straight6pwr

Really got after it with the warm weather today. Dashboard and front half carpet removed. Dashboard was fairly straight forward and simple. The carpet removal would not have been purist approved. Had to cut it back behind center console otherwise the heater core and many other things would have to have been removed in order to get carpet out whole. Wasn't going to get that involved. Plus where I cut will never be seen when new carpet goes in. 

Dashboard was disassembled and the "pods" were prepped for paint. Along with the kick panels too. New black dashboard didn't come with the "pods" and are near impossible/expensive to find.


LVP paint applied to all pieces. Need to get another can for final coats. 

Once new front half carpet arrives in mail things can start getting reassembled again.
 

the welder has created a sim car cage with pvc.
im ded. 

the welder has created a sim car cage with pvc.
im ded. 

the welder has created a sim car cage with pvc.
im ded. 

the real bees knees would be an entire 3D printed headlight housing that could hold one of the larger, better bixenon projectors.  remove the glass and inner shroud from your original headlight, attached it to the 3D printed housing, and mount it into the headlight frames. as you found, the housing is too small to hold anything larger than the H1 mini projectors, which are an upgrade from stock lights, but far from the best performance bixenon. 

more than once I drove the e34 with a bungie from the drivers door pull, across my lap, hooked to the ebrake. these were like freezing rain/car wash in the winter scenarios. 
someone has probably mentioned it, but i wouldnt recommend trying to open the windows in freezing conditions either, unless totally necessary. the door regulator motor is so strong it can rip the regulator right off the bottom of the window

Job is done and very well worth it! Didn't get a whole lot of pics, but got a few. First drive home makes me not want to put it in garage for winter yet. Lol. Revs like a son of a bitch and shifting is very smooth with new detents. 
I did screw up and bought the wrong DSSR. The one I got was for the e36, thinking it was the same. Well, the Z3 shift arm is almost twice as long as the e36. Had to reuse the stock arm for now and will be ordering the correct one to swap in over winter. 
All-in-all I'm very happy with the result and will be tough to take it easy next spring to break-in the clutch correctly.

oh thank god!  best holiday gift I could have gotten. 

oh thank god!  best holiday gift I could have gotten. 

oh thank god!  best holiday gift I could have gotten. 

oh thank god!  best holiday gift I could have gotten. 

UUC Evo 3 SSK installed. Unfortunately, the DSSR could not be installed as the shift knuckle off the back of the trans was the wrong one, thought my car had the right one, but guess not. Poly bushings where the bitch clips inserts and Turner poly carrier bushing were also installed. Shifter feels super tight, notchy, directional. Was worried the throw was going to be too short for my liking, but this is the perfect amount for my driving style.
 
Only issues are that the shifter in neutral sits at maybe a 10-15 degree tilt towards the passenger side, not a huge deal, but a little annoying. Another thing, and maybe this is me only used to driving cars with factory shifters, is the 1-2 throw feels a little more difficult. If I had to rate the 1-2 throw, it would be maybe 4.5-5 out of 10 in terms of effort needed. Where as the others are more like a 3-3.5, compared to stock which I would say was like a 2-2.5. Only other thing, is that the ZHP weighted knob must not fit the profile of the shifter itself as it has maybe 5 degrees of rotational play in it. It doesn’t feel like it would come off, but it’s a little annoying that it rotates a little, and makes a little bit of clacking when going through the gears.
UUC did not include the six Allen head bolts that connect the collar to the carrier arm, so I bought some Phillips screws of the same pitch. They were a little longer than the ones that would have been included, so they had to be shimmed with some washers so the screws wouldn’t contact the ball the shifter pivots on. My only thought as to why the couple of things might be out of whack.
Overall, very pleased with it, even without the DSSR, it feels extremely tight and directional. For me, this car exceeds at the warm summer evening, back road, sunset country cruise with the radio(Bluetooth speaker in my case) playing some good tunes. Really hard to beat.

