Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[Rolling_history]

Wow, thanks so much for putting this together. I haven't had a chance to look through the entire thread, but I'm leaning towards an E30 for my next car, and what you've done is what I'm thinking about. Do you use yours as a daily driver? That's what I'd be using mine for, and I'm curious how your experience has been. Also, what kind of shape was it in when you purchased it? (And if that info is in the thread somewhere, just let me know, and I'll hunt it down)
Thanks; great looking car!

[mike.bmw]

I met up with Max at Katie's Cars and Coffee last weekend. He was stateside for a few weeks, visiting from Spain. I put together a story on BimmerLife here: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/10/05/lo...imited-meetup/

Shoutouts to getouth roguetoaster agent freeride53 and moatilliatta !

And here are some photos of Max's 318is!

20230930-DSC_1428 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1309 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1318 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1307 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20230930-DSC_1315 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

My third year at the Vintage was fun. I caravanned with these guys:

20230518-DSC_0154 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

and these guys:

20230519-DSC_0810 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And I wrote this about the road trip there:

https://bimmerlife.com/2023/05/22/the-road-to-the-vintage-and-pizza/

20230518-DSC_0306 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Here's a gallery of shots from the weekend: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/05/22/ga...-vintage-2023/

I stopped by the Zentrum for a photo op with Jim Gerock (who also owns a '91 318is, but brought one of his 2002s):

20230519-DSC_0747 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And our group went to the BMW CCA Foundation's Ultimate Driving Museum:

https://bimmerlife.com/2023/05/27/the-ultimate-driving-museum-kick-starts-new-exhibit-with-vintage-open-house/

One shot from the show:

20230520-DSC_0085 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

When I got back, this guy changed the oil for me:

2023-06-09_05-54-36 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Since then I've been busy writing. I did an article for B-Sedan's website on an awesome 1969 Alfa Romeo GT Junior: https://bsedan.com/blogs/b-sedan/lov...omeo-gt-junior

20230604-DSC_1267 by mike.bevels, on Flickr


And a piece on a Daytona Violet E34 M5 restoration: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/06/18/dr...-a-special-m5/

20230528-DSC_0624 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

My E36 M3 is under the knife: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/06/28/br...oses-its-head/

20230312-DSC_0817 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And we just got back from a family road trip to the beach.

20230630-DSC_0359 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

'Till next time!

[mike.bmw]

Where did we leave off? Has it been three months? Yikes.

Next week I'm driving 500 miles to the Vintage in Asheville, NC. As part of "Vintage Prep" I gave my car a thorough detailing. So thorough that I entered it in a local concours event this past weekend and won! Here's the full story:

https://bimmerlife.com/2023/05/08/national-capital-chapter-shines-at-39th-deutsche-marque-concours-delegance/

DSC_0336 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Rewind a bit to mid April. We held our third annual Cherry Blossom Run in the Washington, D.C. area. Shocker, I wrote about it and published it on BimmerLife: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/04/20/th...s-three-years/

DSC_0761 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Rewind a bit further. I wrote an article about my friend's S54-swapped E30 M3 that took first place in last year's One Lap Of America (Vintage Class):

https://bimmerlife.com/2023/04/07/an-e30-m3s-road-to-vintage-victory-at-one-lap-of-america/

DSC_0428 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Other than that, I've been busy. Regular job, BimmerLife, tons of after school activities with my kids, car projects. Whew! The M345 (Project Concord) has been keeping me busy a well. Minor maintenance on my E30, but I'm about to rack up 1,500 miles next week. It should be a fun trip!

[mike.bmw]

This might be my favorite set of my 318is...

DSC_0457 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0414 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0454 by mike.bevels, on Flickr
DSC_0387 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0452 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0453 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0450 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0476 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0392 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Pulled some film out? Cars are looking pretty joyful!

