Vlad: The Zinno '87 535is

[1st 5er]

Charlene, you are amazing.

[tig]

Charlene, you are amazing.

[tig]

I discovered something very unfortunate: Notice the issue?

All this time I assumed your car has an LSD. No??

What was once an LSD is not an LSD for ever.

Good thing I have a nice, known good (because I tested it), S3.25 on the shelf.




I will probably just throw this one in the car as-is (if i can get to it today or tomorrow) and then rebuild the one in the car for later.

Based on the above, I set about scheming to drop the S3.25 in while I fixed the diff in the car.

But last week there was another thread about Torsen diffs and Z3Ms. It got me thinking. Which is rarely a good thing.

I remembered that Vlad's S3.23 came from a 2003 Z3 M-Coupe. Which is a Torsen diff. It occurred to me that Torsen diffs don't act like clutch-based LSDs, especially when there's no resistance. I don't actually know how a Torsen diff works (I barely understand how a clutch-based LSD works), so don't ask me.

So this afternoon I did a different test:



Yup. Torsen differentials behave like open differentials when no forces are applied. So there, in fact, is nothing wrong with Vlad's differential.

In other words, Vlad remains perfect.

[tig]

In case anyone is wondering, my Vlad has been locked up in storage since early November and there is zero chance he has anything to do with what’s going on in the Ukraine right now.

[BDKawey]

In case anyone is wondering, my Vlad has been locked up in storage since early November and there is zero chance he has anything to do with what’s going on in the Ukraine right now.

ohhhhh. different Vlad. this Vlad is the good one

[tig]

Ok, this is gonna be fun!

@geordi forwarded me a mail from The Shop, a Seattle car storage/pub/hangout/workshop thing and BaT asking for people who've bought cars via BaT to apply. Since Vlad was purchased via BaT (long before BaT was an auction site: http://bringatrailer.com/2013/03/17/bat ... -bmw-535is) I applied.



Good thing I used an auto-parts store parking lot to do a "homeless guy detail" yesterday:

[gwb72tii]

That pic makes me want to go work on my car.

[tig]

Vlad says hi from Colorado.

Running perfectly at altitude (no surprise as he was great in Utah too). The ceramic coat I had done in 2018 is still beading like the day it was done. Amazing stuff.


I have a few things I need to do:

- Cruise control stopped working
- One brake light isn't working
- I must connect the heated seat wiring (after how many years?) before winter
- Driver's seat is starting to twist
- Fuel gauge still doesn't read right, but, interestingly, it's better than it was before
- Timing cover and rear main seal are leaking

Just hit 211k miles. That's 32k on the M30B35. I guess I should no longer be worrying about it esploding; I built a good engine.





BMW re-posted some of the pics @samhurly took in Utah the other day. Pretty cool to see.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgt1L1hoWat/

[tschultz]

Great photo in front of your place. Car looks stunning!

[travisj]

Which E28 will be in the stable next weekend Charlie?
I need some good photos of one of them next to my M535!

[tig]

Which E28 will be in the stable next weekend Charlie?
I need some good photos of one of them next to my M535!

I have Maytag and Vlad here. I plan on driving Vlad for 4Corners... Looking forward to seeing you!

[vinceg101]

Which E28 will be in the stable next weekend Charlie?
I need some good photos of one of them next to my M535!

I have Maytag and Vlad here. I plan on driving Vlad for 4Corners... Looking forward to seeing you!

Then who's coming to Reno?

[tig]

Which E28 will be in the stable next weekend Charlie?
I need some good photos of one of them next to my M535!

I have Maytag and Vlad here. I plan on driving Vlad for 4Corners... Looking forward to seeing you!

Then who's coming to Reno?

Minerva!

I'm picking her up in San Jose on the 8th!

[adm750]

haven't been on this site in a while and happy to see the latest on Vlad. That car is just stunning...!

