Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

More photos. I went back to a location from last week. I think this building is super cool.

DSC_0527 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0505 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0535 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Blackstone Labs Used Oil Analysis

I got my Used Oil Analysis report from Blackstone Labs yesterday. Everything looks great. I only had 2500 miles on this oil which included 4 hours and 170 miles of track time. If you read the comments in the report, they wanted me to keep an eye on the copper levels. I responded to Blackstone's email with the report and told them about the track time. A Blackstone analyst responded with this:

The hard use you mentioned more than likely factored into the slightly high
copper level. But even with a bit of extra copper, this engine is still
wearing quite nicely and you'll be in good shape if copper is at least
stable from here. Nice report.

Best,
Joe Adams
Analyst
Blackstone Laboratories

Report:

BlackstoneLabsUOA-M42-200129 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And to make this slightly less boring here are some photos from last weekend!

DSC_0498 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0549 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0561 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0536 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[D.Martijn]

Good to know. I'd go with oem replacements, but the last time I looked I couldn't find all the lines. There are other brands like ATE that sell rubber replacements, but I have read terrible reviews about those failing. So I figured a kit from Garagistic or another vendor might be my best option.

At the moment my only other necessary Vintage prep items are the brake lines and replacing my 7 year old battery. Of course I have a long list of unnecessary items too. ;)

I went with Bosch brake lines, in Belgium it's not allowed to use braided stainless steel lines by the technical inspection
So far I have no problems with them...

[mike.bmw]

Chase Bay's. Eliminate the divided rear lines to be a singular line. They are also not braided.

I will check those out, thanks for the suggestion!

[jeenyus]

These things won't fail ever and remove that unnecessary section of hard line nobody needs.

[mike.bmw]

I personally wouldn't run braided lines if I had to the option to run Chase Bay's teflon lines. Braided seem like they can get completely filled with crude from the road and deteriorate inward without you even knowing till it's too late.

Good to know. I'd go with oem replacements, but the last time I looked I couldn't find all the lines. There are other brands like ATE that sell rubber replacements, but I have read terrible reviews about those failing. So I figured a kit from Garagistic or another vendor might be my best option.

At the moment my only other necessary Vintage prep items are the brake lines and replacing my 7 year old battery. Of course I have a long list of unnecessary items too. ;)

[jeenyus]

Yeah, I am leaning towards replacing all 6 lines rubber lines (to include the hard-to-reach pair over the subframe) with a braided stainless kit. Not sure which kit yet though.

Chase Bay's. Eliminate the divided rear lines to be a singular line. They are also not braided.

[mike.bmw]

Yea, it does look very nice!

Are you planning on upgrading to braided stainless lines?

Yeah, I am leaning towards replacing all 6 lines rubber lines (to include the hard-to-reach pair over the subframe) with a braided stainless kit. Not sure which kit yet though.

[jeenyus]

I personally wouldn't run braided lines if I had to the option to run Chase Bay's teflon lines. Braided seem like they can get completely filled with crude from the road and deteriorate inward without you even knowing till it's too late.

[D.Martijn]

Haha, yeah. That is a really nicely done E21. The body is very straight, it has great paint, and it has a well put together turbo kit. The owner says it puts down about 250hp at the wheels.

Thanks, I'm very glad to have all new rubber fuel lines in the car. Next up I'm going to replace all the rubber brake lines. They've held up well for the last few HPDEs, but I don't know how old they are so I'll be replacing them for safety's sake.

Yea, it does look very nice!

Are you planning on upgrading to braided stainless lines?

[mike.bmw]

Oh wow, that E21 sure looks happy!

Great work on replacing the old fuel lines, gives some good peace of mind.

Haha, yeah. That is a really nicely done E21. The body is very straight, it has great paint, and it has a well put together turbo kit. The owner says it puts down about 250hp at the wheels.

Thanks, I'm very glad to have all new rubber fuel lines in the car. Next up I'm going to replace all the rubber brake lines. They've held up well for the last few HPDEs, but I don't know how old they are so I'll be replacing them for safety's sake.

[D.Martijn]

DSC_0474 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Oh wow, that E21 sure looks happy!

Great work on replacing the old fuel lines, gives some good peace of mind.

[mike.bmw]

A few small updates.

Cupholder
I picked up a cupholder. Finally after nearly 4 years of ownership I have a place for coffee. The person that makes these is on R3V, but I actually found this locally on FB Marketplace.

DSC_0511 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The dashmat protects the crack-free dash.

DSC_0513 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Oil Change and Oil Analysis
I knocked out another oil change. Rotella T6 5W-40 with Mahle filter. I took a sample and sent it to Blackstone Labs.

20200129_140511 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20200129_142438 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Cars and Coffee
A few shots from Cars and Coffee events:

DSC_0474 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0493 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Rubber Fuel Lines Replaced!
I've been meaning to do this for a while. After purchasing the car ~4 years ago I replaced the rubber fuel lines in the engine bay as part of the mess under the intake refresh. I hadn't touched the lines near the fuel filter or on top of the tank. Today I replaced those. This was done WITHOUT having to drop the tank. There was one hose clamp that was a pain to get to (just on top of the tank near the fuel filter), but I was able to loosen it slightly and rotate it so I could get a ratchet on it.

Up on stands. The rug really ties the garage together.

DSC_0487 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

All of the lines were original (1990) and dry rotted/cracked.

20200201_132835 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0497 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0500 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Shout out to fresh_TD for bringing me extra fuel hose, giving me some pointers, bringing his home-made fuel line runner, and lending a hand!

DSC_0504 copy by mike.bevels, on Flickr

National Capital Chapter News
In other news, I have been asked to take on some responsibilities for my BMW CCA Chapter, the National Capital Chapter. More on that later!

[D.Martijn]

Don't do it. E30 Wagon instead.

This.

edit, an iX Touring would be even better!

[mike.bmw]

Last Saturday I attended a BMW CCA National Capital Chapter DIY event hosted at Bimmer Werks in Beltsville, MD. A very fun event. I was able to use one of their lifts and power bleeders to flush the fluid on my M Sport brakes. I hit some snow and ice on the way there, but nothing major. Article forthcoming. :)