So a while back Kaan gifted me with his former ride. And two and a half years later, I'm finally starting my thread on this car. Not going to lie, I disassembled this car then went through some crazy life changes, and I'm just now getting in a position where I'm ready to get this thing on the road.

The formula is simple: simplify and add lightness.

First things first, here is a picture of the beast mid-bodywork:



The quarter panels were pretty rusted and there were holes in the rocker panels. Those have been replaced:





And that's where it sits now. Paint has been purchased and it's going to be white once again. I've stripped the interior and I'm going to patch the hole where the sunroof used to be with some sheetmetal.

Next up:
-replace suspension bushings
-repair shift linkage u-joint
-replace struts with koni yellows
-replace springs with something stiffer
-replace drivers seat with most likely a Sparco Evo.
-reassemble car
-replace brake hoses
-rebuild/replace brakes/calipers
-profit

Thoughts? Comments? Not too shabby for free? :dunno:

MM have experiences with this and HSA's?

I've done some initial research but curious to hear first hand pros/cons.

Hey all,

First time posting on here in a while- things haven't been the easiest for me and my family over the past month and I wanted to reach out and say thank you for the MM family support.

I'm sure most of you are aware by now but I was involved in a tragic accident several weeks back and unfortunately lost my roommate and best friend next to me in the passenger seat. The many weeks ahead will continue to be a nightmare for me as I go through the grieving process for my best friend and his family, as well as legal process. I'm seeking regular counseling to aid in my mental healing and overcome symptoms of PTSD, among the many other physical injuries I obtained.

As many of you close to me know my family has been battling a rare blood disorder that has nearly taken my mothers life two times over the last 15 years. This adversity that the four of us have been given in a way is a blessing; I have a brother and two parents that form a solid, unbreakable rock that I can stand on. Aside from this terribly low point in my life, full of anxiety and grief, we are running out of treatment options for my mothers condition (TTP) and have resorted to a chemotherapy treatment. Please include my mother and the incredible doctors at UNC in your prayers. When it rains, it pours.

Life is far from normal right now for me and my family however this week I was reminded of how thankful I am to know all of you and lucky enough to be apart of the MM family. My brother, Mike, informed me that Justin, Jake, Lee, and many others who I'm forgetting to mention (sorry) all chipped in some money to aid me in getting back on my feet. I cannot thank you enough for this support- the text messages and phone calls were more than enough.

I think everyone here knows the type of individual I am...... that being said I know this shit storm will pass and I will make an incredible positive out of this speed bump in my life.

For privacy reasons I have taken away all my social media garbage but I don't have my address book in my phone up to speed yet. If you'd like to call me, talk, or just simply shoot me your digits I would love to hear your voice.

201 264 7095
or- <!-- e --><a href="mailto:kastner.dan9@gmail.com">kastner.dan9@gmail.com</a><!-- e -->

Again, I can't thank everyone enough for the overwhelming love and support.

D

So, folks. Anyone else feel a little like, omgwtf am I doing after graduation? I've crossed the two year barrier now and I still have no definite idea or plan of what I'm doing. Hell, I even moved back in with my parents over the summer just because I could save some cash for some future project/move that may or may not happen. I'm starting to discover that I'm actually a lot lazier then I gave myself credit for in college and this self-awareness has kinda sorta made me wonder how long I've been lazy. Am I lazy because I don't have a goal, like I did all during college (getting a degree)? Which leads to this question, "Am I lazy because I don't have any identifiable goals that I can commit to?". If my answer is yes, then I suppose I need to find myself a goal.

The idea of having kids and getting married is icky to me still, at 25 years old. I envy you folks that can make that decision at this age and decide to pursue that path with maturity. I don't think I've matured enough yet. The revulsion meter hits redline when I think about pursuing a middle-management job at my current company in my current field. Similar to staying in Harrisonburg for like, any longer. I've been lucky in that I've found a job with a liberal arts degree that allows me a modicum of financial stability but I feel strongly like that's not really enough. A masters is in my future but not for a while. Starting and owning a small business, too, yet not until I'm a little bit older.

This year, I'm attempting to do things that I've always said I wanted to do but never have. I'm continuing that trend but after I'm done with my list, I'm not sure what my next step is. No one can answer that question for me, but I'm interested in what motivated fellow alumni after they graduated and also wondering if you have any lessons, things you learned to share. I know this shit is sappy, but I know I could always use some helpful advice every now and again and maybe some other recent grads could, too. A lot of you guys have gone off and done some pretty cool stuff.

So TLR: Wise alumni, what motivated you in the years following graduation and if you found "your purpose", how did you come to it?

What's more fun that maintaining one decade-old M? Plus it has a tape deck. :lol:

So, the wife and I are expecting our first child (w00t!), due in November. The M3 only has two doors, and the suspension is just a little too stiff - I don't want to be jostling the baby around. It's also just tightly wound in general. Since we got the luxo-Jeep, my better half much prefers that and so we rarely took the M3 when both of us had to go someplace. And in all honesty, it was getting a bit tiresome for longer trips even for me, if we want to talk first-world problems.

