Straight Six MEMBERS EDITION
JUNE 2 020 £5
The M Prodigy… The M Prodigy... BMW’s diminutive but mighty 1M is a real firecracker PLUS: MEGUIAR’S CLEANING GOODIES TO GIVE AWAY!
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Formed in 1952 as The BMW Car Club of Great Britain, incorporated in 1982 as BMW Car Club (GB) Ltd. A non-profit making club owned and run by and for its members. Combined One-Make Car Club Assoociated Club of RAC Motor Sports Association Ltd. The views and statements made in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the BMW Car Club GB Founder The Late R.J.T Hewitt President John Safe Vice Presidents Chris Wadsley, Jeff Heywood, Len Oakshett Chairman Jamal Blanc Board of Directors Dave Evans Martyn Goodwin Neil McDonald Richard Stern Club Office Michelle Evans
inside this issue
Lisa Davies Anya Edwardes BMW Car Club Insurance Henry Francis
24
Patron Mike Wilds, The late Barrie Williams
18
MLife: Firestarter
Steve Carter describes the 1M, as the late Keith Flint from the Prodigy used to belt out, “…a Firestarter, twisted Firestarter!”
Editing Team Jeff Heywood Lisa Davies
24
Estate of the Art
E36 Tourings only officially came in M Sport flavour as a 323i in the UK, however not everyone realises that other models could still have all the Sport boxes ticked during the factory build.
Andrew Coles Cover image: Dean Grossmith Advertising Display Advertising
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Hine Marketing 01452 730 770 nick@hinemarketing.co.uk
29
Red-Hot Hatch!
The BMW E36 M3 Compact never went into series production, and yet its impact is still felt today.
35
The Professor
Fritz Indra, former Head of Engine Development at Alpina, turned the E12 into the fastest four-door saloon in the world with 1978’s B7.
41
The tale of an E12 and a Solex Carb…
Club member Fred Marsh-Allen tells the story of his E12, and finds out how many are really left on the road.
44
My mini Z3M self-isolation restoration project
M Power Register volunteer, John Denny, recalls his restoration project after purchasing a Z3M Coupe.
47
2000/2002 Tourings – How many are left?
Interested to know how many 2000/2002 Tourings are still on the road? Look no further, Club member James Hobson has done all the research for you!
Website advertising office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Online classifieds - £4.95 bmwcarclubgb.uk Classifieds - £9.95 per issue Club Office 01970 267 989 office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk BMW Car Club (GB) Ltd, Unit 5h, Glan Yr Afon, Aberystwyth, SY23 3JQ Website: www.bmwcarclubgb.uk Email: office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Tel: 01970 267989 Office Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm - Mon-Fri Published on behalf of BMW Car Club by Hine Marketing, Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton Glos, GL2 9LN. Tel: 01452 730770 sales@hinemarketing.co.uk
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www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Contents
from the editor Welcome to the June issue of Straight Six! We hope you are keeping safe and well, and enjoying the glorious weather we have had recently. Here is another issue of Straight Six to hopefully keep you occupied whilst we wait for some good news! Interested to know how many 2000/2002 Tourings are still on the road? Club member James Hobson has done the research for you on page 47. In this month’s issue you can also find out how many E12s are on the road, as well as read Fred Marsh-Allen’s E12 ownership story on page 41. “…a Firestarter, twisted Firestarter!” are the words the late Keith Flint from the Prodigy used to belt out, and is surprisingly a great way to describe the 1M, as Steve Carter found out in this month’s MLife: Firestarter on page 18. When the Alpina E12 B7 turbo launched at the 1978 Frankfurt IAA Motor Show, it was the fastest 4-door saloon car in the world, all thanks to former Alpina Head of Engine Development, Fritz Indra. Read his interview with Alpina on page 35. E36 fan? On page 24 read the feature on Club member Rafe Abrook’s E36 M Sport Touring, and on page 29 you’ll find the E36 M3 Compact, which never went into series production, and yet its impact is still felt today. Do you have an interesting article for Straight Six? Whether it’s a restoration
35
project, technical information, Club event, or simply why you love your ultimate driving machine – please don’t keep your BMW adventures to yourself, we want to read about them! Remember, Straight Six is a magazine for members, written by members.
regulars 6
Board Torque
8
Thoughts from the Boardroom
10 Club News
Want to help the Club? We are always looking for volunteers with knowledge in BMW models to fill our vacant registers. To find out what roles need filling or to show your interest, email officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. Part-time photographer or just love taking pictures? Send us high quality images of your BMW along with a caption to officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk to be in for the chance to win FREE Meguiar’s products! Below is this month’s winner by Ieuan Evans!
12 BMW News
Happy reading!
14 Products
Straight Six editorial team.
Jeff, Lisa & Andrew
15 Meguiar’s 16 Dan Norris 48 Pirelli 49 Your Letters 50 Crossword 51 Regions 61 Registers 72 Your Photos 74 Club Pub Meets www.bmwcarclubgb.uk www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
5
boardtorque
Pirelli P Zero . Custom-made performance since 1986. TM
For more than 30 years, P ZeroTM tyres have been the choice of the most prominent carmakers, for the best vehicles in the world. Today, based on this experience and on its cutting-edge technology, Pirelli launches the new P ZeroTM, the custom-made tyre for the next generation of cars, designed to draw out an even greater range of driving emotions. For custom-made performance, look no further than P ZeroTM. Discover more on Pirelli.com
The new P ZeroTM tyres are now available. The coloured limited edition version shown in the image will be available to order from September 2016, in selected sizes only.
For further information, please contact us at limitededition@pirelli.com Richard Stern – Register Director
As I write this we’re all still in lockdown and observing social distancing. If we are lucky enough to have a trip to the supermarket, I might even need to retake my driving test as I’m afraid I will have forgotten how to drive, but thankfully the weather has been good to most of us. Also I think we can all appreciate the internet for entertainment and communications, whether it be keeping in contact with family and loved ones or having more choice of things to watch and share. It also shows how the internet is important to us in today’s world but let us not forget the basics and real interactions with real people. It is a real shame the VE-Day celebrations had to be down-played due to social distancing, how ironic. Let us not forget the sacrifices others made for us. Whilst in lock down it makes us look at what value and interest we can offer our members - you! The Podcasts have been very widely received and we will continue to do these, if you fancy talking casually about your BMW passion please let the Office know. We were planning a Region and Register technical day, but that of course is now postponed. If you want to discuss anything at the future day do let me know. It certainly looks like 2020 for car shows can be written-off, and car shows are a big part of my diary, there’s only so much getting the car out the garage and polishing I can do. Do use this time to get those projects finished and all those jobs done so next season you can be a part of the action, as who knows how long we’ll be even allowed to drive these old cars. Looking through my loft I have found some wonderful old press photos including the BMW restaurant and office in Munich, simpler times you could say. I
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BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
found some old photos of Clive Massel’s Alpina race car from South Africa. I haven’t heard from Clive in a few years so I wonder where the car is now? Let’s hope that by the time you read
this, things start freeing-up and hopefully we can plan some shows in the back end of the season, believe me I am going to double up next year! Stay safe, miss you all.
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
YERS’ FEES? BUYERS’ FEES? AT BUYERS’ WHATFEES? BUYERS’ FEES? HAT BUYERS’ FEES? WHAT BUYERS’ FEES?
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thoughts from the boardroom
Graeme Grieve, CEO BMW (UK) Ltd.
As you’ll know from my previous missives I’m a huge motorsport fan and while there’s no racing to be seen on track at the moment, BMW Motorsport has been doing its best to keep race fans entertained during lockdown. Our works drivers have been taking part in many sim racing series with the M8 GTE currently leading the IMSA sim series while Formula E driver Maximilian Günther remains undefeated after two virtual Formula E events. Of course, it’s not as thrilling as the real thing, but if you’re pining for some on circuit action it could provide a welcome diversion. There was sad news for the motorsport community in April with the passing of Sir Stirling Moss. He was a wonderful racer whose career was sadly cut short by his accident at Goodwood all those years ago, but despite this he was always a wonderful ambassador for motorsport. The reception he received at classic motoring events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Revival meetings demonstrated the affection felt for him thanks to his effervescent personality and his open demeanour. He was always happy to talk to fans and the media and was a fabulous raconteur with a slightly risqué story up his sleeve. He was one of motoring’s true gentlemen and his presence in the paddock will be sorely missed. While he will always be remembered for his stunning 1955 Mille Miglia win with ‘Jenks’ as his navigator it’s perhaps a lesser known fact that Moss actually started his racing career in a BMW. Moss’s father was a part time racer and
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BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
owned a BMW 328 and it was in this car that Stirling first tasted the thrill of motorsport, driving the car at several events in 1947. With his talent you can really imagine the 328 dancing along underneath him and it’s quite a feat that the 328 was still proving a success in competition 11 years after its 1936 launch. It was revealed to the public at the Nürburgring International Eifel Race and driven by BMW motorcycle legend Ernst Jakob Henne where it won the unsupercharged up to 2.0-litre category at a canter and set the fastest lap time of all the sports cars taking part. The 328 really was a groundbreaking machine and set BMW’s stall out as a manufacturer of superb sporting machinery. It went on to be a cracking road car and saw success in many races, perhaps most famously in the 1940 Mille Miglia but it also won its class at Le Mans and carried on winning races into the 1950s. Just 464 examples were made and it’s quite incredible to think it will be celebrating its 85th birthday next year. Car launches are very different today and no doubt they will be rather different in the post-Coronavirus world, too.
I don’t think any of us can predict quite how things will look in a few months’ time but I can predict that it won’t be too long before you’ll be able to see the new 4 Series in all its glory. Not only will the 4 Series set the dynamic benchmark for the class, but some models – such as the M440i xDrive – will feature innovative 48V mild-hybrid technology for the ultimate in performance. It’ll be 57 millimetres lower than the 3 Series with which it shares some mechanical components and will have a lower centre of gravity. In combination with revised suspension settings the 4 Series will be both incredibly agile yet offer excellent comfort, too. I don’t want to give too much away before the 4 Series is revealed but some lucky motoring journalists have already been behind the wheel of prototype 4 Series models and have reported very positively on the way it drives. The launch of a new model is always an exciting time and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel, let’s just hope lockdown is over and I don’t have to take a leaf out of our BMW Motorsport driver’s book and sample it in a virtual environment!
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME. BMW Service Make sure your BMW is given the care and attention it deserves by using our specialist technicians, who are trained to know our wide range of cars inside and out. With personalised pricing, expert knowledge and Genuine BMW Parts that come with a two-year warranty, when it comes to servicing your BMW there really is no place like home. Schedule your next service with the BMW Connected App or book online at BMW.co.uk
clubnews National Events Calendar 2020
Given these exceptional times we have put together the below June Offer for our members: Renew through the month of June and you will receive a discount of £5.00 off your membership fee* and the Club will make a donation of £2.50 to the NHS Charities. Renew either online www.bmwcarclubgb.uk or call us on 01970 267 989. *Only valid on UK Memberships
June 5-12:
Renewals and Straight Six
19-21: BMW Welsh Weekend
To ensure members receive all 12 issues of Straight Six we remind and encourage our members to endeavour to renew their memberships before the end of their individual expiry month. The Straight Six Magazine mailing list is an automated process and sends over a full list of active members to the mailing house on the 14th of each month. If a membership has not been renewed by the time the mailing list is sent over then you will not receive the following month’s issue direct. We do receive additional copies each month in to the office but the amount is very limited, therefore we cannot guarantee that members who renew after the 14th of the month following their renewal date will be able to have a copy sent out to them. Correction to ‘E31 M8 – The one that never was…’ article in May’s Straight Six We apologise for the error printed in the article of the day that Ayrton Senna tragically passed away, this should have read May 1st instead of April 1st.
CENTRAL
Ali Halil Stephen Carter Chris Barry Josh Moynihan
CENTRAL WEST
EASTERN
Lee Luke Philip Eccleston
CHESHIRE & STAFFS
Simon Darlington
CORNWALL
James Cumming Tony Goff COTSWOLD Alan Davies CUMBRIA Luke Jarmyn DEVON Alex Cavill Martin Mickleburgh EAST ANGLIA Sam Sheldrick Ben Warman
10
John Hewitt Mark Hewlett Andrew Robinson Stephen Goodhead Amreesh Mishra Keith Landa Jeremy Woodcock Rich Hayes Jonathan Hitchcock David Routledge Paul Tranter IRELAND Alan Madill LONDON Richard Heeks Leroy Gayle Robin Ejsmond-Frey Zaved Uddin Patryk Kasparowicz Omraiz Khan Maciej Paczkowski Mark Alliston
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
To book, contact Metropole Hotel direct on 01597 823 700 and quote BMW Welsh Weekender. Ju
July 31-2 Aug
Silverstone Classic 30th anniversary of Silverstone Classic. Club code: 2020CCD057
August 7-9:
Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show New dates announced for the popular show at the NEC, Birmingham.
16: National Concours d’Elegance
Stone Manor Hotel, Kidderminster. Pre-book entry either with Club Office 01970 267 989 or through Club Shop shop.bmwcarclubgb.uk.
October
New Members Robert Wickins Martyn Hubbard Will Leabon
Munich Trip
Open to all BMWCC members in any BMW. For more information, or to book, please email 3series@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.
Ashvin Nundloll Kane Mayhook Maksymilian Rutkowski Henry Smith Ian Jordan Andy Ensum Aiysha Khan Harvinder Ahluwalia Mark Page Mandip Samra
MID WALES & SHROPSHIRE
Peter Hughes
NORTH EAST James Scott John May Peter Chadwick
NORTH WALES David Astle Seb Morris
NORTH WEST Matthew Birtwistle Mark Harrison Harrison Blake David Wheten Richard Brassington
SCOTLAND Steve Clark
SOUTH EAST Fergus de Witt Dan Clarke Jeetendar Pathania Mark Jenner Christopher Pettet David Sawyer SOUTH WALES Tracy Gilligan Gwyn Humphrey Matthew John Joel Markham Paul Summers
WESTERN
Pawel Zambrzycki Nick Bush WESSEX Terry Brennan James Cox Tim Pedrick
4: Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble June’s postponed Sunday Scramble. All bookings from June’s Sunday Scramble will be valid on this day. Full refunds are available if you cannot attend.
November 13-15: Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show NEC Birmingham
Competition Time!
Answer the below question to be in the chance of winning a BMW Car Club goodie bag. To enter, email the answer to office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk, quoting June 1M: In what month and year was the principle idea to create the 1M given the green light by BMW’s Board?
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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bmwnews bmwnews
New BMW 4 Series Coupe in final testing… BMW have released information and (heavily camouflaged) photos of the forthcoming 4 Series Coupe, which is currently undergoing final and exhaustive pre-production development testing, carried out at race tracks and other test facilities both in and around Munich and elsewhere in Europe. After having the new 4 Series’ driving qualities honed at the winter testing centre in Arjeplog, Sweden, at BMW Group’s test centre at Miramas, France and on the Nürburgring, the prototypes are now returning to their roots: engineers are currently putting the final touches to the chassis technology of the new 4 Series on the motorways, country roads and city streets around the BMW Group’s Research and Innovation Centre (FIZ) in Munich. The new 4 Series Coupe is
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BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
obviously based around the G20 3 Series platform, but there are changes. For instance, the saloon’s impressive drag coefficient is undercut by 0.015. The 4 Series sits 57mm lower than its four-door counterpart and its centre of gravity is 21mm closer to the road as a result. The front wheels carry increased negative camber and the rear track has been widened by 23mm to sharpen handling. The G20 3 Series already boasts extraordinary dynamism, but the new 4 Series Coupe raises agility and lateral acceleration by a sizable margin again. Lift-related shock absorbers – which made their debut in the G20, offer continuously variable, progressive damping control as a function of spring travel – and have been tuned for an even sportier drive in the new 4 Series. BMW also confirmed that the
range-topper (excluding the M4, which will be launched in 2021) will be the M440i xDrive, powered by a twinscroll turbocharged straight-six engine delivering 374bhp; it will also feature 48V mild-hybrid technology. A 48V starter-generator and a second battery are employed to both ease the load on the engine whilst also providing a punchier power delivery (an extra 11bhp is produced) when accelerating hard – expect an impressive 0-60mph figure. The power generated by the engine in the new BMW M440i xDrive Coupe is channelled to the road via a ZF eightspeed steptronic automatic gearbox and the car’s intelligent all-wheel-drive system. An M Sport differential is also employed to make sure that drive power is deployed to optimum effect when pressing on.
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Alpina releases details of the all-new D3S Alpina’s new D3S combines the best of two worlds with a drivetrain that offers excellent throttle response at low rpms, yet is sporty and high-revving, unlike most typical modern diesels. The D3S’ twin-turbo straight-six 3.0-litre engine is rated at 355bhp and has 730Nm of torque (available between 1,750 and 2,750 rpm) at its disposal. The D3S also features BMW’s innovative mild hybrid technology employing a 48v system similar to that found in the upcoming 4 Series, which is adopted for the first time in an Alpina automobile. The straight-six diesel engine is perfectly matched to the 8-speed Sport-Automatic 8HP76 Transmission, delivering stunning performance. The saloon accelerates from 0 to 60mph in 4.4 seconds (Touring in 4.6 secs), before running on to a top speed of 170mph, making the Alpina D3S one of the fastest diesel automobiles in its segment. The all-wheel drive system is based on BMW’s excellent xDrive system, which distributes
torque as required between front and rear axles. The Alpina specific, traction-optimised adjustment of the torque distribution is predominantly rear-wheel-biased to match the sporting character of the Alpina D3S. The drivetrain also includes an electronically controlled limited-slip differential as standard for enhanced driving dynamics. Suspension and chassis technology has been carried over from the super-fast and powerful BMW Alpina B3, making it ideally suited to the performance characteristic of this model. Also carried over from another Alpina model are the brakes, which consist of four-piston callipers and 395mm front discs, taken from the rapid 608bhp Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo. The rear discs are sized at 345mm; the brake calipers are painted in Alpina Blue and feature a white Alpina logo. Two wheel and tyre combinations are available for the new D3S - Alpina Dynamic 19-inch wheels, featuring a 5x4 spoke design and the optional traditional-style 20-spoke Alpina Classic 20-inch forged wheels. The new D3S models are luxuriously and generously equipped, with lots of tempting extras also available consult the Alpina website or contact Sytner UK for more details. The new Alpina D3S models are available to order immediately, with deliveries commencing November 2020. UK prices hadn’t been confirmed when we went to press, but factory RRP prices in Euros were €70,500 for the saloon and €71,900 for the Touring.
Alpina’s new D3S is equipped with a twin-turbo straight-six 3.0-litre engine rated at 355hp
BMW UK picks up five awards BMW UK has reaffirmed its popularity with business customers after winning five categories at the Fleet News Awards 2020, retaining the highly coveted ‘Fleet Manufacturer of the Year’ award that is voted for entirely by readers. The awards took place in late March, just before the Covid-19 lockdown. In addition to the top accolade, BMW’s 5 Series scooped the Best Executive Car award, whilst BMW also picked up a couple of gongs for the G20 3 Series, which was named Best Premium Car and Best New Company Car of the Year. Not to be outdone, the F40 1 Series was named the Best Compact Premium Car. On awarding the Fleet Manufacturer of the Year title to Robert East, General Manager Corporate Sales at BMW UK for the second consecutive year, Stephen Briers, Editor-in-chief of Fleet News, said: “Market leading products, strong engagement with the fleet sector, and a real understanding of the needs of leasing companies, fleet end users and company car drivers has taken BMW to back-toback wins in this category. It continues to sit at the top of the fleet choice list.”
Robert East, General Manager Corporate Sales at BMW UK (centre) receives the ‘Fleet Manufacturer of the Year’ award for 2020 from Fleet News www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
BMW at the forefront of ‘electromobility’
BMW continues to be one of the leading car manufacturers introducing electrification to its model line-up, and this is reflected in strong sales. A recent study covering new cars sold from April 2019 to March 2020 makes for interesting reading. The study includes all vehicles that are powered by either Electric, Electric with REX (Range Extendable), Electric without REX, PHEV Diesel and PHEV Petrol models. In Europe, BMW has 13% of the market. Only Tesla (16%) sold more vehicles than BMW. If you add in MINI sales (3%), BMW Group sales in Europe match Tesla’s. In the premium segment, BMW (13%) are the clear leaders in Europe. Volvo follows next on 6%, Audi (5%) and Mercedes-Benz have just 4% of the premium market. Globally, Tesla has 20% of the fastgrowing ‘electric’ market, with BMW the second largest retailer of electric vehicles at 7% of the global market. The huge VW Group (including VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda) has 5% of the market. Other premium marques such as Mercedes Benz and Jaguar don’t register a percentage point on global market sales. BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
13
products GAZ GHA Coil Over Suspension for BMW E30 Gaz is famous for its competition rated Gold suspension package for racing BMWs. However not everyone needs full race capability; with that in mind GAZ has a GHA version of the kit which offers ride height and damper rate adjustability at a lower price than the Gold kit. The GHA kit has been designed specifically with road use in mind which is reflected in specific spring and damping rates - although it is also suitable for track day use. The kit is ideal for vehicles that have been subject to power upgrades, as many E30s have. GAZ damper units allow damping adjustment whilst on the vehicle by means of easily accessible adjuster knobs/top adjusters. Shortened body and stroke lengths allow a -25 to -55mm ride height variation and a coarse acme form thread is provided for easy adjustment. Each unit is plated in Classic Black Zinc to minimise corrosion and to ensure that the height adjusters will go on
working for many years to come. All units are individually tested before leaving the factory and are covered by a two year warranty. GAZ GHA Coilover Kit for the BMW E30 3 Series can be ordered as part number GHA388 at £717.01 plus VAT. For further details visit the GAZ website: www.gazshocks.com
DEI’s 4 Cylinder Protect-A-Boot & Wire Kits DEI, America’s leading heat protection specialist, now has spark plug and wire protection kits to provide everything you need to protect the spark plugs and wires on a 4 cylinder engine from harmful heat, cross-firing and moisture penetration whilst also creating a professional finished look. The 4 Cylinder kits contain 13’ (3.96m) of line sleeving, twelve Hi-Temp Shrink Tubes, (to provide a water-tight seal), and four double-wall constructed Protect-A-Boots for the spark plugs. The standard kit is ideal for engines which have their spark plugs close to either the exhaust system (e.g. the M10 BMW 2002/E21 engine) or turbocharger as the sleeving and boots will protect against heat of up to 1000°F (approx. 540°C). For engines that produce more extreme heat DEI also offers the Titanium Kit; made from lava rock. This will protect
from heat penetration up to 1800°F (approx. 980°C) thus making it ideal for endurance race cars and high performance turbocharged vehicles. Both types of kits will provide increased high voltage insulation to protect against cross-firing between plug wires. They will also protect spark plug boots and wires against burn-through and hardening and cracking of boots. The Boot Protectors are universal and suitable for most straight, angled or long spark plug boots. The standard Protect-ABoot & Wire kits are available in Silver, Black, Red or Blue at £37.75 per kit plus import tax and shipping and will fit plug wires up to 8mm diameter. The Titanium Kit retails at £48.00 plus import tax and shipping and will fit wires up to 13mm in diameter.
