Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[PieterVN]

Those are some beautiful pictures Mike! You must be very proud of you daughter.
It's needless to say that it is not self-evident for a young girl to write up such a nice article about her experience from this event.
Also the pictures she took look phenomenal! Keep up the great parenting

[mike.bmw]

Happy New Year everyone! Not much new with the E30 aside from a few fun drives with the family. As I've mentioned before, it's also a great car for viewing holiday light displays as the visibility out of the car is fantastic. Also, I'm quite glad I replaced the heater core and heater valve. Not only does the heat work much better than before, but the faint smell of coolant is now totally gone. I never did find evidence of it leaking on the carpet or inside the HVAC unit, but it must have been weeping somewhere.

January-February issue of der Bayerische
The January-February issue of der Bayerische magazine has been released. I'm especially excited about this issue because it contains Avery's first article! After we attended the Fall Foliage Tour a few months ago (a 270+ mile drive through some of VA's best roads), she came home and said she wanted to write about her experience and share the photos she took with my old Pentax K-x. Aside from some spelling and punctuation corrections, she wrote this completely by herself. I couldn't be more proud!
The complete issue is available here: https://www.nccbmwcca.org/db/

Jan_Feb_21_dB_Mercury_web_v2_2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Jan_Feb_21_dB_Mercury_web_v2_21 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

This issue also contains an article I wrote about one of our R3V member's fantastic 318is restoration! He put a ton of time and energy into this car and it really shows.

Photos of 2020
I started having more fun with photography in 2020. I'll continue that in 2021. Here are some of my favorites from 2020. These all have fun stories to go along with them, whether it be a parts run, meeting up with a friend, taking the family out for a road trip, or attending a car event.

In no particular order:

DSC_0527 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0831 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0815 (1) by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0783 (1) by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0714 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0811 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0744 (1) by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0773 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0735 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0845 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0783 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0835 (1)-edited by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0914 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0508 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

IMG_20201103_191209_419 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

F31 Brake Pad Replacement
The rear brake pads on the F31 were almost at the backing plates. The kids helped me swap them out. The M Sport brakes make this quick and easy. Pull some pins, remove old pads, insert new pads.

DSC_0705 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Goals for 2021
- I'd like to finally order an upholstery kit to recover my driver's seat bolsters.
- Track days! Hopefully 2 or 3.
- The Vintage - last year would've been my first time, but, well, yeah.
- More Driving Tours.
- Flush all the fluids, maintenance, repairs. Maybe rear subframe bushings and RTABs.

[econti]

Good man. Always shits me when people have missing/poorly adjusted head rests.

[mike.bmw]

Rear Headrest Install

Recently my daughter moved from her full car seat to a backless booster. The first time we went out for a drive with her new booster seat I realized there was nothing behind her head, which wouldn't be great if we got into an accident. I posted in the wanted section for a set of headrests and brackets. Within a day, Replicam3cabrio sent me a message and said he had the parts I needed: brackets, grommets, hardware, and natur perforated vinyl headrests. We worked out a deal and they arrived in the mail today. The headrests are pefect - no stains, rips, or blemishes.

Installation took about 90 minutes. This website was very helpful: http://zoso.no-ip.org/318i-rseat-headrests.html

Parts:

20201213_131126 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Here's where I started:

20201204_102323 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I removed the rear seat and tool a peek behind the seat back. I've removed everything and cleaned these areas before, so I didn't find anything interesting this time.

20201210_135325 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The workshop was a little crowded today:

20201213_131433 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The seats come with the necessary frame and channels in the foam, but no brackets:

20201213_131441 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Install the bracket, use a long screwdriver and mark where you need to cut a hole:

20201213_132323 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Make some cuts, test fit the headrest:

20201213_132623 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20201213_132753 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Remove the headrest and brackets to install the grommets, then reinstall the brackets:

20201213_141448 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Rinse and repeat on the other side. Slide the headrests in, stand back, admire your work.

20201213_141756 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20201213_141726 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20201213_141737 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Install everything in the car.

20201213_143102 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And then cover up your nice seats with kids' car seats.

20201213_143733 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20201213_144635 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

one of my favorite threads here!

+1

Thanks, guys!

[Albie325]

one of my favorite threads here!

+1

[getouth]

one of my favorite threads here!

[mike.bmw]

Thanks, fresh_TD !