So I started looking at sedans/wagons. I'm spoiled rotten, and the only things that really turned my head were e39 and e60 M5's, and e90 M3's. I drove one DCT e90, and really liked it much more than I expected. I decided to continue looking, and if push came to shove (read: the baby comes), I'd pick one up. Horrible "safety" car, eh?

I almost pulled the trigger on a 2002 M5 that an old friend checked out in ATL...and I'm super glad I didn't. This thing came along, and it really was the right car to buy.

It was both a bitch and a pleasure to drive back from San Antonio. I'm taking a co-driver next time.




I've never owned a car in the exact spec I want. This is both the perfect color combination and has all the options - there weren't many, so it's basically fold down rear seats and upgraded audio.

It was owned by an older gentleman since 2011 when it had 67k miles, and I found it on the BMWCCA classifieds. It has 102k now. And I mean a gentleman - this transaction was as civilized as you can imagine. He and his wife picked me up at the airport, insisted on treating me to the best Mexican food I've ever had - it really was just lovely.

And man, he loved it. I have receipts out the wazoo. I spoke with him for hours, the shop that maintained it while he owned it, and the detailer he took it to. I'm uncomfortable being put in the care of such nice paint. PPI confirmed everything he disclosed. Anyway, we need some lists.

The good.

• The fucking color combination and full leather. Seriously, everything is covered in leather.
  
• Everything works.
  
• Motor replaced at 37k (alleged money shift, was before PO owned it).
  
• Front seats reupholstered in OE leather, and steering wheel redone.
  
• Suspension and brakes redone as of 80k miles.
  
• Cooling system (rad, thermostat, water pump, fan clutch, expansion tank) at 75k.
  
• Well maintained in general - no leaks and lots of little stuff done.
  
• New Continental DW's. Those are 19" OEM replicas, and it came with a set of BBS LM replicas (no tires), too.

• Dinan suspension.
  
• Dinan cat-back.
  
• Dinan little stuff (strut bar, tune (lol), pedals, shifter).
  
• That M-color pinstripe is paint. I thought it'd be the first thing to go, but I kinda like it.

• Only noteworthy wear is the front door pulls. Whoever decided they should be leather is a moron.
  
• Has been intermittently been throwing a code for cat efficiency for awhile (not currently). It goes like a raped ape, gets expected MPG, and doesn't currently have a CEL, so I'm just keeping an eye on that.
  
• Didn't notice it until I got home, but the front suspension has a squeak.
  
• I'm anal and hyper-sensitive...but it might have a vibration accelerating in lower gears? I'll get under it and check out driveshaft stuff and motor/trans mounts. It might just be a V8 thing.

HALP HALP!

#1. I need a backup camera for the Tundra. Not for every day stuff, but I’m trailer hunting right now and I’m pretty sure as tight as the cleared area (not I don’t want to cut down a billion trees) is on the property, it will be useful. Yes I could spend a TON of cash and get Toyota to retro fit the factory option but that’s well over $1500. its also dark where we live… anyone used the night vision back up stuff?

#2. We use our phones to stream music in the car, I’ve been tempted by Apple CarPlay because we are both Iphone users and I don’t really see that changing (but apple might hose me on a radio one day and make me bitter)

#3. I’ll take something in color, high rez, etc. because I love the truck and it deserves something better than the crap Toyota gave it. Sound quality should be pretty good too since I like to jam out.

#4. hands free calling. I enjoy driving the truck so much I don’t actually pick up the phone when I’m driving. That’s good… but sometimes I should answer when the wife calls… or one of my employees : (

Something is wrong with me and I sort of like this one:
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it would still need a backup camera...

So I've seen exotic car track days in various cities. I'm curious if anybody has done one, and if there are any near Virginia. I know the cars are usually not in peak condition, but would still be interested in doing one.

Well I decided to go ahead and pick up a new daily since I'm going to be selling the BMW before too long. I found this thing in Fredericksburg. It has only had 1 owner in 130k miles and overall looks to be in really good shape for the mileage and age.

It's a 2005 Nissan Xterra SE w/ 4wd. Surprisingly not all of these have 4wd. Not really sure why you'd want one without, but I guess some people don't care.

The SE package is the top of the line one for this year so it comes with all the creature comforts like a rockford fosgate stereo system. It actually sounds pretty good. Maybe not quite as good as the harmaan kardon system in my 135i, but it's also not much worse. The factory subwoofer has a pretty good punch actually, but I may end up throwing in my spare basslink sub at some point.

