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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Not another one…

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
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beanie
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by beanie » Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:58 pm

Very nice 8)
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sw4nny
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by sw4nny » Sun Mar 20, 2022 4:09 pm

Add another complimentary remark to your collection.
Perfect :thumbsup:
E85 3.oi titan silver,Maldives blue E85 3.0i gone but not forgotten

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Barty
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Barty » Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:44 pm

Thanks all for the positive reactions, much appreciated! I really can’t get over how much I like the new look. Keep peeking out the window, especially with the sunny weather we’ve had lately 8)
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Over the weekend we had not just one but two fellow Zeds in the studio! The Montego Blue was in dire need of a deep clean, while the Silbergrau example had his callipers done (M-Blue) and underwent a maintenance wash. Really nice to see the totally different possibilities with the Zed; it’s a platform that lends itself extremely well to personalisation :thumbsup:

Speaking of other Zeds: in 7 weeks time Bimmerfest Europe will land in Venray, the Netherlands. We’ve been able to gather 15 E86’s for the drive there and the meet itself. Should be quite the sight! That leaves me with a little over a month to finish a few projects:

- Interior panel swap, trim respray and insulation upgrades;
- Steering wheel modification, reupholster and swap;
- Window tinting to a light smoke;
- Addition of 1, maybe 2 yet undisclosed mods…

With that in mind: more updates soon! :thumbsup:
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by marmite monster » Mon Mar 21, 2022 11:08 pm

Looks so good on those wheels well done sir

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Homer » Fri Mar 25, 2022 10:49 am

Excellent, Barty, E86 suits green and CSLs always look good on a coupe :thumbsup:
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Barty
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Barty » Fri Mar 25, 2022 5:42 pm

Oil and filter change done, and none too soon. Oil was quite dark but then it had been in there for 13 months. My own fault for not getting round to this sooner, all the goodies had been sitting in my office for weeks now. Happy to say it runs smoother now, with the whine you sometimes hear now gone. Suspect it was the filter, as it wasn’t in very good shape. Replaced with the original MANN filter, and doing another change in 3k km’s or so.

Also fitted 6 new spark plugs, the old ones were nice and white on top with no signs of contamination. Always nice to know. Considered 6 new coils as well but don’t fix what isn’t broke. If one goes bad I’ll do them all.
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Also lightly tinted the indicators on the sides to reduce their visual impact on the dark green. Looks nice and natural, and with LED’s inside there’s no issue with light production.

Finally, I visited a tint specialist who’ll do the rear hatch and small side windows next month. Also received some of the final pieces to the interior puzzle, so that shouldn’t be much longer either. Exciting times ahead!
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Wursle » Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:45 am

Barty wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:32 am They’ve been requested numerous times, but winter -or rather an extremely extended autumn- was in the way. Until now.

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Got them fitted with some new rubber. 225/35/19 fronts, 255/30/19 rears. Vredestein Ultrac Vorti +, the sporty brother of the Satin’s. I treated the new wheels to a layer of ceramic coating which was left to harden for 48 hours. A long wait, ironically…

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Thursday evening, it was go-time and damn did it look good on the very first impression… Can’t imagine switching back to the winter setup frankly…

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As for the look… well I don’t have to say much other than that it’s transformed the car and I have been inundated with positive remarks since (for which I say: thanks very much, appreciate it all!).

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Not just good looking under the sun, but equally so under artificial light. I love the fitment of that rear wheel in particular. Just complements the shoulder line so well.

Up next: interior. A lot of it… soon too, as Bimmerfest Europe is just 7 weeks away!
Loving the build so far and this wheel colour is incredible!

From a fellow Tiefgruen driver :D
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Barty
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Barty » Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:51 am

Wursle, I knew I’d seen a race-specced Green Machine before somewhere! Awesome build, and thanks for the compliments :thumbsup:
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Wursle » Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:28 pm

Barty wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:51 am Wursle, I knew I’d seen a race-specced Green Machine before somewhere! Awesome build, and thanks for the compliments :thumbsup:
I've been umming and arring about what colour to do my wheels and the Bronze looks amazing! i thought it would look good but didnt want to spend out if i didnt like it :D lots more race car parts to go!

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Barty
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - New Shoes Transformation

Post by Barty » Sun Apr 17, 2022 9:23 am

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Happy Easter everyone, and time for another update. Over the last weeks I’ve stripped most of the things you don’t need while maintaining a drivable car. Trim panels off to the paintshop, as well as the wheel. Managed to pick that up yesterday looking absolutely glorious. The trim panels need another respray since an old crack came through the clear coat. Luckily our go-to painter is as picky as I am!
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Dropped the wheel off at the upholsterer last night. She will have it ready in a week or two, well in time for Bimmerfest on the 8th of May.

