Bimmerdude Rantings

One of My Favorite Places to buy Car parts

2009-11-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

I usually purchase my car parts online and one of my favorite sites to purchase from is Autohaus AZ. Orders over $50 ship free and they have great customer service and carry great brands. Check them out by clicking below.

Carputer Planning

2009-06-21T03:40:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to decide what to do to get Ipod functionality and I have finally decided to go with a carputer. I cam across a deal on one of the first Asus EEE 4g's at Memorylabs.org and for $109 I think it will be the perfect candidate for the job.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Asus EEE PC 4G"][/caption]

Specification:
7" Wide LCD
800 x 480 WVGA
512MB DDR2 memory on board
4GB Solid State Disk storage
Preloaded with Linux (Windows XP compatible, drivers included)
Hi-Def Audio CODEC
Internal Mic & stereo speakers
Audio In/Out jacks
802.11 b/g
Integrated camera & LAN connector (10/100 mbps/RJ-45)
3 USB 2.0 ports
MMC/SD (SHC) memory card reader
VGA port (D-sub 15 pin)
Up to 3.5 hours of 4-cell 5200mah battery life

The plan is to separate the 7" Lcd from the computer and install a touchscreen onto it. I purchased the touchscreen overlay from a supplier in Hong Kong. There are plenty to choose from on Ebay.

I will start by extending the display with a longer cable assembly made from an old SCSI cable..

Seats get a new look

2009-06-21T00:36:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the seats for the last couple of weekends. Using the Leatherique process, cleaning, feeding, prepping and dyeing. Started on the front passenger seat and I am doing a two tone dye. Tried the brush technique, but not very pleased with the outcome. Tried the blot technique, but not pleased with that either. Decided to try an airbrush. That gave me the result I was looking for. I watered the dye down a little too much so I am going really slow, otherwise it just runs and doesn't dry properly. I am just wetting the leather with the dye and then turning off the dye so that the airbrush blows air and using that to dry the dye. I think the infusion of the air is helping to give me the satin look I am looking for. The bush technique seemed to give me too much shine. Here is a pic of the center section and the rear armrest dyed in the darker grey.

[caption id="attachment_57" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Seat taped off and center dyed"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_58" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Top of Seat Showing Two Tone"][/caption]

E34/E32 Cupholder

2009-06-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have one of these in my E34 and it works great. Check out seller herb460 on ebay. These pictures are from his auction. Its 30 bucks and worth every penny.

[caption id="attachment_28" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="E34/E32 Cup Holder"][/caption]

On to the business at hand

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Stripped the Interior of the E34 and I am recoloring the leather with Leatherique. Going with a two tone light and medium grey. Going to darken the headliner and posts and recolor the top of door panels and dash to a flat black. The door inserts will be changed to med grey and the door handle to flat black. It looks really good.

[caption id="attachment_12" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rear Door Panel"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Front Door Panel"][/caption]

A Little History

2009-06-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first post. Let's start with a little history. My addiction was brought on by a friend who had a tendency toward performance vehicles, namely an 89 BMW M3. Silver and very limited edition for the states (picture to follow). I was hooked! It wasn't long before I was driving a 94 325i and feeling very good about the decision.

[caption id="attachment_16" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="94 325i"][/caption]

After all, a German luxury sports car with relatively low miles for a relatively low price. I loved that car. It was red with cream interior (leatherette) which I thought any many ways is better than the leather interior due to its durability and ability to repel dirt. It also looks and feels just like leather. This car had the fold down rear seats and of course, was a manual tranny. Great first car. The E36 is a great model and has a very reliable engine that is easy to work on.

After awhile I decided to save some money and opt for a little older BMW and moved to a 90 525i with manual transmission.

[caption id="attachment_19" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="90 525i"][/caption]

A great car with a good balance between power, fuel economy, sporty handling and luxury styling. There are a few things to look for in the E34 and we can talk about those later.

After my stent with the E34, I got a bug to have the wind blowing in my hair and so we eyed a 96 328ic in black on the internet. Unfortunately it was an automatic but my wife thought that was a positive. I prefer the manual but the auto performance was not disappointing. I have always disliked black cars and this one was no exception. From the beginning of the BMW addiction, I always craved a silver steed, but it always fell out of my grasp. Black is the opposite of silver and my driveway will never be graced with its color again. Just too hard to keep clean.

My next move was a 97 328ic, but this time, white with blue top and grey interior. Nice car and also a manual. I kept this for a couple of years and I have now vowed to never own another soft top. Pain in the but to maintain.

The next move was a 2000 528i and get this, silver with grey interior. Very nice and luxurious car with sport suspension. The only "major" issue with this car (E39) is that it eats rear tires. I am lucky to get 20K miles out of a set. The negative camber on this car is very aggressive as tuned in at the factory. After 3 years of trying to find a solution through different brands of tires and rotating, I have now dialed out as much of the negative camber that I can and will sacrifice the "performance" for now to see if I get better wear.

A year ago I added to the stable with a 92 525i in silver and a manual tranny. I am starting to get this process perfected. I am slowly restoring this car into a sporty daily driver while keeping cost and performance in mind. There is no reason that an average Joe/Jolette can't own a fine German engineered car (BMW) and afford to drive and maintain it without going in the hole. I have owned several Bimmers and I have only been stranded one time and I have never had a repair that had to be done before I could drive the car. I plan to talk about the different experiences I have had with each car and how I managed to repair them while at the same time feeding my family and paying the mortgage. It can be done and if you are mechanically minded and enjoy working on things, I strongly recommend the journey.