Welp, bought a family hauler for the wife to DD and for us to use for roadtrips, hauling, etc. 
She was amenable to something 'enthusiast' and a car I am very happy to own - a Toyota 4runner. We needed an SUV that could tow, hold a lot of gear, and be reliable. I love their simplicity, capability and aftermarket parts availability.  They have approx. the same amount of technology as a 90s e34. The only two nits I have with this model are the electronically controlled drivetrain selection and the rust-prone frames. 
I got lucky that it ended up being white. After months of searching, I found this rust free example in Tennessee - flew down from MKE at 6am on a Saturday and was home by 10pm same day.
Here she is in the beautiful mountains of TN on the day I drove her home. its a 2007 Limited, white with gray interior. Super clean, daily driven by an old lady, garaged, Toyota parts used for maintenance, blah blah. 

I got right to work with a few upgrades before letting it hit the road.  I did a tune up including oil change, air filter, spark plugs and boots. I plan to change all fluids (both diffs, transfer case, transmission) in the spring, I'm out of time now. 
look at that frame. i was stunned how clean it was. similar age/mileage Wisconsin cars I looked at had fist sized holes in the frame. 

 
I removed the pinstripes then gave the paint a full detail with clay bar, polish then wax. 
 
Of course, the truck got a bixenon retrofit, which I kept from the e30. TRS Mini-D2S 4.0 with 50w ballasts and custom foreground limiters. 

I also smoked the headlights while they were open, and restored the lenses. 


GROM Bluetooth adapter with aux-in and charge port (bottom black box with white plug)

I ran the aux-in and usb charger to the dashboard below the RAM mount which I installed based on Dave's recommendation. It works great at holding a big heavy phone. 

I cleaned out the POs filth in the console.  Lady must have ate fries everyday - greasy crumbs in every nook and cranny. bleh! 

 
I found some used 5th gen 4runner TRD Offroad wheels, plastidipped them black and added General Grabber snow tires for the winter. 

I added a 1.5" lift kit to the front of the 4runner. They come from the factory with quite a bit of rake, and it levels it out. It is simply a 3/4" spacer than goes on top of the front strut, and due to the geometry it nets a 1.5" lift. 

and the most important bit of work i did was to try and prevent future rust for future me.  PB blaster has recently come out with a new rust-protectant coating that has an optimistic 2-year life. most of the products (Fluid Film, motor oil, etc) have a 1 year recoat time. There's a guy on Youtube who tests all of the undercoating products and he says it is now the king of the castle. Its also only $10/can and I used 5 total for coating everything. 
I jacked the car up, removed the skid plate and spare tire and sprayed every nook and cranny on the underside.

I also I removed the front bumper and sprayed all the steel inside

i also removed all 4 wheels and sprayed all the suspension and frame inside the wheels. 

 
On the exterior i also painted the lower front valance black, added a Yakima roof rack, debadged the doors and in the future will black-out the rear badges. 
Here's the final product!



with any luck ill be back here with some stuff within the next year or so 

Welp, bought a family hauler for the wife to DD and for us to use for roadtrips, hauling, etc. 
She was amenable to something 'enthusiast' and a car I am very happy to own - a Toyota 4runner. We needed an SUV that could tow, hold a lot of gear, and be reliable. I love their simplicity, capability and aftermarket parts availability.  They have approx. the same amount of technology as a 90s e34. The only two nits I have with this model are the electronically controlled drivetrain selection and the rust-prone frames. 
I got lucky that it ended up being white. After months of searching, I found this rust free example in Tennessee - flew down from MKE at 6am on a Saturday and was home by 10pm same day.
Here she is in the beautiful mountains of TN on the day I drove her home. its a 2007 Limited, white with gray interior. Super clean, daily driven by an old lady, garaged, Toyota parts used for maintenance, blah blah. 

I got right to work with a few upgrades before letting it hit the road.  I did a tune up including oil change, air filter, spark plugs and boots. I plan to change all fluids (both diffs, transfer case, transmission) in the spring, I'm out of time now. 
look at that frame. i was stunned how clean it was. similar age/mileage Wisconsin cars I looked at had fist sized holes in the frame. 

 
I removed the pinstripes then gave the paint a full detail with clay bar, polish then wax. 
 
