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I bought this car in 2016 and it has been a trusty summer driver.
Debumpered the front pretty much right away.
Whoops
Last year it took me all the way from Michigan's upper peninsula down to Mississippi and back, among other good sized trips. I also put it down some truck trails and dirt roads up here, got it stuck (again) like a complete idiot down a stretch of sandy snowmobile trail and screwed up the driver's side tiedown hook trying to pull it out. This beast has stood the test of time and abuse, now it's time to take it to the next level.
Parked him over last winter, when I went to dig it out the stance was awesome. Back up to stock height after the literal ton of Michigan snow was thrown off.
This summer I installed some secondhand cut springs, a sketchy thing to do with the stock base model Bilsteins. At full extension the only thing holding in the springs is the prayers of the saints. Coilovers are definitely in order.
Bought an automatic Euro parts car in non-running condition for $500. It's Diamantschwarz Metallic, my favorite color for a classic BMW...sadly the paint is pretty bad. Straighter body than the Shark, but mechanically shabby. Mostly wanted it for the interior, bumpers, and possibly the engine just in case the current one blows due to future boostiness.
I love a Cardinal interior, but my front seats were falling apart beyond reasonable repair. I just so happened to have a black interior in good shape sitting loose in the parts car.. Here's what I found after I pulled the passenger seat.
Over $4 in grubby change.
Vacuumed the carpet thoroughly. Some pretty bad stains...
Upholstery cleaner helped quite a bit.
Scrubbed the mold, rust and dirt off the seats while they were out. Still need to deep clean them and restore the luster, trying to decide what product to use.
Mmmmmmm legroom.
Install went pretty smoothly. And my car went from smelling old and crusty to smelling nice and fresh.
Now all that's left of the Cardinal interior is the door cards. Still trying to decide if I like it that way.
Sneak peek of things to come.
Debumpered the front pretty much right away.
Whoops
Last year it took me all the way from Michigan's upper peninsula down to Mississippi and back, among other good sized trips. I also put it down some truck trails and dirt roads up here, got it stuck (again) like a complete idiot down a stretch of sandy snowmobile trail and screwed up the driver's side tiedown hook trying to pull it out. This beast has stood the test of time and abuse, now it's time to take it to the next level.
Parked him over last winter, when I went to dig it out the stance was awesome. Back up to stock height after the literal ton of Michigan snow was thrown off.
This summer I installed some secondhand cut springs, a sketchy thing to do with the stock base model Bilsteins. At full extension the only thing holding in the springs is the prayers of the saints. Coilovers are definitely in order.
Bought an automatic Euro parts car in non-running condition for $500. It's Diamantschwarz Metallic, my favorite color for a classic BMW...sadly the paint is pretty bad. Straighter body than the Shark, but mechanically shabby. Mostly wanted it for the interior, bumpers, and possibly the engine just in case the current one blows due to future boostiness.
I love a Cardinal interior, but my front seats were falling apart beyond reasonable repair. I just so happened to have a black interior in good shape sitting loose in the parts car.. Here's what I found after I pulled the passenger seat.
Over $4 in grubby change.
Vacuumed the carpet thoroughly. Some pretty bad stains...
Upholstery cleaner helped quite a bit.
Scrubbed the mold, rust and dirt off the seats while they were out. Still need to deep clean them and restore the luster, trying to decide what product to use.
Mmmmmmm legroom.
Install went pretty smoothly. And my car went from smelling old and crusty to smelling nice and fresh.
Now all that's left of the Cardinal interior is the door cards. Still trying to decide if I like it that way.
Sneak peek of things to come.