The ‘Was going to stay OEM’ Project

[Elliot5927]

Evening all,

I have decided to start a small project thread as I’d love to hear fellow Zed owners opinions and recommendations but also as I love to follow other project threads for Inspiration

Early 2020 I decided to part ways with my 1979 MG B Roadster as I kept looking for something more modern.

I started off by looking into Z3’s as I love the design and a couple friends own these. Unfortunately due to my height been 6ft 7 I had no chance fitting into the Z3 so I got myself back into the market looking at other options. After looking at various cars within different budget ranges, (Boxster, 911, R8 & Merc’s) I set my eyes upon a Z4M Roadster as it ticked all my boxes. Now I was onto what colour combination I wanted and I quickly set my heart on Interlagos Blue with Cream Leather (Think it’s the Champagne Leather). After reading so much about these cars through this forum I was rather wary on Service history and mileage.

I finally came across this beauty and decided to buy it on the day



As this car was on such low mileage at 26k I started off with all good intentions of staying OEM and enjoying the car.

I started off by getting a full Service (Inspection 2) completed by a local Indy garage (JMF Motor Worx Ltd) who I highly recommend to anyone near Birmingham. Jon gave the car a thorough check over to make sure everything was in good condition and as should be. Unfortunately there was one issue with the car which was a noisy Power Steering Pump. First point of call was to get some miles in the car hoping that it was lack of us but after a few good drives this didn’t improve so we decided to replace the Pump.

Now that the car is mechanically sound I decided to book the car in for a detailing session with Staffordshire Car Care.






Summer 2021 came and now I have clean and mechanically sound Z4 so my friends with the Z3’s and I started to get some miles in the cars over various weekends.



Towards the end of Summer/Autumn 2021 I started shopping round for a couple items. First being a good cover for the car while it is stored away



Then I managed to get myself a set of the side covers for when the roof is down. I highly recommend these as they really finish the car off when the roof is down.

Winter 2021 set in and I have since started going away straying from the OEM look and have changed my mindset to enjoy the car and make any modifications which can be returned back to OEM.

First came a set of brand new CSL Alloys I managed to get my hands on, thanks to a fellow forum member pointing me towards a German stock holder.



Next came the GruppeM Carbon Intake. (Pictures to Follow). The sound is very addictive!!

Over the last few weeks I have purchased various items and I now wait very impatiently for it all to be delivered. This includes:
Supersprint Powerflow Mufflers & X-Pipe
Storm Motorwerks V1 Gear Knob
SSDD black grills (Both Matte & Gloss as haven’t decided which I prefer yet)
Weichers Aluminium & Carbon Fibre Strut Brace
Vibra Techniks Engine Mounts
Karbonius Carbon Fibre Engine Cover
AP Racing BBK (6 Pot Front & 4 Pot Rear)

Pictures will follow when all purchases arrive and are fitted.

I have also enquired with Center Gravity, based in Atherstone/Warwickshire about having the geometry set. I have seen many recommendations to have the geometry set up to the CSL figures but Center Gravity recommend a Geometry Set up session with themselves where they discuss the cars use and provide a set up most useful for my driving alongside a full review of all bushes, suspension etc.

I look forward to hearing your opinions and any recommendations soon.

PS. I’ll apologise now for any Picture errors and Grammar aha!

Cheers

 

[beanie]

Looks to be a great start and I’m sure center gravity will be excellent. It’s almost a shame you don’t have more adjustment in the suspension to fully take advantage of their abilities :fuelfire:

 

[IRD]

Beautiful car. The detail has really made it sparkle. Looks like it will give you many years of pleasure.

 

[rdm05z4]

Welcome! Your car is a site to behold. Good Luck with all your projects to make it unique to you. Years ago I too had a 79B.

 

[Mr Tidy]

It looks like you have been bitten by the bug most of us on here suffer from!

After raising the ride height, taking off spacers and going back to OE 224 wheels from 19" CSL Replicas I knew an alignment was due and after having it done to CSL settings it feels like a different car, but the Indy who did it will tweak it if required.

Enjoy the journey. :driving:

 

[MikeyH]

Hi also from an ex mgb owner, you have a great car in great colour.

 

[Elliot5927]

Looks to be a great start and I’m sure center gravity will be excellent. It’s almost a shame you don’t have more adjustment in the suspension to fully take advantage of their abilities :fuelfire:

Thank you Beanie,

I’ve never used Center Gravity before but I’ve seen loads of top reviews, I’ll let everyone know how I get on.
I’ve never looked into suspension too much on previous cars with coil overs etc. That could be next!

Beautiful car. The detail has really made it sparkle. Looks like it will give you many years of pleasure.

Thank you IRD. I was really impressed with Staffordshire car care. I can’t believe how easy the car is to keep clean now. Especially the wheels.

Welcome! Your car is a site to behold. Good Luck with all your projects to make it unique to you. Years ago I too had a 79B.

Thank you RDM05Z4. I did love the MG, cracking cars for the money! Loved a Sunday morning cruise in it. I do like how the mods make it unique even though all my mods are probably rather common.

It looks like you have been bitten by the bug most of us on here suffer from!

After raising the ride height, taking off spacers and going back to OE 224 wheels from 19" CSL Replicas I knew an alignment was due and after having it done to CSL settings it feels like a different car, but the Indy who did it will tweak it if required.

Enjoy the journey. :driving:

Thank you Mr Tidy. The bug has definitely got me! I’m really looking forward to getting the set up done. Intrigued to see what differences it makes even though I’m not a technical driver as such.

Hi also from an ex mgb owner, you have a great car in great colour.

