[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by M3_Legend

Great thread! Love your wagon and work you've done

Cheers! It's coming on pretty well and I'm pleased with how it's looking, both in and out.

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by swagon

I like the poplar trim a lot and the matte black centre console suits the rest of the interior.

Must be one of the cleanest E9x's in the UK, yours. They're all driven to the ground and/or modified by chavs.

Ah thanks Must admit my initial 50/50ness is waning now, and I reckon the poplar bits will stay.

They were really well received in one of the UK E9x Facebook groups when I posted some pics, and that did surprise me somewhat - your "modified by chavs" line does ring true with some cars over here!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Steady on!

Hehe!

Well, good grief. I've finally worked out how to click through profiles and see what others have been up to. Your build thread is incredible! Apologies for all the 'appreciate' mashing while I was reading through. You must get lots of satisfaction from working on yours as thoroughly as you do. Hat's off to you!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Looking great.

Cheers! Appreciate it

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by xlr88r

Hehe!

Well, good grief. I've finally worked out how to click through profiles and see what others have been up to. Your build thread is incredible! Apologies for all the 'appreciate' mashing while I was reading through. You must get lots of satisfaction from working on yours as thoroughly as you do. Hat's off to you!

Cheers. I do like the satisfaction of it being finished much more than actually doing the work!

I was putting fuel in it yesterday and actually looked at it for the first time in a while... There's moss growing around some of the windows, and every bit of exterior trim has green shit underneath it

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Cheers. I do like the satisfaction of it being finished much more than actually doing the work!

I was putting fuel in it yesterday and actually looked at it for the first time in a while... There's moss growing around some of the windows, and every bit of exterior trim has green shit underneath it

Hehe! Ah mate, it's the time of year that plays havoc with the looks. My front garden is north facing so gets no real direct sun at this time of year, and the car's getting a big mossy in spots too. It's nice out today though, so a quick normal wash with some TLC to the foliage-ridden bits seems like a plan.

Still haven't picked up a jack and axle stands yet. One day I will and I'll start thinking about tackling some basic mechanical bits though.

[xlr88r]

Moderately exciting news! Potentially.

After a hiatus of 12 years and 3 months I've finally put some words together again, and have written another buyer's guide. This time it's not for the Mitsubishi Legnum VR4, but for the current E91.

The magazine's print only with a really small team, so if it passes muster I've no idea when it may sneak in. Watch this space though as I'll be over the moon if it does! In the lead up to either something or nothing, here are a few photos I submitted along with the article.

(P.S. I promise it's not a love letter to the N52 and tasteful E9x modification in the slightest. Ahem!)

[xlr88r]

Wonder if these will stay, perhaps?

It's been a few weeks since the Light Poplar trims went in, but truthfully I'm still not completely set on them. So, it's time for a change, again... again! 10 days ago or thereabouts I spied a couple of eBay listings for the Individual Piano II dash trims, with inlays.

They. Were. Battered.

The larger dash trim had a huge scuff on one side, a cluster of deep scratches on the other, and was actually slightly bent out of shape near the passenger vent. I don't know who dragged these out of the donor car but I hope they don't do any babysitting! The driver's trim was better, but peppered with lots of fine scratches. For the price though, and given how rare they are, I took a punt on them.

Some pics. With apologies to those who are eating!

[xlr88r]

Let's get to work.

At £40 delivered for both, these were a steal - understandably so given the state they're in! My 'detailing' arsenal includes nothing that will really help here, apart from the dregs of a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Compound. But, no other compounds or polishes of any sort. Given how cheap the trims were, I didn't really want to splash out £20 plus, 3 or 4 times over, on various compounds that will then sit unused.

So, a £20 3M Headlight Restoration kit made its way over. Yep, really!

I ignored the coarser grade papers and started with the lightest 800, which whipped the scuzzy surface off. The cluster of deep scratches (in the last pic above) needed more work, but thankfully it didn't end with me saying "I've f@#£ed it" and revealing the underlying colour! After that, I used the first pad with the kit which had to be kept wet, then some of the Meguiars Ultimate and the kits own compound too.

They're a lot better, but at the moment I can't get the very finest swirls to flatten. It's understandable - a headlight resto kit just won't go light enough for something like these trims. So, I've (reluctantly!) ordered a couple of very fine Menzerna compounds and some new pads to hopefully improve them more.

For the moment though, given my 'economical' methods and the nightmare condition these were in, they're leagues better. Some pics:

This was after the first and only sanding stage:




After the first pass with the wet pad:



Aaaand finished, for now. I just kept working at them and didn't take many pics, as progress was slow! This is the area shown in the last photo in the previous post - the area with the mega deep scratches. Bye bye to them!













