My BMW E34 Project: Homestretch in sight...

Sergio is finally back home (again) from the paint shop. I must say say that he has returned in even better shape compared to the last two instances. After all the corrections and adjustments, I can see that the finish is now superior to what it was before. Another round of buffing has finally removed all the swirl marks but I do need to be careful for the meantime because the surface will remain unprotected for some time yet while the solvents continue drying out. Never thought I would reach a point wherein I will look forward to waxing a car!

Painting the chrome trim black was probably the key change made. Although you needed to have a sharp eye to notice it, the watermarks and fine scratches on the chrome trim was a giveaway of the car's real age. Now it is just as evenly smooth as the rest of the exterior and in my opinion, projects a more updated and sporty look.

I also took some time to attend to the problem of the loose radiator mount. With the summer temperature reaching new highs, the last thing I want is for the car to have a cooling system or airconditioning breakdown. Installing the new clamps and rubber mounting pads eliminated any movement of the radiator as expected. The new fan shroud has also been put in which should help the a/c system attain peak efficiency. From a driving standpoint, I thought the result of fixing this problem would not be very noticeable, but I realized almost immediately that the front end rattles were gone. It may just have been my imagination, but I also felt that the engine became more responsive, probably as a result of a few more horses being freed up by the cooling system. In retrospect, I would conclude that the effort and expense in tracking down these replacement parts was well worth it. And to think that I discovered this problem only by chance.

Radiator clamp and pad (center of picture):

Fan shroud:

Another item which needed further self-debate was whether to maintain the stock stereo system or to upgrade to a new one with all the latest features. I felt that I should stick with my original goal of maintaining everything as close as possible to the original equipment the car came with. Besides, there was the difficulty of finding a unit which has an amber light display to match the lighting of a BMW dashboard. Not to mention another expense item which I surely could forego with. There were already some indications as to why I should upgrade it but felt no urgency to do so. Since the car originally came from Japan, the stereo tuner was geared for a different frequency range being able to pickup only the first three local FM stations and the CD changer playback was inconsistent at best. The decision became easier when the front speakers started to falter a few days ago and gave me the final push to get a more modern stereo system. I ended up buying a Pioneer headunit with all of today's desired capabilities such as an Ipod connectivity, CD/MP3/WMA and USB drive playback. While this is by no means the highest-end system available, it still is a great improvement over the factory model. And without sounding too biased, I think this has further enhanced the driving and riding experience.

Stereo headunit installed:

After more than a month of waiting, the four important parts have arrived from abroad. The automatic transmission fluid intake and return cooling pipes and power steering intake and return hoses were not available locally and thus had to be ordered from overseas by European Motors. Again, another big drain on the budget but at the end of the day, they should be good for a very long time. The old ones were leaking and although the mechanics say they seem to have been still the originals, I have no way of knowing their actual age.

Replacement pipes and hoses:

I brought Sergio to the shop yesterday to install the new hardware, a tuneup and fluid change. The work was done by Debest Autofix, a Eurocar repair specialist located at Westgate in Alabang. Jun Magno, the owner/manager, is well-known in auto performance circles having once worked in the Macau Grand Prix during the course of a stint in China and as a participant in local motorsport events. The shop is very well equipped to handle BMW repairs and I have been happy with the work previously done on my E46. The only glitch was that the ATF pipes did not seem to fit and will need to be taken back to European Motors. Its not entirely bad news because with the replacement of the power steering hoses, the fluid leaks look like they have been stopped and changing the pipes may not be needed. For now, I need to observe if this is truly the case and will bring the car back in a couple of weeks for a recheck.

On the way to a tuneup and oil change: