Vlad: The Zinno '87 535is

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Mar 10, 2019 9:28 PM

Noice pictars.

Glad you're getting to enjoy your car.

Post by **tig** » May 07, 2019 11:40 AM

On Friday a co-worker clued me into a Utah Ferarri & Exotics Club meet & drive on Saturday. The club is low-key and does not widely advertise these drives. I was going to be staying in SLC over the weekend and Julie was in SEA, so...

I showed up to "Sheels" looking for the "Starbucks in the parking lot". First, it's Scheels. Second, the Starbucks closed in 2016. Third, I was over-anxious and got there too early.

The good news is Vlad looks marvelous. The ceramic treatment is amazeballs. I've actually not washed the car since I had it done, but after driving one day (yes only one) in the rain I did have to do a light spray wax (Final Inspection) wipedown.

Vlad was a hit, especially with the teenagers that showed up. Sure they ooh'd and ahh'd over the McClaren and Ariel, but three of them surrounded me talking about their E30 projects. Tee-hee.

I have to say this thing sounded bad-ass.

This is my co-worker's 72 Alfa 2000. Simply cool.

IMO, by far, the most exotic exotic that showed up. Icon Bronco.

The organizer is the caretaker of this beast. This is the Enzo that broke the land-speed record for a production car at 237mph. Twin trubo. https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cultur ... -the-enzo/

The drive was relatively short (up 80 through Park City, down to Haber on 32, and back to Park City on SR40), but totally fun. Vlad did fine playing with all the supercars on the freeway. Windows down so I could hear their roar. The yellow Viper (V10) sounded like total ass though.

The rabbit/camera car (a Challenger) got pulled over and the passenger got a ticket for no seatbelt. He was hanging out the sunroof when we went by the trooper at about 90. Pretty funny that he got pulled over, but the Enzo didn't.

In the past few weeks Vlad's idle has climbed to 1000-1200. I did all the standard diagnostics but could not find the problem (TPS adjustment, obvious vacuum leaks from boot, ...).

Finally pulled the ICV and gave it a good cleaning. Fixed.

Yesterday I hit the Utah DMV to get the title swtiched to Utah and get Utah historic vehcile plates (I got E28) and parked next to this like-minded dude.

Now that the snow is gone, Vlad is back to DD status. Woot.

Post by **tig** » May 07, 2019 12:11 PM

Rain rain, go away. Bead away, another day.

BDKawey · Post by **BDKawey** » May 07, 2019 2:45 PM

all of those mountain pictures are fantastic.

what brand coating does it have? im considering having my friends shop do my new daily or he'd probably rent me the bottle to do it myself. which is like 250 bucks for 8oz of the stuff.

Post by **tig** » May 07, 2019 6:00 PM

BDKawey wrote:all of those mountain pictures are fantastic.

what brand coating does it have? im considering having my friends shop do my new daily or he'd probably rent me the bottle to do it myself. which is like 250 bucks for 8oz of the stuff.

CS2

muleskinner · Post by **muleskinner** » May 07, 2019 6:50 PM

looks like a blast

davintosh · Post by **davintosh** » May 07, 2019 11:41 PM

Hey, I know that plate!

muleskinner wrote:
Standing where the kitchen will be...
Sounds like someone is building theirselves a place in Utah.

I think the term is "settling in".

Make sure the garage space is more than adequate.

Post by **tig** » Jun 06, 2019 3:17 PM

I submitted E28, VLAD, and ZINNO to the DMV, in that order. The lady told me I'd get E28.

Apparently something in the machine changed.

I'm not in love with it. Oh, well...

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Jun 06, 2019 3:30 PM

cek wrote:I submitted E28, VLAD, and ZINNO to the DMV, in that order. The lady told me I'd get E28.

Apparently something in the machine changed.

I'm not in love with it. Oh, well...

I like it and that’s what I’m planning for 2020 when I convert the e28 over to classic plates here in MN.

