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Changed the title of this thread to be more reflective of what goes on in the shed... Been a bit busy with life etc, attended the Holden Nationals with a mates car I've been helping restore, then a brief visit to Australia, followed up by a BMW Car Club South Island road trip in the M5 which was just fantastic, cruising down and up the country with @hunter and 20 or so other owners. The 740 msport has been the focus otherwise. Bought a large chunk of a 735i msport part out with the same interior, and set about swapping out seats, parcel shelf, under dash trim etc etc to significantly lift the interior (sold the now second full msport interior seats / doorcards for a massive $1.50 on the open market...), replacement steering wheel I had in stock, wiring loom tidy. Also decided to replace the 4 shocks with genuine BMW msport like for like. It was the larger jar of vaseline... Also have done some suspension arms, ball joints, engine mounts, sway bar links and bushes, tie rods, brakes tidy up. A wider insert for the boot to accommodate the "BMW711" plates which have just gone on. The radio was playing up so I scored another C23 Oceania module which a member in our e39 M5 group was offloading. All sorted now and a bluetooth module is on the way to replace the CD changer. Ripped out all the old Nav gear as well. A bit of paint work went on before it got too cold, mirrors, top of passengers door. Next summer there will be more to come... But up next is the rear main seal oil leak fix, which means transmission out. There will be a bit of other "while you are in there" preventive stuff like driveshaft bits and cleaning. Not to forget a few engine gaskets and fluid changes. A power steer hose was leaking so a home fix was enacted saving a few hundred dollars for a new pipe/hose. Still lots to do but coming along nicely....

Turns out, its not relevant because N46 isn't using an electric water pump.

And next was the application of hard high build primer. After this phase it will sit for a week or so to harden up then it will be block sanded to get all panels perfectly straight. Then it will be into the booth again for primer then colour (stock Polaris-Metallic) then clear coats. The motorsport shadow line window trim is also being done.

Yeah new ones feel almost too hard to lift some days, but then you think about them having to work on big slopes.

Don't be afraid to buy off ebay either. I have bought a heap of stuff from Latvia and Lithuania and its all been good aftermarket, or genuine parts, and good prices with shipping.

New boot struts fitted today. Boot now doesn’t act like a guillotine when closing and feels a lot more solid in its overall action. cheap and satisfying. Bonnet will be up next.

So after a bunch more arm chair investigation I'm going to lock in the M8R's in 18x9.5 ET38 rear and 18x8.5 ET38 fronts. Should be here in 10-20 weeks 😬

E38 illuminated interior door handles installed today. Couple of hours work with genuine used parts, incl wires thanks @hqstu srivers door was the hardest, other were super easy. Checked all the Vapor barrier seals while I was in there patched a couple of spots with butyl tape and the heat gun. night cruising wil come with added ambiance now. 😎