The Bimmer Basement

[Balor]

I was home alone all weekend with the kids, while wife went on a girls trip. My dad plugged away on the e9 when he wasn't over at the house helping me. This is copy/pasted from a post on another forum, sorry if I have already covered some of it.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

With everything removed from the front of the engine, the oil leak issue was pretty obvious...

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

So the cover was removed and the brittle old seal was replaced.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

As of now, we are just waiting on parts. All new coolant hoses, belts, Ac condenser, parts for ac lines(we arent getting it going at this time but just to a point where it wont have to be torn down again when we do), water pump, timing chain tensioner, etc etc. I am sure I am forgetting some parts. While is down we figure it would be a good time for a valve adjustment.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We will also give the engine a good steam cleaning but we should have a leak free(by bmw standards) properly cooled engine when it is all said and done.

On a more fun note, the floor mats came in over the weekend. I am very impressed with the fit and finish of these Cocomats, I will probably order some for my other cars.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Like I said, I was home with the kids so I didnt do much of anything. Just hung out and actually relaxed a little when the kiddos let me. They were great but they woke up around 2am Sunday morning and took turns crying until about 6am, that was a little rough. On a side note, I had ordered a cheap light box to get better pictures of the watches I have for sale, of course one sold before I could use it. So I snapped some pics of other watches. Its going to be a little bit of a learning curve but its pretty fun to mess around with.

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Another plus is that bourbon makes for a delicious prop....

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I have the 556 A RS, it is a good tool watch.

 

[Mpower5266]

Very unproductive weekend. The e9 still had an oil leak after getting it all back together on Thursday, so my dad and I didnt take it to the cars and coffee for fathers day. I pretty much spent the weekend at home except for a short trip to Lowes. Nothing really happened all weekend.

Well, on Friday, a group of guys showed up and stole my carport.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

But they did replace it, so thats cool.

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I cant wait to get it set back up.

 

[fouckhest]

I can't remember, what did you use for lights in the carport? Were they outdoor specific or a standard indoor light?

 

[Mpower5266]

I can't remember, what did you use for lights in the carport? Were they outdoor specific or a standard indoor light?

They are very cheap indoor LEDs from Amazon. Unless there is a tornado, they dont get wet. Haha.

 

[fouckhest]

They are very cheap indoor LEDs from Amazon. Unless there is a tornado, they dont get wet. Haha.

Ok cool, thats what I thought, I'd like to put a couple out in my little shed and should have some left over from my current collection.

 

[Mpower5266]

Busy weekend. Thursday I left work early and met my buddy in Greenville Sc. He recently bought an M2 so he got a free performance center pass. We spent Friday morning off-roading X3's and driving M cars. While I was doing that, our painters were finally buttoning up the interior of my house.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We had ordered furniture to replace what was damaged but it kept getting delayed and we could not stand the mid century couch and chair anymore. My wife listed and sold the mcm stuff and we started hunting for a couch to get us by until the other stuff shows up. We actually found something that will be perfect for the basement room we are finishing, so we cleared out the livingroom.

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And picked up this floor model couch from rooms to go.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It will eventually end up in the basement room, which will be a kids play area and hang out for when we have friends over. I will probably spend most of my time down there, its such a comfy couch. Saturday Alan Jackson came and played a concert here in Newnan to raise money for victims of the tornado, he is from here. Sunday I put the couch to good use.

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It really is great for napping. Hopefully driving the E9 again this week and maybe working on getting the lights back up in the washbay.

 

[nicholam77]

I'm a fan of modern (read: midcentury + earlier) furniture, but sometimes you just need a couch to be comfortable. Especially in a family room or hangout area. "Nap-a-bility" is a good metric.

I see you've sneaked a Black Bay into that last photo? Is that new? I hate to be the one to inform you, but you're watch collecting is getting out of hand . Good for you.

