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Old 05-10-2016, 02:33 AM   #14
spidertri
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Location: Elizabeth City, NC
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With both top and bottom back on the motor I turned my attention to bolting parts on the sides. First up was the headers, I chose to install all new studs. I went with the torx end studs used on the newer BMW motors, this made install a breeze compared to double-nut removing all of the old ones. While the headers were off I hit them with some high temp paint. Painting is not my forte, but they turned out okay in my makeshift “paint booth”.



I am deleting the secondary air pump so I got a pair of header block-off plates from an ebay seller. The general shape of the plate was okay but they were far from a bolt-on product. I had to shave down the sides of the ovals to get them to sit flush in the header recess. It didn’t take much but still annoying.



On the intake side, the coolant hardline went back on with new o-rings. It’s a shame that no one offers a complete, easy retrofit kit to utilize the euro expansion tank. Several of the European specific parts are blocked from being sold in the USA so I didn’t even try to get the European hardline. From what I’ve read it really doesn’t fit anyway and requires heating and rebending, not something I want to deal with. I plan to use soft line and run it behind the head to get to the expansion tank.

It was about this time that I had to prep my Z3 to make the trek to Charlotte, NC for the annual Schuh Syndikat meet. The coupe needed front wheel bearings and I had some different front springs and bumpstops to install. So the M52 was put on the back burner while I worked on the Z.



Schuh syndikat was a blast, there were 16 coupes that showed up for the group photo and several other roadsters. The real treat of the weekend was Ed McKernan (bimmerbum) driving his 318ti clubsport all the way from Florida to meet up at Schuh Syndikat. All BMWs are welcome to the event, it is Z3 coupe centric, but it’s a great group of enthusiasts who enjoy the “quirkier” BMW models. Ed’s clubsport has a bunch of Dinan parts and it was really cool to see him representing at the meet. I heard he was hounding the M coupes pretty good on the twisty prelude drive…
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98 328ti Morea Grun slicktop
11 128i space gray slicktop
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