#ZedShed Project Bluebird (Philip Baxters 3.0 Zed)

[Lee]

Next zed in the shed is one fine example of a 3.0! @PHILIP BAXTER has given me strict instructions to do everything and not to leave any stone unturned. So tonight we (myself and Gaz) shall start the assessment, so wheels off and get her in the air we may make a start on loosening everything.

Shopping list: Rear
Shocks (Boge/sachs) In stock
Top mounts In stock
Beam Bushes OEM In stock
Drop Links In stock
Handbrake cables In stock
Powerflex Diff Bushe
Diff fluid (Opie)
Eibach Springs (30mm) Ordered
Roll bar bushes depending on condition Ok

Mid:
Guibo (flex disk) In Stock
Gearbox fluid
Fuel filter In Stock
New stereo/Bluetooth/USB

Front:
Shocks (Boge/Sachs) In Stock
Drop Links In Stock
Eibach springs (30mm) Ordered
Wishbones In Stock
Lollypop bushes (Rear wishbone bushe) In Stock
Roll bar bushes depending on condition Ok

Engine:
NGK plugs In Stock
Oil
Mann Filters (Oil/Air)
Thermostat Returned
Water pump Returned


So plenty to do If anyone wants to come visit its going to be a busy few weeks or even wants to have a play and get dirty.

The heaters will be very much one tonight with the garage door close

 

[DavidM]

Excellent stuff - hope all goes smooth - lucky @PHILIP BAXTER

 

[5harp3y]

WOW! that's a whole lot of work

i will be booking mine in for after crimbo

 

[andyglym]

As always, top stuff chaps.

 

[Low Rider]

A proper going over from that list

 

[t-tony]

Depending on weather, a heater if only till you get warm, makes jobs more enjoyable. Good on you boys!

Tony.

 

[ZTec]

A big Christmas list Phil.

 

[GazHyde]

Let the shenanigans begin... I don't have an exact list of what we are about to do, but it's pretty comprehensive. So comprehensive in fact that the local GSF asked Lee to collect the lot in one go so they could reach their monthly target. Apparently Lee is buying more stuff from them than some of the local garages are

Here is a literal "shed load" of parts... There are still some we are waiting on, such as some Eibach Pro springs, brake pads and engine oil and so on.

Some of the things I can remember that's on the bench.

• Front & rear discs. EBC pads to be ordered.
• Handbrake cables
• Wishbones
• Rear wishbone bushes (lollipops)
• Front and rear Boge shock absorbers
• Front and rear shock top mounts
• Front and rear drop links
• Oil filter
• Spark plugs
• Water pump & thermostat

The purpose of this evening was more to suss out what is needed and prepare for the Saturday session. Car is now up on axle stands with the wheels off.

The spare wheel & rear springs are out, and the anti roll bar disconnected. Everything else underneath has been given a liberal coating of penetrating fluid. Spare wheel is unremarkable in that it's pretty much the usual state of affairs...

How the drivers side is now...

..and the passenger side

The eagle eyed amongst your will notice a couple of things in the last 2 pictures. The first is non-OEM shock absorbers, which shows some level of maintenance. As usual there is no real history to the car to say when they were fitted, so could have done any number of miles. They are a little soft but have an amount of life in them. New ones on the bench, so move along quickly!

The second item will be the amount of contact area the rear pads have on the disc. Close up below shows probably about 2/3s contact area and fairly well pitted. Good job they are being changed, although the rears don't do most of the heavy braking work anyway. The story is the same both sides.

On to our nemesis which is the exhaust flange at the front of the car. I can't remember the last Z3 we took in which had an exhaust that could be removed easily. This does seem to affect the later (facelift) cars more though. Looking at the pictures below you can see there is little left which can be removed and then replaced, they will basically crumble to nothing.

This exact problem was covered in detail on the restoration thread for my 2.2, there are few local exhaust centres who will touch this kind of issue. The bolt holes on the flange are usually shot afterwards, so the exhaust needs to be replaced (assuming you can't find a fitter who will weld on new flanges).

Our workaround, and it's not ideal, is to use an airline reciprocating saw to cut the exhaust mid way down the car. When the exhaust goes back on we use exhaust sleeves and plenty of exhaust putty to put the two sections back together. As I say it's not ideal, but touching the joint below is likely to end up in tears and a new exhaust system. We've already used the sleeves on Low Riders 2.2, which has held perfectly fine (after a slight blow was resolved).

