WIBIMMERS

It’s a few months late, but the cars finally have their new home.... in a few weeks, the wife and I will be moving in to our new home as well.

Pretty excited to have a place to wrench on the cars somewhere other than the small garage at the duplex we’ve been renting for the last year!

Now that there is more room; I’ll have to plan a wibimmers get-together, cookout, and cruise this summer! We have some nice roads around here, and I can make sure the fuzz don’t give us any trouble, lol!

-Tim

A couple of years ago, I was at a friend's party when I saw this X5d roll up. Intrigued, I found out the owner was the mother of my buddies wife.  I got to chatting and found out she bought it new, and had it meticulously serviced at a local BMW dealer. 

I asked that she was ever to sell it, to let me know.  She firmly said she doesn't plan on selling anytime soon because she loves it so much.

Well, in December she called and said she is finally getting a new vehicle in the springtime.  We worked out a deal to purchase and I brought it home a week ago.  It had a CEL for the  glow plug module when we picked it up, and knocked some money off.for us

It is emissions in tact, with a recent DPF replacement.  I immediately checked the coolant temp and found it to be at 158. ‍️. You would think a dealer would check this.....  Otherwise it needed absolutely nothing.... This lady brought it to the dealer for every little thing, with over $14k in service work in the last two years, with a total of all repair receipts since new of $38,844.42!

Off to Cascade German Parts and FCP Euro I went and filled up my shopping cart with a thermostat, glow plugs and module, gaskets,  swirl flap delete, coolant flange, and a pcv hose. 

I went to work this week and got it all fixed up.  I don't plan on hitting a pothole until a problem comes about since everything is new.  CBU was surprisingly not bad considering the 145k miles.    

This will become the new garage queen, with the potholed 2011 becoming the daily. 
  
Sometimes we get lucky!!

March update, take 2...

She’s coming along! Fresh coat of zinnoberrot red and 4 coats of clear! One final wet sand and she’s coming home! 

Now, who wants to help me change out the dash... ugggh.

-Tim

We'll, this is definitely going to be a yearly event for us! The drive isn't bad and certainly part of the adventure.

The people and cars were amazing.... Even participated installing a turbo in a 2002 I the hotel parking lot the night before the show. 

FALL UPDATE 

I’ve finally made the decision with the drivetrain, and the 2.7i is our the door, and S52 is in...

I found a nice, refreshed/bulletproofed S52 and ZF 5-speed for sale in Belvidere Illinois, and the car is heading down today to have its heart transplant...

The S52 is built nice with Schrick 264/256 cams, 3.5” MAF, 24# flow matched injectors, 93 octane tune with 7,200k redline, full obd2, ews/emissions delete, and a host of other goodness.

Stay tuned for build pics!

-Tim

She’s all buttoned up!  Added uuc short shifter, new subframe bushings, and exhaust is installed... time to get her home!!! Too bad she will be going right into storage... Spring can’t come fast enough!

snap said:

Very nice!  Please post your driving impressions once you get around to driving it! Im excited for you man!

Thanks Snap!!  I had a chance to put a few miles on today, and all I can say is wow!

With the schrick cams, it’s pretty docile around town under 4,000 rpms, and very streetable.

Over 4K it is a beast and is hunting for traction.  I couldn’t be happier! 

Too bad I have to put her under wraps soon... can’t wait for the E30 picnic!

We made it!  Not a single hiccup ( except for the Indiana roads beating us up) and even managed about 28mpg! 

The cars are rolling in from all over... Amazing cars.... I need to find myself a 2002 now, lol.

We're off to Greer SC today to attend "50 years of M" at the BMW CCA and check out the production facility and performance center.

Tomorrow is the big show, expect a big photo dump!

-Timmer 

Why Turtle Farts? Be as she's low, slow, and sounds like an elongated  fart due to the cherry bomb exhaust. Regardless, I'm glad she's finally on the road!

Backstory: I was looking for a clean E30 coupe since fall of last year, and found this '86 325es on Craigslist in Wisconsin Rapids last May... took the hour drive to Rapids and met with the owner who was best described as "eccentric".  

He had inherited the car from a friend following his passing and soon realized he didn't have the means to continue working on the car.

First impressions were good!  Completely rust free, lowered on bilstien's, all suspension bushings upgraded to poly, upgraded brakes, and best of all, it ran and drove.  

Unfortunately there was absolutely zero service history, but the car fax showed it came to Wisconsin from California in 2013.

It had a terrible driveline shudder and a cracked, but meticulously fixed with JB weld, oil pan. The expected cracked dash, non functioning odometer, and a/c are all present and accounted for. Other than that, most everything else is good. Following a bit of haggling and $2,900 later; she was on the back of a flatbed heading to my house on May 23rd. I felt pretty good with that.

I spent my free time this summer replacing the oil pan (thanks Snap!), the driveshaft, guibo, center support bearing, timing belt and other maintenance items, a good cleaning and polishing, and here we are!

My goal for this year was to bring it, along with my '89 cabrio, to the Door county Euro rally this September.

I plan on a mild restoration to follow in the upcoming years... the big question is: what do I want to do with the powertrain?

I want a mild, reliable build, and am thinking a turbo/hybrid (i) build utilizing the current engine, or a outright swap with a newer motor.... after looking under the hoods of a few cars at the E30 picnic, I was overwhelmed with the options and talent that is out there! I am excited to see where this goes.... 

-Tim

SHE’S ON THE ROAD AGAIN!!

Well, it’s been since 1998, but the old girl is back on the road under her own power. 