Tomorrow I’ll wash the car and park it up at our studio for what will be a week of interior modifications. The car is booked in Thursday morning for its window tint, so has to be back at a drivable level by then.
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Finally, two made-to-order bits of carbon should arrive this week. They too will be installed before Bimmerfest. It’s going to be a totally different car in a week or two. To say that I’m excited is an understatement 8)
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Interior Make-Over

Post by Barty » Sun May 01, 2022 9:23 pm

Interior make-over: phase one complete

It's been 2 very busy weeks... I can honestly say I haven't changed this much on a car over such a short period of time before. A look back through the make-over. First though, let's take a look at how it all began
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19th of May, and the start of the big swap. I had two days to strip everything out and return the car to a bare minimum drivable condition. This because of my appointment with the tinters on the 21st. That meant: strip the center console, seats out, all plastic trim panels, everything had to go. Not just the cabin, but the boot too. Great opportunity to check out the top mounts on the rear towers: pristine! Cut-up sound proofing further reminded me of the installation of the ST coil-overs.

After about 8 hours work I was left with the bare shell of my Z4 and a heap of beige parts. Note the small patch of beige carpet left deep under the dash. This was cut away from the main body and left there on purpose. Not so much as an easter egg for the next owner (yeah right) but more because of the sheer impossibility to remove this without removing the dash as well. Something I didn't want to bother with, so made an identical cut-out in the new black carpets. Since this is about 10-15cm behind the end of the center console, you'll never see it again.
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From that point on, it was build back and enjoy! Started with the carpets, then moved to the surrounding trims. Everything went back together smoothly, although replacing the throttle pedal was a challenge with the relatively short cable that had to be pulled through the carpet. A liberal application of foul language proved fruitful. While at it, I replaced the stock pedal rubbers with aluminium pedal covers. Drilled 4 6mm holes and bolted down easily. The throttle pedal will require a different approach and as such should be finished later this week.

Built back about 50% of all trim, replaced the seats after a deep clean and leather treatment, and whacked on the old gear knob so I could drive without cutting the top of my hand on the bare stick (don't...). After about 2 hours of work, I was confronted with a whole new look.
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Love it! The guys really did an amazing job and are renowned for their quality and attention to detail. It shows: no white edges, no rough transition between the dots and the glass, simply lovely. On the way back I picked up my newly painted dash and console panels, matched to the exterior Tiefgruen Metallic green.
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Then built back the boot trim with new items I'd sourced. My old trim was in fine condition, but these had the storage nets included. Since everything was out anyway (to accommodate the tinters), I'd figured why not rebuild with the new set. Steam cleaned and fabric coated: in we go.
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Swapped the door cards as part of phase one. The inserts match nicely to the seats, although they're temporary due to the plans in phase three.

Another day was spent building back the final few pieces, finally resulting in an actual BMW Individual interior. While I don't have the leather console or lovely door cards to show for it, the result feels extra special to me knowing I put it all together myself. A make-over indeed, with a result that I'm really pleased with.
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Some of the jobs done:

- Resprayed trim panels
- Replaced, steam cleaned and fabric coated carpets
- Replaced, cleaned and coated plastic panels
- Deep cleaned seats and treated leather
- Swapped door cards and transferred beige items from the old ones
- Repaired and resprayed soft-touch layer on gear surround
- Storm Motorwerks gearknob (V1) and handbrake lever
- Installed cup holders
- Replaced all trim clips and holders to prevent rattles
- Tinted rear windows
- Replaced, reupholstered, resprayed and coated the new Z4 Individual steering wheel
- Repaired and resprayed the steering wheel trim and button casings

When I saw this list beforehand, I had an idea of what I wanted the result to turn out like. It's become even better, and I really love the new look. Next phase: headliner, sound proofing in the doors and central area and upgraded speakers.
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Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Interior Phase 1: Complete

Post by Zedebee » Sun May 01, 2022 10:39 pm

Looking very good there Bart. I can’t help thinking you will be looking for some M-Sport seats before long.

How did you get the trim panels sprayed, they look amazing?
2003 Maldives Blue 3.0i auto
Previously: Maldives Blue 2.5i manual (its back!) and another, and a Monaco Blue 3.0Si coupe

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Barty
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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Interior Phase 1: Complete

Post by Barty » Mon May 02, 2022 5:58 am

Thanks Zedebee, you’re right in that the seats won’t stick around forever…

I removed the trim and took it to the painter we work with. To be honest the result isn’t quite perfect as there are a few old cracks starting to show, but that’s fine for now. They’ll be redone once more in the next few months when working on the speakers
Four Alfa's and a Ducati later, I've turned to the dark side...
"Drive German, wear Italian, kiss French"

Z4: Tiefgrüen Metallic E86 3.0Si / Insta @bartsbuilds

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Interior Phase 1: Complete

Post by Zedebee » Mon May 02, 2022 8:22 am

I meant the dash/console panels that you have painted green. Is it a special finish or just the same as you out on an exterior panel?
2003 Maldives Blue 3.0i auto
Previously: Maldives Blue 2.5i manual (its back!) and another, and a Monaco Blue 3.0Si coupe

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Barty's Green Z4 Coupé - Interior Phase 1: Complete

Post by Jembo » Mon May 02, 2022 8:44 am

:thumbsup: Very nice, where if you get hooted at by a grey XC60 on the Dutch slowways you’ll know who it is
Joined the dark side with a ///M Hell Bronze Sepang Coupe :happyclap:
Ex Aug 2005 Maldives Blue 3 litre cruizer, lots of toyz,

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