Post by **tig** » Jun 18, 2019 2:54 PM

Anyone remember what license plate mount I used? I don't. Need to order same for Minerva.

code · Post by **code** » Jun 18, 2019 3:36 PM

If you find out, please post it here!

Post by **tig** » Jun 18, 2019 5:35 PM

code wrote:If you find out, please post it here!

PN: 51187160607

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw ... 187160607/

code · Post by **code** » Jun 18, 2019 7:15 PM

Thanks! Man, at that price they're using it to print the catalog.

athayer187 · Post by **athayer187** » Jun 20, 2019 11:15 AM

code wrote:Thanks! Man, at that price they're using it to print the catalog.

The knockoffs are at a much more reasonable price point (used one on my old E46):

https://www.amazon.com/License-Holder-B ... 9433172986

marek · Post by **marek** » Jun 21, 2019 12:12 AM

code wrote:Thanks! Man, at that price they're using it to print the catalog.

Those used to be under $10 a couple of years ago

Post by **tig** » Jun 27, 2019 11:50 PM

Took a risk today and took Vlad into a local repair shop (Paul's Automotive, in Sandy, UT) to have my clutch issues addressed. Risk because I hate letting others touch this car.

The issue has been with me since I replaced the clutch master in Feb 2018. The symptoms were:

- Clutch pedal would not return to top (1/2" - 3/4" away from stop)
- Often clutch would feel like it had air in it. As @vince101 knows, everything was tried to ensure it was bled properly
- Clutch engaged too close to floor

Thanks to @bengerman's engineering prowess we have these:

I figured installing it couldn't hurt, and would likely lead to the root cause.

It did. The old spring's plastic was cracked and falling apart.

The clutch now feels totally right. I like Paul's and the owner Jeff, who is one of Paul's 5 sons. Jeff knows his shit and took great care of me and Vlad. Paul is this Paul, btw.

Of course, I had to go for a drive. Little Cottonwood Canyon is amazeballs.

What a car.

Coming down the mountain I noticed a bit of shudder when breaking hard. I wonder if my rotors have become warped...

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Jun 28, 2019 8:33 AM

cek wrote: Coming down the mountain I noticed a bit of shudder when breaking hard. I wonder if my rotors have become warped...

FYI I had this in 2013 coming down a mountain canyon right after replacing thrust arm bushings (rotors were a couple years old, but almost like new). It didn't happen again-- and on my daily driven car I have done a fair share of mountain roads. I have had it happen occasionally, but less than 5 times since, all of then coincidentally heading down from a mountain canyon (all with 16" wheels).

I suspect something in the natural frequency gets exacerbated with the downhill loading and heated rotors. With that said, it didn't happen on every downhill and I am on the same thrust arms/bushings (although they are going to need to be replaced sometime soon).

Take it for a spin again and I suspect you won't notice any strange shimmy.

Post by **tig** » Sep 23, 2019 8:24 PM

Hi. Love you too.

Post by **tig** » Oct 12, 2019 8:01 PM

Did the local Ferrari club fall drive today (same drive I did this time last year). Lovely day. Lovely car. Lovely drive.

If you ever get a chance to drive Guardsman Pass (the pass goes between the valley that holds the Solitude/Brighton ski areas and Park City and is not open in winter), do it. This is my 4th or 5th time driving it. On the way East I was with all the super/hyper-cars and someone out front was driving super slow. But on the way back I was all by my lonesome and didn't encounter a SINGLE car the entire drive up from Midway to the top of Guardsman. It's a (barely) two lane road that was just repaved this spring. No lines. Just sweet asphalt and dozens of great turns.

I love this car.

Bonsaibacker · Post by **Bonsaibacker** » Oct 13, 2019 11:25 AM

cek wrote:I love this car.

Post by **tig** » Dec 10, 2019 10:42 AM

Vlad needed service. Currently at 204,650 miles.

