Jump to content
WI BIMMERS - Wisconsin's BMW Community

Jake's Epic BMW 135i Build Thread! (5+ Years of Ownership)


suspenceful

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

Most e39 M5's are pretty weak......I say most.  We'll line 'em up when I get mine done (someday.....long ways away, hahaha).

 

Last year when my friend had one (the one you met at Beyond Redline), I was pretty impressed with them. They're definitely nothing to laugh at.

 

Get her done already!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Scored a used BMS dual cone intake kit for $25! It sounds awesome.

Read my blog post about it here: www.My1Series.com

Also, you guys love videos here. I had Ben come over and put the GoPro on for a few pulls. Sorry about the wind noise!

First two pulls are 2nd gear. Third pull is 1st-4th gear to 140mph. I let off shortly after passing the car on the left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This car has been in need of a good detail and I finally got around to doing it this weekend. First I washed it and went over the whole car with a claybar. I was surprised at the amount of crap the claybar took off. Then I took a picture before I started the cut/polish/wax process. Once I was finished, I took another picture to show the results.

 

In the photos, you can see a lot of things in my garage reflecting off the paint. The two lines near the middle of the photos are power cords, not scratches. The lighter reflections above those are the power boxes on the light stands. All other bright imperfections are either lights on the ceiling, lights on the stands, or bright objects laying on the ground or on top of shelves. Obviously you can see the reflections of the yellow and red light stands themselves.

I was able to remove about 95% of the imperfections from the paint with this process. The 5% of imperfections that remain are very hard to see unless you're inspecting the car under harsh lighting. It just goes to show how awesome the car looks/feels now. Keep in mind, the "before" picture is when the car was already washed and clean. The marks you see are all swirls or scratches.

This is an animated GIF, it will switch between images.

detailing.gif

As you can see, the photos also show the metallic pretty well. It is easy to see in person but hard to notice in photos. Black Sapphire Metallic > Jet Black!

Said and done, the whole process took about 10 hours. I even wetsanded a spot on the rear bumper to get rid of some weird hazing. Well worth it to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks great, I just did a hand polish with Griots Garage "One step sealant" on my '89 and it made a huge difference.  The one step sealant is a fine polish and paint sealant in one, I unfortunately don't get around to taking as much care of the cosmetics as I would like and it is a longer lasting than a wax.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks great, I just did a hand polish with Griots Garage "One step sealant" on my '89 and it made a huge difference.  The one step sealant is a fine polish and paint sealant in one, I unfortunately don't get around to taking as much care of the cosmetics as I would like and it is a longer lasting than a wax.

Thanks man. I actually used a high-speed corded drill with a velcro attachment for cutting, polishing, and waxing. This was my first time doing any sort of paint-correction and I am very happy with the results.

To see a list of products and the process I used, check out the post on my website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you machine cut/polished a car before at all? That's one skill I never got around to learning at the dealer that I wanted to.

 

Never. I've applied wax by hand with a small foam pad, but that's it. I bought a 7" variable speed polisher from Harbor Freight for this, but it was too much for me. It was hard to use and I didn't like it. That's when I opted for the high-speed electric drill, it was the perfect speed and very easy to use compared to the large polisher.

 

 

The car looked great at Dubs in the Valley man!  Wish I had a chance to meet you!

Thanks! Same here. Your car looks very similar to my old E36... except mine was a coupe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

It's been a while since I've updated this thread. A few things have changed...

I wasn't planning on driving this car through the winter months, but the unexpected always seems to happen. My winter beater threw a rod within 1 week of driving it. At the time, we were getting pretty heavy snow so I had no other choice but to drive the 1-series through winter.

 

The rear tires were bald and I knew they wouldn't get through snow, so I bought a new set of winter wheels and tires from TireRack.

  • 17×8″ Gunmetal MSW Type 85 wheels
  • 225/45/17 General Altimax Arctic tires
  • OEM TPMS sensors
You can see my blog post about them here. It includes more some more details, review, and a few more pictures.

16188731712_1be4c04b6f_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

16188723232_0e107f431e_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

16163685936_586f1209ee_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

16003447779_eb0c07ccb1_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

16003435169_8c28c1f1f5_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

16189494675_c128d061f6_z.jpg

BMW 135i - Snow by Jake Spence Photography, on Flickr

The car was due for some maintenance so I spent a weekend tidying things up.

  • Returned to factory pump gas flash for winter season
  • Replaced broken hood latch and stretched hood cable
  • Oil change with Motul 8100 5W-30 and MANN oil filter kit
  • Replaced faulty front brake pad sensor
  • Installed missing jack pad (front, passenger side)
  • Replaced broken dome light bulb holder
After getting the car back on the road, it's performed flawlessly. The wheels are great and it purrs like a kitten.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

damn, i wish i woulda known sooner that your beater died. I have a buddy here in Waukesha that does primo work and he just put a new long-block and transmission into a 1994 Civic hatch with a stick, only 124k miles on the car, and he's flipping it for like 2000 bucks. I was tempted to buy it myself but my beater is still functional. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Again, it's been a little while since I've updated this thread.

After 4 weeks, my LCI Blackline taillights were delivered straight from Germany!

See more details and comparison shots on my blog post about them.

bmw-135i-pre-lci-vs-blackline-off-1024x6

New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - OFF

bmw-135i-pre-lci-vs-blackline-on-1024x68

New Blackline (left) vs. OEM taillight (right) - ON

16605054181_3385db34be_b.jpg

I bought a front splitter from fmxomar (see this thread). I've always felt like the front end needed something more aggressive, and this splitter was perfect. Paired with APR support rods, I think it looks great and it's also functional.

I got a pair of side splitters as well, but those will go on in a few weeks.

You can read about the full install (with more details/pictures) in my blog post.

16419012358_3d4a89c03b_b.jpg

16606208865_58123e5e3f_b.jpg

16605046071_d4bab771b8_b.jpg

Also, I converted all of the interior lights to LEDs. Front dome light, map lights, rear dome light, trunk, and glovebox.

You can read the details on my blog post about them.

bmw-135i-led-dome-light-1024x341.jpg

bmw-135i-led-rear-dome1-1024x341.jpg

bmw-135i-led-glovebox-light-1024x341.jpg

bmw-135i-led-trunk-light-1024x341.jpg

After all of this, I performed the $2 DIY blow off valve mod for cool noises. With my exhaust, I can't hear much of a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(See bottom of previous page for most recent updates/pictures!)

Continuing on from that post... I also sold my BBS LM replica wheels! Stay tuned for something more 'track-worthy' in the upcoming months.

I have a Rieger rear diffuser and those side splitters waiting to be installed once the weather gets a little nicer.

My 335is/550i clutch and MFactory SMFW will be installed next week, along with a fresh transmission fluid flush. The car should be able to hold the power it's putting down this summer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.