[Stück]

Not a whole awful lot going on the last few days. I've been on a parts hold, and still waiting on the paint shop to be done with all of my painted parts.

I got the headlight driver module in, along with the seat belt. Headlight module popped right in and ISTA-D saw it immediately which was great. Unfortunately it needs to be encoded for the vehicle, as it comes uncoded, and I've not been able to get ISTA-P to work with the ENET cable. Apparently you need an ICOM to program and I'm not looking to spend that kind of money (~$600) on one right now.

I'll have to take the car to my friends shop and have him code the module for me.

The seat belt went smoothly though, here is the new one with the airbag connector:



Very easy to change, just 3 T30 torx bolts holding everything in place, plus a few pop snaps on the B-Pillar trim panels.



The whole swap took about 20 minutes.

I'm expecting to get the majority of the body parts back from paint tomorrow night. The hood I cannot transport in the E39 Wagon, so I'll have to actually drive the F10 over without a hood and install it there.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Stück

The hood I cannot transport in the E39 Wagon, so I'll have to actually drive the F10 over without a hood and install it there.

Pics of that FOR SURE!!!!!!

[m_alnimah]

Originally Posted by Stück

Not a whole awful lot going on the last few days. I've been on a parts hold, and still waiting on the paint shop to be done with all of my painted parts.

I got the headlight driver module in, along with the seat belt. Headlight module popped right in and ISTA-D saw it immediately which was great. Unfortunately it needs to be encoded for the vehicle, as it comes uncoded, and I've not been able to get ISTA-P to work with the ENET cable. Apparently you need an ICOM to program and I'm not looking to spend that kind of money (~$600) on one right now.

I'll have to take the car to my friends shop and have him code the module for me.

The seat belt went smoothly though, here is the new one with the airbag connector:



Very easy to change, just 3 T30 torx bolts holding everything in place, plus a few pop snaps on the B-Pillar trim panels.



The whole swap took about 20 minutes.

I'm expecting to get the majority of the body parts back from paint tomorrow night. The hood I cannot transport in the E39 Wagon, so I'll have to actually drive the F10 over without a hood and install it there.

I'd like to see the faces of the people when they notice a car on the road without a hood

[VB5ER]

Just read through the entire thread. You my friend are the man. Will be following the continued progress. Pics of open road no hood for sure.

[bimmer722]

Nice work!! Subscribed!

[Stück]

Just a quick little update. I went by the painter and finally was able to retrieve some pieces. I managed to fit both fenders, both rocker skirts, and the front bumper in the back of the E39 wagon. I'll have to go back tomorrow for the rear bumper and maybe Saturday on the hood.





I got the fenders hung quickly on the car, not lined up 100% just secure from falling over in the middle of the night. I did the same with the front bumper.

[korrosive]

+1 on pics of open hood trip

[auaq]

Excellent progress!

Driving without the hood should give you extra 15hp. Weight reduction and cool air over the engine.

[Stück]

Hmm, I somehow doubt the loss of a 23lb aluminum hood would be noticeable in any way ;-)

Its less than half the weight of say.. a E39 steel hood, which tips the scales at 51lbs.

Lots and lots of work today. The front end is all back together, and all of the bumper/fender bolts along the top are snug but not tight. I want to avoid leaving witness marks from the fastener shoulders until everything is fit/gapped to the hood and can be tightened down in their final positions.

Both rocker skirts are installed.

The rear bumper is installed. I had to enlist the extra assistance of my wife with it as it is a floppy wet noodle compared to the front. Once its on the car its obviously stiff, but until then.. wooo not fun to try to mount yourself without paint damage!

[.BMW.]

Great progress!

Starts to look like a F10 again.

[lsturbointeg]

She's coming together NICELY but ugh on the chrome grills!

[AWF87M2]

Congrats and nice build. Curious, was the front of the frame dented in by any chance? Did you put it on a frame machine to see if the body was within spec?

[Stück]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

She's coming together NICELY but ugh on the chrome grills!

