Keflaman

[DesktopDave]

OBTW, I found a unicorn in my mailbox...

Unreal!  You wouldn't happen to have a PROM reader, would you?  We could publish that code!

[keflaman]

Sorry, Dave, no prom reader.
But, I'd be happy to provide my chip for someone to burn one.

What brought me to post in my profile was to post a picture of the rubber cap I used on the plastic water tube when I did my "Mess Under The Intake". I remember one of the forum members warning of the relative short longevity of these caps.


That was bad enough, but when I found this I was pissed!

That's a BMW OEM vacuum hose that goes from the intake boot to the idle control valve and...it was installed less than two years ago!!! I chucked it and used a 12.9mm fuel line from NAPA as a replacement.

[DesktopDave]

Sorry, Dave, no prom reader.
But, I'd be happy to provide my chip for someone to burn one.

That was bad enough, but when I found this I was pissed!

That's a BMW OEM vacuum hose that goes from the intake boot to the idle control valve and...it was installed less than two years ago!!! I chucked it and used a 12.9mm fuel line from NAPA as a replacement.

You're the first other person I've ever heard with a complaint about OEM BMW rubber parts. I've had two lengths of OEM 8x13 fuel line spring leaks on my car in two years. Both were on the kink between the pump and filter. While that's the area of highest pressure, the filter was new and properly installed.

I've always used BMW OEM rubber as I thought it best (except where silicone rubber was a better option)...I might be revising that notion.

Don't you mean 1/2" NAPA fuel line? 

[keflaman]

It's been a while since I posted anything about my car, but I've been daily driving and enjoying it! I still have body work to complete and will eventually get a paint job. In the meantime I noticed the paint was fading fast over the summer and so I decided to break out the buffing and polishing equipment.

I initially rinsed the surface with high pressure from a garden hose and then washed with a car soap. I followed that with a good clay bar until the surface was slippery to the touch. The paint is very scratched on the hood, roof, and trunk from what looks like use as a storage shelf in the car's previous life, so I started somewhat aggressively with 3M Imperial Microfinishing medium compound on a wool bonnet. Here you can see where I have finished both sides of the hood and ready to start the center section.


I cut the trunk before moving on to the roof. Here you can clearly see the oxidized paint compared to the area I just polished.


Here's the results of a few hours polishing. I washed the car again to remove residual compound and then took my leaf blower to the entire car to remove any standing water.


I moved the car into the garage and spent a few hours the next day using a foam pad on an orbital polisher with Mequires cleaner wax. That was two weeks ago and here's the results as of this morning. I got quite a few compliments on how nice the car looked and even asked if I had it repainted.





In all sincerity the pictures don't show the real extent of the fading, nor the true difference polishing and buffing made. I would have used a glaze and seal, but in all honesty I just didn't feel like the effort would be worth it. It's a 24 year old paint job and it looks good from 10-15 feet away...I'm good with that.

[DesktopDave]

Those are really good results. How long did it take? Can I get away with a cheap HF buffer if I use expensive compounds?

Your post is timely as well. My newest project car will be arriving soon and project #1 will be the faded Zinnoberrot. It needs a lot of help.

[keflaman]

Thanks, Dave. Like painting, a lot of time is spent in preparation...which I didn't do and I paid the price in time afterwards cleaning the trim and windows. Apparently a PO used some sort of dressing on the door trim and the heat from the polishing pad caused it to streak and turn gummy. After some trial and error, I found that acetone cleaned it right up and evened it out. Some light abrasive mat and acetone also worked well on the window seals and wiper arms.

I'm definitely no expert on the compounds used today. The 3M compound I used is left over from my days repairing gel coat on boats...back in the early nineties!  In fact, I see it's now obsolete.

But, to answer your question about an HF buffer, I'd recommend a six inch orbital DA and I see it's on sale right now for $68!!

[Darky]

Looks real good from here Keith!
Cheers

[keflaman]

In preparation for (someday) installing my JakeB turbo kit, I decided to install the E30 IX windshield washer reservoir .

I used a hole saw and cut out a small notch for the injector wiring harness...


I found it helpful to adjust this "clamp" for slack in order for the injector harness to fit between the reservoir and plastic trim piece.


There are two tabs on the backside of the reservoir which fit into a slot at the bottom of the firewall...


Here's a shot that shows how the injector wiring harness fits between the reservoir and trim piece where I notched it and put the slack in the clamp.


Here it sits all nice and cozy in its new place...


Another angle where you can see how it fits. I have to extend the original wiring and install the washer pump. I also need to find a plug for the reservoir fluid level sensor hole...

[keflaman]

You give me much too much credit amigo!!! Besides, if you did it my way, you probably had to restart at least once, probably twice!!...

http://www.m42club.com/forum/index.php?topic=18128.270

The above quote and link pertain to "normboudreault's epic thread entitled, "1991 318iS resto". inspired by his progress, I wanted to post some pictures of my work. First off, I never, never, never. restart a repair. My welding skills are such that I just gob on the filler material and grind it off, gob some more, grind some more, gob/grind, gob/grind...you get my drift.

I didn't take a "before" picture (or maybe I did and just can't find it ), but here's the cut out piece. The area between my forefinger and thumb represents missing sheet metal that had rusted away...


It took some time to measure, cut, and compare, but the fit was acceptable and I started tacking my little heart out...


I'm not exactly sure how I ended up with such a large gap, but a short piece of 1/16" filler rod fit in there nicely. I was frustrated by my failed attempts to get the correct feed and speed on my MIG welder...I'm not a good welder, but I'm better than that!!


Luckily, my wife called me in for supper and afterwards I did some searching on Youtube.  I suddenly came out of my food coma when I realized I had forgotten to rotate the drive wheel after changing the wire spool from 0.032" to 0.024"!


Perhaps not the best, but it will work after I finesse it with the 4" grinder!


The other side is going to be a bit more challenging, but easier to weld since I have my settings dialed in.


In lieu of buying a welding spoon, I cut a few random sections of copper pipe, slit them lengthwise, and pounded them flat. Held behind the area being welded, these act as heat sinks and prevent/minimize blow-through. I'm anxious to start the other side and see if my results are improved!