Z1 News Articles

Z1 December News

Nervous excitement, sleepless nights, mild panic, heart pumping so loud I keep looking down at my chest, 2 years ago I was not a well man. After weeks of excuses and delay tactics, I was 5mins away from an induction call with BMWCC chairman Steve Haslam, to discuss filling the void left by former Z1 enthusiast Paul Drawmer, and I was a nervous wreck. Yes I am a huge Z1 fan, but what do I know about writing magazine articles? The best advice I was given came from Paul himself, “Write the news as you would discuss the subject on Zroadster, members are just as enthusiastic as you”. And so it began. In 2010 we had 25 Z1 registered members, which number grew to 29 in 2011, reaching an impressive 40 members in 2012. Largely due to Straight Six and the support from the editor, with regular monthly Z1 news, we are reaching a much wider audience, the 2012 feel good factor and the Silverstone ZedFest acting as a catalyst for new members. One of those members is Tina Lloyd-Wolper and her late husband Mike, who sadly passed away in January of this year. Tina and Mike have been devoted members of BMWCC for over 20 years, owning several models along the way, including my personal favourite, a Top Rot Z1 for over 13 years. Since spotting a Z1 Model in a Nigerian dealership in the mid 80s, ownership didn’t come until many years later, whilst on a shopping trip in the UK. Low mileage, 1 owner and impractical, it had only been on the dealer’s forecourt for 30mins.

Going above and beyond is a mandatory pre-requisite of Z1 ownership, but what Tina did next transcends anything I have ever heard. Faced with the prospect of leaving her shiny Z1 parked on the driveway every night, Tina uprooted her family and belongings, purchased the house next door, with the sole purpose of garaging her pride and joy, incredible! Tina and Mike have been regular attendees at numerous BMW events over the years, most recently at Silverstone, we wish her well.

You may recall receiving a call from me last month and being asked a series of intimate, soul-searching questions? Well here are the results with some interesting facts. The Aerofoil exhaust seems to be the most common failing, and unsurprisingly the majority of you are purists who spend an average of £300 or more/year on the Z1. But, when asked what would be on your Christmas wish-list, the most popular answer is More Power. One greedy member, who shall remain nameless, would like Claudia Schiffer and more power (you know who you are). Fortunately, 40% of you voted for ‘Design’ as the thing they love the most, pushing ‘Public Reaction’ into 2^nd place with 36%, which is a relief quite frankly. No prizes for guessing the most common phrase you hear from the general public? Breaking news - Cars are no longer the sole domain of man, and so say all of you, with many happy to swap seats and let their partners drive, 69% happy to be precise. As for the rest, (which includes me) shame on us all. I would consider it, but only if she correctly describes the techniques used to develop the Thermoplastic parts and completes a driving course in Kerb avoidance. 44% of you voted in favour of our annual Z1 tour, YAY! And when quizzed on what you thought of Straight Six, we got a confidence boosting 66% “Can’t Wait” response, the highest mark of all. Thanks to everyone for your contribution, these past 2 years, the editors, the club and its members, registrars and random SS readers.