I've never cared for black grills on any BMW I've ever owned, this one would be no different. Shadowline window moldings sure, but the kidney grills are too important a design feature to black out for my tastes.

Originally Posted by ///TWM3FAN

Congrats and nice build. Curious, was the front of the frame dented in by any chance? Did you put it on a frame machine to see if the body was within spec?

No frame damage, both frame horns and the inner structure were spared. No need to put it on a frame machine, all new/used replacement parts slipped into place and lined up without fuss. The forward crash structure did its job.


I got the hood installed this afternoon, and much to my disappointment I found the passenger side hood hinge is tweaked ever so slightly. Enough I can't close the hood or drive the car

I can grab a spare off a parts car at work Monday and get it shot matte white during the day, and installed Monday evening... but I really wanted to drive the damn thing already!

[lsturbointeg]

Originally Posted by Stück

I've never cared for black grills on any BMW I've ever owned, this one would be no different. Shadowline window moldings sure, but the kidney grills are too important a design feature to black out for my tastes.

it's all good but doesn't make sense to me to shadowline the window but keep the grills chrome. might as well keep the flow and leave the windows with the chrome trim to compliment the grills but i guess it's really personal preference

[frivas]

do you have pictures of the removal of the gear shift? I need to replace/check my IDrive controller (just went off the other day, no lights, no nothing), but I don't know where to start... probably I'll have to do the same you did to get the gear shift off the base, right?

[.BMW.]

Originally Posted by frivas

do you have pictures of the removal of the gear shift?

Here is a good DIY post: f10.5post.com

[UA_civ_eng]

So, all of us can see how much of effort and time you've put into this, but when it's all said and done, how much $ will you have into this ride?

[dadysev]

Nice work, pics and garage!!!

[Stück]

Originally Posted by UA_civ_eng

So, all of us can see how much of effort and time you've put into this, but when it's all said and done, how much $ will you have into this ride?

I'm at about $21,100 right now +- some pocket change.

Originally Posted by dadysev

Nice work, pics and garage!!!

Thank you, thank you very much.

This evening was a momentous occasion. I got to make the first official test drive. Car drives perfectly, tracks laser straight and I must say I'm more than impressed with the N55's ability to motivate the F10 near effortlessly. The transmission shifts incredibly smooth in comfort mode, if you're not watching the tach you'd nearly not know when its changing gears.

My only complaint thus far in the first 15mi I put on is that the car's initial off the line hammer down acceleration is a bit lacking. The N55 is luck Woah Ohhhhh 38000000lbs here we go allllright and then its off lol. Definitely going to be pursuing a flash tune soon to get me closer to what I was used to in my E39 (440hp/400tq crank)

I do love how vault quiet the interior is, even at speed.

I'm not especially impressed with the S676 Hifi system, while it sounds decent at a rest its eh.... pretty abysmal once moving. That's going to need some upgrades too for certain.

[mrashton]

A great milestone in getting to road test the car, great job! I assume you quickly sorted out that hood hinge?

[lsturbointeg]

[Stück]

Originally Posted by mrashton

A great milestone in getting to road test the car, great job! I assume you quickly sorted out that hood hinge?

Yeah, I pulled a spare hood hinge from a parts car at work and ran it over to my painter, who painted it matte white to match the underhood color, and picked it up after work.

Once the old hinge was off I was able to lay the 2 side by side and see, if only sort of, where it was tweaked.

The replacement hinge had the hood closing to a useable position immediately, and after 10-15mins of adjustments to the bumper, fenders, and hood I got them fit livable. I still will need to make some more adjustments for it to be OCD perfect but it was dark and I was tired.



Drove the car in to work this morning, ~25mi trip. No problems. Just before I exited the freeway the iDrive mouthed off with low coolant level, I didn't note any leaks so its likely just settling from initial fill.

Oil temperature gauge runs about a needles width backed off of 250F. Is that normal? Seems high... My E39 m54b30 ran about 220F.