 

[Mpower5266]

I'm a fan of modern (read: midcentury + earlier) furniture, but sometimes you just need a couch to be comfortable. Especially in a family room or hangout area. "Nap-a-bility" is a good metric.

I see you've sneaked a Black Bay into that last photo? Is that new? I hate to be the one to inform you, but you're watch collecting is getting out of hand . Good for you.

Oh yeah, Ive been saving a while and ended up selling that vintage super compressor I had for a good profit so I treated myself. Its a used 2019 Black Bay 58.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

A speedy will probably be next, I already sold one of the seiko 6139's to build the fund back up. Haha.

 

[Mpower5266]

This coming weekend I have a trip planned to Helen, GA and Deals Gap with some friends. I got the M3 out of the hanger Saturday to shake it down a little and the HVAC fan would not turn on.

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Normally not that big a deal, I would just drive with the windows down but we are expecting a lot of rain so that was going to be miserable. I did some investigation and narrowed it down to the resister. I pulled the old one and ordered one on amazon. It came in yesterday and I was able to pop it in(its actually kind of a pain since its down by the pedals) and the fan works. What a weird looking thing.

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Sunday we had some friends over for the 4th, so we decided to have a tailgate in the front yard. The Wag was perfect for the party.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

One of the only good things to come out of the tornado..... We can finally see our towns fireworks from the front yard.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

My dad also got the e9 buttoned up so I am really hoping to get to drive it again, but we have a ton of rain and I am leaving for Wisconsin in a couple weeks. So it may be august before I get it out to a show. haha.

 

[ricketycricket]

Where do you go in Wisco fella? We spend a few weeks in Door County (Ephraim specifically) and absolutely love the place. I also love to head there for the tasty New Glarus beers too!

 

[nicholam77]

The BB58 is a stunner. Looks like a nice 4th.

 

[Mpower5266]

Where do you go in Wisco fella? We spend a few weeks in Door County (Ephraim specifically) and absolutely love the place. I also love to head there for the tasty New Glarus beers too!

I go work our booth at Airventure in Oshkosh, I'll be up there for 12 days. I will have at least 150 spotted cows. Haha

 

[Rag Roc]

I go work our booth at Airventure in Oshkosh, I'll be up there for 12 days. I will have at least 150 spotted cows. Haha

My hometown! Have fun up there. If you get a chance, check out Ardy & Ed's Drive-in for their home made root beer, and Trails End Tavern for their hot dogs.

 

[TX4runner]

The final stage relay is often the issue with A/C on E36 and E39s. I had to replace it overtime on both of ours. Have fun on Deals Gap and surrounding areas. Hope you also hit the Cherohala Skyway, I actually likes that more.

 

[Bruce 993 SEA]

When the final stage relay failed on my E39, the fan was possessed. It would speed up and slow down and do all kinds of weird things.

Glad you are getting back to some normal!

 

[Mpower5266]

Had a great time this weekend getting some much needed driving in. Thursday we drove up and hit backroads the whole way up. It was a little rainy but not too bad. Friday we headed up to the Dragon for the day. Got some awesome shots from Killboy.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We then hit the Cherohala Skyway, which I kinda like better than the Dragon. We were moving along at a pretty good clip and came around a corner into a wall of fog. It slowed us down a little.

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We spent the rest of the weekend filling up on german food and beer in Helen. It will likely be my last trip to Helen for a while. They have a severe worker shortage so everything had a long wait and the people were pretty rude. Saturday night it rained so everything closed, even the chain restaurants. Rather than going out for dinner we had to pick up frozen pizzas. It was really weird. But the M3 was great and had no issues. I hope I can give it a bath this week though, its filthy.

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Since its been raining non-stop for the last few weeks, my dad has decided to tackle some other stuff on the e9. We got the engine all buttoned back up and gave it a good steaming.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It hasn't really been driven much but my dad has taken it for a few spins and there having been any fluid drips under it. He also went ahead and installed the AC compressor and got all the lines on order. It will be really nice to have AC in this car for the vintage trip.