1. Age range (%):

A.     18 – 25 – 6

B.     26 – 31 – 3

C.     32 – 40 – 21

D.     41 – 50 – 34

E.     Over 50 - 37

2. Average yearly spend (%): (not including Tax, MOT or insurance)

A.     0 – 100 – 30

B.     100 – 300 – 27

C.     More than 300 - 43

3. Insurance costs (%):

1.     100 – 200 – 31

2.     201 – 250 – 24

3.     251 – 300 – 24

4.     More than 301 - 21

5.     Ownership (%):

1.     Less than 2 years – 6

2.     2 – 5 years – 18

3.     6 – 8 years – 30

4.     9 or more – 37

5.     From new – 9

5. Single item spend (%):

1.     Mechanical – 34

2.     Cosmetic and Bodywork – 18

3.     Wheels and Tyres (aka Pimping) – 12

4.     Restoration – 12

5.     Brakes/suspension – 9

6.     Exhaust – 15

6. Christmas Wish List (%):

1.     Exhaust – 23

2.     Brake upgrade – 12

3.     Power upgrade – 17

4.     Restoration – 15

5.     Cosmetic – 9

6.     Audio – 3

7.     Nothing, I’m happy – 21

7. I wish it came with (%):

1.     More power – 43

2.     Hardtop – 6

3.     Electric roof – 15

4.     RHD – 9

5.     Air Conditioning - 3

6.     Its perfect the way it is – 21

7.     Claudia Schiffer – 3

8. Location (%):

1.     South – 24

2.     North – 36

3.     Southeast – 33

4.     Northwest – 3

5.     Wales – 3

9. Miles per year (%):

1.     0  -1500 – 50

2.     1501 – 3000 – 34

3.     3000 – 5000 – 13

4.     All year – 3

10. Seasonal driving (%):

1.     Summer  - 62

2.     Never when it rains – 6

3.     All year – 32

11. Thing I love the most (%):

1.     Driving/handling – 18

2.     Those Doors – 6

3.     Public Reaction – 36

4.     Cleaning/Polishing – 0.00

5.     Design – 40

12. SORN (%):

1.     3 months – 25

2.     6 months – 40

3.     9months – 12

4.     Never – 21

13. First thing most people say (%):

1.     What is it – 45

2.     How old is it – 3

3.     Where’s your doors – 46

4.     Nice car – 6

14. Would you let your spouse drive (%):

1.     Yes – 69

2.     I’ll consider it – 6

3.     I rather suffer a fate worse than death – 25

15. Would you attend the next Z1 tour (%):

1.     I’m not into tours – 15

2.     Depends when it is – 32

3.     Maybe, but I need convincing – 9

4.     Try and Stop me – 44

16. What do you think of Straight Six (%):

1.     Not my cup of tea – 0.00

2.     I rather not say – 12

3.     More Z1 content please – 22

4.     Cant wait for it to arrive – 66

Leather Care - Courtesy of BlueBaur

The BMW Z1 had always attracted me as a highly desirable roadster with quirky doors. Many years after the initial launch in the UK, I saw one in the flesh at the BMW Drivers Club festival at Castle Donnington race circuit and I decided that one day, a Z1 would grace the coveted space in my garage that for 17 years had been home to my concours E21 BMW 323i Baur Cabriolet. It took many years but in 2008 I became the owner of a Z1 in Dream Black with a lemon/yellow leather and fabric interior. The purchase price reflected the obvious failing OEM silencer and seat fabric that looked as though it had spent a lot of time in the sun. How naive I was to think that I could just replace everything by a trip to the local dealer and produce a “flexible friend”.

Monday morning and standing at the parts counter complete with part numbers from RealOEM soon turned into another of life’s disappointments. The seat fabric was no longer available and after a quick phone call to Bracknell, there was even worse news. There is no timeline for re manufacture. It was time to change direction, sell another kidney and purchase two complete seats at a cost of nearly £2000. Another rejection to follow as the last set of FunGelb seats have been sold some months earlier to one of our European friends.

To keep the impetus to improve the car, I made the decision to work on the yellow leather and try to solve the fabric problem later. A quick search through the Z1 internet forums and one name kept cropping up. That name being Chrissy Wahl of www.leder-pflege.de. I e-mailed Chrissy in Germany attaching images and a description of my problems and within 24 hours she replied not only with leather advice, but also contacts in Europe who may have spare original or replacement fabric for sale. I purchased a leather care kit which included two small bottles of water based leather dye one in FunGelb for the seat and door leather and Dunkelgrun for the dashboard leather, both freshly mixed to order.

