1998 BMW Z3

Convertible

2.8L 2793CC l6 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated

Manual

4USCJ332XWLC11090

Clear

Gasoline

Hi bimmer fans! ONE-OF-A-KIND Z3! A work of Art! over $16,000 invested If you're looking for a Z3, put this one on your list if you don't mine having pictures taken of your car just driving down the street, at the gas pump, it's crazy! Nobody knows what year it is, when I tell them the year, they're shocked. I drove it to a local classic muscle car event to check out some cars and before I could get the top up and get out, people were coming over and checking out my ride! I spent most of my time there going over my car. It was a great time and was awesome how many people appreciated my custom Z3! I'll never forget what one Bimmer gal said; You created a work of art! That was my vision! Look, if you're concerned about the miles or the year and think this is just a high mile Z3, move on, find another one! There are plenty out there looking like every other one. This Z3 is for a passionate, proud owner that will appreciate and care for this Z3 and enjoy as I have. I get in this Z3 and drive it confidently anywhere at anytime, well, as long as the weather is good! Other Bimmer enthusiast love it and take pictures of it all the time. My wife and I just got back from a little road trip down A1A along the beach to St. Augustine. We had a great time with the top down, music playing, sun shining, and the bonus...tons of compliments on the car. I look at it as a piece of art more than a car! I hate to sell, but, I'm near the end of a rescue, I mean, restore(lol) of a 1968 Volvo 1800 and need some funds to complete it. I've gone overboard again, yikes! This was my childhood dream car. (remember the T.V. show "The Saint" with Roger Moore before James Bond), I watched this show just because of the car on T.V. and fell in love! I loved the lines of that car and knew I would get one, someday. Well, on my 50th birthday, my wife surprised me with one. I was blown away. My wife knew I would want to make it my own, so, she got one with good bones. I'm having it restored and it's getting close to being ready...yea!!!!. I also have a "M-Z3" I'm thinking of turning into a work of art, so, I'm keeping it and with reservation, letting this one go. ok, I'll give you some history with my time spent on this Z3... BEFORE: When I saw this car, it needed cosmetics, mostly paint work. It had surface scratches, small dings, the front bumper had scrapes on the bottom and had a little crack. The lights were dull, dated and two of the rims had a little curb rash. The interior seats were worn and had the black with the red insert scheme, fake animal skin look. the door panels were damaged, speakers were shot. The top was only a few months old and the car hadn't been in an accident, so, I drove it and was pleasantly surprised how strong the engine ran with the transmission working great along with the suspension. I decided to have an engine compression test done. The mechanic said; hey, every cylinder is within guides and this engine is the one you want and is in great shape other than an oil leak coming from the valve gaskets. A strong motor was my main concern, besides not being wrecked, so, I decided to get this one back to what it should be. I purchased this car February, 2013 and got it home October, 2014 with everything done listed here with exception of some repairs. DURING: OK, first things first... My thoughts were to make it the way I thought it should be! CLEAN-SLICK-SEXY, so, I made my list and got to work... Body work & Paint: Joe Sheppard(body shop manager), a long time motorcyclist and body man took on this project at Tropical Ford's body shop in Orlando, FL. Joe is an old school hot rod builder and true biker. Rebuilding cars and bikes has been his passion. He has a state of the art facility and has over 40 years experience in vehicle and motorcycle repair and restoring. His shop is the preferred Ford dealer for repair in Orange county. These days he oversees jobs, but does get his hands dirty. I caught him working on the process when the guys were working out the details on the door poppers. Joe had done that years ago and was having fun working on that project. Joe and his guys did a great job and I'm very happy with the results! They removed all body panels, hood, trunk, doors, everything painted mars red was taken off the car except around the windshield was removed to paint. The original color was silver, not sexy enough, I thought red, but not just red, I looked at all the reds and got the red closest to the sexiest red lipstick I saw on the models in that Robert Plant video; "addicted to love" I found the color and it was a Mercedes red, "Mars Red" . I had all the BMW badges removed, washers on the hood removed, front side running lights, Driver and passenger side mirrors removed, door handles, front side and rear reflectors removed. I had the antenna removed(slick). (I still have all this stuff that was taken off). The antenna is on the passenger side top of the windshield inside. All of these holes were replaced with the same gage metal, cut to fit and welded in, this includes all metal panels! I did replace the badges on the gills. I used the power from the side running light to power LED lights placed in the gills.