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Thread: 1979 733i questions - new toy

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Fredericksburg,VA
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    1979 BMW 733i

    1979 733i questions - new toy

    Hi all,
    I have recently picked up a '79 733i that has ~125k miles and was owned by a college professor and his wife. She barely drove it after he died and it shows. The passenger seat is pretty crispy which I didn't notice util too late. There is basically no rust on the body but today I found some issues with back side of the passenger front wheel well. I know about the reactor and head issues already and planning on removing that this spring and installing headers. Due to age it is emissions testing exempt here. I was given a huge stack of service invoices from new. Also included was a electrical troubleshooting book and a service shop manual binder which should help. There is a service invoice for "machined head and valves" at around 105k.

    Right now I have 2 issues I don't know how to fix. 1) Where is the box for a power antenna mounted on the driver side front fender? How do I get to it so I can get it working again? I touched the white wire to get it to extend on +12 and heard what sounded like a relay click but that was it.

    2) Where, exactly, do the front sunroof drains come out? I fished a length of string trimmer line down from the top and it is definitely plugged up around 30" or so. This search started due to the nearly 1/2 gallon of water I vacuumed out of the rear passenger side floor pad.

    btw, I sold my 1984 Mercedes 300D to get back into BMWs. I missed the '75 2002 I used to have.

    Thanks,
    Scott
    1979 733i

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Millville, NJ
    Posts
    8
    My Cars
    99 M3, 03 330
    That reminds me... I need to check my drains :/

    Is this one of the 7 series with the GIANT gas tank?

    Sounds like a neat driver, enjoy!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Quadratechtown, PA
    Posts
    741
    My Cars
    5, 7, 4x4
    The BMW parts diagrams for the electronic parts catalog is a good place to see what parts are involved when hunting things like that antenna.

    http://www.bmw-etk.info/parts-catalo...192/41/41_0191 shows the cover in the wheel well. Clean the cowl drains when you are in there. Part rubber number 11 that is on the inner fender at the base of the cowl and drains that area.

    The sunroof drains in front drain to the area between the body and inner shell behind the front speakers, the rocker panels. Maybe you will be close with you get that inner panel off. The drain to the body and it has slots along its length to drain water so check those, too, below the doors.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Fredericksburg,VA
    Posts
    11
    My Cars
    1979 BMW 733i
    Quote Originally Posted by 8991XJ View Post
    The BMW parts diagrams for the electronic parts catalog is a good place to see what parts are involved when hunting things like that antenna.

    http://www.bmw-etk.info/parts-catalo...192/41/41_0191 shows the cover in the wheel well. Clean the cowl drains when you are in there. Part rubber number 11 that is on the inner fender at the base of the cowl and drains that area.
    ....
    Are you/is that diagram showing that the entire panel #8 comes out with that 1 bolt in the middle of it? If that is the case that will actually make the repair I need to do on the passenger side much, much easier.

    The sunroof drains in front drain to the area between the body and inner shell behind the front speakers, the rocker panels. Maybe you will be close with you get that inner panel off. The drain to the body and it has slots along its length to drain water so check those, too, below the doors.


    I had the front speakers out today to wire them up "properly" to a new HU I am putting in that will actually illuminate when its dark and not turned on. The Blaupunkt Sebring was just dark all the time even when turned on I was not really able to see it. I didn't notice anything that looked like a drain or tubing but I might take the panels back off and scope it with a camera. I might even be able to run the camera down the drains if the hole is big enough but I don't think so. The car lived in IL for most of its life and has a serious layer of undercoating on it and I think that is what is blocking all the drains and why I was looking for specific places to look since I will need to heat and scrape off the "tar" that is under there.

    Oh, and Wheelman99, yes from what I read in the owners manual it has a 22.5 gallon tank. I know I was just under 1/2 today and filled it back up it took 12.4 gallons. Now if I can get that reactor and egr off maybe my mpg will get above 16.
    Scott
    1979 733i

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