[Nosewheelie]

I haven’t loaded down my wagon like that, and I’m a tile setter! Haha. I do like to load heavy things in the rear footwells with the back seats up, I put as much weight as far forward as possible. That’s some major low rider stuff there! Steering wheel looks great as well!

I tried to put the bulk of the load on the folded down seats for just that reason, but still ended up with four 80# bags on the rear floor of the wagon.

 

[vtwagon]

I tried to put the bulk of the load on the folded down seats for just that reason, but still ended up with four 80# bags on the rear floor of the wagon.

Yeah sorry, saw you’d done just that when I looked again later.

 

[Nosewheelie]

More progress, I still have to make a few tensioning passes on the top section and see if I can get the 3 & 9 O’clock sections to lay flat. If I’m not happy with the gaps, then I’ll break out our steam mop and see if I can soften the leather to get it to stretch a bit more.

I’ve had to go backwards a few times primarily to remove some of the double sided tape that I used - so I would recommend not using it. It interferes with letting the leather to stretch and doesn’t allow you to reposition seams, etc.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Milestone day! Replaced pinion seal on the Diff of my ‘01 M3 last night.

Also picked up a’13 328i as my winter car - AZ car, so clean underneath!

And so now that the lift is free & backup car in hand - I gave the wagon it’s final wash before I start tearing it down.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Wagon has assumed the position! Drain fluids next and start the teardown!

 

[///Mark_D]

Holy crap watch out for that bear! I hear bad things happen when you hit one of those.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Finally started tearing down the wagon. Got the fluids drained, pulled the exhaust and heat shields and put the car up on jack stands on the lift.

This afternoon hoping to drop driveshaft and rear suspension/subframe.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Good progress - utilized the lift and my workbench to drop the rear end.

then loosed subframe bolts/nuts and lift the car off.

Then use lift with a chain to pick up the rear subframe assembly off the workbench.

and it’s on the ground and ready for disassembling

 

[Nosewheelie]

I know karma is going to show up sometime, but wow - this came apart in 5 minutes

 

[Nosewheelie]

Plan to remove front A-arms, steering rack & tie rods and then start removing all the electrical connections to get ready to lower front subframe, engine and trans out the bottom onto the workbench.

 

[vtwagon]

Love that creative use of your lift, bench, Jack, and stands. Seems like a good setup for you, allowing storage as well.

How tall is your ceiling? 12’, 14’?

 

[Nosewheelie]

14’ - love the setup. I also have a set of quick jacks so that gives me the ability to do suspension work too. No regrets on purchasing the 4 post lift.

I decided to build a narrow bench (2’ wide) as on prior deeper workbenches, anything beyond 2’ is just collecting dust and/or lost. The lockable wheels on the bench have also been great. I need to get a sheet of SS for the top to finish it.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Pulled the engine out this afternoon - went pretty smoothly. Removed front suspension, steering and struts and then dropped engine and transmission along with the front subframe onto the workbench.

Here’s the blocking I used to support the engine on the bench. I ended up adding some blocks underneath the oil pan as the front cross member rotated on us.

Almost out - successfully disconnected all the electrical and water lines but forgot about the fuel lines!! DOH!!

Success! On the bench! Tomorrow is put away all the suspension items and then separate the transmission from the engine and get the transmission up into the attic with the other items. Then figure out what to do with the engine…

 

[Nosewheelie]

Finally I’ve got some time to work on the project. I built a dolly for the engine using some 2x8s leftover from this summers deck project and a couple of 6x6 shorts and used the casters from my lift - a little trial and error, but works great.

photo is at a bit of an angle, engine is pretty centered on the dolly.

Now just need to find a home for this - high mileage but runs great & doesn’t burn any oil…. Leaks oil LOL, but doesn’t burn any.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Was a little under the weather so broke out my steering wheel project and went through another few rounds of tensioning the threads - shaping up pretty well.

I’ve still got some gaps I’m chasing - I think my next step will be to rig up the steam mop to try to close some of the gaps then I can work on the wrinkles and finish work.

The heavily shaped lobes and the seam between upper and lower halves are the biggest challenge with the smooth leather. I’ve never used the perforated leather or suede, I would think they would stretch a little easier. This “feels” close to E90 M3 wheel which is great for me as I have big hands.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Started pulling out all the wiring harnesses and brake hardware out of the engine bay (as well as the radiator and bumper assy).

Really happy with condition of everything I’ve uncovered so far - no surprises (yet).

Just starting to transition to disassembling the interior.

 

[vtwagon]

Was a little under the weather so broke out my steering wheel project and went through another few rounds of tensioning the threads - shaping up pretty well.

View attachment 963764

I’ve still got some gaps I’m chasing - I think my next step will be to rig up the steam mop to try to close some of the gaps then I can work on the wrinkles and finish work.
View attachment 963765

The heavily shaped lobes and the seam between upper and lower halves are the biggest challenge with the smooth leather. I’ve never used the perforated leather or suede, I would think they would stretch a little easier. This “feels” close to E90 M3 wheel which is great for me as I have big hands.

Having recently re-wrapped a steering wheel myself, I can agree it’s not quite as easy to get it looking minty as it may seem. In some areas I struggled to get the gap to close as well, but with some massaging and continuing to go back over the area and pull more thread through I eventually got it all 99%.

I would caution against using steam to help close the gap between the two halves. It’s my understanding that the steam will heat up the leather (good) but the moisture will make it shrink as it dries (bad.) I think that might make it harder to do what you’re trying to do.

Using the steam to help smooth out (and tighten up) the looser areas I would definitely try.

I’ve only done this once so take my advice with a grain or two of salt.

 

[yjsaabman]

I'm happy to read any and all info I can on the steering wheel process as I got my hands on a spare to wrap, as well.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Having recently re-wrapped a steering wheel myself, I can agree it’s not quite as easy to get it looking minty as it may seem. In some areas I struggled to get the gap to close as well, but with some massaging and continuing to go back over the area and pull more thread through I eventually got it all 99%.

I would caution against using steam to help close the gap between the two halves. It’s my understanding that the steam will heat up the leather (good) but the moisture will make it shrink as it dries (bad.) I think that might make it harder to do what you’re trying to do.

Using the steam to help smooth out (and tighten up) the looser areas I would definitely try.

I’ve only done this once so take my advice with a grain or two of salt.

Thanks - I’ll continue to work with my hands to stretch the leather as best I can and retention the threads.

 

[Nosewheelie]

Wet weather forecast for the next 4 days 😀 so I can focus on the touring. I started pulling the interior out and just got the dash out - so time for a lunch break.

Having spent half it’s life in FLA, sheet metal is in great shape,but all the plastic bits are super brittle…. Hopefully the headliner (slicktop!) comes out in one piece when I get there.