Burton’s Swivel roof aerial Suitable for most classic cars Burton Power is pleased to announce the release of a correct replica of the aerial that was offered as a dealer or factory option on the Cortina Mk1 and Mk2, but would look equally good on any other car from that period - e.g. BMW 2002/Neu Klasse, 3.0/CSL or even an Isetta. The aerial is manufactured from chrome and stainless steel and features a sprung loaded swivel base that enables the aerial to also be mounted on an assortment of classic vehicles and kit cars, on either horizontal panels (e.g. on a roof) or vertical panels (e.g. on a reasonably thick ‘A’ post).
Specification: Length: 89cm extended, 52cm closed Single 6mm mounting hole. Adjustable rake angle from 0 to 90°. Supplied with 200cm long coaxial cable with classic Motorola male plug. The aerial can be ordered as part: AERIALC12 at £35.00 including VAT. Available from Burton’s Performance Centre in Essex or by ordering from the Burton Power website: www.burtonpower.com. For further details contact Burton Power on 0208 554 2281
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Current Covid-19 restrictions may mean that it will take a while for stocks to reach dealers in the UK but you can order direct from the DEI website in America: www. designengineering.com
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Products M-Style carbon vented bonnet for BMW F20, F21, F22, F23 and F87 M2
M-Style is pleased to announce that it now has genuine carbon fibre vented bonnets with power dome to fit all BMW 1 Series F20 and F21, 2 Series F22 and F23 and F87 M2 models. The bonnets retail at £795.00 including VAT and include free fitting at M-Style’s Romford Styling Centre. A painting service, if required, is also available at £390 including VAT. For further details e-mail info@mstyle.co.uk or call 0208 598 9115
Webcon 0-5 BAR Adjustable Pressure Insert Traditionally, adjusting the fuel pressure on an EFI system using an in-rail regulator has involved replacing the original fixed rate pressure unit with a higher pressure fixed unit. Finding the optimum pressure meant having to experiment with different units, but now Webcon has a better answer. Webcon part WFR060 is a superb quality, in-rail, 0-5 bar adjustable regulator that simply replaces the existing fixed pressure unit and allows the user to accurately set the pressure to the most suitable level with just one unit. Webcon part WFR060 is available from stock priced at £69.24 plus VAT. For further details contact Webcon UK on +44 (0)1932 787100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk
MEGUIAR’S INTRODUCES ALL-NEW HYBRID CERAMIC SYNTHETIC CLAY KIT
LEAVE PAINT SMOOTH AND SLICK WITH HYBRID CERAMIC PROTECTION
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eguiar’s, the global leader in car care, announces the launch of their exciting new Meguiar’s® Hybrid Ceramic Synthetic Clay Kit. If you’re really into car cleaning, you’re most likely already familiar with clay and have probably been using it for years. However, this kit takes removing contaminants and getting a smooth as glass surface to another level. Contaminants bonded on top of the paint are removed with a specialized Synthetic Clay Pad. Since the lubricant is the all-new Meguiar’s® Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, you get paint that’s smooth and shiny with the added benefit of water beading Hybrid Ceramic protection, all in one quick and easy step! This exciting new kit includes Meguiar’s Synthetic Clay Pad, Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Detailer and a premium Meguiar’s® Supreme Shine™ Microfibre Towel. The soft foam applicator is treated with synthetic “clay”, a fine-tuned polymer technology that removes bonded contaminants without hazing paint or marring the finish. One of the benefits of this new Synthetic Clay Pad is that you don’t have to knead it to refresh and expose a clean surface like traditional clay, and if it’s dropped, simply rinse it off and reuse it. When traditional clay is dropped you need to throw it away. The benefit of the brand-new Hybrid Ceramic Detailer is that it not www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
only serves as the lubricant preventing the Synthetic Clay Pad from sticking to the paint, but it also leaves behind a
layer of advanced Si02 Hybrid Ceramic Protection. In the end, you’re able to remove bonded contaminants, make the paint surface smooth and slick, and get Hybrid Ceramic Protection all at once! About Meguiar’s For more than 119 years, Meguiar’s has provided car enthusiasts with specialized state-ofthe-art formulations for making every car’s appearance show car perfect. Meguiar’s provides high performance car care products for every automotive surface. To learn more visit www.meguiars.co.uk.
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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dannorris What to do when the going gets tough – Part 1 As John Lennon once famously declared, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. At Munich Legends, January was a reassuringly busy month – Brexit and the general election was behind us (for better or worse) giving the country a longed-for sense of stability – at last we could plan ahead with some feeling of security. We were heading for one of our most successful financial years on record, projects being lined up, customers making plans to bring their cars out of storage for the new season – we were smashing it. Anybody familiar with running a business must have, at one time or another, signed an insurance policy, or contract of some sort with a force majeure clause. You know, it’s the one about acts of god, plagues, war. The one we skim over and ignore. Like the business interruption bit of the insurance policy – yes, what happens if there’s a fire? What about if a bulldozer accidentally drives into the showroom? Could happen. We could go to war with France – especially if they keep nicking our fish. But shutting down the Western World due to a pandemic? Never gonna happen. We all know how fast events took hold – one minute it’s another freaky Chinese flu – what-do-you-expect-if-you-eat-bats type of thing – the next there’s some worrying news from returning skiers, and before you know it there’s hourly updates on news feeds and alarming news from Italy, counter balanced by bizarre images of government ministers singing happy birthday while they washed their hands. By the middle of March we were beginning to watch in detail the inflow of work, waiting for any sign of business dropping off, but we were confident – garages are an essential business after all – we’d get through it, by careful management and by using good old fashioned common sense. Then came the bombshell – the day after BJ’s announcement – at one hour’s notice. Our suppliers were shutting down. BMW UK closed. We were stopped in our tracks. Everyone out! I can honestly say that first week of March was like living through a nightmare. Confusion, panic, darkness. Somehow, though, we picked ourselves up. It was a bit like emerging from a bunker, to survey the wreckage – it wasn’t a pretty sight. But as with any business, it’s the
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staff, the team that makes the magic happen. Due to the sheer determination and bloody mindedness of a couple of key individuals, we were able to keep the lights on. We took stock, we talked to our customers – who were all in shock – and we got busy. Then came a boost – our year-end figures, despite including a couple of week’s disruption, showed a great set of numbers. Key projects – the ones we thought we’d lose – came through. Customers started emailing, asking what our plans were. There was life out there, albeit strange and unknown, a bit like in The Day of The Triffids. In fact, the whole thing was beginning to seem like some weird 70’s paranoid drama – a post-apocalyptic, end of the world type low budget mini-series, except we were the actors, script writers and viewers, all combined. I soon developed a firm policy. Everyone had a story – a perfectly fit cyclist friend, now on a ventilator, alarming rumours from care homes, business failures – and it wasn’t helping anyone. So, Rule #1, no more discussion about pandemics. Stop talking about COVID-19. Start remaking plans. And suddenly I was opening my inbox, and seeing a surge in car enquiries. I’d had the conversation with a few collectors – car values were going to go into freefall, they said. The market would be in panic. Those with money would feed off the fear, there’d be a frenzy. But not from where I stood. I could see enquiries for our M3 CS (manual – the one to have) and our Z4M coupe (cult classic) and for low mileage M3 CSLs (doesn’t need
a comment) and it was like nothing had changed. I need an Inspection II on my E46 M3. Can I get my brakes done while I’m off work? My X5 suspension has collapsed… The human being is a much stronger, more resilient, tougher species than we give ourselves credit for sometimes. We adjust much easier than we think. We get bored – and our Good Old British sense of humour kicks in. People stuck at home start planning that fantasy five car garage, or that first sweet road trip. We asked on social media – where will you go on that first, wonderful day? The most popular reply – not Stelvio, or the Dolomites – KFC, mate. So here we are. As I write, the UK is in a strange sort of limbo – unlike France or Italy, who did a proper lockdown and enforced it with a rod of steel, releasing its citizens with black-and-white clarity – the Brits have a typical fudged regime. You can see your parents, but only one at a time. They travel to your house. They can only see you on their own. Then they return home together. You can leave the home to take exercise – you can go where you wish, as often as you like – but we’re still in lockdown. But after all is said and done, there is no choice. There will be life after COVID-19, we will be happy again, things will get back to normal – even if it’s a ‘new normal’. No use crying over spilt milk, as my gran would say. So from John Lennon, to Billy Ocean. I got something to tell you I got something to say I’m gonna put this dream in motion I never let nothing stand in my way When the going gets touch The tough get going. Whatever world we emerge into will be our world – the one we recreate. Let’s get going.
No, not a 90s rave. It’s the New Normal
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Power Feature - 1M Feature
LIFE
FIRESTARTER
Editorial by Steve Carter Photographs by Dean Grossmith
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Power Feature - 1M
Y
ou would have good reason to believe that the fastest ever developed BMW M Car may also be one of its least capable. With not enough time or money, there were a number of limitations. There would only be the choice of three colours, the front wing vents would be fake, the interior was a single colour choice, and the chassis and drivetrain would rely heavily on the M and non-M BMW corporate parts bin. You could be forgiven to expect this particular M Car to be a bit of a, well, a bit of a lemon. But what we actually got was something else entirely. As the late Keith Flint from the Prodigy used to belt out, what we ended up with was “…a Firestarter, twisted Firestarter!” The 1 Series M Coupe, or 1M as we more commonly know it nowadays, was developed in the staggeringly short timeframe of two years. And when Dr Kay Segler, head of M GmbH and the bloke responsible for some of the world’s and best handling production cars, refers to the speed of this development cycle by saying “we were very, very fast – I mean tremendously fast!”, you can probably bet your house on the fact that things did move pretty speedily. From the outset of the E82 1 Series development, an M iteration was always planned. Initially it was expected to be developed from what was to become the M135i; a highly capable and fast car,
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but one which ended up under the newly developed “M Performance” moniker rather than having a true ‘WBS’ chassis number, making it a true M Car. There is a difference. The principle idea to create the 1M was green-lit by BMW’s Board in July 2009, where it would evolve from a clay model to a fully working prototype in just 12 months. The timelines were tight for a reason. The next generation N55 motor already existed, and the E90/92 M3 with which it was to share parts was coming towards the end of its life. If the 1M was to be built, it had to be done now and quickly. The prototypes were rumoured to be named after the M engineer’s favourite spiced rum, Pyrat (Pirate); the link to the skunk works project approach of this particular M car and the pirating of its components was surely not accidental. However, this wasn’t the reason according to BMW, who cited in their early official communications to 1addicts.com that the name Pirate was actually referring to the hope that the new 1M would, “plunder unknown territorial waters, and make it easier to gain a foothold in the BMW M world”. A bold intent if ever there was one. So passionate were the management and engineers about the 1M that they embarked on a fairly confident approach to their marketing for the car along its very short development cycle. Journalists
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Power Feature - 1M
were invited by BMW to see and ride in the camouflaged prototypes at the Ascari circuit in Spain in July 2010, and they were invited back again four months later to actually drive the pre-production prototypes themselves for 20 minutes around Munich. This approach ramped up the huge sense of anticipation to fever pitch but with BMW, literally, in the driving seat. Layered on top of this engagement with the press, BMW released, arguably bravely, several videos and private event unveilings during the second half of 2010, all designed to tease the public with this new orange-painted M Car. A special cover, resplendent with orange stitching, was even designed and manufactured in such a way that one bit of the car could be exposed at any given time, a rear quarter here, a front wing there; exposed without the full car ever being shown. It turned out to be
a stroke of marketing genius, with the car commanding prestigious amounts of print column inches and online megabytes of video and commentary. Eventually the wait was over. After the lacklustre press release on December 10th 2010, BMW posted an 11-minute video on YouTube via Bimmerpost. But what was this? Parked next to the 1M in the opening scenes, in a deserted pit lane, was a blast from the past, the E30 M3 Sport Evo. If ever there was a bold statement of intent for this new 1M then this was it. Comparing any new M Car to this race car turned road car was a huge gamble. Or, did the M engineers know something about this new “1 Series M Coupe” that we didn’t yet understand? Fortunately, the world wouldn’t have to wait too much longer. It seems BMW knew exactly what it had created in under two years; a pumped-up, almost cartoonish baby
MLife: My 1M I’ve only recently bought my Sapphire Black 1M after owning a fair few older M Cars, including an E46 M3 CSL, E36 M3 and E39 M5. I was looking for a low-ish mileage 1M but in a sensible price range. I spotted a suitable car, and after some shrewd negotiation I drove to Devon from Birmingham to collect it. Its previous owner had cherished it, and after doing the paperwork I started the long journey home. A mile up the road the dash lit up with “ABS” faults, a front ABS sensor had failed! Fortunately, it was easily fixed when I got home with an OEM part. My 1M is a weekend car that spends a lot of time in the garage, but when driven, it’s always as its maker intended, and it always performs as expected! Since owning it I’ve made a few changes. It now has BMW M Performance seats and a period correct V2 M Performance steering wheel with rev lights and info display. So, almost like an OEM + M Performance version of the car. The 1M for me is all about the looks. The flared arches and the body lines are really something else. For potential buyers my advice would be to buy the best one you can afford, it will hold its value. However, they are a 9-year-old car so could potentially need maintenance and bigger parts replacing. And if you like in-car audio, go for one with the iDrive system. Mark Russell
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M car with all of the necessary key attributes. With the exception of the bonnet, roof and doors, all other panels were unique to the 1M as they covered its widened track, borrowing as it did the rear differential, suspension and brakes from the E90/92 M3. The engine was the 3-litre straight six twin-turbo VANOS N54 taken from the 135i, only now breathed upon by the M engineers to produce 335bhp and 332lbft of torque, with a further 37lbft of torque available on overboost. Mated to this torquey motor was a single gearbox option of a Getrag Type K six-speed box which was lighter and more compact than previous generations, driving through a lightened flywheel to those rear wheels, which on the 1M were the simply classic Style M359 as fitted to the E90/92 Competition, sized at 19x9-inches at the front and 19x10-inches at the rear, shod with 245/35/R19 and 265/35/R19 tyres respectively, whilst the steering is a more feelsome hydraulic set up with a super quick rack, taking only 2.2 turns lock to lock. Driving systems wise, the 1M was a fairly simple beast compared to its M car contemporaries. Pushing the M button didn’t result in an extensive menu of performance options like on the E90/92 M3, only a simple Sport map for the electronic throttle. The single option was with the stability control, where it could be turned off completely or placed in MDM (M Dynamic Mode) which made the back end a little more playful without totally removing the safety net. All of this contributed to a kerb weight of 1495kg, and with its near 50/50 weight balance the 1M delivered some pretty impressive performance figures. 0 to 60mph came up in 4.8 seconds with the top speed limited to 155mph, although many road testers bettered the 0-60mph time on test. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Power Feature - 1M
Whilst the interior came in one colour only, black Dakota leather with orange stitching, it came with swathes of Alcantara on the door cards, dash, instrument binnacle and around the gear lever. The outside choices were also straight forward, either a no cost option Alpine White, or cost option Sapphire Black or Valencia Orange. Apparently when the engineers showed Dr Segler the 1M Pyrat prototype, they did so in the future road map colour of Valencia Orange - named after the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was from this moment that Segler apparently insisted on this future roadmap colour being made available for the 1M from launch, even eluding to it publicly as far back
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as August 2010. “The one thing I can tell you is that we will reveal a colour, and similar to the GTS colour, it will not be forgotten. People in some years will recognize it.” How right he was, I might ask him to predict this week’s Lotto numbers. I digress. It’s fair to say the motoring press overwhelmingly fell for this M Car. Evo magazine took a 1M on their long-term fleet for 8 months and 16,000 miles. If that mileage is not telling enough, Nick Trott, then editor, wrote of the 1M back in early 2012, “I can genuinely say that I’ve never felt so thoroughly taken with a car so quickly. If you don’t have the money to buy a 1M, I’d warn you never to drive one. It gets under your skin. Even a short
drive will have you attempting to discover new and possibly even illegal means by which to raise the money to afford one”. And of course, another journalist who was lucky enough to be invited on the early Pyrat prototype passenger rides and drives in 2010 was Chris Harris. He was so smitten that he bought his own Sapphire black 1M, tastefully modified with a Litchfield Stage 1 tune and Akrapovič exhaust system. When testing against the M2 for Top Gear back in 2017, Harris stated (probably whilst going sideways), “The result is one of the naughtiest cars I’ve ever driven, it’s not the fastest but it has just got this personality of wanting to be a bit troublesome”. He goes on to say, “…this is a very exciting
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Power Feature - 1M Feature
car. I feel connected in a way I don’t in the M2”. High praise indeed. Complaints about the 1M from the motoring press, and there are always a few, were levelled mainly at the engine, suspension and brakes. The engine was criticised for not being a true ‘S-code’ and therefore not a real M engine, despite its character and performance. The initial damping was criticised for being a little too stiff, resulting in the car’s handling being nervous and at times even spikey. And the brakes, whilst there seemed no detractors for fast road driving, those that took the car to the track criticised them for overheating within a couple of laps, but frankly that was common criticism of all BMW M cars of that generation.
The business case and plan was to initially sell 2,700 1Ms globally, another reason no doubt on the simple execution and limited colour and trim choices. Production of the 1M was in BMW’s Leipzig factory in Germany, with the demand over the 16-month production cycle surpassing the initial estimates, with total global sales reaching 6,309 units. In two countries a limited-edition plaque was added. In the UK, “ONE OF 450” was added, whilst in France the cars were numbered 1 to 100. In the overall production, the colours were split fairly evenly for the UK’s 450 cars. In fact, out of all the UR92 European spec right hand drive cars produced, only one car was ordered in BMW Individual “Atacama Yellow”, rather than the White, Black or
MLife: My 1M My 1M story starts with the launch teaser shots in Paris back in 2010, I always thought what a lovely car it was. A collection of ducks fell into line with my car purchase. I was divorcing and selling a property and had my heart set on an E92 M3, but I was struggling to find the right one. I was at the London Region Crooked Chimney meet when a new guy turned up in an M2. It turns out he had owned a 1M and had part exchanged it at Specialist Cars Stevenage, where I knew the master technician. He confirmed they had the car, and he gave it a look over and said all was good, although it was a little way over my budget. It was a 64k mile car with full main dealer history and warranty, with a few stone chips on the bonnet which the body shop agreed to respray, as well as the bumper. Around the same time, I started to talk to Azuri Car Care about a BMW open day, but also a deal on a detail and paint protection film. Since I bought the car in December 2018, I’ve had pictures commissioned, bought models of the car and attended a huge 1M meet in Frankfurt which I will attend again in the summer of 2021. This car is a little bit of driving nirvana, any journey can become an adventure. The car is part of me, and I think I will keep it forever. Anthony Mason – 1 Series Register Captain
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Orange, and that car was shipped to Singapore. Needless to say, the 1M was quite the success the BMW Board had not expected. Driving The stunning 1M you see here on these pages is photographer Dean Grossmith’s, and I know it well. Dean had been talking to me more and more about wanting a 1M since early 2019, and with ample encouragement and a very brief session of man maths, he reached a decision to go for it. Finding the right one became a priority after the summer holidays. After a whole second of deep consideration, I volunteered my services to find Dean the best car I could for the budget. I’m sure like most of you, if you’re reading this magazine you are first and foremost a BMW enthusiast, so volunteering to go find a specific and very cool BMW is really no hardship at all. After a couple of weeks searching, I found a 1M with only 9,000 miles in Dean’s desired colour of Valencia Orange. The only issue was that the car was located in deepest Lincolnshire on a Potato Farm, which is a fair old distance from the South East coast of England. Cutting a long story short - about payments not going through on time, Dean having to go back days later to collect it, a very long drive and getting home at 2am – the 1M has been Dean’s prized possession ever since last September. So although I know the car well, being handed the keys for the first time by Dean was a moment of mixed emotion; on the one hand it was, “jeez, I’d better not find a ditch with this one”, and the other emotion, “Whoooooaaaaahhhhhhhh – yes baby!”. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Power Feature - 1M I count myself as fairly fortunate to be able to drive some pretty cool cars writing for Straight Six and partnering with the local BMW specialists and main dealers, but driving a 1M had been a long-held ambition never fulfilled. But here I was, sat in a 1M, but in a sea of familiarity. With so much of the switchgear carried over from my own E90 M3 I felt comfortable, even the steering wheel is the same. Push the engine start button and everything changes. The bark from the 1M is completely unique. Within minutes of driving the 1M around Sussex’s Ashdown Forest I feel immediately at home, the car just feels so damn right, and particularly well sized for an M Car. Only a short while later my confidence has grown further and I’m now pushing on, that N54 motor is a real peach, really torquey, that exhaust note unique and raucous, almost old school turbo sounding. Changing gears on the Getrag box is an absolute joy, so much so I am deliberately changing more than is frankly necessary, first to enjoy the action and secondly to hear that quad pipe exhaust sing again, bwaarrrpppp! The roads are dry but it’s single digit cold. Dean has fitted Michelin Pilot Sport 4S’ to the 1M, and brilliant as they are in these lower temperatures, the Traction Control light is flicking away, letting me know that I’m spinning the wheels up again, even in third at full bore acceleration out of the corners as that monstrous torque is released, it’s pretty scary but in such a cool way. This car is completely nuts! It’s so agile and that torque-fest of an engine makes for a compelling M Car proposition, and despite “only” having 340hp, it is properly fast. It’s also letting me know exactly what is going on; it feels that I could really wring it out properly given the right roads and conditions. And as soon as it started, my time with the 1M was over. It won’t be the last time I drive it, I know that, but the next time just can’t come soon enough. As I step away, I keep staring, then taking a bunch of photos of it so I can post them out on Instagram later, remembering and sharing my drive. What this car has is a personality, and a bloody big one at that. Keith Flint sang as the 1M is, “I’m the fear addicted, a danger illustrated, I’m a Firestarter, twisted Firestarter…fell intoxicated”. Until the next time Valencia Orange 1M, until the next time… A quick note to say thanks to the fellow owners who so enthusiastically contributed to this article with their own 1M experiences. Thank you, Anthony, Richard, Mark and of course Dean. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
MLife: My 1M I have owned my 1M since February 2018. It was a car I always promised myself, and once I was in a financial position to purchase a 1M, I did. Shortly after buying my 1M I was approached by Top Gear magazine to use my car for a static photo shoot celebrating 25 years of the magazine. I was invited to the studios to watch the photo shoot and see all of the other vehicles being photographed. I only use my 1M for shows, club meets and weekend use. It has now done 29,500 miles and although covered by the extended BMW warranty, I have not had any problems at all. In July last year I went to Frankfurt for the National 1M meeting with Anthony Mason and James Fleming. We were the only 3 UK 1M’s in attendance, adding to the world record gathering of 56, and allocated VIP parking at the event held by Luxus Detailing. Afterwards we went on a road trip around Frankfurt in convoy, only stopping for more photos and 1M chat. It was a truly fantastic weekend. The joy of owning a 1M is the aggressive look of the car from every angle. The driving power is breath-taking and it’s a pleasure to own a UK numbered M car. If anyone was thinking of buying one, I would strongly recommend looking for one with full main dealer service history, matching tyres and overall straight panel work. Richard Callum
MLife: My 1M For me car ownership is about the journey and the experience. Assuming the coronavirus lockdown will be lifted we have plans on taking the 1M on our yearly jaunt into the Swiss Alps later this year. Having driven the Alps in a few cars now, including an M2, the 1M should be the perfect choice for the hairpin bends, with so much low-down torque and agile handling. But this is not to say my 1M is a garage queen the rest of the year, even though it only has just over 10,000 miles on the clock, it is my new daily driver too. Since purchasing the car it’s been checked over by the master mechanics at BMR Performance for a mild recommissioning, which included the fitment of new rear differential seals, an oil change and a brake fluid change. So far it’s been completely reliable, as one would expect from a car with such low mileage. What I most love about my 1M is its slightly prickly nature and its kart-like handling around the corners. It reminds me a little bit of the old school turbos with the very top end of the rev range sounding like the S50/54 engine to my ears. My buying advice is simple, contact Steve Carter! And buy one that is original. I am not a fan of car mods even though some can make a positive difference. For me, cars are like driving a bit of history and I want to experience them as they were made by the manufacturer. Dean Grossmith BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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Feature
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here are certain spec BMWs that you look back on and wonder why nobody ordered more of them at the time. This often happens every time you find your dream spec car, only to find out it’s an auto when you wanted a manual. Demand 1530 years after production is very different to when that car rolled off the production line. This reflects in used values today, hence why a manual six speed BMW 540i (either E34 or E39) can sell for double that of the same car with an auto. 286bhp felt like a lot back then, but now it’s diesel
numbers, and buyers want to have full control of each of those horses to keep it ahead of the Sprinter van in the outside lane. The E36 is a model you can still pick up for buttons. They have yet to shed their drifter/stance image, and the rough sub-grand are still clinging on, and scraping through MOTs across the nation. It wasn’t long ago I recall E30s with dubious mods and eight less-thangentle owners kicking around for the same money. Look at them now. Any 325i Sport commands serious money.
