MichaelP

Going for Bilstiens or Konis, Bill? Best o' luck and stay off it for a while.

Going for Bilstiens or Konis, Bill? Best o' luck and stay off it for a while.

Definately a 3.91 or lower. Our M2002 was built for autox with a 4.10 (non-CR) and it's too high for the street). Torque city, though....

Anything in particular? I have a bone stock '70 1602 -- would that work? If so, I can shoot tomorrow.

And if it does turn out to be CV joints (likely), they're NLA from BMW. Nice, huh? You might try Carl Nelson at http://www.bimmerdoc.com/ or Jim at Mesa http://www.mesaperformance.com/

Our M2 has the Getrag 265 and the floor was never cut. However, it was an automatic in its former life (wider tunnel) and it should have been cut as it's just too tight in there -- vibration hell.

If it helps, the M30 (big six) motor went through the same manifold design metamorphosis from log type with 'horns' to the later one-piece unit, and the flow across the entire torque curve in the later type is much better. Quantitatively, the early log version resulted in serious mid-range torque loss, and the common fix (though only semi-effective) is to use the larger radius m10/e21 horns, though WOT suffers somewhat as a result. Every early efi'd big six owner would likely have swapped to the single piece manifold by now if the injectors would swap between L-jet and Motronic -- but they don't without injector port machining.

Wait - I don't understand. Your e23 needs a new sump, so you're hunting for another old, $4,000 car? Replacing the sump is a one day job. A not-so-fun one day job, but the kind of thing that's endemic to owning old cars. A $4k e30 is going to run you into the same issues sooner or later, so what are you doing? I'd suggest either replacing the sump or buying a Toyotahondanissan. Or are there other issues with the e23?

Thermal reactors are found on early US e12s, not E3's. The early M30 heads had a bad cooling passage design. Look for a stamp on the left side of the head with a 1/4" high 2 digit stamp inside a circle. That's the casting year of the head. '83 and up is good. Anything earlier should be replaced, but is easy to find. Chances are if it's still running it's been replaced.

I don't know if you saw my other post about this, but please see it regarding the Zeniths vs Webers. Zenith rebuild kits are cheap and available and the job is easy. Please please please don't use 32/36s. You'll regret it. Here's the thing: 32/36s just don't provide enough cfm compared to the Zenith INAT 35/40s. I've owned E9 coupes (same motor as the E3) with INATs and DGAVs, and the DGAVs are pitiful with the secondaries open. Another Weber option might be 38/38, but they're syncronous rather than progressive carbs, so fuel consumption can be high. We won't even talk about triple 40s... If you do want to ditch the Zeniths, save your money and swap in L-jet or Motronic EFI. It will cost less than new carbs and be more reliable as well. edit: $1k is reasonable for an E3. It sounds like it hasn't been run in a while, so plan on mechanical problems popping up as the sludge breaks loose -- clogged fuel lines, sump bypass valve, etc.

Ignore previous post. First of all, the original Zenith 35/40 INATs are tricky to adjust, mostly due to being both water and electric choke, but any mechanic worth his salt can tune them just fine. Lazy/shitty mechanics often convince customers to replace them, as somehow the myth about Zeniths far exceeded the problem. Second, DGAV/DGEV 32/36s on a big six suck -- or rather, they don't suck enough. While they work fine around town on the primaries, due the lack of comparitive air volume, on cam with the secondaries open they just make the big six feel like it's out of breath before you even get to 5000 rpm. A 2.8 or 3.0L needn't be avoided with DGAVs, but don't buy the myth about Zeniths. It's bullshit.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in. After swapping the old plugs around at lunch and getting nowhere, I remembered I had a new spare set. Gapped, installed and voila! She runs like a top - a smoky top, but that's this winter's project. On the upside, the motor got a complete tuneup in the process. Yay.

The more I think about it, a stuck intake valve might be the problem, as the motor sounds fine off throttle/on the overrun. The question is, if it is a stuck intake valve, is there anything that can be done while adjusting valves?

Yup, brand new cap + wires. I'll try swapping the plugs around tomorrow, though it seems strange one would suddenly short as they have a few thousand miles on them. I can check compression but I don't have equipment for a leakdown. Hoping it's not a munched ring. Thanks for the suggestions.

