[JayBimmer83]

Thanks for the update! Following!

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

Looks like the frame rails are straight and this will be a straight-forward replacement of front-end parts. Shouldn't take too long and not cost too much! Other than a salvage title (maybe try for a rebuilt title?) you'll have a pretty nice car!

There was some light pulling involved from the front end, just the left frame rail. Did not travel much past that point.
The title comes salvage I applied for a rebuilt title otherwise it can't be registered.

Fun fact: if the salvage title is ever assigned to a non licensed re builder, the car then can never be registered for street use. For parts only!

Originally Posted by philipm785

Thanks for sharing your build - following with interest.

Originally Posted by Ickdeep

Best of luck! Definitely following

Originally Posted by JayBimmer83

Thanks for the update! Following!

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Nice update on the build. Keep in mind that its been noted from previous members who upgraded to the M5 replica front bumper that the aftermarket splitters have been known not to fit. Suggesting that because the OEM M5 front bumper is actually wider along with the wider OEM M5 fenders. So I'm guessing the replicas M5 bumpers are smaller.

It's been talked about numerous times and there's actually threads and threads regarding M5 conversions and people give their opinions on this matter. Alot of it is negative but you'll have to read it yourself. I believe your money your car so do what makes you happy

Good to know!
I just did a search and yup seems there are 2 options for aftermarket replica M5 bumpers. One of them is from m.o.d.b.a.r.g.a.i.n.s ($500ish). that is the bumper I have. Except I bought mine from eBay. The other option is the real deal M5 retrofit kit at $3500+

It does have to make financial sense for me it's a 5 year old car. I paid $150 for the M5 replica bumper. So even if the other options look 50% better. it does not justify the cost to me. So far it's a direct fit without any modifications required on this M sport car.


Todays update:

Luckily I am allowed to walk around the shop while the car is being worked on....



Bumper, doors and side panels have been painted. I get a closer look in the gravity chamber and the bumper looks black.



This is funny to me because my car is gray and no other cars in the shop are

A: bmw's
b: being retrofired with M5 replica bumpers.
C: black color

Hilarity ensues when I inquire where the color info was obtained from:

Showing me the front radiator support sticker it reads.....



Close enough, except this car was involved in a front end crash and that front support was sourced from a F10 M5 donor from a junk yard.

The correct car's color per build sheet is:





Well it wasn't a huge deal shop agreed Frozen black metallic and Dark graphite metallic are pretty different colors. So they started re sanding the doors side panels and bumper for re painting tomorrow with Dark graphite metallic.

It sucks for the shop as paint is not cheap.

As to whether it's my fault for not removing the sticker from the front of the car when I installed the donor part as it was hinted or someone elses for not getting the color code form the car vin to begin with. I do not know.


on other news...

looks like I might have finally bought the right part for the headlight module.
(so much for knowing how to read realoem)



The problem is bmw changed the parts half way trough assembly line and the bmw part is not written on the light module. it only has the LEAR part #. Non LCI part is 50 bucks, the LCI part above is 450 bucks and there where none available on ebay or junk yard parts.

Per newtis part can be used on left or right side but coding is different( but of course bmw!). So that might be a coding job for later. led's in headlight still do not come on. battery has to be disconnected for 15 min. was not able to do this today.


Temporary brackets for Fogs until i can get an idea on beam pattern.





These look so cool in person



Hood preparation




Going in for second paint job




Inspection with Illinois state police is booked for next Thursday.
They just look for stolen parts. Hood, side fenders, and bumper need a paper trail of invoices along with vin # of donor car.

It appears each oem part is engraved in some way to link it to the donors vin# In a sense aftermarket parts are less troublesome since there is no vin number to match them to.

No other parts are checked not even the head lights.....curious why they would not track a 1,500 dollar part that is more easily stolen.

[lsturbointeg]

Nice update! so the car will be Frozen Metallic black?

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

Nice update! so the car will be Frozen Metallic black?

Should end up some shade of dark graphite metallic all around.

The frozen metallic black was the color of the M5 I got the front reinforcement bar from..it just happened to have the car color printed on it. And the body shop guy just went off of that.

M5 Reinforcement bar.

[lsturbointeg]

i'm wondering if you're going to have fitment issues since you're using a replica M5 front bumper but OEM M5 reinforcement bar?

[rkstar9]

Good point
the two parts numbers are different, only discernible difference was the M5 has a nut for the support braces on the inner holes. The F10 has them on the outer holes.

To address this I drilled a hole trough the brace and put a nut on the other side.

Hopefully that's the only difference.

[rkstar9]

Not the final product, still need sanding.





PDC holes drilled by me with new drill bit...came out perfect.
They where painted individually then pressed in and glued.












Not sure where this part goes. probably in the bottom. It's for m sport bumper so might or might not fit.

[lsturbointeg]

nice update. I see a lot of orange peel in the paint! so are those the M5 look fenders you ordered already painted? the transition from the pillar to the fender seems to be a bit off? the lines are not flowing correctly. I like the metallics in the paint!