Even a rust free 325i Touring is quite a thing, and pushing £10k in excellent condition. Jumping forward a generation, this E36 328i M Sport Touring with the coveted manual gearbox and quite a few other desirable extras, is a tough car to value, given its extreme rarity. Aside from the original M Contour alloys (from an E36 saloon), visually it’s completely as it left the factory. Hardcore E36 heads will correctly point out that the E36 Touring only officially came in M Sport flavour as a 323i in the UK. All 328i Tourings were
ESTATE OF THE ART Photographs by Rafe Abrook
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Feature officially designated as SE cars with the DVLA, however not everyone realises that before a registration plate was assigned to them, they could still have all of the Sport boxes ticked during the factory build, as this one benefitted from. Clues to its Sport origin are the original Avus Blue paintwork with anthracite headlining – options only available on Sport cars. Whilst it’s easy enough to add the requisite bumpers, M Sport suspension and interior trim later, it’s unlikely the car would have a full respray based on current E36 values and almost certainly not the headlining done. This particular car had some other boxes ticked, including parking sensors, upgraded HiFi stereo system, full onboard computer, and headlight washer system. It seems the original owner wanted to throw almost M3 money at the most practical 3 Series available. It’s that practicality that surprises more than 20 years on. It was never a serious load lugger, but it’s a surprisingly practical beast. With current owner Rafe being a full time photographer by trade, he has no problem loading bags of kit
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in the boot for weddings, or sports gear for his basketball coaching. It’s also a genuine 30mpg car and not just on a contraflow. Unless it’s given the full beans constantly or only taken on very short journeys, she returns between 28 and
32mpg which is quite something for a car of its age and engine size. Compromises? Well there’s always some. Rafe notes it’s not his first choice of vehicle if the drive requires stop/start traffic due to the (relative to newer cars)
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heavy steering, clutch and occasionally notchy gearbox. The ride is certainly on the firm side too if the road is unforgiving. The things that reward you on a spirited A or B road blast turn around and punish you when you are driving through London, or stuck on the M25 in a queue. But if you want to drive and feel connected to the road, this car is remarkably analogue. Rafe recalls how in the late 90s, a friend of his became a successful recruitment consultant at a young age and had the keys to a company 328i coupe, a car that at the time felt ludicrously quick. A couple of years later Rafe was fortunate enough to own his own 320i coupe but always vowed to own a 328i himself. Another five years later he bought an early manual E46 328i Touring but found it disappointing by comparison. “It just felt like a completely diluted E36,” remembers Rafe. “It was like BMW was
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obsessed with refinement and the car had a lot of the fun sapped out of it. I’ve had a 330Ci E46 since and it was a great car but BMW got it so right with the E36, it’s just not been bettered as a 3.” It’s widely known that during the 1990s BMW was under pressure to peg its top non-M engines down to less than
193bhp for tax reasons. Hence the 328i replaced the 325i adding only one extra horse, but a whole load of low down torque which made a huge difference to its driveability. Whilst Rafe is a big fan of keeping his cars as OEM as possible, he couldn’t resist the lure of opening up the performance with the popular
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Feature manifold swap for the M50b25. You lose a tiny bit of mid-range torque but it really opens up past 4,000rpm, and now the car absolutely sings all the way to the rev limiter. So much so that it’s still pulling hard when the limiter hits, something you never did before as you knew a changeup was required. The estimated 15-20bhp gains from this doesn’t exactly make it a monster but it’s addictive spinning it up there. So much so, says Rafe, that “this is the car that I drive fastest in, and my other two are both V8’s!” Rafe bought the car a year ago from a gentleman on the south coast who runs a classic Italian race prep/restoration business, perhaps an odd choice of daily motor for an Alfisti! “Alex (previous owner) knew a good car when he saw it, and spent a lot of money keeping the Touring in the very best condition. You really wouldn’t know the car has now passed 180,000 miles. He was one of those rare sellers you meet who was genuine, and who wasn’t just moving a problem on. I knew it would be a long time before I would find a car in this spec and condition and I wasn’t put off at all by the mileage. I have a V8 Mercedes with 20,000 more miles on it than this!” Besides the manifold swap, Rafe has also had the front bonnet resprayed
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with the front wings blended in to cure some minor lacquer peel, and the car remains rust free. ”The current situation will almost certainly force me to sell one of my cars later this year but the Touring will be the last car standing because it does
everything I need a car to do, and every drive is a thrill. A mechanic friend of mine who has an E36 Touring with a Chevy LS1 V8 dropped into it did the manifold swap for me, and wants to build me some new cams for it. He’s a very naughty boy.”
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T
ech fans and car lovers know that if you give engineers free reign every now and then, extraordinarily exciting things can come as a result – take BMW’s Z1 and Z3 M Coupe for instance. Limits are pushed and surpassed, standards are redefined. As an exercise in pushing the boundaries of what was technically possible, 1996’s BMW M3 E36 Compact is impressive proof of this. While some say it was too far ahead of its time (and others may argue it was perhaps a little too lively!), the car still provided an exciting glimpse into the future. The heart and soul of the M3 Compact is of course, its engine. The inline 6-cylinder engine (S50B32) borrowed from the iconic
M3 Evo Coupé provided a hefty 321bhp when roused with the right foot. If the car had ever gone into series production, however, engineers would probably have had to dial down its power in order to improve drivability. Due to the compact dimensions and low weight, it quickly became clear during test drives that the M3 Compact was an innovation best left in the hands of experienced drivers only. It also would have been very difficult to market - how could you sell a car that is lighter, quicker, more alive, and of course, cheaper, than the hero car it borrowed its drivetrain from? With its extraordinarily drivable overall package and the progressive, almost rebellious design of the prototype, BMW
M wanted the M3 Compact to inspire a younger customer base in particular. With that in mind, considerations like comfort and space were pushed down the pecking order and fun factor were brought to the fore. Achieving maximum sporty appearance and uncompromisingly agile handling was the main aim of the day. It’s with good reason that many fans regard this high-performance car as a pioneer and the forerunner of iconic models such as the 1 Series M Coupé, M2, M140i and M135i. Not least because with the M3 Compact’s significantly shorter body, BMW M engineers achieved tangible improvements: the prototype weighs 150kgs less than the E36 M3 Evo Coupé. In addition to its light weight of 1,300kgs, one of the M3 Compact’s trump cards is that reduced length. The rear overhang of the prototype is a good 230mm shorter than the Coupé, making it more agile thanks to less active mass behind the axle. However, while it is often reported that the wheelbase is also shorter than
RED-HOT HATCH! The BMW E36 M3 Compact never went into series production, and yet its impact is still felt today. Long before small hatchbacks with over 200hp became a favourite with the yoof and petrolheads alike, it already offered everything that makes this class of vehicle so popular. So it’s no surprise that many view it as the pioneer of the successful models that followed, such as the BMW’s 1 Series M Coupé, M2 and the M140i/M135i. Words BMW-M.com / Jeff Heywood – Photos BMW Press
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The only angle where visually the M3 Compact differs from the Coupe, the Compact’s hatchback bustle making it quite distinctive, if not overly pretty
that of the regular E36 3 Series, it is in fact identical. Numerous other measures were taken to further reduce the M3 Compact’s weight, which is particularly evident in its minimalist interior. In order to achieve a power-to-weight ratio that is impressive even by today’s standards, everything not absolutely necessary was stripped away. In return, the prototype received a genuine roll bar and racing seats from Recaro. Remnants from the E30 3 Series are also striking, such as the driver-oriented centre console and the air vents in the dashboard. This is where the Compact clearly differs from its series-produced siblings. So what was the M3 Compact like to drive? We have to consult our friends
at Germany’s famous fortnightly, Auto Motor und Sport, who’s (then) well known journalist Max Huber was given the opportunity in 1996 to test drive the M3 Compact – he was the only person outside of BMW to ever drive the M3 Compact in anger. “Turning the key in the M3 Compact’s ignition unleashes a different animal immediately than the M3 Evo Coupe from which this car derived. The bark of the exhaust is deeper, louder, more guttural (a BMW M engineer assured me that the exhaust fitted to the prototype was a ‘pre-production item’ and a quieter system would be fitted to a production version, to which I winced!) You see, I liked that the M3 Compact felt more alive, more animalistic, because I had
openly criticised BMW after driving the first (non-Evo) E36 M3 when it arrived 4 years ago (in 1992). It was too tame, too refined, too… GT-like. It obviously had massive shoes to fill following on from the E30 M3, especially the Sport Evo model, but I just felt that the new E36 M3 felt a touch anodyne. BMW answered the criticisms (partly) with the Evo version of the E36 M3 (which donates its engine and gearbox and one or two other parts to this project) upping power by nearly 40 horsepower and sharpening the car up slightly, although it still wasn’t perfect; in my eyes it still felt like a very quick GT. “BMW’s marketing people didn’t like the fact that I had criticised their new M3 back then so I was surprised I was invited back to the BMW M facility at Garching to drive the M3 Compact! And yes, this car feels raw. Gone is the GT smoothness of the Coupe and in its place is a firebreathing monster. But that could be a mental impression on hearing the growl from the pre-production exhaust – we will have to see. Of course, the interior is different from its Coupe cousin as well, being a mix of E36 and E30 in the Compact. It seems to work and with the addition of the E36 M3’s steering wheel, thankfully smothered in suede it all comes together perfectly. The Recaro seats are wonderful but totally un-adjustable save for the basic function of sliding back and forth – I made a bet with the M engineer present that they wouldn’t make production, customers would want some form of adjustability. Once I had maneuvered myself into a comfortable driving position it was time for the off. I slotted the stubby gear lever into first and away we went, threading past a handful of parked cars in the M facility, past the security office, barrier raised and out of the Garching entrance gates onto Daimlerstrasse and into the suburban sprawl of Garching (Munich), followed by M engineer Klaus in
I think this is the best angle to view the Compact, it looks nicely balanced and easy on the eye
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Klaus’ chariot for the day and Max’s for the return journey, I think Max had realised that he’d been too hard on the E36 M3s, especially the more powerful Evo models
an M3 Evo Coupe – they weren’t going to let their baby out of their sight! “The M3 Compact feels very similar to the M3 Evo around town, albeit a little noisier and more ‘eager’ on the throttle. I finally clear the urban crawl and head out of Garching in an easterly direction on a number of trunk roads - the 471 trunk road crosses the River Isar, onto the 388 which leads to the 301 that heads north, past Munich Airport and onto A92 Autobahn. On these urban trunk roads I can feed a bit more power in and the M3 Compact feels, yes, eager on the throttle as I use the first 3000 revs in second and third gears as we reach a cruising speed. The road is getting busy again as we near the airport but once clear I get the chance to step up our pace a bit, sitting at a steady 60mph (there are lots of Police patrols about, some in unmarked cars, so it pays to be patient). The 301 trunk road bends onto the A92 slip road and now I can give it some beans. Third gear, 7400ish revs (where peak power is produced in an S50B32), bam, into fourth and we are quickly travelling at over 110mph on the derestricted Autobahn. The A92 is a wonderful stretch of Autobahn. It’s where Alpina regularly stretch the legs of their uber saloons after picking up overseas journalists from the airport, eager to demonstrate the prowess of the beasts from Buchloe. We head north east, past the exit for Landshut, home of the BMW engine plant and new technologies. We easily see over 160mph on a really quiet www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
section, the road markers flashing by in a blur as I drop from fifth to fourth gear and mash the accelerator pedal into the carpet, just to feel the M Compact hurtling forward with impressive alacrity, the acceleration pushing me back in the (very supportive) Recaro seat, Klaus keeping in touch in the M3 Evo. I back off slightly as we approach a lonely HGV, dropping to 80mph as we both cruise by, then, bam, maximum revs in fourth gear and then into fifth as the Compact surges well into three figures again….oops, I hit the middle pedal hard as an elderly gentleman decides to move out of the first lane in
his VW Polo into the second lane for no apparent reason, the often criticised floating caliper brakes from cousin M3 Evo Coupe pulling me up sharply without complaint. I must say the brakes work very well on the M3 Compact on the Autobahn braking from high speeds, perhaps having less weight to pull up is helping them work better? “Travelling at such speeds sees us soon reach our exit point at Dingolfing, the huge BMW plant on our right, an ex-Glas plant that was swallowed up into the BMW empire when BMW took over Glas in the 1960s. But it isn’t to Dingolfing
The mix of E36 and E30 works in the Compact, but would it have sold at a higher price as an M3 Compact? We’ll never know…
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we are heading, we turn north after exiting the A92 and head in the direction of Moosthenning and onto the country roads bordered by the small towns of Weichshofen and Leiblfing. Out here, in eastern Lower Bavaria, the roads are beautiful and traffic free, save for the odd tractor, and it is here where we can test the mettle of the M3 Compact.
“First impressions are that the car is in its element on fast sweeping A&B roads, the suspension allowing the car to sit tight with little roll and dig in. We easily see (highly illegal) three-figure speeds on these country roads, the lighter weight of the M3 Compact making its biggest difference here. 70-90mph is an easy cruising speed on these types of broad,
The fixed-back Recaro seats do an amazing job holding you in position when pressing on, but they do become tiring if sat in them for hour after hour, and with only the function to move back and forward they would never have made it into production
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fast sweeping roads and long, long straights. M engineer Klaus, my following companion in the M3 Evo Coupe, is for the first time struggling to keep in touch. I have managed to open a decent gap on him on one particularly long straight followed by a couple of sweeping bends first left then right, I try to centre the Compact as much as I can to straighten out the sweepers and Klaus is struggling at these speeds. The lighter Compact is enjoying a distinct advantage here again at highly illegal speeds – the things we do for our readers! Yes it is louder than the Coupe, but we don’t know if that is down to the ‘bitsa’ exhaust or simply less soundproofing. But it still feels quite refined and comfortable. I’m really warming to the car as the miles increase, it is addictive to let the S50 scream to the redline in each gear, snatch the next gear and just revel in the banshee wail as the M3 Compact piles on speed almost like a competition car, boy does it feel quick – Klaus is really having to push the M3 Evo to stay in touch. “We reach the small town of Geiselhöring in the StraubingBogen district; we stop for a coffee and to exchange notes, our palms and foreheads sweaty after pushing this pair of M cars to their absolute limits. Klaus www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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Nice detail – the Alcantara gear lever surround is a nice touch and matches the steering wheel
is amazed at just how much quicker the M Compact is than the M3 Evo Coupe on these country roads. I’m equally as amazed that he managed to keep in touch, because the M3 Compact is blisteringly quick. Klaus explains that he regularly takes the M cars out on tests so I can now understand where his pace comes from. Klaus also tells me that the engine in the M3 Compact is “well run in and producing all its power” – I fully understand what he means. BMW have been castigated far and wide over the S50B32 not producing the full 321hp, although Klaus quickly adds that this is how engines are, especially when as highly tuned as the S50 is. Sometimes it’s down to just having a set of rods and pistons that aren’t quite as balanced as they could be – it makes all the difference. But he adds that most easily produce 305-320hp, one or two even more. This is why motorsport engine builders match the weight of rods and pistons when building a ‘balanced’ engine. “I’ve also finally discovered the M3 Compact’s Achilles heel. On approaching Geiselhöring the roads become quite a bit twistier, with shorter straights, quite a few hairpins and some nasty switchbacks. Here the M3 Compact was struggling to put down all its power, that E30 trailing arm suspension letting the side down at a crucial moment. On roads where I thought I might actually show Klaus and his M3 Evo Coupe a clean pair of heels, he’s sat right behind me, his front bumper almost in touch with my rear at times. It was obvious the E36 M3 Evo’s multi-link rear suspension was helping Klaus put the power down whereas the Compact was just spinning all that power away. In some bends it provoked lurid tail slides as the Compact’s rear just couldn’t cope with 320 horses wanting to travel through those rear wheels – and that was in the dry! Yes it’s great fun but ultimately slow. “As we finished our coffee Klaus commented “you were struggling to put the grip down in the tighter bends – yes?” – “my fellow test drivers have www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
reported the same issue. It becomes quite a handful on tighter roads, especially in unfavourable conditions” - I could only chuckle in agreement. Klaus was a good driver, and in the twistier sections he was having to back off. I suddenly didn’t feel like Hans Stuck anymore, blatting down those long sweeping country roads, I now felt like Hans (un)Stuck! Klaus was correct. The M3 Compact has a flaw and he was patiently biding his time, waiting for me to discover when and where the M3 Compact would bite me back. To the unaware, inexperienced or incompetent it would throw them in a ditch, if lucky! “Coffee finished, we exchanged keys, Klaus taking the M3 Compact back to Garching whilst I took the keys to the Estoril Blue M3 Evo Coupe. My time with the hot Compact was up. We headed west on the A92 back towards Munich at a brisk pace, until we reached the airport and we slowed to a crawl – yes Germany also has traffic problems at peak periods, and Munich is no exception. “I had enjoyed my time with the M3 Compact; It was everything I thought it would be and a bit more. But it is also flawed. And as I relaxed in the M3 Evo Coupe, I began to realise that maybe I shouldn’t have been quite so hard with my criticism of the E36 M3 models. Klaus had demonstrated that they are a mightily quick and accomplished car. They are a different animal to the E30 M3, but Klaus showed me that driven at
eight or nine tenths, they can certainly hold their own on roads where you know an E30 M3 would excel. But with over 300bhp on tap the E36 M3, certainly in Evo guise, would be much quicker, I’m afraid. The game has moved on, and I realised that I needed to as well, head full of Ravaglia and Cecotto on the ‘ring. “We heard a few months later that BMW had decided not to unleash the M3 Compact on the buying public. They gave no explanation why, but I think I fully understand why not.” Despite – or perhaps because of – its extraordinarily powerful output, BMW’s E36 M3 Compact never went into series production. Was it because it would have been difficult for BMW to market a smaller, cheaper, quicker car that would have likely stolen sales away from its M3 cousins? Or more likely, as Max Huber found out, was it on safety grounds, with BMW management concerned that the M3 Compact’s ‘lively’ rear end may have caught out an inexperienced or less talented driver, and the cost of reengineering it to take a multi-link setup were just too great? In the end, only one M3 Compact was ever officially built, but over the years, a few examples have found their way onto public roads or were used at racing events. But these models were all created by passionate fans and enthusiasts looking for the elusive quality that the M3 Compact still embodies today: a driving experience without compromise.
