Immaculate low mileage 2004 Silver Grey CSL Inspired Build

[Avedis]

Christmas came early!







I always loved the CSL, and nearly every detail of it. One of the things that always seemed slightly out of place to me was the gloss carbon in the interior. I love the shape of the panels, and the concept/thinking behind them, but something about a big glossy panel inside a 2000's era interior just seemed ever so slightly off. As the title of the thread states, CSL inspired, not CSL replica. I made some changes.

First deviation from the traditional CSL carbon components was matte clear coat instead of full gloss. Prior to ordering, I had the idea of using a traditional gloss ceramic coating on top of the matte finish. From all the research I had done, this would give the panels a deeper satin-like finish, without any gloss/reflectivity.

I tested a small spot on the front of the center console to confirm my research. It can be hard to tell on camera, but the coated portion has a much deeper finish and the black is definitely more saturated.Turned out just as I had hoped.

50/50 coated and uncoated (left is coated)



With that test successful, I moved onto a larger panel. Here you can really see the difference. He is a before, during, and after.





I then moved on and ceramic coated each panel. I am very confident when it comes to detailing, but this project made me nervous. If the application, and more importantly the removal of the coating wasn't done perfectly, it would be glaring. Not only would it look blotchy, but it would be semi-permanent. Due to this, I used an initial 3 stage buff off to ensure that there were no high spots and that the application/removal was even. After the 3 stage wipe off, I took the panel into the direct sunlight to check for errors. The final check was to take the panel into the garage, turn off all the lights and check each panel with a small flashlight. This was the only way I could confirm and reconfirm that I did a proper job coating the panels. They turned out perfect. Maybe the only satin finish 1x1 CSL door panels in the world? Who knows, who cares, all I care about is that it looks amazing!





The second deviation from the traditional CSL interior components was the door handles. Normally they are painted titan shadow to match the rest of the CSL dash trim. It’s funny how plans change. When I first purchased the car, I had planned on changing all the dash trim out to titan shadow or 1x1 carbon. I have since grown to love the brushed aluminum finish that came with the car. The brushed aluminum finish also matches the factory grey instrument cluster gauges and the aluminum pedals I added. I asked David if he could attempt to match the color of the factory aluminum trim when painting the door handles. David was incredibly generous to accommodate my request and said he would do some testing. They were not able to capture any photos of the process or the outcome, so I had absolutely no idea what I would be receiving. Turned out even better than I imagined.



Some photos of the door handles next to the factory aluminum trim. It is not a perfect color match, but it looks far better than titan shadow. The brushed effect looks great and I am very happy with the results.




My son approves (and a follow up photo showing I had to bribe him with a marshmallow to take the first photo)

[0-60motorsports]

Do you have a link to the eBay store for those belts please. They look perfect.

[Avedis]

Seat belts are back.


I sent them off to OEM RDC (Seat Belt Masters on eBay). They have stellar reviews and their pricing was literally half of other popular vendors. They arrived at RDC on Monday, and shipped back out to me on Tuesday (24 hour turnaround). The belts look identical to the factory BMW ones. RDC claims they are from the OEM/Supplier, but I highly doubt that. Regardless, they look great and the orientation of the stripes matches the factory cars just as I specified in my order. All of my factory hardware, including the factory seat belt tags, were transferred over. The only thing that was not transferred over was the limiter button. I purchased some BMW buttons thinking that the RDC ones were going to be cheap shiny plastic. Now that I have them in hand, I don't think I'll be installing the BMW buttons. The RDC ones are decent quality and have a nice satin finish like the factory ones. I will get some better installed photos at a later time.






While everything was out I did a small fabric repair on the b-pillar.

what's the lighting setup in your garage? even pics taken from inside your car the lighting seems very generous!

Here is a LINK to the exact lights. I have 4 rows hanging from the ceiling. Each row has 4 lights tied together for a total of 16 lights. They are set to 3000k for a little warmer look. The lighting is great and evenly distributed throughout the whole garage. Although the lighting inside the car is decent, I think my iPhone's camera exaggerates the amount of light in photos.

Your garage is beautiful. and love the level of detail you're bringing to the car. very inspiring.

Thank you!

Do you have a link to the eBay store for those belts please. They look perfect.

Website: LINK
eBay: LINK
Here is another company who will send you a full replacement set if you dont want to mess with your factory seat belts: LINK

Shoot me a private message if you need help with anything or have additional questions.

[bavarian3]

Your garage is beautiful. and love the level of detail you're bringing to the car. very inspiring.

[usdmej]

what's the lighting setup in your garage? even pics taken from inside your car the lighting seems very generous!

[Avedis]

A while ago, I decided that I wanted to add the M tri-stitch seat belts found in the more modern cars like the F80/G80/etc. I have been waiting for an opportunity to remove them and ship them out, and I decided to time the seat belt project with my Karbonius CSL parts installation project. The Karbonius parts should be shipping soon and it just made sense to remove all of the interior a single time, rather than doing it again at a later date.

My son is now two years old and we recently welcomed our newborn daughter. It is difficult to find time for anything extra, so I took on the disassembly in the middle of the night while they slept. Dad life.

