Page 28 of 43

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:21 am
by OnTheFritz
Sprayed the tail light housings a nice silver finally! Got sick of having the lights so dim without any reflective paint or tape or anything Also had to repair a chunk of plastic that broke of well before the car came to our care, which turned out reasonably well. I'd say the result speaks for itself!

Oh, I also re-located the actual brake light: instead of being above the reverse light, it's now above the running light. Slightly more lens area and now brighter, so hopefully that makes inattentive rear-end collisions a little less of a worry. I'd like to have both areas lit up when on the brakes, but that's a project for another time. LED bulbs may come sooner; I'm all about the LED life :lol:

Instead of posting 5 pictures and cluttering up space, here's a link to an album instead: https://imgur.com/a/wlZ9CbC
But here's the end result: Image

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 6:56 pm
by Jono B good
Swapped in all new fuses in the fuse box in the engine bay, and installed new trunk roundel, tried to track down fuel leak it seems like it's cold start injector, whether or not it's the line or the O ring unsure as of yet.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:12 am
by DRPM635CSi
GazM3 wrote: Mon May 28, 2018 2:50 am Not for the 6 specifically (will fit if need be) but building a useful set of bbs rs from my metrics.
Could you expand a bit on what you're doing here please? I'm genuinely curious about how to make use out of the old metrics. I have my set too, but they're just taking up space under the bench in the garage with no serious intention of ever finding their way back on a car again, but I can't just throw them to Sims Metal for recycling. It just seems wrong. You seem to have found a way of re-making them into something that is at least useable?

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:17 pm
by GazM3
No worries.

The metrics run a 16” centre so you can get made up new inner and outer barrels for the wheels in either 16-17-18”. It’s about 2k AUD for them in 18”. Prob slighly less for the smaller dia. If u don’t want them, I’m happy to buy the old metrics off you rather than scrapping them. They have to be BBS RS007 3 piece. No other metric wheels can be done. I had to manually dril them and removing/reinstallation of about 150 bolts is not for everyone.

Here are a few pics.

Image

Image

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 1:09 am
by DRPM635CSi
Ah, I see, sorry that's my misinterpretation. I have the recall replacement one-piece monobloc TRX 415x195 wheels, not the original 3-piece BBS wheels that cracked and were subject to the recall. I thought you might be cutting the centre out of the monobloc wheels and rebuilding them as imperial sizes somehow. My mistake.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 2:47 am
by GazM3
I’ve got a spare set of 415 1 piece metrics just in case I have an OEM attack and want to revert to original.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 6:01 pm
by Roku35
Took off the car cover, stared for a couple minutes and covered her...

Took off the other car cover, stared for a couple more minutes and covered her...

Said "Damn it!" Went to work :)

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:10 pm
by Jono B good
i have a question numbers of builds status for the L6 does anybody have any info for this? I found different numbers from wikipedia to other online bimmer sites ranging from 5000 to 1600 built? What is the official number for the L6? Thanks in advance. :D

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:03 pm
by OnTheFritz
Adjusted my valves! Process was super easy, took less than 2 hours from taking the cover off to putting it on and starting the car. Most valves were pretty close to spec already, so the adjustments weren't large (some I didn't even need to). both banjo bolts for the oil spray bar were also still securely fastened, which was a pleasant surprise 8)

The head was actually replaced back in the early/mid 90s, which (I think) explains everything I saw while under there. As far as I understand, BMW came out with the revision of the banjo bolts that came pre-applied with thread locker, which would explain mine still being snugly attached. Though the valves were already relatively quiet before, now they're super quiet (except for a pesky pair of valves that are slightly louder than the rest) and the engine is barely audible while driving normally and cruising along. Might need to get some IE headers in the future to fix that.. :P

On a more sour note, I now have a coolant leak coming from my lower radiator hose right up by the t-stat inlet. Tried a new hose clamp hoping that was the issue, but to no avail. Oh well, time to get the IE silicone hose kit :roll:

Image

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 1:34 am
by 88m6
Shadowline conversion:
All cab pieces finished powder coated n mostly installed. Front doors left .
Got rear windows back in with new weatherstrip from down under and cleaned n treated windscreen rubbbers and installed powder coat trim.
Oh ya n the fins were so bad they would not clean up so wetsanded down up to 1200 then polished n they look great. They were so sunbeaten they had a sand texture that wasn't right.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 6:44 am
by GazM3
The shadow line looks nice against the red

Polished fins

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:57 am
by rhanley 635csi89
88m6, your car is look great, would you elaborate on your polishing method for the fins as I'm in the process of a respray and had no great solution for bring the fins back to life. Thanks, Roger