Same photos too? If so, they don't paint a very impressive portrait of your car. They look sort of offhand, which makes the viewer wonder if you take the same uncareful approach to the car. I'm not saying you do, but that's the impression the pictures carry. Also, in the weird world of marketing, there's something called "transference value," which is the idea that objects for sale placed in proximity to objects (that are not for sale) that hold certain values in peoples' minds get that value transferred to them. I'm referring to the location of your photos. That's not too clear, so here's an example: stores/brands such as, say, Polo will hang antique-looking rugby shoes and other equipment adjacent to the shirts they sell in store windows. The intention is that shoppers will already have a preconditioned set of values associated with the antiques (traditionalism, nostalgia) and those values are transferred in their minds to the shirts. The shirts aquire, for the shopper, social and cultural meaning (status, old money, etc) that they wouldn't have in a blank setting. That's why people selling cars often park them in front of some other backdrop than their own house to photograph it -- in front of someone else's fancy house, out in a park, in front of an industrial complex, etc. The industrial building can transfer an 'edginess' to the car, the park can convey a pastoral image, the fancy house a sense of status... This may come off to many folks as a bunch of BS that seems dishonest and not in character with how they perceive themselves. However, 1) the marketplace out there has developed certain expectations about how things are sold to them and, 2) potential buyers out there don't care about how you perceive yourself. Short version: you need to take better pictures that are focused on the car.

Yeah, BMW (MT) has quit offering them, which really cheeses me off. Try Jim at Mesa, too.

About a week ago, after being stuck in a 20 minute, slooooow line of traffic, our 1600 was suddenly running on 3 cylinders. I chalked it up to blowby (bottom end needs a rebuild this winter) and figured an Italian tune up would cure it. But no. I've cleaned and regapped the plugs, which, aside from some carbon build-up were ok. I swapped in a known good set of wires and tried another set of points. Checked timing. Another Italian tune up and it still runs on 3 cylinders. I'm stumped. Stuck valve? Before I do a compression test, is there something obvious I'm missing? FWIW, the head has a few thousand miles on a rebuild.

The fleet. '71 1600-02. '71 2800CS. This one has been a project forever, but it still lurks in the basement parked next to the 3.5l L-block it's destined to get. '87 535is. The daily hauler.

Given the way insurance and deductable works with most haulers, the driver will likely have to pay the first $2,500 or so of the claim. That's 'prolly why the dispatcher said no worries -- the company figures they'll walk away with nothing to front up. My brother hauled for Horeseless Carriage for 10 years and he had the same insurance arrangement. Read your paperwork (the manifest) carefully.

It was getting dark (~7pm this evening), so I'm not sure it was Malaga, but I am sure it was a very pretty 2002. My four year old pointed it out as it drove past our 1602 at the light at JPA and Maury. He was very excited! Anyone here?

Toilet paper filters? What? Carl Nelson has real filters for tree-fiddy apiece. Order a bunch and do your motor a favor: http://www.bimmerdoc.com/parts.php?car=5

E28 seats came in two flavors, comfort and sport. The comfort seats are wider, softer, with relatively small side bolsters and a folding arm rest at the center. They are manually operated. e28 Sport seats are narrow, with tall side bolsters and are always electrically operated. There would be no reason for them to fold as the e28 only came with 4 doors. Perhaps what you found were either e30 or e24 (6er) seats, or someone had installed folding seats in an e28.

Don't forget the e28 seats don't fold, unless access to the back seat isn't an issue. Widthwise, the sport seats are 20" across the bottoms and backs compared to 23" for the stock 02 seats. John is right about the weight issue. There are three heavy motors associated with them and 12 buttons per seat (!) for adjustment. IIRC, the similar sport seats from the e30 are manual. Both the e30 and e28 seats sit on a flat floor as opposed to how the 02 rails are mounted on the raised sheet metal floor plinths -- so the seat bottoms will sit up really high in the 02. If you want some more dimensions, our 535is has sport seats. Tell me what you want + I can send some along numbers.

Aha. That's helpful. Do you know what flavor is available for the rear? I ask because I'm trying figure out what's installed in my car. I have a strong suspicion that they were replaced within the last eight years.

I'm still trying figure out this stock spring thing: The Stock Spring FAQ ( http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/47/32/ ) may be in error regarding rear standard vs. heavy duty. Are they reversed? Intuitively, the rates seem switched. My USA Blue manual lists coil spring relaxed length as 324.2mm (12.76"), while the FAQ says this is a HD spring. Isn't the USA spring a standard (not heavy duty) spring? My head is spinning from various info I'm getting on this whole issue. Mike S sez there are different lengths for early (thru '72) vs later springs. I'm finding nothing to support that. No matter what year, continent or model (1600 or 2002) I look up on the ETK/HTK, the same part numbers for springs turn up, and they're baffling in their own right: Front: Green 31 33 1 112 168 White 31 33 1 112 169 Red 31 33 1 112 170 (NLA) Rear: Green 33 53 1 112 136 (noted from 03/1966 to 07/1977) White HD 33 53 1 112 101 Red HD 33 53 1 112 100 So what are these p/n's for? Some springs (rear) are noted as HD, while some are not. Does it mean that (for instance) white dot Standard rear springs are not available, and front white dot Standards are available? I'm really confused.