Just (re)joined BFc, figured I'd introduce myself and my '84 745i

[DesktopDave]

Water leak still MIA. I guess I should be happy, right? I can't shake that feeling I've missed it.

I've been spending a little time reassembling the car. I learned how to R&R the dashboard. That took some time, since the interior fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. Re-installation wasn't all that bad either. It's nice to see the old gal coming back together.

Pics:


I also took some pictures of the chassis. I'm no expert on bodywork, so this will be a learning experience.
Passenger side:


Driver's side is a little worse:

I knew that the car had a moderate accident when I bought it. The car has a replacement driver's quarter panel and has been re-painted. You can see a bit of the damage, it had been hiding under a chunk of bondo. Oddly, other than the one significant dent, there's no evidence of damage to the frame rails in the engine compartment. Frame welds are usually pretty easy to see. There is also a small crimp in the a-pillar that I have to get a picture of. If I had to guess, I'd figure something narrow hit the car near the driver's a-pillar.


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The mystery water leak on my old E23 ended up being between the windshield and the gasket, at one of the bottom corners. The only way we got it to stop was urethaning inside the gasket, at the location of the leak. If you need a new windshield, the PGW (DOT 549, which means made by FYG, China, rebranded as PGW for this application) fits fine and the optics are acceptable. $200

I'm thinking this was the likely culprit. There was a good bit of water and debris inside the rubber seal "channels" when I re-installed the locking strip.

[offroadkarter]

Are you going to track down a spoiler to fill in the holes, or just plug them?

[DesktopDave]

I have an OEM spoiler, I'll likely just bolt it back on with some foam tape until I'm ready to do the trunk lid.

[Hit Man X]

Awesome to see progress!

Been driving my slab around town. That 3.91:1 makes it a delight at these speeds. Really no need for boost now during city driving...unless you line up to a stop light grand prix. I need to hurry and log AFs stock then with 3 bar FPR so I can up the boost to 10psi and finally 13psi. Not interested in popping the headgasket at this point.

Fixed my head rests on the fronts, which has been pissing me off for a decade. A 5mm piece of coat hanger will get you back in fashion. Also I was never able to move the right front seat from the rear seat arm rest location (yes, I have that option too) until recently. Tested wires until my eyes bleed...turned out the issue was the two plugs with three (?) wires each were transposed.

Also tossed in a mid to early '90s Kenwood cassette deck with a killer 40x4 peak and one 1.5V RCA out. Ran that into an old PG line driver I had sitting about so I now have 8V worth of preout voltage. That runs into two RCA splitters to attach to this old ass Alpine five channel amplifier...25x4+70x1! RMS power @ 12V, even has built in crossovers. Now my Boston Rally's are really singing

Inspection tomorrow and tint soon enough. I hate the fishbowl.

[BONDOSPECIAL]

You Texas people and your window tint! My M5 came from Texas and I just got done removing all the tint. I suppose it's probably necessary in that kind of climate though.

[DesktopDave]

Also tossed in a mid to early '90s Kenwood cassette deck with a killer 40x4 peak and one 1.5V RCA out. Ran that into an old PG line driver I had sitting about so I now have 8V worth of preout voltage. That runs into two RCA splitters to attach to this old ass Alpine five channel amplifier...25x4+70x1! RMS power @ 12V, even has built in crossovers. Now my Boston Rally's are really singing

Doing old skool just the way it was intended!

How is it that fixing one or two little things can totally change the way you feel about a car? IMHO that's the best thing about classic cars. It beats the heck out of owning newer junk AFAIC.

[Hit Man X]

100% agreed on all the small things make the car that much better. Hell, I even tossed on that knee bolster on the driver side...that has been off for 6-7 years easy!



Tint is basically a requirement here to keep from roasting to death. Plus it preserves the interior and makes the A/C work better in the summer. I run 35% front (legal) only and 20% rear. Darker in the rear and you have a hard time seeing at night, not worth the hassle.

[DevInAz]

You Texas people and your window tint! My M5 came from Texas and I just got done removing all the tint. I suppose it's probably necessary in that kind of climate though.

I can't imagine not having tint! Texas is really hot but Phoenix is crazy hot in august and same here in Vegas. Sometimes it hurts to sit in the car after it's been in the sun outside all day even with tint here!

[DesktopDave]

The only time you'd need tint in Pittsburgh is if you're dealing drugs! We're the 5th cloudiest city in the continental US, IIRC. It's close though - Seattle took the award with 5 more overcast days a year.

But now that I'm thinking about it, I do have some not-so-fond memories of cooking on '70s OEM checkered vinyl in our old German cars. I still think there was a single factory that made it for all the Euro cars. We had tan vinyl in Mom's '72 VW 411 Variant, black vinyl in Dad's '74 2002 and blue vinyl in his '81 528i. First cloth interior I recall was our '84 VW Rabbit "Champagne Edition." Minty green with tan velour...very stylish.

[DesktopDave]

Since the weather finally took such a turn for the better, I started with summer project planning. I'm planning on a rebuild of the shifter. The short shifter is rubbing the guibo in 2nd gear. The shifter setup looks like it was pulled from an E28. Surprisingly, it doesn't fit all that badly, but I'd prefer it was done as OEM. Here's the back end of it:

That bolt runs up into a nut in the shifter console, making the whole deal sit a bit too far forward. Note how tall that short-shifter is! I was surprised to see that most of the shifter parts are still available from BMW, but one part isn't. It's called a 'bow', PN 25111207113, part #18 in this diagram. Anyone have a spare? It's also in the early E30, E28, E21 and likely every other pre '88 BMW that uses the sheet metal style shift bracket.