The first step with refreshing leather is always to clean before attempting to re colour the faded/scratched areas. Depending on how soiled the leather is, a mild or strong cleaner is available. If after cleaning, the leather is rough to the touch, it can be lightly sanded with a pad to ensure uniformity. Once the leather is clean, the leather dye can be applied with a small sponge, working small areas at a time. The colour dye sets and dries quickly but must be then overlaid with a liquid leather protector. Maintenance from this point is twice a year, mild clean and finish again with protector. It is always important to not let leather dry out too much and using these products is quick and easy.

Once the leather had been treated, the fabric was still letting the car down. A surprise e-mail from another Z1 owner alerted me to information filtering down from Germany, that BMW had located some original FunGelb material. I was even given the amount I needed to buy together with the part number. On this occasion the dealer obtained the cloth in 4 days. Of course having the material on a roll is a long way removed from two complete seat bases. Removal of the Z1 seats was undertaken utilising the BMW popular star drive sockets in areas of the car that fortunately are not visited very often. A circus contortionist would probably be of more use than an aged, slightly decrepid owner, but perseverance usually pays off. Seats out and help from a local Z1 owner with previous form (in the seat department) soon had the seat bases stripped from the bolsters, headrest and frame.  

It was at this point I realised just how faded, dirty and frayed they really were. Off to a car upholsterer in Ilkeston clutching a roll of fabric and two seat bases and of course the wallet! Some 10 days later another trip and on the workshop bench, the completed bases looking as if they had just been picked up from the dealer parts department. The upholsterer explained that the bases are relatively unique in their construction as the fabric material is glued to the foam bases. This is fine when new, but poses a problem when being recovered as the foam usually gets damaged as the original cloth is removed. However, a little Blue Peter knowledge of foam and sticky back tape together with aerosols of contact adhesive soon has the shape restored.

The time comes to vacuum the carpets thoroughly, reassemble the seats, grease the runners and place the seats back in the car. More time tightening the seat runners as I find them quite spanner unfriendly. After nearly four years, one car standing in the garage, that now befits the image of a “classic”. It’s time to start again with the spanners as MOT time looms.

August 2011 - Eye Candy.

Menus, Vegans, meeting points, contracts, route guides, ITN files, weather watch, hundreds of phone calls, emails, texts and as some of you witnessed, a little stalking, nothing is left to chance when organising our annual Z1 tour.

The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur if I’m honest, and I would be lying if I said it all went smoothly, with the faithful Z1 Tour committee dropping like flies from various ailments, unhelpful hotel staff, and threats of financial penalties, it is hard to stay focused when everything appears to be falling apart. Until Thursday 23^rd June that is, when 7 individually unique Z1s from Germany, France and Netherlands, arrived on UK shores for the annual event. 

Putting it all together was indeed a challenge, but 23 cars, 35 guests, sunshine, lake view hotel rooms and food fit for the Queen, made it all worthwhile. Admittedly 23 cars does not sound like a lot, but it is when you consider there are approximately 106 registered Z1s in the UK, nearly half of which are declared SORN. Now I am a Z1 devotee and always will be, to almost OCD levels, and to see so many cars and enthusiastic owners from inland and across the channel, make such an effort to attend is amazing, it was a fantastic day. True to form, our European cousins do not follow the same rules we do when it comes to Z1 ownership, originality comes second to personality, with all of their cars sporting some form of aesthetic or performance enhancement, bespoke H+R setups, Weismann 3.0ltr conversions, Sport exhausts, Alpina Brake upgrades, a love of big deep dish wheels, Satnav installs, front splitters and the worlds first Z1 sporting carbon fibre body panels, designed and produced by one of our guests. 

If that was not enough, they also came armed with 2 uber rare models, a dual Lemon Green/Lemon Interior Z1 with green dash in beautiful original condition, and the even rarer Dream Black with original Red Leather Interior. Modifications are not everyone’s cup of Earl Grey, but the eye candy on show does stir the imagination, its impossible not to find some aspect appealing, its like turning up at your mates house for dinner to find the Pussycat Dolls are doing the catering. Also in attendance were 2 cars owned by “the Z1 twins” Volker and Henner from Germany, not actual twins mind, but they might as well be, through their attention to detail and complete fanaticism about everything Z1, to rival my own. 

