Another BMW E28 - This Time From Australia

[epearce]

Been meaning to replace the chrome lockstrips for too long. Finally got around to it, was an easier job than i expected.

Original strips looked like leopard print.







Fresh chrome strips on the rear.









Fronts turn.









Bin for these!



Liking it even more now with the chrome handles and chrome trims. Chrome mirrors hmmm.

[epearce]

looks amazing dude well done!

also I think those centre allen bolts have red Loctite on them, some heat and they'll be a lot easier

Couldn't see much sign of loctite, i'll give heat a go anyway

Great photos! Thanks for taking the time and effort to document the processes in depth - after all, I (and many others on here) appreciate a good visual build story especially one that pays such attention to detail. Keep it up!

Much appreciated!

I'll keep it up.

[sdistc]

Great photos! Thanks for taking the time and effort to document the processes in depth - after all, I (and many others on here) appreciate a good visual build story especially one that pays such attention to detail. Keep it up!

[DoABarrelRoll]

looks amazing dude well done!

also I think those centre allen bolts have red Loctite on them, some heat and they'll be a lot easier

[epearce]

That exhaust is going to look great!

Um... what are you talking about mate?

[lvaoshley]

That exhaust is going to look great!

[epearce]

I couldn't fit an unknown age LSD without knowing what it was like inside...

So I pulled it apart to check it out, here goes:



Drained the oil which was quite clean and free of metal glitter



Removed the drive shafts with a rattle gun, then undone the rear cover and tapped it off.





Knocked the stub axles out with a hammer.



Then removed both side bearings with a few hammer taps.



After that the LSD centre is free to remove.





The condition of the crownwheel and pinion was perfect, teeth had no signs of uneven wear and contact patch is perfect. I also checked backlash before pulling apart the diff which was also perfect.









Then was the more interesting part, pulling the centre apart.



The half height allen key bolts holding the cover plate on lived up to their reputation. Two heads stripped out, annoying.

Out came the hammer, chisels and punches. Managed to loosen them slightly then ran out of time. Undo the rest next week.









Thanks everyone for their continuous support and comments. Hopefully my photos don't bore you.

[fackinsteve]

I prefer the polished handles mainly because it looks OEM, and matches nicely with the window trim. If it were a shadowline car I would leave them black

[trm-]

This car is inspirational.

[epearce]

I've been itching to do more things to the car having hardly driven it or changed any thing in nearly 6 months.

Looking through the local for sale pages I saw a E28 LSD diff for sale. I've always wanted one and it would solve my getting stuck in the driveway issues. Normally the sell for around 1k. This was was advertised at only $350 for the diff and driveshafts. I got a photo sent of the ID tag sent to confirm it was an LSD. Then I quickly transferred the money to him and got it picked up. Turns out it is a 3.46 LSD the ideal ratio.







Only issue is my current diff has the rear mount in the centre, so fingers crossed I can swap backing plates and it then bolts up.





Another minor change that is also underway is polished door handles. Always been interested to see how the would look on my car. But trying to find some in good condition at a reasonable price was ridiculous. So i gave up on finding the factory polished E12 handles and stumbled upon E28Goodies.com. Picked up a freshly polished E28 set on there for a great price and received them very quickly.





They still needed a finishing polish in my opinion.





Still not 100% sure if i prefer the black or polished look, i need to get it out in the open to make up my mind.

[delvin]

Replace that window trim son

Car looks fantastic

[fackinsteve]

This is amazing. The color, the wheels, and the actual amount of effort you have put in is awesome. Also is your engine raised at all?

[epearce]

Never been quite happy with the rear fitment and height. Thought i'd try and roll the guards further in order to go lower. The guards played the game and gave me a little more clearance. I then wound the coilovers down about 20mm each side. I'll see how it goes when i drive it next, if there is no scrubbing i might go a little lower. Camber also increased as a result, now at nearly negative 8 degrees....









I've decided i really need a rear valance and probably sideskirts. The rear looks so out of place now. Finding them in Australia is going to be near impossible..

[epearce]

The Car looks so good man ! Just perfect imho.
If you are running out of things to do to the car , maybe you should try and source a rear wing? To me the car doesn't need anything more. Its hard because you want to change things but you get to the point where you realize that theirs nothing more you can do lol . looking forward to seeing more pictures! I cant get enough !

Thanks so much! Love your car just as much.

A rear wing isn't a bad idea. Not a big fan of the rear of the car hence seeing no rear angle photos. Fixing the exhaust is another thing that needs doing. The bozo/drift style pipes need to go.

It is nice being able to just look at it parked up in the shed everyday when i take the daily to work and being content with what i have created.

[epearce]

Weather was nice today so I took the e28 for a drive and took some fresh photos.

Also did some minor mods in the last couple of months. Wired in a Innovate MTX-D Water Temp and Battery Voltage gauge as I don't trust the standard temp guage. Fitted it in the drivers lower dash trim in a subtle spot as it doesn't need to stand out. Also as I deleted AC a couple of years back I've had no electric engine fan since. So i fitted a BMW Z3 fan that fitted in front of the radiator perfectly. Fitted a lower temp switch in the radiator and wired it in. It's duel stage; low speed automatically when it hits the desired temp and high speed from a flick of a switch inside. I did plan to remove the clutch fan from the water pump and run with the thermo fan only but since decided against that as having both is double insurance and it isn't a race car.