Optiskate

I went to fit the tires today with my jig to figure out what I needed for wheel spacers. The rear lug bolts are seized in there and I couldn't get them off, even with the assistance of some PB Blaster. I actually broke the key, the lug bolts are of the locking variety, with my weight and a medium sized breaker bar. I ended up having to get a master key set. I wasn't able to get them off. The key was pretty thin walled. If I had a thicker one, more time for the pb blaster to do its thing, and an impact, then perhaps it would have came loose. That said, I did get a front tire off. I knew it would come off as the car had a broken wheel bolt when I got it and I had to fix it. I mocked up a 19x9.5 rim and a 255/30r19 on my offset jig. Man is it a tight fit, but the tire just tucks into the wheel well since the fenders are rolled. Its definitely going to have to sit a little taller, but thats not a bad thing. The roads here are horrible and a static stanced car is a nightmare here.

All this said, I've took some time to dig into the car a bit. The factory splash guard is gone. I did find an aluminum skid plate that takes its place and if I would have had something like that, then it would have probably saved my AC from when the girl friend pulled it out of the drive way the first time. lol So I'll probably pick one up. The thing that was immensely concerning was the amount of oil all over everything. I have a pan gasket, new bolts, valve cover gasket, oil thermostat housing gasket and bolts, and a bunch of other parts that should have been done as maintenance items, but who knows if they were done. Might as well redo everything. Luckily the thermostat housing isn't leaking, but I might also want to swing for one of those fancy crank guards just in case. I also noticed that the swaybar has what appears to be some sort of line and then some wiring running to it. I'm assuming this is some sort of active swaybar?

Any way, My carbon fiber trunk and hood have come in, the front bumper is sitting in my living room, a rear bumper is sitting at my parents house, and I'm just waiting on side skirts. After than I can install all the stuff and its ready for paint. I have a decent budget for paint. I also ordered some new front control arms with Turner Motorsports monoballs, and I have rear camber and toe arms along with Powerflex black poly bushings for the rest of the rear suspension. I also managed to find some Delrin trans mount bushings and once I snag new motor mounts, Powerflex motor mount inserts, and Powerflex rear subframe and diff bushings, then I'll install all those. Progress is slow going, but at least things are kinda moving.

One other thing, On the dash it shows a battery and a key. Im assuming this is because the battery in the key is dead? Is this something I'd need to take to BMW to get tackled or is it something I can solder? I used to solder up drone stuff, so I'm not bad at soldering small things, but its been awhile.

Optiskate

I also forgot to mention. I ended up ordering hub stands and a string alignment kit. The string kit is basically all the brackets and what not, so I still have to supply my own tubing, but thats not a big deal. I need to find some corner scales. Don't worry, I'm not aligning the car in my drive way. I've got access to two different lifts, so I'll probably do it in either one of those shops.