MyE28.com

Today I backed my car into my motorcycle, and cracked one of the taillights. They're shadowline taillights as well, so it will be fun trying to find a good one.

Oh shit! That really sucks, Stuart. Not only are they shadowline tail lights, they're EURO shadowline tail lights. Took me three years to find a "decent" set that I will still need to re paint.

You didn't damage the paintwork or anything, did you?

Motorcycles are dangerous.

stuartinmn wrote:Today I backed my car into my motorcycle, and cracked one of the taillights. They're shadowline taillights as well, so it will be fun trying to find a good one.

Bummer. Hope the motorcycle's owner wasn't any more upset with you than you are with you.

Anyway, it could've been worse:

I was wondering why my car is increasingly loud as of late, and finally determined that the gaping holes along the passenger's floor/rocker might be letting noise in. I started poking around, took the fender off, and decided the inner fender needs some patching also.




I've already dealt with similar on the other side of the car a year or two ago. I actually beefed-up the area where the bottom of the fender meets the rocker panel and floor, so I would have a decent spot for the floor jack.

wkohler wrote:Oh shit! That really sucks, Stuart. Not only are they shadowline tail lights, they're EURO shadowline tail lights. Took me three years to find a "decent" set that I will still need to re paint.

You didn't damage the paintwork or anything, did you?

Motorcycles are dangerous.

No paint damage, just a little hole in the amber part of the lens with some hairline cracks around it. I have another broken taillight sitting on the shelf; I was thinking about whether I could take a piece of lens off that one, heat it up until it melts into a glob, and then use it to fill the hole.

Well, the positive thing about this is that if there's a lens to break, it's that one. There might be someone out there considering doing the clear turn lenses, so it might make a good candidate to trade, perhaps. Which side do you need? I can keep an eye out.

It's the driver's side. Thanks.

Today, the rear suspension was finished up, brakes done, dog bones changed, and tires re-mounted.

So the rear half is complete, other than discovering completely destroyed subframe bushings.

Having serious trouble getting the thrust arm bolts out after thirty years under there, as well as getting the old strut insert out of the front tube.

Suggestions?

yodman wrote: Having serious trouble getting the thrust arm bolts out after thirty years under there, as well as getting the old strut insert out of the front tube.

Suggestions?

Bring it to Toledo and I'll fix 'er up.

dsmith wrote:

yodman wrote: Having serious trouble getting the thrust arm bolts out after thirty years under there, as well as getting the old strut insert out of the front tube.

Suggestions?

Bring it to Toledo and I'll fix 'er up.

Thanks sir, but a different approach on working smart and not hard got the stubborn bolt out. should've videoed the method we used to pull the old strut from the front housing tube.

My old Beetle and a friend's S1 Scirocco pulled the old strut cartridge out. Looked pretty janky and redneck.

davintosh wrote:I finally found the spot in my garage where I hid the center caps for the wheels on the e28, and went to put them on; they are e34 Style 5s. Apparently I never had these wheels on the 528e before because I couldn't get the center caps on the fronts. They went on the back just fine, but the fronts... Not so much. Turns out this is a known problem. And I've probably read that FAQ once or twice before, but...



http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=53909

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=74975

At least I didn't post another question about it.

Time to buy some late dust caps

Working on my drivers side door, it just wouldn't unlock all of the sudden... Yes, I had to get in thru the passenger side door and that was a pain Should be taken care of soon...




I will also be working on the turn signal switch I just got in the mail from Andy... Looks in great shape...

Finally got around to polishing the new paint (Griot's 4) and a coat of Zymol wax. It was an all dayer and worth a few

Now I can start finishing up the exterior trim work.

I drove my M535i today.

Sapotorito wrote:Working on my drivers side door, it just wouldn't unlock all of the sudden... Yes, I had to get in thru the passenger side door and that was a pain Should be taken care of soon...

Mine did that a year or two ago. As long as I didn't pull up on the handle before unlocking, everything was fine, otherwise - enter thru the passenger side. Just a broken spring. I think I made one. I sure got good at getting the door panel off while seated, and then using a screwdriver to move the piece that the spring was supposed to move.

crispy wrote:

Sapotorito wrote:Working on my drivers side door, it just wouldn't unlock all of the sudden... Yes, I had to get in thru the passenger side door and that was a pain Should be taken care of soon...

Mine did that a year or two ago. As long as I didn't pull up on the handle before unlocking, everything was fine, otherwise - enter thru the passenger side. Just a broken spring. I think I made one. I sure got good at getting the door panel off while seated, and then using a screwdriver to move the piece that the spring was supposed to move.