Right now, the immediate plans for it include a good brake bleed and doing something about the factory trans cooler. The brakes are miserably soft compared to my 135i, but I'm pretty sure they shouldn't be this soft. The trans coolers on these cars tend to develop a leak over time and end up mixing the trans fluid and antifreeze. This kills the transmission. The cheap method of fixing this is bypassing the trans cooler altogether, and it wouldn't be a problem for most people. The trans really only makes a lot of heat when you're in offroad situations based on what I've been reading. The proper way to do it is to replace the whole radiator/trans cooler with an aftermarket one or to just get a small add-on trans cooler to compensate for losing the factory one. I'll probably go with the add-on trans cooler at some point. For now, I will bypass the factory one just so I don't ruin my trans.

Otherwise I probably won't do a whole lot to this mod-wise. I'm going to throw an in-dash navigation unit in since I'm going to be moving to a city I'm not super familiar with here in a few months. The factory radio is already double din so this will be super easy.

I just read this story that was posted today on Supraforums and had to share. I love stories like this - family members that always wanted something, that was then given to them by their kids or other family members. Gets me every time, and this one is definitely no exception:

Quote:Hey guys, Thought I would share a couple pictures with you all. My Father has always had a big interest in supra's since I first purchased mine 10 years ago and we've always had a good time working on mine together and have enjoyed many vacation's to Vegas for the supra meets over the years. He's told me over the years to save the parts off my supra incase he ever gets one, one day. He's always told me he wants a 97-98 supra since those years have all the desirable parts on it already. Headlights, taillights, front seats, dash panels, etc....Well on Father's Day this year I surprised my dad with a 85K mile 98 TT supra. I've had it for about 6 months getting it ready. It's been tuff keeping this big secret from him but I'm glad he can now enjoy the car. I'm so happy I can give back to someone that has never asked for anything. Felt very humbling..

I've wanted to do this for my Dad for a couple years now and didn't ever think it would be possible. So last year I started ordering parts for my car to do a full stroker build/ 6spd swap. One night while on the forums I stumbled across this 98 original TT roller and thought this might be the car. Doing the stroker build on my car I thought to myself well I have all the drivetrain to swap into it and have all the misc parts in my storage garage to make it a nice car. So after talking to the owner on several occasions I bought the roller. It took a while to find a transporter to ship an inoperable car from Virginia all the way up to Utah (1500+ miles). I Finally found a transporter thanks to Ryan Woon and had it shipped to my storage garage. I couldn't afford to have it shipped in a enclosed trailer witch I kinda regret since it was a total mess when I received the car. But other than it being super dirty I knew it was going to turn out to be a great car.



Someone on insatgram spotted the car on the way to Utah.




Receiving the car. The dirtiest supra I've ever seen. Lol







Once Cody Phillip's had some room up at his house we brought my car and my Dad's car up to do the drivetrain swap. My Auto transmission was already out of my car due to putting in the 6spd trans tunnel in. So all we had to do was pull my motor out and stab everything into the black car. Cody and I busted ass and swapped everything in one day. I came back the next day and we topped off all the fluids and fired the car up.







Once we got the motor in It was time to get the interior cleaned. There was a water meth kit and a huge ugly battery box in the hatch area. I wanted it to all look factory inside so that was the first area I addressed. Both items had brackets welded to the chassis so I removed them with a grinder.









All back to factory.



Interior was all ripped out for cleaning. Carpet shampooed / seats cleaned and conditioned / TRD steering wheel / 6spd dash panel / New floor mats / Stu Hagen LED gauges and HVAC where all done to finish off the interior.

The Drivers side arm rest was peeling up so I replaced it with a spare one I had laying around.



New buttons for the HVAC unit.



Dirty carpet. Didn't get a picture after it was shampooed.



Seats were cleaned and conditioned. I cleaned the passenger seat and compared it to the dirty drivers seat, quite a difference.



Interior all back together.



Once the interior was finished I called my good friend to detail the paint. I took the car all apart so he could work every square inch. These are the pictures he send me while the detail was in process.





Went to pick the car up. Put the headlights / taillights / mirrors back on the car and drove it home.







When I got home the headlights and taillights looked like crap with the paint being a mirror finish so I took them back off and cleaned them up by wet sanding them down and polishing them up.







Everything I needed to put back on the car after the detail.





Finished everything up the Friday before Father's day. Car came out looking really good.







Pulled the car out in the sunlight. Car is ready to give to my Dad.





This is how the unveiling went down.

My Mom and I took my Dad out to dinner. I texted Cody that we were there and he drove it up to the restaurant while we were eating, Cody wiped down the car and was waiting outside for us. My Mom was in on this but I told my parents while finishing up with dinner that Cody was just up the street tuning a car and wanted to swing by for us to look at it. So my Dad had no clue while looking at the car in the parking lot that I was about to hand him the keys. After giving him the keys, he was speechless to say the least and shocked. We hopped in the car and went for a canyon drive.







[youtube]vATZy5YJdvM[/youtube]

Devin P.

Got a set of rims here - not exactly sure the status of them but I think one is bent. They were all holding air before I took tires off them, for whatever that's worth.


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I think the bolt pattern is 5x115 but I haven't measured it.


edit: just realized I only spent 450 on these (thought it was 600), so...

$350