Of course, the truck got a bixenon retrofit, which I kept from the e30. TRS Mini-D2S 4.0 with 50w ballasts and custom foreground limiters. 

I also smoked the headlights while they were open, and restored the lenses. 


GROM Bluetooth adapter with aux-in and charge port (bottom black box with white plug)

I ran the aux-in and usb charger to the dashboard below the RAM mount which I installed based on Dave's recommendation. It works great at holding a big heavy phone. 

I cleaned out the POs filth in the console.  Lady must have ate fries everyday - greasy crumbs in every nook and cranny. bleh! 

 
I found some used 5th gen 4runner TRD Offroad wheels, plastidipped them black and added General Grabber snow tires for the winter. 

I added a 1.5" lift kit to the front of the 4runner. They come from the factory with quite a bit of rake, and it levels it out. It is simply a 3/4" spacer than goes on top of the front strut, and due to the geometry it nets a 1.5" lift. 

and the most important bit of work i did was to try and prevent future rust for future me.  PB blaster has recently come out with a new rust-protectant coating that has an optimistic 2-year life. most of the products (Fluid Film, motor oil, etc) have a 1 year recoat time. There's a guy on Youtube who tests all of the undercoating products and he says it is now the king of the castle. Its also only $10/can and I used 5 total for coating everything. 
I jacked the car up, removed the skid plate and spare tire and sprayed every nook and cranny on the underside.

I also I removed the front bumper and sprayed all the steel inside

i also removed all 4 wheels and sprayed all the suspension and frame inside the wheels. 

 
On the exterior i also painted the lower front valance black, added a Yakima roof rack, debadged the doors and in the future will black-out the rear badges. 
Here's the final product!



with any luck ill be back here with some stuff within the next year or so 

Welp, bought a family hauler for the wife to DD and for us to use for roadtrips, hauling, etc. 
She was amenable to something 'enthusiast' and a car I am very happy to own - a Toyota 4runner. We needed an SUV that could tow, hold a lot of gear, and be reliable. I love their simplicity, capability and aftermarket parts availability.  They have approx. the same amount of technology as a 90s e34. The only two nits I have with this model are the electronically controlled drivetrain selection and the rust-prone frames. 
I got lucky that it ended up being white. After months of searching, I found this rust free example in Tennessee - flew down from MKE at 6am on a Saturday and was home by 10pm same day.
Here she is in the beautiful mountains of TN on the day I drove her home. its a 2007 Limited, white with gray interior. Super clean, daily driven by an old lady, garaged, Toyota parts used for maintenance, blah blah. 

I got right to work with a few upgrades before letting it hit the road.  I did a tune up including oil change, air filter, spark plugs and boots. I plan to change all fluids (both diffs, transfer case, transmission) in the spring, I'm out of time now. 
look at that frame. i was stunned how clean it was. similar age/mileage Wisconsin cars I looked at had fist sized holes in the frame. 

 
I removed the pinstripes then gave the paint a full detail with clay bar, polish then wax. 
 
Of course, the truck got a bixenon retrofit, which I kept from the e30. TRS Mini-D2S 4.0 with 50w ballasts and custom foreground limiters. 

I also smoked the headlights while they were open, and restored the lenses. 


GROM Bluetooth adapter with aux-in and charge port (bottom black box with white plug)

I ran the aux-in and usb charger to the dashboard below the RAM mount which I installed based on Dave's recommendation. It works great at holding a big heavy phone. 

I cleaned out the POs filth in the console.  Lady must have ate fries everyday - greasy crumbs in every nook and cranny. bleh! 

 
I found some used 5th gen 4runner TRD Offroad wheels, plastidipped them black and added General Grabber snow tires for the winter. 

I added a 1.5" lift kit to the front of the 4runner. They come from the factory with quite a bit of rake, and it levels it out. It is simply a 3/4" spacer than goes on top of the front strut, and due to the geometry it nets a 1.5" lift. 

and the most important bit of work i did was to try and prevent future rust for future me.  PB blaster has recently come out with a new rust-protectant coating that has an optimistic 2-year life. most of the products (Fluid Film, motor oil, etc) have a 1 year recoat time. There's a guy on Youtube who tests all of the undercoating products and he says it is now the king of the castle. Its also only $10/can and I used 5 total for coating everything. 
I jacked the car up, removed the skid plate and spare tire and sprayed every nook and cranny on the underside.