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That will probably be all for the next few weeks, I am in full Oshkosh mode. It will be a huge relief when that is over.

 

[Mpower5266]

Got the E9 out for a photo shoot Saturday afternoon, and drove it around a little to test it for the Atlanta trip Sunday morning.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

This is such a nice place to be, especially with AirCon.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Sunday morning I drove the car about 70 miles north to the local BMWCCA cars and coffee. This was the first time I had the car on the interstate, and I was a little nervous at first. After a few miles at about 65 it settled right in. The AC was amazing, and I could actually see my breath in the car after a sip of coffee. The trip back was also uneventful except for a little traffic. Thankfully the temp gauge didn't creep up while stopped. There are a few issues, but nothing major and it should get to The Vintage and back with no issues. A 5 speed would be nice, its a little buzzy on the interstate.

Photo taken by a semi unprofessional driver, do not attempt. Compared to most drivers in Atlanta, this is perfectly safe and the phone was in my hand for 3 seconds.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I would like to work on the hood paint a little before the vintage, I have some sanding marks to dig out but it is pretty much ready for the show.

I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying my time with the twins and getting a little relaxation in.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I probably wont post much in the next few weeks. When I get back I have some maintenance and a full detail to do on the wagon, hopefully getting the garage back in order, and starting on the 944 project. So stay tuned.

 

[benwalsh91]

I pretty much mainly come on this site for this thread.

Always love an update and seeing what you and your old man are getting up to.

 

[gearhead1960]

Your E9 is a beautiful automobile and you and your Dad should be commended for the fine job of resurrecting it.

Love those Hoya de Monterrays. My shop around here is short on those....if I can't find them I look for the Punch selection....

 

[cccoltsicehockey]

Finally just got caught up on your thread. I seem to binge read your thread or any larger garage journal threads that I follow really. Caught up on 18 pages over the last 12hrs.

Congrats on the little ones and glad to see you all made it out safe from that terrible storm with just damage to material items and none of the family.

Love the progress on the E9 it is absolutely beautiful. Also, your dedicated powerwash setup has made me want that as a top priority with my upcoming garage build. I feel I would wash cars more often if I just need to real off the pressure washer hose and fill the foam canon. Won't have that amazing carport for night washes though. That is slick.

Love the watch content added to the thread since the last time I was here. Have started down a fascination of mechanical watches myself several years back. The BB58 is beautiful. Had been looking between that and your next purchase consideration the Speedy and went in the reverse order of your just this spring. Can't stop wearing the thing.

Cheers to more updates. Always love the read.

 

[Mpower5266]

Im back!! I survived the airshow/drinking fest. I ended up taking Thursday and Friday off last week to hang out with the kiddos while my wife went to an antique sales. I spend most of the day Thursday just hanging out with the twins, I missed them a lot while I was gone so it was nice to just hang with them. Friday my folks came over and while the kids napped I went down to the garage for a bit. I finally cleaned all the tornado debris out and straitened it up. Here is a shot after I cleaned off the bench but before starting on the floors.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Cleared everything out that wasnt bolted down or too heavy and gave it a good sweep. As you can see, a lot of debris had blown in and it has been a while since its last clean up.

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And mud from where water had gotten in under the door.

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Finally back to its former glory.

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Saturday, my wife let me have some much needed alone time so I took the e9 to cars and coffee. After putting some miles on it, I am confident in the fuel system and that the tank is leak free so I filled it for the first time.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also stopped a local coffee shop to grab a cup. I put the new Patina Handle cup holder to the test. It worked great and I will likely get one for the 02.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

On the drive back I noticed a clicking noise in the right front. I planned on doing an oil change on my daily Sunday morning, so it was already at my dads shop. I drove the e9 over in the morning and the noise got worse. After changing the oil on my wagon we put the e9 up on the lift and found a loose wheel. I torqued the wheel back down and gave it a shake, and found a bad wheel bearing. So the e9 is down now for wheel bearings and a brake system fluid flush and change. I dont know of the bearing caused the wheel to loosen or if it was from painting the wheel and leaving some paint on the mounting area. I am going to pull all the wheels anyway for new tires so I will sand the mounting surface down as well.

