The Long Awaited: The Myth, The Legend, The Douchebaggery

[Sully]

Save $3500 and put the euro motor in and get that itb goodness. I haven't priced that out on awhile so I'm probably off on my cost.

Or maybe it's time to go LSM3

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[SlimKlim]

Yeah the Euro motors have apparently gotten much, much harder to come by in the past few years. Both of those options would be financially prohibitive for me. I just went through and tallied up everything I'd do to it if I rebuilt this motor instead of swapping one, and that's looking like the path of least resistance right now.

I think I could expect ~$2000 for the head gasket set, head bolt set, machining costs to clean up & level check the head, new rod bearings and connecting bolts, bottom end gasket set, a new clutch, new motor mounts, rebuilt fuel injectors, proper v-bands for the headers (finally), an underpanel (to protect my pretty new engine) and a gauge kit (if I spend all this time and money, i want better info available so I can avoid overheating it again). It also needs window seals somewhat badly and a few other things, which could easily add another $4-700, but all of those things could also easily be done at a later time. the $2k figure covers everything i'd want to do while the motor was out.

I need to get through moving in May and let my finances balance out ( I just wrote $1900 in checks to apply for a townhouse in Sterling, blarrghh), but I'm going to try and set aside a little money each month so I can tackle this goddamn thing this fall/winter.

I've had this awful itch to replace the DD, and even awfuler thoughts of just selling both cars and enjoying the simple life of single-car-ownership. However, lately I've decided I need to quit being a whiny bitch and half assing my way through two cars, and start whole assing the M3 to finish this fight I picked five years ago.

[ScottyB]

whole assing a job is something any proper MM'er would approve.

i'd be a lot less stressed out about a nice, fresh rebuild on a mostly stock engine than i would about dumping in a used high strung unobtanium thing unless it was strictly a weekend toy.

[SlimKlim]

Yeah no high strung fussy shit for me. My end-all dream, if I ever find myself in need of a whole bunch of money to get rid of, is to cam a US spec motor, do a 3.5in intake and big bore throttle body, heavy duty injectors and throw in a custom midpipe to get rid of any restriction that might be left in my exhaust and a custom tune to top it off. It would get me within spitting distance of Euro motor power levels for a whole lot less fuss and a little less money. Obviously that's not in the cards for the short term, but either rebuilding this motor or dropping in a US 3.2L would be a good foundation for that possibility down the road.

[SlimKlim]

I'll just leave this here. 8)

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[ScottyB]

oh mercy that growl

[SlimKlim]

I may have been playing it through my good headphones all week. Shame my co-workers are so uptight. "Please stop moaning in your cube, Joey." "That behavior is inappropriate in the workplace, Joey." Ugh. Some people just don't know how to live. :roll:

I also found this one that I forgot to post here, it should start at 4:34 if the link works.

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[SlimKlim]

Minor update, mostly for record keeping purposes.

Battery bit the shit after 3.5 years. Previous one lasted 7. I was chastised for not driving the car frequently enough over the winter. It did die a couple times and those single digit nights we had didn't do it any favors. I'll pick up a battery tender when this winter rolls around to try and get a few more years out of this one.

[JustinG]

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Kept the hatchpile alive during the winter and in between events for like 3 years.

[SlimKlim]

That's stupid cheap. I have one that's like 4 years old, has been kicked and dropped a million times and looks like it got thrown in a bucket of oil.

The batteries plus guy said I should test it to make sure it's putting out the right amount of juice because they can start doing wonky shit after a few years just like a battery. I was thinking about replacing it with a fancier model that has those little quick disconnect leads, that way it's super easy to keep it plugged in.

[Sully]

I have a two bank and two single bank models of the "battery tender" (the green one) and I have no complaints.

I wouldn't trust a cheapo brand float charger. I've had my bike on one since ownership and it still has the original stock battery from 2007 which is pretty good considering bikes don't recharge as efficiently as cars.

It did let my jet ski battery die but in fairness, those barely charge the battery at all while running and they are also submerged in water part of the time which could affect it somehow I suppose.

I really need to upgrade to the four bank model now that I have the s2000 on it, the bike, the truck when it sits, and I'd like to put the jet ski back on if I get a new battery. Oh and the ATV in the shed is on one too. I just had to replace the optima in the truck because I didn't use one so I'd like to not do that again. And the s2000 has a yellow top as well so I don't want to replace that either.

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[.RJ]

Not bad -

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[SlimKlim]

Way ahead of you:





I didn't want to do suede since I've already got acres of the stuff in the car, but my factory boots were next to destroyed from spending so many years under the Florida sun.

[.RJ]

I LIKE

[Sully]

I feel I had the same ones but can't remember now. :thumbup: though

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[Evan]

That's stupid cheap. I have one that's like 4 years old, has been kicked and dropped a million times and looks like it got thrown in a bucket of oil.

The batteries plus guy said I should test it to make sure it's putting out the right amount of juice because they can start doing wonky shit after a few years just like a battery. I was thinking about replacing it with a fancier model that has those little quick disconnect leads, that way it's super easy to keep it plugged in.

schumacher maintainer has served me well for years, though I recently bought a ctek and it definitely has some nice bells and whistles. personally i wouldnt go cheap on a maintainer.

[SlimKlim]

I was gonna buy this one: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401199118&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender#productDetails">http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-02 ... uctDetails</a><!-- m -->

All I'm really looking for is something with the ring terminals and little quick disconnect guy so I can keep the battery charged. I'm driving it at least once a week now but it won't get much use this winter and it'd be nice to be able to just plug it in.

[Jake]

That looks like the one I got Mom for the Crossfire. Works well and you can tuck the ring terminals away pretty easily.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I was gonna buy this one: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401199118&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender#productDetails">http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-02 ... uctDetails</a><!-- m -->

All I'm really looking for is something with the ring terminals and little quick disconnect guy so I can keep the battery charged. I'm driving it at least once a week now but it won't get much use this winter and it'd be nice to be able to just plug it in.

I have that one, works great.

[xvxax]

Yeah, that thing made my 9lb battery last 4 years. Do recommend.