E86 from Brighton

All those look like nothing to worry, just a few scabby bolts..

It's easy to strip the front of the bay, out lightly rub down, primer and paint satin black again. I did mine last year.

Get inside the boot lid with a endoscopy camera to look further.
I have 1 very similar bubble on my bootlid in the same area but when I checked with a camera from inside, there was nothing. Mine is solid if I poke the bubble, too. Like a paint defect rather than corrosion.
 
Meds said:
All those look like nothing to worry, just a few scabby bolts..

It's easy to strip the front of the bay, out lightly rub down, primer and paint satin black again. I did mine last year.

Get inside the boot lid with a endoscopy camera to look further.
I have 1 very similar bubble on my bootlid in the same area but when I checked with a camera from inside, there was nothing. Mine is solid if I poke the bubble, too. Like a paint defect rather than corrosion.
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yeah, I think youre right, I'm used to worse in my line of work inspecting old industrial sites but I have no clue when it comes to cars and thin sheet metals.

I think your take on the paint defects are correct too - will have a check but most likely correct.

I wonder if steel primer products for reinforcement in concrete like sika monotop would work for cars 🤔
 
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Another E86 Coupe owner here.

I've also been frustratingly dealing with the difficult to open door issue. I replaced the cable which made no difference, then got a new outer handle, but when removing mine it doesn't really have any significant wear, so I need to go in again sometime to remove and inspect the inner frame part of the outer handle.

As already said, the glasses holder is fragile and unobtainuim. Mine is also fixed shut. It would be interesting to take it out and see if the mechanism could be reproduced with 3D printing, but don't know enough to know.

Plans for mine is to do a front reg plate plinth delete and go magnetic plate. Bumper has some lacquer peel so needs painting anyway.

Summer roadtrip through France after Le Mans Classic too 😎
 
AliC said:
View attachment 290028

Another E86 Coupe owner here.

I've also been frustratingly dealing with the difficult to open door issue. I replaced the cable which made no difference, then got a new outer handle, but when removing mine it doesn't really have any significant wear, so I need to go in again sometime to remove and inspect the inner frame part of the outer handle.

As already said, the glasses holder is fragile and unobtainuim. Mine is also fixed shut. It would be interesting to take it out and see if the mechanism could be reproduced with 3D printing, but don't know enough to know.

Plans for mine is to do a front reg plate plinth delete and go magnetic plate. Bumper has some lacquer peel so needs painting anyway.

Summer roadtrip through France after Le Mans Classic too 😎
Click to expand...
Lovely colour combo - wanna swap?
 
Been driving the car a bit more now, have some more thoughts:

- Clutch is a bit worn, need to baby it when moving off and rev a bit higher than normal

- Rear hatch struts are worn, hooking the load bay cover stops the hatch raising fully without assistance

- noticeable noise from rear arch when driving, especially water splashes etc. Door seals are worse than my mini

Overall I'm surprised at the fact that the E86 is heavier than my F56 whilst being louder inside - I guess design directions were different. Still I am loving the Z4C
 
I suppose on a 6 figure mileage a worn clutch isn't too surprising. At least hatch struts shouldn't be expensive. Maybe a daft question but have you checked the rear arch liners?

The door seals will be at least 6 years older than any F56 so aren't likely to be as effective!

I'm not surprised your E86 is heavier, it's engine has at least two more cylinders and an extra litre of capacity. For almost a year I ran my 3.0Si alongside my 330i with the same engine, and the 330i felt just too quiet for my liking so I imagine BMW focused on refinement for that but intended the E86 to be a bit more visceral. For example my 330i has under-bonnet insulation, but Z4s don't as they're sports cars.
 
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