I was also able to finally use the new washbay Sunday. Between all the rain we have had and traveling, the wagon hasnt had a wash in months. I am pretty sure the last wash was sometime in May. This is by far the dirtiest this car has even been.

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This was more relaxing than I could ever explain. Haha

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And the finished product, just in time for 2+ weeks of daily rain... I hope to get some time to start on the full detail soon, I forgot how beat up it got in the tornado.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Speaking of, the house is almost back to normal. All of the damage siding was repaired and painted. We are pretty much just waiting on some little stuff here and there, shutters(we are trying to figure out what exactly we want), and a good cleaning/pressure washing.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Things are starting to get back to normal so I hope I will have more time for other projects soon.

 

[TX4runner]

Happy birthday from one of the other 8/18 birthday gang of car nuts!!

 

[davidstutler]

And Happy Birthday from the other 8/18 gang!

 

[Mpower5266]

Thanks guys. Happy bday to you as well.

 

[Metallitubby]

I go work our booth at Airventure in Oshkosh, I'll be up there for 12 days. I will have at least 150 spotted cows. Haha

I do the same in the Honda booth(s). Stop by and ask for Andy.

 

[Mpower5266]

I do the same in the Honda booth(s). Stop by and ask for Andy.

Thats awesome. Do you work Sun and Fun too?

 

[Metallitubby]

Thats awesome. Do you work Sun and Fun too?

I have in the past, but I'm not sure we are a title sponsor anymore.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

NIck,

I spent most of yesterday reading your entire thread. Man, what a ride! New house, ending a relationship, remodel, starting a relationship, major remodel, engagement, car builds, marriage, car builds, new job, kids, tornado... What a ride. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

This is now one of my favorite threads on GJ. You and I have a lot of the same interests, from cars (though I admit my forte is Japanese 4x4s), to watches (I rock a mildly modded SKX009 every day), to tinkering (I like to small refurbs on stuff, though not near to the scale you do), to cooking, to beer. I've also got two kids, and my family has been in aviation for a while, though on the GA side of things. My dad got his license in '96 and has been heavily involved in GA ever since.

Congrats on all the above and I'm glad to see you guys recovering from the tornado. Beautiful work on the 02 and E9 as well, both are magnificent. You've got another reader now.

 

[Mpower5266]

More baby steps, but we had someone come and finally grind down all the remaining stumps and clear out all the weeds that have popped up.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We spoke with one of our neighbors a few weeks ago and asked why they had not pulled their damaged fence down. Well it turns out that it was actually built on our property so his insurance wouldn't pay for it, despite it obviously being his fence based on the way it was built. We went to our insurance company and they agreed to pay us for all the fencing, and we will hopefully have a new fence next week. We arent putting it in the same spot, which may annoy some of our neighbors but it wasnt there fence to begin with.

 

[Mpower5266]

And finally, I came up with another project. You know, since I have all this free time... I have a company coming out to quote some gravel and fill dirt since there is a bit of a drop off around the wash bay slab. I am going to have them quote gravel in this area back behind the garage near the wash bay. I have a really cool idea for this space, stay tuned.

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Also, once the fence is up I can get back to this project. I am really excited about this....

 

[Mpower5266]

There was a flurry of progress at the house yesterday. My contractor showed up and finished the trim around the front door and installed the shutters.

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Except for a pressure wash and some gutter guards, we are done with the house repairs. I hope there isnt a need to renovate this house again before we sell it, I have done it 3 times now.

