Thompy's Z3 1.8 '97

[thompy93]

Hi

Just got accepted into the forums, so i thought it would be nice to show of the car
Its the first car that I own for myself, so im pretty happy about it, instead of driving in company cars

Its a Z3 1997 1.8 with around 233 000km on the clock. Some rust that is going to be taken care of this winter, as well as some beauty spots.
Nothing special about it, except a new simons sport exhaust I bought right after I bought the car.

My plans so far are just to freshen up the car, especially the interiour.

Now some pictures of the beauty

[Robz3sport]

That's a beauty, just got accepted myself today, still have to put some pics up too.

[thompy93]

All zed's are beautys

[Del]

Hi & welcome - nice photographs

[thompy93]

Got some work done the last few days,

New M alu Pedals, and new M gear knob, gaiter and leather cover for handbrake.
Am I being detained by the M-police? Isnt it fair to upgrade the aesthetic with M-details of the car, even though its not an M? Atleast im not putting any M's on the back Disucc

Also, anyone got any good tips about new mats? They look kinda **** atm, and i want some rubber ones.





And here is the old OEM parts, stiching and leather falling off.

[johnz3]

Car looks stunning. I would not worry too much about the M police.

I took my mats to a carpet shop and they took a copy of the mat and I choose from an off cut what I wanted. They then cut out the pattern and edged the mats in what ever colour I wanted. You could choose something M related. When I say carpet shop I mean shop rather than carpet store. Hope this helps.

[Robz3sport]

Looking good, do those pedal covers clamp on or did you have to drill.....?

[thompy93]

Thanks John. Ill see if i find some carpet store or similar around here. I was thinking about going for rubber mats for a more sporty look, but thats maybe hard to get a carpet store to fit Anyone got some pics of their velour mats or similar for inspiration?

Robz: Yes, you have to drill. Ive looked at covers, but they dont look as good. Its really not that hard, as long as you got a friend to help you hold it steady and clamps to secure them while you drill. The clutch and gas pedal are made of plastic and fairly easy to drill through. The brake pedal is a bit harder, but the screw hole is barely noticable without the alu on top. The nut on the back is 6mm for comparison. But you only got one chance to get it right, else you will end up with holes all over.

[Robz3sport]

I've fitted covers to my classic mini and had to drill them, suppose I could do it again.......thanks.

[thompy93]

Finally got my gauge rings fitted. First I got a pack missing one ring, so they sent a full new kit



PAIN in the ass to install. So much for so little But in the end it will last longer than it took to install

[Del]

These little things are worth doing though otherwise these earlier, standard cars (like my 1998 1.9) are a sea of plain, black plastic inside

[thompy93]

These little things are worth doing though otherwise these earlier, standard cars (like my 1998 1.9) are a sea of plain, black plastic inside

Yepp, small neat details.

What I really would like to try out is what Tim on the forums did, like this




Unfortunatly it didnt turn out well at night, since it didnt let enough light out.

[gookah]

did you put it on top of the previous display, or swap it for the new one?

[leggy92]

I have done this too! I removed the black dials and out the white ones in its place.

I also changed the needles to blue - however at night the dials do not look so great :/

I will soon, be taking them apart again and seeing what I can do to make it better!

[gookah]

a night photo would be interesting to see as I thought of doing this mod myself

[thompy93]

Gookah; i only added chrome rings, not New dials. Just something i Would like to try, since i think it looks better than OEM.

Check out Tims post to see how he did it ; http://www.zroadster.net/tim/custom/dials.html

It looks Great during daytime, But not as practical during the night.

[thompy93]

3 quid well spent




also new hand brake handle. Not fitted the leather yet on this pic.



Washed and scrubed the mats to make them look better, hanging to dry atm.

Gonna be sent on some rust welding on the rocker panel soon, then treated with lanolin oil on the chassis.

Anyone tried to spray paint the bolts on the hood, if you got a Luggage rack? Thinking of either the same color as the car or some chrome spray?

[thompy93]

Installed some chrome stuff today also. Think its enough chrome for now







The Z has been parked the last few days because I found a pool of water UNDER the passenger seat. Probably from my leak on that side, since the driver side was all dry. Since it has been there for so long before discovering it has gone into and under the carpet where the front and back carpet meets. Had a heater inside there now to dry it up, and after checking daily, I would say its all dry by tomorrow.

I guess this overlay of rust prevents the cigarette lighter to work, so Ill fix that too, so I can finally charge my phone in the car.

[thompy93]

Fitted a Alpine PWE-V80 - 8" 160w Powered subwoofer upright at the end of the footwell. Its only 8cm thick, so more than enough space left for passenger legs and enough power for a small car like the z3


Never mind the wiring atm, its not done yet, as ill make a thin thin plywood case for protection and making it a bit more sturdy for the passengers legs.



Tempoary speaker carpet


Fitted with mats, a bit blurry but you get the idea

[Bonzo]

Got some work done the last few days,

New M alu Pedals, and new M gear knob, gaiter and leather cover for handbrake.
Am I being detained by the M-police? Isnt it fair to upgrade the aesthetic with M-details of the car, even though its not an M? Atleast im not putting any M's on the back Disucc

Also, anyone got any good tips about new mats? They look kinda **** atm, and i want some rubber ones.





And here is the old OEM parts, stiching and leather falling off.

Those //M pedals and gearstick knob should be worth at least another 10mph and 2secs off the 0-60 time
Good man for not sticking any badges on your car.

Cheers,

Bonzo

[thompy93]

Got some work done the last few days,

New M alu Pedals, and new M gear knob, gaiter and leather cover for handbrake.
Am I being detained by the M-police? Isnt it fair to upgrade the aesthetic with M-details of the car, even though its not an M? Atleast im not putting any M's on the back Disucc

Also, anyone got any good tips about new mats? They look kinda **** atm, and i want some rubber ones.





And here is the old OEM parts, stiching and leather falling off.

Those //M pedals and gearstick knob should be worth at least another 10mph and 2secs off the 0-60 time
Good man for not sticking any badges on your car.

Cheers,

Bonzo

Im down to 5.6 sec on 0-60 because of the chrome rings around the speedometer also weight reduction

jokes aside, as you can see the leather was not in a good condition at all, so something had to be done