XCRN : 1995 BMW 525i

[XCRN]

Just preparing to be gone for 2 months so I am waxing it since that has not been done for awhile (and I was bored today), cleaning off all the leaves and crud in the cowl and other rust prone areas, exterminating any bug nests (not as bad this year as it was last but that could change in 2 months), and covering her back up. Hopefully when I get back there will be a big box from Rockauto that contains a clutch kit.

I got to say I love that smell of wax, reminds me of the days when I thought this was going to be finished and drivable by now.

I need to stop procrastinating and pack up since the flight out to Seattle is this Tuesday.

[XCRN]

One year ownership, woo! And not nearly where I wanted to be, oh well I enjoy myself working on it slowly, too damn slowly.

[XCRN]

While I stopped by my placed for a day during my cross country road trip, I picked up rear Koni struts, Eibach springs, and rear poly sway bar bushings for pretty cheap. The rear shocks are apparently blown so bit the bullet to replace them.

[cb9love]

Looks like we need to run some back roads when it's on the road again.

[XCRN]

Looks like we need to run some back roads when it's on the road again.

Oh yeah. I had some fun on my way to Cinncinatti. Any good roads your way? Also you have been here longer so you might know but do you know where I could get access to a car lift for a reasonable price?

[cb9love]

ONe of my favorite routes in OH is ,from Columbus take us-33 east until you reach oh-93 south, Now run oh-93 south until you reach Ironton. That stretch of oh-93 has a whole lot of twisty's to nail the perfect apex on. At night it is really low traffic and you can use the whole road.
As for a lift, sorry I do most my work in the dirt.

[XCRN]

Well I am back in town and back to getting into my regular routine. So me and a friend picked up a Sand Rail for ridiculously low amount and went to a local store to get some paint for misc stuff. I saw some good underbody paint for cheap so I bought some of it for the BMW.

So here is what I did today. One can was enough for one wheel well, behind the fender, and behind the skirt. Probably need just 2 or 3 cans for behind rear bumper and the other side.



Not what I want to see, but not too surprised.






Then I figured since I had the fender off might as well get the wheel well so I did. A pressure washer and some Purple Power was so much easier than scrubbing it off like I did on the CB. Took 10 minutes to clean. Not a clue why there was this much glare in the pictures.








Rain stopped me from finishing so I had to quickly get the fender back on. Right now it is just held on with one bolt.

Also I came home with a sizeable amount of money and probably around the end of this month I will be getting the car into the shop and will he the auto swapped for another auto and will sell the manual parts as a whole or individually. I just got sick and tired of not driving the car so I am willing to say screw it and pay the extra money to have a shop do it since I want some sort of insurance incase it does not work out. Either way I will be under $3000investd into the car for a great condition car that I enjoy and can drive everyday.

[XCRN]

Tomorrow the manual swap will begin. My friend's husband will be getting it done as aside job. Just going to be removal of the auto drivetrain this week and wait a week for the remaining parts. All I need is a clutch setup, a shifter bushing, a hardline for the clutch, and fluid.

Yay

[XCRN]

And she was off today. PITA to get it towed since it was short notice. On Friday my friend whos husband is mechanic came along when I came to the school to meet up with since I was gone for 3 months to reconnect and talk about an interview I had which she set up (which was an paid intern architecture job and I got yay!). But anyways we get to talking and her husband offered to do it and said to bring it in this weekend so I had little time to prepare. Another good friend of mine was going to tow it, but the morning of every thing part of the serpentine system crapped out. Alternator gone bad, seized water pump, broken tensioner, and a snapped belt. So I called AAA and $90 later it gets there.




Also to mention with the interview, my new boss in a BMW guy and we talked about BMWs for half the interview so this will be fun.

[Jarrett]

Two posts before it sounded like you were ditching the plans to swap this thing to a manual. Now you're back at it again. Good to hear! These inline 6 BMWs are much more fun in manual than they are with the slushboxes.

Also, I think the bottom of that fender looks a lot worse than it actually is. Hit it with a brush or a wire wheel and see where you really are. Then paint it with some POR-15. With you northern folks, it may not be a bad idea just to keep a quart of that stuff around anyway.

[XCRN]

Two posts before it sounded like you were ditching the plans to swap this thing to a manual. Now you're back at it again. Good to hear! These inline 6 BMWs are much more fun in manual than they are with the slushboxes.

Also, I think the bottom of that fender looks a lot worse than it actually is. Hit it with a brush or a wire wheel and see where you really are. Then paint it with some POR-15. With you northern folks, it may not be a bad idea just to keep a quart of that stuff around anyway.

I did the price running and it would be cheaper now to get the manual in since I have all the expensive parts and it the rest is another $500 plus the $500 I am paying to get it done. While doing the auto would be $700 labor plus an average of $600 for a trans and $100 in fluid. I would then be able to sell the swap for $800 but the price of longer enjoyment really weighs big on these decisions. Plus these cars are finally rising in price and being a manual is all the more better. I would probably still enjoy the car as an auto but there will always be the thought of what could have been.


But yeah, I am thinking of taking the fender off again soon to do that. I tried the Duplicolor spray rust converter with some mixed results but was worth the $6 to experiment. I am still planning on painting the car (especially if all I am paying for is materials) and we are planning to take off all of the removable panels so what ever rust there is will be taken care of, but I have to act quick before it is too cold out. But I am still pleased the only cancerous rust on this car are on easily replaced panels and is not visible with the exception of some bubbling on the trunk lid.

[XCRN]

I went to the local junkyard today to help my friend get a seat for his Suburban but of the 20 we looked at, not a single good seat. I did however pass by an E32 and found an "assholes tailing you in lifted trucks who put HIDs improperly in reflector headlights that are not aimed right" shade, it also works for blocking out the sun too. And got some of the remaining parts and fluids. That royal purple stuff for LSDs is expensive at $20 a bottle! Better be damn well worth it.





I also apparently had a picture of this but I got tired of looking at the eye sore of a muffler tips it had and just used the ceramic paint from the headers as a temporary measure until I get some new pipe welded up.



And an update as for the manual swap, exhaust and driveshaft are out so the transmission is about ready to come down on Thursday when my friend can get to it again. Assuming all parts arrive by then. Clutch still has not arrived yet and I also got the wrong shifter carrier bushing and ruined it trying to make it fit. Apparently ovals do not fit into round holes and the quickest I can get an OEM round bushing would be end of the month so I found an aftermarket solution that would arrive sooner. Found some delrin bushings which should make the shifter feel more precise which I am all for.


Been a great month. The BMW will be drivable soon, a new respectable job, back into school, and my mom and sister are finally well off.

[XCRN]

Who needs a truck when you have a 99 Corolla!

[Tippey764]

What transmission are you using? I'm assuming its the ZF 5 speed?

[XCRN]

Correct a ZF310.