Does your donor car have a sunroof? I've been toying with the idea of making a stripped out track car, but I don't want to strip out my current daily driver. I'm torn between a slick top and a convertible. I feel like a covertible could be good just for ease of access and adding a roll cage, but a slick top would have cleaner aero and probably be a little stiffer, at least until it gets a cage.

 

It’s a 0 option space cloth slick top. They’re the lightest and stiffest, which is why I figured someone might want to make a track car or Kswap.

Ie jack up the front left and both rear left and front right came off the ground.

everything worked, even got ac coil to work once or twice and confirmed it cooled.

 

Got the front speakers out, both the mid tweets and the midbases. and all panels back installed. Easiest door panel I’ve ever taken off, including my OBS truck. And taking the rear panels out amd in was sooo easy too!

now to see if I can get enough time to swap the amp and rear speakers in tomorrow during work before I have to go pick up daughter from school during my lunch break. Supposed to be super hot again this weekend, having a nice mild mid to upper 90s for next couple of days. Feels cool after 2+ months of 105+! That will be good though for peeling off the stock stripes!


once I get the slicktops front suspension stripped and engine out, then I can see about swapping the full strut assemblies over to PW.

 

Replaced all 4 front speakers, FL is not as easy but not hard. Unlike @Tweedbean i couldn’t get it to unlatch with a panel tool. Too much pressure on the arm rest. But I had no issue when I tried it with a right angle pick tool, could easily feel retaining tab and depress it

Also was able to take the fender flare clips off the parts car and replace the broken ones on the drivers side so it is finally secure!

 

Finally got it back together. Weirdest thing, it was the amp that was bad but only for festival mode. The other modes worked fine once I changed all the speakers to the ones from the parts car. But festival still screeched like a mad banshee.
popped the parts car amp on and all is well.


while rear panels and seats were out, I cleaned underneath and gave them all a really good cleaning.







still need to finally vacuum out and clean the boot under floor and battery tray, but next project will be uninstalling the working iPod adapter from parts car, and getting it installed.
On this one, rather than flip flopping tpms switch with the console blank then installing it in console blank on right side like Alex’s, I think I will put the aux jack in the glovebox along side the iPod adapter.will be the first time I do one “normal”. E46iT has it literally in the eurotray’s pen holder, my wife’s former e83 I extended wiring and put it on rear of center console, Alex’s is in the blank on the center console though I had to solder on a different jack for that to fit there.

I also need to install the yellow Nokya bulbs in the fog lights as well still.

Oh, and I still need to flip flop the sunroof control with the mic blank, I like it better on right side, falls more easily to hand when you reach up from the shift ****.


but got a good bit accomplished today!

 

Onizukachaaaan...come play with us, we all float down here...

Fuel filter and pump just a few 10mm nuts away, the two of them side by side, like giant eyes staring from the fathomless abyss of preemptive parts replacement on these cars...

 

Yep, will eventually have to do it to both, but for now I need to get back on Chili and get it back together so I can have downtime (and garage space) for Kicks to 02 and front strut assembly swap. And so I can get them both inspected and registered.

 

109 today, peeled old bonnet stripes off. Got to see what pepper white looked like 20 years ago. Much more buttermilk than the current vanilla color it has faded to.


also stuffed foam into the holes behind the rear hatch vents, and replaced the fully decomposed foam with a dark brown cloth hot glued on back Sadly not speaker cloth but also not super high quality cloth so it is still semi porous to air.

hopefully this will help with my issue of hot air and some exhaust fumes being sucked thru them when windows or sunroof are open at highway speeds.

 

last night once temps were cooler (it’s been105-115 everyday this summer) I finally got around to doing the switcheroo between mic grill and sunroof control. I like it better on right side as it falls more easily to hand.





So I pulled everything apart to install iPod adapter… realized when I got to the last step that my sons old harness had a blue 3 pin connector… not black 12. Why? Because his car actually does have the Sirius iPod cable already installed. So I ixnay on that.

finaly figured out why the aux jack was a total POS, the little board with the smd resistors and capacitors, was broken free of the wiring.

Solder all back in, then realized the board itself had cracked traces, probably from being stepped on. So I ripped the board out. Aux is still detected when something is plugged in like iPod, or if you have a lightning to 3.5mm adapter on end of your aux cable. And frankly it sounds a hella lot better. It was low volume super highs, then ok on level 5, now quite good but I had to turn aux level down to 1 from 5.


in keeping with my history of having cool OEM/ discrete aux jack locations and installs, I installed in the glovebox…






i need to find the glovebox AC hose in a junkers still, parts car doesn’t have one either. And figure out a mount for phone in this car.

But at least I have tunes between the HK fix and aux fix now!

