m42b32

119.2k
Finally got around to doing the brakes over the last couple months as they were properly worn out. I built up a sandblasting cabinet over the summer and stripped/painted the 335i calipers and caliper brackets and rebuilt with new seals/boots/guides/hardware. I also painted them gold because I wanted a little color and liked the look of the oem BMW performance brake kit that's painted in phoenix yellow. I installed everything along with new rotors/pads/outer rubber lines and a fluid flush. Because of the larger calipers I coded in the performance brake option to the vehicle order that adjusts the bias/pedal feel/abs/etc. to match the larger brakes. Overall a massive improvement, should've done it way sooner. 


 
I also bought a new daily about a month ago. I've had a weird itch to get into something manual/4x4 for a while and more recently my wife and I decided we needed something a bit bigger for road trips. Decided it was time to scratch that itch and after a lot of searching I got a bit lucky (given the current car market) and ended up picking up a manual '22 Bronco Badlands out in Seattle. I've been really enjoying it so far.
 
 
The sad news is that the Bronco will be replacing the wagon so unfortunately that's where my time in the Longroof club ends.... or so I thought. After nearly 5 years and 50k miles of trouble free driving for me it decided to do this on a test drive with a potential new owner lol. 

 
Sooo I got it towed back home and did a fairly complete cooling system overhaul last weekend. New radiator, expansion tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, replaced the hose that split with the updated version, water pump, thermostat, both of the large diameter hoses that connect to the water pump, replaced the plastic 'mickey mouse' flange on the head with an aluminum version and new hose to that too, and a fresh fill of the good ol' BMW blue coolant. Also replaced every o-ring on the hose connections I disconnected but didn't replace with new peroxide-cured EPDM o-rings. With that it's running great again and it'll be headed to its new home this week. I'm definitely going to miss this one. 

119.2k
Finally got around to doing the brakes over the last couple months as they were properly worn out. I built up a sandblasting cabinet over the summer and stripped/painted the 335i calipers and caliper brackets and rebuilt with new seals/boots/guides/hardware. I also painted them gold because I wanted a little color and liked the look of the oem BMW performance brake kit that's painted in phoenix yellow. I installed everything along with new rotors/pads/outer rubber lines and a fluid flush. Because of the larger calipers I coded in the performance brake option to the vehicle order that adjusts the bias/pedal feel/abs/etc. to match the larger brakes. Overall a massive improvement, should've done it way sooner. 


 
I also bought a new daily about a month ago. I've had a weird itch to get into something manual/4x4 for a while and more recently my wife and I decided we needed something a bit bigger for road trips. Decided it was time to scratch that itch and after a lot of searching I got a bit lucky (given the current car market) and ended up picking up a manual '22 Bronco Badlands out in Seattle. I've been really enjoying it so far.
 
 
The sad news is that the Bronco will be replacing the wagon so unfortunately that's where my time in the Longroof club ends.... or so I thought. After nearly 5 years and 50k miles of trouble free driving for me it decided to do this on a test drive with a potential new owner lol. 

 
Sooo I got it towed back home and did a fairly complete cooling system overhaul last weekend. New radiator, expansion tank, upper and lower radiator hoses, replaced the hose that split with the updated version, water pump, thermostat, both of the large diameter hoses that connect to the water pump, replaced the plastic 'mickey mouse' flange on the head with an aluminum version and new hose to that too, and a fresh fill of the good ol' BMW blue coolant. Also replaced every o-ring on the hose connections I disconnected but didn't replace with new peroxide-cured EPDM o-rings. With that it's running great again and it'll be headed to its new home this week. I'm definitely going to miss this one. 

That free e30 for $2k could be a screaming deal...looks like it has euroweaves and a euro front bumper!

Join me on a journey through all of craigslist to find interesting BMW related things. I haven't done a full search in quite some time...
 
Cheap but rusty ZHP with BC coilovers
https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/d/des-plaines-bmw-zhp-6speed/7573145559.html

 
Pair of Lotus Elida's for BMW trade (project)
https://limaohio.craigslist.org/for/d/lima-lotus-elite/7575622399.html

 
Minty Bavaria
https://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/d/columbus-1970-bmw-2800/7575006827.html

 
Nice E21 Racecar
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/pts/d/saint-louis-1979-bmwcca-323i-track-car/7577159831.html

 
Black on Black X5D 
https://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/d/warrensburg-2012-bmw-x5-xdrive35d-sport/7572545780.html

 
Z3 hardtop $3k
https://poconos.craigslist.org/for/d/bmw-z3-hard-top/7578610800.html

FREEEEEE E30 that looks clean from the one pic posted 
https://scranton.craigslist.org/snw/d/honesdale-free-car-1985-bmw-series/7577426562.html

