finally! completed rear seat heating for my e39! (& misc updates)

[03msport540it]

well, hello everyone!!! Yaaaaaawn!!! Sure feels like rip van winkle to me, or the genie in aladdin! There have been just a handful of meaningful updates, but throw in real life and next thing you know it’s an 18 month ‘awol’ situation! :1zhelp:

First up, what started out as really a spread for thaichi808 worked out by laidback, ended up including me. His showcar was to be featured in bimmer magazine. He calls me up and convinces zach mayne to do a double feature. pictures were shot in feb of 08, in downtown los angeles. totally forgot what these buildings were. It finally came out in the nov 08 issue. i was in seattle, and thaichi calls me on the cell to let me know!


by the time I had the time to run to the newsstand, it was GONE! I had to call zach who graciously sent me 3 copies. Of course, I keep one. Another I’ll save to give to the new owner of my car when the day comes. The third I set aside for the previous owner.

Here’s a few shots of the spread...



now here are MY shots of zach mayne, bimmer mag photographer and journalist in action...



we went for a 'quick' test drive. it was 'quick' in more than one sense. it was a different experience to be the passenger listening to it howl under a few overpasses and tall buildings in the dusk glow of the city.


and my favorite shot that did not make the article. i understand from a perfectionist photographer's view how a shot like this would not be up to his standards, but for me it was stunning. it says to me, especially how the sunlight just almost washes out the rear of the car, "look - there's a car coming at us. fast. check it out - oh - you've got to be kidding me! it's a stinking waaaaagon!" hiha


(in December, my wife’s beloved 4.4 x5 finally did itself it, spending the better of 3 months in the hospital. After 3 years of threatening to send off my ‘dear bmw’ letter, I did it. long story short, within a few days, corporate called me, and without much fanfare agreed to buy back our beloved blue lemon. So with that, if we used my touring as the daily family everything car, then…hmmm…all of a sudden, a few possibilities came up. believe it or not, i came reeeeaaaally close to getting my grubby fingers on one of these…but in the last moment, sanity prevailed. maybe in 4 years...my wife didn't care for the new x5 body style, and in the end we ended up with something lovable - an all pepper white 09 mini cooper s.)


back to the wagon...:flag:

When I met up with the old owner early 2009 (told you I was busy), I had a chance to present him his little present. Turns out he had something for me, and no less of a treasure trove. Over lunch, he hands me a stuffed folder. Among other things, it included every bit of correspondence that went with the ordering and purchase of the car. The piece de resistance was a mint condition, never used window sticker! That was awesome…


Before we headed back, he snapped some shots to send to his buddy in germany. He sees the sandblasted front spoiler. He goes, “what the %^&* happened?” actually, on a family trip to vegas dec of 08, we drove through what must have been a 30-minute sandstorm somewhere up the 15 freeway. i felt bad for the fairly new e60 in front of us...


When we got there, whatever little silver paint left on the lower front fascia was pretty much exfoliated.


My poor euro headlights…and that's how my windshield looked like, too!


I never knew it, but he suggested I should call the insurance company and file a comprehensive claim. I did – and thanks to a very understanding adjuster who spent a good 3.5 hours going over almost every square inch of the car, he authorized a full body repaint. It was unbelievable to see the damage all over the car – even the mouldings on the side of the car around the windows was visible. It was tempting to pick another color – imola red, or some shade of silver that was individual. In the end, I decided to stick with good ol’ titanium. It went to spectrum collision here in Irvine. Went in end of march, and I didn’t see it till the middle of may. Some parts were just a little tricky to order.


i did however make it to bimmerfest tagging along with thaichi. thanks to him falling asleep on the way back, i had the 'responsibility' to take over the drive home. after 2 months of bopping around in the corolla, i remembered how much fun it was to drive my car...

(As a fun aside, back in march, I was able to visit Spartanburg, thanks to a very kind friend who leased an e60 m5. Among the beasts we got to flog were the m5, m6, and the then unreleased (at least not on a wide scale) new m3 with dsg. Got to say, much as I already loved the e46m3’s not too perfect smg, that dsg was plain unbelievable.) bring the m3 wagon! i'll settle for the 335i version and pay herr dinan a visit! lucky europeans.

A very big shout of appreciation goes to craig borja over there. We had some issues come up, but if there’s anyone who made sure I was taken care of, he sure did. Among other things, I decided to have the rear valance painted body color.