Amazingly, she drives better than I thought!  Goes down the road straight, and most things seem to be working as they should.  It’s easy to tell the suspension bushings, and tie rod ends are cooked.

20 miles so far, and looking forward to many more.

-Tim

Winter maintenance time!!!

With supply chain issues, product delays, and other blah blah blah, I thought it is best to send the coilovers out for a refresh early to be sure they are ready by spring.

Huge shout-out to Fortune Auto for a quick and thorough refresh!  I sent the coilovers out on November 17 for new seals, oil, and an overall evaluation.

I already got them back and not only did the clean them up and overhaul them, the upgraded the springs to Swift springs, added the newer style  locking adjustment collars, new radial bearings, and replaced all the hardware!

At first I wondered if they sent the wrong ones back, but the paint transfer from my red calipers was there, lol

Anyone looking at suspension, I don’t think I can say enough about Fortune auto… I even got a phone call today to make sure they were delivered in good condition and talk about any concerns they found during the overhaul.

Have a great Christmas all!

-Tim

I have a really hard time walking by a nice classic BMW in need of resurrection.

Here is "Emery". She's a 1974 Bavaria 3.0s that has been parked as part of a collection since 1984.  We've have been wanting a 2002, but finding nice ones without taking out a second mortgage is near impossible. 

Cruising FB marketplace, we found this Bavaria and decided take a peek at it.  The first time I saw a Bavaria was at the Vintage in 2022, and there only was 3 of them. 

So, here she is!!  I'm working though getting her running again after sleeping for the better part of 40 years. I've been going through everything; drained the fluids, and inspected the cylinder bores.

I have some wiring issues to clean up, and have replaced the starter so far, but she will be ready to start up soon!  New tires are on order for a set of basketweaves that will be going on her to replace the '80s Keystone wheels.  

I Make poor financial decisions, lol.  The Shop is officially full!

So, I need another BMW since 4 isn’t enough.

The story starts when my wife’s boss lets her know about a storage unit auction that has an old BMW in it, and sends her a link to the website.

So I check it out and find a 1982 320i; looks to be fairly straight, but hard to tell since the video and pictures were taken with a  playschool “my first camera”.

I ran a carfax, and the last entry was in Virginia in 1996 for an emissions test, with no major issues.  As it sits there is no title, but it isn’t to difficult to get one as the car is considered abandoned.

The current bid was at $61, so I figured I would watch it and see where it goes. 

As of 9:00pm last night, the auction ended, and I am now the owner of the storage unit contents  for the sum of $252.

I guess we’ll see where this goes!

https://bid13.com/storage-auctions/wi/appleton/stor-it-storage-appleton-nordale-drive/unit-4005

-Tim

Took a staycation since both of our trips to Canada had to be cancelled.... had some time to rip out the interior, installed new carpet and the seats.  Had to fab up some brackets to account for the uneven floor of the E21.

 Not perfect, but much better!   Lots of work left to do...

-Tim

So I just got done peeking st the car, and so far, so good!

Interior is super crusty, no keys, paint is shot, brakes are froze... all thing that probably should be expected. Hopefully not too hard to remedy.

On the plus side; everything seems complete, no rust/rot that I saw, and the rental storage lessee is the owner listed on the registration from 1993 that was in the glovebox. The marks on the bodywork are little pieces of tape. ??

According to the property manager, the car  was running was parked decades ago.

oh boy....

-Tim

*** UPDATE...version Winter Storm Wesley ***

Im hoping to have her running soon!  I’ve tackled the fuel system...what a mess. New key is cut courtesy of Enterprise BMW, and I started cleaning up the interior a bit.  

What the crap-wooly mammoth-fur stuff did BMW use to cushion the seats with anyway?  Years of sitting turned it into a crunchy, rust colored dust.

She was diagnosed with two frozen solid fuel pumps, and every fuel line held as much fuel as a cheese grater.

Luckily the tank is dry and in good shape; the new in tank pump is in, the external pump is out.  Just waiting for the fuel lines, fuel accumulator, and fuel filter to arrive to finish things up.

Im confident she’ll fire right up once reassembled.

Obligatory first fire up in 20+ years to follow.

-Tim

Been busy enjoying the car for the summer, but found some time tonight after work to finally tuck the bumpers...

Still have a bit of work to do getting the front valance right up against the bumper to fill the gap, but I’m happy with it for now! 

-Tim

Not much new to update on the e21 project... put several hundred miles on her over the summer with no issues while I focused on other projects.

Interior bits & pieces are on the agenda while the cars are sleeping for the winter.  

Scored a decent set of tan e30 sport seats since I can’t find any e21 replacements. I’ve heard they fit nice, but will need work to fit the uneven floor of the old girl. I’d appreciate any insight from any local experts!

Here’s to a good winter, looking forward to the next driving season!  Keep ‘er outta the ditch!!

-Tim

And she's back together!  Only hiccup was I forgot to order the front bumper bolts for the MTech bumper.  The stock one are too long, but will work until the new ones come in. 

She still needs a good paint correction and wax, but I'll save that for another day.

Feels good to save another E46...

Come on over to the Waupaca Airport on May 11, 2024 for some wings and wheels at this year's Badger Bimmers Spring Picnic!!!

We will have use of the hangar, and food will be available for purchase. (Or you can bring your own)

Parking will be on the grass, we'll be sure it's mowed and level before you come. Any questions, let me know!!

Hope to catch you there!!

https://facebook.com/events/s/badger-bimmers-spring-picnic/1507363836828817/