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This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 4:19 pm
by wattsmonkey
"It's like how much more black could it be? And the answer is none more, none more black."

Apart from home-brew shadowline, I'm really pleased with this. Right-hand rear arch needs replacing. Minor rust starting at rear of sills/bottom of arch both sides, a small bubble underneath rear left light and some dodgy paint. Drives very well indeed, apart from usual sloppy linkage and a clunk from one of the rear shocks. Desperately needs tyres (cracked sidewalls all round) loving the sunroof visor!

Dogleg five speed, amazing interior, very cool Momo wheel, very smooth M30, purposeful burble from stainless exhaust, MoT until April, front wings replaced before last owner bought it (garaged and minimal miles since)

Previous owner absolutely lovely chap, he'd owned it for nine years and had put the dogleg in when the auto box failed. Not sure if diff was changed to lsd, so assuming not. Original interior was black (of course), hence black carpet remaining despite attack of the pearl beige from there up.

Plan is to enjoy driving it for a bit, then do it up to sell in the summer.
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Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:03 pm
by GazM3
It looks orsome.
I like the contrast interior.

It would look great with some bbs RS rims with gold centres.

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:14 pm
by wattsmonkey
Thanks Gaz!

BBS would look amazing. It's funny how the Alpina reps always just look a bit wrong.

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:44 pm
by Brucey
wattsmonkey wrote:.... It's funny how the Alpina reps always just look a bit wrong.
you know what to do; dustcaps off, black centres, bish-bash-bosh!

(if you don't like it, you can just put the dustcaps back on, no loss....)

cheers

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2016 9:38 pm
by wattsmonkey
It's all a bit ugly under the covers Brucey: the lug recesses extend all the way up.

Do you fancy swapping these for the 15" BBS? The tyres on the Alpinas are cracked to buggery though.

Had a fun couple of hours mucking about with little jobs today: buffers on door latches made the usual miraculous transformation. Wonky ashtray sorted by rotating it 180 degrees - I wonder how long the previous owner put up with these irritations! Windscreen washer pump inoperative (12v at connection), failed to find spares in shed stash, but did find elusive pearl beige comfort seat covers I'd promised Don months ago.

The blackness is very thorough: the grilles and bumpers have been painted body colour very well indeed. The screen surrounds and rear lights (smoked!) are less happy, so am toying with reversion to chrome window trim, a job I've never attempted. Defo want to change kidney grille whatever.

Bodywork on offer at W&N, so have ordered rear wheelarch repair sections. I know they aren't a great fit from past experience, so will be expecting the fettling!

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:02 am
by ron
wattsmonkey wrote:
.... so am toying with reversion to chrome window trim, a job I've never attempted.
You do realise that is a screen out job?

Merry Christmas.

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 8:43 pm
by wattsmonkey
Ah... I did realise it was a "didn't want to ask" job!

Thanks Ron, I've removed two front screens without cutting the seals with a 50% success rate.

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 9:29 am
by wattsmonkey
Much BMW action yesterday - long, narrow drive with garage at back meant a lot of rearranging to retrieve a spare engine and box for a mate to collect.

Both sixers together, making front of house look very pleasing indeed!

Weather has warmed here, salt washed off roads, so will be smoking around in Spinal Tap until MoT runs out.

Really enjoyed driving it yesterday, although the dogleg made me have to think about what gear I was in all of the time: not the pattern as much as the close ratios - a third gear bend in any other car is a fourth gear bend in this one! I had forgotten how much I actually like this box though - it makes the car feel pretty quick and is superb for overtaking.

Welding action will start in earnest come April, when garage space will be swapped, but in the meantime the jobs have been very satisfying (and peculiar in their execution!)
Rear arches very obviously rotten, some inner wing action on l/h only, plus need to locate leak into driver's footwell - it smells like someone else's backside at the minute. Removing Zender skirts will reveal just how much bodgery needs to be cut out of the jacking points, of course.

