Had a nice busy weekend getting a few things taken care of - most of these I've had for a while, finally worked up the motivation to get them done.
First, the gasket around the roof antenna finally came apart - not a huge deal, but it looks awful. And, the rest of it is held on with the strongest glue known to man, making you fight to get it off the roof (why can't the seal be made of the same material ?)
Anyway. I've read all the posts about being careful, not denting the roof, etc, and I decided to not lift, but go sideways. I cut into the seal using interior tools:
Now there were these tiny torx screws to remove. All but one came off with a screwdriver - the last one resisted, until it had a discussion with a Dremel 😁:
How it looks under the cover:
Old and new side by side:
How it looks all finished. Honestly, I could have snipped the wire and removed it altogether - the antenna is for service / emergency BMW assist, and I'm not sure if it's still working. But I like the way the sharkfin looks.
Next, the side gills. Mine were cracked and yellowed, so out they go. Old and new:
View from the back. Honestly, these were a Pain to remove.
Easiest way: Use the trim tools, and pry (carefully) from the top, so that the gill can pivot downward. Also, use a wire (paperclip) to grab the holes and pry it out from behind:
Without the gills, it just looks empty. Yes, in case you were wondering, these are real, but they don't vent to the engine bay. Just the inner fender.
New badges too:
Onward to the Headlights. I tried to restore them before, but they didn't really clean up well, and also didn't last long. They've seen way to many rocks, bugs, and other detritus. I got new Xenon lenses and swapped them. Before:
Taking off the assembly, you need to remove the turn signal, top gasket, then lower trim piece. It unsnaps, just look and undo the clips as you make your way through. For the headlight, there are about 4 bolts, and it slides forward. Carefully unplug the wiring, and then you can unsnap the lens. Oh and CLEAN YOUR HANDS. You don't want to smudge/leave junk in there. You will see it every time you look at the headlight. This stuff is delicate, so work slowly.
Peek into the innards of the bumper. Passenger side has the washer bottle, AC parts, and there's the Carbon Fiber bumper support!
Old and new. you can barely see the new one, it's so clean:
Bare headlight. Keep it clean, keep it clean...
All finished. The car looks amazing with the new lenses, it's like night and day. I got so used to it before that I catch myself thinking the lens is missing, it's so clean! I put headlight protection film on there as well, I want these to last:
BTW, I left the old gaskets on there, I have new ones but there is no need to swap. So far so good.
And finally, the shifter. It looked ok, but the shift pattern was worn, and it was more noticeable at night when the lens looked cracked. It bothered me, so out it goes. Old and new - the leather on the new knob is so clean, I can't believe the old one was so worn:
View at night. Beautiful!
Lots of small changes, but they add up. weekend well spent, IMO.
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