The sweet S50B32 24V straight-six engine powering the M3 Compact – Klaus said it was ‘producing all its power” and it seems that Max agreed! BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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Interview With Professor Fritz Indra
THE PROFESSOR… The turbocharged engine in Alpina’s E12 B7 turbo was a milestone in German engine history. Newly appointed as Alpina’s Head of Engine Development, Fritz Indra took the BMW M30 3.0-litre straight six petrol engine and extracted more power by adding, amongst other additions, a KKK turbocharger which made the Alpina E12 B7 turbo the fastest 4-door saloon car in the world when launched at the 1978 Frankfurt IAA Motor Show… Words: Alpina/Jeff Heywood. Photographs: Alpina Archive/Jeff Heywood. Professor Indra, let’s start with your career at Alpina: In 1971, you decided to leave the bright lights of Vienna for the tranquillity of Buchloe in south-west Bavaria. You were working as a university assistant at the Vienna University of Technology, yet joined Alpina as the Head of Development. How did that come about? www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
“First of all, I knew very early on that I wanted to be an engineer. While I was still in primary school, at the age of 10, I laid out my career plans in minute detail in an essay. Incidentally, I misspelled the word “doctorate” so badly that you couldn’t even see it for red pen. But that’s exactly what happened: after graduating as an engineer, I had
the good fortune to be accepted as a university assistant in Vienna, where I was able to do my doctorate. There was nothing happening in Austria back then. There was no BMW plant in Steyr yet or anywhere else for wholehearted petrol engineers like me. To keep my head above water as a university assistant, I had four or five part-time jobs. One of these was writing articles for the Austrian car magazine Autorevue. In 1971, they asked me to write an article about a certain Burkard Bovensiepen. So I travelled to Germany for an appointment, and Gert Hack was also there. At that time, he was on the executive board of Alpina and of course he’ll be well known to many as a journalist for Auto Motor und BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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Professor Indra poses with some of the Alpina engines he helped to design or improve, including the Alpina B6 engine that he is perched on at the rear of the photo, which was based on the BMW M30B28.
Indra (R), pictured with Alpina founder and boss Burkard Bovensiepen. Bovensiepen had a reputation for being a hard taskmaster but Indra had a good relationship with him and enjoyed the freedom working as Head of Engine Development at a small company that was agile and could react quickly to market and legislation changes etc
Sport. And he was the one who asked me: “What do you actually do?” Well, I have a doctorate, I know a lot about exhaust gases and exhaust regulations – that’s what I did my doctorate on – for motorsports too – and I developed the Kaimann for Kurt Bergmann while I was studying. And just like that it became clear: this made me a perfect fit for Alpina. The deal was done so quickly that I started at Alpina as Head of Engine Development three months later! In Buchloe, a small village in the Allgäu. When I took my wife there for the first time, coming from Vienna, she sat down on the main thoroughfare of Buchloe and burst into tears.”
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A milestone in your development work at Alpina was the M30 B7 turbo engine. So how did it come about that the first petrol engine with combined turbocharging was developed in Buchloe of all places? Fundamental research isn’t necessarily something you expect from a smallseries manufacturer. “It really came down to Burkard Bovensiepen’s vision for Alpina: he never wanted to be perceived as a tuning outfitter; he wanted to make Alpina a recognised automobile manufacturer, which he ultimately succeeded in. And of course you also have to back this claim up, you have to be innovative. Just making cars faster was never the be-all and end-all for Alpina. And simply adding more displacement to an Alpina engine to increase the power just wasn’t the right answer at the time. Because certain noise and emissions levels applied in the ‘70s too – it wouldn’t have worked anyway. And there was no easy way of squeezing more power from the BMW six-cylinder naturally aspirated engines of the time, which only had two valves per cylinder. It became clear to me then that turbo technology was the perfect answer: significantly increasing power while keeping displacement the same, in order to also meet all statutory requirements. However, turbochargers were still a
novelty at the time. A few manufacturers had already made attempts at the technology, but those engines ended up being incredibly unresponsive, really fuel-hungry and on top of this kept breaking down. I thought to myself we could do better. Then all the pieces started to fall into place. The successes we had enjoyed at the time in motorsports were of course a huge advantage. We had a very big network around us, with committed partners and suppliers who wanted to share Alpina’s success. Everything went hand in hand, and we were able to combine very different technologies: From the air intake resonance system designed by Dr. Gyula Cser to a fully electronic map ignition system – a completely new innovation at that time. The end result was a neat turbo engine suitable for everyday use that was first used in the BMW Alpina B7 turbo.” Exactly what changes had to be made to the existing turbo petrol engines to make them – as you say – “suitable for everyday use”? “If you looked at the weak points of the turbo engines from that time, you would have seen how a number of modifications were needed. So the Alpina B7 engine used a variety of new technologies. For example the injection system: tests revealed how important precise fuel metering is in the turbo engine – not just for fuel consumption, but also for the responsiveness. The injection system therefore had to be able to register both the air density and the air volume, in order to be able to meter the fuel perfectly. Here www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Feature I insisted on the enhanced mechanical DL injection system from the company Pierburg. But the arrangement of the injection system was important too: locating it downstream of the compressor changed the pressure differential. The turbine speed decreased, which shortened the time required for turbine start-up and improved the responsiveness. Thermal stability was ensured by an intercooler. I employed an air-to-air system here. But the intake air temperature had to be right too and thus the arrangement of the intercooler, because this had a huge influence on power and fuel consumption. Our partner Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch (KKK) also developed a new turbine housing to our specifications for the K27 turbo. We needed to adapt the geometry because we could see that a smaller throat diameter would be beneficial in the low and medium rpm range in particular. Another problem was that the turbo engines back then were very sensitive to knocking. The ignition timing was crucial here. However, you couldn’t control it precisely enough with the existing ignition systems. So we turned to the system from Dr. Hartig – a fully digital, computer-controlled map ignition system, an absolute innovation in automotive engineering. It made the tolerance band much narrower, and the ignition timings much more precise. This meant we had the knocking behaviour under control, but unfortunately the idling was still unstable. The fuel/air mixture just
didn’t provide enough turbulence. So I started working with a pinch point in the combustion chamber. This resulted in more thorough mixing of the air and fuel, and the combustion in all six cylinders was more uniform as a result. And then there was also the air intake resonance system by Dr. Cser, which I mentioned already. Alpina was the first to use this system on a petrol engine. In a six-cylinder engine, it divides the intake system into two groups of three cylinders each (see sketch images). The inlet ducts then each terminate in a separate resonator vessel, which is joined to the pressure side of the turbocharger via a resonance pipe. Simply put, this generates oscillations in the resonance volume, which changes the air density. This worked surprisingly well over a very wide rpm range, and fixed the problem of turbo lag. The performance curve was impressive – head and shoulders above the other turbo engines of the time.” The fruits of your labour ended up with the B7 turbo being given the accolade the “fastest 4-door saloon car in the world”. A title that made everyone in the industry sit up and take notice. What was your perception of the response to the Alpina B7 turbo? “That’s correct, there was a huge response from the media to the B7 turbo. And an unbelievable number of comparison tests. The B7 turbo came out on top in all of them, even against
The 300bhp Alpina B7 turbo engine which powered the Alpina E12 B7 turbo.
The Alpina M30 turbo engine… The E12 B7 turbo engine is based on BMW’s 3.0-litre ‘M30’ inline six; but not much is left of the standard engine. Alpina fitted a KKK (Kühnle, Kopp und Kausch) K27 blow-through turbo with a maximum boost of 12psi. But the boost was variable (by a dial in the interior) between 8psi and the maximum, which means, in terms of power, between 250bhp and 300bhp. An intercooler is also fitted, which was located behind the right hand pair of headlamps. The turbo blew through race-style Pierberg/Zenith DL mechanical fuel injection, but while there was no ECU needed for the injection, there was with the ignition. In a world first for a road car, the B7 used Hartig adjustable electronic ignition, crucial for reliability. Because of the turbo’s variable output and the fierce underbonnet heat, the Hartig system would retard the ignition to curb detonation, potentially lethal to long turbo life. Lower compression forged pistons and new valves were also fitted, more suited to the turbo installation. To handle the greater power and 342lb/ft torque, Alpina fitted a specially modified 5-speed Getrag gearbox.
Although Indra departed Alpina in 1979 the knowledge and expertise he left behind with his engine development team was invaluable. The second model to receive the B7 engine following the E12 5 Series was the E24 B7 turbo. Following on from this, Indra’s ‘team’ developed the B7S turbo engine, which found its way into the E12 B7S turbo and E24 B7S turbo in 1982 – this photo shows a stunning example of the E24 B7S turbo. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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Indra may have been long gone, but his knowledge of turbocharging lived on at Alpina. Now a car manufacturer in their own right, the engine development team again turned to the M30 engine, taken from an E34 535i model. They dismantled the 3430cc M30 engine, replaced the stock pistons with forged Mahle units, installed two Garrett T25 water-cooled turbochargers, and added a Bosch variable boost control with a range of 0.4–0.8 bar, which was adjustable from the driver’s seat. This mighty twin-turbo unit, dubbed B7/5 in Alpina parlance produced 360bhp! When launched to the automotive world in 1989, the E34 B10 Bi-Turbo was again named the ‘fastest four-door saloon car in the world’, providing a nice link back to the E12 B7 turbo in 1978. The photo is magical, placing the B10 Bi-Turbo next to the fastest commercial airliner on the planet; but we must not forget Indra’s legacy and knowledge imparted on Alpina and their engine developers during his tenure in Buchloe, which allowed a car like the B10 Bi-Turbo to actually exist.
heavy hitters like the Porsche 911 turbo, the Jaguar XJ12 and so on. Although the B7 saloon turned out rather restrained – the handsome Bracq penned E12 was the perfect ‘understatement’ car. There
were many ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ quotes although I prefer ‘a gangster in a businessman’s suit!’ But we had proof for once and for all of it being the fastest saloon of the time. Let me tell
you, measuring the top speed was a real adventure back then. I was behind the wheel of the B7 turbo, with an official from the TÜV sitting beside me with a stopwatch. Back then, the measurement
Photo No1 from the Alpina archives shows Indra’s simplified diagram which demonstrates how his team brought exhaust gas turbocharging to the BMW M30 engine, which was given the Alpina engine name ‘B7’, hence the E12 B7’s model name. The second photo shows a graph demonstrating the influence of various boost pressure levels on the performance curve of the B7 unit and a naturally aspirated engine with the same displacement for comparison, whilst the third image shows a graph that demonstrates the influence of the resonance pipe and combined turbocharging on the performance curve.
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www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Feature Professor Indra was also asked his opinion on electrically powered cars, seeing as they are the main topic of conversation in the auto industry today; The automotive sector is under pressure. Aside from all internal trouble a considerable part of the pressure in the industry is caused by legislation, Fritz Indra says. All car manufacturers are currently pushing electrification, which may also be a strategy to take the bull by the horns. But in the opinion of the Austrian engine designer and Formula 1 expert, the current trend towards the electric car should be regarded in a more critical way than it currently is the case. Especially with regard to climate protection, he says, because electric cars aren’t as clean as they are expected to be… Fritz Indra: “There’s controversy in the auto industry in the sense that I don’t get why the whole industry is developing so many electric vehicles now. VW is talking about a million in a few years. Yet they’re not selling at all, there are no customers today. Sales are dropping in America, falling fast in Norway and steady in Germany. All the subsidies aren’t helping. So why are all the companies developing such huge numbers of electric cars? Where are the customers supposed to come from? I don’t see why customers would buy something that’s worse than what they already have. And until electric cars have one or two big advantages over the cars they currently own, they won’t buy one. Also, 80% of cars are now bought by local authorities, not private customers. The police in Stuttgart, I believe, now have to drive electric cars to massage the statistics a bit” he added. “The German auto industry has adopted a proactive strategy for electric mobility so the government can’t accuse them of not really wanting to do anything. Daimler-Benz’s Franz Weber, for example, and other people in the industry are already saying it’s no good anyway, nobody will buy it, the range is too low, it’s too expensive, and when the battery pack gets old the car has no resale value. It’s unlikely that electric cars will ever really be better than the cars customers already have. Not in terms of costs, range or recycling. Nobody is talking about the fact that electric cars contribute nothing at all to climate protection. Not when you add in ALL parameters and do the math correctly.”
was still done “in the wild” and not on a test track. We often used the east ring road around Munich for this, which wasn’t even finished at that point. Whenever we hit the 250km/h mark (155mph), a lorry would pull out in front of us which was a bit hairy! So it took a few tries until we reached our top speed. And of course the ALPINA B7 turbo engine led to my reputation in the industry as the turbo expert from Buchloe. I published several articles about this engine. That’s how I came to the attention of a certain Ferdinand Piëch, who at that time was a division manager at Audi. He rang me and said: “I need a turbo man”. And that’s how I became the Head of Engine Development at Audi in 1979.” Professor Indra went on to develop turbocharged 5-cylinder engines for Audi that would power the original UrQuattro and the successful World Rally Championship winning Quattros and the 200 turbo road and race cars. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Professor Indra isn’t a fan of electric cars, pointing out that when the battery pack gets old the car has no resale value, plus he argues that electric cars contribute nothing at all to climate protection when you add in all parameters.
When Indra moved to Alpina in 1971 they were a dynamic but quite small ‘tuner’, but his knowledge of turbocharging engines thrust both Alpina and himself into the spotlight of the automotive world when the B7 turbo was launched in 1978; it was quite obvious one of the larger manufacturers would come knocking and it was Audi supremo Ferdinand Piëch who eventually lured Indra away in 1979 by offering him the same position that he held at Alpina, Head of Engine Development. Indra developed the powerful 5-cylinder turbo engine for Audi that would power the Ur-Quattro to the World Rally Championship (for manufacturers) in 1982 and 1984. His turbocharged Audi engines would also power the 200 turbo to many race victories and championships as well as power many Audi road cars in the 1980s and 1990s.
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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High spec includes: 6-stack CD Electric front seats, windows, mirrors Driver’s 3-way Memory seats Front and rear parking sensors Cruise control Air con – fully charged Door-handle entry down-lights F/R mud guards Motorway miles with good tyres all round A good example of this gentleman’s autobahn cruiser.
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Feature
THE TALE OF AN E12 AND A SOLEX CARB… Words and photographs by Fred Marsh-Allen
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hen I first saw my E12 528, I had no idea what I was looking at. Having been a fan of BMW’s for a good 10 years prior and having owned many different models, including an E28 525e, E31 840Ci, Alpina B3 3.3 and an E39 M5, I stood in the yard at my friend’s house looking at the front of what I mistakenly thought was an E21. After I had been corrected and feeling www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
somewhat embarrassed by my faux pas (I had great pride in my BMW knowledge since I got into them in my late teens), I wandered over to the sorry looking first generation 5 Series and started to poke about. The paint was very poor and flaking; it had obviously suffered a cheap respray at some point prior to its 20 years storage in a barn in Wales. The interior was dirty but complete and undamaged.
The strange little details drew me in immediately; the single chromed electric mirror mounted in the middle of the driver’s door, the odd seatbelts without a traditional buckle taken from the E3, and the analogue clock sat inside the heater control. All of this made me want it in my life, despite the fact it only drove on part throttle (the carb was not in good shape – more on that in a second) and it needed numerous parts replaced. A deal was struck and I took delivery of the car in early January 2017. The first thing to do was to replace all of the ignition and cooling system items; this would give me an engine I knew BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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would run correctly once the carb was sorted. Ah, yes - the infamous Solex 4A1 carburettor. Little did I know this was one of the most hated carbs of the era and would explain why this was the last 528 single carb left on UK roads. They need the hand of an experienced mechanic (this, I am not) as they warp and cause all sorts of running issues. I approached many different companies with most
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telling me it was a unit not worth the effort of rebuilding. I briefly looked into a twin carb setup but with it being the last example known to exist on UK roads, surely I had a duty to keep it original? This debacle led me into the capable hands of Steven Crooks, a man working for the classic car restoration company DLF Classics. I had rung the owner and explained the situation and he didn’t
seem to have any doubt that they’d be able to sort it. They had a man. I had the car transported to deep, darkest Suffolk and the carb was subsequently rebuilt by Steven, a chap I’ve kept in contact with and who became a close friend, helping me turbocharge my 635CSi a few years later. With a car that now accelerated properly, I needed it to stop as effectively. This particular era of E12 used a similar setup to the 2002, twin boosters and a particularly hard to find master cylinder. Thankfully, all were available from Jaymic and Linwar. Suspension options were limited and, after much research, I settled on Bilstein B6 shock absorbers and H&R springs. The car was now running and driving well with a new fuel tank, pump and exhaust system. Paint was next on the agenda and, after sourcing new front wings and multiple trims from BMW and Wallothnesche, it went into the body shop. And so, after much expenditure (definitely more than the car was worth) I had a very smart looking and performing 1977 528, complete with a set of ETA BETA 16-inch BBS style wheels and a deep Hartge replica airdam. Time to meet up with some more E12s! Ah, yes, about that. Where were all the E12s? A quick search online revealed a very sobering reminder of how long these cars were left skulking at the bottom of the classifieds in the ‘rusty old BMW’ section. Passed from owner to owner performing daily runabout duties until the complex (for the time) fuelling system failed or the inevitable tin worm set in and they were sent to the scrapyard in the sky. The more modern and better performing E28 no doubt had a lot to do with this huge fall in numbers. Why would you purchase an older, slower, less economical, rusty E12 when a similar looking E28 could be had for a few hundred quid more? It’s a great shame. The E12 put BMW
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on the map in the 1970s. It set new standards in the sector, offering a huge range of engines for the period - the M10, M20 and M30 were all put to use in this handsome, Paul Braque-penned executive saloon. It was the first car which was developed using a computer to calculate front and rear crumple zones and the first BMW to have the indicator stalk on the left side. All of this and I haven’t even mentioned the M535i or Ferrari-slaying Alpina B7S. Pivotal models, indeed.
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Looking at the numbers, it’s clear to see that roughly half of the E12s left are the M535i – there was obviously a lot more incentive to keep hold of these. This doesn’t justify the dismissal of the lesser models - in my opinion, they drive just as well as an E28 on the road and once you’ve got your head around the earlier injection systems and carburettors, they are a much simpler platform to maintain with fewer electronic systems and suspension components. It’s just a pity there are so few to choose from. At the time of writing there are just two UK cars available, a 528i at £8,000 and the well-known ‘URN’ M535i at Munich Legends for three times that amount.
Below, I have published the information I can find on the current E12 population. Let’s hope more find their way back onto the road. 518: 4 OTR / 7 SORN 520: 3 / 11 520A: 6/7 520i: 1/2 520iA: 0/0 525: 0/2 525A: 5/8 528: 1/0 528A: 1/3 528i: 2 / 12 528iA: 2/5 M535i: 12 / 51
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Feature
MY MINI Z3M SELF-ISOLATION RESTORATION PROJECT Words and photographs by John Denny
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fter many a BMW M3, I currently find myself the owner of a 1999 BMW Z3M Coupe showing 158,000 miles. Backed up by a great service history, straight panels, and formerly enthusiast owned. What could possibly go wrong… In simple terms, I would say my heart did the buying here and not my head. For some reason (as I type I’m still not quite sure why), I did little to no research about the Z3M. I’m a member
Signs of surface rust beginning to show
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of the Z3MCoupe forum and have been buying cars for years, but for some reason I saw the car and thought ‘that’ll do’ and bought it knowing I’d have to spend a few hundred quid getting it presentable. All this of course before the lockdown. The car was quickly into the garage for a fluid change and an annoying clunk to be fixed, which when completed, was back on my drive two weeks later with my wallet £600 lighter.
The garage, R G Lewis in Tattenhall, my normal BMW independent of choice, advised me that it might be worth looking at the floor around the jacking points as it was a bit scabby and would benefit from a wire wheel and a touch up. As soon as it had stopped raining I had the car on the ramps to investigate, and I found the signs of corrosion. After a bit of scratching about on the drivers’ side mount there was worse to come. The sill panel had started to disintegrate. So I then had to look a little deeper, and off to the internet to find out how to remove the sill covers and wings to see what was going on. The first step is to remove the arch liners, which is an easy enough job, so no need to include it here at this point. Just take the wheel off, undo a few clips and screws, and remove; the rears are trickier if they have grabbed onto the inside rear arch lip, so just take your time and tease it out. Once off you can see the edge bolts for the wing and sill cover. The majority of fasteners are 8mm hex www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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Removal of the front wing is by these two bolts, and one inside the door jam and another behind the arch liner
nuts into captive body nuts on the car. The front wing is held on by two bolts at the top under the bonnet edge, one at the bottom edge obscured by the door and one accessed from inside the area you have just exposed when removing the front wheel arch liner.
Removing the sill trim to reveal the inner sill www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Then onto the sill mounting bolts. The door trim needs to be removed, which just pops off with a trim removal tool, exposing the three hidden top bolts. Then onto the two rear bolts, one of which is tricky to get to as it’s behind the rear quarter arch. One can be seen from
inside the arch, but the other is hidden. To access this hidden bolt, I undid the quarter bolts from inside the car to open up the area, allowing me to just get my hand and a socket in there. It was not much fun, and the bolt heads had seen better days. Then finally the bolts along the bottom underside edge of the sill trim come off, and the whole thing can be carefully removed. You may need to remove the jacking points for ease, although you don’t need to. In my case, I did as that was the start of the job, as well as the air duct above if it still lives there, just a 10mm nylon bolt and an 8mm hex screw to remove. After about 30 to 40 minutes the sill panel was on the floor and it was not looking too good. As you can see time has not been kind to the sill cover, which when I did some homework I found is a common problem with the Z3M, which takes me back to the start - I should have done my homework! But alas it is what it is and we move on. As well as the rusty sill covers, I had rusty wings that were a bit too far gone as they had previously been repaired badly, and the edges were falling away. Then after all this removal, I could finally get to the part of the car I wanted to address in the first place. There was rust on both front and rear jacking points, and at various points along the chassis, worse in some areas. So I had a mini restoration on my hands and needed to get parts on order quickly. I ordered two sill covers and two wings as I knew the other side was as a bad if not worse, a couple of arch liners (as two of mine were damaged anyway), lots of new nuts and bolts to replace the old worn rusty ones, some new trim clips to replace the ones broken during the interior trim removal, some Por15 rust inhibitor paint, some Waxoyl underseal, some cavity wax, wire wheels and some paint brushes, thank you Harry Fairbairn BMW and eBay. The first job was to wire wheel any rust I could see, and lather it all in Krust Rust treatment. When it was properly dried I applied my Por15 paint, and then went over with Waxoyl underseal as a final protective coat. Whilst the covers were off I took the opportunity to spray two cans of cavity wax into most areas I could reach, every bit of protection helps. I extended it into the rest of the existing floor underseal, it would probably look better in the original red but that’s a luxury I sadly cannot afford. The wings and sill panels arrived and were sent to my painter, Roberts Refinishers in Ellesmere Port. I tried a pattern part first but the fit was just not up to scratch, and since I was dropping just the parts to the painters I BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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The sill cover is looking a little worse for wear
wanted a hassle-free install once they were returned, which they were four days later with the colour matching the old ones. They even coated the backs with Waxoyl for me, as well as adding a good amount of stone chip guard on the under edges of the sill covers. I further added some clear Waxoyl to all the under edges of all the panels, allowed to dry, then
fitted with new bolts, which was just a case of working backward to the start again, but being more careful with the freshly painted panels. All done, or should I say, ready to move onto the other side and do the whole process again. The job was identical, so I won’t bore you with duplication!