Not to be outdone, the UK brought their own secret weapon, Bindy, the very first female owner to attend, normally the passenger and wife of the ‘mad scientist’ Ivor, who enjoys rebuilding Z1s from its chassis upwards, she has climbed the ranks from passenger to owner and full fledged member. The weekend adventure included a visit to Goodwood organised by a fellow guest, with an escorted go-slow around the famous circuit, hours of some of the nicest most scenic driving roads an hours drive from London, an evening banquet, romantic lake view accommodation, and best of all, it’s the company who make it special. That is the short version of an amazing weekend, much of which I hope to detail in future issues, so a massive thank you to everyone who attended and who contributed to making it a success, to the Germans, Dutch, British, BMWCC members, if a picture says a thousand words, then less from me and more eye candy.

May 2011 

February 2011 - Z1 News

First the good news, after speaking to many of you in November, it turns out we have a Z1 loving Priest in our midst and what I believe to be the only female UK Z1 owner. Thank you all for taking the time to reminisce, I will be following up on your comments and ensuring that you are represented within the club and Straight 6. Those of you I have missed, please contact the office and ensure your details are updated or email it to me and I will forward it on.

More good news, we are in the process of planning the 2011 UK Z1 Tour to take place in June, all Z1 owners are welcome. Initial response is very good with interest from not just the UK, but Germany and Holland, so we are expecting a wide variety of cars and characters, please drop me an email for more information.

Hope you like the new articles and find them informative, if anyone knows where I can find an original Alpina Z1 RLE to photograph and feature, please get in touch. And finally, the powers that be have added a Z1 to the BMW scrolling Montage on the homepage of the BMWCC website, they were listening after all, so thank you.

February 2013 - Weismann Hardtop

Spring cleaning my loft last month I came across Project Z, a long list of modifications I wanted to install when I got my first Z in 1999, a mix of originality, ingenuity and the ridiculous. Except I was too scared to touch the thing, it was my first. In 2004 opportunity knocked, Z2 arrived, and the list updated, including a new Roof, new Interior, tinkered suspension, RC Doors, 3 piece splits, spoilers, inner roof lining, forward facing glove box, Rotrex SC, removable zipped rear screen and Roll Hoops with glass wind deflector. Although I am partial to an SC, the Roll Hoop idea and a few others never made it to fruition (thank God), but one item that did, took me and my Z on an unforgettable road trip to Germany for the Wiesmann WS2 Hardtop. The hardtops were made out of Fibreglass starting at £2000 for the basic model with Felt lining, to £3500 with Leather Lining, Audio channel, additional cabin lights and rear defroster. Weismann are known for their performance upgrades, producing a 3.2ltr S52 260BHP alternative to the M20 engine, neither option are available today, hardtop production ceased in 2004.

Like most of you I am a fair weather driver who does not enjoy driving in the rain, so why a Hardtop, surely that’s contradictory.  Yes it is, but it’s the only thing that makes the onset of winter a positive thing, just so I get to use it. They look fantastic, an almost natural seamless integration without spoiling the lines of the Z1. Its positioning as it sits much further back, gives the impression of a much smaller boot and what you lose in boot space with the metal frame tucked away, you gain inside the cabin as it’s suddenly much roomier.

The cabin is noticeably quieter, warmer, reduced body flex, plus you feel less vulnerable, a different driving experience if you will. Rear visibility feels impaired, although im not sure why as it is designed to have the same footprint as the canvas roof. They are of course big, heavy and take into account your storage needs, but if used with a vertical stand, the footprint can be reduced significantly, as it comes with protective padding and sits on rollers. Used prices fluctuate around the £1500 mark, so if buying abroad, shipping is going to be expensive, a good excuse for a road trip. The Hardtop cannot be fitted without the installation kit, so do check the correct brackets are supplied or contact Wiesmann themselves, who are rumoured to have some leftover kits available at approximately £300.