Car needs a good bit of bodywork too. Worst area is the driver's front and rear quarters. The forward dolly socket is rusted out, jack socket was crushed a bit, and the floor pan has partially detached from the inner frame rail. Aft, the inner wheel well and rear dolly socket are dissolving. While the rust is significant, it doesn't look that dangerous. There are a few other spots too, but this looks like it'll take the most work:

[offroadkarter]

So I guess the car will be around for a bit longer?

My offer on the hartge bar stands lol

[DesktopDave]

So I guess the car will be around for a bit longer?

My offer on the hartge bar stands lol

I'm liking this car more and more every day. I used to think it was too big, and it doesn't handle all that well. It also needs a lot of stuff...and it'll never be all that pretty.

But...there sure aren't a lot of these still running. It's a pretty unique car, and the turbo mods really make it fun.

If the car finds its way to a new owner, the bar will be negotiable...LOL.

[offroadkarter]

I always thought this car handled really well for its size, although I know you have an E30 and I do have new bilsteins and wide low profile tires on my car. I dusted my friends 2010 jetta ripping through the back roads of maryland when I bought the car, he had a really hard time keeping up with my old german seld.

[DesktopDave]

Now it's a sled with a better shifter! I removed the very notchy short shifter to install a smooth stock unit. Of course, the throw is like twice as far...but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

The short shifter is a really nice piece of work, adjustable for height and apparently rebuildable. I think it's an older UUC unit. Looks like it has roller bearings in the bottom end. I might reinstall it if I find the matching "cranked" shift linkage that will clear the guibo. It's so much easier to shift with the OEM part, although the shifter is a bit sloppier as I was missing the OEM shim washers.

[Hit Man X]

I am curious about that old UUC unit, need measurements if you can get them for me plz. Top half screwed all the way down to middle of ball and from middle of ball to base.

What 'cranked' shift linkage are you meaning?

[DesktopDave]

I am curious about that old UUC unit, need measurements if you can get them for me plz. Top half screwed all the way down to middle of ball and from middle of ball to base.

Sure thing.
Middle of shifter ball to top of shift lever on full extension, 17.5cm (~6 7/8")
Middle of shifter ball to top of shift lever fully retracted, 16cm (~6 1/4")
Middle of shifter ball to center of bottom mount, 6.7cm (~2 5/8").

BTW, the shift lever doesn't actually screw down - that's a captive nut that retains a red silicon rubber isolator bushing (red parts make any car faster). There's a grub screw in the upper shift lever that engages a slot machined into the lower half of the lever, if that makes any sense. The slot is about 1/2" long. I suspect it's possible to drill a hole into the lower section of the lever to make it a few mm shorter or taller. The shifter is ever so slightly cranked to the rear, much like stock...perhaps 5 or 10 degrees.

What 'cranked' shift linkage are you meaning?

UUC recommended bending the selector rod to clear the guibo:
http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...43&postcount=6

[Hit Man X]

Cool!

I wonder if that is true for the new ones they sell.

[DesktopDave]

I've been driving her around the last few days, and finding that I'll make excuses to do so. While she is definitely still a work in progress, she is a functional car again.

The "fixed" list is getting steadily longer, but so is the 'to-do' list. The suspension is soft and mushy. The steering wheel gives suggestions instead of direct orders. I have to chase down a fault in the brake light sensor and re-grease or replace the rear passenger window motor. The HVAC actuators all work and heat really works well (sure wish I could turn it off).

[offroadkarter]

Bilstein HD struts and new steering endlinks should solve some major issues. My car rides awesome on the bilsteins

[DesktopDave]

More progress tonight. First long suburban drive. I love the stock shifter, though it does need a bushing or two. That UUC short shifter is not getting re-installed in this car.

This car is a treat even though it's putting me in the poorhouse. I've found another poverty-stricken guy with a pair of E23s, he's thinking over trading his cars for a motorcycle of mine (I might be broke, but trades can still go a long way). It'll most likely come to nothing, but if I do pick them up...anyone need anything?

[offroadkarter]

That guy has a pair? I thought that was the same 84 you sent me? Or does he have another one with an auto?

[Hit Man X]

Nice! Any overheating issues in traffic? Have a chance to light up the tyres?



I fixed my offset trans connector today which caused a 3rd and R only (think, no power) problem and the heater core decided to fail on the same token. I guess it did not like the 4000rpm in overdrive test. LOL

[DesktopDave]

That guy has a pair? I thought that was the same 84 you sent me? Or does he have another one with an auto?

He does have two - a white '84 733iM and a black '83 733iA IIRC. Both need towed for various reasons.

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Nice! Any overheating issues in traffic? Have a chance to light up the tyres?



I fixed my offset trans connector today which caused a 3rd and R only (think, no power) problem and the heater core decided to fail on the same token. I guess it did not like the 4000rpm in overdrive test. LOL

No overheating issues. I did note that one of the hoses is getting cut by the water pump pulley though. That'll have to be resolved. I didn't light up the tires, not sure how much I trust the injectors - I have to overhaul them & put a good valve adjustment before I really start pushing the car.

Your tranny just decided to keep you in high gear? LOL, glad you've got it sorted out!

[DesktopDave]

Got an odd issue on my car right now, wondered if anyone had the same issue. Here's the deal....after I've run the car, I park it. The next time I switch the car to position I, I feel a solid 'thunk' that feels like the starter solenoid disengaging. Anyone else have this issue?

If the starter ends up being the culprit, which gear reduction starters on which cars should I be on the lookout for?

[Hit Man X]

B35 units. 735iL E32 and 535i E34

I use them exclusively on builds. Stud the block! Remove lower plenum support to make R&R easier