2005 Z4 E85

[Mr Ward]

Hi folks.

Wish i had known about this forum a year ago it would have saved me some major headaches.

I got the Z a year ago. It's a 2005 E85 2.0i Roadster.

Within a month of owning it I had replaced 2 lambda sensors, brake servo, all 4 brake discs and pads, radiator and rear exhaust silencer. The Z had done 175.480 miles when I got it. 2 months after purchasing it I went on a trip to take my stepdaughter to Scottland. On the return journey all hell broke loose with it. Variable valve unit on top of the engine failed along with a roof motor failure plus also the valve stem seals failed so I was kicking wads of smoke out of the rear when I pulled away from junctions. Pulled the Z off the road and decided to self-strip the engine along with every part of the car that could be removed. It's taken me year to rebuild the entire Z, I'm not a professional mechanic or a professional car body worker but I think I've done ok.

I have done all the mechanical work on it in my rear garden, including a full respray, the original colour was a metallic grey. The usual BMW kidney bean grilles just did not sit well with me, never have done and never will do. After plenty of self-debating and brain bashing, I decided to modify both the front bumper plus the bonnet also. The Z now has a full straight piped exhaust system plus also has a full air induction kit which is fed from 2 front feeds in the front bumper via a 3-inch stainless steel pipe. There is also a dual fin rear wing on the rear boot lid. A single mass sports clutch, new bottom end bearings, crank regrind, new valves (all), Full timing chain kit, full gasket set, all engine and exhaust sensors replaced, all main running gear plus arms plus bushes replaced, all wheel bearings replaced, fuel pump replaced. I have yet to drop it down a bit as I do not like the way the gap is between the rear wheel and the arch.

Some of you may not like it and think he's destroyed a classic Z. I however do like and enjoy driving it.

 

[rdm05z4]

TBH not for me. But I have to give you credit for all the work done. I don't have the skills to even tackle 10% of your work. But admire your ability. We all only live once so need to do what makes us happy. Good Luck.

 

[enuff_zed]

There are enough standard ones around to allow you licence to do what you want with yours.
Kudos for what you have achieved in a garden!
Whilst not for some, I'm just imprressed you've stuck with it.
I'll be honest, the main fail for me is the aerial.
Whippy for preference (there is a shorter version too) or if you have to go stubby then plain black.
But hey! It's YOUR car.
Welcome aboard.
Under the skin they're all Z4s and let's hope we can inspire you to keep yours going!

PS. Need some engine bay pics. You do know you could have bought a 3.0 don't you?

 

[Dave 2 dogs]

MR WARD
welcome to the forum
As above… hats off for all your hard work. As soon as you modify a car, your open to feedback…. Some will be good, and some bad . I think you have to get credit for all your hard work. It’s not going to be for everyone… and different bits will appeal to different people. Well done sir .
Now …. Can you post some more pictures of the bonnet please? I’m interested in what you did there… a few more at different angles would be great… hopefully your hard work is paying off and your enjoying the car

 

[Rldee007]

I love the colours and divide, really fun.

Wish I had the time and balls to do something like this!

More photos please, you might inspire more people to let their creative flare go!

 

[jock156]

Haters gonna hate

Kudos for your work

 

[enuff_zed]

Keep looking at it and thinking:
Should the front wheels be yellow? Should the rear tow eye cover be black?
Maybe the spoiler struts should be black?

I think you may find there are a lot of purists who are too staid to do this to their own car, but always wondered, and will actually support you with yours.

Recently saw a set of MSport seats with black centres and yellow bolsters........................

 

[DMike]

Welcome to the forum Mr Ward! Bold and confident mods, but just switch back to a whippy and you’ll go stealth blending in the crowd 8)

 

[paddy wright]

Welcome, glad you saved a z. Not my taste but each their own

 

[Mr Ward]

Can you post some more pictures of the bonnet please?

I will take some photos tomorrow of the work I have done to it. It's not that pretty on the underside as I mainly concentrated on the topside for looks. The underside will be tidied up at a later date.

 

[Mr Ward]

Should the front wheels be yellow

I was thinking of spraying the internal edge rims about halfway inside the wheels in-between the spokes yellow to break up the black. I did think about yellow wheels but then decided against it as I think it would look too odd or overpowering.

 

[Mr Ward]

You do know you could have bought a 3.0 don't you

I do yes but as I only paid £2000 dead for it when the seller wanted £3200, I think I got a bargain even though it required a lot of work doing to it.

 

[Mr Ward]

I'll be honest, the main fail for me is the aerial.

To be honest I was not aware the Z's had a different aerial as that was already on it when I purchased the Z. I will have to look into where I can find one, unless you already know where to purchase one and can advise me on it.

 

[Zedebee]

I'll be honest, the main fail for me is the aerial.

To be honest I was not aware the Z's had a different aerial as that was already on it when I purchased the Z. I will have to look into where I can find one, unless you already know where to purchase one and can advise me on it.

Don’t take it too seriously. The “Whippy” vs “stubby” debate is a standing joke on here.

 

[Zedebee]

I’m intrigued how you have got such a good paint finish, the black looks OEM from the pictures. There don’t seem to be any “home paint” experts on here; we could do with one.

 

[Mr Ward]

Here's one for you. How many of you noticed the plastic divider on the rear lights were removed? I think it gives it a much rounder appearance than the split light look it had.

 

[Mr Ward]

I’m intrigued how you have got such a good paint finish

It took a lot of time and effort that I can tell you. The z was painted under a 3mtr x 3mtr marquee without any sides on it. Each panel was removed from the car and sanded fully down to the metal or bare plastic. 2 coats of primer applied with sanding between each coat. Then 6 coats of paint sanded down after every 2nd coat until the final 7th coat was on and left to harden. Then it was hit with wet n dry from 400 grit right up to 3000 grit. After that I used several electric polishers with various grade cutting compounds and various polishing compounds until I had the shine I required. Each panel took roughly around 4 days each to fully paint and sand down then a day to polish it. That was around 2 months of painting, sanding and polishing for the whole Z.

Now here's the kicker.

I've never painted a car in my life. It was only by spending many hours on YouTube watching hundreds of videos on how to spray and correct spraying errors plus, finishing stages that I was able to spray the Z.

 

[MikeyH]

Here's one for you. How many of you noticed the plastic divider on the rear lights were removed? I think it gives it a much rounder appearance than the split light look it had.

Welcome to the forum Mr Ward, your creativity certainly stands out, good for you. l noticed it as I’m toying with removing them myself. I think they are called French Fries.

 

[Mr Ward]

Just a few photos of some of the work carried out in various stages, including the welding and test fitting of the stainless-steel air pipe that sits just behind the Bumper. I cut the entire middle out of the front bumper and rebuilt it with fibreglass and filler until it was as I liked it.

 

[Mr Ward]

l noticed it as I’m toying with removing them myself.

I did not think they went well with the look I was going for. They are held in with a double-sided sticky pad and I think it was 2 plastic lugs also.