'Izzy' (2.8 widebody)

[John_B]

I went back out this evening with a fresh attitude (and a recovered back ) and managed to get the intake boot fitted.

So Izzy is back to full working order! Took her for a quick spin this evening and she's running lovely and smooth, and no codes.

I'm going to have to find an excuse for another long drive or two though before I can be confident all the issues are resolved

 

[John_B]

This weekend I Waxoyled the sills. Despite having the car for 9 months, it was the first time I had the sill covers off, and I was nervous about what I might find. I knew the sills were solid - I have been using them on a near-weekly basis to jack the car up and down and I haven't seen anything untoward, but until the covers were removed, there was always a question mark in my mind!

I needn't have worried, the sills were better than I could have hoped. The driver's side didn't have any surface rust at all, the passenger side just had a small patch about the size of a playing card and the rear edge was getting a little flakey. I cleaned it up, brushed on a coat of waxoyl on the outside, and sprayed waxoyl into the inside as best as I could with a rattle can. I think I might do a more in-depth treatment in a year or two, but this was more of an initial investigation and basic treatment.

(The can of Dulux is forward of the front axle and just holding the tarp down, it's not - as my wife thought - holding the car up )

Unfortunately the sill covers are starting to show significant bubbling on the inside, about a foot in from either end, and the ends themselves are getting a bit tatty. So I'll look to replace those in the next year or so. In the meantime I gave them a coat of Waxoyl on the inside and refitted them with new hardware.

Other than treating the sills, I took a trip out to meet up with @Andyboy and relieve him of the M54B30 intake manifold & cam he was selling. They've gone on a shelf in the garage along with the E46 330i front calipers I bought from @Delk a few weeks ago. I'll look to start gathering more parts and fitting those in a few weeks when we're back from Spain

 

[John_B]

Happy 1-year anniversary of picking Izzy up to me!

I am conscious that I have not updated this thread in a while. I'm still here, still have the car and still love it to bits. It's just once I got back from Spain I had used up 4,879 of my 5,000 mile allowance for my classic car insurance, and I really can't be bothered with re-insuring, declaring mods, agreed value etc, plus I am pretty happy with Hagerty - apart from the 5k absolute limit

As much as it pains me, I'd rather just park it up, save a few quid on VED, and wait until my renewal in March before I start using it again

 

[ktnez99]

Happy 1-year anniversary of picking Izzy up to me!

I am conscious that I have not updated this thread in a while. I'm still here, still have the car and still love it to bits. It's just once I got back from Spain I had used up 4,879 of my 5,000 mile allowance for my classic car insurance, and I really can't be bothered with re-insuring, declaring mods, agreed value etc, plus I am pretty happy with Hagerty - apart from the 5k absolute limit

As much as it pains me, I'd rather just park it up, save a few quid on VED, and wait until my renewal in March before I start using it again

Happy 1st Anniversary Ownership, John. A very interesting thread. Looking forward to the next instalment. Can’t believe you’ve wrapped Issy up until next March!!! How are you coping without the fun of driving your Z?!?

 

[John_B]

Thanks Dawn.

It's not wrapped up per se, I've got a couple of mini projects I could tackle between now and then, I'm just not feeling especially motivated when I won't be able to use them until March lol. We'll see.

(We'll probably get to March and I'll have done nothing but run it up to temperature a few times, and I'll be kicking myself that I didn't use the time more productively!)

 

[John_B]

Over the last couple of weekends I have given Izzy a clean and service, cumulating in taxing her and getting her back out on the road yesterday, celebrating with a quick run into the Peak District. I've got a few snags to work through over the next couple of weeks and then it's MOT time later this month.

Unfortunately, over the 8 months since it last drove, there has been a bit of a change of plan and I am going to be listing it for sale once it has a fresh MOT. It's not a desperate sale and I'm not going to be giving it away. In fact if there is no interest and I still have it in a years time I will not be complaining. However a long-term plan is in place to buy my dream car - a Ferrari 360. For the last 25+yrs in my head it was only ever going to be a lottery win purchase, but I've given myself a bit of a wake up call and realised that with some hard work and a little bit of duck-alignment, it is a possibility. Realistically the Z3 isn't going to have much of a bearing on how quickly this plan comes to fruition, but I worry that keeping it around could curtail motivation.

I'm going to keep using it, maintaining it, loving it - but the project has come to a close and I'm not going to be tackling anything besides repairs and regular maintenance from now on.

 

[John_B]

I got the MOT sorted a couple of weeks ago (just one advisory for corrosion on the power steering loop) and sent off for the private plate to be removed.

I listed it on Marketplace on Thursday evening ahead of the easter weekend, and by Saturday afternoon it was gone! Off to make memories with the next owner

 

[RickyBobby]

I got the MOT sorted a couple of weeks ago (just one advisory for corrosion on the power steering loop) and sent off for the private plate to be removed.

I listed it on Marketplace on Thursday evening ahead of the easter weekend, and by Saturday afternoon it was gone! Off to make memories with the next owner

Result - enjoy the Ferrari when it comes

 

[ktnez99]

I got the MOT sorted a couple of weeks ago (just one advisory for corrosion on the power steering loop) and sent off for the private plate to be removed.

I listed it on Marketplace on Thursday evening ahead of the easter weekend, and by Saturday afternoon it was gone! Off to make memories with the next owner

Well done, John!