And there we have it, back to how it was before we started, but with all the rust gone, and the jacking points far more attractive. As a final level of protection, I went around all the edges of the sill cover with some Hammerite smooth. Not that pretty, but servers a function as it will stop the surface rust creeping back along scuffed edges.
BMW E46, 320Ci Convertible.
5-speed automatic with Tiptronic and Sport option. 1st registered December 2001. Only 81,000 miles. MOT until April’20, with no advisories. Dark Orient blue paintwork with unmarked dark blue mohair power hood with full grey leather interior & overmats. Original Owner’s Service Book showing detailed service history with 8 stamps, (7 main agent). Lots of service receipts indicating regular maintenance totalling £4,600. Previous MOTs from 2005. Original complete tool kit. Recent rear shock absorbers.
SE spec includes: Sport interior and M-Sport Multi-function steering wheel along with walnut trim, electric heated memory seats, digital climate control, on-board computer, traction control, cruise. Additional extras: Rear parking sensors. Electric windows, mirrors. A/c. BMW Radio Cassette and 6-stack CD, Cruise Control, factory Alarm and Tracker. Sports Exhaust.
£3,450 ono All enquiries, please call or text 07792 422209 (lady owner) 46
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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2000/2002 TOURINGS - HOW MANY ARE LEFT? By James Hobson
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irstly, I would like to wish all my BMW colleagues well and trust you and your families are well and safe from Covid-19. Secondly, as a Touring owner I was interested to know how many Tourings were still on the road. I did write a small piece in our monthly magazine way back in 2018 to say that I was on a mission to establish how many Tourings are left in the UK. Having had many conversations with various people from the Touring world the figures varied from 6 to 200! Also, some of the data from the online companies is incorrect and people quote these figures which are totally inaccurate. Although the mentioned figures were genuine responses, I was not really reassured by this so in February 2019 I embarked on a mission to find out how many are left. I initially wrote to the DVLA asking the question and they kindly wrote back saying some years ago they outsourced all enquiries on car data to six different companies. Out of those six companies I contacted, only two were interested in helping me on my mission. The big problem was they wanted to be paid for this information, and I do understand that they are companies who wish to make a
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profit and someone like me is not doing them any favours. At least there was one company called Carweb Ltd who were extremely helpful in providing me with the information I wanted at no cost, so a big thank you to them! Carweb started in 2004, at which point they had all the DVLA data on every car in the UK transferred to them in a bulk file. The data they received was based on the information garages and individual people had sent to the DVLA, but Carweb and the DVLA know the figures are not completely accurate. Some vehicles would have been scrapped or exported without informing the DVLA prior to 2004. Therefore, we can only work with the figures provided. In March 2019 Carweb said they could provide me with the data but if I waited until June, they would be getting a refresh of data from the DVLA and that would be more up to date. True to their word, that data arrived at the end of June. That new data in June 2019 shows: • 151 Tourings, of which, • 19 have been scrapped and 2 of these have been scrapped with a certificate of destruction. The rest were mostly scrapped before 2007, when this certification process came into being. • 13 have been exported (with thanks to Dave Burnett in Australia we know of 3 Tourings there) • 62 are current vehicles (37 taxed as historic and 25 on SORN) • 57 unaccounted for and have not been officially scrapped or exported and can be attributed to the following list: • Scrapped but not notified
• Exported but not notified • Sitting in storage or abandoned somewhere or used as donor vehicles, not SORNed or taxed for many years There will also be a handful of Tourings missing because DVLA had not identified some cars when they were transferring the information from the original log books to the current V5C registration document. So what can we conclude? The DVLA data is not totally accurate, but we knew it would be impossible to obtain from the early 1970s because not all of the cars are listed as Tourings. Some cars are recorded as having body names called Coupe, Estate, Saloon and funnily enough my car is the only car listed as a 3-Door Hatchback. We can say the DVLA have live data on 62 Tourings of which 25 of these are on SORN. Therefore, I think you can say with some accuracy there are about 37 Tourings on the road. It is interesting as we know 1,876 RHD Tourings were made for 2 years and 8 months from September 1971 to April 1974. There were two models of the Touring made, 1,537 of Model 71 from September 1971 to August 1973, and then 339 of Model 73 from August 1973 to April 1974. Unfortunately, as the DVLA had never been given the model type at registration they never got recorded separately so the two models cannot be identified. Therefore, we shall never know how many models are left in each model range. My car is a Model 73 and I will say when chatting to other enthusiasts and friends my car is one of the 37 on the road in the UK. BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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e will
TYRE MAINTENANCE TO RESUME DRIVING YOUR BMW I
f your BMW has been standing for a while then it’s worth checking tyres, as well as other critical components, to make sure you can get going again safely. The best and simplest way is to check tyres visually at first, to see if there are any lumps or deformations caused by the car standing still for a long time, or by the weather. Check also for damage, cuts, and abrasions. While you’re down there, ensure that tyre wear is above the legal limit of 1.6 millimetres tread depth. This can be checked using the tread depth indicator on the tyre itself: which is a 1.6 millimetre-high ridge of rubber within one of the main tyre grooves – just above the Pirelli fuel gift card offer Members of BMW Owners Club can now benefit from an exclusive offer from Pirelli of a fuel gift card. Available only when purchasing Pirelli tyres from a Pirelli Performance Centre or official BMW dealer. The Pirelli tyres purchased can be for any vehicle and not limited to tyres just for your BMW. It means that this offer is valid on tyres for any car and can also be used for your friends and family,
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TWI (Tread Wear Indicator). There are six of these TWI markings on the upper part of the sidewall. If that rubber ridge is at the same level as the groove itself, then the tyre is down to the legal minimum. Next, check tyre pressures and adjust if necessary. This helps guarantee optimal performance and safety, as well as the correct rolling resistance to help with fuel economy. Once you’re done, just make sure the dust caps are tight. When driving, pay close attention to any vibrations felt through the steering wheel after the car has been standing for a long period of time. If these don’t go away after the first few miles, get the car looked at by professionals as soon as possible. provided the terms and conditions are adhered to. The card’s value depends on the rim size and quantity of tyres purchased as follows: Rim Size
Two Tyres
Four Tyres
16” & below
£10
£30
17”
£30
£70
18” & above
£50
£100
Where can you get your tyres fitted? A
You might need to switch to summer tyres if the car is still on winters by the time you use it again. However, the law allows you to keep using winter tyres even in summer: just make sure that you don’t exceed the speed rating for the tyre as indicated on the sidewall. Finally, some people also like to rotate the tyres a quarter turn every couple of weeks or so, to vary the part that’s in contact with the ground, but this is only really a factor if the car is being stored for a very long period of time. Under most circumstances, tyres will be absolutely fine with regular looking-after, even if the car is not going anywhere. dedicated website is set up at pirelli. co.uk/bmwcarclub. Here you will find all the promotional details and a dealer locator enabling you to search for your nearest participating dealer. Terms and conditions apply. Please note, only claims from a Pirelli Performance Centre or official BMW dealer will be accepted. And don’t forget, you can keep in touch with Pirelli here: www.pirelli.co.uk/keepintouch. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
yourletters MEMORIES OF A SIDECAR RACER
Dear Jeff, I was most interested in the article on the Noll/Cron sidecar racing partnership and their BMW based career. I was not aware that they kick started (no pun intended) BMW’s domination of motorcycle sidecar racing throughout the 60’s and 70’s, although as a racing sidecar passenger myself in the sixties I was fully aware that in the premier class a BM outfit was de rigueur if you wanted to stand any chance of winning. Not for nothing did the likes of Max Deubel and Fritz Schiedegger make sure they had BMW power under them when they took their many wins and championships. Even British ace Chris Vincent found his results took a leap forward when he obtained an ex-Florian Camathias Rennsport engine for his innovative kneeler outfit. Like many racers of ‘chairs’ I started sidecar racing on grass - probably thinking it wouldn’t hurt so much if I fell off - what a foolish thought that was! I still have a dodgy ankle from landing on ‘soft’ grass. Grass track sidecars in my time were mostly in the unlimited class and the engine to have was a nine stud Triumph Bonneville which the star racers like John Chisnall and Derek Yorke, both multiple National champions, had. Everyone made their own outfits and different areas had either right or left hand chassis, i.e. which side the chair was fixed on. Essex and surrounding counties were right-handers whilst Kent was left. I always envied the Kent boys as their bikes looked more like road racing outfits with flat platforms for the passenger as opposed to the highly banked right hand chair. Being very impecunious we could not stretch to a Bonnie so instead had a bored out BSA, which nonetheless had enough speed to frighten you if you got it wrong. When we first built the outfit we used to take it over to the ex-WWII Hornchurch aerodrome, which has now disappeared under housing estates, but at that time it was merely disused and with long runways it was ideal for setting up the carburettors. Which, as we all ran Methanol, was simply a case of dumping as much fuel as possible down the inlet tract commensurate with
not flooding the spark. The local residents were obviously not too pleased with us running flat out on straight unsilenced exhaust pipes so it became a balancing act to get it done and off before the fuzz arrived! My first actual race meeting was scheduled to be at the Orsett Show which had racing as one of its attractions. Unfortunately we had gearbox trouble (why is it that pampered racing machinery always goes wrong on the day whereas the most uncared for road car will usually get you home) and because of this we missed all our entered races. My next event was at Braintree which was reckoned to be the longest and fastest track in the country where the speed on the straight could reach 100mph - quite fast enough on a reasonably bumpy farmer’s field! This was the real eye-opener for me. I vividly recall sitting in the assembly area waiting to go out for practice with all the other bikes crowded round revving their engines, and while they all seemed so relaxed I was absolutely terrified and whilst trying very hard to look nonchalant, was inwardly praying that once again the bike would break and I wouldn’t actually have to go and do it. But as always with competition the marshals waved us all out and suddenly the fear was gone replaced by concentration and exhilaration. By the time we’d done our qualifying laps I was hooked! Although I never attained anything like the sort of success enjoyed by the guys above I nevertheless had five years of enjoyment from it. I like your acknowledgement that sidecar racing is a team effort as so often the passenger is regarded as just that, and not a vital partner without whose input an outfit won’t even roll round a corner never mind race round one. Thanks for jogging happy memories. Kind regards, John Atkins
New Season Club Merchandise
Our new line of Club merchandise includes and updated polo with a smaller Pirelli badge, a long sleeve polo, and hoodies in various colours. Also available are M Power baseball and trucker caps. All Club merchandise can be purchased either through the Club Shop shop.bmwcarclubgb.uk, by calling the Club Office 01970 267 989.
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Winner of last month’s crossword Patrick Moore - All entrants for June’s issue crossword must be received into the office by 14th June. Winner will be announced in next issue. The first correct crossword chosen at random will receive Meguiars Goodies. Please email all completed crosswords to office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk or post it to BMW Car Club GB, Unit 5h, Glan Yr Afon, Aberystywth, SY23 3JQ Answers to May 2020 Crossword Across: 1. Yachtsman, 8. Antony, 10. ST, 11. STS, 12. Two, 14. HT (High Tension), 15. Uher, 16. Any, 18. Rework, 20. Rip off, 22. NOS (Nitrous Oxide Systems), 23. Iron, 24. MY, 25. NOx, 26. Rho, 28. iS, 29. Blower, 31. Harrogat Down: 1. Yas Marina, 2. Ant, 3. CT, 4. Host, 5. TNT, 6. SyS, 7. Anthony, 9. Yorkshire, 13. Wero, 14. Hypoxia, 15. UW, 17. Niro, 18. RF (Radio Frequency), 19. EF (Enzo Ferrari), 21. On, 24. Moog, 26. RBR, 27. HLO, 28. Set, 30. WA (Washington)
Sponsored by
Across 1. Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, storms and horses (8) 9. Point or place where something begins, e.g. Munich, 7 March 1916 (6) 10. Final part of something (3) 12. Common initials / shortform for city in Southern California e.g. Beverly Hills BMW (1,1) 13. A cover such as for an aircraft cockpit, or for a special BMW at a show (6) 15. Commonly-used initials for critical liquid in an automatic gearbox (1,1,1) 17. Colloquial northern term (esp. Yorkshire) for “nothing” (4) 19. Electromagnetic switch (5) 20. Commune in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France, BMW Bayern Landes Basque Country Dax is your nearest dealer (3) 22. Initials international standards body, founded in 1947 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland (1,1,1) 23. Missed or longed for in the event of loss e.g. if you sell your BMW (5) 24. I...: “Volvo” in Latin (3) 27. Italian multinational oil and gas company with six-legged dog as logo (3) 28. Blue metallic BMW paint colour [code 189], a type of cloud (6) 30. BMW designation for E30 318 with DOHC M42 engine (1,1) 31. Initials for the use of computers to aid in the creation, modification, analysis or optimisation of a design (1,1,1) 32. Latin-derived word-forming element referring to layers, and also a BMW Motorad blue metallic colour used on the G310R (6) 34. German term for “motorway” (8)
2. Speaks, especially pompously or at length (6) 3. 3.0...: Designation for E3 fuel-injected saloon of the 1970’s and used again by BMW on the E85 Z4 in 2006 (1.1) 4. Perhaps Emirates Golf Club (1,1,1) 5. t..: Keen on an E10 BMW? Two letters signifying the fuel-injected model. Colour 1. Down or 16. Down - whatever you can find! (1,1,3) 6. Shortform (e.g text message) for “I don’t know” (1,1,1,1) 7. Roman equivalent of 1. Across and also name of the eighth-furthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System (7) 8. Vehicle registration plate designating that the owner is a foreign embassy and therefore immune from prosecution (1,1) 11. Shortform for US State e.g BMW of Manhattan (1,1) 14. Exclamation of sudden pain (2) 16. BMW pale green paint colour of the 1970’s [code 66]. Also a US State (7) 18. Famous avenue in city of initials of 11. Down. Also BMW Motorad silver colour (7) 21. Was a carburettor brand in both the UK and US, the British business being formed in Stanmore in 1910 and merged into Solex in 1965 (6) 23. Icy dwarf planet outside the orbit of 7. Down (5) 25. Shortform for US State e.g. BMW Portland (1,1) 26. Could be Local Runway Safety Team (1,1,1,1) 28. Shortform for US State of 12. Across (1,1) 29. 3-letter code for central / southeast European country e.g. Radulović Group BMW dealer in Belgrade (1,1,1) 31. Commonly used initials for digital optical disc format co-developed by Philips and Sony and first released in 1982 (1,1) 33. Commonly-used initials for a UK motoring Down 1. BMW’s popular silver paint colour of the 1970’s organisation founded in 1905 (1,1) and 1980’s [code 060] (7)
socialmedia During these unprecedented times we have seen our events calendar dwindle over the past months. You may be sitting at home wishing you could shake the dust off your classic and attend a few shows. Luckily, social media has been a relief for many; we have seen virtual pub meets, virtual car shows, and members taking out their cameras to show us their BMWs tucked away waiting for some action. Inside BMW Group Classic BMW Group Classic have been keeping enthusiasts entertained though their social media recently, specifically their YouTube channel, where they are giving you a tour around their facility. Each video they share focusses on different BMW models, so there is a tour available for every BMW enthusiast. Their tours can be accessed through searching ‘BMW Group Classic’ on YouTube.
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www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
regionalnews Central Tony Skerrett Central Region sponsored by
07879 404648 central@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Barons Bedford
Under the current pandemic it is not so easy to write a report when you are unable to meet fellow members or go to shows and meetings! Even so, as I write it is a beautiful day outside, perfect for attending to my E46 or as my wife has it, to mow the lawn and attend to the front garden. As it happens I am busy repairing the little scrapes and bumps from last summer and also the curbed front offside wheel. I took my time in repairing the wheel, rubbing down between each coat and spraying paint when it was warm. Remarkably by my standards the result looks ok. Currently I am respraying the rear bumper, albeit in Topaz Blue when it should be Mystique Blue. Apparently, Mystique replaced Topaz some time ago and the two are near inseparable, particularly on dull days/ shadows. So here’s to hoping! Future Events It is my every intention to resurrect two or three postponed events: Peak District Tour – July/August. Cotswold Tour – August. East Coast Seaside trip – all subject to lockdown restrictions. Bicester Sunday Scramble 2020 – postponed until October 4th. July 19th – Henley Traditional Car and Boat Festival. Still on but I have my doubts. July 31st – 2nd August – Silverstone Classic – please keep looking at the website! 30/31st August – Brougton Castle Festival of Transport. Subject to Government restrictions it might be possible to visit other popular sites, I will do my best to keep members informed via the newsletter. All factory visits have been cancelled. My Car and other Stories I have received a couple of messages from members describing their cars either direct or indirectly. Please also see the Thames Region Report for other articles.
01234 434 122
www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw BARONSCC20133 = 15% discount code
and accessible load carrier, especially for larger items and crates. Also, now I need space for occasional carrying of two dogs (not good with Ivory leather). I was always going to stick with BMW so I can enjoy the club benefits, but which BMW to get? Not a great fan of estates, so needs to be a hatchback. Enough space, but not too big a footprint. 4x4. Sporty. Different? The M Sport 2.0d X2 appealed to me as it was well loaded to match the 5 Series spec, same glorious engine, practical, just about big enough, and good swap offer. Comments so far after five months: Tried a petrol X1, and did not get on, felt gutless unless thrashed so preferred diesel. I liked the looks and it was different; how come white cars stay looking cleaner than black ones? Happy with SUV concept instead of a lower sporty saloon; increased ride and seat height, which worked well and not at the expense of composure. Drives like a BMW saloon car with a small footprint, making it easy and fun. It’s very practical, love the large underfloor storage which means it takes all my winter paraphernalia, but leaves load space completely clear for the two dogs (Japanese Akita), etc. Suits us, but note it’s not a four person and dogs holiday car… X2 versions are adequate, but not as good. Fitted rim protectors from Kerb Safe to protect the alloys against minor grazes and looks good in red. Plans? I have ordered a Race Chip and I am excited at how this will work with 225bhp and 500 torque, last one I fitted was excellent! Just £35 to upgrade the insurance too. Then I may think about swapping wheels for 18 inch and all weather tyres. Have no issues but I think this would be a benefit on wet grip, ride and noise. Rebuilding a garage to cater for at least two BMW’s by Jeff Wyatt
My Car by Peter Austin Members may be interested in a change of car, leading to trading in my 5 Series G30 for an X2 F29. Loved the 5 Series, a 2.0d M Sport in carbon black and ivory interior. I have been lucky to own some good cars but this was the best. Why change then? Load carrying and dogs. When moving my office I found my wife’s 5 door Mini a much more capable
Last summer Sasha and I started an extension at home that included a four bay garage with a nice sweeping drive. As we started the build I fell in love with two beautiful old BMW’s that I stumbled upon at a car auction that I attended, not intending to be a purchaser at! The two little stunners are a 1973 2002Tii and a 1975 1602 with genuine 3,000 miles on the clock. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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regionalnews by the time this magazine gets published I should have these beauties situated in my new garage at home, which no doubt will give me even more jobs to do in these times of weird daily routines.
Problem is, I have not seen them since the day I delivered them to my local secure storage business down the road. But the good news, despite the totalitarian insane collapse of our world these past weeks, my builders carried on building and
Central West Dave Evans Central West Region sponsored by
07800 616500 centralwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Autobahn Servicing Ltd Unit 11, Pitcairn Drive Halesowen B62 8AG Tel 0121 585 9146 www.autobahnservicing.co.uk info@autobahnservicing.co.uk
Cheshire & Staffs Steve Cooper Cheshire & Staffs Region sponsored by
cheshireandstaffs@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
DISCOUNT OF UP TO 10% IS GIVEN TO MEMBERS WITH VALID MEMBERSHIP CARD *Conditions apply
Cornwall Jim Husband
Monthly Meets As I write, the Cornwall Region monthly pub meets are still cancelled until further notice. Hopefully we will soon be able to resume these monthly pub meets, which are held on the second Monday of the month. Previous / Forthcoming Events No previous events to report on this month. As soon as events are able to be held I will inform the Cornwall Region via email from the Club. Car of the Month If you would like to have your car featured please send me details with a maximum of 100 words and a good quality photo. Even if you have had your car featured previously but have since modified it, an updated report would be good. I also know some have changed their car recently so a new report would be welcomed.
Cotswold Martyn Goodwin Cheltenham BMW Cheltenham MINI Cotswold Motor Group Cheltenham Motorrad www.cotswoldgroup.com Cheltenham Parts Corinthian Way, Cheltenham, GL51 6UP Cheltenham Service Hereford Roman Road, Hereford, HR1 1LN
cotswold@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 01242 335 335 01242 335 345 01242 335 355 01242 335 365 01242 335 375 01432 375 555
Devon Kathy Jemfrey Devon Region sponsored by At this time we are all doing what I call ‘round-to-it’ days. I have been guilty many times of using the round-to-it. Well now is the time we can all get round-to-it, whatever it may be, we have been putting it off for days, weeks, months or even years. One thing for sure is that all members’ cars should be gleaming as there has been fine weather to do all the round-to-it jobs. I know I feel exasperated when Derek says ‘tinkering with the car’. It sits in the drive and gets washed, polished, wheels blacked, and anything he can find to do. My poor car which
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Knights Bede Road, Radial Park, Stoke on Trent Staffordshire. ST4 4GU Tel:01782 572100
cornwall@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Hello to all members of the Cornwall Region. As I write this, the lockdown is still in place and events are either being cancelled or hopefully rescheduled. It is difficult to know how things will be in two months’ time, but hopefully by the time you read this we will be able to be out and about enjoying our cars. If you are a new member, welcome to the Cornwall Region. I hope you will enjoy being a member of the Club and Region. Please contact me if there is anything you wish to know about the pub meets, Club events or Regional activities we have planned. I hope to meet you at one as soon as we can recommence. If you are a Facebook user please check out the BMW Car Club GB – Cornwall page. Details of meets and events are posted on this page along with any last minute changes or updates. Please also check the Cornwall page of the Club website for details of events, I will update this as events are confirmed, and everything will be printed in Straight Six as deadlines allow.