Started by taking out the rear seats, rear door panels, and b-pillars to allow access to the front seat belts. The seat belt winder is tucked really low, and the bolt for it is behind a foam block. I tried pulling up the block but didn't realize there is a hidden screw underneath the carpet that is holding it in. I ended up popping some of the door sill trim clips and peeling back the carpet to allow access. Pesky screw!






Front seat belts out. Interestingly, the passenger's side belt had a foam insulation around it, but the driver's side didn't. Anyone know if this is correct or know the part number for the driver's side?

Prior to removing them, I marked the belts with tape designating where the stripes should be. If you look at the modern cars, the orientation of the stripes changes depending on where the belt is in the car. For the rear seats, the red stripe is towards the outsides of the car. For the front seats, the red stripe is towards the front of the car. I wanted to make sure my seat belts followed the factory orientation.



Midway through, front seat belts are done.



Onto the rears. I took out the c-pillars, through loading trim, seat belt outlets, and the parcel shelf to allow access to the rear seat belts.



Rear seat belts were removed and marked just like the fronts.



While they were out, I deleted the center lapbelt. I always hated how sloppy it looked in the rear seat, even when it was wrapped up. I used my seat belt cutter to remove the lapbelt/buckle.



As I was working on the seat belts, I contemplated removing the disintegrating sound insulation under the rear bench. The center portion of it was a total loss, but the sides were still in good condition. Ultimately, I committed to removing most of it. I stole one of my wife's surgical scalpels and cut a clean line around the edges.




Thought this one was kind of a cool find.



The driver's side came off really cleanly. When I got to the passenger's side, I uncovered a huge sticky mess of what I am assuming is old melted adhesive? At that point that I thought, "Why the hell did I commit to this?" Immediately followed by, "Why did I not put gloves on?"


Many moons later it was all cleaned up. I used Carpro Tarx and a ton of paper towels to loosen and soak up the mess. I threw the whole lot in a trash bag and was surprised by just how much it all weighed, I get why the CSL ditched it.



Here is everything removed from the rear. Something satisfying about seeing it all out and organized. Now the seat belts are getting sent off to get redone as I wait for shipment from Karbonius.

[akshon]

I am a fan of everything your doing to this car.

[Avedis]

Couple of updates:

What i've learned with this platform is that you need to buy parts when you can, not necessarily when you want. I have already missed out on a few things, thinking, "I'll just get it later down the line." BMW parts become NLA (slicktop headliner), privately owned companies suddenly stop making parts (such as mile end composites, etc).

Due to this, I ordered the Vorsteiner CSL rear diffuser. Judging by all the photos I have seen, it is a true 1:1 replica of the CSL diffuser, ridge and all. It actually seems to fit better than the original CSL diffuser, especially in the upper corners. Vorsteiner is local, so I will pick up the diffuser and do a mockup once ready.

Karbonius CSL interior parts should ship near the end of this month (November 2023). I have been collecting all the accessory parts (hazard trim, mirror switch trim, brackets, etc) as well as preparing the wiring for a streamlined install.

Z4 rearview mirror (51-16-9-134-400) installed. The mirror that came with the car looked chunky and out of place, I previously deleted the SOS module in the trunk, and i'm not a fan of the auto-dim feature. The Z4 mirror has less features to potentially break, is shaped better, and has the smoked grey "clown nose". The mirror fits perfectly with the streamlined, driver focused theme I am going with. The simpler, the better.

[Casa de Mesa]

Oh man that is going to be a fun install!

[Avedis]

CSL door panels, door handles, and center console ordered. Excited is an understatement.

[Bry5on]

If you guys end up doing this, can I third wheel? Also very interested in seeing how different suspension setups perform out here. I'm in Walnut Creek - just over the hill from you.

Whoops, I posted this in the wrong thread somehow. I meant to post in YOUR thread!! So, yes, let’s do this. OP here is in southern CA

[dreamdrivedrift]

Not sure if you’re up for it, but I’d love to swap cars for a quick ride over a typical Bay Area road - I’m in Berkeley and always looking to tailor the suspension to our back roads. Looks like you’ve got a nice setup!

My setup is here: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...lack-tan-332it

If you guys end up doing this, can I third wheel? Also very interested in seeing how different suspension setups perform out here. I'm in Walnut Creek - just over the hill from you.

[Bry5on]

Not sure if you’re up for it, but I’d love to swap cars for a quick ride over a typical Bay Area road - I’m in Berkeley and always looking to tailor the suspension to our back roads. Looks like you’ve got a nice setup!

My setup is here: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...lack-tan-332it

[Casa de Mesa]

I was thinking about your original rear deck. Since you’re not using rear speakers, what about having your original rear deck recovered in the fabric of your choice, covering the speaker cutouts and all. That would give a very streamlined look. Thoughts?

This is likely the route I'm going to go when the time comes for me to recover mine.

[nyc951]

For my particular setup (SOS, Nav, HK Amp, frame/hardware) it weighed exactly 14lbs. HK sub and rear deck speakers are not included in that number.

I was thinking about your original rear deck. Since you’re not using rear speakers, what about having your original rear deck recovered in the fabric of your choice, covering the speaker cutouts and all. That would give a very streamlined look. Thoughts?