That was exactly the same problem, the spring broke and had to use a screwdriver to let the latch loose then finally open the door.. I too had to install a new spring pulling the piece back so the mechanism would work... It's all fixed now...

Currently flogging it at BMW's Performance Center in Spartanburg SC. Video to follow.

Replaced all of the 29 year old cooling hoses (with a $99 kit from Bavauto) as well as the t-stat for peace of mind.

Yesterday I joined the SoCal Vintage club on a cruise up Topanga Canyon and then westward on a Mulholland Drive tour through the Santa Monica mountains. Really gave the car a good workout and had a chance to try out my new Conti tires and the M-tech springs/shocks plus sway bars I installed last year. Also the 3.64 diff keeps the revs in the sweet spot and makes the car very responsive on the short straights. Great fun...the way the car was meant to be driven! I really expected to see a few other E28 guys there, but I was the only one. Marc Norris was kind enough to host us for a catered lunch at his Bavarian Workshop in West Hills...one of the top BMW shops in the L.A. area (true enough, and a plug for him ).

Gave it it's first detail, inside and out.







Also, Vlad got these installed.

cek wrote:Gave it it's first detail, inside and out.

OMG, no ABS! You're gonna crash and die! Don't forget to replace the heater core.

It will have abs when I'm done. And a new heater core

Finally finished the radio. The tape deck was inoperable, so I went to a vintage audio repair shop and got a belt for the ejection for $4. Cleaned all the old melted belt off of the drive pulleys and then noticed the playback/head belts were also melted. Had to improvise and used some a/c o-rings. Go to put it all back together and notice the transport was physically bent. No problem, I have a spare. Get it all cleaned up, swap belts over. Put it in the car and the tape head won't move to the tape. That's no good but not too big of a issue as I have a second spare that I'll clean up and swap the belts over to. The belt melts to the pulleys and required a lot of q-tips/ toothpicks and denatured alcohol. Probably spent a half hour on each one wiping out rubber goo that sticks to everything.

So, I get the second spare cleaned up and belts switched, install and only the left channel is working. I start thinking.. My main objective is to be able to use my ipod so I research on how to add aux in. Nobody has successfully documented how for the radio I have KE-83bzm so I wing it. I desolder the tape head from the board and solder on a 3.5mm RCA. Go to hook it up and the signal from the mp3 player is too strong and it sounds horrible. I try another spot on a daughterboard and still, no dice. I think about it some more, get on ebay and find a radio with no code or indication of condition. Make a offer that's countered and I hold off, I figure I can swap the head between 2 of the tape transports. There's circlips that fit on a 1mm shaft but I get it done. Finally, success- the tape transport works great. I probably took the transport out of the radios 50 times.

Then, the antenna has been stuck in the raised position for at least the 2 1/2 years I've owned it. I got it broke all of the way down and soaked it all and scrubbed it/re-greased. Put it back together and it works. It's nice seeing the antenna down for the first time. The mast was just corroded into place. I have at least 20 hours into the stock radio and it's all working. I let a Neil Young tape play through 3 times on both sides and it gave no problems. Ipod actually sounds really nice. I'm using a antique Aiwa tape adapter that has a pcb board in it with integrated diodes. I didn't expect the stock radio to sound as nice as it does. The subwoofer signal I pulled from the rear channel really added depth to the system. I've impressed myself this time.

Car stalled out a mile from work. I Resolderd my ecu while on break at work. Luckily it worked and I was able to drive back home.

Bought an M30 B35 a couple of weeks ago.. I looked at it today and cursed at the motor.

New control arms and tie rods/center link plus an alignment and some new tires in the front, Pittman's in the back.

Drives like a new car, miles better than my old e28 ever was.

It still LOOKS like shit, but it's starting to really drive pretty nice.

Replaced the sport seat struts.

First, tried the one hand ratcheting clamp. No luck. On the 350N passed away...



Next, the bar clamp. The 500N was too much for it...



The only working solution was the spring compressor.

Tried to charge the r12. No luck as there was too much air in it. Found a shop that will vac it and put my own r12 in Monday. Can't wait. It's been HOT out west.

kzolee wrote:Replaced the sport seat struts.

I was able to to do it using the "Kohler Method" but it was pretty scary.

http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=3& ... =#p1044287

vandiesel wrote:Tried to charge the r12. No luck as there was too much air in it. Found a shop that will vac it and put my own r12 in Monday. Can't wait. It's been HOT out west.

My E24's A/C has been a little weak lately. I've owned it 15 years and it's never been recharged so It'll probably need more R12. Where did you buy yours? I'm thinking of stocking up for the future.