The Red Coupe - Details, Details, Details Pt. 5

Well this is going to be light on pictures as I was too busy toiling in the sun to shoot as I went the past few days. I got all my parts in from blunttech, installed my new driver fender liner and plastic nuts for the inner fender studs on both sides to protect my tires. I also swung by Performance Collision to get my custom painted 'is' rear spoiler and zinnobar front bumper. I also got my car back from Euromotive with my 3.25LSD, new guibo and center driveshaft bushing installed.

To address the differences between the 3.25LSD compared to a 4.10LSD, from my short seat time, gearing is lengthened considerably putting 60mph in 5th around 2200rpm. I can also get to ~62mph in second gear, which is...satisfying. Gearing is noticeably longer, but the torque still gets the job done; I compare gear length mildly to driving a VW Mk3 5 speed. I'll get a better feel after the drive down to Ocean City this coming Friday. This differential, from an e28 535is, was silky as advertised; it turned out to be one of my better purchases (albeit somewhat incompletely informed at the time I did so). The guibo and center driveshaft bushing definitely needed to be changed, because now I don't have drivetrain clunk during reverse or when going over large bumps (like my driveway). Hopefully the 4.10LSD can be repaired at some point, but it's no longer a current concern.

The disappointing news is my front rad support is in fact bent which is why the coolant hose, that was recently replaced, was punctured by the fan after this happened. When using my hand to measure the gap between the top hose and the clutch fan, on my car vs. my buddy Ethan's e30, he had approximately 1" more room. Accordingly, while installing the new front bumper was smooth and easy, there is still a small gap behind between the front bumper and the front apron. I'll have to figure out whether it's worth having this pulled when I finally have the car resprayed (if that turns out to be the plan). The bumper also is slightly warped, in a way only a stickler for detail could notice, but it's far from a problem visually. On this new bumper, I installed my new front trim as well as front turn lenses. I also installed my newly delivered grommets and brake ducts to the front apron.

Lastly I washed it thoroughly and cleaned the interior/windows. I was going to do some touch up painting in a few spots, but the paint pen I got was disappointing to say the least, so I'll pass until I get a better applicator. Unfortunately I got some waterspots on this non-cleared paintjob that are being a pain to remove, after eight gd months of it being outside, but what else about this project has gone according to plan. Oh and I installed my dyed rear parcel shelf as well this weekend; I suggest to anyone doing this to use a dye fit for synthetic fibers (RIT is made for natural fibers). While it's definitely nice enough for what I intended, the dye hasn't absorbed into the fabric as much as it has laying on the surface. Regardless of it being dusty to the touch, if you do touch it, it looks solid installed with all the cleaned up breather ducts and speaker covers/screws.

Welp, there's plenty left to do for this red coupe, but this end of the season chapter push is now over; I'm just about done looking at it for a few months ha. I've spent more hours on this car over the past 6 weeks than I care to recount; hopefully it'll all be well worth it. I haven't really driven it in two weeks so I'll know when I do. A few surprises of my show setup will be left to be seen in person. See yall at H2oi.