Fitting the parts is easier than the acquisition, just don’t scratch anything, with just the brackets to install under the Column Covering (51432291332), 2 pairs of hands and a big old duvet required. Holding a drill next to your Z is not for the faint hearted, requiring nerves of steel, but there is a UK rep that can fit it for you at a price. The Column Cover has to be modified to accommodate the new brackets or simply wait for a set to pop up in the usual places, then voila. It takes a little practise, but the top can be installed/removed by one person, just don’t scratch anything, undo clamps and as you release each side, slide your duvet underneath, balance the top vertically on the boot lid as you gently worm your way to the rear, then lift-off.

Pros: Looks fantastic, quieter, warmer, roomier cabin, less flex, small storage footprint if used with vertical stand.

Cons: Expensive, darker cabin, big and heavy, must buy hardtop stand.

April 2011 - Long Term Relationships

The Z1 is not first in line when thinking about buying a summer toy, in fact id be surprised if it even made the shortlist. Whilst the car has a long list of admirers, many are still put off ownership. The steering wheel is on the wrong side, some say ”it’s a 325i in a skirt”, my brother keeps calling it a toy car, with its plastic bodywork, but he is just jealous. Z1 owners belong to the exclusive `135` Club, the estimated number of Z1s in the UK with doors that would not look out of place on the flight deck of the Enterprise.

Its 325i performance stats and lack of Subwoofer space, you won’t find many teenagers lusting after them, as there is a raft of faster, more practical cars with bigger boots available at less than half the price. But if speed is not the be all and end all, Sam Lever the owner of a Dream Black Z1, summed it up nicely when he said:

January 2012 - Winter Blues.

Commercialised it may be, but I am a huge fan of Christmas, the whole ritual of putting up a tree (or in my case recycling the old one), offering gifts, Panto, Church, pigging out, adopting the `beached whale` position, sneaking out for a blast on one of the quietest days of the year, even the weather contributes to the feel good factor.

Despite owning a hardtop, I am a self confessed fair weather driver, average speeds of 30mph are bearable under the sun, but not much fun in winter. When drivers can’t drive they surf and I am no exception, my weekly ritual is a visit to eBay for parts, Zroadster for Z1 conversation or window shopping used Z1 sites, this is the downside of Z1 ownership, unless you own a heated garage the boredom is excruciating, there is not much to sing about, so where do you get your fix?

Put to Car Club member Sam Lever, who almost cuts me off mid-sentence at the mere suggestion, he remains committed to the cause, taxed all year round he gets out every few weeks and refuses to drive with the top up, no matter what the conditions. Fellow member Jonny Malim puts me to shame, he dons his Weismann Hardtop, set of spare alloys shod with winter tyres, before taking his Z1 Skiing in the Alps, Howard Palser on the other hand likes nothing more than a spot of gardening with his Red Zed, using the open air feature of the Z1 to collect his Oak Sized Xmas Tree.

Confined within the walls of my home, imagination and idle thumbs led me to modifying the Minichamps Z1 I purchased last Christmas, after a chance discussion with Z1 fanatic, Colonel Briggs. At 1:18 scale it is not so `mini`, but the detailing is incredible, with working doors, the M20 engine, seatbelts, black felt covered interior, working steering rack and wheels, it is almost perfect.

I say almost, as it didn’t take long before my obsession with the RLE, inspired some minor improvements. With 17” Alpina wheels, Alpina decals, bonnet and boot badges sourced from a specialist and then lowered, I just need a quad pipe conversion and blood red interior to complete the transformation this christmas, then it will be perfect.

Tip: Be careful when folding the roof in freezing or cold temperatures, as you run the risk of cracking the rear plastic window, always start the engine and warm up the interior first.