We also got the fence put up. The neighbor behind me put up a chain link fence so we had to point it the other way along his fence.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And what I am most excited about, the little area behind the house by the carport/wash bay.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The plan before the tornado, was to gravel this area and make it a Biergarten. We already have the fire pit, chairs, Bavarian flags, lights, etc etc. I just need to get the gravel put in and it will be ready for fall. I just need to find one of those long picnic tables.

 

[billscamaros]

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And the finished product, just in time for 2+ weeks of daily rain... I hope to get some time to start on the full detail soon, I forgot how beat up it got in the tornado.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Speaking of, the house is almost back to normal. All of the damage siding was repaired and painted. We are pretty much just waiting on some little stuff here and there, shutters(we are trying to figure out what exactly we want), and a good cleaning/pressure washing.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Things are starting to get back to normal so I hope I will have more time for other projects soon.

 

[billscamaros]

Good morning. To echo another poster, I pretty much come to this site to catch up on your thread.

I remember that you posted a while ago about buying this set of Apex wheels for your wagon. What model and size are they? And how has the finish held up over the time that you've had them on the car? I'm looking for something for my '08 E92 AWD Coupe and came upon the Apex website. Thanks!

 

[Mpower5266]

18x9 but Im running a spacer on the rears. The finish has been great except for tornado and flat repair damage. I have had 4 flats since I got these wheels and tires. I think the tires are just sticky and pick everything up. In fact, this was yesterday when I got home..... Thankfully I think it just got the tread.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

But to go back to your question. The coupe with awd will have a different fitment. Apex has a guide on their website, or just shoot them an email, they were extremely helpful when I ordered.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

House looks great Nick. Can't wait to see the biergarten.

 

[billscamaros]

But to go back to your question. The coupe with awd will have a different fitment. Apex has a guide on their website, or just shoot them an email, they were extremely helpful when I ordered.

Thanks Nick. I've been on their website and have been looking at the fitment guide. It appears that the wheels are backlogged until sometime in October. I appreciate you answering my questions! Did you source the BMW logo center caps from them also? Thanks!!

 

[Mpower5266]

Thanks Nick. I've been on their website and have been looking at the fitment guide. It appears that the wheels are backlogged until sometime in October. I appreciate you answering my questions! Did you source the BMW logo center caps from them also? Thanks!!

I just reused the ones from my stock wheels.

 

[Mpower5266]

This weekend the E9 went on its first major trip. Wed night I set up the infotainment screen...

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And loaded up the essentials, a cooler full of beer.

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Thursday morning, I made the rainy trip to north Atlanta to meet up and caravan with a group, but most of them bailed out because of the rain.

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So it was pretty much my buddy Gary, his girlfriend, me, and my dad following in the Jeep. We cruised back roads all the way to Asheville.

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We stayed the night in Asheville and partied in the host hotel parking lot Thursday night. That is where we will be staying next year for sure. Friday morning we cruised down to the BMWCCA foundation in Greer SC for a little meet. We hung out there for a couple hours, saw some old friends and made some new ones. We left Greer to head to the Air B&B in Hot Springs Nc, but first we made a quick stop by the mothership.

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The parking was a little scary at the Air B&B.

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But the views were awesome.

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Saturday we went to The Vintage and parked with a group of 12 other E9's. I did not take many pics at the show, I just hung out with friends and relaxed. It was such a good time. Sunday, we drove about 5 or so hours home and made it back with out any major issues. There are a few things we need to address though. It will be getting a 5 speed, the 4 speed is horribly noisy and the extra gear would be nice for interstate cruising. We are going to wire in a hidden USB port for phone charging, the cig lighter fried on the way up. And there is a power steering leak, but that hose is already on order. All and all it was an awesome trip and went better than I could hope for, now I just need to get the cleaned back up and address some issues.

Sunday I got home and hung out with my twins. Yesterday was their first birthday. Time really flys.

 

[Trapps]

“We cruised back roads all the way to Ashville “

WIN!

 

[M-technik-3]

Very nice how was the turn out at the Vintage? I am attending SIG Fest at Limerock with BMW CCA this weekend.