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/// The Stig's 1992 535i M Spec

thestig

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After a solid 3 weeks

This project turned out to be a little bigger than first expected.

The pedal boxes on the donor and project had the same part numbers. And in most respects they were identical. Unfortunately they differed on one keypoint.
The pedal box from the manual donor included a compression spring mount that was welded to the back plate of the box.

Project (ex-auto):
uc


Donor (ex-manual):
uc


So this meant either fabing something up that would most likely turn out to be inferior, or swapping the pedal boxes. I decided to go with swapping the pedal boxes. This is a lot of extra work as you have to take out a fair portion of the interior trim, air con ducts, and the steering column. The steering column is the bitch, it comes fitted with an anti-tamper bolt. The bolt is in a hard to get to place with little room for wielding power tools of any kind.

Others on the net have had success with a Snapon "bolt removal tool" pictured below.
uc


I bought the exact same thing and couldn't get the bolts to budge. So took the tool back for a refund. Total tools are good for something after all. :)
The battle was long and hard, there were two of them, one in each car. In the end I won out with a combination of drill, ezy out, dremel and large flat blade screwdriver.
Needless to say I bought a sane looking replacement:
uc


Removal of the steering column and trim:
uc


The clutch pedal with compression spring:
uc


How the compression spring mounts:
uc


Pedal box out of donor:
uc


The different brake pedals:
uc


Time to tackle the auto pedal box:
uc


Manual pedal box cleaned and installed along with pedals:
uc


Whilst the steering column was out I took the opportunity to replace the cabin air filter. It's right at the back of the heater box and slides out in two pieces to get around the steering column as seen here in this Japanese E32:
uc


Of course I ordered my replacement filter from Pelican Parts where they have left hand drive. The filter is sold in one piece, as the steering column isn't in the way, so in the end it was good that the steering column was already out.
Here's the difference between the filter I took out, and the one I put in, 22 years of crud:
uc


The steering column refitted:
uc
 
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thestig

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the 3 weeks continues...

Before removing the auto I got sidetracked by my recently aquired OEM cup holder option:
uc


Whilst removing the clutch plate from the donor I ran into a hint of things to come. BMW seem to be obsessed with inhex bolts. They appear predominately on drive line components. And personally I think this is a mistake! They often fail, rounding out before you can apply the torque required to undo them. I suppose this is to be expected to some extent given the age of the car. Here is one of two on the pressure plate that gave me grief, this one snapped my ezy out:
uc


More of these intolerable nuisances are found on the diff. Here is the 3.64 ratio from the manual sporting a cv joint or two. Easier to angle grind the bolts off when it's out of the car:
uc


It should be noted that all this work is being carried out in a pretty limited amount of space:
uc


After the auto came out I started thinking about temporary solutions for the shifter surround. I ended up refinishing the surround from the donor:
uc


And a test fit:
uc


Time to prep the main driveline parts, we did all the seals on both the gearbox and the diff. The engine also had the rear main done, as you do. Here's a shot of the Getrag getting the treatment:
uc


Followed by a quick test assembly of the UUC Short Shifter with DSSR:
uc


Most of the time in this project was spent under the car with an angle grinder and/or blowtorch trying to get the 3.91 diff out of the project. Six of those nasty inhex bolts rounded out and got the grinder.
Another six I tortured with heat. I REALLY wasn't in the mood for taking photos during that phase, so I'll distract you with a set of vital fluids:
uc


Here's the clutch master cylinder all fitted up and poking out through the firewall:
uc


And the Reservoir:
uc


Here is the wiring needed to cajole the ECU/TCU into behaving:
uc


Here's what the shifter looks like at the moment. I am waiting for the illuminated ZHP knob to show up from the US. In a month or two I plan to have the surround replaced with a woodgrain panel than integrates the Nexus 7 tablet from previous posts in this thread:
uc


I have left a fair amount of interior trim out at the moment as I plan to install the rest of the stereo gear I bought along with my head unit. The rear trim has to come out when I get the suspension parts, so it seemed worthwhile doing it all in one hit:
uc
 
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thestig

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Knob arrival

Finally my illuminated ZHP leather shifter knob arrived from LeatherZ

I was tired after a long days work but the temporary solution was already getting on my nerves, it didn't suit the interior of the car and was coming loose all the time.

So out to the garage I went.

Fumbled around with a test fit and picked my wiring splice in points after a quick consultation of the car's wiring diagram:
uc


I switched the garage lights out to get an idea what it would look like on the road:
uc


Soldered it all up and put the temporary surround back in:
uc


A final low light shot:
uc
 
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thestig

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Put my front speakers in this evening. They are a split affair. Sounds good. I will put the rears in when the suspension arrives as the parcel shelf has to come out to do the rear shocks.

Spent an hour our so tuning the system post upgrade then battled a problem with the central locking for 4 hours.

Turned out to be a fuse under the rear seat that must have been disturbed whilst I was putting it back into place after I had run the speaker and line out wires to the amp that is now in the boot.

Took a picture of my fuse box whilst I was inspecting it.

The OEM fuses are so much cooler than the aftermarket trash you see around. :)

uc
 
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hi_ryder

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i was scrolling down saw that silver shift knob and said to myself, oh he gotta change that.... then saw the second one. nailed it.

classy stuff man, really diggin it. keep up the good work...
 

thestig

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I'm still not going to carry a spare...

I think it's time to put the Pilot Sport 3's on the current set of wheels.

uc


Let's just say, there was an FG Turbo in the vicinity at the time this went "wrong" :shutup:
 
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yZoH

//There Ain't No Rest For The Wicked...
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Wow that sidewall rubs inside somewhere...

CLEARANCE TIME!
 

Tasmaniak

Not a valid input....
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Put my front speakers in this evening. They are a split affair. Sounds good. I will put the rears in when the suspension arrives as the parcel shelf has to come out to do the rear shocks.

Spent an hour our so tuning the system post upgrade then battled a problem with the central locking for 4 hours.

Turned out to be a fuse under the rear seat that must have been disturbed whilst I was putting it back into place after I had run the speaker and line out wires to the amp that is now in the boot.

Took a picture of my fuse box whilst I was inspecting it.

The OEM fuses are so much cooler than the aftermarket trash you see around. :)

oemFusesAreSexy.jpg
For what its worth and you may already know this... I've repaired dozens of these cars with a central locking fault. It'll blow the fuse under the seat. It comes from a wire breaking in one of the door harnesses and intermittently shorting out. The problem is always in the harness between the door and the body. Furthermore, 8/10 times the fault is in the boot harness where it curves around the hinger.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.
 

Wombles

Cars cost too much.
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WTF happened there?
 
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