The best part was they worked with me and pretty much took out every dent and scratch on the body. (Unfortunately, after several attempts with filling it, the holes on the front bumper where the dealer originally drilled the holes for the front plates could not be smoothed out properly. So it’s still there. so now the process starts once again...waiting for the first ding of many to come. who will it be? my wife? my girls? a few rocks? or the careless driver or passenger in one of the many asian restaurants we frequent??? hiha


Wow! I don’t think the car has looked this pristine. Yes, it’s an aging chassis, but that fresh coat of silver sure gave it a brand new look. Smooth, clean, and practically flawless. What more could a 6-yr old, 70k mile car ask for? doesn't this picture give you that hospital/newborn feel? not bad for a 2 month gestation period!


If any of you remember, there was one last project that was never completed. It was the most expensive, labor-wise. It certainly served no performance enhancement. It is, however, the one mod that my kids, especially the little one, most looked forward to. Taking an epic 3 years in the making – ladies and gents, may I present – the e39 two-stage rear heated seats for all THREE passengers!!!


Here is the beautiful switch panel, that tyrone had a very competent friend fabricate- michael thompson from method sound.

no cheating on the internals either...


Knowing how meticulous our surgeon is, tyrone would only use bmw parts, down to the little connectors. speaking of surgeons, here is his new assistant...it walks, almost talks, and unlike most humans, even flies short distances!


The glitch was the connectors, that stumped even the doc for a few years. He did point things in the right direction, that parts could be used from an x5. Catch was the part numbers proved elusive…until now. When craig at spectrum told me he was able to get me the little parts, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive. He was absolutely confident, so of course I check with the doc…here are the 3 culprits that took 3 years to track down.



of the three, this was the worst offender that eluded the brightest and most determined of minds (and parts department personnel both here and the bavarian motherland.)


He seems to think they’re the right parts, so our appointment is set.

4 hours later…IT'S ALIVE!!!!! Well, nothing like testing heated seats on a 90+ degree day.


as my little one says, "With the a/c blowing hard, why not?" the butt warmers were promptly tested by my daughters one steamy wednesday night coming back from church. the verdict is a standing ovation! :goldcup:

so, to craig at spectrum and doc tyrone...:imnotworthy::thankyou::imnotworthy: :thankyou: :imnotworthy::imnotworthy::imnotworthy:


Lastly, I got a little surprise for you guys – in the next few months. It’s still in the wraps. I’ll post a link when it’s ready…

THANK YOU.

[gjVah]

I'm speechless. Props for having a very clean & rare e39!!! I've never seen this mod before btw.

[rochoa21]

Nice setup

[ahetherington]

SO clean. I envy you...

[liquidsoap]

Man the first thing I thought when i saw this was I want it......... congrads

[ganesht]

do you have the pn for the ceramic heating pads?

and how hard was it to pull the leather, and re cover the seats with the heating pads in there?

[quacktoduck]

wow jack you really make the whole modding a deadly virus... haha pm me when you come up again i hear you are doing business up here in seattle... ill introduce you to the local guys here... nice to see youre still alive...

[nickMANDERFIELD]

beautiful thread, pics, detail on the car, magazine shoots, mod.. everything awesome

[cdb3113]

Amazing!

[PatrickW]

WOW!! i want to see more build pics of the seat heater control

Even the middle is heated? thats better than a 7!

[English]

Amazing.... All of it, and it's not making the fact that I'm toying with getting rid of my E39 any easier.
I used to have a lovebird just like that when I was a kid. They're funny little birds. Mine bit pretty hard tho.

[e39dream]

this is my 2nd favorite touring on the planet. The first being that M5 touring the owner built himself.

[03msport540it]

I'm speechless. Props for having a very clean & rare e39!!! I've never seen this mod before btw.

thanks! a mod dreamt up by my 3 girls, esp the youngest one. fortunately the guy who worked on it is an absolute perfectionist and genius. while never an e39 option, the next best thing for him was to source oem parts.

Nice setup

thank you!

SO clean. I envy you...

haha, don't. there are days when i question my wisdom!

Man the first thing I thought when i saw this was I want it......... congrads

thanks...that may ultimately be one of the major reasons why this wagon will permanently occupy half of the garage as other cars come and go. certainly worth the 3 yr wait from start to finish!

do you have the pn for the ceramic heating pads?

and how hard was it to pull the leather, and re cover the seats with the heating pads in there?

not handy, but have it somewhere. give me a few days. as to doing it, everything was done by tyrone. as good as he is, i remember him saying it was not trivial. (that means 'do not try this at home' to someone like me. haha.) i'll see if i can round up some pics too, as big thread has dead pics from a defunct photo server...

wow jack you really make the whole modding a deadly virus... haha pm me when you come up again i hear you are doing business up here in seattle... ill introduce you to the local guys here... nice to see youre still alive...

deadly virus it is! was infected for a year, and been virus free since! yes, did fly up to seattle for biz once a yr, but no longer...but next time we visit as a family, would love to. or do you guys come on down for bimmerfest at all?

beautiful thread, pics, detail on the car, magazine shoots, mod.. everything awesome

thank you!