Thank you MikeyH. I do love the Interlagos blue. Great how it looks completely different under various lighting

 

[Barty]

Lovely colour combo! The upgrades you’ve listed could -with a dash of imagination- be labelled OEM+ perhaps, so as to keeping with your original intention of keeping things original :wink: Really like what you’ve got planned and looking forward to the results

 

[Elliot5927]

Lovely colour combo! The upgrades you’ve listed could -with a dash of imagination- be labelled OEM+ perhaps, so as to keeping with your original intention of keeping things original :wink: Really like what you’ve got planned and looking forward to the results

Thank You Barty. I like label OEM+, it does keep inline with my original intentions. I think you can get a little lost in the Keep OEM, Investment etc. Whereas I have now decided to not worry about resaleable value and enjoy the car for what I want it to be.

Going to have a bash at fitting the Storm Motorwerks V1 Gear Knob this week, fingers crossed I don't hit myself in the face removing the original :rofl:

Cheers

 

[Barty]

Resale-value is something we worry about, even though it’s actually saying “I worry about how much someone else will value my car come time to sell on”.

My personal take on this, for what it’s worth, is: I want to get the most out of my experience, and when the time comes we’ll see what the world looks like. Maybe we’ve all gone electric, maybe we’ve had a hydrogen breakthrough, maybe nobody likes Z4’s anymore (yeah right…), or maybe the world discovered unobtanium and we now have limitless power to teleport everywhere. Wait and see, tomorrow will come so enjoy today

Good luck on the Motorwerks knob. I had a go at this a few weeks back and really enjoy the upgrade! And indeed: face or balls- aim wisely :lol:

 

[Elliot5927]

Tonight I thought I’d have a go at fitting my SMW V1 gear knob. Luckily I managed to remove the original without hitting myself in the face or balls :lol: . Unfortunately I had totally missed that I have the illuminated gear knob (Is this standard for an M?) so I haven’t managed to fit it as I’m unsure on what to do with the wiring currently in place? Maybe tape the ends up and leave in situ, so that I can swap back in the future?


I then set my mind on fitting the new grilles which I ordered from SSDD. I ordered both Matte and Gloss as I wasn’t sure but after holding a gloss grill up against the car it was clear to see matte would be my preferential choice.

The grills came off very easy by pulling upper centre then pulling round the edges. Once the grilles where off I gave the area a clean up.

Fitting the new grills was a little fiddly as you need a small amount of pressure to get all the clips to click fully in place but not too much force that the grille splits into two pieces.





Any help on the gear knob would be appreciated

 

[Barty]

Good job on the successful removal! Like the new grills as well, nice contrast to the shine of the blue.

As for the illuminated knob: I’d remove the gaiter (pull inward along the long sides of the rim and lift up) to see how the cabling is connected. If there’s a plug, unplug and tape up. I’ve got the SMW V1 and really prefer it to anything else. Good luck!

 

[Tromans]

I've got no help with the wiring, but have also recently fitted the MWV1, very happy with it. Nice build, thanks for sharing.

 

[Elliot5927]

Good job on the successful removal! Like the new grills as well, nice contrast to the shine of the blue.

As for the illuminated knob: I’d remove the gaiter (pull inward along the long sides of the rim and lift up) to see how the cabling is connected. If there’s a plug, unplug and tape up. I’ve got the SMW V1 and really prefer it to anything else. Good luck!

Thank you. I think the matte suits the rest of the front better as other than the blue, there isn’t any gloss.

Gonna give the MWV1 another go tomorrow. I assumed the wiring was an aftermarket thing but having read that it is an original part I assume the wiring will have some sort of connector I can unplug to remove the knob fully.

When fitting the new knob, is there any specific technique to lining the knob up straight?

I've got no help with the wiring, but have also recently fitted the MWV1, very happy with it. Nice build, thanks for sharing.

Thank you Tromans. I’m looking forward to giving the car a drive with the MW V1.

Cheers

 

[Tromans]

When fitting the new knob, is there any specific technique to lining the knob up straight?

If it looks right, it probably is!

 

[Barty]

When fitting the new knob, is there any specific technique to lining the knob up straight?

While there is a slot in the top of the shaft used by the OEM knob to align properly, the Storm doesn’t use it. Adjust the two allen screws to the point where they make contact but you can still rotate the knob. Eyeball it to your preference and then torque them down.

Edit: as per the previous comments really!

 

[Elliot5927]

Thank you both, I’ll upload some more pics once I’ve had a bash at it.

Cheers

 

[Mr Tidy]

Tonight I thought I’d have a go at fitting my SMW V1 gear knob. Luckily I managed to remove the original without hitting myself in the face or balls . Unfortunately I had totally missed that I have the illuminated gear knob (Is this standard for an M?)

You're lucky you didn't rip the wires out! Illumination is standard on the M, but I think there is a plastic connector so you may not need tape.

Replacement kidney grilles in black look great - but I would say that as mine has them too!

 

[Elliot5927]

Tonight I thought I’d have a go at fitting my SMW V1 gear knob. Luckily I managed to remove the original without hitting myself in the face or balls . Unfortunately I had totally missed that I have the illuminated gear knob (Is this standard for an M?)

You're lucky you didn't rip the wires out! Illumination is standard on the M, but I think there is a plastic connector so you may not need tape.

Replacement kidney grilles in black look great - but I would say that as mine has them too!

I did think this. The knob might of been removed in the past as it wasn’t as hard to remove as I was expecting.

Which Grilles did you go for? I love the Matte look but I’m unsure on the fitment of the SSDD ones. In one of the pictures above you can see the original against the SSDD one and the original looks slightly bigger

 

[Elliot5927]

Round 2 at fitting the MW V1 was successful. After removing the leather gaitor you can unclip the illuminated gear knob’s wiring.

While the gaitor was removed I gave it a good clean and conditioner.


Well happy with the outcome! Just need a knob sock for the winter!!