Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[monty23psk]

AlpinStar I have an m42 and did go with the m20 single mass flywheel. I also lighten it to something like 13-15lbs, so didnt go sub-10. Car revs more freely and goes with the MarkD chip great. If you stand out of the car and really pay attention at idle, you can sometimes hear chatter but it is nothing noticeable. I have heard enough light weight version where it is very loud. I still have factory AC and no issues with revs or idling. Purrs nice at idle. I did upgrade from stock clutch to Clutch Masters stage 1 for my car.

Refreshing anything that is 30 years old will seem nice for sure as Mike stated.

[mike.bmw]

Car's looking great, Mike! When you did your flywheel and clutch recently did you look into lightweight flywheel options? I'm having basically the same job done right now (clutch, flywheel, RMS, etc), on a car with the same mileage as yours, and have been tempted by lightweight flywheel options, but I also feel like a lot of the forum posts on single-mass flywheels for the M42 are by people who don't much care about the downsides (like gear chatter and idle issues when A/C kicks in). Looks like you stuck with the stock dual-mass and decided to trust the BMW engineers, which is the route I'll probably end up going as well :).

Thanks! I did look into lightweight flywheel options and was ready to go that route. After speaking with the folks at RRT, I was convinced to go with an OE setup. They even use dual-mass flywheels on their racecars. From what I recall, the lightweight options have more cons than pros. And the dual-mass setup was only a couple hundred more dollars than the single-mass setup, so it wasn't outrageous.

At the end of the day I just wanted something that was easy to live with for another 150K miles - hopefully I make it that far. The new dual-mass setup feels MUCH better than the worn and tired original components.

[AlpinStar]

Car's looking great, Mike! When you did your flywheel and clutch recently did you look into lightweight flywheel options? I'm having basically the same job done right now (clutch, flywheel, RMS, etc), on a car with the same mileage as yours, and have been tempted by lightweight flywheel options, but I also feel like a lot of the forum posts on single-mass flywheels for the M42 are by people who don't much care about the downsides (like gear chatter and idle issues when A/C kicks in). Looks like you stuck with the stock dual-mass and decided to trust the BMW engineers, which is the route I'll probably end up going as well :).

[mike.bmw]

Scotty, I need more power

In mid December I attended "NCC Gears and Cheers", a two-part event that started at Hunt Valley Horsepower and ended up at a secretive car storage location. The weather wasn't bad, the premise piqued my interest, and I was covering the event for NCC BMW CCA's magazine, so I took my E30. The first stop was about 80 miles from my house. I left before dawn and the drive was going well. The engine has felt so responsive and peppy since recently installing the new injectors. As I neared my destination I noticed that the instrument cluster was having issues. Then the headlights weren't working. Then the radio turned off. Then the blower motor stopped working. Then the turn signals weren't firing. I was only a few minutes away, so I continued on, limping the car to Hunt Valley Horsepower. If I was going to have an issue, a car meet full of enthusiasts was probably not a bad place for it.

When I arrived my E30 wasn't running well. I suspected that I threw an alternator belt and the battery was flat based on the fact so many electrical systems cut out. I turned the car off, popped the hood, and saw the alternator belt was still in place (and properly tensioned). The battery was just over 10 years old, so it was due for replacement. Despite driving the car 3+ days a week, I always put it on a tender, so the battery life has been prolonged significantly. Another CCA member, Devin Moreno, was kind enough to find an open Autozone nearby and give me a ride to pick up a new battery. We were there and back in less than 15 minutes. I installed the new battery using the trunk-lid mounted toolkit (possibly the first time it has been used) and the car started right up. It got me through the rest of the day and another 120+ miles of driving.

When I got home, I used my multimeter to measure voltage at the battery while the car off, idling, and at 2K rpm. All measurements were the same - in the low 11s. Not enough to charge the battery. Someone at the event earlier in the day suggested the voltage regulator (VR) might be the culprit, so I started looking into that. I pulled the VR and found that the contact points were completely worn down. They weren't making contact, thus not completing the circuit causing the battery to not be charged.

So I ordered a new VR and replaced it. Back in business! Voltage numbers were acceptable after the replacement. I was hitting high 13s at idle. Low 13s with the high beams, radio, and blower on full.

I also cleaned all of the grounds and noticed the alternator ground was in poor shape. I ordered a new one from Bavarian Restoration and replaced it today. Project complete.

Here are some crappy cell phone photos:

20211223_104949 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20211223_111800 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

20211223_112912 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

A peak inside:

20211219_151803 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Cleaned up battery ground:

20211224_050256 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Old vs new alternator ground:

20220103_150358 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

And some shots from the event:

DSC_0283 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0280 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0253 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0321 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0422 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0308-Edit by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0285 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

as usual, great pics!

Man, this car is all the hotness! Love the consistent content, and that you're always using the car.

My thoughts exactly, I don’t come here much anymore but when I do it’s always to this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great pictures, Mike! I like the one between the trees!

Thanks, all!

I don't post as much as I used to. I could fix that, but it would be a LOT of photos. :-). Always writing and taking photos for articles.

I will have an upcoming post on voltage regulators, alternators, ground wires, and batteries once I receive one last item in the mail next week. :-)

The shot between the trees was (re)posted by BMW Group Classic on FaceBook, so I was pretty proud of that.

