Not pretty... I know.
That's why I pulled out my tools... (check out the wall decoration) ;)
And, the dash is starting to look better:
I'm still working on it, but this is how it'll look...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
76. Drift car dashboard
This is how my drift car's interior looked when I bought it:
Not pretty... I know.
That's why I pulled out my tools... (check out the wall decoration) ;)
And, the dash is starting to look better:
I'm still working on it, but this is how it'll look...
Not pretty... I know.
That's why I pulled out my tools... (check out the wall decoration) ;)
And, the dash is starting to look better:
I'm still working on it, but this is how it'll look...
75. New rear lights
I did treat my 318is with some new rear lights:
Ordered them from German eBay.
Don't you love that red/white combo?
A small job, and not very expensive either -> Big difference! :)
Ordered them from German eBay.
Don't you love that red/white combo?
Only $96,44
74. Breaking into a locked E36
Well, my friend locked his keys (all three of them) into his E36. And, to top it off, the car was running.
Don't ask me how he managed to do it... :) LOL!
Well, we had to break in.
And, after 15 phone calls to various BMW technicians, we decided to do it our way:
Shady characters:
Let's try the hammer:
No go. Let's try something bigger:
Finally - we're in...
If you do this in front of your neighbor's house - don't forget to clean the mess:
We broke the window, because I have 5 sets in stock:
Yea, this one will fit nicely:
Damn! Who's gonna clean this mess?
Don't ask me how he managed to do it... :) LOL!
Well, we had to break in.
And, after 15 phone calls to various BMW technicians, we decided to do it our way:
Shady characters:
Let's try the hammer:
No go. Let's try something bigger:
Finally - we're in...
If you do this in front of your neighbor's house - don't forget to clean the mess:
We broke the window, because I have 5 sets in stock:
Yea, this one will fit nicely:
Damn! Who's gonna clean this mess?
73. Suspension and brakes on my E36 318is
Brake pads are something I have to change two-three times a year. (Front ones, I don't have rear disc brakes... yet.) Here's a couple of photos from the last change.
My car in the air:
New stuff:
Brake changing DIY for dummies:
Old VS. New:
Old ones:
Did you notice how uneven did my old pads wear out? I'm guessing, my right disc is bent...
Not much, but enough to destroy the pads...
I started getting some slight vibrations, and noise from my front right wheel... And that's why I decided to change my front suspension and brakes. Completely.
First of all, I have an extra suspension from one of my EX cars - 325 limo. And, since my car was originally a 316, I have smaller, non-vented discs on my car. I guess, that I'll solve a problem or two with the swap. Not to mention the benefits of a brake system upgrade. :) I'll do it this weekend. And you'll be the first to read about it. ;) Huh :)
Oh, and, almost forgot - I'll spice things up a little with some new springs:
Vogtland! :)
My car in the air:
New stuff:
Brake changing DIY for dummies:
Old VS. New:
Old ones:
Not much, but enough to destroy the pads...
I started getting some slight vibrations, and noise from my front right wheel... And that's why I decided to change my front suspension and brakes. Completely.
First of all, I have an extra suspension from one of my EX cars - 325 limo. And, since my car was originally a 316, I have smaller, non-vented discs on my car. I guess, that I'll solve a problem or two with the swap. Not to mention the benefits of a brake system upgrade. :) I'll do it this weekend. And you'll be the first to read about it. ;) Huh :)
Oh, and, almost forgot - I'll spice things up a little with some new springs:
Vogtland! :)
Pretty in pink! ;)
Amazon:
And a few items... for the next change:
BMW OEM Textar Front Brake Pads for Z3, Z4, E36 & E46 3 Series Sedan & Coupe & Convertible & Touring & Compact
Only $59,99
72. My E36 almost caught fire!
So, this was a real shocker!
One day, while driving home from work, nasty smell started coming out of my air vents. The smell was easy to recognize - it was burned plastic.
As soon as I drove off the highway, I stopped the car. By the time, there was a lot of smoke coming from the vents, as well. Believe me, that's not a good sign. (Especially if you don't have a fire extinguisher in the car.) I quickly stopped the car, and disconnected the battery in a couple of seconds. I might have set a new world record in doing it.
At first, I thought that my head unit installation was bad, so I pulled it out of the dashboard. (If you remember, I installed it a couple of months ago.) It wasn't bad.
Then, I tore out the panel that's under the steering column... And there it was. All of the wires, coming from the light switch, were melted together.
Luckily, there was no real fire, just a lot of smoke. I waited for the smoke to clear, and I started investigating. I found out that, the previous owner had installed some over-kill fuses. The fuses didn't break, and that's why my wires started melting (and fuses, too).
Right. The first thing for me, was to buy some new fuses, and 200 meters of insulation tape. LOL. (And, I bought a fire extinguisher, as well.) After a couple of hours, my BMW was again, on the road. Well, half of the electrics didn't work, but I could drive home, at least.
It took me two days to repair/replace all the melted wires (All of the wires under the dash started melting).
And it took me a day to find the cause of the whole mess. I found it on my trunk lid. There was a short at the hole where the wires come out of the lid. I fixed that, and from then, no problems. :)
Sorry, I don't have a lot of pictures. I was tight with time (since, I need the car to drive to work.). And, it was raining at the time... So, here's just one little detail - after fixing the short on the trunk lid. (Note - those huge red and black wires are for the third brake light on the wing). I did put some silicone there after I took the picture, so, now it's fully water-proof. :)
P.S. I used self-extinguishing tape to wrap the wires. :) Yea!
What have I learned?
This is a nice thing to have!
One day, while driving home from work, nasty smell started coming out of my air vents. The smell was easy to recognize - it was burned plastic.
As soon as I drove off the highway, I stopped the car. By the time, there was a lot of smoke coming from the vents, as well. Believe me, that's not a good sign. (Especially if you don't have a fire extinguisher in the car.) I quickly stopped the car, and disconnected the battery in a couple of seconds. I might have set a new world record in doing it.
At first, I thought that my head unit installation was bad, so I pulled it out of the dashboard. (If you remember, I installed it a couple of months ago.) It wasn't bad.
Then, I tore out the panel that's under the steering column... And there it was. All of the wires, coming from the light switch, were melted together.
Luckily, there was no real fire, just a lot of smoke. I waited for the smoke to clear, and I started investigating. I found out that, the previous owner had installed some over-kill fuses. The fuses didn't break, and that's why my wires started melting (and fuses, too).
Right. The first thing for me, was to buy some new fuses, and 200 meters of insulation tape. LOL. (And, I bought a fire extinguisher, as well.) After a couple of hours, my BMW was again, on the road. Well, half of the electrics didn't work, but I could drive home, at least.
It took me two days to repair/replace all the melted wires (All of the wires under the dash started melting).
And it took me a day to find the cause of the whole mess. I found it on my trunk lid. There was a short at the hole where the wires come out of the lid. I fixed that, and from then, no problems. :)
Sorry, I don't have a lot of pictures. I was tight with time (since, I need the car to drive to work.). And, it was raining at the time... So, here's just one little detail - after fixing the short on the trunk lid. (Note - those huge red and black wires are for the third brake light on the wing). I did put some silicone there after I took the picture, so, now it's fully water-proof. :)
P.S. I used self-extinguishing tape to wrap the wires. :) Yea!
What have I learned?
- NEVER put over-sized fuses in your car.
- ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher in your car.
- REGULARLY check your electrical installation for sings of wear.
This is a nice thing to have!
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