Cotswold Region sponsored by
Blue Bell Fourth Avenue, Weston Road, Crewe
Cheshire. CW1 6XH. Tel:01270 212525
Cotswold Motor Group offer members: Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range
Discounts on approved used vehicles in stock 15% plus discount on parts and accessories, 10% discount on all service work and labour ( 15% on vehicles 4 years old plus ) Available to members presenting current valid membership card
01626 330436 devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk INDEPENDENT BMW & MINI SPECIALISTS
is what I call our ‘workhorse’ never gets a look, until last week when it seemed to be covered in fine dust because it had not moved. Yes, he washed it but it looks nothing like his beloved BMW. As most members will be aware, most car shows on our calendar have been cancelled. Sidmouth will make a decision in July/August. I don’t think it will go ahead as this COVID-19 does not seem to wish to get up and go as quickly as it arrived. I would like to share a story with you. I was speaking to one www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
regionalnews of our lovely pub meet ladies and what a laugh we had. Her day hadn’t been going well as she firstly found herself hoovering the toaster, apologising to the vegetables for chopping them prior to
eating them, telling the fridge freezer off for being too cold. It is days like these that make you feel good. Please stay safe and well to all our members.
East Anglia George Champ East Anglia Region sponsored by Barons Cambridge
& Stansted
07514 216660 eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
www.barronsbmw.co.uk Cambridge Stansted
: 0844 326 7249 : 0844 326 7244
Hi everyone, At the time of writing the return to normal life is still just a glimmer of hope on the horizon, and we may be lucky and have some events we can attend soon. Ever the optimist, a list of events from July onwards is published below, but we shall just have to wait and see if any take place. I suspect many organisers are rescheduling until later in the year in the hope things may be back to some form of normality by then. If this proves to be the case we are going to be swamped and spoilt for choice. In the meantime, like me I am sure many of you have been catching up on loads of jobs around the house you have been putting off for months, not always easy as many DIY shops have been shut. Thank goodness we have had sunshine as this meant we could do outside jobs as well or just sit and relax. I spent a lot of time clearing and sorting out my garage, but seem to have put back most of the stuff I thought I could throw out, but in a different place just in case I might need it one day. Probably this was just the behaviour of a self-confessed hoarder. If some of you played last month’s (pretty difficult, I must confess) guessing game trying to identify the red, obviously Japanese car, I can put you out of your misery now. The car shown, which was actually John Herman’s car, is a 1974 Mazda RX4. The bonnet also comes to a point which denotes a 5 speed gearbox with a 2.6 rotary engine. If you guessed right, pour yourself a beer or a cup of tea, sit down and feel smug in the knowledge you were probably the only one to guess right. Pub meets as you know are currently suspended but you can still catch up or take part in all the news by logging in to each respective branch’s Facebook page. Keep well and stay safe. Forthcoming events Sunday 5th July – Maldon Show. CANCELLED Saturday and Sunday 11th-12th July – Michelham Priory. South East Region event, see earlier newsletter for booking form. If stuck contact me. Saturday 8th August – Mersea Island Show. Book
Eastern Paul Rice
Barons offers members • Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range • A minimum discount of £500 on approved used cars in stock • 15% discount on parts and accessories 10% off servicing, excludes Value Line Servicing which applies to cars over 4 yrs old.
direct merseaislandlionsclub.com. Let John (below) know so we can park up together. Sunday 2nd August – Helmingham Hall Festival of Cars. Sunday 23rd August – Lodge Coaches Special Event including Bus and Train Rides. Sunday 30th August – Little Gransden Air Show. Sunday 6th September - Classics by the Lake. CANCELLED Sunday 6th September – Glemham Hall Car Festival. Sunday 13th September – Kings Lynn Heritage Open Day and Classic Car Show in Market Square. Book direct west-norfolk. gov.uk/classiccarday. Sunday 20th September – The Warren Supercar and Classic Car Show. Register with Anthony (below). Pre-payment vital details to follow. Sunday 18th October – Lodge Coaches including Auto Jumble. Contacts George Champ (East Anglia Regional Chairman) eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 07514 216660 David Adams (Suffolk Branch Rep.) bmwccsuffolkrep@btinternet.com 07774 668596 Stewart Chambers (Assistant Suffolk Branch Rep. and Motor Sport Coordinator) stwrtchambers@gmail.com 07717 327014 John Herman (Essex Branch Rep.) johnherman316@gmail.com Anthony Shilson (Asst. Essex Branch Rep. and M Power Development for EA Region) anthony_shilson@hotmail.com Matthew Hunt (Cambs/Beds Branch Rep.) matthew.hunt13@btinternet.com 07973 986525 Richard Howard (Norfolk Branch Rep.) bmwccnorfolk@gmail.com or janetrichard@rarness.co.uk Paul Roberts (Assistant Norfolk Branch Rep.) 07768 881763 Aaron Reeve (NW Norfolk, STH Lincolnshire, Peterborough Branch Rep.) westnorfolk@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 01553 764600 Sindy Ratini (East Anglia Region Website and Facebook Coordinator) eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
This month’s news should have included a comprehensive report on events in our Region, including the highly awaited return of the Tykes Tango and the ever so popular Thoresby May Day show. Unfortunately, but probably for the best, these events could not go ahead. With our four monthly Regional meets also being cancelled until further notice, and the large proportion of members being restricted in their movements, our pride and joys have remained mainly stationary. Strange and difficult times, hopefully by the time we are all reading this edition of Straight Six, things are looking a whole lot brighter. Leather Repair Company visit It seems a while now that we made the trip to Hull to visit Richard and the team at the Leather Repair Company. An early start for some, and a bit of wet weather about didn’t dampen our spirits for the day ahead, with warm drinks available on our arrival. After introductions, members enjoyed a very www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
informative presentation from Richard, along with a video on the types of different animal leather that is produced, all as a byproduct from the food chain. With a break and a very enjoyable buffet lunch, the usual car fanatic’s banter was as ever very entertaining. The main part of the day, and probably the one most of interest to those visiting, was the information and demonstrations on leather care and BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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regionalnews repair, with members taking an active part. The one big thing that came across “If you think your leather is clean”, think again. As part of the day, a “show and shine” had been arranged, this was voted by the staff at the centre, based on the car they would like to take home. Highlighted in previous Straight Six, Matt Houlden took the honours in first place with his E36 M3 EVO. Very generous prizes for the first, second and third places were given out, along with goody bags for all that attended. The day finished with a bit of retail therapy in the company shop.
Many thanks to Richard and the team for a very enjoyable day. Look out for further visits to the Leather Repair Company. Hopefully this year for those that couldn’t make the rearranged date. We are also planning to visit LRC for a dedicated detailing day, and having sampled some of their products it will be well worth the trip. Car of the Month This month’s car is my own 2.5 Z4. One of the very first right hand drive cars brought into the UK and actually registered prior to the July 2003 launch date. Since its last appearance in Straight Six, the car has had
both mechanical and cosmetic improvements. Mechanically, the biggest expense to date is the new clutch and flywheel, in true Yorkshire fashion the clutch had been slipping for some time before I opened my wallet. Next came the front suspension, total collapse on the O/S/F wing gave a clue thing’s were just not as they should be; a broken spring was the culprit, showing how weak the shocks were. So new springs, shocks and front hubs were fitted. Added to this, discs and pads all round. Finally, wheel spacers give the car a better stance, not sure whether they have any performance advantage, we will see. On the cosmetic side, over the winter months the Zed has had extensive paintwork comprising both full sides and bonnet, including the inner leading edge of both the bonnet and boot lid (as usual due to little paint from the factory on these areas). After 17 years of stone chips and minor parking dents it’s brought the car to a standard that I am now happy with. During the enforced stay at home situation, the car has also undergone more full valets than it has mileage. The Z4 has now become part of the family, replacing the now departed Z3. So, looking forward to taking the Zed out very soon (as I write, still in lockdown), as well as attending any shows and meets that may be still left on the 2020 Calendar. Stay safe everyone.
London Anthony Mason London Region sponsored by
london@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
BMW Park Lane, 70 Park Lane London. W1K 7TT www.bmwparklane.com mail@bmwparklane.co.uk 020 7514 3559
Barons Watford 01923 700 217 and Borehamwood 02031 316 645 www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw 81st London Region meet - The virtual one This month’s meet was a different scenario to our usual pub meet. Several facts that were different about the Monday meet; I had to cook my own dinner, I had more than one pint, and my girlfriend was happy to join me. The London Region trialled a ‘virtual meet’ which allowed people to bring cars from past and present, old and new. And obviously ownership of the vehicle wasn’t an issue. I’m hoping that May’s meet will herald a few more cars in virtual attendance. The London Region WhatsApp group is always busy through the week, busier than the Facebook page, although I do try and drag the group onto Facebook as it’s more public and can be shared by members who haven’t made it to a meet. Just this morning we have had conversations about if one of our members should ditch the runflats - it was a unanimous YES, the gentleman in question also has
a lovely 330i E46, as well as a 5 Series. A lot of people use the spare wheel and jack from the E46 when they travel - a bit of reassurance once the runflats have gone. When I went to Germany I had a full size M359 front alloy in the boot, it did somewhat fill my cargo area. Best bit about it was I didn’t end up needing it, nor did the other two cars in the convoy. Whilst we are locked down, those lucky enough to have the time/finance/and understanding partners, have been busy ‘detailing’ or fixing little things with the cars. My 1M has been out practically all of the lockdown and the Astra has been lapping it up in the garage - untouched for over a month now. The 1M isn’t happy just being sat there so a couple of essential journeys out to get supplies have given the battery a bit of a top up. Wish I had a trickle charger to keep the battery in tip top condition, although sadly there is no power in my rented garage.
Mid Wales & Shropshire Phil Pinnington Welcome to June’s edition of the Mid Wales & Shropshire Regional news. Hope everyone has been staying safe and obeying the lockdown rules. It’s looking more likely that there won’t be any shows this
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BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
midwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
year due to Covid-19. We have been getting regular updates from organisers with regards to shows that have been moved to new dates later on in the year. I think by July’s edition we should know more and we will list the updates then. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
regionalnews I know members of the Region have been very busy working on their cars during the lockdown period, posting photos of what they have been up to on our WhatsApp group forum. I will ask those members to do a little piece for July’s edition. Stay safe and keep well. Forthcoming events 2020 - please check all dates with the event organisers as we get closer July Sunday 5 – Lichfield Cars in the Park (contact Tim - limited spaces x15). Sunday 12 – Shrewsbury Classic Car Festival SY5 8EX - Pay on the Gate £5 (Reserved x16).
North East
Nick Thomas
Welcome to all North East members who have joined the Club recently. We are trying to run a number of events as normally as possible throughout the year, please come and join us. With recent circumstances we have become more virtual, follow our Facebook group to see what is happening and what fellow members are up to. If you are taking advantage of the shutdown to get some jobs done on your BMW please share some photos on our Facebook page, send me an update to include in this report, or write an article for Straight Six. Recent Events
Sunday 26 – Bodrhyddan Hall www.classicshows.org. August Sunday 2 – NEW EVENT Classic car show Stafford Castle. Details to be confirmed... Sun 30 and Mon 31 – Oulton Park Gold Cup (Contact Tim x16 via Phil for tickets). September Sunday 6 – Bodrhyddan Hall wwwclassicshows.org. Sunday 20 – Cholmondeley Castle wwwclassicshows.org. October Sunday 4 – AM Breakfast meet Alderford Lake. northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
places or kitchens), and plenty of chat, loads of food, and some puppy interaction. Forthcoming events North East events recently and over the next few months are very fluid. As I write this I am hoping to be able to keep the monthly meets going in some form, and events that might occur over the next few months are: • Sunday 28 June – Holy Island Run. This event can’t be postponed due to tide times • Friday 31 July – Sunday 2 August – Silverstone Classic • Sunday 2 August – Sports Cars In The Park (rescheduled from May) Print deadlines for Straight Six means last minute changes cannot be captured. Please follow the North East Region Facebook group or keep an eye on the ‘2020 North East Calendar’ on the Club forum for the latest information. I will be very pleased to see you at one or more of our events. Car of the Month The April “Car of the Month” was awarded at the virtual meeting to Richard Parkinson and his blue E34 M5. An unexpected advantage of a virtual meet is Richard could share a video tour of the M5, including close-up views of the underside! All Regional BMWs are eligible to win COTM and a goodie bag supplied by The Polishing Company. Join us at our next monthly meet to be in with a chance of winning.
The April monthly meet was a virtual meet via Zoom due to the Coronavirus shutdown. It was well attended with about 10-12 people (including a new member) dropping in and out as technology worked or didn’t. It was great to see all the participants (some in cars, some in garages, some in foreign www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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regionalnews
North Wales David Allen
07788 718590 northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Well there’s very little to report. Clearly things will change, but when and to what extent? We’ll have to wait and see. As and when I hear about shows that are on, I will let you know. In the meantime stay safe and if you want to be added to the North Wales WhatsApp group, just send me an email or give me a call. If you are like me, your BMW is clean, polished and ready to go. Even when I am walking the dog, plenty of people
North West
Jeff Heywood
are busy cleaning cars, and some are carrying out major restoration; one local person is busy restoring his Vauxhall Chevette. Look after yourselves. Car of the Month If any members would like their car featured, please give me a call.
BMW Car Club GB North West image Twitter: @BMWNW
07801 506632 northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
News Welcome to the June edition of North West News. I’m writing NW News at the beginning of May so the situation may have changed by the time you receive the June issue of Straight Six, but just in case we’re still in lockdown mode we are introducing a ‘NW Lockdown Car of the Month’ - see below. Many of you have kept yourselves busy cleaning and polishing your pride and joy, so why not send me some descriptive words and the best photo of your car and we’ll feature your car on these pages. If we get a good response we might place them in the NW Email Newsletter so the photos are seen sooner… Hopefully come the July issue we’ll have some positive news for a change!
Alloy Wheel Repair – Highly recommended Class Alloys – mobile visiting service, repair and refurb alloy wheels, all finishes including chrome shadowline. He covers most of NW Region. Discount given to Club members, wheel repairs start from £40.00 – contact Steve on 07594 018525 – see Steve’s work on Facebook, search for ‘Class Alloys’. BMW Servicing & Repair – Highly recommended Darren Wood BMW Specialist (0161 425 7403) Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2QB. www.darren-wood.com Lockdown news – Darren Wood’s is still open repairing and servicing cars belonging to emergency services personnel and other key workers etc. Bodywork – Highly recommended David Tully Bodyshop (Tully’s), Rochdale – top class paint/body repair shop. 01706 643866 - www.davidtullyltd.co.uk
The car was finally delivered two days after Boxing Day 2016 and so was just three years old as we moved into 2020. The car has the extended five year BMW Servicing pack on it and I extended the warranty on the car in January this year, just for peace of mind. We have now covered 23k miles in the 650i and it has been fault free, save for a brake disc issue which has become the F13’s Achilles heel – check out the F13 forums, everyone has suffered issues with brake discs at some time. Williams fitted new discs all-round and the car has been perfect ever since… This is our fourth F13 and second 650i (you could say we like the 6er) with that glorious twin-turbo 4.4 V8 pumping out 450hp and shedloads of torque! It is a joy to drive, being quick, comfortable, so well built using quality materials which all help the car swallow mile after mile in sybaritic comfort – it is the ultimate GT! Forthcoming Events 19th July – NW meet at the Swan Provisionally cancelled unless a vaccine is forthcoming! Swan meets are sponsored by Darren Wood BMW Specialists.
Express-dent-removal – Highly recommended Mobile Service - speak to Simon Robinson on 0800 998 9828 or 07767 832255 – or visit www.express-dent-removal.co.uk NW Lockdown Car of the Month The first lockdown CotM is my F13 650i M Sport+. The car was ordered in September 2016 at Williams BMW Rochdale. We chose to go down the BMW Individual route for the paintwork choice and chose ‘Ferrari Red’. The car has a nice spec with the MSport+ pack on it including 20” wheels, Head Up Display, fully extended Black Nappa leather and Harmon Kardon hi-fi, etc.
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regionalnews
South East South East Region sponsored by
Ian Bryant
Chandlers Brighton 01273 769 812
Another month, more cancelled events, at least the stay at home advice is working and good to see the COVID-19 statistics moving in a more positive direction. We will continue to follow their advice and hopefully we can resume events before too long, please watch the South East Region home page for any developments. So with spare time on my hands and staying at home, I have continued to service and maintain everything including lawnmowers and other garden machinery, some of which is running on very fancy surplus BMW oil. Since my last update I’ve had a few projects on the go and these are outlined below: The main project has been on the Z4M, removing rust from the front panel. This appears to be a common problem with the E85s that you see when you lift the bonnet. The front panel, although much of it has a plastic cover over the black finished metal, is prone to rusting, which looks very unsightly when the rest of the engine bay is immaculate. So I decided to investigate further. I stripped much of the paint in the worst areas using a wire brush on the drill. I was pleased to see this was only surface rust and only seemed to affect the top of this panel so I did not need to remove the radiators etc. I just tackled the bad bits on the top exposed area. Once I stripped the paint, I cured the rust with Bilt Hamber Deox Gel (Rust Remover), great stuff, you apply and leave for 30 minutes and agitate with wire wool, then repeat if necessary. Next step is to protect, I highly recommend POR15 Rust Preventative system, a three-part system, cleaner degreaser, metal prep followed by rust preventative paint, very easy to use. Top tip, this stuff goes a long way so I recommend buying a small starter kit, for larger areas I suggest buying the six-pack small cans as the rust preventative paint goes off quickly once opened. This paint dries seriously hard after three days, it does however require a topcoat for UV protection. I spoke to Frost. co.uk paint restoration specialists and they recommended Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black spray for the topcoat, which provided a decent finish.
southeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Hailsham 01323 306 106 Worthing 01903 444821
www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw
BARONS CC20133 =
15% discount code
So with everything back together and the engine bay looking great, now was the time to install an eVenturi Carbon intake. Installation was pretty easy, the quality of the eVenturi solution is excellent and is certainly more in keeping with the beautiful S54 engine. Project number two, brake pads for my son Sam’s M240i. Last year I replaced the pads on the M235i and decided to try Brembo pads as I previously had good experience with these and felt the stock BMW pads made by Jurid were not that great. Fitting the new Brembo pads front and rear is an easy job once you find the right size punch to drive the retaining pins out. Sam collected his car and reported that the brakes have more bite and much better feel with the new pads, which matches my observation. Project number three, a friend’s E46 330Ci oil change. Nice and easy, plus an investigation of the occasional flicker of the amber engine warning light that indicates emissions running outside of tolerance, not so easy. I checked all the error codes and found an error on Bank 2 cylinder 4,5,6 pre cat oxygen sensor. My diagnostic tool allowed me to run tests and the sensor seemed okay. I checked and cleaned the connections. I then decided to clean the Mass Air Sensor as this can affect fuelling and it was dirty. I put everything back and cleared the codes. I could not re-create the error so I have returned the 330Ci to the owner and will monitor. If the sensor does need replacing in the future they are circa £190 each and the recommendation is to replace both. With spare time on my hands I decided to research this more and found that BMW used Denso sensors which are readily available for 70% less. I contacted Denso who were very helpful and they confirmed the part numbers and they do supply oxygen sensors for the M54 engine and many other BMWs. As to what I will do if the oxygen sensor needs replacing, my strong preference is genuine parts, however this is an option. So until the next update, stay safe and hopefully we will be able to meet soon. Key Events 5 July - The German Car Show, The Hawth Crawley. BMW/ Porsche and Mercedes. 11-12 July - Michelham Priory 19 July - Sherborne Castle run by Wessex Region 20 September - The Warren Classic Concours d’ Elegance run by East Anglia Region Watch the BMW South East Region home page https:// bmwcarclubgb.uk/regions/south_east.html for latest updates.
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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South Wales Jonathan Bamford Welcome to our South Wales Region June news. Firstly, I hope everyone is safe and by now we are all (hopefully) working our way back to normality. If this is your first Straight Six issue, then welcome to the group. We run WhatsApp groups for chat and event info so, please message me if you wish to be added. I will also continue to use the Club’s MailChimp system to send out messages to ensure everyone receives them. The whole world has been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, which in turn has not given me very much news or events to report this month. It just leaves me with the news of the events that we have lined up that, at the time of writing, are still going ahead. 14th June – BMW Show, Santa Pod Raceway. SUSPENDED We have a handful of tickets left which are available to members. Please contact me if you wish to attend. 25th July – Summer Action Day, Castle Combe. This has replaced our booking for Spring Action day. If you purchased a ticket for that event then it is still valid. We have more space for those members who are interested in attending, so long as this event goes ahead. 5th September – Forge Action Day, Castle Combe. This has been provisionally booked and our club has secured a stand for the show. If you would like to attend, please contact me for the booking details. Price is £17.50 per car and can include 3 passengers.
southwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
It is the twin turbo 3ltr monster pushing 411bhp with 550Nm of torque. For now, John is happy with its performance. However, he is planning to carry out modifications once the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted. Whatever he has in mind, I’m sure it will go very nicely with the already added carbon fibre gear lever and handbrake cover. The BMW 666M wheels set this car off nicely, letting you know that it’s the Competition spec, while the roof panel is not your standard carbon fibre, as this car was produced to include the rare sunroof option. Finished off in Sunset Orange metallic paint, it is a credit to John and all the hard work put into his car. Hopefully this, and many more members’ cars, can be seen at one of our up and coming shows for the season.
Weekend of 18th September – Round Wales Trip. Proving to be a great trip already. Plans to cover all the great sights of our wonderful country. Organised photoshoot at Portmeirion and much more. Register your details with me. Normally, our monthly meetings are held at the Twelve Knights Pub in Margam, SA13 2DB. They are held on the third Wednesday of every month. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and share your passion for cars. They start between 6:30pm and 7:00pm, with some arriving slightly earlier for food. Once these events are up and running again, you will be informed via email. Members’ Cars This month I would like to share this fantastic M2 Competition with you. It belongs to John Pellew who has owned the car since November 2018 and, as many of us, it is his pride and joy.
