CarBQ M5 update with June 2012 pics

[mooseheadm5]

More work today. I was surprised to find that the back of the cluster was black and melty.

Burned carpet

Burned AC case

Dash out

Crispy wiring

AC and heater cases out. Almost all the wiring in these pics is heat damaged. Some is completely burned, some is melted together, and some of it has hardened from the heat and I do not trust it.



I have ordered a new Behr heater core since it is silly to go this far and not replace it. It'll only cost me $90, and I won't have to worry about it for decades, so I'd call that a good investment. Happily a quick lube of the heater blower and it is good to go, so I can ignore that for now. I am OK with using a used AC evaporator and associated stuff because I do not have to remove the dash to access those parts if they require replacement in the future.
I rid the seat control circuit of shorts so now I can move the seats with the switches, which will make pulling the carpet a cinch.

[Coldswede]

[quote]Here is a picture of the shift console.[quote]

I saw that in an earlier picture you posted, I thought that was the "Hot Set-up" for a Short Shifter...

[mooseheadm5]

Man I hate fucking rust. That, and burned wiring are making today the suck. Just spent a couple of hours fixing the driver's front jack point. Pulled the carpet and padding today and saw the potential problem, so I hit it with a hammer and punched out a pretty decent sized hole.
A few hours later it is patched with two layers of E30 steel. No pics of the progress on that- I kinda got into it and didn't take any. I hate the shop's MIG. I wish I had the TIG from the lab. It would have been much easier with much less grinding required. Any other welding on this beast will be done with a TIG.
More pics later. I need to finish the toasty power window wiring before I can put the carpet back. I already spent a few hours on the power seat and seat heater wiring. It is not fun.

[PROJECT. E28]

i have to say, its really gonna be nice having some fresh wiring. Yeah its a pain in the but it sure is worth it.

[mooseheadm5]

At the start of the day:

After pulling the seats. I later found that it was nothing short of miraculous that all seat functions work considering the condition of the seat harnesses.


The harnesses that pass over the hump- the power/ground for the seats and the power window harness.

End of the day. Doesn't look like I did much, but I soldered probably nearly 100 connections. Any wire that touches the tunnel had hardened and burned insulation. Seat harness wires, seat heater wires, seat switch wires, etc. A real huge PITA for sure. In the midst of it all, I patched the spot visible in the bottom left corner of the photo. The front lift point (not the jack point on the rocker) had rusted through. I cut a piece off of an E30 parts car and welded it in. I then ground down the welds (tough job due to location and crappy welder) and added another layer. Ground those down and painted it with a few coats. Also cleaned off the lower pedal mount, which was rusty, and painted it. Sprayed the tunnel and called it a night. Tomorrow, I get to finish the wiring repairs, reinstall the padding and carpet, replace the heater core, and install the heater case and seats. Should be fun.

[Coldswede]

Oh Gawd! This brings back nightmares of a self abusing MG Midget. I bet old Lucas tried 5 times to incinerate that car

I finally just turned it into an SCCA H production racer

Your doing good work, I hope the end result is worth all the messy, nasty work your having to do (Not the quality of your work btw)

[1st 5er]

Again, kudos for taking on such a project.

You'll have a legend upon completion.

[mooseheadm5]

Finally got all the under-carpet wiring redone. All solder and heat shrink. While I was in there, I noticed the pedal bracket was cracked. Dammit. Not like I had time for it, but since everything was already out of the car I figured now was the best time. I welded it on both sides and reinforced it with more steel. That should last forever. Padding and carpet is back in, driver's seat is back in (temporarily- I may swap it out before V@V.) I'll reinstall the heater case later this week since I ran out of time due to the pedal bracket. Pics later.

[tsmall07]

You're a better man that I, that's for sure. That would have been turned into a stripped track car if I had gotten it. Very impressive.

[pldlnr]

Nice work! I admire you for taking on such a project. It will be worth it when you are done.

[tschultz]

Looks scary!
Glad I don't have to sort that one out...I wouldnt know where to start!

At least you see all the progress you are making, and it is coming together!

Car looks great, and I like the wheels!

[skip535i]

Nice work! I admire you for taking on such a project. It will be worth it when you are done.

Amen! The patience it must take....

[mooseheadm5]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. It might be roadworthy buy the time Andrew's BBQ rolls around, but only if I bust my ass on it next week. It still needs much suspension work.

You're a better man that I, that's for sure. That would have been turned into a stripped track car if I had gotten it. Very impressive.

Actually, it almost turned into a donor car for Aaron's V12 swap before my wife made me keep it.

Car looks great, and I like the wheels!

I like them too, but it is hard to find 245/45/16s. They are Dinan marketed BBS RG. 16x7.5 ET11 front and 16x8.5 ET24 rear (IIRC.) They are eventually getting moved to the 535is. The M5 will get style 5s with a special treatment.

[Scottinva]

You are doing wire repairs, I thought you were replacing a big chunk of that harness?

[mooseheadm5]

I repaired the stuff under the carpet, but I plan to replace the stuff under the dash. The stuff under the carpet would be pretty difficult to replace completely because it goes into all the doors, to the power lock computer, etc.

[mooseheadm5]

Forgot to mention that once I repaired the wiring the power windows (the fronts, at least) worked as well as the power locks. That is encouraging.

