[JupiterBMW]

I've had the car for a year now, and it wasn't intended on being a project, so no build thread was ever created. Not to mention, I'm terrible at keeping up to date with these threads... However, I fell in love with this car, so it very quickly went from my run-around, "beater" work car to a full blown project car that has me leaving my supercharged E90 M3 in the garage, even for local meetups and drives!

The back story: I do a lot of handyman/home repair work in my off time as a way to buy car mods without upsetting the wife. I was using an R53 Mini for the task (worked surprisingly well!) but I didn't like the car and wanted something bigger and safer to put my kids in. So, the E91 replaced it. The car HAD to be rear wheel drive, fairly loaded with options, and Bluewater Metallic in color.

The car: I was able to source a local 2011 E91 with the overall correct spec. It was missing cold weather package, but that was ok. The car also had full beige interior which I didn't like, but figured I had to give a little because the car seemed in such great shape and my local service advisor had run the VIN and confirmed a local South Florida life with plenty of maintenance records at the dealership. Also, the car looked great with only a few small cosmetic items. Underhood was clean and no apparent leaks as well! Sooo, $8000 and I had bought an E91! First pic is when I looked at it, and second pic is when she was home with my E90 M3.





I got it home and took a good look over it. A very small oil leak that I feared was the oil pan gasket... Turned out my oil level sensor was leaking from a missing gasket! Replaced that during my first oil change and fixed my leak for $8. I did some other quick maintenance and took off on a road trip to Maryland. I had no idea the car would perform so flawlessly and be such an enjoyable drive!!



On the way home, I picked up a few goodies from forum members as the mod ideas were already starting...

Stay tuned for Part 2!

[JupiterBMW]

At this point, the car was still just intended to be a run around car, and used for carrying my tools and frequent Home Depot runs... After all, it was just something to use for my handyman side hustle. Side note, off topic, but this side hustle is how I earned the money to put the Harrop supercharger and supporting mods on my M3. It has been a fairly lucrative little gig!

So, first up was the OEM roof rack. I had one on the Mini and was fairly fluent in loading whatever I needed. Here she is with three 16' long 2 x 8s... I needed to build a platform across my pool...



I also spent the initial COVID lockdown/summer cleaning it up and taking care of a few small cosmetic items... The headlights were in a desperate need of a lens wetsand/polish (South Florida summer life)... I also gave the car a thorough cleaning and installed a few items I had picked up on my way home.





The first mod I picked up was an M Sport perforated leather wheel with the LCI paddles. I ordered the Burger Motorsport retrofit harness and with a little soldering, I have functional paddles and a MUCH nicer steering wheel! I also picked up and replaced the HVAC button assembly as my fan speed buttons were very worn. Ironically, the one I grabbed had heated seat buttons! This set me off on eventually trying to retrofit this option!



Of course, eventually the left rear tire (which had been pretty well worn) gave out and I was stuck. I had to actually steal a wheel off my M3 (garage queen, no biggie) to get around town for a few days. At this point you can see I had given up on caring for the other OEM wheels. It was time to buy new tires, and I couldn't dare spend money on those shitbox 17s!! I was on the hunt for some new wheels...



Ok, its bedtime for now, but stay tuned for Part 3 tomorrow... we're just getting to the good stuff!

[JupiterBMW]

Part 3!

There was no way I was spending money on rubber for those awful OEM 17" wheels, so it was time for an upgrade. I'm VERY much an OEM+ type of person, so I wanted an OEM wheel that looked good, 18" and easy to clean. So, I finally found the perfect wheel... Style 640M, the OEM winter wheel option offered for the F80. Its similar to the very popular 513M, but in regular BMW silver, which I preferred. I found a set for a great price, but I had some work to do to clean them up... a LOT of work.





After that was done, I had some Michelin Pilot A/S 3+ installed. Looked and drove SO much better without the garbage run flat tires! But damn that wheel gap!



So I ordered the Bilstein B12 kit... Bilstein B8 struts and Eibach springs...

[JupiterBMW]

Now its time to start the big work... Its time to tackle that beige. It HAS to go! So, I started hunting and collecting parts... I knew I wanted to go with E90 M3 Palladium Silver Novillo leather. The seats have MUCH better bolstering, a nicer look, a more supple/softer leather, and I wanted to go with a color that was two-tone with a black base (dash, carpets, trim pieces, etc), and would compliment the Bluewater.

Step 1. Door cards. I found a set with rear shades which I needed, so I had to jump on them. Originally I was hoping for a full interior set, but I had to piece it together slowly... That was ok...







Step 2. Dash and carpet. I was able to source the carpet locally for an astonishing $15, and I got a clean black dash shipped to me in amazing condition. I knew these two had to be done together with how much work was involved. Challenge accepted!







Step 3. Seats. This was definitely the hardest and most time consuming part of the build. I had to source E90 rear seats that had fold down, and I was hunting for front seats that were LCI with the active headrests as well as heated. Luckily I found all of these parts without too much time. That was just the beginning though. The rear seats are not compatible. The rear seat backs had to be completely reskinned. The palladium leather would have to be installed onto the E91 seat frames as the fold down mechanism and latch points were entirely different. In addition, I had to have the side bolsters modified at my local alterations shop so they would fit the E91 side bolster cushions. The front seats I received needed immense cleaning and conditioning, and the passenger seat was missing the seal rails and the wiring had been altered by the previous owner (luckily all of these things could be reversed).









