Beiträge von derin

That looks great! And on the M3 as well.
Those really dark colours I find are very difficult to do.

Thanks Angus!

I see we're near each other? I live in Shropshire too...between Shrewsbury and Oswestry.

Thanks Timm!

Your site always amazes me too! I recently found it very useful in confirming the cause of the misfire on my 840. My software said it was Kat damage but my previous BMW Indie wouldn't believe me (his diagnostic skills were somewhat 'limited'). However, after reading your site on the subject I was convinced this was the cause as the symptoms you described were exactly what I had. I went ahead and had new cats fitted at a new place I now use....cured!

Next thing I'm going to try to do is tackle the cracked C-Pillar trim on my E38 728i Sport with the magnetic beading as described on your site!

Cheers

I was invited, by the BMW Car Club GB, to display my 840Ci Sport on the Club Stand at the German Prestige Car Show at Donnington which was due to take place on 24th April.

Unfortunately, the event was cancelled at short notice.

I'd spent a few weeks prepping it in anticipation (never normally go to shows), had a full service done and two new Cats fitted...my INPA software and Timm Meeks site (thanks!) were right.

Anyway, shows aren't really for me, so thought I may as well put the pics up on here. The car was bought 8 years ago with just under 25K miles on the lock then. It now has 27K on the clock:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/g…p?spgmGal=BMW_840Ci_Sport

Zitat von ukzero;97043

Well that's all sorted then

Rusty hubs - I've always found a quick coat of Kurust (water based) or similar reacts nicely with the surface rust and leaves a greyish black finish that can last for years.

Good tip! I've never tried that...gonna try it next! Thanks!

Thank you for your apology. And yes, the implication that I had simply sprayed liberal amounts of paint over rust did cause offence when you have no evidence to support that conjecture.

Nevertheless, having reviewed the photographs, I accept that there is a small amount of overspray on to the orange sticker on the cross-member (picture 50 of 55). Additionally, I accept that there is a further small amount of silver paint that strayed onto brake-pipes (picture 45 of 55) and even a few spots onto the underside of the plastic fuel tank (picture 44 of 55). I accept that I really was lazy to have not wiped these off at the time.

Yet, even at this late stage, I think I might be able to salvage the situation by spending a couple of minutes with a rag and a suitable solvent to address these issues?

However, the orange sticker maybe a little more tricky. I suppose what I should have done really is peeled off the orange sticker, cleaned any remaining adhesive off with suitable solvent, only then respraying the surface which lay hidden by the sticker, somehow then securing the purchase of an exact new sticker and then re-installing this once the paint had dried? Somehow the inherent miser in me prevented me doing this.

Oh dear, I guess now, the only solution would be to do that now or try to wipe the small amount of overspray on the sticker off with solvent? My fear then is that in so doing I will also remove or at least smudge the writing on the sticker thus callously denying future interested parties the pleasure of reading the actual wording of the text on the sticker? I'll have to have a long, hard think about the best way to go with that one.

Regarding the brake discs. Both disc surfaces and hubs rust. You've pointed that out in your own initial post. In my experience, there is little merit in painting the hubs unless this is done when they are brand new or if for example the discs were removed and blasted to remove every trace of pre-existing rust. Otherwise all you are doing is a very temporary cosmetic job and the rust then just starts to come through again.

However, when installing NEW discs it is my practice to 'protect' (to some extent) the hubs and vanes just as you suggest by painting them prior to installation. You can see an example of where I've done just that in these pictures which relate to an E28 that I did some years ago:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/g…mPic=163&spgmFilters=#pic

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/g…mPic=163&spgmFilters=#pic

Yet even having now done this many times and tried various different paints I remain slightly sceptical about the long-term efficacy of the practice on what is after-all a renewable 'wear n' tear' item.

Even new ones when treated this way still rust and one does have slight concerns over whether this in some way might impact on the cooling properties of the discs. After-all if it's such a simple thing to do why don't brake manufacturers paint over the vanes? Or am I just being too picky and anxious for my own good?

The hubs, as you say, do come with a matt grey finish on them. You seem to have beautifully rebuilt brakes on your car. I'm surprised you decided to stray from the factory finish and elected to paint the hubs black?

