My Z1 (aka pride & joy!)

[ZedOne]

As requested from some of you guys in the 'Pub Talk' section - here are some shots of my Zed....









Here's just hoping for some better weather so I can get out and enjoy it again!

Regards,

Bruce.

[orangecurry]

nice - but do you still have the original wheels?

[daimlerman]

What a location,Brunels bridge as a backdrop Lovely,lovely motor BTW

[boxclever1753]

great shots of the car and bristol..

you should have gone to lockside for breakfast while you were at cumberland basin!!

[oakey]

funky car ya got there mate!
as much as I dislike those wheels,- they look great on it!

does it not have doors??

[Speedtouch]

Nice colour. Apparently you can change all the body panels on those in around 40 minutes if you fancy a change of colour!

[Nelly]

Big welcome to you Zed and to the first Z1 on the Zone if i remember correctly - some ppl don't realized there powered with the M20 engine.

Stunning motor and a credit to you - look after it well and hope to see you at one of the up + coming big meets

Neil.

[maxfield]

Sweet!

Could of chosen something better than a boat anchor engine of an M20

[old_skool]

Hmmm.....

Z1 = M20, M20 - S50

S50 powered Z1??

[tezk]

Z1? Saw something similar in Leicester a few years back.. Had no idea what it was! What is it?

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Sweet!

Could of chosen something better than a boat anchor engine of an M20

That's what it came with mate!

[tezk]

So I gather its a similar age to E30 325's (though I don't believe that looking at the pics) and has a M20B25 engine.. Where these for sale in the uk? Earliest Z I remember is the Z3?
Seriously nice looking motor though..

[tylerma]

may be wrong but I read somewhere
the Z1 was originally the test bed for the M20 engine
amongst other things.

ZedOne
fantastic car also looks very well cared for
as Nelly has said hope to see you
and that stunner at one of the big meets

[munky30]

funky car ya got there mate!
as much as I dislike those wheels,- they look great on it!

does it not have doors??

iirc they slide up out of the bottom half on electric actuators.

Stunning car in the best colour possible... Not 100% on the wheels and it looks like it could do with being lower but thats just me... I like things low.

[Pal318is]

She's definately looks a minter, maybe some original Alpinas, would be in order??

Pal

[bss325i]

The front suspension on z1's was e30 but the rear suspension was the forrunner to the e36's z axel multi link rear end. oddly enough the z3 which followed used e30 type semi trailing arm rear suspension!

[Z3I]

I remember looking at a new one of these in BMW Heathrow in 1991. it was in yellow which I later read that there were only 2 sold, and Jeremy Clarkson has one of them. It was £34000, almost supercar price, and way out of reach. Over the time I guess its depreciated a lot, but even at £15000 now I'd be tempted. I reckon its inflation proof now unless Gordon has new ideas.

How does that suede interior wear?

[Cloggy Saint]

15000 for a Z1?? Pick yourself one up over here for less than 10,000. There's a few to choose from too.

[B7]

15000 for a Z1?? Pick yourself one up over here for less than 10,000. There's a few to choose from too.

I've beenclosely monortiring these for some time (as would love one) and of late, the prices seem rapidly to be on the up. I've seen them in the UK adverised for £19k+ now so I reckon I've missed the boat!!!

Thers only 1 Z1 currently advertised in the UK in the 2 big sales mags and thats a green G plate at £18k.

[bss325i]

There was a buyers guide for these a while back in either BMWCar or total bmw and was a pretty comprehensive guide and im pretty sure it stated which colours were the rarest with red and black the most common i belive.
I've only ever seen two on the road and a handfull at Gaydon last year.

[DaveD]

well there are 5 for sale on auto trader today from a reasonable £11.6k to a staggering £23k

the green one looks good

[Simon13]

they built 7000 or so of them but it seems they are all in long term ownership hence not alot forsale

they are a 325i in drag!

the ones to have are the Alpina RLE 2.7 with 17 inch 4 stud alpinas! only built 66 of them though

I saw a schnitzer 2.7 S3 forsale a couple of years back for about £19 - ultra rare

[Simon]

I saw a schnitzer 2.7 S3 forsale a couple of years back for about £19 - ultra rare

That's cheap!