Thames Tony Skerrett Good to hear that Jeff and Hilary Leeks are fine as are the E31 Magnificent trio of Gary Jackson, Sir Roy Pugh and Phil Starr. The bad news is that Sir Roy has decided to refrain from purchasing an M6 which is a pity as it would be fun to see him negotiate the Littlebury humps. I know through Facebook that Eddie ‘Fletch’ Fletcher is extolling the virtues of his E30. Have heard from one or two more as well. Future Events It is my every intention to resurrect two or three postponed events: Peak District Tour – July/August Cotswold Tour – August East Coast Seaside Trip – all subject to lockdown restrictions Bicester Sunday Scramble 2020 – postponed to June but I have my doubts due to the large number of the public milling around - watch the magazine and various social media channels for updates as we near the date. July 19th – Henley Traditional Car and Boat Festival. Still on but also, I have my doubts. July 31st – 2nd August – Silverstone Classic – still on, please keep looking at the website!
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07879 404648 thames@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
30/31st August – Broughton Castle Festival of Transport. 4th October – Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble. Subject to Government restrictions it might be possible to visit other popular sites, I will do my best to keep members informed via the newsletter. All factory visits have been cancelled. My Car by Jeff Leeks 2006 5 Litre Tiptronic V8 BMW 550i M Saloon (E60) – Blue Lady
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
regionalnews We bought our 2006 Le Mans Blue 550iM Tiptronic with twotone leather interior in black/champagne with a very highly spec’d option list including sunroof, head up display, and 19” Alpina wheels from Sytner Maidenhead in November 2011 with 35,500 miles. This is my daily car, currently with only 70,500 miles. Initially I was only getting 22mpg so I went to Superchips in Buckingham to have a special chip developed and fitted instead of their standard improved BHP chip, which I didn’t really need. My objective was primarily fuel economy with a small increase in BHP, currently 395BHP delimited, now I get 27mpg with an improved amazing range of torque throughout the rev band. I suggest you check out Superchips, who I consider the best in the UK at very reasonable prices, we recovered our new chip cost within a year. Although a very powerful, fast car it is quiet, comfortable, very driveable and exhilarating to drive on 19” Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres. I consider it a far better car than an M5, which I find too aggressive with very high fuel consumption, and our 550iM insurance is much lower. Reliability has been very good, except having to have a new CCU (central computer unit) installed and Adaptive Zenon headlight replaced due to a failed motor, both very expensive items. My Car by Roger Clifford Proposed new car – BMW 118i
Ezra Carde, ex-USA, now resident in Buckingham UK. Bought this 2003 E31 for £3,750 about eight years ago. It’s now at over 250,000 miles, and still runs great! Found it in a farmer’s barn. Mine is kind of rare, in that it is the only year of the 850Ci’s to come with an M70 engine, versus an M73. Before 1993 it was known as the 850i. There were 847
2003
regionalnews Now, on tour in Portugal
a worthy successor to the M1. Speculation was ratcheted up another notch by two further prototypes, the BMW Nazca C2 (Tokyo 1992) and its open-top sibling, the C2 Spider (1993). But the BMW Nazca M12 never made it into series production. Dear Thames Members, Which was aYouTube shame, of course, but not I was watching and the subject of the my one-way car came ticket to obscurity it might Group up. This was a good videohave frombeen. SouthBecause Africa. I BMW was very Classic together a treasure troveMercedes. They brimming with pleasedhas as itgathered came out very well, it even beat FORGOTTEN HEROES – and delight in telling fascinating praised the car, saying the ridewe and handling werethe excellent. The stories behind thesesounforgettable milestones in BMW iDrive was brilliant, not a bad word was said. I hopehistory. to get my to the Jeff Leek article inwait. Hope SS6 June to Issue. newCorrection car now, hopefully in June and cannot see Jeff requested beLittlebury known that the Gearbox in the you Leek all in has the near future itattothe Hotel.
Tim Maltby Maltby Wessex Tim
Barons Barons Farnborough Farnborough 01252 883 565 Greetings, and I trust that these words find you and your families in good health. Another month travelled along the road of lockdown, and it is odd looking at the diary and seeing at least three of our key events scheduled for April and May cancelled. I for one definitely miss the banter and camaraderie at such events, pub meets and Wilton Wake Ups to name but a few. One upside is how little petrol I have used! NewFollowing Forest Treasure on fromHunt last month’s theme of ‘What we did We at our usual the St pictures Leonard’sfrom Hotel, for coffee lastmet Summer’, hererendezvous, are some more Eric. It’s ahard chatto and a chance check out the cars.days the biting wind imagine in to these recent sunny Athat staggered began at 2.00pm andlaunch the 36.8 mile drive of through swept start across Thruxton at the last March the the most new Z4! stunning New Forest countryside began. It must be said that one or two of us did considerably more than 36.8 miles. With 45 questions to solve, our navigators were kept busy. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk During the drive we saw New Forest ponies and their foals, longhorn cattle and everyone’s favourite, donkeys, all roaming freely
Aston Martin Tremac and the following 850Ci’s made(pictured in 1993, below) so it is is byafar the rarest of the M70 cars. pictures his carabout are the I amfor deeply sorry for They onlyofmade 370correct of the ones. M73 cars the US market getting such a The tangle. Won’t happen though in (1994+). M73 had an extra again. 30HP, and a 5 speed auto versus a 4 speed. The M70 runs on regular, whereas the M73 runs on premium. The extra HP can be gained in the M70 with a $500 chip, and the 5 speed transmission was far more prone to failure than the 4 speed, so it’s arguable that the 1993 model year is the most desirable of the non-CSi variants. A manual transmission (only available with the M70 engine) doubles the value of the car, and a CSi badge quadruples the value. 07885 252448 wessex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Barons Hindhead 01428 853 357
Sharon and Mike were the winners and also the quickest, so congratulations to them. The sun shone all day, there wasn’t a traffic jam in sight, just a perfect day out. Our thanks to Belinda and Julian for organising the whole event and setting all the questions. In conclusion a brilliant day out and one that will be repeated in the future. Eric Thompson BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020 59 Diary Dates 2019 National Festival Gaydon 11th August. If you are parking up
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:39:59 pm
particularly in the Covid-19 situation as seen on one of our recent walks. I apologise that it’s not a BMW. Is there anything that you have done that has been influenced by recent events? Recent Events Looking ahead to what may or may not be happening this July, I can confirm that the Supercar and Classics Sunday at Sherborne Castle has been cancelled. The date for next year has been arranged for Sunday 18th July 2021. The Wilton Wake Ups are always well attended, along with some more unusual cars. This black Pontiac Chieftain convertible, circa 1952 as an example. Another car rarely seen on the roads is this orange Porsche 914. I am always impressed by other people’s creativity,
Forthcoming Events Saturday 27th June - Norden Train Station (Corfe Castle) Steam train to Swanage. To be confirmed. Sunday 19th July - Classics & Supercars, Sherborne Castle Cancelled. New Date: Sunday 18th July 2021.
OVER 10 YEARS BMW DEALERSHIP EXPERIENCE GENUINE PARTS USED MOT’S ARRANGED FREE NEW PURCHASE APPRAISAL
AAA business park, 7 Camps Industrial Estate, East Calder, EH27 8DF
01506 885 788
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registernews 02 Richard Stern Why not share your 02 project and updates here? What would you like to see in the 02 Register section? What about some interactive blogs? Technical presentations? Let me know your thoughts please – 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk With all car shows cancelled so far, we need to keep it interesting. There is some great new Car of the Months coming up over the next few months on the 02 Register site – so watch out for them. Le Mans Classic – Postponed until next year, check with the agent you booked with for either a refund or transfer to 2021. 02 Front driving light fitting. Do I drill the bumper? Do I fit them to the front panel? Here is a useful site that sells brackets so no need for drilling any holes, also sells the Kamie front spoiler for 02’s /www.probimmer.com/Pierre/2002_auxilliary_ lamp_brackets.htm BMW 2002 WITH FORMULA 2 ENGINE
Taken over five years to build and finally debuted in the 2019 season, this BMW 2002 is Mario Minichberger´s last creation and the very car that Minichberger Motorsport’s owner is now driving on the Berg-Cup series. Powered by a M12/7 Formula 2 Engine in Naturally Aspirated form and built up to an incredible standard, it is also an amazing machine and possibly the Ultimate interpretation of the Classic 2000cc Gruppe H Berg-Cup Monster.
07770 443373 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Not only is it remarkably powerful with the legendary powerplant here in its 2.0L Naturally Aspirated Formula 2 spec with over 305Hp at 10,800rpm (the engine block that originated the 1000+Hp 1.5L Turbo engine of Formula 1 fame), it also has pretty much every body panel built in Carbon Fibre to achieve a final weight of 835Kg. Add to that a whole host of top-of-the-line “modern goodies” like a paddle-operated 6-speed sequential Gearbox and KW suspension, all put together by arguably the most successful Berg-Cup tuner of the last decade. Images and video here; www.youtube.com/ watch?v=NdEgm-UYEwo 2020 key events – we’ll just have to see when things return to “normal”, whatever the new normal is, and hopefully start seeing events pop up again later this year. But I think this year might be written off to be honest. Time to get those projects finished ready for next season? At time of writing this I should have been on the DID-Day at Bicester Heritage 26th April, but sadly instead all I got to do was “Drive-way day”. Our usual plaque supplier is offering some superb rally plaques with all proceeds going to the NHS charities, if not too late you can order one here for £10 www.shop.dragonflyrally.co.uk/NHS-CharityFundraising-Rally-Plate Bavaria Tour 2021 latest news June 19th 2020, 20:00 - Portal goes online informative Nominations are not yet possible. June 26th 2020, 20:00 - Members of the BMW 02 Club e.V. can already name with a special password. July 3rd 2020, 20:00 - The portal is open without restriction to all for mention. Up-to-date information is available on the website of BAVARIA TOUR 2021 Bavaria-tour.info, published in due course. Changes in the process are subject to change. Greetings and stay healthy, Andy Andexer Organisation, BAVARIA TOUR 2021 Tail Pipe Kevin Lagae’s video on how to fit 02 replica front wings, also search YouTube for other videos of Kevin’s 02 interest; youtu.be/ IL7tU9_dBPM
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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1 Series
Anthony Mason
Onesies What to do with a car that you are not allowed to drive anywhere? This month I’ve mainly cleaned and fuelled the car whilst waiting for the lockdown to be over so I can start attending meets again. 4th May (Monday) should have been the Ace Cafe German night - but it was just another day at home. Monday 11th May was the 82nd London meet, and we attended it virtually again as we are not able to attend the pub, which is closed. During these unprecedented times, it’s time to fix those annoying issues; I suggest you change your roundel, you’ll be amazed at the difference it can make. I changed mine on the 130i a couple of months before I sold it, it was something I had noticed, but lived with for so long I’d stopped noticing it. I really like details, sometimes I look at something as a whole, and you can’t see things like that, but I loved concentrating on little DIY jobs that only I would probably notice. It reminds me of going to shows and you see the most immaculate cars and you can see the pride that’s gone into the preparation. My friend Richard is sending weekly updates of cleaning progress and he’s gone into deep recesses of the car
3 Series
Simon Maskell
In this month’s news we hear from a member who has had a life-long connection with BMWs of one sort or another, and he tells us about his past, as well as current cars. I think you will agree after reading his story that Greg is definitely an E21 man and that is just how it should be. My first foray into the world of BMW was around 36 years ago as a late teenager, whilst starting my business career selling cars as a side-line. My first drive back in 1984 in a lightly used 1981 W registered E21 323i had me hook line and sinker! Especially compared to my other stock of Mini Metros, Talbot Sambas and Mk2 Escorts. The twin exhausts, black hoop coach line and wide BBS cross spokes were a package to die for. It would have been the one to keep, but needs must and it had to be sold. Once life allowed, I secured my own E21 316 in black with gold hoop coach stripe and alloys, which I did keep for a while at least. Jump forward some years and with various other quality cars through my hands I had the urge to have something a little more substantial from Germany in the toy box. So after much deliberation, in 2003 I secured what I believe could be the best looking car BMW ever made, an immaculate 840 in Hellrot, with black leather and the best looking cross spokes I have ever seen. 17 years later she still gives me the same feeling when I open the garage door, sheer delight! However I still had a yearning to go back to where it all started, an E21. So you know how it goes, out comes the Auto Trader, eBay is put on alert and the scanning starts. Despite setting myself a very tight wish list of early chrome mirror 320i models (before the 323i), in as basic a trim as
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making it look like a restoration rather than a clean. My friend Milan has recently refurbed his alloys, taking the opportunity to clean and waxoyl the arches. It’s scary what time and car passion can do. What have you done? What are your plans for the remainder of the lockdown? Let me know at 1series@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.
3series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
possible for the true feeling of age, a potential candidate popped up on the horizon. Only 10 miles from home made it even more attractive. So within half an hour I was there looking over her. A 1975 320i in Fjord blue metallic. Just one door mirror, 4 cylinder, 4 speed, no power steering, wind up windows etc. The best bit was the chap who was selling it was willing to do business there and then and remove it from sale. So we were back with the truck within the hour and on the back she went. The owner then came out of the house with two lever arch folders, full to the brim with receipts and history from day one, this is the Holy Grail I thought. This little car had only covered 26,000 miles from new, having been owned by a hospital surgeon and then his wife. They even had the envelopes from the BMW agent in which the invoices had been posted out. Also the warranty for the dealer cavity protection treatment, which has proved a wise investment. The bill for the first BMW concessionaire service was £8.00, those were the days, eh? So once the little E21 was recommissioned with some love and attention, she was back on the road and being admired once more. This car, being the 1975 change over year, has more in common with the older 2002 it replaced, making it even more rudimentary than a slightly younger E21. She still only has 28,000 miles on the clock. A few years later a fancy for an early E12 5 Series came and didn’t go, so the search was on. A very early low mileage www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
registernews E12 525i in Sienna Brown was added to the growing fleet, followed by a lovely Hellrot E38 to match the 8 Series. Like other passionate car guys, I have other marques in the fleet, but it is the feel of a well-preserved older BMW, which does it for me. As I am writing this in the lockdown period, we have taken the opportunity to strip the back axle and suspension out of the E21, as after 45 years it was a little crusty. As a living testament to the build quality of these early cars, every nut, bolt and fitment came undone with minimal fuss. New OE suspension parts were obtained from Germany within three days and the rest of the parts were powder coated. Being interested in these cars is a harmless pastime which gives a great deal of pleasure meeting likeminded people, at both the monthly club meetings and various events up and down the country and abroad, resulting in some fantastic memories and many friendships which have lasted over the past 30 odd years. In these very uncertain times, we all have the true constant of the love for a good car. Be it old, new, slow or fast, stock or modified, get out there and enjoy them! Greg Frost, North East Region.
3 Series E30
Neil McDonald
e30register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Continued from last month’s E30 Register News...
I managed to persuade the recovery guy to have a go at least. I carefully guided him towards the narrow alleyway which accessed the rear of the house. We had to fold both of the truck’s mirrors in and rely on me guiding him back towards the house. After about 20 minutes manoeuvring and a few scrapes (oops!) we reached the centre of the alleyway where it spread out a bit. We lined up the truck and had a straight shot at pulling the car out. After over 10 years standing outdoors the tyres were flat and the brakes seized on but luckily the handbrake had been left off. We hooked up the Sport to the winch on the truck and started to pull it up. Three of the brakes eased off during the pull but the front right remained locked solid, which made the car skew to one side whilst winching. This meant we had to stop regularly and try to straighten the thing up. After about 30 minutes of sweating and cursing, the car was safely on. What a relief! I followed the truck on our way to where I had arranged to store it temporarily. There was a mixture of excitement and dread as I watched it on its journey. I had secured a very rare and beautiful car for next to nothing, the problem was that it wasn’t looking very beautiful at the moment. We arrived at the storage place, the problem now was how to get the car off the transporter? After a bit of thinking, we utilised a nearby skip and attached a winch to it. We were able to slowly winch the car down bit by bit until eventually it was off. I thanked the recovery guy and he was off, leaving me alone with the Sport. Time for a look around and see how much I had taken on. The front of the car had been sort of undercover, so was in slightly better condition than the rear, which was a real mess! www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
The rear panel and both rear quarters were totally rotten, there was a huge hole the size of your fist in the right rear quarter! The manual sunroof was rusty and would not work, this could be a major problem, I thought. Underneath looked OK at first glance, but it was hard to tell at the moment. One pleasant surprise was the interior, sure it was grotty and mouldy but the only seat with damage was the passenger one, which had a ripped bolster. The M Tech 1 steering wheel was missing as was the correct gear knob and gaiter, however the unique black headlining was still present and looked OK. The body kit was all there and in good condition, including the rare rear spoiler. The car had aftermarket 15” MiM alloy wheels, which were in need of a refurb, another job for my rapidly expanding to-do list! End of Part 2.
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3 Series E46 Simon Maskell Apologies for the lack of news last month, but I am making a comeback! As I write this we are still under full restriction so I have no idea what the world will look like when you lovely people get to read this. So let’s not dwell on that and move onto a subject I wasn’t too familiar with until speaking to serial E46 parts supplier, Nick Jupp. For those who read my recent report on where to source E46 spares from, the name Nick Jupp appears front and centre. When I interviewed him for that report, he had talked about his love of AC Schnitzer. He has since purchased a lovely E46 AC Schnitzer and so I asked him about it and his thoughts on the brand. The car Nick has just purchased is an E46 330 touring, but given the full AC treatment and is badged an ACS 3. There weren’t factory cars as such, merely a customer could order some accessories and then the dealer would fit them (£12K to this level, a lot of money back then). Mechanically, power is increased using a supercharger, an ECU remap plus a lovely carbon intake and associated pipework, plus an AC Schnitzer short shift kit. The rest of the mods were more cosmetic, save for the uprated suspension option, which was stiffer and lower and includes the spoilers, wheels and back box. Nick reckons that there were 15 original cars, out of that number two were Tourings, the other one being in Germany. I think it’s fair to say you won’t see another one soon! This is not the first AC Schnitzer Nick has had, the previous two being too rusty to save, but the AC parts were saved for future use. Interestingly the cars that were converted tended to be quite basic, presumably due to the relative high cost of the conversion. The main supplying dealer was called Rossiters, but any main dealer could get the parts. It is nice to see such a clean example of what was back in its day a rare sight and hopefully Nick keeps it to enjoy for many years to come. Remember, if you want any E46 spares, Nick can be contacted at German Car Spares on 07828 322483. In other news, my spanners have been out and tackling another common E46 fault, that of a failed window regulator. The disappointing thing is of the four cars I own it was the lowest mileage one that failed; typical. There are plenty of videos on YouTube which assist in helping the job go swimmingly, but it was replaced with a second hand part from Nick Jupp and all is well again. The symptoms of the failure were a slow
3 Series E9x
Julian Pickering
Hello everybody. I hope you are all keeping well during this very difficult time. I am writing this report in late April and so maybe the lockdown will have eased by the time you read this in early June, let’s hope so. I have received two very interesting reports this month from E9x owners. The first was from Jonathan Stockham, a new Club member and the proud owner of “Bella”, a lovely E93 325i M Sport in Le Mans Blue with a cream leather interior. Jonathan and I share a passion for sailing on the Beaulieu River but that is another story. Amazingly, this car had only just over 11,000 miles on the clock when he bought her in September 2019, with
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e46register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
speed as the window tried to come up, plus the window wasn’t rising squarely. Many may think the motor is gone, but it is the regulator that is driven by the motor to blame. Mine had failed, as there was slop in the system and it now works beautifully. That’s all from me for now, hopefully there will be light at the end of the tunnel soon and we can get back to enjoying our cars. e90register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
one owner from new. Jonathan comments: “I pounced! She’s great to drive on the original 18” wheels and, with an auto box, great fun for runs out in the country. Just as the good weather arrives, of course, we are in lockdown but the car has been in secure garaging throughout the winter and she’ll be looked after until we are all allowed out to play again.” You can see from the photograph how lovely Bella is, but unfortunately she suffers from a leak in her roof just over the driver’s seat area. Jonathan has been following my advice in the May edition of Straight Six and has been cleaning out the roof drains but this has failed to stop the leak. I have therefore suggested that he contacts Cayman Autos in Redhill, Surrey, who are specialists in the refurbishment of E93 roofs. I don’t have personal experience of their service but from their website many people have been very satisfied with the quality of their work. If any E93 owners have direct experience of roof repairs, please get in touch and I will pass on the information to Jonathan. The second report I have received this month has come from Matt Crane. Matt has owned an E90 325i SE LCI since 2007. It is his first BMW but he says it will not be his last. She is the lovely looking silver car in the attached photographs, with a cream leather and wood interior (remarkably free of stone www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
registernews chips – how do you manage this Matt?). The car has a very good specification with many options fitted. Matt comments: “In fact, the only options I think I am missing are electric/memory seats and folding rear seats. Anyway, the car is my pride and joy, I don’t drive for work so the mileage is pleasure and road trips only (now about 45k). To drive, it is so much better than anything else I have had; quiet, refined, pulls well and when you put it into Sport+ and wind it on a bit, a lot of fun. Being an SE, it rolls a bit through the corners but you’d expect that. My brother’s M Sport corners like it’s on rails but potholes are a total nightmare! As an all-rounder, I think this is a good balance - it’s also a bit of a sleeper, people who don’t really follow the BMW model designations are surprised at how swift it is!” Matt has changed the wheels from the original BMW 284’s to M Sport 194’s, so the car now has wider rear tyres, which improves the handling. He says,“I have tinted the rear windows (Pentagon Glass in Reading - excellent guys there) as it looks better given the colour of the car and the light interior. I have also added a small boot-lip to really finish off the back end neatly.” The car is certainly a great credit to you Matt – well done! Thank you to Jonathan and Matt for these reports. Please keep them coming E9x owners. Until the next Straight Six, stay safe!