 

Just ordered some vrp to try with my buffing and polishing supplies from chemical guys. Been using Maguires ultimate black which does give it a nice color for a decent timespan, but unfortunately it's also a dust attractant. Hope it lives up to the hype!

 

To be clear, The VRP is just a cleaner, it helps get oils, wax/polish residue, prior products, etc out of the plastics, rubber seals, By itself it won’t turn them black again. But it will help prevent/ eliminate splotchiness in step 2 by getting them totally clean.
edit, it was DG Trim Clean not VRP .

Step 2, after I’ve scrubbed the plastics with DG Trim Clean to prep them, I then scrub in the Hydroshield which does get them black again and both seals and uv protects them.

 

https://www.chemicalguys.com/vrp-sup...per-shine.html

This was the stuff I got. Says it restores shine. Wonder if we're talking about different products.

 

You know what, we are, sorry. I just looked in the garage on my detailing rack and I’m using Trim Clean, not VRP as step one.
damn I’m sorry! I used VRP on rubber door seals and such. I need to go back amd figure out where ever I had written that amd edit to the right thing.

Exterior /underhood/ wheel wells, etc


step 1
https://www.chemicalguys.com/trim-clean/trim-clean.html

step 2

https://www.chemicalguys.com/hydrosh.../TVD11616.html



for interior plastics and vinyls I use this combo. I like that cleaner so much I just got the gallon of it.


step 1

https://www.chemicalguys.com/nonsens...e-cleaner.html


step 2

https://www.chemicalguys.com/natural...-dressing.html

alternate step 2

https://www.chemicalguys.com/hydrosh.../TVD11616.html



for leather seats and steering wheels I like this combo

Step one


step 2



lexols stage 1 is great if you’ve never cleaned the leather, if it’s full of other products, dealer shiny shine grease, etc.

it’s a bit too strong imo for monthly use, jays is effective but not as strong, yet stronger than the DG one. Nice happy medium.

but Lexol stage 2 is one of the top 3 if not top automotive leather conditioners. Auto leathers are plasticized, then “painted” for uniform color.

most conditioners can’t get thru the plasticizer layer to feed the hide underneath, they just “gloss it up”. Lexol does, I’ve turned hard totally rigid “plastic” back into soft supple leather on my f31s armrests with heavy application over several days during heat of day. Guess the PO thought they were vinyl and treated them as such. Did the same on a red extended leather f34 where the leather dashboard top , etc were hard as a cooper S plastic dashtop.


again, I am super super sorry for not double and triple checking that I was giving the right name for the cleaner I used.

the VRP is good stuff though, but you need microfiber sponges and some elbow grease (or a DA and cloth/ microfiber bonnet) to really scrub it it so it can last.
after it’s been on a few hours, reapply, then buff excess off with a couple clean microfiber towels.

 

I was wondering if they had changed their formula on that one or something... Thanks for clarifying.

I like most chemical guys products I've tried. The exception is the foaming soap for pressure washers. It leaves one hell of a residue when used at the strength needed for a foam cannon. Smells awesome though. So I just use it at 'bucket strength' and wash with a sponge. I just ordered a bunch of cutting and polishing compounds and pads. Can't wait to try them out.

 

I actually like their soap, what dilution are you using in your cannon? I’ve seen what you refer to when I don’t dilute enough.

i use about 20% to water in the cannon, and use the cannon almost cranked down to nada to get the thick foam, but I prefer a watery foam to help carry the dust away before using a wash mitt, so I add more water via the cannon adjuster.

of course we have extremely hard water here so that does change things.


I always have to use the pink speed detailer to get rid of water spots. Prefer the meguairs blue quick detailer but Walmart doesn’t carry it anymore so the pink stuff works.


my wife likes DG because it doesn’t smell like chemicals, amd the owners of the local store are super nice to our daughter when we go to rides and coffee.
Couple years ago When she was 4 she called it Donut Garage and they got her a special donut to match the logo, lol.

 

Thinking about doing this as the splash screen on the Nav, at least for now.


cause all I can find for OS update is the bmw v32 I already have from the e46, and not a mini version.
and I don’t want the bmw logo on it. Lol. So if I’m gonna hack it, might as well make it personalized.

 

Mmmmm....donuts....

 

Pretty cool idea for your NAV splash screen.

I still have my 36y/o route 66 T-shirt I bought in 1987 while passing through Gallup, NM on my first drive to L.A.
Although it's a little faded nowadays - I wear it proudly at least 3times a month during the summer seasons.
' great memories on that particular drive.

 

I followed the directions and made a custom splash screen and put it 8n the place indicated on bmw how to forums.

minis somehow know they’re in a mini and use a different splash screen in a different profile. I may play with the file and see if I can figure out which profile had the mini boot loader, just for group knowledge, but I also probably won’t bother doing it.
As it turns out, The cd laser works, the dvd laser doesn’t. So I can do OS updates, but can’t use any maps or navigation. pretty much determined I’d rather do Chrono than invest in a new Nav drive.


