Hallo everybody

"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
10/16/2018 at 01:27 • Filed to: Parsh

Cheers Oppo, long time no post. I done did a thing. The odometer broke at 231k miles and it needs a shitload of work but it’s mine and I love it. There’s a long story here, I promise to tell it soon once I actually get good pictures. Hope everyone is well.

DISCUSSION (24)

Svend > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 02:21

Hello mate.

I’m well thanks, I hope your keeping well too.

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 07:19

*GASP* You bought it!!! You made it happen! Oh man, that is exciting!

I was recently wondering both about you, and this car. I'm really happy to see this news, and can't wait to hear more.

vondon302 > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 07:24

Niiiice!

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 07:24

Very, very nice. High mileage sports cars are a badge of honor. Old 911s with only 5 digits turned over on the odometer make baby Jesus cry.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 09:53

Congrats!! She looks great.

Nice choice of brew, too.

WiscoProud > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 12:15

I am officially jealous. Have fun!

RallyWrench > Svend
10/16/2018 at 12:22

‘ello Svend! This thing needs a man of your skills quite badly ;).

RallyWrench > shop-teacher
10/16/2018 at 12:50

Hey! Yep, pretty excited. And nervous. I’m selling almost everything I own to do it, (F150, my old 2002 project, Vanagon, bicycles, limbs, organs, model cars...) but it’s an opportunity I’ll never have again so I had to try. Not without stress, but it’s a childhood dream come true. Work and dadlife have been taking ever more time, so lurking has been about all I can do lately. Need to get back to LALD posting. You doing well? Kids? Job?

RallyWrench > vondon302
10/16/2018 at 12:54

Thanks! Far, far from perfect, but I’ve known this car for almost 23 years and it’s got a cool story so it’s pretty special.

RallyWrench > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
10/16/2018 at 12:56

Low mileage Porsches make me sad too. Doing my part to keep the baby Jesus happy. One of the reasons I’ve loved this car for over 2 decades is because it’s been regularly used and well loved, showing the scars of a life well lived.

RallyWrench > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/16/2018 at 13:01

Thanks man! Looks better in pictures than in person, she shows the miles for sure. But it’s a dream come true, I’ve been in love with this car for a long, long time. It’s got a cool story, which I’ll try to share soon. The beer was courtesy of CaptDale, we have a beer after work most Fridays and he brought an excellent choice to celebrate old German cars :)

How are things? M3 still trucking along?

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 13:01

Yeah, this is the kind of opportunity that is worth selling all that other stuff for. I would do the same thing, if I were in your shoes.

I’ve mostly been lurking on LaLD too, making maybe a post a month. Trying to comment some more recently. Kids and job are good. I’ve been remodeling my kitchen, doing all the work myself including building the cabinets from scratch. Got counter tops installed last week, that’s the only thing I’ve contracted out. Been working on this since June, so it’s nice to finally see light at the end of the tunnel. My photo spot is completely buri ed in tools and building materials, and my base ment looks like a bomb went off :)

RallyWrench > WiscoProud
10/16/2018 at 13:02

It ain’t perfect but it’s mine! Lots of work needed before really enjoying it, but I’m over the moon. Thanks!

WiscoProud > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 13:04

Be sure to document your work here. I’ve longed for an old 911 for decades, and ones with huge mileage are the only reasonable ones anymore.

Svend > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 13:15

It looks really well for it’s age and just needs a little TLC.

RallyWrench > WiscoProud
10/16/2018 at 14:22

I’ll try to do updates, I haven’t posted in too long. Thankfully prices for less than perfect cars seem to be on a downswing, finally. I was offered this for well below market because of its needs and my history with it, so I had to jump.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 14:28

That’s awesome - really happy for you. Looking forward to learning more about it.

Things are good. My fall backroadtrip fell through this year , but I will go over for one day with a friend in a couple weeks to get some time on the Arkansas back roads. I just had the valve cover gaskets done on the M3, and she just turned 120k last week . Enjoyed the drive in to work today with the windows down and the seat heaters on. She’s running good, but thinking a suspension refresh would be good before long. Decisions...