Re: Polished fins

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 11:36 am
by ron
rhanley 635csi89 wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 10:57 am ....would you elaborate on your polishing method for the fins?
I used a mild cutting compound such as Brasso or T-Cut and they came up beautifully.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:55 pm
by 88m6
Depends on existing condition as to what to use. If just oxidized then brasso or polish would probably work . Mine were beyond that they had a fine sand texture that no polish was going to bring down,thu s the sanding.
If I remember started with 800 but wasn't doing it so went to 600 which worked great then 1000 to remove 600 scratches then then polish I had laying around and they look awesome. A few tight areas so used paper wrapped on paint stick for everything and happy with final product.
Paint just wasn't going to do it for me.

Love shadow line. Did it to my black88m6 now gone
Saw this red one n had to do it again.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:45 pm
by sharkfan
After a whiff of petrol from the M635CSi after brimming the tank I noticed some weeping down the side of the tank underneath the filler area. I siphoned a few litres off then set to battling with that rubber gasket-cover thing that goes over the filler neck. I gently rubbed away the corrosion then set to spraying it with some Bilt Hamber Dynax S-50 heavy duty anti-corrosion wax.

Then I had to do the 635CSi as well. I cleaned and treated both the rubber gaskets as well.

After all that I got back inside to read an interesting e-mail from a well read gentleman at the Alpina factory in Buchloe.

With spares running low for these venerable old cars I took a chance on a '011' Bosch Motronic ECU for my late 1982 635CSi from German ebay. When I received it I found it had an Alpina part number sticker on the back of it. I'm pretty well versed in Alpina detective skills and knew the number conformed to the early ECU numbering sequence but couldn't find the exact number on any of the parts catalogues I have access to, so I e-mailed the factory.

The reply is that the ECU is indeed for an early Motronic 3430 M30 engine like I needed, specifically the Alpina B9/1 engine but the Alpina number indicates it is set up for Group A racing 635CSi's...

Any suggestions what to do with it?

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2018 12:16 am
by DRPM635CSi
sharkfan wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:45 pm After a whiff of petrol from the M635CSi after brimming the tank I noticed some weeping down the side of the tank underneath the filler area. I siphoned a few litres off then set to battling with that rubber gasket-cover thing that goes over the filler neck. I gently rubbed away the corrosion then set to spraying it with some Bilt Hamber Dynax S-50 heavy duty anti-corrosion wax.
Been there! Obviously the mud accumulates around the filler neck off the back wheel and corrodes everything away. I get that your repair is probably only a temporary solution. Mine was to remove the whole tank from the car, Clean, flush, fill with subliming dry-ice and re-weld the entire filler neck area with new steel. Then a thorough repaint and she's all new again. As your car is an ///M, while you've got the rubber gasket out also check the pins that mount the battery vapour capture tank mounted on the back side of the right rear arch panel behind the rear wheel. If your filler neck has corroded away then I'll bet the mounting pins for the vapour tank have also disappeared or are in the process of doing so. Mine were so thin they were like paperclips in thickness and the actual panel had holes you could see straight through. I was very lucky not to lose the vapour tank completely because it was basically just hanging around in free air wobbling on the end of the hose line from the battery box.

I rebuilt the panel with welding and inserted two new threaded bolts through where the old pins were and welded/grinded to finish off. The vapour tank is now rock solid mounted in its wedge cleats to the two new mounting pins.
Then I had to do the 635CSi as well. I cleaned and treated both the rubber gaskets as well.
The rubber gasket is not expensive to replace. I have one in transit now from FCP in fact. Mine isn't completely shot to bits quite yet, but the edges are all splitting where it tapers to very thin rubber and the collar that actually seals around the metal filler neck is all showing signs of cracking, so I thought while its out for the battery charger cable extension, I'd replace it anyway.
[/quote]

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2018 1:22 pm
by Jono B good
Had new JVC CD MP3,and USB formatted music file format(USB stick) radio installed yesterday can finally listen to music in Sonja! The aerial fully retracts now much to my surprise! I also installed the IACV bracket and rubber shock absorber thingy too(still has a rough idle and hard cold start up in the AM), going to get new a electrical clip soldered in today, and maybe get the lovely MWrench window shade tie kit installed today as well. I need to buy a digital camera DAMMINT! ](*,)

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 3:36 am
by OnTheFritz
Had a "fun" day on the road today... :evil:
Image
(Front left corner. Damage speaks for itself. The hood is also ever so slightly mis-aligned now, but is probably easily repairable judging by how nothing under the hood looks misplaced, broken, or even really bent)

