When the E30 first hit the streets, I fell in love with the shape immediately, but I was less than excited about the four-cylinder motor, carried over from the E21. When the six-cylinder ES model arrived, I took a bright red with black interior model for a test drive and […]
Recent Posts
Chipping the E34
Increased performance isn’t always a tire-shredding thing. Looking at your car as a system – modest, incremental gains all add up. Those with turbocharged, modern BMWs make it look easy. A simple ECU flash can put another 60 or 70 horsepower under the hood in a matter of minutes. I’d […]
Why I’m Not Buying a Set of M-Pars (just yet…)
Don’t get me wrong, I love the look of a set of 18” M-parallel wheels on the E34. Discussions go back and forth on the various FB pages, with some hating this wheel, and others loving it. But I’m not jumping on the bandwagon just yet, but not for the […]
Executive car – the E34 journey begins
Many people I’ve talked to say that driving an E34 five series is like driving a “big E30,” but that’s selling the E34 short. Not that I don’t love my E30s, but the E34, at least the 535 I’m driving these days, is a totally different contraption. Sure, the styling […]
Why I love the i3, or… five great things about BEV
For those of you not familiar, BEV is not a lovely lady, but a Battery Electric Vehicle. I.e. an EV that is not a hybrid, but powered only by a rechargeable battery. I currently own a 2017 BMW i3 BEV, as opposed to BMW’s REX (range extender model) that uses […]
Project 325iS, part one (and a half)
As I’ve mentioned here, the original 3 – the E21 was my first BMW crush. When the E30 hit the market, it became even more intense. I loved the square, minimal lines, and the new level of interior ergonomics and functionality. And the thought of a six, wow a six-cylinder […]
Staying on the Path
“It’s perfect now; you’re gonna love it.” Steve at Matt’s Alignment and Brake tells me with a big smile, handing the keys over the counter. I’d been anticipating this all weekend, as Roy and I didn’t make it back from the coast, dropping off the Z4 for top repairs in […]
Rescuing a parts car: the story of Lumpy
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 […]
Further Thoughts on Bertha
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, […]
Budget Bimmer: Installment One
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 […]