2009 Z4 35i Let the DIY and slight cosmetic modding begin.

[osiris]

Got a few more things done on the car of late. First off I had the strut brace bars in the engine bay painted white to really freshen up the engine bay. I quite like how this came out.

This is the before:



After:






Now time for some new emblems as I was missing the "i" on both sides and the chrome was peeling on the rest:



and on, Same done on both sides:



Now to get rid of these shoddy non LCI side marker indicators and upgrade with the OEM LCI chrome inserts. Also my current ones kept getting moisture in them. Big shout out to Diego at ABM BMW Midrand for organising all these parts on such short notice and at great prices: The before can be seen in the pic above.


Removed from the car:


And Fitted, looks so much better. Really freshens up the look.



Will continue in the next post due to picture limitations...

 

[modocrat]

Nice bicycle

 

[osiris]

Next up, fix the wiring in the engine bay, I hid it quite well before but the plastics got brittle and started breaking and rotting due to none of it actually being heat resistant, so back to RealOEM I went to find new plastic sheething for the main wiring harness in the engine bay, Called up Diego and got the parts ordered.



Then I got to work on a task I was a little skeptical on attempting at first but just went for it:


Bottom right same issue in this pic, so I got BMW take the black Material tape, wrapped all those wires up nicely and then placed brand new tubing over it all.



Finished outcome, things looking very fresh, also fixed that intake manifold sensor exposed wires with black heat shrink.


Next up I got to work on a small job that turned into a massive job where @General.Massacre told me "Right I think that's my cue to go home" 🤣

All I actually wanted to do was fix the bubbles on the idrive pop up screen 🤣 what actually ended up happening is me needing @General.Massacre to give me a lift to the shops to get contact adhesive as I had ended up going too far with the seemingly small project when I saw that I could pull the leather back on my dash so the stripping began and soon the A pillars were off the convertible top was down the front of the dash came off, air vents out, top of the window plastics all off, window demister vent plastics out, idrive screen out. Then we both got very nervous as to weather we are going to be able to put this car back together afterwards 🤣

I unfortunately didn't take pics of how bad the bubbles were on the dash but it was kak ugly! the leather had all lifted and was very loose due to old age I guess and me having to park the car in the sun at my old offices back in 2017.

This is how it all begun:



Then things got real fast:


Then this happened and that's about when @General.Massacre wanted to leave 🤣


But because we are both persistent OCD guys, we managed to put it all back together beautifully and the outcome is just phenomenal, This interior literally looks brand new, the dash is perfectly flat and bubble free, so is the idrive pop up display, I then cleaned all the black parts of the leather with the magic sponge to bring that matt look back. The pic speaks for itself.

 

[osiris]

Next up was to fix the light washer covers, I ordered new ones from Diego however he got the order wrong and gave me blanking plates instead, I only realized this after sending them in to get sprayed and fitted, I thought the old parts could clip onto the back of these but they cant. So I made another plan as these caps have been irritating me for a long time now.:

Here are the wrong caps that I bought and you can also see how the light cape flare on the edges in this pic:


So what I did is use a hot air gun to heat up the covers and then tape them down to cool down and settle correctly:



Final finished outcome:
Perfectly flush...However this didn't last long, The problem was actually on the inside where the part that connects to the window washer mechanism had pulled away slightly as in the two plastics had separated slightly, probably from being removed a few times when taking the front bumper off etc, so I Q-Bonded it very carefully on the inside and now its perfect and has stayed that way so far.

 

[General.Massacre]

Ya this was a task and a half. Was honestly worried you'll need to advertise the car for sale as is. 🤣 🤣 🤣 and take the loss. Lol

But as with any big job we came right and absolutely made it factory once again.

 

[VinceM]

Good work Nick

Love the effort going into your car!


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[osiris]

Good work Justin

Love the effort going into your car!


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My name is Nick Thanks

 

[VinceM]

My name is Nick Thanks

Sorry Nick Sorted

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[osiris]

I finally bit the bullet and threw cash at a CF front lip as I have wanted one for ages. I would have proffered ABS plastic as I'm not really a fan of CF due to how it yellows with age and cracks easily etc but they don't exist for this car in anything other than CF :/ but anyways I will spray it gloss black in the next few weeks.

Fitment is pretty descent and it really finishes off the look of the car beautifully in my opinion.

 

[GoCart]

Incredible work that has gone into this vehicle, WOW...

The whip looks great Nick !!

 

[FiRi@Rennzport]

Love it

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[Mitchenator]

More than 3 years since the last post! I hope this car has been super reliable since then.

I have just joined the forum and recently bought a 2009 Z4 35i like yours and this thread has terrified me!

Yesterday I read this story start to finish and was glued. I have the same issue with the vent sliders - none on my car and can't figure out why. Other than that, I need two new front shocks which are stupid expensive so trying to figure out if I buy non OEM, second hand or convert to coil overs . . . BMW want about R40k for new front shocks fitted. Also recently bought new front stabiliser links which I need to fit and then she will be perfect.

 

[AshG108]

More than 3 years since the last post! I hope this car has been super reliable since then.

I have just joined the forum and recently bought a 2009 Z4 35i like yours and this thread has terrified me!

Yesterday I read this story start to finish and was glued. I have the same issue with the vent sliders - none on my car and can't figure out why. Other than that, I need two new front shocks which are stupid expensive so trying to figure out if I buy non OEM, second hand or convert to coil overs . . . BMW want about R40k for new front shocks fitted. Also recently bought new front stabiliser links which I need to fit and then she will be perfect.


View attachment 29324

Welcome,
A good thing to do is to create your own thread as well and start from there. Then you can get great guidance on it and we can follow your journey too