[avocet]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

*BMW 335i N55 Oil Cooler, Fender Liner, and Cooler Ducts

First off... absolutely awesome project! I am not nearly where you are... but we all need aspirations!

But,

I haven't seen if this was mentioned or not... but was the bracket that is mounted on the frame there or did you need to source and install it? I have an aftermarket cooler waiting for install that uses the factory mounts and needs that bracket. I haven't pulled anything apart yet, but if you can give me a heads up on whats required I should only have to go in there once!

Circled in red is the studs where the rubber isolation grommets go(in yellow in other pic...)

Thanks for any insight!!!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by avocet

First off... absolutely awesome project! I am not nearly where you are... but we all need aspirations!

But,

I haven't seen if this was mentioned or not... but was the bracket that is mounted on the frame there or did you need to source and install it? I have an aftermarket cooler waiting for install that uses the factory mounts and needs that bracket. I haven't pulled anything apart yet, but if you can give me a heads up on whats required I should only have to go in there once!

Circled in red is the studs where the rubber isolation grommets go(in yellow in other pic...)

Thanks for any insight!!!

I have a list of parts I ordered. I believe these are the part numbers for the yellow circled:


Mounting Bolt for Cooler Bracket to Frame
07119903995

Holder/Nut for Mounting Bolt to Frame
17217540030

There is a hole in the frame there that that “nut” turns and locks into. Then the bolt goes through the bracket into it.

The large cooler bracket came to me affixed to my salvaged cooler. I’m sure if you look on realoem you can find the part number, but I never looked it up because I had that part.

I modified my bracket to simplify install. In a proper install it is supposed to slip over the frame bolts (behind the bumper carrier and radiator support).

But I didn’t want to remove all those parts, so I trimmed the top and bottom of the bracket down so I could just loosen the 4 bumper carrier nuts like 1/2” and then slipped the bracket between those items and the frame. So in my case it’s held just by being sandwiched between the bumper carrier and the frame horns. There’s no part of it that’s actually slid over the bolts if that makes sense.

I thought I had a picture of the cuts I made but can’t find it. But going from memory I cut it about like where I put these blue lines so I could do a quick and easy install...

[avocet]

That is great! Thank you for that answer. I think I understand what you are saying when you say you cut the bracket and slid it between the frame. Another quick question: did the front bumper need to be removed for this?

Thanks again!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by avocet

That is great! Thank you for that answer. I think I understand what you are saying when you say you cut the bracket and slid it between the frame. Another quick question: did the front bumper need to be removed for this?

Thanks again!

Yes remove the plastic outer bumper shell and wheel liner, but not the metal sub bumper “crash bar” (bumper carrier in BMW speak). The 8 mounting nuts for that can be loosened and the assembly left on the car as per my cuts in the bracket.

[avocet]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Yes remove the plastic outer bumper shell and wheel liner, but not the metal sub bumper “crash bar” (bumper carrier in BMW speak). The 8 mounting nuts for that can be loosened and the assembly left on the car as per my cuts in the bracket.

Many thanks! Hopefully I will be able to get this done soon!

[J4mesW]

Originally Posted by avocet

Many thanks! Hopefully I will be able to get this done soon!

Found a video of a guy remove the front end.

Btw, if you only insert the new cutted large bracket on one side and not remove the old locate plate, will the bumper carrier on two sides placed unevenly?

[avocet]

Originally Posted by J4mesW

Found a video of a guy remove the front end.

Btw, if you only insert the new cutted large bracket on one side and not remove the old locate plate, will the bumper carrier on two sides placed unevenly?

Yes, I think the new cut bracket will act like a spacer, but(without actually having been in there) am going to guess that there is enough tolerance with the cover that it is a non-issue.

Even thought that video makes it look really easy...

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by J4mesW

Found a video of a guy remove the front end.

Btw, if you only insert the new cutted large bracket on one side and not remove the old locate plate, will the bumper carrier on two sides placed unevenly?

Yes by the thickness of that plate which is between 1/16” and 1/8”. But it’s totally acceptable and didn’t cause any issues for me.

[Biginboca]

Car wash this weekend which is a real treat now. The way the carbon bits react to being wet is like a fireworks show. Still getting used to it...

[Peertwelve]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Car wash this weekend which is a real treat now. The way the carbon bits react to being wet is like a fireworks show. Still getting used to it...

Wow, i ran across your thread while researching e92 m3 sunroof to slicktop swap. I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished... An inspiration. I wanted to ask if you've noticed more cabin noise inside the car at speed.. is the carbon roofed car as quiet? The donor car is my car's twin. Made me cringe when I saw it. Thanks for not showing it decapitated!

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Peertwelve

Wow, i ran across your thread while researching e92 m3 sunroof to slicktop swap. I'm really impressed with what you've accomplished... An inspiration. I wanted to ask if you've noticed more cabin noise inside the car at speed.. is the carbon roofed car as quiet? The donor car is my car's twin. Made me cringe when I saw it. Thanks for not showing it decapitated!

Thanks for the comments... Decapitated

The carbon roof has added sound insulation the metal roof didn’t and I’m not noticing any difference in noise levels at all. It actually surprised me the first time I was on the highway that the car felt just as quiet and solid as before the swap.

[Terp1]

Your build is so amazing, I absolutely love it! Any plans on doing the cowl delete with the Burger Motorsports N54 filters?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by Terp1

Your build is so amazing, I absolutely love it! Any plans on doing the cowl delete with the Burger Motorsports N54 filters?

