[chassis]

Coming along nicely!

[MPOWER5266]

My dad made some progress while I was out of town this weekend. We got the front bumper on the car.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

After that he installed one of the over riders. But it had an issue.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

When he tightened the over rider down, it pulled the bolt head through the metal (the one on the right.) So he added a washer and tried that, the bolt an washer pulled through this time. (on left.) We were told these were OEM BMW when we bought them but they were likely knock offs. We got our money back and ordered some from a trusted source, they should be in today.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

They looked much nicer than they actually were.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Since we are waiting on those, he went ahead and installed the rear bumper and license plate lights.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Any finally put a coat of paint on the exhaust tip. We have a chrome cover for it on the way and I need to play with the hangers to get it leveled out a little.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Not a ton left to do before we can start shaking it down. Just some little trim bits and some random seals. We should have a license plate for it this week. More to come.

[MPOWER5266]

Front bumper, round two.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

This time the over riders were in much better shape and the bumper went on fine.

I stopped by on the way home to drop off the plate frame and my dad just so happened to have the tag so we went ahead and installed it.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It still needs some little trim bits and part of the dash, but since it was tagged.... Here are a couple of videos.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

My dad and I took it on quick little spins around the neighborhood until it go up to temp. It seemed to run really well and I hope to get some real time behind the wheel tomorrow.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I love the presence this car has when it rolls up, its such a good looking shape. The "build" portion of this thread might be coming to an end but I know we will have some little projects left to do, so stay tuned.

[wdb]

It is even more beautiful in motion. Wow!

[MPOWER5266]

Big steps on the E9 lately.


We finished buttoning up the interior.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Found that it has a "gun holder." Well not really but I like the idea.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Installed the final little bits of window trim.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also took it for its first real drive. I even wore my period correct Seiko to commemorate the experience. It even has the same build month and year as when the car was imported to the states.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I just took it to the hangar and back. It ran great but there are some issues we are addressing this week. Most importantly the throttle was hanging wide open if you floor it. We have since fixed that, the linkage was hanging up on a hose clamp. It was also poorly aligned and actually broke while my dad was driving it so we re-routed it and it should be fixed. Also I think one of the rear brakes is hanging up but I may have fixed that during the drive. I had someone pull out in front of me while I was doing about 60mph. They had zero clue I was there until I locked up the brakes and swerved into a turn lane. So once I calmed back down and holstered my middle finger, I continued the drive and brakes felt better. I think it also needs a little work on the toe in, it seems to track and wander a bit on the road. We also have ordered a smaller Nardi steering wheel since the oem wheel hits our legs. There are a few other little things to work on but damn, it is a nice car.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[Dlpfcb]

Probably one of the best build threads on here. Thanks again for sharing, it’s a beauty.

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

There are a few other little things to work on but damn, it is a nice car.

The jet's not half-bad either!

Outstanding job. Truly.

[MPOWER5266]

Thank you, and sadly the jet isnt mine. Haha.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

I would much rather have a Nardi but I think this will work.

I might have one hiding in a box somewhere.

[Matt@EuroJerks]

I since sold my car in November and have not been back since. This was the only reason I came back on!! It's so fulfilling to see it back on the road buttoned up. Congrats!!

[Jbrown7403]

Congrats and beautiful pics! I can almost smell the leather! Hopefully we’ll get a spirited POV drive video one of these days

There is just something soooo damn cool about the E9 from the side with the 2 doors and forward sloping grill! I also love how open and airy it looks when all the windows are rolled down. Master stoke in automotive design!

[0-60Motorsports]

Looks good and nice watch

[fmc000]

Yeah, that's an amazing 6139 you have on your wrist, congrats! Oh, and the car isn't half bad either!