Image
(Front left fender, just in front of the door. This section is slightly indented in addition to the paint scuffs and scratches. Doesn't look horribly out of line though)

Image
(Driver door. This was the only area of damage on the door, which was surprising. Door handle and lock still works, but has been slightly indented as well as more scuffs. Door opens and closes with no issues, and still looks as straight and true as before)

Image
(Rear left corner. More scuffs on panel behind driver door. The wheel arch, though mangled, didn't rub at all on the drive home)

Image
(Faint view of the body line. The driver's side grill was shoved over toward the center of the car slightly, but doesn't look like major damage. The plastic/rubber top cover for the chrome bumper was also shifted and slightly dislodged, but actually looks good as before this)

Not pictured: The rest of the car looks pretty straight (aside from the aforementioned hood alignment) from an initial rundown, but the lip on the front right wheel is slightly bent in one small spot (about 2-3in long) from being forced onto the curb to my right. Didn't even chip the paint on the wheel though, which is interesting.

For the accident, I'll make a long story short: someone in the left turn lane (3 cars back from an intersection) tried turning from said turn lane, across the middle lane, over to the right lane, all as I was coming up on them doing the speed limit. The passenger "thought there was enough space" between us, when there wasn't. By the time they were coming in to my lane (far right), there was nowhere for me to go except between them and the curb. Everyone was fine though, no injuries, no airbags, and no fluid leaking out of either car. The police did their business (wrote them a citation), alerted our insurance agent (who we're personal friends with), and I drove the 25 miles home from the accident and parked the car until Monday.

But this is only an unfortunate setback. Fritz will be back better and cleaner than ever (or at least since it rolled out of the dealership). At least the at-fault party has insurance, so all will be taken care of one way or another. The car will live. And to end on a lighter note:
"Tis but a flesh wound", -The Black Knight

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:15 am
by DRPM635CSi
Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Looks nasty. Even from your description & mirror imaging everything to make sense to a RHDer, I can't manage to visualise how that happened. On the plus side though you can thank yourself that you live somewhere where the police actually care about incidents like this and can actually be bothered attending at all. If that had happened here, there's no way in the world the police would have attended such a minor bingle. The police here don't care at all unless there's a stolen vehicle or someone dies. On top of that, you'd have then been fined too for driving the damage home with a broken turn signal!

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:42 am
by OnTheFritz
I can hardly begin to describe how common this ridiculous behavior is. Among my family and friends, we have nicknamed this phenomenon the "Tulsa turn" with how often it happens where I live. Basically, imagine someone driving on a multi-lane road. Say they're in the far left lane (or far right in RHD countries). They then realize that the exit/turn they need to make is coming up rapidly, and become paralyzed with fear thinking they won't ever reach their destination if they overshoot their exit, so they immediately turn across x number of lanes to make their turn. Always at the last second, sometimes without any turn signal or indication of doing so. This even happens in town (as I was the unfortunate victim of), where people seemingly forget where they live or where they're going, and decide that cutting across 2-4 lanes of traffic to go the opposite direction they originally intended to is the better alternative to pulling into the nearest parking lot and turning around ](*,)

Drivers in my area baffle me with their lack of common sense and awareness, and I'm always amazed at the volume of these vegetable drivers. But this is what you get when you take small-town people and put them in a reasonably large city. Not big enough for people to think about what they're doing, but not small enough for everyone to just get away with acting incompetent. I swear; I can't drive anywhere, any time, for any distance anymore without encountering something like this and almost being run in to. Even in my own neighborhood. Nowhere is safe, which takes the fun out of driving for me. Defensive driving only does you so much when everyone else is seemingly out to get you.

But yes, I was super fortunate the police arrived as quickly as they did. I honestly didn't expect much from them with this accident, but I was so glad to be proven wrong. I suppose most of my experience is with small town departments, which I don't think needs any further explanation. And I had my police case number handy in my wallet just for that eventuality! The drive home was devoid of patrol cars (as is normal), so thankfully I didn't have to deal with 2 officers in a day.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:55 am
by DRPM635CSi
OnTheFritz wrote: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:42 am Imagine someone driving on a multi-lane road. Say they're in the far left lane (or far right in RHD countries). They then realize that the exit/turn they need to make is coming up rapidly, and become paralyzed with fear thinking they won't ever reach their destination if they overshoot their exit, so they immediately turn across x number of lanes to make their turn.
I see, yes, that's extremely common here too. Just the same as you I cannot complete a single drive on the freeway here these days without witnessing someone crossing four lanes of traffic in one panicked continuous movement without indication. I can't help but think it's only a matter of time before I get cleaned up like you have been. I actually have to drive the freeway this afternoon here and I'm already starting to dread it - having to take the risk.
I swear; I can't drive anywhere, any time, for any distance anymore without encountering something like this and almost being run in to. Even in my own neighborhood. Nowhere is safe, which takes the fun out of driving for me. Defensive driving only does you so much when everyone else is seemingly out to get you.
I can completely empathise with you! You would find it exactly the same here. The only 'safe' thing you can do is drive slightly faster than everyone else so you're not constantly surrounded by idiots for extended periods, but obviously the police and revenue tax earning cameras have put an end to that method of crash avoidance too. I completely agree with you that social engineering has very effectively killed off any enjoyment you can get from driving in metropolitan areas these days.