A bit of weight reduction over the weekend. These car seats weigh more than you'd think. They sure do grow up fast!

20201204_095428 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20201204_102323 by mike.bevels, on Flickr!

[fresh_TD]

Car is looking great, Mike.

[mike.bmw]

Looks great Mike! Ever thought about getting a pair of smiley headlights installed?

Thanks! I did consider smiley headlights, but went with a set of H1/H4s instead. The price was right and they were truly plug-n-play. They don't look as nice as a set of smiley headlights, but the light output if far superior over the stock sealed beams that came on my 318is from the factory. Maybe I'll upgrade to smileys at some point, we'll see. :-)

I have a few projects I'm planning over the winter. Perhaps a rear subframe removal and refurbishment. Perhaps removing the upper and lower intake manifolds to replace a few lingering coolant hoses behind the head that I missed during the last refresh. I need to do some work to the car as this tread is quickly becoming a photography thread. ;-)

[PieterVN]

Looks great Mike! Ever thought about getting a pair of smiley headlights installed?

[mike.bmw]

I hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving had a great Thanksgiving. Not much new, just driving it and taking photos. The theme this past week was train murals, trains, and turbofans.

DSC_0761 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0810 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0845 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0704 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0782 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0769 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0753 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Wagon Stuff

I took the family out to the wilderness for a couple days. It was fun. I would've taken the E30, but not everything fit in the trunk, so I took the F31.

IMG_20201103_191209_419 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0743 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

der Bayerische Stuff

We released the November-December issue of der Bayerische (read it here). I took the cover photo for this issue (a first for me).

Nov_Dec_20_dB_WEB_hyperlinks_v3_1 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I also included a short writeup about my Father's Day Skyline Drive trip.

Nov_Dec_20_dB_WEB_hyperlinks_v3_2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And I wrote a Sponsor Spotlight about my favorite shop.

Nov_Dec_20_dB_WEB_hyperlinks_v3_5 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

NCC Pie Run Tour XXV

Today I took my son on a Tour organized by NCC BMW CCA. Similar to what I took what I took my daughter to a few weeks ago, just a different route this time. We drove some great roads in VA, MD, WV, and PA. I skipped the last leg of the Tour because my parental gut told me that my son, who was having a blast, probably couldn't handle another 100+ miles. We ended up traveling ~240 "spirited" miles over an 8 hour period. The new-to-me Bavarian Autosport ignition coils have been great. Despite the high-revving nature of the drive, I still managed 29 mpg - a refreshed fueling system (new pump, lines, injectors) combined with a refreshed ignition system (plugs, wires, coils) does wonders for the M42.

Just two quick pit stops - one for a bathroom break, the other for the lunch I packed which we ate in the car. He was a trooper all day with no complaints.

DSC_0703 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0816 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Of course he had to bring a camera, just like his Dad or his sister would have.

DSC_0844 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Here's some of the route:

Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 8.25.20 PM by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Screen Shot 2020-11-14 at 8.26.12 PM by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

A solid start to the weekend. Early this morning I took a drive to pick up some Bavarian Autosport high performance M42 ignition coils. I found these on craigslist and the seller and I exchanged emails. He owns three M3s - an E36 M3 vert, an M3 E36 sedan, and an E30 M3. In addition to the ignition coils, he surprised me with a box full of other E30 parts. Very cool owner. It's always fun to meet up with another E30/BMW enthusiast.

These were installed on his 318is for a couple of years, but after a timing case failure, these were put in a box for the last decade. I could've just dropped them in, but I decided to take them apart and clean everything first.

Box of goodies:

20201031_091008 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Ignition coils:

20201031_105725 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Disassembled and cleaned:

20201031_112736 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Assembled and ready to install:

20201031_114531 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Installed:

20201031_115419 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I'll post some driving impressions once I get more miles on them. I'm not expecting anything, but I have read favorable reviews of these. We'll see.

On the way to pick up the parts, I stopped by Reagan National Airport to catch some planes taking off.

DSC_0835 (1)-edited by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0776-edited by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0801-edited by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0814 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[varg]

Good stuff. Don't feel too bad, she has an advantage over you; perspective. Photos taken at eye level tend to be boring, too much ground in the shot and too ordinary in appearance to the viewer, not unlike what one sees just walking by. Her eye level is not our eye level, her view of the world is different from ours.