Film would've been fun, but I shot these with my Nikon D5600. When I set out to do this, it was mid day with nice cloud cover to full, but that quickly turned into sun by the time I got to the location. The photos looked like junk in my normal editing style, so I tried something a bit different in Lightroom (what I use to edit my photos) in attempt to salvage them. It does give that film effect though, which I kinda dig.

[moatilliatta]

Pulled some film out? Cars are looking pretty joyful!

[mike.bmw]

When worlds collide...

DSC_0588 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0728 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0621 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0586 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0719 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0711 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0684 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[monty23psk]

I think 14.2 volts is within spec. The voltage regulator is rated for 14V. Everything I've read indicates that when the car is running, the voltage at the battery should be between 13.8 and 14.2 volts.

This is right for all e30s. Just need to be above 14v for optimal charging but nothing above 14.5.

[econti]

Keep an eye on it, I've had motorcycles melt batteries at 14.5, which is not a fun experience

[mike.bmw]

14.2 is quite high for a charge, if at that level consistently it will kill batteries

I think 14.2 volts is within spec. The voltage regulator is rated for 14V. Everything I've read indicates that when the car is running, the voltage at the battery should be between 13.8 and 14.2 volts.

[econti]

14.2 is quite high for a charge, if at that level consistently it will kill batteries

[mike.bmw]

Today I installed alternator number two. The second alternator came in MUCH better condition. No stripped threads. No broken pieces. It did have the extra long bolts, but I swapped those out quickly from my existing alternator. The plastic wiring guide was also different (but not broken), so I swapped that as well.

2023-01-17_07-57-04 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

I ordered new alternator bracket bushings, which arrived today. The old ones were quite past it. The alternator sits nicely (and securely) with the new bushings pressed in.

2023-01-17_07-49-31 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

2023-01-17_07-49-27 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Bushings installed (the old ones just fell out):

2023-01-17_07-49-16 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Here is the difference in the plastic wiring guide. The curved piece is what was installed on the previous alternator (and is what works):

2023-01-17_07-48-57 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The new one even came with a new supressor installed, where as the last one did not. And some beauty shots...

2023-01-17_07-50-29 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

2023-01-17_07-54-05 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And it's in:

2023-01-17_07-48-49 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And it's charging (even better than the last one):

2023-01-17_07-48-36 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Tomorrow I'll go for a drive. Fingers crossed it doesn't end in sparks like the last time.

2023-01-17_07-47-34 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

You can get a Bosch reman AL0152X on ebay for ~$250, or an AC Delco 3341893 reman on Rockauto for ~$165 plus shipping. You may also simply try a new regulator 12311726022, which is about $20 for the Hella unit, on your original alternator.

As to amperage, I think the 90a is for our typically equipped A/C cars, whereas it might be easy enough to find/use a 65a alternator on a more typically equipped Euro 318i with no fogs, no AC, and a very basic audio setup. An 80a might work, but running the AC, stereo, and all of the lights at night in summer might be a struggle to maintain battery charge.

Thanks, roguetoaster! I didn't know these existed. The AC Delco unit looks identical to the CarQuest unit. The Bosch unit looks nice.

The second CarQuest alternator is being delivered today. When the new bushings arrive next week I'll install it. If it's DOA, I'll go with the Bosch AL0152X for round three.

The voltage regulator on the old unit is fairly new. I replaced it about a year ago as the original was worn down to nubs. So I think that's still working correctly, it's just a tired alternator.

[roguetoaster]

You can get a Bosch reman AL0152X on ebay for ~$250, or an AC Delco 3341893 reman on Rockauto for ~$165 plus shipping. You may also simply try a new regulator 12311726022, which is about $20 for the Hella unit, on your original alternator.

As to amperage, I think the 90a is for our typically equipped A/C cars, whereas it might be easy enough to find/use a 65a alternator on a more typically equipped Euro 318i with no fogs, no AC, and a very basic audio setup. An 80a might work, but running the AC, stereo, and all of the lights at night in summer might be a struggle to maintain battery charge.