[MPOWER5266]

Small update over the weekend. Friday I drove the car to the gas station and put $25 in it. It almost got backed into by a drunk idiot while we were there but that another story. We drove it around a little and there was no gas smell, so we will fill it next time. It looked great sitting in the driveway when we got back.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Sunday my dad wanted to drive it a bit so I followed him over to the airport in my M3 so I could swap it for the 02. It made for a pretty good pic.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

He and I cruised around for a little bit together. I had trouble keeping up with him in the 02.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The e9's temp never got past 1/4 and the heat wasnt working. We decided to dump the coolant and check the tstat. We also did an oil change while we were at it. My dad put mobil 1 in it not too long ago but we decided to switch it over to something better formulated for vintage cars and that had VDDP in it, so its going to run Valvoline VR-1.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I went home while the car cooled enough to drain the coolant, but my dad sent a photo of the tstat later in the evening.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

That explains the gauge issue. We went ahead and ordered a new tstat, gaskets, coolant, and a temp sender. I am hoping that will fix it and Ill be able to take it to cars and coffee next weekend.

[MPOWER5266]

So small e9 update. Last Friday I drove it to my house for the first time and gave it a bit of a clean up.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Saturday my dad and I drove it most of the morning to a couple of car shows. It was mainly a drive to see if anything else needed fixing. It ran great but the passenger rear brake felt like it was hanging up, so we put it on the lift to adjust that. While it was up we gave the engine a good steam clean to try to locate some leaks.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We also addressed the seat belt issue. As you can see, the drivers seat belts are just limp strips of nylon that extend from the back seat area. They adjust at the buckle but they are a huge pain.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

So my dad located some inertia reel set ups, and built some brackets. Its a pretty slick and reversible option.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

They are mounted to the oem mount so they should be as safe as the oem belts. Which I assume were added as an after thought and were not really safe to begin with.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

They are much more comfortable and certainly more convenient. Now we just need to come up with some sort of mount or guide that we can attach to the headrest to keep the belts in place. Something removable of course.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[MPOWER5266]

I didn't do much this weekend, we had a friends bday and mothers day. I wasnt allowed to do too much car/shop related stuff. We did get the seat belt holders in.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

These are just simple leather straps that are held on to the headrest with velcro. The seat belt is always were I want it, but it could break free in the case of an accident. I thought it was a pretty good solution.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

We also adjusted the rear brakes so I took it on a little drive to test it out Sunday afternoon. I got some pretty awful news about a friend Sunday morning, it was nice to clear my head a little. Its also really hard to find a good shady spot for photos around town since the tornado, this was the best I could do.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

It will hopefully make its cars and coffee debut, this coming Saturday.

[CJ421]

What an awesome build. The E9's lines are classic. Love the color combo.

Charles

[mapleleaf1773]

Simply a beautiful piece of machinery and a amazing job you have done.

Its gorgeous. I'm not a huge James Bond guy but I feel like Bond would pop out approaching the jet (a few photos back).

You sir have a piece of history

[TAZ007]

Excellent car, rebuild, and thread. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed the story.

[NorthernDancer]

Great story and great pics. Very appreciate your efforts here. Have you ever read Rob Siegel's E9 restoration story?

[MPOWER5266]

Saturday I took the E9 to its first cars and coffee. It ran great and was a huge hit. I parked, and by the time I got out of the car, I was in 3 conversations. I didnt get a chance to take any pictures or really even walk around. I ducked out a little early and grabbed some BBQ with my buddy.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I wanted to drive around for a bit more after lunch but people have been drinking gas around here so the e9 was running a little low. On the way back to the shop I noticed people pumping gas at a station so I stopped... They had gas!!!

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Since the tank was full, I cruised around for a bit and put some real miles on the car for the first time. The Italian tune ups seem to be helping a lot, its running, starting and smelling better. My inlaws had their anniversary this weekend, and we had the twins baptized by my wifes preacher grandma, so my brother in-law was in town. I stopped by and showed them the car and snapped a quick pick while I was there.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The nardi wheel and coco mats should be in soon but its running like a top now. It such a good car.

[happyjack]

amazing resto! thanks for bringing us along for the ride!