It's been almost 26k miles since I put the M30B35 in (can you believe that thing hasn't esploded yet?!?!). I did the typical routine service at about 201k right before it was shipped to Salt Lake. The brakes were finally due (38k on them). The steering had gotten a bit sloppy again and I had developed a shimmy above 80mph (one of the things I love about Utah is how fucking fast they drive on the freeways here). Needed an oil change.

The Conti DW Extreme tires were at the point where I was getting nervous on cold Utah roads.

So I decided to find a shop and do, essentially, an Inspection II service. My orders were all fluids, front to back. New rotors, pads. Valve adjust. Etc... New tires too.

My trainer told me about Kevin at Elite Auto Specialists in Draper (http://www.euroautomotiverepair.com/). I like guys named Kevin who work on cars. The K in KD Motorsports (Redmond) stands for Kevin and he did the baseline work getting the S54 in Minerva, for example. So before my recent trip to Europe I dropped by to meet Kevin and check the place out. He and his techs impressed me, and I could tell from the shop they knew the right stuff. I could also see they saw how special Vlad is. I signed them up and dropped the car off just before I left.

I picked it up last Friday and other than them using 75W90NS in the diff (vs the non-NS variant that has the LSD additive) they nailed it. It was expensive to pay someone to do all this stuff that I'm now more than capable of doing, but this is the price I pay for choosing to take the car to Utah where I live in an apartment and use it as my daily.

I'm ignoring the timing cover and oil pan leaks. They were leaking 5k miles ago and they are not leaking bad enough to leave oil on the ground. Once that starts I'll bite the bullet and have it taken care of... doing the timing cover on an M30 without pulling the head is iffy. The output shaft seal on the transmission was leaking when I got the car (almost 7 years ago!), I had a transmission guy in WA try to fix it when we did the M30B35 swap and they couldn't get the nut off. I gave up. I'm not going to worry about it (it also doesn't drip on ground).

I'm sending the oil off to Blackstone. The shop was nice enough to keep samples of all the oils so I could do a taste test. Yum.

This time I went with Bosch plugs. Curious if I notice any difference (I don't so far, although the motor is running more smoothly with the valve adjustment).

I love this car.

I gotta pull the driver's seat again though. When I repaired the weld, I put something together wrong because the back is squeaking when I go through turns. I also never wired up the seat heaters and am regretting my lazyness on these cold Utah mornings.

hunneman · Post by **hunneman** » Dec 11, 2019 9:53 PM

wow this car looks great.. clean in and out ...

Post by **tig** » Jan 16, 2020 6:42 PM

Oil analysis came back. Looks good. (3,703 miles on this change.)

Bonsaibacker · Post by **Bonsaibacker** » Jan 20, 2020 6:06 AM

Getting blood work done is very important as we age.

Post by **tig** » Mar 30, 2020 11:38 AM

Vlad still likes Utah. He's not as big a fan of COVID-19. Some construction pr0n...

Finally got fed up with the condition of the overhead console, headliner, and front door-fur. Seemed like a good project with the tools & stuff I have at the apartment...

I had to re-glue the vinyl twice on the driver's side because I cheated the first time, thinking I didn't have to pull it all the way up. That didn't work, so yesterday I did a re-do.

I'll install it this evening, I hope.

GoNoles · Post by **GoNoles** » Mar 30, 2020 2:08 PM

Vlad, build, view.
Awesome pic!

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Apr 05, 2020 8:10 PM

cek wrote:
I'll install it this evening, I hope.

And?

Post by **tig** » Apr 06, 2020 1:27 AM

1st 5er wrote:
cek wrote:
I'll install it this evening, I hope.

And?

Turned out great, as you can see from this amazing photo.

Julie & I hare having fun driving the canyons together...

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Apr 06, 2020 7:22 PM

cek wrote:
1st 5er wrote:
cek wrote:
I'll install it this evening, I hope.

And?
Turned out great, as you can see from this amazing photo.

