I'm working on getting an M out of auction, this one only has an S52 but a hard top.

https://www.copart.com/lot/43251352/...er-ca-antelope

 

I'd likely go LS before that happens, but I'm honestly happy with the M54 that's in it.

 

Friday afternoon I did an oil change, installed new low and high beam bulbs, and replaced the driver seat bushings. The power seats have rubber isolators on the jackshafts that disintegrate over time, and when that happens the seat will slide backwards and forwards about 1/2". I wasn't going to deal with that on the drive home, so out came the seat - which is a lot more difficult with the hardtop in place



I wrapped everything up around 9pm, grabbed some food, took a shower and passed out. As Stefan alluded to last night, I had an issue with the brake lights Saturday morning when I was about to leave - they didn't work I narrowed it down to the brake light switch, but didn't have a replacement. Stefan had some electrical contact cleaner that I used on the connectors, and that seemed to do the trick. It was a "quick" fix, but still delayed me by about an hour. But I finally got on the road at 8am local time, with my destination 14hrs away in Oklahoma City.



Instead of going North on I-17 to hit I-40, Google took me through Tonto National Forest and then Sitgreaves National Forest, hopping on I-40 in Holbrook, AZ. It was a beautiful drive, even though they had gotten about an inch of snow overnight and my front tires were...questionable




I wish I had stopped for more photos but...I had a looooong drive ahead of me that day and just wanted to keep moving. Once I hit I-40, the drive was pretty uneventful, though very pretty. I've always loved it out west, and it was nice getting back out there for the first time in about a decade. It was around this time that I found out cruise control didn't work






Unfortunately, I was not able to make it to OKC that night. I was quickly catching up to a storm that was working its way across the country, and started to hit rain just outside Amarillo, TX. Temps were dropping, and ice was starting to form on the windshield. This is when I found that the heat was more of a suggestion

When I stopped for gas, I pulled up the weather and saw that Elk City was getting freezing rain and OKC was getting snow. It was about 7pm, and OKC was still ~3.5 hours away. I decided not to chance it and just get a hotel in Amarillo. It worked out for the best since I was able to get an actual meal and get some much needed sleep.




More in the next post...

 

Looks good, never seen a Z3 with a hardtop.
Love the wheels

 

Dead to me.

 

 

I woke up Sunday morning around 6:30am, got ready, went outside, and started the car. It started right up and idled perfectly, so I hopped out and started to scrape the ice off the windshield. I hit the road about 10 minutes later with my destination being 13.5 hours away in Nashville. The heat was entirely non-existant. It was 23* outside and maybe 30* inside the car, though it was warming up slowly.



I hopped onto I-40 and get maybe 5 minutes down the road when I glance down and my heart sank. The temp gauge was burried in the red. Anyone that knows anything about these cars knows that the cooling system is fragile, and if not maintained will leave you stranded. I immediately pull over and shut the car off. I pop the hood and start looking around for a failure point. Here's the weird part... there is none. Everything is normal. There's no leaking, hissing, steam, etc. All hoses that I could reach felt fine. The engine was cold to the touch. So I shut the hood and started the car back up to see where the temp was, knowing that if it was not happy, I'd have to call AAA. But the temp gauge went right back to normal, so I decided to start driving again.

Aside from not being able to feel my hands or feet for the first ~3 hours of the days drive, it was pretty uneventful. I got into West Memphis around 5pm local time and crossed the Mississippi about 20 minutes later.



Traffic was moving slow, and I started to get worried about the cooling since temps started to creep up. So I put the heat on full blast to get a little more cooling for the engine and cracked the window since the heat was finally doing it's job The temp gauge stayed below the halfway mark, and traffic began to open up, so I dropped the heat down and rolled up the passenger window. Then I attempted to roll up the driver window.

* press button *

Window rolls up 1/2" and then drops 2"

* press button again *

Window rolls up 1/2" and then drops another 2"

It's about 37* outside, and I didn't have a place to safely pull over, so I had to drive about 25-30 miles like this...



At least it kept me awake

I was finally able to stop and get the window rolled up (I had to open the door and pull up with my hand to get it to close), and continued to my destination. Tyler aka @CLassy02 was kind enough to let me crash at his place Sunday night, and it was great to see him and the family - it had been almost 4 years since I saw him last. So we did what we usually do and celebrated with Taco Bell and whisky



However, one nagging issue came back to annoy the hell out of me - the brake lights. I had noticed earlier when I was in traffic that cars would roll up behind me quickly and then drop back. When I got to Tyler's, I asked him if they worked. Nope. Cool.

I did some research on it and found that Cruise Control was tied to the brake switch (makes sense). If you remember, I had tried CC in Northern AZ and it didn't work - which means I drove without brake lights for ~1900 miles

But anyway, I had looked around at parts stores and found that the AutoZone 5 minutes away had one switch in stock, and they opened at 7am. I woke up at 6:30, blew up his toilet, and ran to get the switch. Tyler let me replace the part in the garage, which was very helpful - I don't like cold



I hit the road around 8am, and the ~9 hour drive home was uneventful, but my body hurt. Thankfully, Cruise Control worked again, so that was a welcome change to keep my legs from cramping.



