chit chat thread

[Earl]

They have center caps in them from what I can see. All of the older Alpina wheels have exposed lugs with a cap popped in the center.

[jc43089]

Earl said:

They have center caps in them from what I can see. All of the older Alpina wheels have visible lugs with a cap popped in the center.

Yes they have the Alpina center caps, I thought it was odd that they didn't have the bigger smooth covers over the whole black area.  That must have just been later ones.  I am no wheel expert for sure.

[Jdesign]

Earl said:

They have center caps in them from what I can see. All of the older Alpina wheels have exposed lugs with a cap popped in the center.

This. Earl is correct.

That engine bay is guuudumb amazing. These cars can be electrical nightmares. If you have any questions feel free to ask me or @YoungCR as we have both delt with these electrical systems quite a bit.

I solved all of my electrical gremlins with this awesome guide: http://www.hiperformancestore.com/motronic.htm

(Step 14 talks about the cold start valve)

And Bigcoupe.com is a really good source too!

[straight6pwr]

Jdesign said:

I solved all of my electrical gremlins with this awesome guide: http://www.hiperformancestore.com/motronic.htm

that is a tremendous resource, thanks for sharing!

[Jdesign]

straight6pwr said:

that is a tremendous resource, thanks for sharing!

No shit!!

Think about the guy that took the time to put that whole thing together!!

[jc43089]

Yea I found that and it was helpful to confirm the cold start valve is supposed to receive 12V.  This old beast is L-Jetronic, not Motronic, so the spark is timed by turning the distributor and the injectors batch fire triggered by a pulse every 180 degrees inside the distributor, so every 360 of the crankshaft.  Quite crude, there is no O2 sensor so it is a totally open loop system based on only the AFM and throttle position switch.  I've never worked on an L-Jet car before so it was a learning experience.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

Yea I found that and it was helpful to confirm the cold start valve is supposed to receive 12V.  This old beast is L-Jetronic, not Motronic, so the spark is timed by turning the distributor and the injectors batch fire triggered by a pulse every 180 degrees inside the distributor, so every 360 of the crankshaft.  Quite crude, there is no O2 sensor so it is a totally open loop system based on only the AFM and throttle position switch.  I've never worked on an L-Jet car before so it was a learning experience.

Oh dang. So is it an E12 based car?

[wasnt m3]

Sometimes you have to stop(mowing) and smell the flowers. Also, need to think about buying a camera. Any suggestions? 

[jc43089]

Jdesign said:

Oh dang. So is it an E12 based car?

Yes it is.  I think the L-Jet was only used for a few years ending about '81.

[Jdesign]

jc43089 said:

Yes it is.  I think the L-Jet was only used for a few years ending about '81.

So what year is it then? 80-82?

wasnt m3 said:

Sometimes you have to stop(mowing) and smell the flowers. Also, need to think about buying a camera. Any suggestions? 

Im a big fan of Canon Rebels. But it really comes down to how much you want to spend.

[jc43089]

Jdesign said:

So what year is it then? 80-82?

It's a '79

[HipMF]

wasnt m3 said:

Sometimes you have to stop(mowing) and smell the flowers. Also, need to think about buying a camera. Any suggestions? 

I hardly spent any time shopping around so I'm not a great resource. The only thing I miss about my old point-and-shoot is the huge zoom range that it had (24-300mm). My DSLR came with a 18-55mm lens, which I think is pretty standard. You'll need a longer lens if you want to get a close-up of anything that's more that 20 or 30 feet away.

For reference 50mm is considered the "standard" length where the perspective is most natural. Below that things start to have a wide-angle or fish-eye look, and above that things start to look overly "flat".

Edit: This example shows the perspective difference more clearly because the size of the frame is kept the same. Everything in photography seems to be a trade-off... You can't seem to change anything without changing something else.

[patsbimmer1]

I bought a new house and i'm moving this weekend.  We'll be in North Prairie now right by 83 and 59.  I'll get more pictures up tomorrow but this is all we really care about.  The garages.  Two 2.5 car garages.

[patsbimmer1]

It's been a long day and a big shout to @i_love_cars for stopping by to help!  We're almost completely moved in now!

[B C]

Plot twist: you rent the garage and live in the pop-up trailer.

[YoungCR]

Don't be wasting the precious garage space on the camper!

[patsbimmer1]

YoungCR said:

Don't be wasting the precious garage space on the camper!

In time... in time...

[patsbimmer1]

snap said:

Plot twist: you rent the garage and live in the pop-up trailer.

If i'm renting the garage I can still live in the house...

[REKIII]

You guys are all getting old, buying houses and such.  For years I've envied your ability to pack-up and move anywhere, not being tied down, now you're all domesticated and stuff.

Who will I live vicariously through??

[straight6pwr]

REKIII said:

You guys are all getting old, buying houses and such.  For years I've envied your ability to pack-up and move anywhere, not being tied down, now you're all domesticated and stuff.

Who will I live vicariously through??

we all like to work on cars. it pretty much precludes us from a nomad lifestyle. tools, parts, and non-running e30s is a lot of stuff to move around.