Got the heater core replaced and the heater case installed tonight. In the dark. In the parking lot at the shop (they are super busy and had to park it in.). Found out that though you can pull the heater case with the fan shrouds in place, it is nearly impossible to put it back in that way, since the heater core piping won't line up well enough to go through the grommet. As a side note, the heater core grommet has two little plugs molded into it for the purpose of running wires through it. Good to know.

[1st 5er]

How many days and counting?

[mooseheadm5]

From what (or till what?)

I plan to take it to Vintage at the Vineyards, so I only have until the end of May (though I want to have it roadworthy by the beginning of May.) I have worked on it earnestly for about 3 weekends so far (I had a wedding interrupt one weekend's work.) I believe that by the end of this weekend I will have most of the rear suspension issues worked out and install the exhaust. The rear muffler will need modification (too long) and I want to add a resonator to keep down the 2000rpm droning. I am waiting on Andy to get time to pull the harnesses I need before I swap in the lightly cracked dash. If he doesn't have time, I may visit Aaron on Sunday and pull them from his parts car (though in this instance I would rather spend money than time since time is of the essence.)

[1st 5er]

You guessed it... V&V.

I'm counting down too!!!

[mooseheadm5]

Yesterday I got the rear suspension issues sorted yesterday. I had an awful time trying to get the right side passenger stud out to press the crossmember bushings all the way in since Curry's didn't do it correctly. I had to use a torch and and a very stout air hammer. Temporarily installed the exhaust so that I can mark it up for future modifications. I need to move the cat closer to the center of the car from the passenger side so it tucks up better, shorten the rear muffler, and install a center muffler. I built the system about 7 years ago when I couldn't afford much so I had to use what I could get. I salvaged the piping and cat from a metal recycling yard for $5.
Replaced the rear springs with Eibachs. Reverse rake anyone?

Today I disassembled, cleaned, and reinstalled the AC case. This is a pain in the ass to do. Once I reconnected it I hooked it up to a vacuum pump for a couple of hours and it held, so it should hold freon just fine. Hopefully it will work without issue.
(See http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=76608)

I plugged in the control panel, checked all the circuits for shorts and replaced all the missing/blown fuses. Crossed my fingers and checked for function. Everything worked perfectly except for the fresh air flap. It is controlled by a small stepper motor. I had noticed that the motor was loose. It was loose on my spare heater case as well. When I tightened the screws, it jammed the arm so it couldn't move. Once I had that fixed, they opened and closed on command.
Finished everything up under the hood and filled with coolant. It runs quite well considering the 7 year old gas. Not much left to go mechanically now.

[1st 5er]

I love this thread.

I'll leave you alone now so you can get the car finished.

[derrith]

I like them too, but it is hard to find 245/45/16s. They are Dinan marketed BBS RG. 16x7.5 ET11 front and 16x8.5 ET24 rear (IIRC.) They are eventually getting moved to the 535is. The M5 will get style 5s with a special treatment.

I have a square set of the 16x8.5 RGs that came off a turbo m6. I found that http://www.tires-easy.com/ has Toyo T1Rs in 245/45r16 along with a few other choices. That's probably what I'll be grabbing.

Edit: crap, went back and checked. They don't show up anymore. They were there three days ago. Worth giving them a call as well as tire rack to see if they have something but it's just not listed.

[mooseheadm5]

Well, working all Saturday morning and hanging out at Andrew's BBQ all day, then closing the bar with him, George and his GF, Tyler and the two Shannons, and wifey meant sleeping late and getting to the shop after 2. Good times, though.

Exhaust work all day. I redid the front section before the cat since the cat sat too far toward the passenger side. That allowed it to tuck further up into the tunnel, which was problematic when I had this system on my old M5. Added a center resonator to help reduce the interior booming. When I bought this muffler 8 years ago, I either ordered the wrong part number or was sent the wrong part. By the time I figured that out it was too late and I was left with a muffler that was far too long for the car. I made it work and just lived with it, but I wasn't about to live with it on this car.
I had to painstakingly cut open the muffler and shorten the inner perforated tube. I can tell you for certain that Magnaflow makes very good mufflers. This thing would have withstood a bomb. Very thick perf tube wrapped with steel wool. The case is packed tightly with long strand fiberglass or rock wool. I'd buy another Magnaflow product in a second. Anyhow, now that that is taken care of, the muffler actually tucks up where it should. I added a new center muffler to cut down on the booming in the interior at around 2krpm. The car is pretty quiet inside, but it is still pretty loud outside. Not my problem, though

pics in a bit. I forgot to put away the sawzall, and I know the shop owner will not like that.

[mooseheadm5]

[skip535i]

What will you do for tips? Looks good, nice work!

[tsmall07]

What will you do for tips?

Hopefully not become a stripper! Maybe you could sell ice cream...

[mooseheadm5]

What will you do for tips?

Hopefully not become a stripper! Maybe you could sell ice cream...

Don't be ridiculous, I'd look silly in a white hat.

I have the a pair of chrome ovals to install. I have to add extensions before I can install them. I didn't use to need tailpipes because the muffler was so long before.

[aaront]

This thread makes me feel bad for stressing about a rusty dogleg and trunk.

[wkohler]

This thread makes me feel bad for stressing about a rusty dogleg and trunk.

Are you going to update your thread?

[aaront]

Are you going to update your thread?

I haven't had the time to snap any pics of the resto. I had it back for one day and then stranded it 100 miles from here

Maybe tomorrow.