Here the gal has arrived in all her glory. There is little doubt that she is a kept lady and yet you can sense that she likes to play; and play hard from time to time. She is a perfect example of a gal that can wear elegance and bar fly at the same time leaving all but the knowing unsure as to whether to temp/test her.

Here the gal has arrived in all her glory. There is little doubt that she is a kept lady and yet you can sense that she likes to play; and play hard from time to time. She is a perfect example of a gal that can wear elegance and bar fly at the same time leaving all but the knowing unsure as to whether to temp/test her. [ View Pictures ]
Here are just a few of the cool pieces slated to be integrated into this gal as she is moved through the transformation process. From the front to the rear she is being massaged throughout. [ View Pictures ]
Here the gal is finally being ready to go under the proverbial knife. [ View Pictures ]
Here the old exhaust has been removed and soon to be discarded as the entire system is being replaced with SuperSprint thermal coated headers as well as complete SuperSprint exhaust the remainder of the way out the back. [ View Pictures ]
Here the differential is coming out and soon to be replaced with a custom unit prepared specifically for this gal. [ View Pictures ]
Here is the D/A custom polished 4.10 differential ready to have fluids added and then the cover installed prior to being installed in the gal. [ View Pictures ]
Here the custom differential is being fit into place. [ View Pictures ]
Here is the new UUC light weight flywheel and clutch assembly ready to be installed. [ View Pictures ]
Here is Mr Hayes rear sway bar which was removed to insure that during the differential replacement process no damage was caused. [ View Pictures ]
Here the OEM exhaust manifolds with the integrated cats have been removed. These will not be reinstalled as the new SuperSprint "Stepped" headers that were ceramic coated with downstream small metal bed cats will take their place once the Stage III head and cams are installed. [ View Pictures ]
The next step will be to remove the transmission so that the OEM clutch and flywheel can be removed and replaced with the UUC lightweight flywheel and custom clutch setup. [ View Pictures ]
Here the process of pulling the transmission is underway so the new UUC lightweight flywheel and custom clutch assembly can be installed. [ View Pictures ]
Here the OEM radiator has been removed making the space ready for the new custom aluminum radiator can be installed. [ View Pictures ]
Here the custom radiator which has the electric dual speed fan setup integrated is being installed. [ View Pictures ]
Here the OEM air box has been removed making the space ready for the new carbon fiber air box and integrated cold air intake system. [ View Pictures ]
Here the carbon fiber mock up is set into place to confirm all issues before the final piece is pulled from the mold. *note, this is just for fitment purposes only not the finished piece. [ View Pictures ]
Here the soon to be installed custom head is being unwrapped and cleaned for the last time prior to it being installed on the gal. [ View Pictures ]
There were 24 larger valves installed, aggressive N/A Schrick cams, special diamond coated performance cam followers, and extensive porting and flow matching has been completed all for the purpose of creating a motor that is as happy tooling through town as when asked to play very hard. And play very hard she will!. [ View Pictures ]
Once this head is installed and then mated to the wonderful complete SuperSprint Stepped exhaust system and the power then transferred through the UUC light weight flywheel and custom clutch and the custom polished differential she will be much more spirited and likely want to play all the time. All the while the throttle bodies are being fed cold air in giant gulps by the beautiful carbon fiber intake system. Then add to this the addition of the custom aluminum radiator she will remain much happier during the extreme heat of the day. [ View Pictures ]
Here the custom head is being made ready to be installed. During this process the cams will be removed so the head can be properly installed and then full valve adjustment confirmation will be completed before she is fired. [ View Pictures ]
Here the old head has been removed and now the process of cleaning the pistons and preparing the block for the new head will commence The inside of this gal looks very nice. [ View Pictures ]
Here is the initial firing of the gal; raw and visceral as this is being completed with no exhaust for very verification that she remained happy during her surgery.
Here she is running through the ceramic coated SuperSprint Stepped headers only. The remainder of the exhaust will be installed as part of the next phase. Even at this point she is very happy and seems anxious to go play.