[Simon13]

add a few 000000000's to it, ya get me!

[B7]

well there are 5 for sale on auto trader today from a reasonable £11.6k to a staggering £23k

the green one looks good

Well thats weird. I typed in national with no limits on price and only 1 car came up. Just tried again and yes theres 5 in there. You cna keep the red ones though. The 23k ones only done 10k!

[ZedOne]

nice - but do you still have the original wheels?

Sorry for not responding sooner - I was away most of the weekend! (bl00dy weather! )

Yes I still have the original wheels - any Z1 owner who got rid of them would be pretty stupid IMHO!

It all started when I spun the car at castle combe a few years back (I like to use the car!) and buckled two of the original alloys.

I bought two brand new replacement alloys from BMW (£400 EACH!!) and had the other two refurbed to match. While I was at it, I managed to source the last 4 new 225/45/16 Pirelli P7000's (as originally fitted) to make a brand new 100% mint set of original wheels and tyres.

After having just shelled out £1,300 on getting them mint and finding out that BMW were running low on stock of these alloys, they were covered in bubble wrap, encased in cardboard and stowed in the loft.

I bought the 18" BK Racing wheels for 3 reasons:

1) As a 'sacraficial' set of wheels that I wasn't too bothered about getting scuffed or damaged. At less than £100 per rim, these are pretty disposeable compared to the original rims at 4x the price and getting harder to source. When I say 'sacraficial' and 'disposeable' hopefully reasons 2 & 3 will explain what I mean....

2) I always felt that the 16" rims looked a bit too small on the car. Back in 1987 (launch of the car, not the age of mine), they were considered quite big, but the styling of the car is far more advanced and forward thinking than most 20yr old cars (compare to the Z3 and you know what I mean...) and I always felt that 18" wheels would suit the car much better. These wheels were bought to test the theory out. You can't get genuine Alpina's in 18" 4x100 fitment and most other styles in 18" 4x100 are nasty 'yardie gansta stylie' that would look 20 times sh1tter on the car! I know they aren't genuine and I know they aren't for the 'purists' but hopefully reason 3 will explain why I chose these wheels?

3) A cheap 'disposeable' set of 18" wheels (in a reasonable style) meant I could try out 'first hand' how the car drove, handled and responded to a much lower profile set-up to the original without breaking the bank. Now that I have clocked up a few thousand miles on this combination and have found the wheels to actually IMPROVE the ride and handling, I can look to work towards getting the wheel & tyre combination that will really finish the car off....

Knowing that 18" wheels don't detract from the handling in any way and also make the car look more in proportion, I can start to think about converting the hubs to a 5-stud set-up so that I can access range of 'decent' 18" wheels. I can finally allow myself to look at some of the beautiful ACS, Hamann, BBS, Hartge and Breyton 18" alloys that are not made in 4x100 fitment.

The BK's have served their purpose as a 'test set' and will someday be replaced with a decent set of 'in keeping' alloys in a size that will really suit the Zed once I've got the 5x120 conversion done. I'll be keeping all the original parts so that the car can go back to 'factory' spec if (god forbid) I ever have to sell the car.

I know there are a lot of purists out there who will tut, frown or shake their beard at me for considering going to 18" on a 5-stud.....but each to their own I say. I'm not doing this for your benefit, but for my benefit and always with the option to revert back to standard if I ever have to?

The BK's are a temporary step in making sure that my final choice of wheels will not only look great on the car, but they have also confirmed that 18's will not detract from the fantastic handling and ride this car has. Thorough research and testing is worth doing......and I know it has made me confident that I am doing the right thing for me and this car....

Regards,

Bruce.

[ZedOne]

What a location,Brunels bridge as a backdrop

BIG fan of Brunel....I consider myself to be lucky to have lived in Bristol for a while. The guy was one of the GREATEST engineers of all time and it is such a joy to be surrounded by his work. The floating harbour, the SS Great Britain, the worlds forst pre-fab building and of course....that bridge!

great shots of the car and bristol..

you should have gone to lockside for breakfast while you were at cumberland basin!!

That place used to be owned by a friend of mine.....the Rev. Ballsey. No idea why he was called the Reverand, but he made a mean breakfast! Not been the same since he sold it on.....