(I had the gills painted black for contrast and a basic black trim scheme). It looks awesome at night! The third brake light has LED lights too. I have an outside mirror attached to the glass with double sided industrial tape. My ultimate plan was to have cameras put in the gills and have a display mounted on the dash to use for visibility. Since I'm selling, that project is still on the drawing table. I had poppers put in to work the doors. To operate the doors, it's done with the use of a viper alarm/remote with a proximity feature, (when the alarm is engaged, if you get to close the alarm will sound off, but, with a warning first). To get out you use the door handles, no worries. I'm trying to figure out how to download a video to show how it works, we'll see?? All areas under the hood around the engine, body door jams, etc. were finished in flat back. I like the look, especially with the door jams having black plastic, I think it gives it a cleaner and finished look in my opinion with the black interior. It seems to flow better. I did have a more aggressive front bumper put on to replace the standard bumper,(M front look) added halo headlights, new rear lights. The body work and paint came out fantastic, I give it a 9.7 out of 10! Total for body work, parts, upgraded headlights and tail lights, door poppers, and Paint $6,600. Wheels & Tires: ok, I replaced the standard wheels and tires with TOYO PROXES 4plus 235/35R19 Front & 265/30R19 Rear Tires over staggered STANCE CONCAVE 19X6 FRONT & 19X8 REAR STAINLESS & BLACK WITH CHROME LIP wheels. I had these installed by my friends at Audio Zone in Orlando, FL. I had brake calipers removed and painted silver. I had drilled and slotted rotors installed. I looked at a lot of rims and decided on these with the overall scheme I was going for, red, black, & chrome. Red is sexy, black showing the naughty side, & got to have some bling...lol. They ride great with no issues with alignment or vibrations. Trey and the guys at Audio Zone did a great job! The total for this came to $2,500. Interior: ok, I replaced the seats with new Black perforated leather seats with red stitching and red perforated highlights(see pictures). The gear shift and cover has red stitching to match. I had the console replaced with a newer one, but, it has a power top button and my Z3 doesn't have a power top, so, keep that in mind when viewing pictures. I got black hockey sticks(leather side trim pieces on console, they were red). I had new black door panels made with custom tweeters. (see pictures). Also has new Z3 embroidered floor mats, and, new roadster door sills. Total for interior, $1,600. Music: I had a new stereo system installed, and, the guys at "Audio Zone" in Orlando, FL installed the custom speaker box, LED lights in the gills, under hood, and rear brake light. They added amps, (one to push the subwoofer and another for the other speakers).It has "MASSIVE high performance BX2 & BX4 amps additional speakers were added for more sound between the seats! This system sounds amazing. You can use your smart phone like Bluetooth when plugged in playing Pandora! This is a custom made box for the Kicker Subwoofer, other speakers and a black&white BMW emblem glowing with red "led" lights located at the back of the box!(see pictures). Total for the stereo system, Viper Alarm, LED lights, and custom work speaker box, Total for system & custom box, $3,000.. Mechanical: ok, like I said; the engine needed nothing but valve cover gaskets changed, I had fields BMW in Orlando on OBT check out the vehicle completely and do some work on the vehicle. I had valve cover gaskets replaced, coolant system repaired, and ordered parts from Fields and have those invoices. I have copies of invoices on the work performed. I also have a bimmer guy, Mike Wilson of Wilson's Bimmer Repair in holly hill Fl. tell me this 2.8L motor can go another 100k easily with regular maintenance. He has done some repairs also and I have invoices of those, just had power steering line