 
Good deal on an F30 
https://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/cto/d/brooklyn-2013-bmw-328i-loaded-black-on/7577005815.html

 
Super cool M-Sport 318Ti that is RHD but sadly auto
https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/bensalem-97-bmw-318ti-right-hand-drive/7570108170.html

 
Clean bronzit E28 with terrible rep wheels for $5k
https://scranton.craigslist.org/pts/d/scranton-1986-bmw-525i-speed/7569854973.html

 
Super cheap Z4
https://maine.craigslist.org/pts/d/lewiston-2005-bmw-4/7566804116.html

 
Callaway M30 turbo kit!
https://hartford.craigslist.org/pts/d/east-berlin-bmw-callaway-intercooled/7564119856.html

 
WTF is this. 
https://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/pts/d/new-york-custom-pilot-bmw-steering/7578918175.html

 
F30 that needs chains $3500 
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/pts/d/bethesda-2012-bmw-328i/7571428913.html

 
F30 touring that runs rough $5k 
https://mobile.craigslist.org/cto/d/mobile-2014-bmw-328i-awd/7579175120.html

 
Very Nice E24 M6 that would bring much more on BAT
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/atlanta-1988-bmw-m6-e24-rare/7577771251.html

 
E39 540-6 for a fair price
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/eat/cto/d/snellville-2003-bmw-e39-540i-sport/7576718116.html

 
Dinan S1 E39 M5!
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/canton-2000-bmw-m5-dinan-s1/7575169385.html

 
These got cheap Fast!
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/atlanta-2013-bmw-series-528i-auto/7570391553.html

 
Thats unfortunate M8
https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/pts/d/hallandale-2020-bmw-m8-parts/7567431218.html

 
Didnt know that these came with a manual
https://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/d/easley-unicorn-manual-6sp-13-bmw-550i/7574741466.html

 
Dinan Z4 that needs help
https://onslow.craigslist.org/cto/d/midway-park-2005-bmw-z4-convertible/7573545305.html

 
Very nice turbo E36 M3
https://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/d/cary-turbo-e36-m3-over-500hp-very-well/7571340615.html

 
 

The upholstery project has been going better than I anticipated and is a lot of fun. The rear bench is almost done. 
 
 

Dammit, here I was hoping someone reposted these for sale. 
 
much sad. 

Glad it made it there! Enjoy!!
 
Got mine last week but just getting a chance to post it up now, thanks Jason!!
Awesome BMW motorsport banner and a keyless entry kit for the E30! I'd been meaning to get one!

 
And an awesome drawing on the package!!

Awesome stuff! What’s the brand on the keyless entry?
Forgot to post mine as well. Santa got me a nice travel socket set! Much easier than lugging around my big socket rails. Thanks Pete!

Small crew this year. Everyone must have been naughty and doesn't want coal or 37 remote controlled cars.

That looks and fits really nice!

Alright, alright. I forgot to take pics of the finished bracket, but here is one of the test print before doing it for real in black ABS. 

I then bought the DIY wireless phone charger kit from ECS Tuning to make it an easy install. 
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-inbay-parts/wireless-charging-retrofit-kit-3-coil/240000-10-1~iby/

And here it is installed.

@HipMF    
  
 
 

In!

BMW part # 51470010557 is the cargo net if you're missing it.  Works wonders to keep the groceries in place during those high speed return trips.  Can't miss an apex just because you've got eggs in the trunk!

Can't end the driving season without a little carnage. Had a run in with a fat squirrel while out on my last drive before winter storage. Bent and broke the front splitter I made. Was slapping the bumper the whole ride home. Give me something to do over winter I suppose.  

Car has been washed, gassed up with stabil and in it's spot for the long hibernation. Mirrors are tucked, it's official!

Speeds may have been a factor as well 😬

Spotted: voting this morning at 8: 15. Wagon looks good!

The euroweaves replacements got here. 🤤

I took out the rear subframe. I don’t know if you guys remember how much trouble I had fitting the RevShit RTA bushings, but I swapped those out for Condor and I’m really annoyed I didn’t use Condor originally. Fitment was 10/10. 
Also did the rear sway bar link reinforcements and rear sway bar mount reinforcements. Another great excuse to get the welder out. Not pretty but I’m happy with my twice a year welds.

 

And the X5 looking dapper as always.

I finally realized why I like this car so much and I can summarize like this: I don’t miss driving the e30 when I’m driving this.

😆

So, I recently sold my M54B30 5spd swapped E46 touring xi and was on the hunt for a new daily. I was adamant about getting another touring, but it's definitely slim pickings out there unless you wanna pay some crazy prices. I found a 2008 328xi E90 for sale with relatively low miles (103k) for a decent price at a dealer. Did my bargaining thing and got them to come down to my price. This basically made it a straight over trade for what I sold the touring for. Plus it's 6 years newer and 100k miles less. 
2008 E90 328xi - Deep Green Metallic over Beige


Came with aftermarket wheels and snow tires, so naturally had to swap them out for some BMW Individual wheels for the meantime.



