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#24
25-07-2020, 06:36 PM
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So the Breadvan has been put in just before lockdown to have sills and archliners off and a bit of a check over and tidy up - followed by some under sealing.
Then lockdown: so you’ve a car sitting at your mates workshop with its rear subframe out and lots of time on your hands.... Before Pics and state:  Although mechanically and structurally sound - it is a 21 year old car and the rear subframe was mostly seized, bushes were all shot, shocks were saggy and surface rust was forming on the sills and gear. The callipers as well were looking a bit long in the tooth. And all the other bits and bobs that 20 years does to a car.      So a long list was made and parts were ordered. Bilstein B8 shocks H&R anti-roll bars Eibach 20mm springs Goodridge braided hoses Wheel bearings Handbrake cable, shoes and guard Oem bushes all round And some shiny bits: Badges Kidney Grills Side light lenses Sill trims The wheels went off to be shadow chromed and the callipers off to ‘Bigg Red’ to be reconditioned and rebuilt 
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#25
25-07-2020, 06:46 PM
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After:
        Car feels 100% both more supple in its suspension and tighter round the corners. The arbs have made a massive difference and the new bushes have removed the shunt coming through from 1st to 2nd Brakes all rebuilt feel solid and assured and look great behind the refurb’d wheels. The wheels..... So Bmw never had a paint code for shadow chrome. You basically paint a wheel black and layer the chrome on top...... So after a few testers which just seemed too dark, we moved from ‘shadow chrome’ to more of a ‘chrome shadow’ look: semantics it may be but it did the trick!  The car was just nearly ready, with a handling day booked in with MDifficult and his 1M when it threw a wobbly and the master cylinder went kaput! Some frantic eBaying later and a suitable part was found and added to the long list of new bits! The BreadVan was now ready to be driven again!   Dad and I took it for a good shakedown on some of our favourite roads - it felt tight and supple - modern and confident. Love this car!  
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#26
25-07-2020, 06:56 PM
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So next day was a handling day. MDifficult has written a magnificent recount of the day in his thread here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...t=1655259&p=20on Pistonheads and all I can do is echo how much I got out of it myself.
A full day at Abingdon airfield with Racing Instructor Gary Marsh teaching the finer points of car control - tricky rhd car control in particular. I could go on but to cut a long story short: I started with a car I loved but was wary of - knowing it’s reputation, especially in the wet. I left having thoroughly got to know myself and the cars limits (in the dry) and being able to exploit the z3m fully with confidence. Can’t recommend Gary enough and will return on a wetter day to learn more. Definitely read MDifficult’s write up if you can! It’s on his thread on ‘readers cars’ forum of Pistonheads 
Last edited by ImolaMatt; 25-07-2020 at 06:58 PM.
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#27
25-07-2020, 07:16 PM
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Sooooooo...........
Having sorted the underside and mechanical bits and been out on the airfield to learn how to enjoy it - it was time to finish off the exterior. The Z was booked into Bradley at Concours Detailing for some love. Full paint correction Detail Ceramic coating Spoiler and mirrors repainted to actually match the car........ I’ll put the details below of what Bradley actually did for those ‘detail’ People amongst you but he spent 6 days fighting with what he described as very very bad paint but has produced a beautiful finish.          
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#28
25-07-2020, 07:17 PM
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Bradley was very happy with the way it went and I can’t believe the way the paint has been transformed to looking as good as new! Car looks stunning!
   [url=https://ibb.co/26bmZpr]  [/    Then it was a case of getting it home to the garage which is nearly finished (but that’s another story! 
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