I also I removed the front bumper and sprayed all the steel inside

i also removed all 4 wheels and sprayed all the suspension and frame inside the wheels. 

 
On the exterior i also painted the lower front valance black, added a Yakima roof rack, debadged the doors and in the future will black-out the rear badges. 
Here's the final product!



with any luck ill be back here with some stuff within the next year or so 

Welp, bought a family hauler for the wife to DD and for us to use for roadtrips, hauling, etc. 
She was amenable to something 'enthusiast' and a car I am very happy to own - a Toyota 4runner. We needed an SUV that could tow, hold a lot of gear, and be reliable. I love their simplicity, capability and aftermarket parts availability.  They have approx. the same amount of technology as a 90s e34. The only two nits I have with this model are the electronically controlled drivetrain selection and the rust-prone frames. 
I got lucky that it ended up being white. After months of searching, I found this rust free example in Tennessee - flew down from MKE at 6am on a Saturday and was home by 10pm same day.
Here she is in the beautiful mountains of TN on the day I drove her home. its a 2007 Limited, white with gray interior. Super clean, daily driven by an old lady, garaged, Toyota parts used for maintenance, blah blah. 

I got right to work with a few upgrades before letting it hit the road.  I did a tune up including oil change, air filter, spark plugs and boots. I plan to change all fluids (both diffs, transfer case, transmission) in the spring, I'm out of time now. 
look at that frame. i was stunned how clean it was. similar age/mileage Wisconsin cars I looked at had fist sized holes in the frame. 

 
I removed the pinstripes then gave the paint a full detail with clay bar, polish then wax. 
 
Of course, the truck got a bixenon retrofit, which I kept from the e30. TRS Mini-D2S 4.0 with 50w ballasts and custom foreground limiters. 

I also smoked the headlights while they were open, and restored the lenses. 


GROM Bluetooth adapter with aux-in and charge port (bottom black box with white plug)

I ran the aux-in and usb charger to the dashboard below the RAM mount which I installed based on Dave's recommendation. It works great at holding a big heavy phone. 

I cleaned out the POs filth in the console.  Lady must have ate fries everyday - greasy crumbs in every nook and cranny. bleh! 

 
I found some used 5th gen 4runner TRD Offroad wheels, plastidipped them black and added General Grabber snow tires for the winter. 

I added a 1.5" lift kit to the front of the 4runner. They come from the factory with quite a bit of rake, and it levels it out. It is simply a 3/4" spacer than goes on top of the front strut, and due to the geometry it nets a 1.5" lift. 

and the most important bit of work i did was to try and prevent future rust for future me.  PB blaster has recently come out with a new rust-protectant coating that has an optimistic 2-year life. most of the products (Fluid Film, motor oil, etc) have a 1 year recoat time. There's a guy on Youtube who tests all of the undercoating products and he says it is now the king of the castle. Its also only $10/can and I used 5 total for coating everything. 
I jacked the car up, removed the skid plate and spare tire and sprayed every nook and cranny on the underside.

I also I removed the front bumper and sprayed all the steel inside

i also removed all 4 wheels and sprayed all the suspension and frame inside the wheels. 

 
On the exterior i also painted the lower front valance black, added a Yakima roof rack, debadged the doors and in the future will black-out the rear badges. 
Here's the final product!



with any luck ill be back here with some stuff within the next year or so 

Mine came today! 

only things I wish were different is that they didn't center the lettering and almost any plate frame will cover up the Road America text, so you're forced to not use one. Time to create Road America plate frames, sell and retire. 👍

Finally got my personalized RA plates.

shit you reminded me i borrowed @HipMF 's e30 subframe tools like 2 years ago and need to mail them back

shit you reminded me i borrowed @HipMF 's e30 subframe tools like 2 years ago and need to mail them back