Musings on the daily life of an obsessed automobile enthusiast
It all began innocently enough. I needed some parts for my 89 325iS that’s beginning to take shape, and a great potential donor car was just up the I-5 in Seattle. Somehow, don’t we always need more parts? The Bronzit four-door in question had its complete cooling system replaced, a […]
With about four hours to kill and no choice but to sit in my chair and behave, I finally had a block of free time to read Rob Siegel’s Resurrecting Bertha, something long overdue. If you’re familiar with Siegel, either through his “Hack Mechanic” column in the BMWCCA Roundel magazine, […]
What better thing to do on a Thursday night when your wife is out of town on a business trip than buy a wagon? Right? Truth be told, I’d been looking for a wagon again for some time, but as it’s only an occasional use vehicle, it didn’t have to be […]
After a couple of weeks in storage, it was time to break out the E23. The weather’s been holding steady, so a blustery 48 degree day is the perfect weather for a classic BMW. But then I remembered…the windows don’t work. That’s why I put it away in the first […]
One of my least favorite car things to do is clean a dirty engine compartment. The older a classic gets, the more potential it has to get really, really dirty. This is a bad thing for more than just the aesthetic element. Whether you wrench your own or take it […]
It’s always exciting to me when anyone introduces a new roadster, not just BMW. Considering that topless models account for just below 1% of US car sales, I’m amazed anyone is doing convertibles, or manual transmissions. Wait – the new Z4 is not available with a manual (or even that […]
You can’t make your i3 go faster, but you can spruce up the handling significantly by the mere addition of a set of H&R sport springs, available here, at the Tire Rack for only $249. BMW quotes seven hours to change them, but some dealers will not fit aftermarket parts […]
The V8 powered E39 M5 certainly lives up to its legacy, nearly 20 years later. In this case, the “BS” means before supercharger. My BMW Genius, Eric has this lovely example of the marque and as we’re driving along the backroads nearby, he explains why he needs even more power […]
Horsepower is great, no, horsepower is awesome, yet there’s a lot to be said for slowing your pace down a bit. The case in point is our 1983 320i. It’s normally aspirated 4 cylinder with K-Jetronic fuel injection left the factory with 101 horsepower, so it may not have quite […]
There is a particular segment of car owners that spend more time washing and waxing their pride and joy than actually driving it. I say to each his or her own, and I certainly get it. While there is something special about a well-worn, patina’d daily driver that’s given you […]