More than that I was actually disappointed that you seem not to have taken the opportunity to replace what appears to be a rusty screw head in the bracket holding the lower of the two horizontal brake-pipes (picture third from left upper row)?

But I was positively dismayed to see a large amount of black paint overspray on the inner end of the alloy control arm in the preceding photograph!!!

Now, when going for a 'factory' or near 'factory look' (IMHO) the look of my wheel-arches is somewhat 'nearer' than the black PU paint you chose to do your car in? I'm thinking I could spend a few minutes this weekend wiping off the small amounts of overspray you kindly pointed out as described above. However, at the sametime, I'm thinking it would be the "Devil's Own Job" to undo what you've done? I don't know how easily that stuff comes off? And if one wanted to paint over it again....well, there is always that risk of a bit of stray overspray getting on to a place where it shouldn't be?!

Having said that 'non-factory shiny black look' isn't to my taste I am, however, most intrigued by the way you chose to stop this in a lightly wavy fashion just about 3-4" short of doing it completely black. Leaving those lower 3-4" I'm guessing gives an even more 'Individual Two-Tone' effect? "Different"...granted! But call me "old-fashioned"...I'd rather stick with the 'One-Tone Option' (picture 46 of 55).

You say it's not possible to get the results I achieve by cleaning alone? Well, possibly true on the 8-Series as the colour in the wheel-arches isn't exactly body-colour but I don't remember the colour being the same as yours on either of my previous two Arctic Silver cars? These were cars I had and sold many years ago now and rusty discs plus any remaining dirt aside you can see the wheel-arch colour was pretty close to Arctic? (Almost like Arctic but without a clear coat on top?) And neither of these were painted. Here's an example shot or two:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/8…/bmwc_840ci_sport_01.html

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/8…/bmwc_840ci_sport_02.html


Having said that: "... it's not possible to get that finish by cleaning alone without painting"...it is possible to get pretty close on some cars with a bit of effort. Check out this E34, for example. Yes, some paint to the black suspension components but the wheel-arches themselves have just been 'cleaned'....nothing else:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/g…gmPic=37&spgmFilters=#pic

Finally, I am grateful for the following advice:

"I can show you pictues of chassis components from a car with 10k miles and they will show some surface rust, particularly along the edges. These components are not too well protected ex-factory and it's Ok to paint them."

"It's Ok"? Well, I'm relieved! Yet I remain vexed as therefore, by definition, this would suggest that there are "somethings", "someone" has deemed it "not Ok" to paint?

Can you tell me who the author of this 'Rule Book' is and where I can purchase it?

Thanks.

Best regards

Derin

BTW: "Very nice car, mate!....I'd class it as...hmmm...lemme think....ermmm.......Generally Good!"

Zitat von arnie;96901

Generlally looks good, but if you look at the pics of the under-body and wheel-arch areas there is a lot of overspray and liberal use of black spray-paint over rust on the front chassis cross-members. ...and to do all that and leave rusty brake disks ?

(The inner wheel arches and underbody have a greyish polyurethane coating ex-factory. They should prefereably be repainted with a polyeurethane paint, if necessary, not with an acrylic top-coat, which will be more brittle and not adhere well.)

Don't be silly. "Generally looks good"? There wasn't any "liberal use of black spray-paint over rust on the front chassis cross-members". My car had only 24K miles on the clock when I got it (it still has only 27K miles on it now)...It had no rust on the chassis cross-members. They were then painstakingly cleaned before painting.

"...to do all that and leave rusty brake discs?" Ok...going outside, jack your car up, take the wheels off your car and spray water over the brake discs, don't drive it but go and have a cup of tea and come back in half an hour and see what your brake discs look like!

Regarding the inner wheel-arches: Again I painstakingly cleaned all the dirt, grease and tar out of those before spraying them with a very light-coat of body colour paint. After that they had a very light coat of clear waxoyl diluted down with white spirit.

I did all this in March 2006 (i.e exactly six years ago) when I acquired the car. As Sandwich will confirm having seen the car this week, it still looks the same under there as it did in those photos taken 6 years ago. So?

But whilst we're about it could we perhaps see some pics of the underside of your car and see if it looks any better?

Thanks
Derin
www.bmwclassics.co.uk

Lots of time...and old toothbrushes, Angus.

