Must have caught the boss in a good mood! More pics added.

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bss325i
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:06 pm

A couple of weeks ago my clutch master decided to spring a leak and squirt fluid all over my carpet and feet every time the clutch was depressed. The slave had been weeping slightly for a while now and i had been topping the resovior up until i got round to fitting a new slave. Whats p*ssed me off about all this most of all is that both the master and slave were replaced 14 months ago all be it with patern parts, i thought they would have lasted a while longer! Needless to say i bought genuine ones this time!
Anyway, there has been a growing list of things to do to my sport and it had got to the point of alot of them needed doing real soon so i thought just take a couple of days off work and do it all in one hit as time is at a premium with me and the lack of a garrage to work in doesn't help either.
The only place i can work on cars is outside a council type lock up garrage i rent which isnt convenient or at work on a sat from 8am-1pm, not realy enough time to anything to involving or multiple tasks.
On the off chance i thought i'd ask my boss if i could bring my car into work on the two days off and use my ramp to do what i needed, the worst he could say was no. Much to my, and others surprise he said yes! He must have go laid the night before or something but needless to say i was most pleased as this meant having the luxury of my ramp, air tools and not having to cart a load of tools home from work only to be caught shot by forgetting a particular tool that i would need.
I drew up a list of work that i needed an wanted to do that i thought i could do realisticly in the time i had which was as follows

*Remove carpet from car, clean and refit
*Replace clutch master cylinder
*Replace clutch slave cylinder
*Replace front brake pads and discs (standard parts)
*Replace brake fluid (Ate super blue on recomendation by others)
*Replace control arm bushes for M3 eccentrics (a brilliant mod!)
*Full geometry check and 4 wheel alignment
*Replace full exhaust system and manifold
*Replace engine and gearbox mounts
*Replace diff rear cover for Z3M diff cover
*Install heated seat wiring loom
*Retro fit 13 button OBC

I managed to get all of this done along with a few other minor things except for the OBC retro fit, on monday and tuesday.

Here's a few pics.
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I've had the BTB and exhaust system since sept and was waiting till my 2.7 alpina engine was built to fit it but as that wont be complete till towards the end of the year i thought i might as well put it on as it will also be good to see what gains this will give to a standard, healthy, low mileage 2.5 so watch out for the dyno results soon! I was initialy going to replace my system for a standard genuine BMW one as i had a two peice standard system which doesn't fit the BTB and im not into overly loud exhausts but after hearing similar set ups on other cars i decided to take the plunge and go aftermarket. I ended up going for a scorpion rear box with STW tails with and no "scopion"scrip on the tails pipes as this is close to original Alpina tail pipe design. I decided to go for a sebring centre on the recomendation that it woud be quieter than if i used a scorpion centre as well. One thing i will add is that the scopion rear and sebring centre are not a straight fit. The join is meant to be a sliding joint but the flared female end of the scorpion is not big enough to accept the male end of the sebring and even if it were big enough to slide over, both parts were to long for each other. The solution to this was to cut approx 1.5" off the sebring and 1" off the scorpion then use a pair of sleeve clamps.
To be honest i still think its a bit to loud for my liking but we'll see how it goes.

Nice and clean inside diff with no visible damage which you would expect for the milage.

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The Z3M diff cover, how much use this will be for the type of use the car gets is debatable but it certainly looks good and wont do any harm. The stiffer diff mount bush is also a bonus.

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The Z3M diff cover, how much use this will be for the type of use the car gets is debatable but it certainly looks good and wont do any harm. The stiffer diff mount bush is also a bonus.

I just very happy to have got all this out of the way and enjoy the benifits of the mods that have been done. Just waiting for a few more bits to turn up then crack on with a new list of things to do lol! :D
Last edited by bss325i on Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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snoops
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:13 pm

nice to see a sport in the condition yours is in is getting the tlc it deserves

that shiny exhaust and diff cover make the car look :cool: underneath
oguz327
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:46 pm

Nice one Barry, glad you got all those bits done.

Your sport looks to be in great condition under there especially with the new bits on :cool:


How are you finding the BTB?
B7
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:52 pm

Barry, How much was that diff cover? I'm temped by one for mine when I drop the lot out next winter.

It's looking good though mate. You did well to hit that lot in a couple of days. Just a suggestion, Pehaps a bottle of Chateaux Neuf on the bosses desk may help for next time???? I know I appreciate things like that when I help my team out.
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bss325i
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 11:06 pm

Thanks for the comments guys!

Oz, i have noticed the difference at the top end of the revs but i can honestly say i cant notice the reduction in low end tourque that people have said would hapen but one thing it cetainly looks much better! I will get it dynoed to see if it makes anywhere near the claimed "18bhp!" but i would be happy with 10. I guess a remap would make the most of it.