Amazing!

thanks again.

WOW!! i want to see more build pics of the seat heater control

Even the middle is heated? thats better than a 7!

most certainly! i'll dig up my archives for some pics...

Amazing.... All of it, and it's not making the fact that I'm toying with getting rid of my E39 any easier.
I used to have a lovebird just like that when I was a kid. They're funny little birds. Mine bit pretty hard tho.

well, while i dont have to sell it, this year has given me reasons to do so, and for now, it seems it'll be hanging around for a while more. most of it has to do with the miles creeping now into the 70k area, coupled with my lack of mechanical savvy which translates into fear of being nickled and dimed to death by repairs (like the rear windshield wiper reservoir and pump that just died) or getting stuck somewhere. i just have to remind myself i dont beat it half as hard as the guy down in la jolla with his dinan s/c'd 540 and it's still going, i think. as long as the upkeep is reasonable, and continues to be dependable, i am hard pressed to find anything else so practical, good looking as it has aged gracefully, unique, subdued and at the punch of the accelerator sufficiently brutal. while i still miss the e46 m3 that was bought back by bmwna, i know this little wagon will be missed greatly if and when the time comes. i may even have to ensure proper provenance and approve whoever's hands it ends up in! hahahaha.

actually shot a little vid of the bird for my daughter. very chirpy fellow for sure, and even knows tyrone is her owner!

this is my 2nd favorite touring on the planet. The first being that M5 touring the owner built himself.

thank you! and - oh no kidding! steve wright is a hero! if he ever wanders over this side of the pond he should get a rock star welcome! actually, if yo ucheck the m5board, look for hartgem5's thread - he just bought the gerogia bmw tech's m5 touring that was very similar. difference is the tech did a lot of it, and hartgem5 had to finish up some not so trivial aspects of it. just the same, awesome project too. i actually wish i had that kind of aptitude, but the Lord is pretty fair and we all have different talents. if i had that kind of ability, the m5 internals transplant would have been a given, and the only predicament would have been if i would have fallen further off the deep end by having dinan finish it up with an s3 package! i could just imagine a 6-speed, 600 hp bruiser hiding inside a timid silver shell of a wagon!

[Jo@EuroDyne]

thank you! and - oh no kidding! steve wright is a hero! if he ever wanders over this side of the pond he should get a rock star welcome! actually, if yo ucheck the m5board, look for hartgem5's thread - he just bought the gerogia bmw tech's m5 touring that was very similar. difference is the tech did a lot of it, and hartgem5 had to finish up some not so trivial aspects of it. just the same, awesome project too. i actually wish i had that kind of aptitude, but the Lord is pretty fair and we all have different talents. if i had that kind of ability, the m5 internals transplant would have been a given, and the only predicament would have been if i would have fallen further off the deep end by having dinan finish it up with an s3 package! i could just imagine a 6-speed, 600 hp bruiser hiding inside a timid silver shell of a wagon!

Have you spoken to Steve lately, bruddah? Last time I heard of him was 3 months ago. According to a fellow E39 Touring member here on BF.c, he's recovered from his ordeals. In this rate, we will be seeing him here in the states!

[dinan e39]

damn, so nice...so clean. if i only had another $8K for the supercharger.......touring envy all the way.

[DennisCooper]

Heya!

I actually just left a voicemail on Steve's phone yesterday but as yet I haven't heard back from him. Hope he gets in touch as myself and Steve had a good chat about a year ago seeing as he lives or used to live just a few miles away from me.

o3Msport540it - I just dropped you a message as well! spooky that Jo turns up in the thread at the same time! Jo, you ARE in California right now and not scoping up my Touring here ?!!!

This silver touring of yours is looking very very sharp indeed, I've always liked the AC Schnitzer stuff, and my previous 95 E34 525i Sport had a set of Type 3 in 18 inch on it - these type 2's are looking excellent as well!

Congratulations on the rest of the car as well! - lookin pukka mate!

Cheers, Dennis, West London UK!

[MartinV]

Wow that is a great mod!!!! very nice indeed, looks OEM 100%