On a final technical note, and Lee will be discussing this with Phil is the engine cooling system. We have got a new water pump and thermostat, but it look suspiciously like it's only been done recently. It has a new fan blade for certain as it still has some of the dealer stock room part sticker on it. The belts look good to as do the bolts on the water pump itself. It's also missing the plastic fan shroud, and the radiator looks in pretty good condition for it's age!

Next up will be bacon butties at our new eatery on Saturday. It's a van in B&Q car park, and she does really crispy bacon! We should be up to full strength too as Paul and Trev are back from their romantic getaway to 'murica

 

[Low Rider]

Let the shenanigans begin... I don't have an exact list of what we are about to do, but it's pretty comprehensive. So comprehensive in fact that the local GSF asked Lee to collect the lot in one go so they could reach their monthly target. Apparently Lee is buying more stuff from them than some of the local garages are

Here is a literal "shed load" of parts... There are still some we are waiting on, such as some Eibach Pro springs, brake pads and engine oil and so on.

Some of the things I can remember that's on the bench.

• Front & rear discs. EBC pads to be ordered.
• Handbrake cables
• Wishbones
• Rear wishbone bushes (lollipops)
• Front and rear Boge shock absorbers
• Front and rear shock top mounts
• Front and rear drop links
• Oil filter
• Spark plugs
• Water pump & thermostat

View attachment 46001

View attachment 46002

View attachment 46003

View attachment 46004

View attachment 46005

View attachment 46006

The purpose of this evening was more to suss out what is needed and prepare for the Saturday session. Car is now up on axle stands with the wheels off.

The spare wheel & rear springs are out, and the anti roll bar disconnected. Everything else underneath has been given a liberal coating of penetrating fluid. Spare wheel is unremarkable in that it's pretty much the usual state of affairs...
View attachment 46007

How the drivers side is now...
View attachment 46008

..and the passenger side
View attachment 46009

The eagle eyed amongst your will notice a couple of things in the last 2 pictures. The first is non-OEM shock absorbers, which shows some level of maintenance. As usual there is no real history to the car to say when they were fitted, so could have done any number of miles. They are a little soft but have an amount of life in them. New ones on the bench, so move along quickly!

The second item will be the amount of contact area the rear pads have on the disc. Close up below shows probably about 2/3s contact area and fairly well pitted. Good job they are being changed, although the rears don't do most of the heavy braking work anyway. The story is the same both sides.
View attachment 46010

On to our nemesis which is the exhaust flange at the front of the car. I can't remember the last Z3 we took in which had an exhaust that could be removed easily. This does seem to affect the later (facelift) cars more though. Looking at the pictures below you can see there is little left which can be removed and then replaced, they will basically crumble to nothing.

This exact problem was covered in detail on the restoration thread for my 2.2, there are few local exhaust centres who will touch this kind of issue. The bolt holes on the flange are usually shot afterwards, so the exhaust needs to be replaced (assuming you can't find a fitter who will weld on new flanges).

Our workaround, and it's not ideal, is to use an airline reciprocating saw to cut the exhaust mid way down the car. When the exhaust goes back on we use exhaust sleeves and plenty of exhaust putty to put the two sections back together. As I say it's not ideal, but touching the joint below is likely to end up in tears and a new exhaust system. We've already used the sleeves on Low Riders 2.2, which has held perfectly fine (after a slight blow was resolved).View attachment 46011

On a final technical note, and Lee will be discussing this with Phil is the engine cooling system. We have got a new water pump and thermostat, but it look suspiciously like it's only been done recently. It has a new fan blade for certain as it still has some of the dealer stock room part sticker on it. The belts look good to as do the bolts on the water pump itself. It's also missing the plastic fan shroud, and the radiator looks in pretty good condition for it's age!

Next up will be bacon butties at our new eatery on Saturday. It's a van in B&Q car park, and she does really crispy bacon! We should be up to full strength too as Paul and Trev are back from their romantic getaway to 'murica

An excellent read Gaz and takes me back to February. With all those bits it looks like Christmas morning come early.
The spark plugs look something really special !

 

[GazHyde]

It's Saturday, so it can only be #ZedShed time

Before we get started we were wondering if @PHILIP BAXTER was aware he owns a set of holy grail AC Schnitzer roll hoops. Worth a fortune IF you can find a set them anywhere... Couple of pics for peeps who haven't seen them before!