[BDKawey]

happy September to miss September herself

[tig]

happy September to miss September herself

I love Green Day's song, but they picked the wrong month for it. September is my favorite month. Vergos rule.

Fall is the best season (esp somewhere where there are actually 4 seasons like here in Colorado).

Plus, I get to celebrate my birthday with a bunch of aging E28s and good dudes in Reno.

[tig]

I guess Vlad is getting a new windsheild. I may put in the crack-free dash I have while the windshield is out. Or maybe I'll wait until it's really, really cracked. TBD.





Welcome to Colorado, I guess.

Milestone.


Drive4Corners 2022 was a hoot. Really fun having Travis stay with me. I want to help make next year's event even better!










Last night I updated Vlad's "Holy Grail Labs V3 prototype" blade fuse kit to the latest production variant:

[BDKawey]

damn wtf September.

blade fuse kits look great. its on my list this winter since I've been melting a few blower motor fuses this summer with my AC solutions putting in the work.

[tig]

damn wtf September.

blade fuse kits look great. its on my list this winter since I've been melting a few blower motor fuses this summer with my AC solutions putting in the work.

Pull your fan and lube the motor and clean all contacts regardless.

[Motronic]

Nice pics CEK! Wish I were there at the drive and Reno with you. See you @ TexFest for sure!

[tig]

Siblings:



Got the new windshield install finally done. The installer here in Durango (Ryan at Animas Glass) is top-notch, knows his shit, and did it right. The gasket does have a tear in the top passenger side, so there's a chance I'll need to pull it all again. But I'd rather use a known-bad gasket than an unknown-bad gasket or a new OE gasket.


Choose not to put in the crack free dash I have while the glass was out... this dash is simply not cracked enough to justify it.

Used the fact the wipers were off to re-re-paint the wiper arms.



Got a pretty good punch list of little things to work on. Need my new shop asap, dammit!

• Driver's seat twisted
• Cruise control not working
• Driver's door squeak
• Right outside brake light out intermittently
• Parasitic battery drain (again)
• Fuel gauge doesn't read correctly. Likely gauges and not sender as sender is new
• Hook up seat heaters
• Revamp headlight wiring: Marker lights come on with city lights
• Revamp headlight wiring: Remove Han's relay mess
• Get rid of WAR chip - go standalone!
• Timing cover leaking
• Rear Main Seal and/or Transmission input shaft leak
• Distributor protection cap went AWOL sometime in last 3 years

[szacsi72]

I would just like to say a big THANK YOU for this thread. I've been having a hard time lately, reading trough this story gave me a lot of motivation to stand up and do something useful. And while at it, I learned a lot from you.

Also - Hi Vlad,meet "Piroska" (literal translation - reddie, otherwise 'little red riding hood'), your european cousin.


Team Zinnober!

[muleskinner]

Piroska deserves its own eye candy thread.

[tig]

I would just like to say a big THANK YOU for this thread. I've been having a hard time lately, reading trough this story gave me a lot of motivation to stand up and do something useful. And while at it, I learned a lot from you.

Also - Hi Vlad,meet "Piroska" (literal translation - reddie, otherwise 'little red riding hood'), your european cousin.


Team Zinnober!

I love this. Thank you for posting. Let’s get a beer together sometime in Hungary!

[szacsi72]

I would just like to say a big THANK YOU for this thread. I've been having a hard time lately, reading trough this story gave me a lot of motivation to stand up and do something useful. And while at it, I learned a lot from you.

Also - Hi Vlad,meet "Piroska" (literal translation - reddie, otherwise 'little red riding hood'), your european cousin.


Team Zinnober!

I love this. Thank you for posting. Let’s get a beer together sometime in Hungary!

I'm down for that! Let me know next time you're in Europe. I do go to Austria often too

Piroska deserves its own eye candy thread.

Thank you, Piroska does have a build thread! I just didn't want to hijack Charlie's thread:)