06 September 2017

Headliner Redux

During one of the drop offs to Randy Forbes, I noticed that the headliner in one of his coupes was sagging.  He hadn't noticed, and I think a lot of people don't notice either.  It's not natural to look up at the headliner.  At any rate, it bothered Randy, as he had an otherwise pristine, special coupe.  While Randy was working the subframe reinforcement on the Coupenut car, Randy asked if I would be willing to trade headliners so he could have a perfect one. Randy has done so much for me and beyond the work he has done directly on my cars, he has helped me with countless questions.  So I agreed.  We pulled the re-done headliner out of the Coupenut car and swapped it for his sagging one.  I will re-do the sagging one in Charleston and restore the Coupenut car a second time.  And, Randy gets his fixed without having to findn an upholsterer near him. 

At any rate, here is the tip.  This is a revision since the first time I did the headliner.  You do not have to remove both seats, you do not have to remove the steering wheel.  You certainly can if you like, as both will make it easier.  But, if the only job you are doing is the headliner, you can get by just removing the passenger seat and pushing the headliner out the passenger side door.  Here is a tip:  lower the driver side seat belt on the b-pillar to the lowest spot.  Put the driver's seat all the way forward, and recline it to maximum.  This will effectively lower the top of the driver's seat.  Then, get a helper to kneel at the driver's door.  The helper's job is to (a) guide the headliner while you rotate and drop it down and (b) protect the center console while the headliner edge rubs on it.

The headliner will bend some.  There is no avoiding it.  Try to keep the bends long and large and it will bend back into shape.  If you have to do it absolutely perfect and can accept no bending, the only choice is to remove the windshield and take it out from the front!

Randy Forbes Rear Subframe Reinfocement - Take II

Over the course of the last year, I have taken 3 of my cars to Randy's for work.  I started with my S54 M coupe: subframe reinforcement, upgraded connecting rod bearing change, and Beisan VANOS rebuild.  Then came my wife's MZ4 coupe: connecting rod bearing change and Beisan VANOS rebuild.  Third car was the coupenut car: rear subframe reinforcement.  Eventually I am going to get my E90 M3 to him too for - you guessed it - a connecting rod bearing upgrade.  At any rate, I don't think Randy has many 3- or 4-time customers, but I am one.  I've known Randy for > 15 years.  I have sold him LeatherZ parts, we have shared information and data for years, and we are friends. 

There isn't much to write about the work that was done on the coupenut car that hasn't already been said of his work.  I put some of the ~300 pictures that Randy took for me while the car was in work below in this post.  But, the documentation is an important step for Randy and he does it on every car he works on.  In my case, I always print copies of his photos and I put them into a photo album to pass on to the next owner(s).  The coupenut car was special for Randy because it was his 100th Z3 rear subframe reinforcement.  Definitely a milestone.  I asked Randy to sign the car in a hidden spot (or two) and he did.  I am very proud to have those on the car, and I am going to cover them with clear paint protection film!

Some issues with the coupenut car: the differential cover bushing, p/n 33172228425.  I bought a new one from BMW, and it's an expensive part.  Randy noted the one I gave him was out-of-round and he could not use it without reworking it.  Definitely a bummer on a part that expensive.  I had Randy remove the Ireland Engineering bushings that were on the car and replace them with new ones.  Because I had AKG bushings in stock, he used them instead of Irelands.  The S54 car does have new Irelands, also installed by Randy.  At any rate, there is some talk of "bad" Irelands, but these were not.  According to previous owner records with the car, these Ireland bushings were installed in May of 2009, and they only had about 14K miles on them.  There were no issues or signs of premature aging.  They didn't need to be replaced, but if he was in there anyway, might as well.  In addition, it should be noted that there was some early signs of cracking on the coupenut car right at the differential ear mount.  This is a common start point for cracks, Randy notes that nearly-new cars often crack there because of how the steel is stamped.

I supplied (all) of the parts Randy used, but you certainly don't have to.  He has a steady stream of parts and you don't have to do what I did.  When the car was finished, I flew into Tampa Airport and Randy and his wife Sue picked me up.  Talk about full service!!  I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Randy Forbes Subframe Reinforcement, $2500.00r
Total investment in vehicle to date = $16,103.54