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

nice update. I see a lot of orange peel in the paint! so are those the M5 look fenders you ordered already painted? the transition from the pillar to the fender seems to be a bit off? the lines are not flowing correctly. I like the metallics in the paint!

Interesting, was not aware of the term orange peel until now, I am not familiar with the process. but the shop said they are going to sand it now and it's not finished.

was just reading online that is not the ideal way to go about it, should the paint job have come out without orange peel to begin with? was just reading that sanding it to correct the imperfections is a bad idea as it reduces clear coat thickness. So is it something that I should bring up? or is it possible they applied a thick coat of clear coat with the intention of sanding it later?

Those are the m5 fenders from ebay, they came primed black, they where sanded with 1500 grit paper and painted. (twice after the orignal blend job with the wrong paint) The doors where also sanded even tho they where in good shape, i was told this is to blend the color into the fenders.

The alignment of the fenders looks off, even the originals I removed seemed off esp the part you mentioned that meets the windshield is wider than the side windshield piece and does not seem to sit right. I would have to see what an original car looks like.

Unfortunately since the fenders are aftermarket there is only so much they can do to make them fit right. I would be unreasonable to expect oem fitment on a non oem part.

Yes I really like the metallic in the paint. It looks pretty cool.

I was told the the hood hinges are bent so Im getting a piar from bmw tomorrow for 60 bucks a piece.

Also found out i need safety inspection before the Illinois police inspection. So I need to keep moving forward.

[lsturbointeg]

little familiar with painting since back in the day when I use to enter my car in car shows I usually had my Integra painted quite a few times. when I had my Integra painted Daytona Blue I noticed it came out with a lot of orange peel. it's exactly what it sounds like. if you look at your paint it almost resembles the texture of an orange. so one remedy to fix that is to wet sand it. but because it was pretty bad they ended up sanding the car back down to the primer and reshoot the car. not sure if it was the temp or the paint but the 2nd time around the car came out with no orange peel. in your case i'm not sure what your shop will do?





so far everything looks pretty good on your build any plans for exterior upgrades after everything is said and done?

same thing in Cali when I lived their any salvaged title with have to go through a State inspection for road safety. they will verify all kinds of things like DOT's on your headlights and rear tail lights. inspect your brakes and suspension ect...just to verify your vehicle is deemed safe to be on the roads. I believe that also includes smog inspection. I could be wrong on that?

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

little familiar with painting since back in the day when I use to enter my car in car shows I usually had my Integra painted quite a few times. when I had my Integra painted Daytona Blue I noticed it came out with a lot of orange peel. it's exactly what it sounds like. if you look at your paint it almost resembles the texture of an orange. so one remedy to fix that is to wet sand it. but because it was pretty bad they ended up sanding the car back down to the primer and reshoot the car. not sure if it was the temp or the paint but the 2nd time around the car came out with no orange peel. in your case i'm not sure what your shop will do?
[/URL]


so far everything looks pretty good on your build any plans for exterior upgrades after everything is said and done?

same thing in Cali when I lived their any salvaged title with have to go through a State inspection for road safety. they will verify all kinds of things like DOT's on your headlights and rear tail lights. inspect your brakes and suspension ect...just to verify your vehicle is deemed safe to be on the roads. I believe that also includes smog inspection. I could be wrong on that?

That paint job looks really nice! hey that car is still a legend haha

we shall see, there might be a lot of variables im not aware of. Im sure the quality of the paint plays a role. They have "Wanda" paint along with the entire system to blend the colors. I was told it's a 7,000 dollar system.

Research suggest it's not necessarily a bad paint.

I would love to have the oem rims gunmetal color. I see you had some at some point.

Not just for the looks but to make it easier to maintain the rims clean daily. Ill have to inquire about that with the current shop.

Mainly interested in deletes as there is a disproportionate amount of reliability and power to be had going that route.

In illinois passenger diesels do not get tested for emissions ever.

[TEF]

I am aware of 535d's having shutters between grill and a/c condenser and you even mention wiring for them. However, in looking at the various photos of the front end, I don't see shutters. Were these left out?

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by TEF

I am aware of 535d's having shutters between grill and a/c condenser and you even mention wiring for them. However, in looking at the various photos of the front end, I don't see shutters. Were these left out?

They are open but you can see them in the picture.



Still pretty confused, some cars have shutters in the red area. there is a 4 pin connector that goes there. 3 of the pins are used. 1 is ground another is 12v and another is a modulated LIN line.

The yellow area shutter I can see on ISTA description that it gets 2 cables. I do not have that shutter. Nor does it say what cars it came with.

So Im not sure which one came with my car to begin with.

Attempting to actuate the shutter with ISTA gives out an error. at least I do not think i would get the functional check option unless the car came equipped with it.

so not sure if it's working correctly or I connected them wrong...no idea what is going on.



Another issue is that the battery keeps dying on the car. Not sure if it needs replacing or it's just from not being driven or just a classic comfort access issue where some door handle is leaking voltage.