Any recommendations when it comes to that? Mine’s got EDC. Wondering if investing in something like Ö hlins R&T would be worth it. Even though it’s more of a fun car now, whatever I do, I want to keep it usable for regular driving on our crappy roads and the occasional long road trip.

RallyWrench > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/16/2018 at 23:26

Thanks, looking forward to digging into it, I’ll definitely try to share progress reports and share the car’s background before too long.

G lad to hear you’ll still get some back road time in despite missing a trip, I imagine the M is wonderful on those roads, and at this time of year.

I’ll ask around on suspension for it, but my first thought is that Ohlins, bitchin’ though they are, are overkill for a street car used on poor roads (like here or there... ). But I haven’t tried the R&T’s, so I may be way off. I absolutely LOVE their race shocks, great support and easy to work with . I’m a little sour on coilovers for street cars in general, there’s always some compromise in noise or ride quality. If it was hotrodding some beater E30 canyon c arver it’d be a different story than sacrificing the M3's all-around composure. Assuming the suspension rubber is original, a set of new bushings (perhaps upgraded) for the front traction arms and rear trailing arms is in order. I’ll see what I can find out on the Ohlins or other damper recommendations !

RallyWrench > Svend
10/16/2018 at 23:28

Thanks, more than a little needed but it sure could be worse! No rust, thankfully.

RallyWrench > shop-teacher
10/16/2018 at 23:38

Stoked to hear all is well! Man, a remodel sounds like a hell of a thing to undertake with kiddos around, you’re a braver man than I! Although we dream of a kitchen remodel too... By which I mean, my wife does. Bet you’re looking forward to just enjoying the new space!

My little cars are all buried as I move everything around to clear out real cars , parts, and unnecessary accumulated shit. Simplify and add Porsche, I guess? Been a good motivator to cut the crap and focus. Hopefully once things settle down I can dig out some toy cars again :)

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
10/16/2018 at 23:51

Yes! Simplify and add Porsche!

The kitchen remodel was genuinely needed. Our kitchen was horribly designed, and worse built. The cabinets had clearly been removed from some other kitchen and jammed in wherever. The dishwasher was rusting out, unsecured, and literally holding the rotting crapass countertop. The tiny sink leaked from literally every leakable area. Some of the electric I found makes me wonder how the house didn’t burn down. I could go on.

It hasn’t been easy to do with kids. My wife managed to cook good meals with a hot plate, an electric skillet, and a gas grill for months. I did manage to do the whole job and only be missing a sink for the days.

Kinja'd!!!

Here's where we're at right now.

RallyWrench > shop-teacher
10/17/2018 at 01:43

Damn that looks like it’s going to be sweet !! Jealous of all that counter space. Amazing work, man. Something for me to aspire to.

shop-teacher > RallyWrench
10/17/2018 at 07:29

Thanks! We’ve got a lot more counter space than we used to have. That long counter used to end at the dishwasher. That bit of wall that the counter now wraps around was the edge of the doorway into the kitchen. I pulled out a kneewall with a peninsula counter on it, so we could extend the counters out and add the big overhead cabinet. It basically made it into a galley kitchen, but it flows so much better in and out of the kitchen now, in addition to all the extra cabinet and counter space.

Taking out that kneewall is where I found some of the terrifying electrical. There were two buried junction boxes, and a random end of bx that was just taped off. All hot.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RallyWrench
10/17/2018 at 09:00

Yeah, both my car and I are very happy to get away from the city and into the twisty bits.

Only reason I’d consider Ohlins is because replacing the OEM EDC would be similarly expensive. I’m sure bushings all around (recommendations?) would improve things, and maybe that’s all I really need, just wondering if it’s worth doing more while while they’ve got things pulled apart. I actually have a set of “regular” dampers for my car that I bought lightly used a while back from someone for a couple hundred bucks, so I could simplify, put those on and code out the warning chime on the dash, but those would surely be a little harsher on the road.

Another option: https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-182539-bilstein-heavy-duty-shocks-set-of-4-e90-e92-m3-with-edc/

With 120k miles and lots of rock chips, my car is probably worth something like $15k, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense to invest thousands of dollars into it. But, if I can spend some money and keep it a car I’m happy with for another 5 years (at least), it will be worth it to me.