Fixed the windscreen squirters yesterday - no problem swapping seized motor for spare on (thank you, Ron!), but no joy from squirters. Motor running, water going somewhere... of course! The pipe that goes inside the bonnet frame is not connected to the squirters. A different pipe, going nowhere is attached. I am gratified to know that the inside of my bonnet frame is now clean though. Lots of jobs like this, with random and easy things to fix, like no buffers on the door latches, incorrect stop on the driver's window making it connect with the frame, handbrake lever bent so that release mechanism being pinched...

It turns out that there is actually one piece of genuine shadowline trim on the r/h side gutter cover, but the rest is painted. Will need to work out whether to rub it all down back to chrome or paint it in situ, but that is a job for much later on.
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Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 3:46 pm
by ron
I have a complete set of "shadow-lined" trim that I don't need.

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 5:04 pm
by wattsmonkey
Ron, you are amazing!

Will be in touch soonest,

Rob

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 2:29 pm
by wattsmonkey
Side skirts removed with thanks to Ron's amazing impact tool for those screws still sporting a head and a tungsten carbide die grinder attachment for a drill for those without!

Quite unexpectedly, the outer sills are in good condition. Rot around rear jacking points and poor repairs to rear ends as expected, but front jacking points are good! The front wings are replacements and are in perfect condition. It's the floorpan that needs work as the edges have been filled with sikaflex!

Screens out - thank you Ron

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2020 6:50 pm
by wattsmonkey
Good grief! I posted about removing the screen back in December 2016!

Rear easy peasy, did that ages ago to fix a bit of rust around the screen surround. Welding all done, now on to paint, but complicated by dreadful respray having reacted with original paint, so it all has to come off.

Shell now in epoxy primer with exception of the roof, because of front screen.

Chatted to Ron today, who pointed out (very politely, of course) that I was being a namby pamby and should just get on with it.

Twenty minutes later and....screen out! I can't believe I was going to get someone in to do this. Most pleasing.

Cheers, Ron, you're a lockdown wizard of motivation and advice!
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635 - de-Spinal Tapped (ish)

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:31 pm
by wattsmonkey
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MoT passed after weldathon!

Paint has gone wrong, but it was always intended as a learning experience (I learned some more things I don't know).

628CSi front bumper; possibly fitting Alpina apron.

Eibach springs, Bilsteins; E28 25mm front arb, 18mm rear

16" Hartges

E31 Brembo 4pots; E34 540i rears

Black leather Recaros.

Absolute joy to blast around with the dogleg box keeping the M30 on song.

Thanks to Brucey, Ron, Don, Christian, Tim, Steve and Ralph for all of the help and support.

Enjoying a leisurely shakedown period now.

Cheers,

Rob

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2022 11:05 am
by olympia57
I have never , ever, used this phrase before verbally or in the written word but .......

It looks Badass .... =D>

Congratulations Rob you must be more than delighted .

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2022 8:54 pm
by Ralph in Socal
Congrats Rob. Well done and now time to enjoy driving it.

Ralph

Re: This is Spinal Tap 635

Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 3:35 pm
by wattsmonkey
Thank you!

It was such an unadulterated joy driving it yesterday. A drive I will remember. The Eibachs with the M635 Bilsteins and 25mm front/18mm rear arbs work much better than I could have hoped for, and the dogleg box really does encourage giving it some beans!

I forgot to thank Phil - sorry mate, you've been such a help and an inspiration with your immaculate white highline.

Snagging list surprisingly small -
  • ABS light on over 20mph
    Cluster lights very dim (no illumination from x2 top bulbs)
    Some blue smoke over 4,500rpm and on overrun.
    Takes a long time to fire - 8 seconds of cranking, same hot and cold with an initial stumble. All fuel lines fine, fuel pressure good, haven't done flow test yet but did clock temp sensor loose and not providing consistent signal.
I'm calling it a win!

Salt on roads due to falling temperatures last night means no driving today, so spent a happy afternoon re-checking torque of all suspension bits.