At last!

[Zeti]

@Tony: yes Tony I would like to be anywhere (with the Zed) where temp is over 20 deg C.......or to have in my garage this temp, but it's too big and not efficiently insulated (was made 25 years ago, on the run.....).
I think the only way to keep up the moral of the troops is our forum......
@Jim: the Zed's heater works great even with roof down; if you set it to 4, you feel the burned dust smell in the ventilation pipes! As long as the thermostat keeps the temp to 95 degC, it's a real wood fire!
the snow outside is 4 inches high.....
Dan

 

[oldcarman]

@Zeti, I'm hoping if it does snow it won't hang around. We had about seven months of this winter past which was the coldest and had the most snow I can remember in my 67 yrs. if we weren't raising my granddaughter we'd surely be off somewhere warmer but wouldn't trade her for all the heat down south. JIM

 

[Rha]

Hi JIM, just got round to reading At Last and thought I might be able to enlighten you on the storage of your soft top. If like me you have the HT on for long periods make sure hood is perfectly dry before you fit HT, I fell foul of this resulting in 2 yrs of mildue accumulation when I next powdered it up,had to clean twice,re colour twice, then re proof, hood had become like a drum skin, seams and stitching suffered over tension, lucky to get away with just a few places where glue gave way. Just thinking of you and hoping perhaps you already knew. I know 2years is a long time but we had a couple of crap summers,reason I found it was worried the soft top hydrolics might need using after such a period, still think I got lucky.

 

[hard top]

Yep Rha, it is very important that the soft top is dry. Ether park the car up inside for a couple of days or, its a pain I know, put the hard top on on a nice dry warm day.

 

[oldcarman]

@Rha, thanks for that info. As would be it rained for two days off and on so top is still wet. I'm having some problems getting the in car fitting set up and need to google an install manual to make sure I get the adjusters set properly. When the PO installed everything they took the soft top pegs out and installed them into the hardtop. They had a couple of small pieces of bar stock holding the front of the fittings because they couldn't line everything up properly. That worked fine for the ship ride over and transport to my home. But once I took the HT off it wouldn't go back on properly. I've got everything out of the car until I can get the install instructions and the HT is simply sitting there so I can't use the car till I get it together properly. It's snowing again so I need to get it into my shop where I can work on it properly and get the soft top dried out, even though I'm putting a new one on. So, that's my tale of woe for now, JIM

 

[Rha]

@Rha, thanks for that info. As would be it rained for two days off and on so top is still wet. I'm having some problems getting the in car fitting set up and need to google an install manual to make sure I get the adjusters set properly. When the PO installed everything they took the soft top pegs out and installed them into the hardtop. They had a couple of small pieces of bar stock holding the front of the fittings because they couldn't line everything up properly. That worked fine for the ship ride over and transport to my home. But once I took the HT off it wouldn't go back on properly. I've got everything out of the car until I can get the install instructions and the HT is simply sitting there so I can't use the car till I get it together properly. It's snowing again so I need to get it into my shop where I can work on it properly and get the soft top dried out, even though I'm putting a new one on. So, that's my tale of woe for now, JIM

HT can be difficult to align when first fitting, I allways seem to forget which way the rear two spring loaded handles must be and have on several occasions when fitting on my own had to ring my son to come and help, he usually guides me over the phone but has always offered to come, if you try and locate the front whilst the rear spring loaded connector handles are in wrong position it just won't conect at front,which you have to do first. Hope that helps.( failing that you could try ringing my son and reverse the charges,better still ask him to pop over)

 

[oldcarman]

HT can be difficult to align when first fitting, I allways seem to forget which way the rear two spring loaded handles must be and have on several occasions when fitting on my own had to ring my son to come and help, he usually guides me over the phone but has always offered to come, if you try and locate the front whilst the rear spring loaded connector handles are in wrong position it just won't conect at front,which you have to do first. Hope that helps.( failing that you could try ringing my son and reverse the charges,better still ask him to pop over)

Please extend my invitation to your son for me. He would be more than welcome anytime.

 

[Rha]

Please extend my invitation to your son for me. He would be more than welcome anytime.