I see you're a Shropshire owner too?!

Thanks Lloyd and MB!

Here's a link to my latest finished project:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/g…gmPic=65&spgmFilters=#pic

Hey!!!
That's one of my old cars!!!

Yes, I sold that about 4-5 years ago....I think it's done quite a few miles since. The chap I sold it to drove it on lots of holidays all over Europe.

Here's the one that I still have. I actually have owned this one since I sold the one above (actually ended up at one point having them simultanously). I've only put about 1500 miles on this one in all those years though so it's still only on 27K miles:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/840cisport01/index.html

Re: Sub £20k choice?

Zitat von Prop_Spinner

Until recently I ran a very nice example of a Porsche 911 and I faced the same problem of what to replace it with. These are some of the cars I considered: Alfa coupe (reliability) Toyota Supra (boy racer) Audi's (too common) etc etc . One car I would have gone for if only it wasn't a two seater was the Honda S2000 - you need to drive one to appreciate how good they are but in the end I went for the 840. Why? A number of reasons. Firstly the engineering quality, then the comfort (pot hole UK - we used to laugh at the French roads once), they are rare (less than 13,000 in the UK) , they are a beautiful design. Sure they're not fast nor economical (my 911 averaged 30mpg) nor that good in tight bends but it has a certain appeal that most mass produced cars these days don't have and that includes the latest BMW's. So I'm glad I've bought one and I'm looking forward to some continental driving where it will be at it's best.

So, I guess maybe what we're all really saying is: "Keep your 840!" ?

Personally, I think you're in a very tricky position Genius and trying to answer a question I have wrestled with myself several times.

Essentially, my thoughts are: "What are you going to buy this side of £25K that is really going to be substantially 'better' than your 840Ci?"

By 'better' I'm thinking in terms of not just simple performance but really everything else that comes with owning a really nice E31 eg. build quality, running costs, sheer presence amongst todays (for the most part bland) alternatives.

It's a question I haven't been able to answer myself. Ferrari? Well frankly, 348 isn't really up to it is it?...Porsche 993 or possibly 996? Hmmm....maybe but you're looking at the lower end/high mileage market... and even then they aren't exactly a rarity to see on the road?

For me the 'next station up the GT car line' would probably be an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage...and in terms of purchase and running costs they're a long, long way up the track?

Very tricky connundrum!

Yes Cavey,

That's really what I think may be the most significant factor contributing to the 'sensation of speed'. It's the 'fear factor' !

The feeling of: "How on earth is this massive weight ever going to stop!?" Then put your foot on the brakes and because of the system used it doesn't 'feel' like it's going to stop in time! Although objective tests would suggest these cars do actually stop really well!

As I rarely drive my car I never really give myself a chance to get used to the above sensations so everytime I do actually drive it it 'feels' really fast and involving.

I do love driving it!

What do you mean Steve!...I've put a whole 80 miles on the clock since last May!

But I must admit slight concern as I saw that bug struggling to get out of my way...But phew! He just made it!

I wonder why these cars 'feel' much faster than the figures would suggest? I've had a couple of E38 740i's as well...which on paper are actually a faster car being approx 100 kg lighter...but driving all the 840i's I've had (especially my latest) just 'feels' like a faster experience. May be just the fact that you're sitting lower and there's more noise etc?

Yeah...but...no....yeah...but...what happened was...

Rest assured everyone...it's not true!

What Steve has mistaken for a Corsa with a big exhaust was in fact a nice shiney new Z4 Coupe which I BLASTED passed with consumate ease, at close to double the prescribed limit...allegedly!

Many thanks!

Yep...I have no intention of really exploring the 'top end' But was just curious as to what it might be.

What was your 0-60 before you supercharged?

I was thinking of getting a live re-map done. The company I contacted suggested this would add approx another 22 bhp. Did you do something similar and notice any difference when driving?

Thanks

Just wondering if anyone knows what the top speed of an unmodified but derestricted 4.4L 840 Ci Sport might be?

Don't drive my car very often but had a drive yesterday and it always strikes me that it 'feels' faster than the BMW handbook figures would suggest? My car has no modifications and is still 'restricted' but would derestriction raise the top speed? I've heard people suggest they'll 'only' do 155 mph anyway even when not restricted?

Thanks

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery