Canada Eh ?

Hi Gang ..
Next up ...Labels on the pics ...
Somehow they disappeared ..
So I expect you know what they are about ..

1. Stubby .. Actually I made this by sawing the original whip and topping it off with some hardware I got from a pepper mill ! Works for me and better yet works as an antenna too. Cost $0 !
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2 Chopped clear side marker.... Got this idea from Bimmerfest. Cost nothing except for a dollop of JB Weld.
3.TRTYOSLF - Means "Treat Yourself" ..Courtesy of TV Show Parks and Rec with Amy Pollard. You need to make the effort to treat yourself every now and them.
4 Rear view - White reflectors on side lens', black Z4 Badge.. Lucky this is an Alpine white Z. Got the reflectorized vinyl off of Ebay. Cut it myself with a good quality set of dividers.
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5. Side view showing white reflectors . debadging, and summer rims (18" staggered Lorenzo rims 8" front, 9.5" rear ) , Tires - Michelin Pilot Super Sports 225 / 40 and 255 / 35. Thanks to Tire Rack ! ... Rudy at Tire Rack was very helpful. My requirements were for a Touring Z. Debadging with dental floss sucked. Monofilament fishing line is way better.
6. How I got into 4 wheels from 2. For my Biker Friends on here ...Be careful out there ! ..Hopefully the Z will fill that hole I discovered when I went down hard.

Cheers from Canada
John in Whitby

ps ..Interior pics next ..

pps ..Window tint came with the car. I got it as a lease return with 30300 kms on the clock and a year and a half of full factory warranty.
The previous owner installed the tint ...Not what I would like but its there and I hardly notice it. Actually the pics make it look darker than it is.
Also the previous owner put a clear vinyl protective front mask which I do like.

Interior projects include a GPS mounted to the AC Grills with a cell phone mount that I glued to a Tom Tom Disk. Im very happy with that.
Plus I have acquired a 12" x 60" roll of 3m carbon fiber Di Noc shrink wrap. I tried that on the rear Z4 badge but didn't like it. I was thinking the silver roll bars would look better in black carbon ..
But so far Im trying to find some love for the stock look.

I chose those rims cause the stock silver 'star burst' wheels suck. I was not familiar with the 108's or the traditional BMW styles. So I understand if the traditionalists here might call me to task.
Actually I view this car as a drivers car ...Not a garage queen. At 60 Im thinking Ive got 10 good years left to try an wear it out. ;)
 
Side Marker Mod ..

I got this idea from MyMCoupe.com The owner of "Scartha", an 07 Z M Coupe from California, uses it for mostly track days and has complied quite a list of mods he has undertaken. I think on Bimmerfest he is known as Palantian , although I have misspelled his name,

My 08 roadster came with clear lens that stuck out like hockey pucks. Most of you understand that look.


1. I removed the lens' from the car. Just twist and turn the disk and it pops right out.
The bulb is also a twist and pull and out it comes. On my car the bulbs are amber and I retained them. Note ...Do not let the bulb and attached wire fall back into the port that is left ...Im not sure what might happen but I didn't want to know.

2. Take the hockey puck lens' somewhere you can work without distraction.
I used some painters green making tape 1/8 - 1/4 width and laid out where I wanted to cut using the edge of the tape as my guide.
Remember Im 60 years old now and the tape was a great idea to provide an edge to cut along. You can also protect the part of the lens you want to keep from the odd misplaced saw stroke, or when you drop the whole thing on the floor.
By the way ..You can pretty much cut the lens in half and there is no interference with the stock bulb. I have seen on similar mod where the guy drilled clearance for the bulb. I found this unnecessary.
NB I also marked the position of the lens vis a vie the base with a sharpie (permanent marker perpendicular to the cut) to insure proper alignment on reassembly.

3. Take your hack saw with a fine blade and just take your time and carefully maintain contact with the saw curf (groove) and work your way around the lens. I didn't try to slice it in half, preferring to carefully follow the curf around the lens until I cut through the thickness (maybe 1/8 inch thick plastic).

4. With the lens now split ..You have your new lens with the Rondelle still attached. To true up the base, I took a piece of 280 silicon carbide sheet abrasive (wet and dry sandpaper), taped it to a flat surface (kitchen counter works) and then rotated the cut surface until I was satisfied it was true enough. I made sure the sanded surface was rough enough to provide good adhesion for the JB Weld (epoxy)

5. The other other part of the cut lens ..the base will still have the plastic lens attached. I took a pair of slip joint pliers and holding the base with one hand, I just snapped the remaining clear lens with the pliers. It snapped out very easily and provided a good gluing surface.

6. The stock assembly used a rabet joint for alignment. I trued up the base the same way I did the lens with the sand paper taped to the counter. Mixed up the JB Weld Epoxy and carefully applied the adhesive to both surfaces with a tooth pic. You don't need alot of adhesive so be careful you don't ovedo it. Push the two sides together using the sharpie maks for proper alignment. Use tape to hold both sides of the lens together(I taped right around the cut line so things would be aligned). I actually used a small C-Clamp to gently press the lens together, although a couple of elastic bands will work.

7. When you take all your clamping apparatus off the lens' you might discover some glue ooze that has escaped. I know I did and I took the side edge of a utility knife and carefully 'scraped' the excess glue off. Scraping uses the side of the blade...NOT a cutting action ! Actually when you re-install your now waffer thin lens', the glued joint is pretty much inside the fender port and you can't really see the glue or the joint.

8. Re-install everything ... You might discover you have less lens to grip on when you twist it back into place, but it can be done with dry hands.

I will try to take some photos of at a later date ...A very easy mod that looks great ...
Allow the lens' 24 hours to set up and harden.

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Great write up Bumpy :thumbsup:

When you get some photos together you should put this and them in a separate thread in the 'How to' section, for sure.
 
Whitby is just east of Toronto and it is located on the shores of Lake Ontario. Nice park and beach there. Port Whitby used to have several boat building manufacturers and there is a yacht club and piers. The beach is nice but the water is questionable. Amazing sport salmon fishery, although I prefer rainbow and brown trout.

Actually Whitby is the location of Camp X. For WW2 buffs, Camp X was where spies were trained for overseas service as well as the location of Hydra which was a radio communications hub during the war. So it was ultra Top Secret. Im told ..Even today if you go sniffing around there you might draw some attention. Best to leave your metal detector home.
 
Welcome along. I can only echo the other comments, lovely car, nice wheels etc.

Adamski has probably had to go lie down in a darkened room :)
 
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