jeffbebe

Do it!

Fair enough. To tell you the truth I have found the same - that many smaller parts - are cheaper to get from other sources like eBay but Schmiedmann have been great on bigger parts (e.g. door and bumper trim).

Thanks, I'm really keen to get it as close to mint as my shallow pockets allow. The vinyl wrap looks okay and was cheap to do but isn't perfect so not an ideal solution. If I can find gloss black trim that doesn't cost the earth I'll do it but otherwise I think I'll restore the chrome just to not have the vinyl wrap.

I've used them for a variety of parts. Always been excellent and really cost-effective even with international shipping.

Quite a few how tos online. Looks more time consuming than complicated.

Sure will, gorgeous. Lose the black wheels and this would be spectacular.

I'm not after looking like a Russian gangster or a drug dealer (or Justin Bieber) and all blacked out it does seem to have that effect!!

The haircut was a no brainer - looks magic on a near-40-year-old like me. Wish I was that confident with my car appearance choices but insted I seek the approval of wiser Bimmersporters to make me feel more like a man. It's all about the luxury... I'm wondering whether the chrome window trim will remind me that I'm not in a Honda - or will it do the opposite?

When I bought my car it had chrome window trim. I've been hunting around for about the last year for gloss black shadowline trim to little avail. To buy new from the dealer is upwards of $3K. From overseas half that but $1500 still seems pretty insane for window trim. I've found matte black shadowline for much less but it's not what I'm after. As a temporary measure and to see what it looked like I vinyl wrapped the trim (particularly as the door pillars were pretty worn too) and it looks good but I hate the ends where I can see the stretched and folded vinyl. I like things to be done right! The upshot of all this is I'm thinking of restoring the chrome trim and the more I think about it the more I like it. Here's a with and without comparison. Thoughts/preferences?

Count yourself lucky... My thick bouffant acts like an insect's antenna and I notice the sag way earlier than my follicly-challenged counterparts... You probably got 2 or 3 years more use from your headliner than me and other well-thatched chaps.

Haha. Maybe that's why I like it! Lamborghinis are supposed to be nuts and this thing looks like it's going to shoot out of the Death Star. So ugly it's beautiful.

They're radiation panels for when WWIII breaks out. Stops your feet getting radiation sickness. EDIT: Actually, they're probably solar panels for all this sh*t:

* Both front comfort seats in full working order except one seatbelt pretensioner and both lumbar supports. Leather skins have been refinished so are mint black gloss at the moment (I started a recolour but gave in and went back to black). You can have the seat bases, etc if you can bothered to pick it up but I would like a bit of coin for the leather skins and headrests which are pretty much like new now! * Rear bumper trim w/chrome strip (standard bumper) * Eyebrows * Brand new black floor mats w/ beige leatherette trim * Complete walnut (nussbaum) trim set w/ cruise control button * Original MID and tape deck * Right rear leather door card (vinyl armrest) A few other bits and pieces - PM me if you're interested in any of it.

Seriously though... For the amount of money spent on aftermarket parts, they could have just bought an M3.

Just picked up on this thread and I am totally gobsmacked. Have read every page!! What an incredible project. Car looks amazing and I am in awe (and mighty jealous) of your skills! Good work.

Thanks Ray. I'll try and drop by this weekend.

Looking to fill in a few gaps in my E39. My toolkit in the back is missing the triangle and the screwdriver - can anyone help? Also I think there was once a torch in the glovebox, would be keen to replace that too if anyone's got one.

Mint 840ciA outside my office today. Definitely on my 'want' list.

Sad news. Such a shitty disease. Thoughts go out to his whanau.

Sorry lads, I've already offered him a swap for an OE cap and $1000 cash, better go back to the drawing board if you want to find a 535is with a mint D1 spec oil cap.

Ryan Air made a business out of it. I remember seeing the CEO quoted as saying to an irate punter who's flight had been delayed and missed her sister's wedding or such like, "well, if it was such an important event, why on earth did you fly with us?" - good point.As a publicity stunt they even claimed they were going to charge to use the toilets in flight.

Saw an immaculate blue E36 328i near Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Friday and a matte black (presumably vinyl wrapped) de-badged E39 in Auckland the day before. License plate was something like I BOLU I. Actually looked good in matte black, though it was spotlessly clean - can imagine it would look a bit shite when dirty.

Turns out the poor guy was a friend of a friend. Auckland's a small place. I surf there all the time. The point hybrid describes is also where countless fishermen, fishing off the rocks at the base of the gannet colony, chuck a lot chum and other stinky shark-attracting crap in the water. Having sat on my board over the shelf numerous times it can be a bit eery and not a place I'd choose to swim. Noticed the shark's got bigger in the news today... Grown a whole metre from 3-4m! He's also gone from attacking to savaging the poor bloke... It just gets worse... To sell papers.

From the more recent reports it sounds like that was all they were trying to do. As far as I can tell from the accounts now the shark got away so it doesn't sound like it was fatally wounded. I guess now they will have to make an assessment as to whether the shark did more than just take a bite - only to discover it wasn't a seal - or whether it was a continued attack which might result in the shark being killed if they think it's a future threat to people. Either way not a great resolution.

sh*t! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article....jectid=10868127 - might pass on a weekend surf.