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1995 BMW 320i


Supernaut

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Pair of 205/55/16 tyres ordered through blackcircles from the garage who MOT'd this and did the other work on it. Avon ZV7s. Decent mid-range tyre from a brand I can at least pronounce out loud.

 

I'll get them fitted to two of the M Sport wheels, then get the Bridgestones currently on the rear in the above photo swapped over to the other two of the M Sport wheels. I also have a loose 205/55/16 Goodyear that came with the car. I may get that put on the spare (which is also a matching M Sport alloy).

 

For those keeping up at the back, this will leave me with a full compliment of matching wheels and tyres including the spare. Lovely! The OCD will be satisfied. This isn't happening until Saturday morning though.

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It's now running 205/55/16s all round.

 

The front two are the Bridgestones that were on the rear E90 wheels, the rears are brand new Avon ZV7s, and the loose Goodyear 205/55/16 that came with the car has been fitted to the spare.

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What are the front outer balljoints like to replace on these?

 

Just ordered a pair of them from GSF. 56% off, so £16 for the pair of them. They were advisories in the MOT, and the steering does feel a bit floaty sometimes, accompanied by a little clunk from the front end (which you can feel through the steering wheel) now and then.

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What are the front outer balljoints like to replace on these?

 

Just ordered a pair of them from GSF. 56% off, so £16 for the pair of them. They were advisories in the MOT, and the steering does feel a bit floaty sometimes, accompanied by a little clunk from the front end (which you can feel through the steering wheel) now and then.

E36 outer balljoints are shit. The usual approach for me is to stick E30 track control arms on ( complete with inner/outer balljoints and new rear bushes)

 

E36 ones are held in a funny way, and have not been fun to change in my experience.

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Hmm. Not what I wanted to hear!

I'll have a bash at them anyway though.

 

EDIT: Looking at pictures, it seems the balljoint needs bashed out with a BFO hammer, and the new one bashed in again with a BFO hammer. Hmmmmmmm. I know my parents' neighbours (in both directions along the road from the farm) have hydraulic presses, the sort of thing you'd normally use for pressing in wheel bearings. I'm sure something could be arranged.

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Feck.

 

I'll try to return the GSF order then.

 

 

 

 

However, if I use one of the discount codes I get from GSF I can get both of the whole E36 arms for less than the usual retail price of one. May do that.

 

I'm at the stage where I'd really like to stop pissing so much money up the wall on this car, but the front track control arms are the only thing left that really need doing, the rest is just small jobs than can be done whenever.

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Feck.

 

I'll try to return the GSF order then.

 

 

 

 

However, if I use one of the discount codes I get from GSF I can get both of the whole E36 arms for less than the usual retail price of one. May do that.

 

I'm at the stage where I'd really like to stop pissing so much money up the wall on this car, but the front track control arms are the only thing left that really need doing, the rest is just small jobs than can be done whenever.

Buy the E30 arms, not the E36. The E36 balljoints are held in with thon daft clip, rather than pressed in.

 

They can be noisy even when new (I think there may have been an MOT note about them?)

 

The Rev can advise further

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I gave the interior a proper clean this evening, then went out for a drive. Is it just me or do cars seem to drive better with clean interiors?

 

post-19977-0-31163400-1526500750_thumb.jpg

 

post-19977-0-88913900-1526500664_thumb.jpg

 

Living the dream.

 

I also saw a Toyota Soarer, a Porsche 944 and a 1970s Jaguar Coupe while out this evening. The Jag was in an awesome colour, one I could only describe as 1970s bathroom suite avocado green.

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It gained a sticker yesterday. Seems fitting for a shabby E36.

 

post-19977-0-71289300-1526817004_thumb.jpg

 

 

Today I attacked it with these:

 

post-19977-0-44012500-1526817031_thumb.jpg

 

Usefully, rust converter dries to a very dark blue. This means the rusty bits are actually slightly closer to Boston Green now!

 

I also reached the conclusion that the Jagermeister lanyard just wasn't working. It was a bit cumbersome and kept getting tangled up. I've gone back to a shoe lace, but one that's more my style:

 

post-19977-0-81303500-1526817487_thumb.jpg

 

I've yet to actually take the cowl off the steering column and look at the ignition barrel, but I'm kind of scared to!

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I think the health of the lacquer is the least of my concerns with this vehicle. There's not a single panel without a scratch and/or dent on it. :D

 

I've successfully removed stickers before using a hot air gun and patience though.

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