Here are some shots from last weekend - Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

DSC_0279-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0310 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0353-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0409 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0446 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0469-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Shots of other cars from the last few months...

Round headlight gang:

DSC_0311 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Mmmm, panning shots:

DSC_0094 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

When you catch the person you're interviewing on the way to the interview:

DSC_0331-Edit-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0377 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Some Porsches:

DSC_0660 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0487 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0754 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Lothar Shuettler's red cars:

DSC_0489 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

This could go on for a while, but I don't post a lot of this stuff here since it's not E30 related.

Yesterday I tested out a spot for an upcoming shoot, so I used a tripod and took some of myself. I would've taken the E30, but I had just cleaned it and it was raining a bit, so I took my dirty wagon. Here's one:

DSC_0299 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Cheers!

[D.Martijn]

Great pictures, Mike! I like the one between the trees!

[getouth]

Man, this car is all the hotness! Love the consistent content, and that you're always using the car.

My thoughts exactly, I don’t come here much anymore but when I do it’s always to this thread.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AWDBOB]

Man, this car is all the hotness! Love the consistent content, and that you're always using the car.

[2mAn]

as usual, great pics!

[mike.bmw]

Photo dump from the last couple of months. I'll have a quick DIY post coming soon (once I determine the fix and have the whole story). And I have a ton of shots of other cars and collections - hopefully showing up in print sometime soon!

DSC_0060 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0080 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0117 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0204 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0080 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0094 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0161 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0070-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0016-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0102 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0161 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0123 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0047 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0099-2 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0105 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

DSC_0026 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

[mike.bmw]

Great vintage photos Mike! Really cool we had some misty weather for some great blue ridge photos!

Those gen 3 injectors or well worth it!

Thanks - I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. The weather did make for some interesting shots. Looking forward to another Vintage in 2022!

And thanks for the injector recommendation! (Saw it on one of my IG posts).

beautiful car and love the turbofans. great taste! what % tint do you have (not sure if this was answered already), looks right on the car.

Thanks! The rears are 35% and the fronts are 50%.

+1 for excellent Vintage photos! Great to meet you there (I'm Jonathan for reference).

Thanks! Great meeting you there and your YouTube videos have certainly come in handy over the years :-)

[KI4UJO]

+1 for excellent Vintage photos! Great to meet you there (I'm Jonathan for reference).

[s-thetikz]

beautiful car and love the turbofans. great taste! what % tint do you have (not sure if this was answered already), looks right on the car.

[moatilliatta]

Great vintage photos Mike! Really cool we had some misty weather for some great blue ridge photos!

Those gen 3 injectors or well worth it!

[mike.bmw]

History Repeats Itself

A little over 5 years ago I replaced my M42's "Mess Under the Intake" with all new OEM parts. New vacuum lines, new coolant lines, new fuel lines, new hose clamps, new sensors, new gaskets. Even a set of refurbed, upgraded Bosch injectors. Well, the weekend before last I was driving home from a local Cars & Coffee event and smelled gasoline. At first I thought it was the truck in front of me, but when I got home it was worse. I took a quick look in the engine bay and saw one of the short fuel lines under the intake manifold was wet, so I started taking things apart.

There wasn't anything obviously leaking fuel and none of the lines were split. All hose clamps were tight. However, when I went to remove the fuel injectors from the lower intake manifold, they basically fell out. It appears the o-rings had shrunk quite a bit. And the bodies of these new/refurb'd injectors, which once looked perfect, were now badly rusted. They should've been coated (or I should've painted them). Lesson learned.

I reached out to SSSQuid and purchased new plastic-bodied, 4 pintle, Bosch injectors (part #0-280-155-746). I ordered new gaskets, clamps, and various other parts from FCP Euro. Since I had everything apart, I also ordered a replacement coolant hose that leads from the M42's expansion tank (built into the radiator) and travels up under the lower intake manifold. The old one, probably original, was one of the few I didn't replace 5 years ago. For this, I clamped both ends of the old hose and quickly swapped over the new hose, which I routed alongside the old one. Very much an "Indiana Jones" move - see the scene from Raider's of the Lost Ark with the golden statue and the bag of sand.

I got everything back together last night. I let it idle for 20 minutes and didn't see any leaks. I drove it today and all is well. It may even be running better now - especially in higher RPMs, where I used to hear a louder ticking noise that is now gone (probably injector related).

Onto the pics!

Old coolant hose routed next to new one, ends clamps to prevent coolant spilling:

20211113_152858 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Coolant line replaced!

20211113_155327 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

The old one had seen better days...

20211113_163153 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

New injectors installed in the rail, the old ones were quite rusted:

20211115_165546 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Rail installed onto the lower intake manifold, new short fuel hoses and clamps (again):

20211115_172048 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Upper intake manifold reinstalled, with new gasket:

20211115_172932 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Throttle body heater plate, new gaskets - I will bypass this next time I'm in there:

20211115_174042 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

Throttle body reinstalled, ICV hooked up:

20211115_175633 by mike.bevels, on Flickr

All wrapped up!

20211115_180916 by mike.bevels, on Flickr