Julie & I hare having fun driving the canyons together...

Beautiful.... both.

Post by **tig** » Jun 10, 2020 9:59 PM

$65 bucks later.

Pro tip: Do not try to clean your washer nozzles with wire, even if you think said wire is smaller gauge than the holes. If you don't listen to me you'll end up with windshield wiper flooders, not sprayers.

Post by **tig** » Jul 10, 2020 1:27 AM

Utah golden hour

Put away for another few weeks...

Dale3783 · Post by **Dale3783** » Jul 10, 2020 5:02 PM

Will you be keeping both Vlad and Maytag now that Minerva is finished? (as finished as any of these ever are)

Post by **tig** » Jul 10, 2020 5:08 PM

Dale3783 wrote: Jul 10, 2020 5:02 PM Will you be keeping both Vlad and Maytag now that Minerva is finished? (as finished as any of these ever are)

I will never sell a car again.*

*Unless not doing so threatens my marriage.

Dale3783 · Post by **Dale3783** » Jul 10, 2020 5:14 PM

cek wrote: Jul 10, 2020 5:08 PM
Dale3783 wrote: Jul 10, 2020 5:02 PM Will you be keeping both Vlad and Maytag now that Minerva is finished? (as finished as any of these ever are)

I will never sell a car again.*

*Unless not doing so threatens my marriage.

This is the correct answer. Congrats

Post by **tig** » Sep 03, 2020 1:10 PM

As has become tradition upon returning to Utah, I stretch Vlad's legs by driving up to Alta. Joy.

Both sides (esp driver) mirror mechanicals are failing. The glass on both sides is also pretty lame. I have spare mirrors at home, and I could pull them apart for mechanicals, but I'd rather just know this car is 'right'. So I've ordered new glass and mechanicals for both sides.

Post by **tig** » Sep 06, 2020 12:17 PM

muleskinner · Post by **muleskinner** » Sep 06, 2020 7:48 PM

cek:

"I will never sell a car again. Unless not doing so threatens my marriage."

I just keep telling my wife "It's an appreciating asset.". So far, it's worked, but it takes a lot of repetition and reinforcement of the message.

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Sep 08, 2020 11:03 AM

Looks great!

vinceg101 · Post by **vinceg101** » Sep 08, 2020 11:33 AM

muleskinner wrote: Sep 06, 2020 7:48 PM cek:

"I will never sell a car again. Unless not doing so threatens my marriage."

I just keep telling my wife "It's an appreciating asset.". So far, it's worked, but it takes a lot of repetition and reinforcement of the message.

I tried this also with my wife; you should have seen the look on her face right before she burst out laughing.
Then she mumbled something like "Whatever you need to tell yourself..."

Post by **tig** » Sep 16, 2020 11:30 PM

Please join me in wishing Vlad a happy birthday.

Here's how Vlad's progressed since he joined my family:

Nov 2013:

July 2014:

March 2015 (M30B35):

As of July 19, 2015:

As of Nov 29, 2015:

As of Oct 18, 2018:

As of Sept, 2020:

Seeker · Post by **Seeker** » Sep 16, 2020 11:50 PM

cek wrote: Sep 16, 2020 11:30 PM Please join me in wishing Vlad a happy birthday.

If Vlad were a lad I’d say to him that “time is nothing... timing is everything”
Happy B-day Vlad!

Post by **tig** » Oct 18, 2020 1:47 PM

I noticed both mirrors were jiggling a while back. The passenger side stopped moving. Both mirror's glass was failing badly around the edges.

I ordered new mirrors and (E34) mechanisms from Blunt and put them in this morning.

It turns out the driver's mechanism was fine. It looks like I (or Ken, I don't remember) failed to tighten the screws when we assembled the mirrors after paint! All 4 screws on both sides were barely screwed in.

The driver's side mechanism is in great shape. I will now keep it as a spare. One of the pins on the mirror for heat had broken off.