replaced last week because I saw a couple spots on the garage floor. I had new drilled and slotted rotors installed with brake pads. The tires, wheels, rotors, brake pads, since restoring, I have put under a 1000 miles on it. I asked Mike @ Mike's Bimmer Repair to check out the clutch, and, he agreed it could use a clutch soon, but is fine as-is right now. It drives great, don't get me wrong, I feel it not grabbing as good as it could, but, that being said, I would have it done if keeping it.You know, chasing perfection, lol. That's all it needs right now that I've been told . Total money spent not relevant to me to get car in everyday running condition, but, I have spent over $3,000 to make it a great dependable driver! Cosmetics: ok, I've listed what was done, the exterior paint is 97% perfect. There are a couple small imperfections on the hood and drivers door, hence 97%. The few things it needs to make a show car; the windshield has some light scratches, but, no interference with vision. The center console drink holder flip-ups are flaking and not working as good as they should(I planned on replacing them or just taking them out). The top is in outstanding condition. The wheels have no damage and are at 99.9% perfect. The interior is new and 99.9% perfect. This car didn't have and has NO rust! It's garaged kept and when not in use, it's under a indoor-outdoor car cover, I'm keeping the cover for the Volvo 1800. Just to let you know. After: A bitter sweet time for me. I'm very happy with the results and love this Z3, regret having to sell it! My custom Z3 looks like a "M-Z3", well not really, my M-Z3 is a standard "M", a lot of people say they like the looks of my custom Z3 over my "M-Z3". I'll throw in a picture of my M-Z3 and you be the judge! lol. This car drives, handles, and, rides fantastic. I didn't take any shortcuts with this car in any way! Everyone involved did their part with a vision driven by passion and a desire to have a hand in creating a special car! I appreciate everyone involved who made this happen; Joe Sheppard and his crew, Trey and the guys from Audio Zone, Mike Wilson of Mike Wilson's Bimmer Repair, and, Mike Carley with Fields BMW. Incase you're wondering I'm a 55 year old car enthusiast that has been in love with cars since I was about 10 years old. I've been restoring or rescuing sports cars for over 30 years and love seeing them finished and driving them. I believe in driving these great cars, not parking them in a garage and looking at them! I try to bring life back to them so they can be enjoyed for generations! Please consider the amount of option upgrades and custom work that has gone into this Z3 before your offer, it is truly unlike any other out there! I hope the new owner will enjoy it as much as I have! Thank you. All of the work I had done plus the price I paid for the car is well over $16,000. This wasn't done to resell and make a few bucks, it was done out of a true passion to rescue and turn it into the special car it turned out to be. Due to unforeseen circumstance with my finances, I must use the funds collected from this sale to fund the 1800, thank you. The way I wanted the car finished and where it is, I would say it's at 95% complete, due to the few things I listed here I wanted to do. Everyone I talked to said they would drive it as it is right now. I like taking cars to the next level with looks, power, sometimes either one or both. My plans were to turn it into a drivable show car. It's really close to that, so, if you want to do that, it wouldn't take much or drive as it is now, but, I feel you would be very happy with either decision! If you have any questions please let me know. For serious buyers I can give you access to my photo bucket where there are several other pictures. Happy Motoring, Raleigh I do have it for sale locally, so, this listing could end at any time, thank you. Before I forget, there is no spare tire, although I do have the original wheels and tires, and, the tires are good.. If the Buy-It-Now price is chosen, I'll throw in the original wheels and tires, but, you will need to work out delivery and/or pick up. shipping and pick-up must be set-up by the buyer. You can pick-up and drive it home or have it picked-up. I will work with you and/or your shipper to be available, just let me know the situation. The car needs to be picked up within a week after the auction ends, as I need the room. I will keep it garaged until it's picked up though. payments excepted: cash in person. wire transfer. cashiers check(check must be funded before taking delivery) out of country purchase must be a wire transfer. Thank you for your understanding.