Trevor, i got the diff cover from Kos for £150 brand new and the fittings were about another £15. I thing they are about £170 from the dealer though. My boss, hmmm. He is actually not liked very much by most of the staff and ive certainly had disputes with him over his previous behaviour but of recent he seems to be different. I did let him know i appreciated him letting do the work there but needless to say he will call in the favour at some point.
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siddiqi1
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:10 am

What is the adv of the Z3M diff cover?

Its something I might do as well?
mattG
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:03 am

Finally got the BTB on & diff cover :cool:
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(='.'=)Simon13 wrote:
323's were dangerous this will un drivable in the wet!

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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:09 pm

Hay Barry,

Looking good mate!

You must bring this to a meet soon! I really wanna see it!

It's good to see quick progress, bet it's really rewarding :wink: and i love seeing shiney new bits oooo
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:19 pm

looks really nice!! i want an exhaust for my 318i but carnt find any atm that will fit straight on and look cool :cool:
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:30 pm

whats the reason 4 the diff cover? :?
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:34 pm

Looks great Barry. I envy you having that ramp to make things easy.

Your sport is getting better and better!
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oakey
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:49 pm

Looking good! :cool:

Diff cover is a nice touch.
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:50 pm

alex-e30 wrote:whats the reason 4 the diff cover? :?
The diff mount bush is stiffer and supposedly stronger, the diff cover is also finned aiding cooling.
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:49 pm

i'm thinking about the diff cover but was wondering if you can see it form the back of the car
bigun wrote:sell my sport i'd rather f**k the dog :)
for sale one left kidney, high mileage, need slight bit of work, will p/x for front wings and rear qtr panels
bss325i
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:24 pm

Sidiqi1, alex-e30 and lenny-d as march109 has said the diff cover has the stonger mounting bush and a row of cooling fins which dissipate heat and air flow through them cools the diff, all i need now is one of them rare Alpina VDO digital gauges which has a diff oil temp read out!
You can see the fins from behind the car if you kneel down but it doesnt hang so low as to become a risk over humps and my car is on 40mm eibachs and in fact it is level with the centre box.
Will post some more pics of it from behind the car over the weekend.
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james318i
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:30 pm

thats a lovely looking car you got there mate , nice job
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:46 pm

march109 wrote:
alex-e30 wrote:whats the reason 4 the diff cover? :?
The diff mount bush is stiffer and supposedly stronger, the diff cover is also finned aiding cooling.
Imagine how long a normal E30 diff bush would last with 321 bhp going through it......

The fact that early hard driven ZM3 coupes where ripping the rear axles off the car body shows how much bmw had to beef up the essentially E30 trailing arm suspension to cope, and modify it even more when this started happening. Fins aid cooling as said.

Barry top drawer, will look forward to having a listen to the system.

M3 bushes rule don't they, great mod
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siddiqi1
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:34 am

thanks for the explanation!!

Defo something i wana do now!
shows how much bmw had to beef up the essentially E30 trailing arm suspension to cope
Could you go as far as to say that we could therfore use a Z3M rear trailing arm in an E30?Would it be advantagous?
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:41 am

Looks sweet-as mate.
bss325i
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:57 pm

Yes si the M3 bushes are a great mod, deffinately improves steering feel.

This turned up today after a 4 month wait! :D

Image
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B7
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:05 pm

oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh :wan:
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:19 pm

bss325i wrote:Yes si the M3 bushes are a great mod, deffinately improves steering feel.

This turned up today after a 4 month wait! :D

Image
How much and where from, i like alot 8)
bss325i
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:53 pm

£250 plus vat from dealer, with a bit of discount it was £218 plus vat. 4 month wait though! 8O
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kieran325
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Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:22 pm

That wheel is lovely, i'l look into getting one myself :P
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wallya1
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Sat Feb 23, 2008 3:41 pm

Hey Bss325i...what is the diameter of that alpina steering wheel?
Cheers
bss325i
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Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:05 pm

wallya1 wrote:Hey Bss325i...what is the diameter of that alpina steering wheel?
Cheers
I havent measured it but it is smaller than the small diameter tech2 steering wheel.
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bss325i
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:25 pm

Pics that i forgot of the exhaust and manifold, nice and discrete STW tails unlike those gay DTM pipes!
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The Alpina steering wheel and dials now fitted. To keep the mileage the same i ended up using the faces of the alpina dials from the green C2 and guts of my original dials.

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Just a couple of the old bus.
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Image
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Demlotcrew
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:33 pm

Very nice mate!
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:36 pm

I like the steering wheel!

I like it a lot!
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:43 pm

That is one stunning 325i Sport. Nice period extras just make it better and better. :D
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:44 pm

Great , i think it is really really nice
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:48 pm

Wow! Looks amazing and so clean. Really impressed with what your doing to it, all the add ons are tasteful and suit it down to the ground. STW tips are the nicest ones.
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24v tech2
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:50 pm

Quality car - very nice !
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:53 pm

Looking good my man. Excellent work
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bss325i
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Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:02 pm

Thanks for all the kind comments guys! :cool: Gradualy the list of things to do is getting smaller lol. winkeye
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