The color caught my eye the most as you don't see many green BMWs anymore. It's also very hard to capture in photos. I need to take some better ones of the exterior and interior. 
So far I am very happy with it. The tight steering and smoothness of the engine when accelerating is really nice. First things I would like to do are getting the xDelete app to make it rwd when the AWD isn't really necessary. Getting some tint on the windows as I hate being in a fish bowl. And installing a Bluetooth audio setup that integrates the steering wheel controls as I don't have the iDrive or navigation. Something that feels factory. 

118k
About a month or two ago I got a tpms light for the driver's side rear tire, topped it up to what I thought was right (turns out was not, either the gauge or my brain was off) and the light didnt go away so I assumed I had a sensor issue in that wheel and didn't have much time to look further into it. Continued driving it for a couple weeks until I noticed that the tire now looked visibly low. Welp, checked pressures and it was well under 20psi. I pulled the wheel off to check for nails or a crack in the wheel or something and found the problem rather quickly... 

I had noticed some accelerated inside edge wear on both rear tires so I got an alignment at the beginning of the summer and found the rear toe was way off, but it was definitely driving on a low tire that killed it. The tires I have are now discontinued (Falken Azenis FK453) so I ordered a pair of Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 for the rear with the same treadwear rating in 225/35r19 (one size up in sidewall from factory, looks way better) and am now running them closer to 40psi so we'll see if that combined with the alignment helps with the wear issue. 
 
On another note, last time I scanned the car with the ProTool app I had a code for a faulty rear ride height sensor. I ordered a new sensor (The "VNE" branded part from FCP is the oem part with logos scratched off for half the price by the way) and replaced it, but did not resolve the error. Next thing will probably be to check the wire harness where it enters the body as I've read there can be some chafing issues there. 
 
Speaking of wire harness issues... the age old BMW trunk wire harness problems are still alive and well. For a long time the left rear fog light bulb was 'out', and more recently the trunk wouldn't recognize that it was latched or would have an intermittent connection leading to constant dinging every time I accelerated, braked, or hit a bump (which was very annoying). I tried cleaning the trunk latches/switches with no effect, and replacing the fog light bulb did not fix that issue, so I tore apart most of the hatch to get to the wiring and eventually found this lovely mess. I did this job on both my e36's, and now nearly 20 production years later from that first e36 I'm doing it again. 

To fix it I cut/soldered/heat shrinked the damaged wires as crimps are too large to fit in the rubber sleeve. I also wrapped the whole section in a layer of tesa tape to help spread out the bend radius so it isn't folding itself as sharply or flexing solely at the solder joints when closing the hatch. We'll see how long it holds up, and if it splits again I'll get some high quality wire and re-wire the whole section properly. 

 
Other basic maintenance/etc over the weekend: new spark plugs, air filter, refilled the washer fluid tank, and used ProTool to code out the headlight washers because when they are working properly they make a mess for very little benefit and mine leak. We'll see if just disabling them stops the leaking or if I have to completely cap them off. 
 
 
 

151k. Exterior presents well, but has its fair share of scratches and chips, so it won't be winning any concours any time soon. The mileage is most apparent in the interior. I'll do a fairly complete photo documentation soon. The only place the mileage isn't apparent is the drive line. Car is super quiet, runs drives and shifts wonderfully. Brand new Michelin PS4S on all four corners. Overall it is the start of something totally worth the time and money. 

I did a car thing. More details soon maybe. Planning on welding the diff and doing a full rocket bunny kit I'm going to paint pink and rivet on.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/bmw-confirms-full-season-gtp-lineup-reveals-livery/

Interesting that BMW is still continuing to develop the V8 in the racing program but man I just couldn't help but laugh at those nostrils. Its like all the voices about the M3 were screaming into a void. 

I know it’s been pretty quiet around here but just figured I should post an update in case someone needs to get ahold of me. I’ll will still try my best to check the site daily but as usual if somebody needs my attention, pm or preferably text me. 
Im starting a coding Bootcamp this week for the next 6months as a beginning to finally transitioning to a new career. 15hrs a week on top of the time suck that is driving a truck is gonna be a lot but the payoff will be worth it. Looking forward to gaining back a better quality of life and to start building some of these dream projects I’ve been accumulating for “some day”.
I’ll be at the badger bimmers door county rally next weekend, that’s the last social event I plan on doing for the year. Didn’t find time to work on the e34’s even this year, but if anyone wants to join I have an open seat in the x5.