My Cupra replacement - M Roadster - 3 Piece BBS update

[shantybeater]

After finishing off my big clean on the outside a few weeks ago I decided to do the same with the interior. I wont bore you with the details but basically I went over all the leather with AG Leather Care, Polished all the glass & clear plastics and covered the plastics/rubber in vinyl care.

Mod 2 - Polished Roll Hoops

After seeing a TT with similar style hoops I decided to take the plunge and get the ones off ebay. I do plan on eventually tracking down some Genuine AC Schnitzer polished hoops but for the price they really do look fantastic!!

Mod 3 - OEM Business CD Headunit

Since buying the car the major let down for me was the headunit, an old tatty Sony headunit that literally was falling apart. To keep things looking standard I tracked down a Business CD unit from ebay. Unfortunately for me the CD player is completely knackered but I fitted it as a temporary measure for radio use and just to tidy up the interior.

Before & After:

Mod 4 - Storm Werks Gearknob/Handbrake

Well my next two mods arrived in the post yesterday.

Before:

After:

I really liked my old gearstick but these really come as a set

 

[*Lou*]

Really nice interior

 

[Ibiza_Oz]

Not a fan of the Z's but have to say.. i like it mate nice one worthy upgrade bet shes fun !

 

[shantybeater]

A few recent pics taken of the Z & my mates Polo 1.8T transplant using a proper SLR! Nice to see the interior looking the right color rather than pink on my shoddy camera!!

 

[shantybeater]

Well since selling the cupra the big things I have missed is the sleeperness & boost. So an offer came up I couldnt refuse, I bit the bullet and bought it, unfortunately there is alot to do before it will see my engine bay..so it may be a while before you see the results:

Things to do first:

- Strengthen rear diff mount to handle extra power, BMW are known to sometimes fix this issue as 'free will' but it goes on a case by case basis
- Buy a full cat back exhaust system
- Fit & live map the car
- Possibly go low comp pistons / uprate internals, depends whether I can 'reliably' run the power without or not

All fairly expensive things, some alot more than others! but the cars a keeper so I dont mind the wait.

 

[pj1985]

That is going to be very nice! What BMW forums you on by the way Shanty? Im driving an e46 330ci now after selling my IHI.

 

[shantybeater]

Cheers PJ, good choice mate

I'm on zroadster.net, z3mcoupe.com & bimmerforums.com (for the FI section)at the mo, wouldnt mind finding a decent UK one for beemer models if you know any?

 

[pj1985]

Im on e46zone which I have actually registered on and quite like. The people are helpful and nice but some have the beemer blinkers on. All the others I have lurked on I havent really liked much and most are not from the UK. If you find a good UK one let me know!

 

[tommy2008cupra]

that will be a weapon mate! wat bhp u lookin for?

 

[shantybeater]

Will do pj and the same to you mate

tommy - I'll be hoping for anything between 450-500bhp. As long as it's faster than my old IHI I'll be happy

 

[tommy2008cupra]

ha ha im sure it will mate il be keepin my eye on this one

 

[shantybeater]

Well I sold the charger kit last week. I've decided the s54 would be a better base for a charger (because of the availability of kits and the amount of FI experience with the engine).

This means I'm keeping a second eye out for an s54 but not thinking of selling up yet. I'm in two minds to just stay NA and keep her because of the amazing condition of the car but we'll see.

In the mean time i've bought the gearstick surround and console facia to replace my 'scratched' one, i'm hoping the color will match up well but we'll see, if it doesnt i'll be looking into trimming all the red 'bits' with red leather

 

[stezo2k]

really like the car mate, only thing i dont like is the rear. the interior is bloody gorgeous, looks pretty fast too

 

[shantybeater]

Well thanks to the horrible weather and lack of sunlight I havent had much chance to update with photos etc.. I braved it this afternoon for a few snaps:

A quick snap of the replaced center console:

Before (cracked button surrounds and scratches around the leccy window switches:

After:

Also got hold of somenew foils for the engine bay (to protect the paint), these will be going on when I source some primer

The fixed spot welds by BMW after my uprated diff mount was fitted:

Annoyingly it appears on one of the welds they didnt clean the rust off before spraying as you can see below so the rust has surfaced on the paint

Also I managed to pick up a personalised plate on ebay

Finally something to put a downer on things, for the first time ever I kerbed a rim...absolutely gutted, I was trying to avoid deep puddles on a driveway, this will be getting a refurb asap

 

[RubenD]

Sorry to see the kurb damage. But the car looks great, love the sound of these 6 potters!

 

[shantybeater]

Cheers ruben


A few pics taken with my mates TT:

 

[gibson1987]

well i can only say tha these are an amazing car i was thinking of getting one but i really want the ibiza mk3 want the turbo power and seat space cant beat that mpower grunt though great choice though.

 

[shantybeater]

Gibson yeah i do love the power but in comparison to the old cupra its feels very sensible, i'm definately not done with turbo cars yet

Havent updated in a while, i've been busy dealing with little niggles/fixes that have bugged me since I bought it e.g.
- replaced light dimmer switch,
- painting back boxes which were peeling,
- sanding/priming and yet to paint stone chips,
- peeling engine bay foils which arent fitted quite yet
- a roof leak which took a bit of detective work,
- and tatty rubber seals for the aerial replaced with nice new ones

I also drove all the way to birmingham burning £60 just in fuel to pick up some genuine AC Schnitzer hoops (rare as fooook)...dont ask me how much they cost me though!

Here they are against the old ebay versions:

The quality difference is immense, they were a £1k+ mod new afterall!

Refurbed my damaged rim:

and not so exciting but some stone protectors:

 

[shantybeater]

picking up my new shoes on friday

 

[mattdavies]

Well thats a rubbish pic all i can see is a small part of your car and a little bit of wheel !!!