Better, but still scope for improvement. Spotted the chip in the corner near the engine stop/start button? Not sure what to do with that. In the pics with the lights you can make out the swirling. While that might not be noticeable in the car - especially during winter in the UK! - I'm still going to try and improve them further when the compounds and pads are here.

For the outlay and effort so far I'm pleased with them though, and it's nice to get something from the Individual options list (nearly!) into the car.

[Tambohamilton]

Nice choice. My partner's (now my dad's) 118d has piano trim. Very nice, though you wouldn't know how special it is unless you'd read the catalogue! The spec on that car is so odd!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Nice choice. My partner's (now my dad's) 118d has piano trim. Very nice, though you wouldn't know how special it is unless you'd read the catalogue! The spec on that car is so odd!

Cheers mate! Aye, they're rare old things. Well done to your partner for finding any BMW with them optioned - they were stupidly expensive bits when new!

I promise I'm not on the lookout for some 'Individual' sill trims, honest! #fakingit

[4 Doors]

I appreciate your attention to detail on the interior. It makes all the difference! Especially working on restoring that Piano Black trim set. That is dedication and I love it, cheers!

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by 4 Doors

I appreciate your attention to detail on the interior. It makes all the difference! Especially working on restoring that Piano Black trim set. That is dedication and I love it, cheers!

Thanks so much! It's definitely been a labour of love so far, and will continue to be at this rate.

[xlr88r]

Well, here we go, the Piano bits are in.

I gave them some more tlc this morning as the compounds and pads had arrived. Being honest they're still not great, but they're definitely passable for now.

To go with them I picked up a set of 'Diamant Schwarz' door trims. With all the luck in the world, there's just no chance of a set of Piano door trims appearing any time soon, so these will act as body doubles. As it happens, the door trim seller recognised my name from Instagram and messaged me on there with a photo of the tracking number. What a small world!

This time I'm sure these will be a keeper as they're so hard to come by... just got to stay clear of eBay for a while now!

[Tambohamilton]

Tidy

[xlr88r]

No news is good news, right? Right!

Apart from spending a couple of quid on a bit of silver trim to hide a worn bit around the stop/start button, nothing has happened of late. So, here's a before and after collage of sorts, and a pic of that silver trim thing.

World beating, first class, A+ rated content eh? Erm...!

[xlr88r]

Big change incoming!

For a while now I've been tempted to give the front end some TLC. The bumper isn't terrible by any means, but a respray wouldn't go amiss and there's a small knock/dent on the driver's corner too. Alongside that I'd been considering a splitter of some sort as well. After putting a request for photos of pre-LCI splitters out, nothing that came back really caught my eye. The corner splitters are used a lot but don't seem to fit particularly well on the left and right hand sides of the fog light recesses, and the full width ones jut out too far for my pretty reserved tastes.

So, all in then. A new bumper it is! It's for the LCIs so I'll need a bonnet and grilles as well, and ideally arch liners too. Given the cost of the bumper, shipping, import duty, and next week the paint and fitting, the arch liners will have to wait for now.

It's booked in for next Weds, 9th March. Hopefully I'll have found a decent bonnet by then (thankfully Le Mans was carried over to LCI) and hopefully I'll be able to cadge some help off my brother-in-law with the fitting of it.

Here's a photo of a box. Thrilling eh?

[Tambohamilton]

Now that is a nice box!

[M3_Legend]

Great job on the Black trim!! I just ordered a used set off ebay from Europe. Might do the same as you did to your trim.

[xlr88r]

Originally Posted by M3_Legend

Great job on the Black trim!! I just ordered a used set off ebay from Europe. Might do the same as you did to your trim.

Cheers! I'm pleased with how they came out.

Well done for finding a set - they're rare old things. Hope all goes well with the tidying up 🙂

[xlr88r]

It took a couple of attempts - the bodyshop weren't happy with the colour match first time - but the M Performance bumper is now on.

Next on the list is an LCI bonnet, and hopefully a mint condition Le Mans one that doesn't need paint! That bumper was offensively expensive by the time it was fitted 🥲 While it wasn't that pricey in itself, shipping from Germany - with insurance - import duty, and paint, have meant this was a big investment. Still, it fits the direction I'm taking the car in perfectly. OEM+ all the way.

Here's a photo from the Ultimate BMW Meet at the British Motor Museum last Sunday, and a closer driveway shot too.

#grillgate #preLCItoLCIwoes

[xlr88r]

Yep, I kept the headlight washers because they work. Incredible eh?!

Nope, the front fogs haven't been coded out yet. I really need to sit down and spend some time getting whichever app starts with 'I' (STA or NPA?) installed so I can do this.

Also, there's a nice, fitting, and very complimentary couple of other bits in for paint right now too. Keep 'em peeled!