Small jobs

Weather was great Monday and Tuesday so drove to work both days but unfortunately it's been rain since and will be until Sunday apparently. It's always a good excuse to clean up or get some small jobs ticked off the list. Tonight I fixed the intermittent wipers. They are not supported in the wiper kit but it was easy to fix. I bought a small intermittent wiper hobby kit from Elfa (like Radio Shack). Soldered it together and then wired it into the first wiper position on the stalk. When it's activated (it's adjustable between about 3seconds and 1 minute) it sends 12v to the slow wiper position for one wipe.

I fixed it to the inside of the scuttle beside the mirror bolt so I can adjust the wipe speed if necessary, it's set to about 7 seconds which seems quite reasonable.

I found the nyloc nut on the clutch pedal loose again so I'm going to have to change all that have been undone a couple of times. I'd like to get the car up on a lift and go round all the nuts and bolts before I do too many miles. 


I've noticed again that after a while driving max revs goes down from the red to about 5,5k. Disconnecting seems to fix it temporarily. 


Jobs to do still: Sump guard, better air flow into the manifold, fix the soft top but I'd like to do a more discreet solution than suggested by GKD and console still to do.

Stoneleigh will have to wait until next year!

The thought was there but to be realistic a journey of 5,000km in a week in a rebuilt car open to the elements and the thought of all that English rain didn't fill me with a lot of enthusiasm. Instead my sights were focused on the Scania enthusiast Road Trip which took place on Thursday. It was all very 11th hour as I was rushing to get the windscreen on, lights fixed, relays replaced. Thursday morning I nipped into BMW and they were kind enough to give me a free engine diagnostics.

Two things wrong, one was the MAF sensor which costs £350 and the Camshaft sensor which comes in at £100. I decided instead to use CRC air sensor cleaner first. I'll check out Ebay for the cam sensor.

The guys were very friendly and were very interested in seeing one of their engines packed into such a small car. Actually during the diagnosis they told me the engine was actually from a 1998 BMW not a 96 which I was lead to beleive by the BMW breakers (note to self - don't complain!) 


I'd like to do something with the bonnet as it's quite a handful to take off and on. Perhaps it can be hinged in some way.

The new wishbones are great, the turning circle is very much better than before. If I can get the angle right I can get out of the garage in one instead of 5!

At last the GKD sticker in place on the bonnet!

Windscreen wipers needed some adjustment to fit parallel to the bottom of the screen. I'm not sure how effective they will be in a rain but I'm not in a hurry to find out. Today I cleaned the MAF with  the CRC cleaner and went back to the first air filter I bought. The backfire has now reduced, acceleration is brilliant, so much so that I have to learn how to change gear faster!

Some small jobs, rear carpet makes a big difference. 

Peter at GKD ran me off a BMW inside sticker. Nice against the black.

Windscreen wipers in place. Not tested yet!

A couple of adjustments I need to do in the next few days. I bolted the drivers seat a few centimeters too far forward so waste some valuable leg room. The foot rest is great but it makes it a little tight between pedals but it's worth it. Anette is making the gearshift gaiter for me, hopefully that will be ready tomorrow.


I was out driving past Rosenhill today along the much loved motorcycle routes in the area. The weather was great, sunshine (a little cold perhaps) and clear skies. I'm still thrilled with the road handling, the sound, the speed and above all it has the same feeling as riding a motorcycle only it can be done without a helmet.  


Peter is developing a supercharger kit which uses a Mini Cooper S system. It's estimated to increase power by 50HP. Hopefully he will have that ready by winter. It's not something that is really necessary but it's a new challenge, and I reckon that's what life's all about. 


A few more pictures:

Pity the black gets dirty quite quickly

The reversing sensors work very well. ebay sell them.

Fault found

After a good nights sleep I was able to tackle the electrical problem with a clear mind but did it help - no!


I removed the scuttle again and took the opportunity to clean up all the wiring, it was just like spaghetti in there. After hours of searching I sent a quick mail to Peter asking whether it  could be relays. After a chat on the phone to him it ended up that it was indeed a relay problem as the fuel pump was on even when  the ignition was off! There are four BMW relays, all with the same part number as I far as I can see for various things but one is for the fuel pump.

All I did was swap it with another and then back again and it fired up no problems. I'll nip in to BMW tomorrow and buy some replacements. While clearing up the wiring I also fixed the background lights for the dash switches as a couple weren't working.

It's quite tight with wiring, switches, heater hoses, instrument cluster and wipers but now it's a little neater.

Another relay I'll need to change is the flasher relay. I changed to LED indicators and they were flashing twice as fast as usual. Peter told me it was the change in current drain to the lamps and that the easiest thing to do when changing from normal 12v bulbs to LED was change the relay. Ended the evening with a quick lap around the block, I had almost forgotten how great she sounds with the small backfire when de-accelerating. The neighbours are going to love me!

The final 100m of a marathon!

 It's been a tough week down in the cellar. I thought I was a day or so away from my first spin of the year but things took far longer. Monday I dropped off the front diff bracket at Huddinge Stål (metal) together with a quick sketch of a bit I wanted welding on. I picked up the rear panel and bonnet on Thursday, bolted and wired in the fog and reversing lights. Friday the diff bracket was ready and looks like this:

It allows two extra bolts to be bolted through the bracket and into the chassis bracket.

Here it is in place, the new bolt in the lower centre has a twin on the other side. I think this should make it quite strong, it stops it from lifting at the rear at least.

Neil came up again on Saturday and we riveted all the panels with nice black rivets. Bolted on the rear wings, diff mount, put the skuttle in place with ICL connectors and switches for headlights, heater etc. Felt very good to cross off so much from the list.

Rear panel temporarily in place just to check the side panels and welded join to the rear panel. Danbo Lak did a fantastic job of making the pigs ears I had done into silk purses! 

Rear LED lights in place. Nice thin ones from CBS in Staplehurst. A bit expensive but worth it,

Number plate and fuel filler pipe in place.

Time to get the tracking done. I used a Black & Decker DIY laser on the rear wheels and shone them towards the front. Then adjusted the track rods until the bar and light lined up. Also checked distance between front wheels,

The rear wing guards look great against the black. I used M3 (I think) oval headed Torx bolts instead of riveting the guards on. 24 each side. I added extra repeaters to the rear wings to match the front.

I wanted  the rear carpet to be easy to take out so I used poppers riveted in place. Trouble is when I tried to pop the carpet off again they fell apart basically. Will have to look for a better solution

Now it's officially a GKD. An emblem for the rear and one for the bonnet. I also have a nice silver "BMW inside" sticker than looks great against the black too. After a lot of cutting, sanding and messing around I finally got the wing lights bolted on. LED lights also from CBS cut to just 15 mm depth.

Status now: I had a quick drive up the road and back and everything was fine. Hopped in the car later intending to fill up with petrol and the engine wouldn't start. It fires and runs for a second or two and then stops. Even with the ignition key out I can hear the fuel pump running as well as something in the engine is sounding too. Turn the key to ignition position and the pump stops! If I wait a few minutes it fires up again. Peter suggested I check all the earths etc. which I will do tomorrow. It seems strange  that it worked earlier and all I have done is connect a few lights.