas to Ferraris. Around that same time, they had a Dino 246 GTS for around $12k and a Daytona for $24k if I remember correctly. The 3.0 CS slotted right between those two, so that puts it in perspective.

The color combo on the one you guys are restoring looks just right, as it really shows off the beautiful styling of the car.

Global Imports was around back then? I need to find a vintage plate frame, although I do like the Hoffman Motors(the first US importer of BMWs) frame I had made.

 

[M-technik-3]

You still happy with that steam cleaner for cleaning dirty grimmy engines?