I was happy to get home, see my fiance and daughter, and drive the Tesla again

So what's next? Repairs. Lots of repairs. This Winter/Spring will be spent doing:

- Rack and Pinion replacement
- Wheel bearings
- Brake system refresh
- Clutch, master and slave replacement
- Shift pin repair, since the shifter sticks in certain gear slots
- Cooling system refresh
- Hopefully subframe reinforcement

After that I may consider modifying it lightly, but I don't want to go crazy. I like the way the car feels, I just want to refresh it. It's fast enough (torque helps), and it looks good. I also think it's a future classic, so I'm trying to stay true to original to preserve it.

But yeah, there's my midlife crisis. I'll probably regret it at some point, but I'll be sure to share it here

 

And I really want to thank @e30cabrio for checking out the car for me, letting me use his tools, and letting me crash at his place. Without him I wouldn't have the car. And a big thank you to @CLassy02 for letting me crash there and use his tools (and blow up his toilet). The Fake Internet Friends (FIFs) that I've met on here over the years have become some of my best friends in real life

 

Happy to help, nice to meet you after all these years!

 

Sad there were no pics of said destroyed toilet...
but very happy you did this.

 

Fantastic story and congrats on the new ride! I've always thought the Z3/M roasters were fantastic looking cars. How much power does the 3.0 make?

 

I read Taco Bell and 10+ hours of driving and the first thought that came to mind was, "you poor soul". Just make sure you pack some TP for the road.

 

Awesome man, that's a hell of a story to bring home a new toy. I bet it was really calming to get back into the Tesla without the fear of catastrophic engine/electrical failure lol.

 

I am so rooted in ignoring Taco Bell, that I was like what TB? It is in a driveway I have been through thousands of times, alone to the left so I just blocked it out. lol

To prove it was not just me, when I asked my wife if she knew where the closest TB was she said 35th street, this one is on 51st, we live on 57th. lol

 

Here's an S54 car that is at 16k
https://www.iaai.com/VehicleDetail/38360170~US

 

225hp/214tq, but in true BMW fashion it feels underrated. Maybe that's just the gearing though. It's pulling 3k rpms at 70. I'd like to do a 6MT swap but that's probably cost prohibitive.

For someone with stomach issues, I'm surprised that Taco Bell never bothers me.

You have no idea

 

@Yumcha Can I get a thread title update? Perhaps something like "civicdrivr's golfcart and Z8 - 5 thread"

 

I must've only driven the base Z3s, the few I've had any seat time felt much less playful than a NB Miata.
Did briefly drive an M Roadster, but didn't get a chance to push it.

 

what kind of sick fuck is happy a man destroys another man’s toilet… seek help floriduhman

 

Done.

 

At least you didn't follow my example and buy an E60 M5 with your midlife crisis.

 

Mine is a '97 2.8, I removed the ASC throttle restriction & added an M50 larger runner intake, it feels great! Soon, it's getting an SC unless I get that M Roadster in which case S52 & SC.

 

It's been a long time since I've been behind the wheel. My college days, I'd find interesting stuff for sale to test drive. Lots of Miatas & a few Z3s, this would've been around 04-06. I'm thinking they may have been 4cyl models, if I had to guess.

 

Auction deal is weird. My high bid is 5500. I got outbid at 200 and now it says I did not bid.

I'm giving up, the entire enterprise would have been a hassle before the wife drama.

 

My actual midlife crisis car was the 350Z, I had a second with the 86 which if a midlife crisis has me living to 116, if the Z3 is another one, 122.

lol

 

I don't have a Z3 toy, I do have a Z8 from when I worked at Amgen in 2001.

 

I've never driven a 4 cylinder but I've read that they are horrendous. A 4 cylinder was never even an option for me, unless I planned on swapping an LS or something silly into it and just wanted a cheap roller. But, I'm not after that at this time in my life - that's too much work

 

The James Bond car was a 4banger. lol

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/07/17/...-bond-edition/

 

The E60 may be a bad route, but man that V10 sounds amazing with a nice exhaust.
I remember working for a Honda dealer in college & the local BMW dealer used the road next to our shop for brake tests on test drives. Had a M5 rip out of there & made a lot of heads turn (but fewer than when we had a SLR McLaren come by ).

 

I got to drive an E60 M5 once, but the crabby old owner wouldn't let me push it very hard.

 

Oh, contraire. I believe the crabby old owner kept saying "PUSH THE M BUTTON!"

 

I have a recurring stable of midlife crises...
my daughter made me promise to live as long as it takes for both of us to go at the same time.

 

Congrats on the new ride! Looks like an awesome road trip. Glad it was mostly uneventful. Wish you the best in the future.

I would like to drive east to west one day... I-10 Jacksonville to SoCal or something. Never been to Texas and I'd like to see the Southwest more (only been to Phoenix/Scottsdale for a couple of days for a wedding - climbed Camelback mountain and that's it).

 

I can attest that the run on I-10 from San Antonio to El Paso is really boring.
The first time I did it, it was night & I think I passed about 6 cars in 3 hours.

 

I almost went south to take I-10 across in order to miss the storm, but stuck to the more direct I-40 route. I-40 was really boring once you get through New Mexico.

But yes, driving East to West is my preferred drive since you're driving with the sun. Losing an hour as you jump timezones West > East sucked.

 

Here's what you missed yesterday.

 

Old, slow, silver roadster gang

Congratulations, Morgan!

 

Only 30 min from my house

 

Congrats Morgan and thanks for sharing the pics, pretty epic trip.

 

Congrats Morgan! Get her ready for the dragon next year.