Preparing BK02837 (M5 3.6) for another twenty years. - Page 3

davidoli · 11th June 2012, 13:06

I suspect that my subtle reminder , that Raymond has a wife , may have resulted in him reducing the time spent in the garage .........

Come on Ray , we are all awaiting an update !

D

mottati · 15th June 2012, 19:10

Great thread and pictures as always. Quick question, when the car is up in the air, is there pressure between the accumulators and the shock? I ask because I have new m tech sls shocks in transit from germany for my 750iL, the accumulators and hoses are fairly new, so not replacing at this time. Wondering if things will be under pressure when i go to disassemble, and if so is there a less messy way to relive the pressure before unbolting the lines? (lines between the accumulator and the shock)

raymondw · 11th March 2013, 21:15

It has been a while since my last update; this is partially because I don’t have much time, but also because there wasn’t much to report. This changed recently when I had my E34 M5 at the body shop for a partial repaint of the lower doors, the sills and the side-skirts.

One of the two owners of the body-shop happens to be my brother in law and whilst he started working, his partner took a closer look and discussed the other flaws in the paint of my car. I always knew that my car wasn’t perfect cosmetically as it was partially repainted by the previous Swiss owner during the 1994-1998 timeframe. Yet I couldn’t care much as I always focused on driving my car during challenging driving events such as the seven E34 M5 Alps tours between 2002 and 2008.

This picture was taken about half-way on the 36km long Assietta ridge-trail between Susa and Sestriere high up in the Italian Alps. As can be seen, this road is more aimed to off-road vehicles and enduro motor-cycles and not for a normal car, let alone an E34 ///M5. Yet, my E34 ///M5 mastered these conditions superbly. It is suffice to say that any repaint in the past would be seriously challenged under these conditions. One of the conclusions made during the 2006 Alps tour evaluation was that despite offering a unique driving challenge, the old unpaved roads were too risky to undertake. With other words, a one-time experience that will never be repeated again. Those who participated will know what I mean.

Since then, my focus has also changed from reactive to pro-active preserving. In my reactive ownership period I did spend a lot of money repairing issues that broke during the many road-trips and many Nordschleife tourist drives. Since the 2008 engine disaster with my E28S M5 this changed to a more proactive approach with a maintenance and upgrade roadmap planning for the short-and long term. This minimizes my reactive risks even when using my cars more spirited. This all is a matter of planning.

As such, the above mentioned partial repaint was scheduled for Q1/2013. Yet, the quality of the previously repainted parts was such that my brother in law contacted me with a mind-mapping question and I have to admit his arguments made sense. Long story short, he made me an offer to repaint the entire car. This simply was an offer that I could not refuse adding opportunism to my previously reactive and now pro-active approaches. But what is wrong with opportunism ? All I had to do was change my roadmap planning for this car and shift with my priorities.

To be continued !!

raymondw · 12th March 2013, 21:55

As I already wrote in the previous post, I changed priorities on the maintenance road-map for BK02837 in order to benefit from the offer to fully repaint this particular car.

1: Preservation of the lower sills and jack-stands => Q1 2012 (done)
2: Replacement of the SLS-system’s pressure accumulators => Q3 2012 (done)
3: Cosmetic work => Q1 2013 (previously #5, pending)
4: Installation of the Hifi Professional system => Q2 2013 (new)
5: Overhaul of the steering-gearbox => Q4 2013 (previously #3)
6: Engine work => Q1/Q2 2014 (previously #4)
7: Engine tune-up and setup => Q2/2013 (previously #6)

One of the agreements with the paint-shop was that I would do the stripping that is required to achieve an excellent result. This basically requires stripping the car from all its trim-work to avoid paint-crossings to become visible.

1: Removal of the front bumper / grilles and headlight assemblies
2: Disassembly of the front bumper by removal of:

a) Foglight assemblies

b) Head-and fog light cleaning system (spray nozzles and waterlines)

c) Black trim plates including the license plate holder.