Jim,do you think I would let my one and only go over to see u without me ??, don't think for one minute I wouldnt be right behind him. Still remember my two months in Medecine Hat with six foot snow drifts and traveling over the Rockies in April 71, driving in conditions I've never seen since. Your poor Z, I don't drive mine out in 2 inches of snow let alone 6ft, cos so many people in this country just get stuck for lack of experience in snow and ice,not there fault I surpose, cut my teeth in 6 German winters which gave me the confidence to drive (an Oldsmobile cutlass )over the rockers to Yellowstone park and return 2weeks later. Yellowstone only because we were promised a trip to Bamf on our return, which didn't happen, allways felt I missed out there. Anyway, hope you manage to get out in the Z soon, it might surprise you just how bad they handle in winter/ice conditions anything wider than 205 tyres without studs would be difficult to say the least, that's only my opinion though based on very limited winter Z driving, please let me know just how you cope, which no doubt you will cope being in the thick of it. Roy

 

[Brian4]

Jim
Very opportune posting on another forum might be useful for you.

http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f146/1996-2002-bmw-z3-hardtop-fitting-tips-t74590/

I hope nobody minds me borrowing this.

 

[t-tony]

Jim,do you think I would let my one and only go over to see u without me ??, don't think for one minute I wouldnt be right behind him. Still remember my two months in Medecine Hat with six foot snow drifts and traveling over the Rockies in April 71, driving in conditions I've never seen since. Your poor Z, I don't drive mine out in 2 inches of snow let alone 6ft, cos so many people in this country just get stuck for lack of experience in snow and ice,not there fault I surpose, cut my teeth in 6 German winters which gave me the confidence to drive (an Oldsmobile cutlass )over the rockers to Yellowstone park and return 2weeks later. Yellowstone only because we were promised a trip to Bamf on our return, which didn't happen, allways felt I missed out there. Anyway, hope you manage to get out in the Z soon, it might surprise you just how bad they handle in winter/ice conditions anything wider than 205 tyres without studs would be difficult to say the least, that's only my opinion though based on very limited winter Z driving, please let me know just how you cope, which no doubt you will cope being in the thick of it. Roy

We had a fair old dumping of snow (by our standards that is) a few years ago and I was at work in my Z. We left Lincoln slightly early, it was blowing a blizzard with already a few inches covering the main road. As you point out Roy many people have never driven ion snow and I have only driven in these conditions a few times during my life. So it was no surprise to have some idiot tailgating me out of town, totally unaware of what might happen in a sudden stop!. My only recourse was to keep stepping on the throttle thus making the rear end step out which eventually got my message across to him/her. As you rightly point out these wide low profile tyres make excellent snow shoes.

Tony.

This was how I abandonded my car when I got home that night. It was 2010. I couldn't get out our drive the next morning.

 

[hard top]

17th December 2010......Spot the Z.

 

[David Cullen]

nice guys allways worth getting winter tyres on for the winter, especially with rear wheelers, had bmw in 2010 with winter tyres and she went everywhere no probs, just stepped out when i wanted it to ;-) worthwhile investment for the winter

 

[t-tony]

Like it Mike, to be fair Shirl's old Eos was about like that too as it had been standing out in the snow, where as I had "blown" a bit off mine on the way home from work. Was that in Holland?

By the way that is a 12" ruler she is holding on the roof.

 

[hard top]

I drive all year round on winter tyres, comfy ride due to softer compound and good in the wet.

 

[hard top]

Was that in Holland?

Yep.....

 

[hard top]

4th December 2010

 

[David Cullen]

@hard top your not right in the head man hehe of all the people on here i thought you done things by the book ;-) haha

 

[hard top]

And an arty farty one, so you can make your own Christmas card. Taken through my kitchen window.

 

[hard top]

@hard top your not right in the head man hehe of all the people on here i thought you done things by the book ;-) haha

Me? You have got to be kidding.....

 

[David Cullen]

lol well i was going by a thread i came by the other day about soft tops and water proofing them, you seemed hard core on doing the right thing with them and just by that i figured you were like that with everything proven wrong i guess
are the winter tyres not terrible noisy? and they must wear like a mother in heat....