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Reviews

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 […]

Projects

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 […]

Projects

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 […]

Projects

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 […]

Reviews

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, […]

Projects

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 […]

Drives

Sometimes, you should read the manual!

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 […]