Vegas 2006 Imola 6MT Coupe Refresh

[88mpwr]

I love Imola!!!

[8000RPM]

The rebound on my factory strut is too soft LOL!

Off to the landfill

[8000RPM]

The back felt loose and tracked bad on the highway. Just as I though, the RTAB and ball joints were shot. Given the mileage, the struts were past due too.

RTABs out first.



Went with OE plus limiters





Next remove the old ball joints





No shots of the install, doh!

Dinan springs going back in place of the H&R



Koni yellow



Rebuild calipers and installing SS lines



Cleaned it up a bit and buttoned it back up plus bled the brakes throughly.

[MotorSportThree]

Great Job saving this car. So much better now.

[8000RPM]

Front brake rebuild. I’m not replacing the front shocks and springs just yet. I will be doing my rod bearings in the next two weeks and will wait to replace them when I drop the front subframe.

Front rebuild bits



Stainless lines peaking through. I gave the front wells a quick wipe down while I was there.

[8000RPM]

Time to tackle the remainder of my projects to get it road worthy.

Rod bearings
Front strut assemblies with new everything
Sway bar bushings and links
FCAB
Lower control arms
Steering guibo
Engine mounts
Reinforcement plate bolts
New radiator

Rod bearings were pretty straight forward but tedious. The 105 degree TTY was a arm workout!











Oil pump bolted back up



Oil pan buttoned back up



Cap side 1 - 3



Rod side 1 - 3



Cap side 4 - 6



Rod side 4-6



Strut assemblies





Sway bar refresh

[8000RPM]

FCABs, lower control arms, motor mounts

Lemfoerder vs BMW





Lower control arm and FCAB mounted up



Steering guibo and motor mount in place



Assembly ready to install



Motor mounts severely smashed!





Oil pan reinstalled



Subframe assembly mounted back in place





Reinforcement plate bolts



Buttoned back up









New o-ring for the PS reservoir


Add oil



Let it warm up and check for leaks. Topped off oil and power steering ATF. All looks good and took it out for a spin. So nice and tight!

[8000RPM]

I replaced the radiator as it was the last piece of the cooling system left to replace. I was previously getting temperature creep while under load. Not enough to overheat but not how it should behave.







Bled out the cooling system and added distilled water and BMW blue. Problem is solved!

[8000RPM]

The aftermath

Not everything but a good chunk of it

[8000RPM]

I only got one key with the car so I ordered another master and the plastic backup.

[Will]

Hot Damn!! Nicely done, talk about a refresh!

Thanks for documenting with photos and sharing with everyone. The photos of the various caps, connectors, and clips being replaced was really satisfying to see.

[8000RPM]

^^ Thanks! Lots of work but it rides, handles and runs excellent now. All it needs at this point is some PDR in a couple of spots and paint correction.

[timmo]

Nice work, love how you "demodded" it, the old wrap and trunk aren't great.

Question about the fabric dye, I've heard of a couple people recommending the one from simply spray, where did you buy it?

[8000RPM]

I originally used it 5 years ago on my old M. This time around it was much harder to find. Here is the seller I used.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Designer-Accents-Fabric-Paint-Spray-Dye-by-Simply-Spray-Black/353057727474?var=622247141027&hash=item5233e163f2:g:L-YAAOSwaj1expWD

Nice work, love how you "demodded" it, the old wrap and trunk aren't great.

Question about the fabric dye, I've heard of a couple people recommending the one from simply spray, where did you buy it?

[Bimmerchop]

Nice work, love how you "demodded" it, the old wrap and trunk aren't great.

Agreed, great journal here. Big fan of how you're restoring this car back, nicely done OP!