Here the engine is being completely buttoned up including the installation of the OEM heat shields and the coil cover. [ View Pictures ]
Here the remainder of the complete SuperSprint Stepped header exhaust system is being installed followed by all of the OEM under body panels. [ View Pictures ]
Now one of the many personal tweaks being completed while this gal spends time with us is the integration of a set of very cool NEXUS gauges. Here the gauges have been dry fit into place at the location which originally occupied the OEM sunglasses pocket. The face plate is not set back fully into its final position because the final wiring harness needs to be put into place in advance nevertheless even at this phase it looks rather cool!. [ View Pictures ]
As the final stages of the composite fabrication moves forward we continue to twist and tweak the gal preparing her for her journey home Earlier we made mention of and showed pictures of the Nexus gauge cluster being installed. Because we are in a bit of a holding pattern awaiting the final pieces we have been able to methodically consider numerous options when it came to sensor placement. In the end there will be three data collection points; water temperature, transmission fluid temperature, and oil pressure. We decided to remove the custom radiator that we installed earlier and then install a machine bung into the tank as the means to collect water temperature data. Then we took an OEM transmission drain plug; not the fill plug or the one of the case sensor locations because we want to measure fluid temperature and not simply the case temperature as we have been made aware of in the past. And then lastly we will be integrating the oil pressure sender as well.
Here is the custom machine aluminum bung after we welded it in the radiator side tank. [ View Pictures ]
Here the Nexus sensor is install in the radiator. [ View Pictures ]
Here is a OEM transmission drain plug after we machined it to accept the Nexus temperature sensor. [ View Pictures ]
Here the sensor is installed in the transmission drain plug. By design it will allow for ease of both transmission fluid services as well as sensor servicing if required over time. [ View Pictures ]
Here the wiring for the 2 speed electric fan is being laid out and the hardware is being positioned within the compartment at the firewall on the passenger side. [ View Pictures ]
This white with red trace lead wire is used to make clear that this is a secondary switched 12 volt circuit. The OEM version is just the opposite; meaning they use red with white trace lead. We do this to maintain wiring continuity through the system as we integrate secondary systems so as to make future servicing easy. [ View Pictures ]
Here the oil pressure sending used in conjunction with the NEXXUS gauges neatly mounted and wired as if OEM. [ View Pictures ]
Here the DME compartment is having the NEXXUS gauge control box and the secondary power taps integrated. [ View Pictures ]
Here the DME compartment has been put back together; you can see the NEXXUS gauge control box neatly tucked in as of it had been there from the gal's birth. [ View Pictures ]
Here the area selected for the electric 2 speed fan wiring has been completed; the system uses 2 relays and a resistor. In this case because the resistor can get warm it was mounted to the actual shell of the gal's firewall whereas the relays are able to hang on the plastic portion of the inner liner. [ View Pictures ]
Here is a cool little video showing the NEXXUS gauges operating in DEMO mode. With the use of the remote control a choice of 7 different back light colors can be selected, peak values seen, minimum values; meaning extreme warning points for each of the sensors can be establish as well as a laundry list of other rather cool features including when the gal is turn off the face of the gauges simply fade to black.
We have now completed Phase 1 of this gal's conversion process including the personal touch items such as the NEXXUX gauges. It was d uring this phase that we also completed the final fitting of the custom carbon fiber air box and all of the associated pieces. It is at this point that the gal will be leaving for the body shop to have the carbon fiber CSL roof installed and then she will return for the installation of the custom carbon fiber air box, the associated pieces such as the custom carbon fiber intake tube, the custom air filter, and for final tuning.
Here the 2 speed electric fan switch and associated wiring can be seen neatly integrated into the right side of the all aluminum radiator. [ View Pictures ]
Here the water temperature sending unit and associated wiring can be seen neatly integrated into the left side of the all aluminum radiator. [ View Pictures ]
Here is how the gal's engine bay looks after the Phase 1 tweaks have been completed. Even at this stage she has a very OEM appearance with everything integrated in such as way as to appear as if it arrived from BMW this way. [ View Pictures ]
Here she is in all her glory having been detailed and made ready for the next leg of the process. [ View Pictures ]

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