TBP88
Well-known member
Hi all
So I haven't posted a few pics up of the car, decided to finally get round to it.
My initial wanted thread (from 9/9/16):
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=76158
The Z4 coupe was a favourite shape of mine from their initial release in 2006 to present day, when my older car faltered I decided to begin the hunt for a new car and this was on the top of the list (I did also test a 135i coupe as well as a 130i).
Anyway, the details of how I landed on this car don't really bare repeating - but they are listed above.
Upon finding the specific car I wanted I began the process of getting work done on it, this was led by Warren (Gizmo), who did the general work on the car and Peter (@AEW) who did the engine work.
That work is detailed here:
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=78521
Plenty of money later I received the car, and drove it from JHB to CT (through torrential rain on some pretty shot tyres!!!). Needless to say I had to baby it home but the car already began to work it's way into my heart.
Upon getting here the first thing on the menu was to register it in Cape Town and get new plates fitted (I now have blisters on my thumbs from getting all that old stuck in double sided tape off!) and some new front tyres fitted, the rears are on their way out too but the car passed it's roadworthy with that pair so for now I'm ok with it - but in the next 3-6 months I'll be on the hunt for some new rears.
In terms of my intent with the car, it's to really keep it as stock as possible, repair some of the remaining items that need work (the CD changer cassette is still missing, the sunglasses holder is broken, I need to replace the rear license lights as they appear to have fused - no warning light to indicate this though?). I gave the steering wheel a little clean with some warm water, a tiny touch of soap and a toothbrush just to get the stitching a bit cleaner, but the top of the steering wheel is a bit knackered (see pic), it'd be nice to know if there's anything I can do to repair that a bit. The rest of the interior is in fair condition, the plastics in the centre console are a bit knackered as is the centre aluminium (the dash aluminium is actually ok). I might trawl the breakers a bit for a new centre aluminium as I presume it's identical between all Z4's that had the aluminium, or I might investigate getting the part wrapped at some point in the future - it is quite badly pocked with bumps from keys and so on and is a bit unsightly. The plastic on the steering wheel is also a bit pocked - Would be cool to see if anyone has any potential links to fixes for all of that too (again, see pic).
Depending on where my life takes me in terms of work I intend on keeping the car for as long as is feasible - my work in CT allows me to almost completely avoid traffic, so the heavy clutch+gearshift is bearable as a daily. The fuel consumption has been in the 11-14l/100km so far on the 4 tanks I've used thusfar.
In terms of potential mods I'd consider - painted calipers to either black or silver, a CSL intake if I one day have 40gs fall into my lap and maybe a new exhaust if another 40gs falls into my lap
The one thing I really do want done is the shorter radio aerial, when I have a chance I'll get that ordered and fetched from BMW and screw it in.
Onto some pics:
(This was as just before I fitted the license plates, did most of the work at an Uncle's place cleaning it as and had to run out to get tape to stick my own plates on!)
So I haven't posted a few pics up of the car, decided to finally get round to it.
My initial wanted thread (from 9/9/16):
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=76158
The Z4 coupe was a favourite shape of mine from their initial release in 2006 to present day, when my older car faltered I decided to begin the hunt for a new car and this was on the top of the list (I did also test a 135i coupe as well as a 130i).
Anyway, the details of how I landed on this car don't really bare repeating - but they are listed above.
Upon finding the specific car I wanted I began the process of getting work done on it, this was led by Warren (Gizmo), who did the general work on the car and Peter (@AEW) who did the engine work.
That work is detailed here:
https://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=78521
Plenty of money later I received the car, and drove it from JHB to CT (through torrential rain on some pretty shot tyres!!!). Needless to say I had to baby it home but the car already began to work it's way into my heart.
Upon getting here the first thing on the menu was to register it in Cape Town and get new plates fitted (I now have blisters on my thumbs from getting all that old stuck in double sided tape off!) and some new front tyres fitted, the rears are on their way out too but the car passed it's roadworthy with that pair so for now I'm ok with it - but in the next 3-6 months I'll be on the hunt for some new rears.
In terms of my intent with the car, it's to really keep it as stock as possible, repair some of the remaining items that need work (the CD changer cassette is still missing, the sunglasses holder is broken, I need to replace the rear license lights as they appear to have fused - no warning light to indicate this though?). I gave the steering wheel a little clean with some warm water, a tiny touch of soap and a toothbrush just to get the stitching a bit cleaner, but the top of the steering wheel is a bit knackered (see pic), it'd be nice to know if there's anything I can do to repair that a bit. The rest of the interior is in fair condition, the plastics in the centre console are a bit knackered as is the centre aluminium (the dash aluminium is actually ok). I might trawl the breakers a bit for a new centre aluminium as I presume it's identical between all Z4's that had the aluminium, or I might investigate getting the part wrapped at some point in the future - it is quite badly pocked with bumps from keys and so on and is a bit unsightly. The plastic on the steering wheel is also a bit pocked - Would be cool to see if anyone has any potential links to fixes for all of that too (again, see pic).
Depending on where my life takes me in terms of work I intend on keeping the car for as long as is feasible - my work in CT allows me to almost completely avoid traffic, so the heavy clutch+gearshift is bearable as a daily. The fuel consumption has been in the 11-14l/100km so far on the 4 tanks I've used thusfar.
In terms of potential mods I'd consider - painted calipers to either black or silver, a CSL intake if I one day have 40gs fall into my lap and maybe a new exhaust if another 40gs falls into my lap
The one thing I really do want done is the shorter radio aerial, when I have a chance I'll get that ordered and fetched from BMW and screw it in.Onto some pics:
(This was as just before I fitted the license plates, did most of the work at an Uncle's place cleaning it as and had to run out to get tape to stick my own plates on!)