3: Stripping the engine hood

a) Removal of the sound insulation

b) windscreen spray nozzles

c) BMW logo emblem

4: Removal of the rear bumper
5: Stripping the trunk by removal of

a) trim panels exterior

b) license-plate holder

c) tool-box

d) tail-light assemblies

e) trunk lod cover

f) trunk gaskets

g) BMW logo and type (M5) emblem

6: Stripping the front-and rear windscreen trim
7: Stripping the door and window trims:

a) Shadowline trim

b) rear view mirrors

c) Side strips including clips etc….

d) M technik door coverings

e) Door handle trim covers

8: Removal of the M technik sideskirts including

a) Gaskets

b) mounting clips and bolts

9: Removal of the windscreen wipers including plastic covers.
10: Removal of the sunroof

I also removed the interior door-panels of all four doors; this not only allows the body shop to push back some dents (when present), but also simplifies the installation of the tweaters of the Hifi Professional system; issue #4 of my maintenance and upgrade roadmaps. As I already had removed items 7c, 7d, 7e, 8a, 8b and 9, the additional work was manageable within the timeframe between the original and new appointments. The following pictures show some details of the disassembly and stripping of BK02837.

This was actually a deja-vu and came unexpected, but can be easily rectified with some welding.

The two bumpers waiting for transport to the paint-shop; I have instructed them to preserve the signature of the engineer who assembled this car.

Another deja-vu with the sliding rails of the sun-roof. Unfortunately, these are no longer available from BMW so I have to find an alternative.

The edges of the previous (old) repaint are clearly visible, but were hidden behind the shadow-line window trim. The upcoming repaint will take care of this.

The rear from the car in stripped state. The M5 logo will be removed by the paint shop as they are too good to risk damaging during disassembly.

A picture from the front with the bumper and headlights removed.

A broad-side picture from the right side with all the trim parts removed.

raymondw · 16th March 2013, 16:36

After I dropped BK02837 off at the body-shop last week, the actual work started on Wednesday by cleaning and sanding the old paint-work. On Thursday, the primer was added and yesterday, the car was painted in its original color, diamond-black Metallic (181M).

Removing all the exterior trim and especially the window-trim is essential for obtaining a good result. The crossing from new-to old paint was chosen strategically and every effort was made to carefully position the protective paper and tapes in order to avoid visible crossing lines. And I have to say, the painter this a hell of a job.

I picture from the front.

The following picture shows the bumpers, side skirts and other trim parts after applying the first layer of Metal Coat. I have to choose what finish I would like to have for the contrasting paintwork (229M), satin or high gloss clear-coat, but there still exists some confusion what the factory finish is. However, I asked member ‘HD91’ and his opinion matches the color-samples in the factory-brochures indicating the factory finish is high-gloss and not satin.

I am very pleased with the results thus far. This new paintwork defines a complete new baseline for BK02837 and makes me considering to go one step further are replace some essential trim-items as well; for example, the cover-plates on the B- pillars of the doors are 23 years of age as well and look a little pale compared to the shiny new paint-work.

To be continued !

Bayerische · 16th March 2013, 17:07

Looks great. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

My car is 100% original as it left Garching, it has never been repainted and I can also confirm high gloss paint on the side skirts.

mottati · 16th March 2013, 18:30

Very nice. I agree with bayerische, my 3/90 build 91 is in original paint, and the lowers are gloss.

Dan Kelly · 17th March 2013, 23:46

Very nice work as always Raymond.

It's great to see a few more of these cars getting the treatment they deserve. I'm looking forward to getting mine painted at the end of the summer.

davidoli · 18th March 2013, 09:20

Marvellous !!!!!

Fordkoppie · 18th March 2013, 15:07

The appeal of a black car with new paint is immense, especially when the painter knows what he is doing.
Very nice!! I can also confirm from my previous diamond black M5 and my current Glacier blue one that the lower contrasting paintwork is in a high gloss finish