My 1987 M6 "Refresh"

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 11:06 pm

Euro warning triangle finally installed. It's a shame BMW didn't put these in all of the cars.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:42 pm

Working on one sub section of the car at a time. Today I detailed the trunk. Cleaned the sheet metal thoroughly and then gave it a coat of wax as an added level of protection.

Removed and vacuumed the carpet trim pieces. Found the OEM jack and chock-block still in the factory location.

Installed the correct blue M version warning Triangle and first aid kit

Ordered the two plastic trunk trim pieces.

Removed and cleaned the tool holder.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:44 pm

A couple more of the completed project minus the new plastic trim pieces that are on order.

hornhospital · Post by **hornhospital** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:22 pm

Your trunk is cleaner than any spot on my entire car. Inside or out.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:48 am

I had a very clean car to start with.

I just ordered the left and right plastic trunk moldings and 2 locks and lock inserts that help hold the battery carpet panel in place

Installed a new spare tire top cover. It had some black marks on it from years of storage so I painted it and re-glued on the M6 tire decal. This was available right from BMW and wasn't expensive.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 1:21 am

Cleaned the light rust off some of the tools with fine steel wool and gave them a light coat of oil to help prevent further rusting. I have the foam light bulb holder coming but, still need to buy the spark plug wrench and the correct reproduction rag. The tow hook was a grab at the salvage yard today.

dwcains · Post by **dwcains** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:33 am

Your life won't be complete until,you get a packet of antenna lube. Trust me, I know.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 11:49 am

Where would I get this lube? Is it a special lube? I did lube the antenna but, I just used a light coat of sewing machine oil.

dwcains · Post by **dwcains** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 11:55 am

It comes as a wet-wipe, in a little foil packet, and it's exceedingly rare. Even if you find one, it's likely dried out, but you'd never want to rip open the packet anyway. I've seen them sell for $50 or more.

New replacements can be found cheaply on eBay, but the valuable ones have the BMW logo.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Power- ... f5&vxp=mtr

JCS · Post by **JCS** » Sat Oct 03, 2015 6:26 pm

Antenna lube, in the center

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 11:29 am

Jay,
What goes in that lower left void?

dwcains · Post by **dwcains** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 2:16 pm

Wrench for the BBS center caps, if you have those wheels.

JCS · Post by **JCS** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:10 pm

sansouci wrote:Jay,
What goes in that lower left void?

See Brucey's post

viewtopic.php?t=2125&highlight=tool+kit

six shooter · Post by **six shooter** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 3:55 pm

The M is looking really clean and sharp.
So glad you are enjoying it.
I just didn't drive it enough.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:04 pm

The car is amazing. Just enough small things to do to keep me from getting bored. Mostly detailing things.

It is getting late in the season here in New England and she will go into storage pretty soon so, I have been enjoying the car during the dry, warm days we have had.

Summer time will more than likely see a complete restoration of the interior and I've already sourced a mostly crack free dash that I will be restoring as my winter project.

ron · Post by **ron** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 4:18 pm

sansouci wrote:Jay,
What goes in that lower left void?

dwcains wrote:Wrench for the BBS center caps, if you have those wheels.

It won't fit!

Shipper 01 · Post by **Shipper 01** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:07 pm

Where can I get that BBS wheelnut wrench. Mine just don't want to come off.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 12:06 pm

Working on some under hood detailing (new plastic hood grills, new hood ground strap, new fuse box cover, etc...) and I have a question for the experts...

What is the proper diagnostic port cover for a 1987 M6? I ordered a new one from BMW and it's black. I have a spare one off a 1985 635 that is red.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 12:29 am

A few small parts came in today but, they are not the exact same as came stock on my M6. The hood ground strap is a normal round piece of wire instead of the flat braided piece that came on the car originally. Is this just an updated design? If so I don't like it as it isn't original. Also, the strut tower nuts are not gold cadmium plated, which I guess I can understand given the very toxic nature of the process. If I'm going to be this fussy I guess I could always break down and buy a kit to yellow zinc plate things myself at home.

Also, received the correct carpet trim retainers for the trunk battery cover. It's nice having the correct little bits and pieces.

rhanley 635csi89 · Post by **rhanley 635csi89** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 1:19 am

Dave,
braided ground straps are still available from:
http://www.bavrest.com/engine-cables.html
Get the correct length cable.
Roger

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 10:27 am

Thanks Roger... I'll be ordering one today.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Fri Oct 16, 2015 12:06 pm

$15.00 including shipping. I will be much happier with something closer to the original design.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:22 am

With the car put away for the Winter I started what will probably be a slow dash restoration.

My intent is to fix the cracks in a decent dash I sourced out of a 635 and try to color the dash a dark brown to closely mimic the brown color of the original leather dash that came in my 1987. I could easily keep the dash black and change out all the brown leather door panel tops/caps as well as the rear seat brown leather trim pieces for the black ones I sourced out of the 635 but, I'd like to keep as much of the original dark brown leather as possible, especially where it is excellent condition.

Tonight I ground out all the cracks. I did find that after grinding out the cracks with my rotary tool that it was a good idea to poke around in the holes with a rigid piece of wire just to confirm that I was down to a solid layer of foam.

I know a lot of us on here like the idea of eliminating the coin tray but, I'm a fan of the look and utility of it.

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:47 am

I have gathered all the required materials to attempt to fill in the cracks in my donor dash. The thread I am using as a guide used SEM undercoating to coat the dash after the cracks had been filled in. Urethane Supply Company make a special material designed to be sprayed over plastics and in which the texture can be fine, medium, or heavy depending on the gun/pressure etc... Not sure if this would be a better way to go where the product is designed specifically for applying to plastic???

MSGGrunt · Post by **MSGGrunt** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:56 am

I have also sourced 2 E24 635/M6 white flashlights that are in excellent condition minus the batteries not holding a charge. I am having new batteries installed and both of them converted to LED.

I also, just to try it out, bought an Ion Cassette Bluetooth Adapter to see how the sound is through the stock speakers when talking on my cell phone. Seemed to work better than expected. I could hear the person on the other end of the phone perfectly and they had no issues hearing me or with the clarity. The added benefit I wasn't expecting was better sound out of my iPhone when using the Waze application.

bigcoupe.com

My 1987 M6 "Refresh"

Antenna lube

tool kit

Looking good.

grounding straps

Dash Restoration

Dash Restoration Supplies

Glove Box Flashlight