The passenger-side mechanism broke into 42 pieces when I attempted to remove it.

I made sure I ordered heated glass.

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Oct 19, 2020 3:12 PM

cek wrote: Oct 18, 2020 1:47 PM
I ordered new mirrors and (E34) mechanisms from Blunt and put them in this morning.

Is there an advantage to using the e34 mechanisms, or is that all that's available these days?

Post by **tig** » Oct 19, 2020 5:59 PM

stuartinmn wrote: Oct 19, 2020 3:12 PM
cek wrote: Oct 18, 2020 1:47 PM
I ordered new mirrors and (E34) mechanisms from Blunt and put them in this morning.

Is there an advantage to using the e34 mechanisms, or is that all that's available these days?

RealOEM doesn't show part numbers for the innards of the mirrors:

While for E34:

FWIW, the euro driver's side mirror with the blind-spot section is 51161926853. I chose to do the US version because I didn't want to wait for the Euro version. But you can get that part if you want (I have on Minerva).

kcin · Post by **kcin** » Oct 21, 2020 7:07 AM

Beautiful Car, love the red color!

Post by **tig** » Oct 25, 2020 1:26 PM

duplicate post

Post by **tig** » Oct 25, 2020 1:26 PM

Drove Vlad from Salt Lake City to Seattle yesterday. 872 miles in 12h 31m including 60 minute lunch in Pendelton, OR. Averaged 77mph.

Calculated fuel mileage 21.4mpg. OBC shows 18.8mpg which means I need to adjust the Seattle Circuit OBC fuel signal correction gizmo a bit.

Eats up the miles!

Stopped at my buddy's restaurant/distillery in Pendelton for a late lunch. It was his birthday so he gave me a preview bottle of his next batch of Whiskey.

100 miles from Seattle and this happened.

I think I can put a repair kit on it and keep it from spreading. If not, then I'll likely use this as an excuse to re-do the headliner (and replace the dash if I can find another crack free one).

Back in Bellevue after 2+ years.

Noticed this this morning. Uh-oh.

Up on the lift for my first undercarrage inspection in 2 years. The only thing amiss was an exhaust hanger, of course (which was replaced last december; sigh. I have a spare on hand because these are now made out of paper).

Now to give him a proper bath so we can take some family photos...

Post by **tig** » Oct 26, 2020 12:00 PM

I always have one of these kits on hand. I've used them in the past to great effect to keep chips from spreading. $7 bucks on Amazon.

Blue-Star Windshield Repair Kit

In Utah, I don't yet have any great place to hand wash cars. So Vlad's been going through a brushless drive-through carwash. Felt good to get my mitts on him again!

Next up is my janky coolant temperature gauge. First, this car NEVER runs hot. Even in the blistering Utah heat driving hard, I've never seen the gauge go past 12pm. Second, when driving back from Utah Saturday I hit some ~30 degree F weather. I noted the gauge was barely out of the blue. Recall this helpful pic:

from viewtopic.php?t=34159

Third, when the temp is down there, the gauge needle gets janky and dances frantically.

The M30B35 / Motronic 1.3 swap means I have a single-wire sender:

I discovered I have a brand new single-wire sensor in my stash. It is brown and longer than the black one that was in the car. Interesting.

So I swapped it in and measured temps. When cool I no longer had jank (although the engine was already somewhat warm, so I'll test cold again asap). I then warmed it up and verified it was tracking correctly.

Seems about right

Remember this? Who wants it? I no longer have any use for old-school USB power since I've found small USB-C adapters that fit in the cig lighter flush.

Dale3783 · Post by **Dale3783** » Oct 27, 2020 9:25 PM

I'd love to buy if from you. I was JUST about to make one of these for my car.

Post by **tig** » Oct 27, 2020 10:00 PM

Dale3783 wrote: Oct 27, 2020 9:25 PM I'd love to buy if from you. I was JUST about to make one of these for my car.

Email me at ckindel (at) gmail.com