This looks like an inexpensive and convenient resolution whilst any deficit is located.

Check whether or not a diode is fitted to the panel- cheap to buy and easy to fit if not.

Side indicators
 

Well, after being prompted by others off here, I found these for $95.00 even though they were shipped from Italy.http://i65.tinypic.com/2qmlm2p.jpg

Thanks for the prompts, I am very happy with these.

They are one of the finishing touches. The other one is the Lucas P700 headlights with the tribar on, I know they weren't fitted on the originals but any kits I see without them just look as if they are missing something.

Boys Toys & Shiny Bits
 

One of the style features I liked from the various marques, is the dual filler caps on the Astons. A little bit of an extravagance, but worth it I think. Obviously the nearside one doesn't have to function, and the offside one is lockable, and has the through funnel.

Now I have to get the boring gubbins on the underside, based on JagTVRs work. On the Astons, the filler caps are slightly further back than on the 250 SWBs so not sure if that will have an impact. I'll have to discuss with Chris.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2u3y7n9.jpg

These are Mocal ones from Burton Power, £258 for the pair.

Wheels and tyres next most likely, as Chris needs them for when the panel work commences after Christmas. I should be getting the dashboard to be fitting during December.

All the advise about getting the donor in good time is well given. On Saturday morning, after a heavy night's rain, and light drizzle on the way to meet up with an old schoolpal, I discovered a very soggy floor mat on the driver side. I should have guessed something was amiss when the seller threw in a very nice car cover when I bought the car.

It looks like it is the windshield cowl, there is a 2mm gap at the centre for a stretch of several inches. In searching for remedies, came across Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure, which caused much hilarity amongst friends and family.

I don't think I will have to take the cowl off, one posting says you can use a putty knife to get under the cowl and insert the nozzle of a non silicone sealant. Whilst I wait for samples of both that and the Captains remedy (I couldn't resist) to arrive, - black gaffer tape to the rescue. I am not proud.

Very nice Barber. I like those fillers good choice! Sorry to hear about the water leak, but better you know now than later in the piece when it can do more damage. Fingers crossed for what you find under the carpet...Hopefully not a long term issue.

The repros I am looking at (Stafford) are the same price with or without the tribar, so no reason not to really.

Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure
 

"Captain Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure"
You really do have no shame, shouldn't this have been posted on another forum?

If you have a look at my build, the positioning of the fuel filler was decided by trying to get it as high in the wheel arch as possible. If you remember the pictures of Smash's filler, it was badly crimped and would take ages to fill the tank.
Mine still requires you to fill at half speed but makes a big difference, I had to cut into the shell but bent the cut metal rather than remove it.
Don't use the fluted flexible fuel pipe, use the straight type as the fuel flows through it much quicker. The pipe sits above the inner wheel arch plastic so it is protected from road debris.

Will use the marine pipe that you flagged.

If you move the filler caps further back, the fuel pipe will have ti rise over the wheel arch meaning you will get a much slower fill time and there will always be fuel sloshing around in the rear low end of the pipe. would be much better to fit it at the highest point to help with fuel flow.

As the car is not intended to be a replica of a particular model, so e practical features can be taken on board. This will probably be one of them.

Barber - Love the filler caps. :cool:

Plus I like the idea of fitting an extra dummy one to throw people of the scent.

+1 to hoping there isn't any other water damage to worry about.

Good luck, Paul. :)

PaulL: No signs of water damage under the carpets, and the gaffer tape is doing its job for the time being. As it is not too cold today, I may try and get the sealant installed.

I had a good thrash up and down the M4 over the past couple of days. On the way back, the warning triangle light started flashing intermittently, then came on together with the brake warning light. Is this something i can sort myself or should I have an independent repairer look at?

Maintenance is on the last green, roughly how many miles before the Service 2 is required?

The brake warning light probably just means your brake pads have worn down to the wear indicator. Quite easy to check depth of pads visually and changing pads is a fairly straight forward job. I think the warning triangle is just to attract your attention to a fault or warning.
New pads should sort it but worth checking the condition of the disks as they are fairly inexpensive parts.

If your planning on keeping the car then a Bentley Publishers workshop manual is a great investment.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BMW-Z3-Serv.../dp/0837616174

+1 on the pads just being worn down, check the fronts first as they wear much more quickly than the rears. Worn pads shouldn't light up the warning triangle. I find that mine lights up quite regularly this time of the year, it's just the wheels spinning on slippery roads, I find it happens much more now that I have higher profile tyres.

Don't worry too much about the service lights, but if you haven't already done it, change the oil. First thing to always do on a new car. The previous owner probably won't have done it it prior to selling and if he has probably has used a cheaper oil.
I always change my oil annually, I don't do great mileages but tend to change the oil at every MOT so I remember when it is done. Everything else I tend to leave until a warning light comes on or it breaks apart from checking the water level.

Worth getting a "Diagnostic Tool for BMW OBD2 Car Airbag Scan/Oil Service/Inspection Light Reset" currently £6.99 on eBay.

I have a few OBD scan devices but haven't had much luck on my 1999 car. Lots of communication errors. They do show up issues though and enable easy erasure of the fault codes.

I have the full OPCOM setup on a laptop for my Vauxhall but haven't got the BMW software yet.

Diagnostic Tool for BMW OBD2 Car Airbag Scan/Oil Service/Inspection Light Reset"

Check the connecter under the bonnet!

Mine doesn't have the standard ODB rectangular connection. It has a BMW specific 9 (?) pin round connector.

Funnily enough my brake warning light started flickering on yesterday but it went out when I pressed the brake pedal. I put it down to needing a brake fluid change so will be checking that this weekend.

