I was on the hunt for a gray sunroof fabric shuttle and the brackets and ducts for an M-Tech II front bumper I had purchased for the touring. With no accompanying pictures on the ad, I inquired about the condition of the interior and exterior of his parts car. He responded with the following pictures:
Whoa! That's perfect: I might be able to get the bumper and all the ducting for my bumper project. But hang on, it was obvious to me that this was the ZHP version of the 330i and it looked pretty good. I sent another email asking about the ZHP trim, shifter, head, etc. and scheduled to drop by after I got off of work. I also asked what happened to the engine. This was his response:
"The VANOS is shot, I think. I'm not sure, I bought it off an organization that took it in as a donation. You can listen to it yourself.
If you want to buy the whole carcass, you can have it for $1500. Moving it is up to you."
Ummm... SURE! I was pumped to get there and check it out. In addition, he said that he would pull the ad until I let him know whether or not I wanted it.
Well, I loaded up the Mrs. and the kiddos and we scooted over there as soon as I got off work. When I first saw it I was pretty excited. It looked great with the exception of a few small details. There were little dings in the body, the brakes showed that it hadn't moved anywhere recently, there was a clear bra that was yellowed and cracked, and the interior was a mess. I toured around and found that someone had taken out all the tools from the tool kit and removed the spare wheel.Yet, the original owners must have cared for it. The leather was still pretty supple and the paint protection car bra was evidence that they initial cared about it's appearance. Here comes the catch... after checking out the engine bay I jumped in the pilot seat and tried to fire her up. Nothing. The starter cranked hard, but nothing happened. The only thing that started were the wheels in my head. I started thinking about all the possible solutions and doing quick math to determine if it was worth the trouble. I expressed my sincere interest in the car and arranged to return with some tools to discover if the engine was salvageable.
I returned with an arsenal of tools and diagnostic equipment. The owner left the keys in the glove box, since he was going to be out away for the day and welcomed me to do what ever I needed. I started with the fuel delivery system and worked all the way through the ignition system in 45 minutes. It was exhilarating to hear it jump to life and rev. But, it also billowed out white smoke. A lot. It was definitely white, but didn't have a sweet taste to it. I shut down the engine and sat back in the driver's seat. This could mean a whole myriad of problems; CCV? Blown head gasket? Warped head? Cracked block? Or, it could be moisture from sitting too long. I checked the fluids. The coolant was fine (nice!) but the oil was really low. Luckily I brought a 5L bottle of Mobil-1 0W-40. I topped her off and decided to see if the white smoke was just something that would burn off. Nope. After 15 minutes the temperature looked great but the neighborhood was filled with a thick smokey haze.
I ran out of time but arranged to return within a couple days to do a compression test on the cylinders and make my decision. My wife and I talked about it's pros and cons that evening and we both decided to pursue it. I arranged with a friend (whom I also meet on CL) to use his garage, since it couldn't be parked on the street without being registered. Talked with my dad about the registration and title transfer particulars since I am still a permanent resident in another state, and finally with another friend that agreed to loan me his Dealer Plates if I deemed it able to drive home. Everything just worked out so smoothly, not to mention the garage was powered, heated, had 24-hour access, was across the street from an Advanced Auto Parts store and had a 4-post lift!
Over the phone, I told the owner about my uncertainty of the condition of the engine and he quickly offered the car to me at $1,200 to close the deal and be done with it. Last night I meet with him, exchanged some cash and signed some paperwork. My wife checked all the tire pressures with a bike pump and affixed the dealer plate to the back of the car. We then drove--horrible, horrible brakes, smoke and all--to the garage. I ordered all the parts for a CCV replacement, OFHG, and new fluids the same day I purchased her.
I took her out this morning for a quick wash at the touchless car wash, to my surprise there was no smoke coming from the exhaust pipes!
I am happy to present my new $1200 ZHP.
