Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[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

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DSC_0845 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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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

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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.

[2mAn]

Thats awesome to see her taking pics. Shes already a better photographer than me!

[mike.bmw]

The 2020 NCC Fall Foliage Tour

On October 24th, my six-year-old daughter, Avery, and I participated in the National Capital Chapter (NCC) Fall Foliage Tour. An NCC tour consists of a group drive to a particular destination via a scenic route on “fun roads” as planned by the group’s tourmeisters. For this tour we met up at my favorite NCC sponsor shop, RRT, in Sterling, VA and then drove on a collection of epic mountain roads through Shenandoah National Park and George Washington Forest to Harrisonburg, VA. The 318is performed beautifully. The new fuel pump has made a world of difference. The current suspension, wheel, and tire setup make carving backroads very enjoyable, but not overly harsh.

Along the way the few masked and socially distanced rest stops provided nice opportunities to get out and stretch. When we arrived in Harrisonburg, Avery and I enjoyed the lunch I had packed while the rest of the group went off to eat lunch elsewhere. On the return trip the group stopped at a few locations for photo opportunities. Over the course of the nearly 11-hour event, Avery and I racked up over 270 spirited miles. Between my work schedule, Avery’s distance learning, and everything else going on in our lives right now, it was very special to get away for a day and have some memorable father-daughter time.

Avery has shown interest in taking photos, so for this occasion instead of using her “kid’s camera”, I let her use my previously retired Pentax k-x DSLR. It was a big hit. After giving her some pointers on how to hold the camera, how to zoom and focus, and how to frame her shots, she ended up taking a number of really cool photos over the course of the day.

While driving through Shenandoah National Park, I did spot two E30s (driving separately) near Skyline Drive. These were the only E30s I saw all day. At a passing glance, they were both lightly modified and very clean. I exchanged waves with both - it’s always nice to get a wave from a fellow E30 owner.

I ran the turbofans on the front wheels for this event. I hadn’t planned on running them at all, but before the group headed out in the morning a friend asked what they were (he had seen them on a FaceBook post), so I installed a pair on the front wheels to show him. After a full day of spirited driving (and braking) up and down mountain roads, they’re still in perfect shape.

The route from RRT to Harrisonburg, VA:

Fall Foliage Tour - Route To Harrisonburg by mike.bevels, on Flickr


The route back to RRT:

Fall Foliage Tour - Route Home by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Cars staged outside of RRT ready to start the tour:

DSC_0732 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


Someone’s ready to take some photos using a “real” camera:

DSC_0716 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


The caravan drives through a small town in VA:

DSC_0752 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


The view from the back seat (photo taken by Avery):

The cars drove on squiggly roads. by mike.bevels, on Flickr


A group photo opportunity (photo taken by Avery):

IMGP7134 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


The parking deck in Harrisonburg, VA (photo taken by Avery):

The cars parked for lunch in Harrisonburg. by mike.bevels, on Flickr


Soon I’ll be asking her for photography advice:

DSC_0754 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[Rambl.n]

It’s nice to see such a well organized build thread

[mike.bmw]

Bare BBS RS look so nice, but the fans are incredible... Oh to have decisions like that

Thanks! It's nice to be able to change up the appearance within a couple of minutes by simply installing or removing turbofans.

Not a fan of the fans

but having such an "easy" option to change the look is nice.

My 6 hour drive home in the E46 got me thinking about another E30 build lol... luckily the MR2 is still fun and not annoying... yet... lol

Haha, to each their own. I thought the last round of photos worked better with them off. I never intended to run them on the wheels all the time, but they're a fun addition every now and then. And they're certainly a conversation starter. :-)

I think you've got a great garage combo right now- the MR2 and the E46 touring. Reassess your car situation after the baby is born once you find yourself with some free time. If the MR2 is drivable and fun, keep it around for a while. Though, car seats do fit quite well in the back of an E30. ;-)

[Blake B]

A guy was selling the CAD files to Turbo Fans to 3d print them, and I've just been sitting on files for awhile. Maybe it's time to fire up the 3d printer?

[2mAn]

Not a fan of the fans

but having such an "easy" option to change the look is nice.

My 6 hour drive home in the E46 got me thinking about another E30 build lol... luckily the MR2 is still fun and not annoying... yet... lol

[econti]

Bare BBS RS look so nice, but the fans are incredible... Oh to have decisions like that

[mike.bmw]

It was a solid weekend of E30ing. I met up with fresh_TD early Sunday morning to take some photos of his recently completed slicktop '91 318is. He has gone through this car bottom to top over the course of this year. He has disassembled and replaced, refurbished, or thoroughly cleaned pretty much everything on the car. The fresh paint looks amazing. He really did an amazing job with this one. It's an inspiration.

DSC_0755 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Of course I had to take some of the cars together. This may be the last time at this location. The security guard was very nice (seriously), but after 40 minutes of photos he respectfully asked us to wrap things up and head out. :-)

DSC_0815 (1) by mike.bevels, on Flickr

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And a rolling shot on the way out...

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I spotted an interesting location along one of my regular routes. That's Dulles Airport in the background. I thought the sunrise and low-lying fog in the open field looked nice.

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DSC_0714 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Next weekend I'll be taking the E30 on a "Fall Foliage Tour" setup by my local BMW CCA chapter, the National Capital Chapter. It's a full day of driving a planned route of exciting roads all over the state.

[2mAn]

I think He’s up to ~20 states driven so far... ahh to be young again.

[mike.bmw]

Last weekend east met west. If anyone is following on the FaceBook R3V group, freeride53 is taking an EPIC road trip in his '91 318i sedan. He started in California and has been making his was across the U.S. There have been some bumps along the way, but he has been persistent and is still going strong. I really look forward to seeing a summary of the entire trip.

He was in the Washington D.C. area last weekend and we met up briefly at my place - masked up and socially distanced of course. It was super cool meeting him and checking out his car in person, something I'd never thought would happen as we live 3,000+ miles apart. I've followed his latest thread for a long time and it has been an inspiration. In addition to hanging out, his power steering belt had decided to abandon him the day before, so I donated the relatively new one from my car (we had called around and the closest 10x800 v-belt was an hour away).

Good luck on the rest of your road trip, Sina!

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[Powling]

You're right. An MT1 spoiler (black surround with alpine white insert) might look pretty good.

100% an Mt1 would really suit your car!