Thank you sir! I haven’t wanted to do any mods that would affect longevity or utility as a daily driver. When I casually looked at that set up before I was hesitant because it seemed like it opens up some areas to potential issues. The tiny HVAC filters are not covered or blocked from direct water ingress and I’m in Florida where we get tropical depressions and tons of rain every day all summer. (Maybe not while driving but while parked outside in a downpour.)

Plus it looks like it would allow more dirt to accumulate around the brake reservoir and ECU junction box. So I’m not sure about it?

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Thank you sir! I haven’t wanted to do any mods that would affect longevity or utility as a daily driver. When I casually looked at that set up before I was hesitant because it seemed like it opens up some areas to potential issues. The tiny HVAC filters are not covered or blocked from direct water ingress and I’m in Florida where we get tropical depressions and tons of rain every day all summer. (Maybe not while driving but while parked outside in a downpour.)

Plus it looks like it would allow more dirt to accumulate around the brake reservoir and ECU junction box. So I’m not sure about it?

I agree with your assessment on that one. I personally didn’t like the look of the water drainage without the cowl in place considering it rains 60 inches a year here. Maybe if mine was still a SoCal car I’d consider it...

[E91Swagger]

Congrates! Wow, HUGE accomplishment. Definitely CSL build category.

BTW, totally understand when you say modding is kind of therapeutic lol

[Biginboca]

Minor Updates...

Interior Trim Pieces arrived a couple days ago. I needed black M3 visors, grab handles, pillar covers, etc to complete the carbon roof swap to OEM. I found some on eBay from a scrapper in Lithuania and they took 8 weeks to arrive but now they are in the car...





One thing of interest is the new visors don’t have the airbag warning labels. Guess this is a US Market thing...



I also spent some time on the exterior of the car this week. Painted my exhaust tips black, installed some decals, and a trunk badge. I had to use a E30 trunk BMW emblem because the e92 trunk emblem was too big, and even the e30 BMW emblem was tricky getting to fit the contours of the trunk.







Next up is a special trunk badge I’m making. That’s going to be a surprise hehe

And I’m still on the fence with what to do about paint for the hood and trunk. I got a quote from a shop I liked and it was $1200 for the paint scheme I wanted. It’s a lot of money for a purely cosmetic mod, so I’m leaning towards putting that money into lightweight front seats instead. I can save 50lbs swapping to a pair of some lightweight reclining seats. So I’m thinking all that over...

[PORTMOODY]

Originally Posted by Biginboca

Minor Updates...

Interior Trim Pieces arrived a couple days ago. I needed black M3 visors, grab handles, pillar covers, etc to complete the carbon roof swap to OEM. I found some on eBay from a scrapper in Lithuania and they took 8 weeks to arrive but now they are in the car...





One thing of interest is the new visors don’t have the airbag warning labels. Guess this is a US Market thing...



I also spent some time on the exterior of the car this week. Painted my exhaust tips black, installed some decals, and a trunk badge. I had to use a E30 trunk BMW emblem because the e92 trunk emblem was too big, and even the e30 BMW emblem was tricky getting to fit the contours of the trunk.







Next up is a special trunk badge I’m making. That’s going to be a surprise hehe

And I’m still on the fence with what to do about paint for the hood and trunk. I got a quote from a shop I liked and it was $1200 for the paint scheme I wanted. It’s a lot of money for a purely cosmetic mod, so I’m leaning towards putting that money into lightweight front seats instead. I can save 50lbs swapping to a pair of some lightweight reclining seats. So I’m thinking all that over...

Im with you. just do simple white paint on both panels and get the seats.

[CDirks]

Read through the whole thread for the first time this morning- what a fantastic build. Good job one everything so far. I'll be interested to see what you end up choosing for seats.

Where did you get the idea for the X1 steering wheel trim? First time I've seen that, and I'm curious if it required any modification to fit your wheel?

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by CDirks

Read through the whole thread for the first time this morning- what a fantastic build. Good job one everything so far. I'll be interested to see what you end up choosing for seats.

Where did you get the idea for the X1 steering wheel trim? First time I've seen that, and I'm curious if it required any modification to fit your wheel?

Thank you sir! The X1 trim fits the E90/92 sport Steering wheel (and airbag of course) and is a direct swap. I got the idea because I wanted something different that would also match the bmw performance shift knob and ebrake handle with their shiny silver/aluminum look. When I started looking I noticed the x1 had the same airbag as the E92 sport wheel, and it had a large area of that same aluminum looking (it’s actually silver plastic) trim as the e9x Performance accessories. So I took a gamble and it paid off lol

[Biginboca]

So the “M tax” is for real! Brand new OEM “328i” badge $35 delivered....

Brand new tiny OEM “csl” badge... $70 delivered! And the csl badge is like 1/4 the size. Things like this make you appreciate having a 328 a lot more lol

[E92William]

I think it looks great and fits the car very well, is it a different color? You should color match your 328 badge to it.
I'd like to have one on my car but it doesn't exactly fit the csl description at a chonky 3500lb and some change

[Biginboca]

Originally Posted by E92William

I think it looks great and fits the car very well, is it a different color? You should color match your 328 badge to it.
I'd like to have one on my car but it doesn't exactly fit the csl description at a chonky 3500lb and some change

What’s funny is by today’s standards 3500 really isn’t considered heavy anymore. That’s what Supra’s and M2’s weigh now!

I see what you mean, the csl looks a little darker than the 328 badge. They are both brand new oem so not sure why that is lol. In person they look the same color but the csl is kind of a flat faced badge and the 328 has facets on the face that catch the light. I think that makes it look brighter from some angles...