Well, I have been driving my repaired 1997 M model for about three weeks now, and I have to say I love the car just as much as I did my
1992. I can't say that I'm mad about the leather seats, as thery do contribute to sweaty back, but other than that.... very happy, big grins. I'll be driving it to Boston this weekend to visit a friend, a round trip of just over 1,000 miles; should be fun. Unfortunately, almost all interstate, but I can't spare time off work to take the backroads on this trip.
Anyway, the question....
Since I bought the car, the passenger side hardtop "frankenstein" bolt has been loose. It is also almost completely stripped. So last night, I removed it for replacement. To do so, I had to thread a deepwell 6-point metric socket (14 or 15mm iirc) and 2.5" extension up from inside the trunk. The head of the bolt (phillips pattern) was too messed up to be used, so I simply took a vise grip and unscrewed the frankenstein bolt. Came out with little drama. However, the retaining nut also came out in my deep well socket. Shouldn't this be a welded nut permanently affixed for the bolt to thread into? also, my Frankenstein bolt is two parts: a stud that is threaded on one end for the retaining nut, and on the other end for the Frankenstein bolt. I have found numerous places that stock the frankenstein bolt; none of them illustrate it as a stud and a female- threaded chrome top piece, and none of them illustrate the retaining nut either. So, is this normal, or has my car got some sort of previous owner bodge going on?
Thanks,
Tim