[ezaircon4jc]

That lower piece looks like it is the lower center section of the M Sport bumper.

From what I understand orange peel is just part of the process. If it isn't too obvious (which it shoildn't be) it is "desired" to hide imperfections in the substrate (the metal) and (very) minor paint flaws. It can be wet sanded out, but; ESPECIALLY on dark colored cars; every imperfection and scratch will be very visible. IMHO, your paint job needs some wet sanding/paint correction. The shop should do that as part of the paint service.

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

That lower piece looks like it is the lower center section of the M Sport bumper.

From what I understand orange peel is just part of the process. If it isn't too obvious (which it shoildn't be) it is "desired" to hide imperfections in the substrate (the metal) and (very) minor paint flaws. It can be wet sanded out, but; ESPECIALLY on dark colored cars; every imperfection and scratch will be very visible. IMHO, your paint job needs some wet sanding/paint correction. The shop should do that as part of the paint service.

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

That lower piece looks like it is the lower center section of the M Sport bumper.

From what I understand orange peel is just part of the process. If it isn't too obvious (which it shouldn't be) it is "desired" to hide imperfections in the substrate (the metal) and (very) minor paint flaws. It can be wet sanded out, but; ESPECIALLY on dark colored cars; every imperfection and scratch will be very visible. IMHO, your paint job needs some wet sanding/paint correction. The shop should do that as part of the paint service.

Thanks for that explanation, yea there seems to be conflicting opinions as to whether the orange peel is good or not.

It seems it's dependent on a lot of factors.


SO does the piece mount on to the bumper or the car? it looks like it would be mounted on the bumper. might have to skip it.

[lsturbointeg]

Your shop will wet sand it than go back over with a full polish.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by rkstar9

SO does the piece mount on to the bumper or the car? it looks like it would be mounted on the bumper. might have to skip it.

I'm pretty sure it mounts inside the bumper cover. Don't quote me on that as I haven't had that part off.

[rkstar9]

Got the car out of the shop!

condensation on left head light *check*
Left head light module not initializing because coding is required *check*

Tried coding it with ISTA- P and had no luck, it appears it will not code a used module. So the only way appears to be with E-SYS.

Currently attempting to get my ICOM to work with it.

There appears to be a component of it called "launcher Pro" that can only be obtained from a user for 50 bucks, but the user has disappeared.

So I am at a roadblock currently attempting to get the led angel eyes to work.

I know they work because the ISTA D initialization procedure made them light up but they stop working upon engine shut down.

I lived in another world where things could be done with NCSExpert. It appears those days are gone.

Edit:
launcher pro is not required when doing factory coding. Only custom coding requires launcher pro.

well that is good news! still triying to get ICOM to work with E-sys.

Suspect BMW ITool Radar is required as the ICOM ip address must be "reserved" for E-sys.

[TEF]

Despite some lighting problems, the vehicle in the photos is a quite an accomplishment. Your comment concerning programming a used component seems valid and jives with a similar story from my dealership. It seems, that my dealer had a problem installing an engine control module that had been previously installed in another vehicle. Apparently, a second dealer had installed the same unit and then returned it to BMW. When sent to my dealer, it could not be programmed and this delayed repairs until BMW sent another module. Fortunately, this was covered under warranty and not at my expense.

[rkstar9]

Originally Posted by TEF

Despite some lighting problems, the vehicle in the photos is a quite an accomplishment. Your comment concerning programming a used component seems valid and jives with a similar story from my dealership. It seems, that my dealer had a problem installing an engine control module that had been previously installed in another vehicle. Apparently, a second dealer had installed the same unit and then returned it to BMW. When sent to my dealer, it could not be programmed and this delayed repairs until BMW sent another module. Fortunately, this was covered under warranty and not at my expense.

THanks that seems to be the same story Im reading about, it just takes a while to get all the tools working correctly. but it should be a zinch once I am all set with my Icom

currently it is not connecting to e -sys. I probably messed up the installation some how.

pretty happy with how the car came out.

Did an oil change today with liquy molly 5w30 will be doing 5-7k mile oil changes.

oil is cheap, timing chains are not.


comparison of m57 oil filter right vs n57 left



I like how the surface area is probably less than half yet the oil change interval has stayed the same. Seems like a big step backward.

[rkstar9]

Finally got Icom to connect was pretty simple!

I also was able to ready the modules and find one TFL module that is missing CAFL So Im assuming that must be the replaced module. Flying blind here.



Here are the instructions I am following.
https://cartechnology.co.uk/showthre...d=23920&page=2





For fixing the headlight moisture I will be removing and replacing the front lens cover. I just did not realize the housings need to be cut.

was thinking of using one of these

[Apples12]

Leave the condensation be! Certainly don't cut the light

Run the light for a while or point a hair dryer at the back of it.

Make sure the rest of the light is sealed up and it will settle down.

Brand spanking new BMW's have condensation in the headlights, once they've been run a few hours they settle!

If you Google 'inject cafd' for esys it will bring up some links on how to inject the cafd for used modules