Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Window locking strip part II





My son was home for the 4th of July weekend and gave the old man a hand with the front locking strip installation. What a joy to have something to work on together that is all analog.
And after the work, the shakedown run.











Saturday, July 3, 2010

Window locking strip installation


The front and rear windshield is held in place by a rubber gasket. This gasket is locked in place by means of a trim strip that fits under the lips of the rubber windshield gasket. After 27 years this chrome strip had turned a dingy black It is actually hard to distinguish from the gasket itself.

I ordered the front windshield from Bavauto and the rear 2 piece from BMPD.

I also ordered an installation tool from Bavauto.













The installation is fairly straightforward.. First remove the old lockstrip and trim corners. The lockstrip installation tool is a bit cumbersome, but it will save you some time. A small blunt screwdriver is also essential for getting the lips of the gasket to lay over the edge of the lockstrip.















I think the strip adds a nice detail around the window and it frames the class well. Tomorrow I will install the front windscreen lockstrip and also install the new underhood insulation pad.

Friday, July 2, 2010

My newest project: 1983 BMW 320is


For the past 6 months, I have been faced with the most difficult of decisions. To wit, what shall I drive. My daughter is currently driving our Tahoe and I am back behind the wheel of our unstoppable 196,000 mile 1993 Toyota Landcruiser. Ten miles to the gallon does not a sporty runabout make.

While looking through the BMWCCA member classsifieds I spotted a car that has always held a special place on my list of cars I would like to own. The venerable BMW320is. This 3 series sedan is a direct decendent of the fabulous 2002 series and helped bring BMW's into the driving mainstream. Several dozen emails and three weeks later and here we go.

I might add that my first road experience in this car was riding in the front cab of the flatbed tow truck that hauled it from the drop off point to my house. That is nice to get that first breakdown out of the way early. I knew that the car had some fuel injection issues. I am now quite familiar with 'hard warm start'. I am also familiar with her twin sister 'hard cold start'. The fuel injection issues will be addressed in a later post.

Here are some of the highlights:

Gold BBS 14 inch wheels are super trick. These are growing on me. They compliment the car and have that right 80's feel. I really want a set of 15" staggered Alpina turbines. Those have gotten way out of hand. There are companies that make a nice reproductions such as Vintageparts.





The exterior is BMW Polaris, which is one of my favorites.
The previous owner added a sash over the front fender and bonnet. The bonnet was resprayed later and the sash was omitted. I like the look and plan to return it at some point in the future.


The interior is factory Recaro seats in black leatherette. These are in remarkable condition for a 27 year old car. They are a little springy in the drivers seat. I suspect that the original horsehair padding may have given up the ghost.

The BBTOL (Big Brown truck of Love) just pulled up and dropped off my parts for this weekends project. More to come.