I could still switch the splash screen, but since it couldn’t get the drive to work it would be all for naught.
I did figure out how to use inpa to change from US Span French female, to GB US Span female, (you do need an OS disc) so no need to make custom/hacked firmware except if you want a different splash screen.
I Just didn’t want bmw splash when I updated to v32 OS to get the temp always onscreen and disclaimer auto timeout etc. As it turns out that was not an issue!



And I still have one of the old good downloads of plain v32, if anyone needs one in the future, since they all disappeared from net. I used it on the e46 years ago when I replaced the drive on it and had to update the “new” one, amd used it as the base of my “custom that actually wasn’t” update.



on the positive side, I did get the seat and underseat mount out amd was able to reinstall the underseat pan and tub correctly. Someone had been in there before and managed to get the pan’s lip under the carpet on all 4 sides instead of correctly atop it on 4 sides, so now the carpet lays correctly. Shame though because the inside of the drive was bloody immaculate. Have never seen one so clean and dust free inside.

also dunno if I finally managed to blow clog out or something when I took it for a good hard drive after work, but the exhaust now finally has burbles and pops. At least as much as you can get on a stock non one-balled exhaust.

 

The PW is looking good (nice touch with the steering wheel!) I noticed you already bought something for the black trim panels, however I found something remarkable that supposedly works for a long time. Home Depot carries a product in their paint department made by Flood called Penetrol. You just rub this stuff on and it turns the plastic black instantly. I had to get the Floetrol (latex version) because my HD didn't have the clear Penetrol version, it worked just the same, but took 2 applications because it absorbs just a little bit slower. I'll snap a few pics of the results while in the garage this weekend.

 

This is after applying the latex based Floetrol with a small chip brush and leaving to dry overnight. Any mess that got on the paint wiped off clean with my finger. As you can guess, the lower aero grill did NOT get treated, but believe me the upper grills were very much the same if not worse looking. These pics were taken after a quick drive in light rain, no signs of dripping or weeping onto the bumper paint were detected. The stuff seems like a solid product, the rag I used to apply it to the wheel-well liners dried up and had a mild stiffness due to the latex, this makes me wonder if the product will begin to eventually peel & flake away or will it slowly disintegrate, revealing the faded color again... time will tell.

 

Not bad, interesting find. Let us know what happens over time and how they react to pressure washing/ carwash etc.

I pressure washed mine with a 15 degree tip at 2-3 inches today no issues, stayed black and water beaded right up on em, I was cleaning the Carbon Buildup off the beer can lips.

Had it out cleaning my rubber mats for the first time… they were dirty amd browning, no chemical beats a pressure washer for restoring rubber mats to black!

also “spot” cleaned my carpets all over cause they were ok, but not clean, some minor stains etc. got vast majority of stains out, they’re not perfect but much more acceptable now and not really noticeable unless you really were looking for something.

Had the HK amp I swapped in fr9m parts car to replace my partially defective original one just take a poop yesterday out of the blue while driving to see if I could find an exhaust shop to swap the O2 for me and possibly do the one ball mod. Took it as a sign that perhaps I shouldn’t go somewhere and turned around and went home.
So today the original one got swapped back in, works fine except festival mode screeches.

I’ve eventually take the failed one apart amd see if the 3.3v or 1.2v zener diodes are bad in it, since that apparently is a common fault.

Kid was sick this weekend so I didn’t get suspension out of parts car, nor did we get engine pulled out.

 

Figured out where the mini logo splash screen is, as promised.


same place, same folder, etc, but is option 110 instead of 14.

you will need a windows computer, some sort of ISO program.
Using the ISO program, find the nav boot in the folder, extract to desktop, then use a program called navtweak to see the contents and replace the 400x234 mini gif (located at 110, bmw is at 14) with a custom 400x234 gif of your choice,
sav3 the modified navboot back into your v32, then burn the disc to cd and update as normal



Location of splash screen in the v32 os update.

Location of mini splash in navboot.#110

Location of BMW splash in navboot. Leave this one alone, modify the mini one @#110

 

On a side note, informed delivery just notified me that my r270 arrived from China, so now I can revirginize a Chrono when I eventually get one.

 

Got this today from @MiniManAdam . Fast shipping and easy transaction. Much appreciated.

this thing is F’ing beefy!

EDIT: it also makes my car feel like you are driving inside a woman’s intimate toy set to high… so it will be coming out to go back to a Corteco FL…, or to back date to PFL style. Probably ok for track only full race car use, but absolutely not worth a damn for street driving.