Moving on to our mission for the day. New tools! Battery powered reciprocating saw, perfect for the removal of exhausts.

You can see where we cut through the exhaust mid section in this picture, allowing us maximum access to the sub-frame.

We always like to innovate how we work, and today we've done things slightly differently. We have disconnected the brake lines at the back of the calipers so we can remove them, along with the discs. This makes the sub-frame a bit lighter for moving around.

Lots of spare bits, pretty sure we know where they go.

Philip - it's too late to change your mind now! Here is your sub-frame...

...and here is the hole it left

Up on the bench ready for tear down. There is the usual covering of muck and surface rust, but nothing excessively nasty lurking.

No surprise that the rear beam bushes are seriously deteriorated. Lots of movement and the rubber is starting to de-laminate from the metal core. New bushes have almost no movement in them.

PowerFlex diff bush as usual for convenience of fitting.

New beam bushes fitted. These are GSF supplied pattern parts, as per normal ZedShed fitment.

New handbrake cables fitted. The originals have split open, clearly been like this for some time.

New cables.

Drop links suffering usual degradation.

Anti roll bar bushes have hardened and deformed.

 

[DavidM]

Once again great work!!

 

[Low Rider]

It's Saturday, so it can only be #ZedShed time

Before we get started we were wondering if @PHILIP BAXTER was aware he owns a set of holy grail AC Schnitzer roll hoops. Worth a fortune IF you can find a set them anywhere... Couple of pics for peeps who haven't seen them before!
View attachment 46200

View attachment 46199

Moving on to our mission for the day. New tools! Battery powered reciprocating saw, perfect for the removal of exhausts.
View attachment 46203

You can see where we cut through the exhaust mid section in this picture, allowing us maximum access to the sub-frame.
View attachment 46202

We always like to innovate how we work, and today we've done things slightly differently. We have disconnected the brake lines at the back of the calipers so we can remove them, along with the discs. This makes the sub-frame a bit lighter for moving around.
View attachment 46204

Lots of spare bits, pretty sure we know where they go.
View attachment 46205

Philip - it's too late to change your mind now! Here is your sub-frame...
View attachment 46201

...and here is the hole it left
View attachment 46206

Up on the bench ready for tear down. There is the usual covering of muck and surface rust, but nothing excessively nasty lurking.
View attachment 46213

No surprise that the rear beam bushes are seriously deteriorated. Lots of movement and the rubber is starting to de-laminate from the metal core. New bushes have almost no movement in them.
View attachment 46216

PowerFlex diff bush as usual for convenience of fitting.
View attachment 46218

New beam bushes fitted. These are GSF supplied pattern parts, as per normal ZedShed fitment.
View attachment 46219

New handbrake cables fitted. The originals have split open, clearly been like this for some time.
View attachment 46221

New cables.
View attachment 46220

Drop links suffering usual degradation.
View attachment 46222

Anti roll bar bushes have hardened and deformed.
View attachment 46223

Some really nice photos there guys.

 

[PHILIP BAXTER]

I had no idea the hoops are so rare. It looks like you've had a very productive day getting rid of all that perished rubber. Thank you and keep up the good work @Lee and co.

 

[BMBabe]

Looks like lots going on in the Zed shed
Awesome work guys

 

[Bazza]

As usual lads awesome work

 

[5harp3y]

Great work!

 

[Lee]

Small update tonight. The rear beam is back in its home and fitted. Gary didn't make it tonight because he decided to join the carpark on the A34 So i had the help of @Oldguysrule

Diff bolt torqued up and main beam bolts torqued up so she can hang on her own. You can see the new rear disks also the drop links and new eibach springs. Most of it is just loosely sat in place ready for thursday.

This image really shows how stiff the bushe should sit once torqued up.

We also replaced the Guibo commonly known as the flex disk. The one i removed was the BMW original. Looking slightly tired but still had plenty of life left.

New shocks next to the old shocks

Old springs are in good condition and being sent to help another forum member.

Eibach springs next to the standard sport springs.

Stay tuned for another update on thursday.

 

[GazHyde]

Nice work, glad Trev was about to assist this evening!

 

[oldcarman]

Great write up and pics guys! Nice to see the springs getting recycled to help out another member! Nice one @PHILIP BAXTER!! JIM

 

[Low Rider]

Excellent work Lee. She's coming together nicely.