Mziggy16's Build Thread

[mziggy16]

For years I had my eyes on air-cooled 911's (still do, but prices are ridiculous), but also had a short list of cars on my bucket list. That's where the Z4MC was.

Just for fun a few months ago I punched "Z4M Coupe" into St. Louis Craigslist and was greeted with a barely identifiable image of a black sapphire coupe and a three-sentence intro to the car that included one sentence on the adjustable seats and another about adhering to Mike Miller's maintenance guide Since these things never pop up for sale my plan was just to drive the car and be done. Well, here I am writing an intro thread.

The spec: #555 - 2007 Black Sapphire over Carbon Fiber. Stock except an AFE intake. 127k miles and a 2 inch think maintenance log with all records back to 31k taken care of by dealers.

Anyway, let's get this rolling. Here's a pic of the car the day of the test drive.

[mziggy16]

After the first wash. And in the garage under the flourescent, pre-detail with my DD 335i neglected in the background.

[mziggy16]

Headlights needed some TLC. Before & After.

[mziggy16]

Steering wheel trim was rough. Pulled it, re-glued a few broken tabs, sanded and sprayed with flat black. Good as new.

[mziggy16]

Steering wheel M stitching was pretty gross. Before (left) and after (right) in one pic.

[mziggy16]

Back to the paint. It was rough. Spent a good 6 hours with the orbital to get it back to a decent place, although it still will take more attention later on. Products used:

Washed with Dawn
Zaino Clay Bar
Chemical Guys V36
Chemical Guys V38
Poorboy's Black Hole Glaze
Zaino Z2 Polish/Sealant
Zaino Z6 - Detail spray
Zaino Z8 - Finish detail spray

Before & After

[mziggy16]

A few post-detail shots. The grills were out for paint. More to come on that shortly.

[mziggy16]

Pulled and painted the grills satin black.

There's a theme starting with the black...

[mziggy16]

Next up was the wheels. It came with a set of winter wheels and tires that were not ideal for many reasons. Those had to go (will be for sale, btw).

Fortunately the stock wheels came with the car. Unfortunately the stock wheels appeared to have been parked exclusively ON curbs, which was an easy excuse to get those cleaned up and powdercoated.

[StickMon]

Not sure I've ever seen the stock wheels in black.
They look fantastic!
Now I know what I'll do when I have mine redone.

[ZAR4MC]

fantastic work thus far... colour on the new wheels looks like there maybe some bronze tint to it, looks great with the correct wheels back on...

[mziggy16]

Originally Posted by StickMon

Not sure I've ever seen the stock wheels in black.
They look fantastic!
Now I know what I'll do when I have mine redone.

Thanks!

Black metallic with a drop of bronze and a satin finish. I might be able to get a paint code if you’re interested.

[mziggy16]

Originally Posted by ZAR4MC

fantastic work thus far... colour on the new wheels looks like there maybe some bronze tint to it, looks great with the correct wheels back on...

Good eye!

Love your car ZAR4MC - gotta admit, your car thread has influenced my build...love your wheels and amazing attention to detail.

[ZAR4MC]

Originally Posted by mziggy16

Good eye!

Love your car ZAR4MC - gotta admit, your car thread has influenced my build...love your wheels and amazing attention to detail.

Thanks for the kind words Brother, I always wanted to add some bronze and see how it played out but now i know it looks fantastic, especially with a black car... Well done and tanks for sharing , enjoy and be safe Sir...

[Mirko]

good work, especially on the paint correct

[racerbruce]

Well done!
I use Chemical Guys product - it removed a TON of swirl marks, etc.

[Mike01ci]

When I was your neighbor you had an Acura... I leave town and you get fun stuff.

Good work!

ps: The new wheels look great on the F30 too!

[mziggy16]

Originally Posted by Mike01ci

When I was your neighbor you had an Acura... I leave town and you get fun stuff.

Good work!

ps: The new wheels look great on the F30 too!

Someone had to keep the neighborhood BMW quota up.

[MeisterS]

great looking car! subbed!
Am I the only one curious about the 17" wheels?! Mind sharing the wheel specs? Did you have any spacers with the style 23 wheels?

[mziggy16]

Originally Posted by MeisterSS

great looking car! subbed!
Am I the only one curious about the 17" wheels?! Mind sharing the wheel specs? Did you have any spacers with the style 23 wheels?

I don't have a whole lot of info on those wheels, but I can grab whatever you'd like when I get home.

The previous owner mentioned having spacers but I don't think they were actually installed on the vehicle. Those wheels tucked into the wheel well a bit and would certainly have benefited from spacers.

I was waiting until the Fall to sell them since they have winter rubber on them, but if you're interested I'd be happy to make a deal. I even have 2 brand new winter tires that I can include, in addition to the 4 on the wheels. PM me if you have interest.

[ZAR4MC]

Originally Posted by mziggy16

I don't have a whole lot of info on those wheels, but I can grab whatever you'd like when I get home.

The previous owner mentioned having spacers but I don't think they were actually installed on the vehicle. Those wheels tucked into the wheel well a bit and would certainly have benefited from spacers.

i'm Shocked that the 17 Inch wheel fitted over the 345mm brake discs..

[Frank851]

Originally Posted by ZAR4MC

i'm Shocked that the 17 Inch wheel fitted over the 345mm brake discs..

If these are the original wheels on the Z4M they should be 18" wheels, not 17" wheels.