However, there is a far better place now, by the docks in town. Hidden away....past the Industrial Museum, The Brunel Buttery is probably Bristol's finest sausage/bacon/egg eatery!! Great food, fantastic views and a really cool atmosphere.....packed in the summer, yet busy all year round (go there and you'll see why! )

Regards,

Bruce.

P.S. Thanks for the nice comments....

[Rosc0PColtrane]

I like the 18" Alpenis wheels. Looks cool to me!

[ZedOne]

Nice colour. Apparently you can change all the body panels on those in around 40 minutes if you fancy a change of colour!

This was the intention, but the reality with the production car was nearly 2 days with a skilled BMW technician! (and where do you keep the 'spare' set in the meantime??)

I think the Smart car (have owned a few of these...) kinda copied the idea from BMW, but made it much more manageable. I changed a complete set of panels on one of these in the street, in the dark in 1.5hrs with no prior knowledge of how to do it! Got it down to about 45 mins after the third change of colour....

Personally - after seeing all the other colours that BMW made the Z1 in....I'm SO glad I got the black! The green is nice in the flesh, the blue is OK, but the yellow, red and purple are not to my taste....(red looks too plastic on the Z1, the yellow looks like margarine and the purple is just WRONG!)

As mentioned before though.....each to their own.... (that'll be Dream Black for me then.... )

Regards,

Bruce.

[ZedOne]

Could of chosen something better than a boat anchor engine of an M20

Not quite sure what you mean by that?

I assume you didn't realise or comprehend that the Z1 only came with that engine? It was a tough choice for me to make.....Z1 with an M20 or.....

.....nothing!

I will consider using it as a boat anchor though, so thank you for that insightful and well condidered suggestion. I'll probably save myself the effort of getting my hands dirty and just throw the hole car in the sea. It'll save time and effort and will obviously make you happier to know that there is one less of these engines that so obviously offends you?

Were you taunted by one when you were younger or is it a 'hierarchy' thing because you have a far more superior engine in your car? Do all 325 owners get the same comment?

Not wanting to go too much off on one.....I actualy would like more power, but I think I'll be sticking to the M20, beacuse after all - it is the heart of the car and I'm sure even boat anchors can be made to go a bit better?

Regards for now,

Bruce.

P.S. If I have read your comment wrongly, please accept my apology - maybe let me know what you mean by it if this is the case?

[tezk]

Heh,
I got the impression Max though you'd actually put the M20 in there? Must admit, this is only the second time I've seen one and the first time I've actually known what it was.
Tbh, an M20 would be a strange choice to put in such a beautiful car. But as I've learned, they actually built the car around the engine, so it makes perfect sense to be in there!

And I say go for the hubs change. BMW's are built to be driven and enjoyed. Enjoy!

[munky30]

He's 16 and his dad owns a nasty chavved m3 which he thinks is the best car (and engine) on the planet... ignore max, he knows not what he does.

Fair play on the wheels. The majority of people on here are bmw snobs, if its not a crappy sh*te looking set of standard issue 15" bbs, or possibly some dull as dishwater hartge's then its not worth having.

5 stud and hamann wheels sounds good. Get these...

[ZedOne]

Hmmm.....

Z1 = M20, M20 - S50

S50 powered Z1??

You mean like this:





A heart surgeon from Sussex, this guy swaps human organs during the day and engines by night!

Would love to do something similar, but prefer the idea of tuning the M20 to keep the motor a little more 'authentic'.....unless you fancy doing if for me cheap....

Regards,

Bruce.

[oakey]

He's 16 and his dad owns a nasty chavved m3 which he thinks is the best car (and engine) on the planet... ignore max, he knows not what he does.

Fair play on the wheels. The majority of people on here are bmw snobs, if its not a crappy sh*te looking set of standard issue 15" bbs, or possibly some dull as dishwater hartge's then its not worth having.

5 stud and hamann wheels sounds good. Get these...

stop forcing your terrible taste/style on innocent people munky!

[Hyperion]

Hi and Welcome
that is one really cool car. looks amazing. I like the wheels
i have only personaly seen one in South Africa, it was a green one (sort of lime green).