Easier said than done.
My facelift has a plug under the dash which the reader connects to without any problem. However for the ABS you have to use the old style round plug under the bonnet, and it won't connect. I have access to a proper reader and still no good. The answer is here

http://techiesexpedition.blogspot.co...-2-liters.html

It seems the facelift cars are inbetween the two types of diagnostic.

I've still got my oil light coming on from time to time. I changed the oil and filter which sorted it for a short time but its coming on again now. Usually after driving it hard for a few miles it will come on. If I stop the car and turn the ignition off and restart, the light won't come on again for the rest of the trip ! I've always been happier with an oil pressure gauge than a light, preferably a mechanical gauge too !

Well worth replacing the sender unit.

IIRC the BMW M52 and M54 engines are not fully OBD2 compliant.

I invested in a Peake Research code reader and it works brilliantly. A bit pricey but well worth it. Secondhand ones do come up on ebay as people trade up to newer cars.
http://www.peakeresearch.com/

Anyone near J9 on the M1 is welcome to pop in and have their codes read :lol:

Does it read the ABS codes on the round plug under the bonnet?
I just can't find a reader that will read them.

My MY2000 car has various wiring idiosyncrasies (for that model only) and has both under-dash "D" and under-bonnet "O" sockets. I have an adapter so can hook up the scanners to either. Similar results though.

Useful info- it explains why the auto electrician trying to trace the probs with my hazard flashers yesterday couldn't see all of the modules- he thought something was more seriously wrong. At least he didn't charge because of it...

Did you replace the flasher unit, cheap 2nd hand on eBay, expensive used.
I toasted mine, opened it up but rather than being a flasher unit it is a proper circuit board.

Whoops, :thumb:

Great, thanks for the information and the tip.

I have been speccing up a DIY kit utilising the top syphon pump. I know is uses an extra couple of litres of oil, but it means I won't have to be scrabbling around under the car. However, if the front break pads need changing, then I may have to get it up on some ramps. Is there really an issue about front skirt clearance with the Z3?

For that price, it is definitely worth a punt.

I always use a syphon pump, makes changing the oil a breeze. Doesn't use any more oil, will start syphoning when the container is empty.
No problem to get most jacks under the side jacking points.

I should have mentioned that it might just be the brake fluid being too low?

If the brake pads have worn the brake fluid will be low. As soon as you fit the new pads the brake fluid will go back to normal level.
I tend to look at the brake fluid level to guage how worn the pads are without scrabbling under the car.

Yes- changed the relay and the console switch. Next job- change the indicator switch.

If anyone wants to borrow the round under bonnet connecter, i have a basic one in Southampton I use to reset service and oil lights.

Sadly, the containers of Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Remedy do not have such a lurid description on the label. Ah well, that is the joke Christmas present idea out of the window. I have just ordered marine fuel pipe and bends, with a short stretch of stainless steel pipe to assemble the new fuel line "a la JagTVR". And waiting on quotations for wheels and tyres - I am going the ericholm route here.

brake warning light
 

It looks like the front brake pads are iffy, as suggested. The brake fluid level is fine. The car came with a bunch of repair and maintenance invoices, and it looks like the pads front and rear have been replaced in the past, but not for some time.

I aim to do some work on the car this week - but this is only maintenance type stuff, not to do with the rebuild. Once the fuel pipework comes in, I will commence trial fitting the pieces, so expect a request for more advice. :icon_smile:

Re-fuelling system
 

Now I have all of the bits except the petrol resistant sealant, that should arrive in the next couple of days. The rivnut tool arrived today.

I also ordered a pair of black defrost vents (the little triangular ones on the top near the quarterlights). They are really difficult to find. As my interior trim is tan, and I want the dash to be black, I had to find these vents to fit into the new dash front piece that Chris is going to make for me very soon.

Dashboard
 

I decided to buy a black dashboard as my interior is babypoo beige. £75 plus delivery off fleabay. Hopefully I can get something similar for mine when i remove it. I just need chris to make my new dash front so i can crack on.

The delivery driver thought it must be a mummy.
http://i65.tinypic.com/ojdpjr.jpg

Here are pics of the top and bottom for anyone thinking of doing something on their dash.
http://i68.tinypic.com/30m00a8.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/9unjbl.jpg

Getting this means that I can paint the new front instead of covering it if I want to.

My consul is brushed aluminium, so if I get Rover 75 seats, I could use the leather off the rear seats to re-trim the consul sides.

I will likely replace the door cards with black (if i want arm rests) and could use the rear seats as per above to re-trim the insert panels on the door cards if need be. It give me wider choice on parts sourcing, and hopefully better prices.

I am great at planning ......... I will soon have to actually do something.

Parts
 

The front brakes and discs on the Z3 are now sorted. I have been slow to get around to identifying the battery drain issue, though it isn't the boot light as I left the bulb out after last time. It happened again whilst i was away for last week. I will have to get one of the solar charges that was suggested previously as well.

I have received the coil overs (I have the spacers already), and am waiting for delivery of the Calibre Vintage wheels (today - after shenanigans with Parcelforce) so after Christmas I can get the tyres fitted, then get them down to Chris. The panels can then be modified to suit. I'll get the coil overs fitted to the front before taking the car down to be re-panelled.

Chris has begun the work to covert the Frari type dash to my re-design, not a lot to show at present. Panelwork for the new buck should commence in January. More to come then.
http://i64.tinypic.com/28hllkx.jpg

Dash looks interesting, retro but making an easier job by keeping the central binnacle. You could always get an alloy/stainless plate laser cut to mask any instruments that you don't need and maybe dial covers.
Worth considering round eyeball vents rather than the modern square plastic vents (sorry Chris)