And I'm back. A lot has changed since my last post, but the tinkering still happens.
I've purchased a 1999 BMW 328i convertible M sport, that I'm currently restoring. It was a good price, with the body being virtually perfect, 160,000Km, M52TUB28 manual, colour matched roof, an individual with some nice upgrades (E46 M3 seats, Kenwood CDless headunit that colour matches the dash lighting). It has has the most expected problem - the roof isn't working. But it's otherwise an excellent car to drive, and that VANOS with the top down on a nice day is amazing fun.
'99 E36 Convertible in Nachtblau (Midnight Blue), with M52TUB28 and 5 speed
List of repairs:
Roof
Does not go up or down correctly
Rear window is "milky"
Rear window has come away from the roof material (making a hole)
Broken interior trim
Shifter surround
Gear knob
Front seatbelt outlets
"Sloppy" shifter
Very ambiguous shifter feel (needs a rebuild)
No sound from the stereo
Likely the factory amplifier is dead
Rubber grommet missing from around antenna on rear driver's side quarter panel
Airbag light
Uncertain about this
Wiring for front electric seats
Apparently wired to the interior lights
The main issues for getting it roadworthy and re-registered are the roof - I can manually raise and secure it, however the milky window and hole are issues - and the airbag light. I've started sourcing and fitting parts - mostly interior, because they're easy and aesthetically pleasing! As the car was optioned with woodgrain highlights, and I hate woodgrain, I've managed to source a few replacement pieces in the much preferable schwarz colour - mainly front and rear ashtrays, handbrake handle, and light adjust panel. Still looking for a decent shifter surround, and will likely buy a new five speed M sport leather gear knob.
I've found realoem.com an excellent source of information, although it does require a bit of careful study to ensure you've found the right part. So far, I've ordered and/or replaced for the interior:
Cover, belt outlet, left & right (#51438176283 & #51438176284)
Front and rear ashtrays (?#51168144797 & #51168217482)
Handbrake lever handle (#34412227558)
Covering illumination regulator (#63128353004)
Some parts I haven't ordered yet, such as the glovebox panel (51168170665), or the missing exterior badges (328i & "M", 51148170187 & 51148108831, 51132264666 x 2) , because I'm hoping to source them secondhand locally. Most of this stuff new comes all the way from Latvia and Lithuania!
As for the roof, it has been interesting. I've never worked on a convertible roof before, so the learning curve has been moderately steep. It's also quite unforgiving, because if something is out of alignment, parts can be destroyed and body panels damaged. At the moment, I've identified three problems with the roof:
Roof latch motor "strains" when lowering or raising the roof for part of its cycle
My thoughts are that the arms next to the latch mechanism that are responsible for raising and lowering the first "segment" of the roof to/from the windscreen are in need of lubrication and/or adjustment. Or, the worn tension straps aren't providing the necessary assistance.
Roof/tonneau cover motor "clunks", and does not raise the cover high enough to the clear the rearmost bow of the roof
I believe that the two struts responsible for assisting the motor in lifting and lowering the cover ("gas pressurised spring", 51258132679 x 2) are worn, not raising the cover high enough (and possibly not closing the cover enough as well).
Roof rearmost bow does not go completely vertical, coming into contact with the tonneau cover
I'm not certain here, but I think this is a combination of the single gas strut in the roof mechanism (54318135313) being worn, the bow tension spring being worn (54348201077 - repair kit), and the original elastic tension straps (can't find an OEM part number, sorry) being worn.
Roof/tonneau cover mechanism, with one of two struts highlighted.
The result of all this nonsense is that the tonneau cover has copped some wear marks, the roof/tonneau cover motor gear has worn and possibly bent its bracket - all because of a few small parts. And from my research, this is all pretty commonplace. Unfortunately, I'll need a new roof - the window can't be repaired without pulling off the roof, and an auto trimmer I spoke to believes it probably won't go back on. Damn. And it's such a nice roof, too. So as such, I've ordered a bunch of new parts:
Bow Spring Repair Kit - this replaces the existing two springs in the rear bow (that sits against the roof/tonneau cover when the roof is erected). The kit comes as a pair, meaning one kit repairs both left and right sides. It contains left and right springs, two washers and two retaining screws. I haven't quite worked out their specific function, but on looking at the roof yesterday trying to work out why the rear bow doesn't go completely vertical during the open/close cycle (and strikes the roof/tonneau cover), I can push on the rear bow (towards the front of the car), and will move forward to a vertical position - and then it falls back down a few degrees again. So we'll see if the springs help, but fresh parts can't hurt.
Rear bow tension spring repair kit.
Roof Lining Repair Kit - this replaces the C-shaped clips that suspend the roof lining above your head. My roof lining currently catches on the felt trim behind the rear headrests as it folds away, and pulls the trim off. The latch motor cover trim (54348206397) has broken its two retaining clips, so that doesn't help. I'll need to repair that, as most secondhand replacements are broken in the same way, and the new OEM units are quite expensive. So this RLRK will be a "just because" while the roof is off, and the latch motor cover trim will be repaired (detailed in a later post). The kit contains six metal C clamps, six screws, and two plastic plugs.
Roof lining repair kit.
Roof/Tonneau Cover Motor Gear - within a few cycles of raising and lowering the roof/tonneau cover, the motor displayed signs that it was either misaligned with its gearset, or its gears were excessively worn. I pulled the motor out yesterday to investigate it, and whilst it doesn't look overly worn or damaged, it can be hard to tell while the grease is there. I figured they weren't overly expensive, so I'd just replace it. I still need to check that the receiving gearset itself isn't damaged. In the photo, the receiving gearset is what the exposed gear pushes into when the motor is engaged.
Roof/tonneau cover motor, with replacement gear.
A new roof and tension strap kit will come next, when I can justify the cost. I have a few other miscellaneous trim parts coming, and a replacement OEM amplifier to confirm the issue with my sound system. I think I'll probably use the housing from the dead amp to hide some crossovers to drive the tweeters (as per factory), and rely on the aftermarket head unit to do the amplification. The airbag light, wiring for front seats and gear shifter will come at a later stage.
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