I get far more enjoyment from working on my cars in the safety of their garage than I ever do from driving them these days. That's a sad but true reality.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 5:06 am
by OnTheFritz
DRPM635CSi wrote: Sun Jul 22, 2018 4:55 am I can completely empathise with you! You would find it exactly the same here. The only 'safe' thing you can do is drive slightly faster than everyone else so you're not constantly surrounded by idiots for extended periods, but obviously the police and revenue tax earning cameras have put an end to that method of crash avoidance too. I completely agree with you that social engineering has very effectively killed off any enjoyment you can get from driving in metropolitan areas these days.

I get far more enjoyment from working on my cars in the safety of their garage than I ever do from driving them these days. That's a sad but true reality.
Thankfully none of my local PDs have figured out these fancy new plate recognition cameras yet (or at least fully deployed them), and they still don't patrol the major highways hardly at all, so the "go faster than the idiots" method is still somewhat viable in my area. At least until said idiots begin clogging the passing lane and making us look like the bad guys #-o

Anymore, if I want to enjoy driving, I exclusively drive after 11pm or midnight, or before 8 or 9am. The last think I want to see while driving is someone else other than a friend I may be driving with. But yes, I have a fair bit more understanding for the people who collect or work on cars and never take them on the open road. It's hard to trust people who can't even be bothered to air up their tires or clean their windows (let alone their whole car) more than once every couple months. I don't know who's more crazy, us enthusiasts or them :-k

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 6:49 am
by Jono B good
Sonja and I went for a good long 2 hour cruise today. Like noted in previous post, I have to keep my spirited driving to the remote highways, and I keep an eye out for the cameras as they are permanently installed and they use some kind of timing in between the various cameras to validate your speed, or set up a road trap. Still I love to throw my girl into sport mode, damn she eats the highway up like it's nothing. I think it's funny when people assume oh that old BMW has no power. Then the "S" puts em to the rear view mirror. I must say though since running the Chevron 94 octane(zero ethanol) Sonja is running so much better!

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:28 am
by MrE
Very sorry to see this, but good to know it all seems repairable. I know from your posts how much you value this car, so I've no doubt it was gut wrenching for you when this incident happened.

And it all happened quite quicky I'm sure, but I always find it really impressive how effective the ABS braking is in these cars when emergency stops like that come on us, given the whole system is 30 year old technology.

Re: What did you do to your E24 today?

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 5:54 pm
by OnTheFritz
Jono B good wrote: Sun Jul 22, 2018 6:49 am Still I love to throw my girl into sport mode, damn she eats the highway up like it's nothing. I think it's funny when people assume oh that old BMW has no power. Then the "S" puts em to the rear view mirror. I must say though since running the Chevron 94 octane(zero ethanol) Sonja is running so much better!
It's certainly faster than what most give it credit for! Granted I do have a chip, but I'm still surprised when I see the gap I have at stop lights or some of the cars I can keep up with. Granted, I have a grocery list of things I'd love to do over the years for more power (finances permitting), but for 30 years and a long-geared auto? Color me impressed. I also second the use of no ethanol fuel. Been using either 91 or 87 no ethanol, but I don't see any real difference between the grades, especially not for $0.40+/gallon :shock:
MrE wrote: Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:28 am Very sorry to see this, but good to know it all seems repairable. I know from your posts how much you value this car, so I've no doubt it was gut wrenching for you when this incident happened.

And it all happened quite quicky I'm sure, but I always find it really impressive how effective the ABS braking is in these cars when emergency stops like that come on us, given the whole system is 30 year old technology.
I tried to get out all of my anger in the time between having my personal space violated and pulling up to interact with people who just ran in to me. Took every fiber of my being to stay quiet and not say more than what was necessary. But I was also surprised by the ABS effectiveness. I try to stay just below the activation threshold, but I just heard one tiny chirp from the tires at first and was steadily slowing down in the (very) short distance I had. I can only imagine what the braking performance would be with wider/stickier tires, even with OE-spec hardware :-k