More pics coming soon, my image uploader seems to have quit on me tonight. I'll have to find something new!

[JupiterBMW]

A few current pics of how the car sits after the work thus far... Call it a photoshoot of sorts.

[Efthreeoh]

Just gotta ask... why retrofit seat heaters in a car for Florida? Save the time and money for all the oil leaks coming up.

And nice work BTW. As a huge fan of the E9X, thanks for resurrecting one, especially a longroof.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Just gotta ask... why retrofit seat heaters in a car for Florida? Save the time and money for all the oil leaks coming up.

And nice work BTW. As a huge fan of the E9X, thanks for resurrecting one, especially a longroof.

It gets cold down here! Sometimes as low as *50F*!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

It gets cold down here! Sometimes as low as *50F*!

You're from Maine... just sayin'

50 deg. is borderline double tee shirt weather for me.

[Yeahbuddy]

Awesome! Subscribed for updates, looking forward to seeing what you do with her

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

You're from Maine... just sayin'

50 deg. is borderline double tee shirt weather for me.

I've been in FL for four years - the blood gets thinner by the year. The natives here put on parkas at 50F.

50F is still swimsuit weather for me. But I still want butt heat in my cars here too.

[Biginboca]

We have 2-3 nights a year in the 40’s, c’mon guys lol. I used the seat heaters in my wife’s Lexus twice this year but don’t have them in my car they are too heavy haha

JupiterBMW has done a killer job with his e91 I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it in person a few times.



And what he has planned for it is going to be amazing I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. For me a built e91 is the most impressive and best looking of all the E9X cars there is just something so sexy about a lowered e91!

[JupiterBMW]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Just gotta ask... why retrofit seat heaters in a car for Florida? Save the time and money for all the oil leaks coming up.

And nice work BTW. As a huge fan of the E9X, thanks for resurrecting one, especially a longroof.

Hah! Looks like you've already gotten your answer, but as its been said, it does get "cold" in Florida. It might be all relative, but still, some mornings it is nice! In addition, sometimes it feels nice on a sore back. I like to say its because some days in the gym are more intense than others, but in reality its probably just me getting old.

Originally Posted by krhodes1

It gets cold down here! Sometimes as low as *50F*!

Not sure where you are in Florida, but we had a couple days in the low to mid 40s this past January!!! Insanity.

[JupiterBMW]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

We have 2-3 nights a year in the 40’s, c’mon guys lol. I used the seat heaters in my wife’s Lexus twice this year but don’t have them in my car they are too heavy haha

JupiterBMW has done a killer job with his e91 I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it in person a few times.



And what he has planned for it is going to be amazing I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. For me a built e91 is the most impressive and best looking of all the E9X cars there is just something so sexy about a lowered e91!

Hah, thanks for the post buddy! I can't wait to get home, there are more mods planned and I'm VERY excited for the next round!

[nsjames]

you got a great deal on that for 8 grand.

the beige interior "grows" on you. I hated mine, but now it just exists.

it is a drag to keep clean in the back though when you're hauling around toolboxes and car parts and such.

edit:
that's not to say that if I could get my hands on a charcoal interior I wouldn't. I'm just less mad at it now after some years because the rest of the car is great.

[JupiterBMW]

Originally Posted by nsjames

you got a great deal on that for 8 grand.

the beige interior "grows" on you. I hated mine, but now it just exists.

it is a drag to keep clean in the back though when you're hauling around toolboxes and car parts and such.

edit:
that's not to say that if I could get my hands on a charcoal interior I wouldn't. I'm just less mad at it now after some years because the rest of the car is great.

Haha! I completely know what you're saying... To be honest, it wasn't exactly "growing on me" as I never really liked it, but I was ok with it, I didn't hate it as much as when I first got the car...

That being said, stay tuned for the Part 4 and 5 of my build!

[Cyril Sneer]

What tire size did you go with? I have the same wheels set to go on my E91.

[JupiterBMW]

Originally Posted by Cyril Sneer

What tire size did you go with? I have the same wheels set to go on my E91.

I went with a staggered setup..

225/40-18 front
255/35-18 rear

[eljay]

Looks great!!
I love my 270M wheels.... until I need to clean them. Less spokes would be very nice.

[4 Doors]

Glad to see you took my advice on showing off your build!

[JupiterBMW]

Originally Posted by eljay

Looks great!!
I love my 270M wheels.... until I need to clean them. Less spokes would be very nice.

Hah, I know the feeling. However, those don't look too bad. The style 359 wheels on my M3 are TERRIBLE. I hate cleaning them!

Originally Posted by 4 Doors

Glad to see you took my advice on showing off your build!

Hah, yep! I haven't even shared the best parts yet!

[JupiterBMW]

Another update in post #4. Interior swap!

[Lylefk]

Beautiful car! I'm trying to find an e91 and with the added shipping complexity/cost of living in Hawaii, I'm hoping I can find a loaded one to avoid projects like you're tackling. Kudos!