4 Series
Paul Roberts
I’m writing this article in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, so firstly I do hope everyone is keeping safe. We will get through this very difficult time and reflect on our experiences in the future. I do suspect it will change the way we lead our lives and I for one do expect to try and do all the things I want to do sooner now rather than later! However, on to the matter at hand. All of the excursions planned for this year so far have now been either cancelled or postponed. Personally we still have to decide at some point soon whether we are able to have our week in Wales in July. More on this next time. In the meantime you may recall that a few issues ago I made mention of the fact that I needed to have two new rear tyres on my car. This has prompted a response from Mark Lee in respect of a 435d M Sport Coupe (Tanzanite Blue with Oyster leather), which he bought new but moved on to an M4 Competition recently. I am therefore reproducing one of Mark’s e-mails as follows: “The car came on Bridgestone runflats which were noisy, hard-riding and (as I discovered to my cost) only grip when warm. As the car has the XDrive 4WD system it’s very important to keep the rolling radius of all four tyres close (to avoid axle wind-up and potential transmission system damage), so I had to change all four tyres at the same time, which was inevitably expensive. I did quite a lot of research before getting new tyres and discovered there were only a small number of ‘star’-rated (i.e. BMW approved) runflats available. I also discovered from various Internet forums that it is recommended to stick with approved tyres to preserve the drivetrain warranty. It is also recommended to stick with runflats from a safety perspective. This means you have a limited choice from Continental (which I would not recommend, having had them on an Audi and Mercedes - unless you enjoy the feeling of zero grip on a dry road when half worn), Pirelli (which didn’t get good reviews), Bridgestone or Goodyear (which had consistency good reviews). I went with the Goodyear Eagle F1s and... They totally transformed the car! The ride was a lot quieter and significantly more comfortable - almost as if I’d ditched the runflats or gone to a smaller wheel or higher profile tyres (the car was on 19” wheels). I was amazed at how much they improved the car and would highly recommend them if you are changing tyres again - or to anyone else, for that matter, who’s running a 3 or 4 Series. I didn’t find the wear rate to be noticeably higher than with the Bridgestone’s and grip and www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
4series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
handling were also very good. As an all-round tyre, I’d highly recommend the F1s. Finally, they are not too expensive, though I was lucky to find a deal that gave me a 5% discount. So, conclusions seem to be the Eagle F1 for stock 3/4 Series on runflats (which I can personally vouch for). I tend to be a bit picky with tyres as they are the only thing that keeps you out of a ditch.” As far as my car is concerned I have Bridgestone Potenza 5001’s on the rears and Goodyear Eagle F1’s on the front. Looking at my wheels the next job will be to get the alloys repaired as all four are marked. This is going to be expensive so I will wait obviously until I’m able to talk directly to one of a couple of recommended providers. Mark also sent me a picture of his 4 Series taken at the 2018 BM’s on the Lawn event so I’m attaching this.
Finally, I couldn’t resist including another picture of my car “all dressed up and nowhere to go”! Until the next time.
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5 Series E12
Pat Tremain
I have been thinking that I should write something for the Register, and especially about Non-M535i E12’s and about how many might actually be left, as I only had details of five vehicles that were not M535i’s. I needn’t have worried as member Fred Marsh-Allen, the owner of a very nice and rare 528, must have been reading my mind and dropped me an e-mail containing most of the information I had wanted to write about. See his article elsewhere in this issue about the restoration of his E12 528 (carbs). The numbers on the attached list of howmanyleft.co.uk may not be absolutely accurate but they do give you an idea of how many at a given time. As you can see from the breakdown list there are very few of any version of E12. I would say that I believe there are a few more M535i than shown but that is still not many of the original 450 RHD. There are quite a few still undergoing restoration and coming to light in barns etc. This must also be the case with any E12, but these were not as loved or cared for especially after the introduction of the E28 5 Series Fred has been a great help updating the details of the cars I do know about, and a lot of additional information on Non-M cars via various online sales sites and forums, so a big thanks for that. If any Club member has or knows of any E12 BMW of any description and in any condition even if it is in storage or being restored, please let me know. The list below is as of 7th April 2020 and may change when some cars go back on the road during the summer, as the cut off for free tax is 1980. 518: 4 OTR and 7 SORN 520: 3 OTR and 11 SORN
5 Series E28
Mark Cox
Welcome to the E28 Register news. I hope you are all keeping well during these bizarre times. I am actually very busy with work, but the time saved from commuting and not really being able to go anywhere has provided an opportunity to do a job I have been meaning to tackle for a while. I have had a weeping power steering pump for a while, and with new pumps being quite expensive I decided to buy a repair kit with new seals and gaskets from BMW and tackle the job. This has subsequently sat in my workshop for around eighteen months but I have now actually attacked the task and it was not too bad a job to take on.
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e12register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
520A: 6 OTR and 7 SORN 520i: 1 OTR and 2 SORN 520ia 0 OTR and 0 SORN 525: 0 OTR and 2 SORN 525a: 5 OTR and 8 SORN 528: 1 OTR and 0 SORN 528a: 1 OTR and 3 SORN 528i: 2 OTR and 12 SORN 528ia: 2 OTR and 5 SORN M535i: 12 OTR AND 51 SORN Hope everyone has stayed safe in the current difficult circumstances and I sincerely hope that by the time this article is published all this will be behind us. e28register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
On models like my M535i with the brake sphere, you have to press the brake pedal twenty times to de-pressurise the system then removal of the pump is as easy as slackening off the drive belt, removing the pair of hydraulic hoses and draining the fluid, then the bolts holding the pump to the block. Once off, the pump is held together with four bolts and opening it up reveals the first rubber seals to be replaced. The inner ring has both a plastic and a rubber seal, the outer ring is a single rubber seal. You can then gently prise off the centre section, remove the circlip and remove the pulley shaft, before you turn it over to replace the end seal, keep your hand over the casing so that the pump vanes stay in place. Then prise out the end seal and replace with the new one from the kit, making sure it’s fully home. Fit it all back together with the new circlip provided and hopefully it will still work and be leak free. I took the opportunity to clean up the casing, brackets and other parts whilst it was all apart. Now I have the bug and will do some more cleaning up whilst I am in there I think! If you have been doing anything with your E28s or if you have an interesting ownership story please drop me a message. Hopefully we can start planning some activities later in the year once the Covid-19 situation eases. Take care and stay safe.
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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5 Series E34 Manj Sandhu A couple of issues ago I talked about the work carried on my 535i to bring it up to speed. One element I did not delve into was the condition of the interior. With approximately 170,000 miles on the clock, the car is no spring chicken. It would be fair to say that there are many areas of improvement required to get even close to bringing the E34 up to showroom condition. As you can see from the picture, it has black leather with a black dashboard and dark grey carpet. The leather is looking a little worn in places, although it is in line with usage and mileage.
The sinister all black look is in striking contrast to the Alpine White exterior. The two colours work well together in my opinion. If I am honest, it took me a while to come around to liking the white exterior colour. My father had a white Vauxhall Cavalier growing up and the colour would not have been my first choice even back then. Having said that, it did grow on me over time. It does help to accentuate the bodylines on the E34. Enough of my thoughts, let me know what you all think on the colour and which of the E34 interior/exterior colours are the best and why? Thinking back, I have never owned a black or white vehicle until this 535i. For whatever reason, I may have struggled to appreciate the attraction of the two opposing extremes of shade. I might be showing my age here, but period correct colours always appeal to me more. I would take the likes of Dolphin Grey, Lachs Silver, Bronze Beige, Luxor-Beige, Zinnober Red, Daytona Violet, Malachite Green, Macao Blue, Cirrus Blue, Cosmos Blue and Glacier Blue, etc. over the two run of the mill
7 Series
Matthew Swanborough
Will our 7s emerge from lockdown in better condition than ever? There’s no escaping the fact that for many, if not most, lockdown has been an incredibly challenging time. If not for loss of jobs, loss of social interaction and the rest, for many it has been simply a challenge in terms of finding things to do. As someone who in recent years has decided consciously to get more stuck in and involved in the maintenance of my cars, at great risk to the car on one occasion, I feel as if this has been a true blessing. Not only does doing your own maintenance allow cost savings, but you can ensure that the best OEM parts are used and even buy the tools required for less than what a reputable independent garage might charge. It is for me to some degree an opportunity for a bit of escapism while I get absorbed in the task or challenge at hand. Whether it be puzzling how to get a seemingly immovable control arm bushing out or half way through a VANOS rebuild and looking back at a very immobilised car. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
e34register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
shades mentioned. For example, I would not change my bronze beige E32 750i over the much sought after black version that most E32 buyers seem to be praying/vying for and patiently seeking. Some waiting years and years. Am I alone in sharing such thoughts here? I know what some of you might be thinking – similar to what my kids tell me when I mention my preference for those period colours, ‘it is because you are old fashioned dad!’ – Funnily enough, I think they might be right (I am only 47!), although they might be close to the mark! In my defence, the period colours have character and a charm, more so than the colours of modern day cars, which to my eyes all look a tad lifeless and boring. There is no doubt that more recently, white and its various shades have become the ‘in’ colour for new owners. For example, my neighbour has three new vehicles and they are all white, sadly though there are no BMWs in his fleet. Do not get me wrong, I do not categorically dislike black or white (obviously I own the 535i Sport), but given a choice, I would prefer something with a little colour. If I could choose any colour for my 535i Sport – Zinnober Red or Glacier Blue please, thank you very much! Back to the interior, there are a few niggles I have not had the chance to get around to tackling yet. One that has been on the list since I bought the car is the rear driver-side door; it does not operate via the central locking. It has not really bothered me, as I only need access to the driver’s door, but my kids are beginning to become a little frustrated with it. I think I just need to find a new window regulator/motor but I have not looked into it. Another niggle relates to the headlining which has come loose around the sunroof opening area. If I do open the sunroof, it leads to the inner headlining material falling out. As a result, I have refrained from opening the sunroof until I can get round to sorting it. As mentioned, I include one interior picture; let me know your thoughts? Finally, the car of the month is another amazing machine, looking fantastic in black, Rupi’s 540i. Hats off to you on a great purchase.
7series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Personally there are a number of jobs I simply wouldn’t attempt, like those on the pretty catastrophic end of issues like transmission failure, blown head-gaskets or stretched timing chains. Those are jobs best left to the professionals. During this lockdown I have taken to sorting a number of minor interior updates and cosmetic issues. Having sold my trusty daily driver 728i of two years and 15,000 miles, I got to work on retrofitting a number of top-end upgrades to the Mora Metallic Individual 728i I wrote about last month. Retrofitting upgrades is not only pretty easy by DIY standards, with plenty of resources available to guide you through step-by-step, but mainly it’s a great way to make your car an even more enjoyable and aesthetically pleasing place to be. Often the hardest part is finding the rare parts, parts such as inlay wood trim, Nappa leather seats, electric rear blinds and individual steering wheels to name a few. A fellow Club member and 7 Series enthusiast, Amjad Ali, has done some seriously impressive work to his 7 during BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
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the lockdown, which I thought others might be inspired by. He found an early facelift 1998 with relatively low miles and in good shape for a 21 year old car. He decided to build an AC Schnitzer tribute car out of it as well as giving the car a thorough mechanical makeover. With access to his brother’s garage, he pulled all the parts together and got stuck into the build Starting with a complete strip down of the underside, all brake pipes were replaced front to back, the whole underside was cleaned and rubbed down, then undersealed including the fuel tank and suspension towers. Every single arm, bush, tie rod, steering arm front and back were replaced, as were brand new brake disks and pads front and rear, including 4 pot Brembos on the front. All of this was topped off with a set of DGR Coilovers. The rear diff was upgraded to a 3.15 shorter ratio diff from a Sport, all now sitting on 20” AC Schnitzer Type IV 2 piece wheels, running 255 and 295 tyres.
8 Series
Debbie Blythe
Hi, I am writing this month’s column at the beginning of May while we are all still in lockdown, hoping that by the time you have got to read this we might have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the virus. If we have and people are still being sensible and keeping to social distancing rules, we might be in a place where we can start to get out in our cars once again and think about attending some events later in the year. So, please see our future events below and we hope to expand that further whenever we get the Government’s all clear. If any of you have any stories, advice, tips etc. that you feel would benefit the other 8 Series owners then please send them to me at 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk and I will try and put them in the next few issues of the magazine, photos are also very welcome.
Some final cosmetic touches like the AC Schnitzer front spoiler, rear window spoiler, rear lip and the figure 8 exhaust tips were all added, giving the car some period correct AC Schnitzer modifications. For the exhaust, the rear bumper was cut, rear silencers deleted and the tips then welded on, these are later tips that have never been used on an E38 before. Custom AC Schnitzer logos were made and added to interior trim being painted gloss black, this lifted the dated wood. Adding electric rear seats, a 10.25” Android head unit, and a 3 spoke earlier steering wheel with paddle shift and a host of other upgrades completes the interior. Having followed Amjad over the last few weeks and watching this lockdown project come to life has been quite incredible, I am sure you will agree the transformation is very impressive! Please do get in touch if you’ve been up to anything similar! 7series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
As we haven’t been able to take any photos of our members’ cars over the past couple of months, I looked through some of our previous meetings and here are just a few of them.
Some of our members’ cars
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registernews Italian Job – 2003; The Juror – 1996; and one of my favourites, Beethoven – 1992, see below.
The Car’s the Star – E31s in the movies If you are a movie fan some of you may have heard of a website called IMDB (Internet Movie Database), it’s an online database of everything film, television and video. Well there is a similar website called IMCDB (Internet Movie Cars Database – www. IMCDB.org ), this is a database of every type of car, truck and motorcycle that has appeared in a film or television programme and you can go in and track your favourite car and see where it has appeared. For the E31 there are 187 entries, and although most of them are just background appearances, they are nevertheless in the shots. I have listed a few of the movies below where an E31 appears, have you seen them and did you spot the E31? Funny Money – 2006; While You Were Sleeping – 1995; Mike Bassett: England Manager – 2001; Rising Sun – 1993; The
Z3 Register
Alan Jones
Welcome to the June edition of Straight Six, hopefully by the time you read this there are small signs that the lockdown will have an end in sight and we can get back to our normal lives, and of course having good rides out in our cars, whichever model you own. I have another member wishing to let everyone know about his car, enjoy. I first met my Z3 (Z3lda) in a very dark car park in Sussex after a band rehearsal in 2012. She belonged to Terry, the bass player, and I had a sit in her. I couldn’t see very much of her at all, but the seat felt comfortable and grippy, and gave off a lovely leather smell. Fast forward three months and Terry needed to sell it because he had bought a puppy and couldn’t get both his girlfriend and dog in the car. With retirement looming I was considering getting a little present for myself, and so did a little research on the Z3 after getting the basic spec of his car. I went to see it on a rainy day, but as I set eyes on it for the first time a ray of sunshine suddenly shone down on it, like in a scene from a movie. I was amazed how pretty she was, the flowing shape with hardly a straight line on her. I walked around her, it was love at first sight. And those wheels! My motor tech son had a good look over (and under) her and said it was all good. I had a short
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Future events – 2020 The future events section is severely reduced to what we had planned for this year and we still do not know if any of the following will still be happening, I will keep in touch by email and magazine. • Saturday 4th July – Cars in the Park, Beacon Park, Lichfield, Staffs, WS13 6RA. We are having a stand for the E31 register. The organisers are making a decision at the end of May about this event. • Sunday 19th July – Summer meet at The Chequers Inn, WOTG, OX25 3QH. 10.00am – 2.00pm, contact me if you would like to join us for a very enjoyable carvery at the pub. • Sunday 27th September – Autumn meet at The Chequers Inn, WOTG, OX25 3QH. 10.00am – 2.00pm, contact me if you would like to join us for a very enjoyable carvery at the pub.
z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
test drive, fabulous! We agreed on a price and Terry said he would deliver it to me after getting a new MOT. Her build date was 16/4/1998. Her paintwork colour is Montreal Blue metallic, which is fabulous in sunlight. She has the extended leather interior in Oregon Beige/Sand Beige with carpet over mats, wood trim to centre console and gear knob. Chrome line interior upgrade, M Sport electric heated seats, M Sport steering wheel, Harman Kardon stereo upgrade, green stripe windscreen, acrylic windbreaker, roll over bars, electric soft top and air conditioning. The wheels are genuine Alpina 20 spoke Softline alloys, these have been fitted by one of four previous owners after delivery. I have had them refurbished once. She has the 2.8 litre M52 engine and a limited slip differential. This model has been road tested in period by Autocar to 134 mph and 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. I have fitted a Strong-Strut rear ‘Butt Strut’ and longitudinal Strong-Strut ‘Body Braces’ (from the USA) and a front ASC strut
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registernews brace, after renewing the suspension springs, shock absorbers, drop links, anti-roll bar bushes and other suspension bushes and parts. Also new brake calipers and parts were fitted, and the handbrake system overhauled with new parts. She has had one new battery. I have fitted new exterior door sills and front mud flaps. I have fitted a new space saver spare wheel. She wears a
Z4 Register
beige tonneau cover when the hood is down (most of the time). I purchased the car with 72k miles on the clock. She now reads 82k and is used regularly when roads are dry, and she won a rosette at the Ludham Classic Car Show last year. I never tire of looking at her, and the urge and sound of that lovely engine is so good.”
Paul Dodds
z4register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Hello and welcome to the June edition of Straight Six. Recently, i Series Register Captain Clive, who is also a Z4 owner, got in touch requesting a buyer’s guide for the E89 Z4. Clive currently drives a 3.0i Z4 and, previous to that, owned an M Coupe amongst other cars. Sadly however I have little experience with the E89 after cancelling my order on a 2.8i a few years back and buying a Coupe. This is where you lovely lot come in as I will be uploading a guide to the forum. However, I would like it if everyone could try and add to it in any way possible to help potential buyers and new Club members. There are reviews all over the internet and on the many forums, but I do believe it can all be a bit hectic at times especially sifting through forum threads to get the answers we are looking for. So I do think it would benefit potential buyers if they have access to an easy to read document with hyperlinks to further resources as well as key information to get them started and ease them into Z4 ownership. Any feedback is welcome and if anyone has any photos to go alongside it would be much appreciated too. That is all for this month but remember you can get in touch via the forum or email at z4register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk for all things Z4 related. Like last month I will leave you with a couple of photos from past club events/runs to let us all be reminded that normal petrol head antics will hopefully return soon.
M Power Richard Baxter, Tristan Glass & John Denny It was bound to eventually happen… Two weeks into first ownership of my Z3M Coupe, firmly in the honeymoon period, still giddy about my purchase. Tempered by the fact that the car has just returned from the garage with a £600 bill. Among the various jobs, the thermostat had been replaced so the temperature gauge now sat where it should (it had been running cold, one of the common issues of the car after later research), and the car was back on the drive. The next day, warming the car up to take a picture of the newly centered temperature gauge for a forum journal thread I do, I heard some strange noises from the engine, best described as if there were marbles resonating about in there somewhere. I used a bar to listen around the engine using it as a crude stethoscope, and yes you guessed it, the noise was coming from the S50’s Vanos unit. Really? How had I managed to get so excited about buying a Z3 that is powered by the M3 3.2 powerplant plagued with Vanos issues, not only being aware of this fact but having owned over 10 other cars with the same engine and no issues! What’s worse is when I read back through the receipts the same noise was remarked upon on one of the service bills, “investigate noise from the engine”, at this point my heart sunk what an absolute schoolboy error. Again worth mentioning, always take a friend or third party to look at a car with you so you are not carried away with your heart, but not someone who loves the car more than you do as they will probably just feed you heart and you’ll both get carried away, I’ve been there. Additionally, although I have owned many M3s from sensible mileage to starship levels, I never have had to replace a Vanos unit. I had one with leaking seals, and I have bought a couple that had BMW warranty units in them, but never actually had the
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common issue myself, so this is why my guard was down a bit, and I guess ultimately I was bound to get caught at some point. All I can put it down to is the fact that now the engine was at the correct temperature, the oil was thinner causing it to get past the Vanos seals, as I’m still sure there were no real noises from the unit after the test drive. So the research began. What could I do? Who was going to fix it? How was I going to get the car to the garage? How much was it going to cost? Could I do it myself? The quest went on and on. I’ll be honest, it gets a bit much, as there is so much information out there; YouTube videos, how-to guides, forum advice and the like. I know I’m ok with looking after the car, but I do not have the skill required to start messing with Vanos units. I contacted a couple of engine specialists and got some quotes, which were half the price of the previous bills I had seen for BMW replacements, which were circa £2,200. Whilst obtaining quotes, I had gone to Steve at Mr. Vanos, who is probably the most well-known person for sorting these
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
registernews engines out. He’s a busy guy but came back to me quite quickly, and his quote for sorting the car was the best I had received, at £895 inc. VAT, and the main thing that satisfied my situation is that he would come out to me! So what do you get for your hard-earned but easy spent pennies? A fully rebuilt unit with all the seals, solenoids and pistons replaced, fitted with modified cam gear plates and once done they expect it to last the life of the car. They also check the valve clearances as the cams have to come out to change the gears. New valve cover gaskets are also fitted. The unit itself comes with a three year warranty and there’s a lifetime warranty against any Vanos noise. As my Vanos seals were seeping anyway, I thought this is perfect, fix two birds with one stone and also get the valve shims checked too, and all from the comfort of my own drive. So Steve was booked in as soon as he was free. He came and sorted the job in what seemed like a couple of hours. He was friendly, knowledgeable and did a professional job. I can thoroughly recommend his services, just be aware he’s a busy man driving around the county, as well as working in the workshop. The car is now purring like a kitten, marble noises and oil leaks all gone and the engine is running better than it ever had, and peace of mind for me is that the Vanos is sorted for the next owner, and probably better than it ever was.
So the two takeaways are, 1: Always make time to check the paperwork that’s on offer when buying a car, and 2: If you are going to get work done to your Vanos it’s worth talking to Steve at Mr. Vanos.
Concours Dan Wood Concours sponsored by
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RYBROOK WARWICK http://www.rybrookwarwickbmw.co.uk/
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Photo of the Month
Ieuan Evans - My BMW E36 328i Sport
Colin Brown - My beast M5 E60 away in lodge up north
Niall Penny - My other toy is a Z3M
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Neil Jones - Muckbleburgh Military Museum
Paul Bray - Sunflower
Matthew Wilson - A reminder of summer www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
SALES SERVICING RESTORATION
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BMW Car (UK)........................ 9, OBC
Machine Mart................................11
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Classic Heroes...............................73
Pirelli...............................................28
Classicline Insurance.....................11
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Footman James.............................17
Spit and Polish Alloy Wheel.........71
For sale: BMW 320Ci Convertible..46
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Torro Sportscars.............................73
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SMG to be or not to be?
That is the question posed in this month’s MLife article…
PLUS: MEGUIAR’S CLEANING GOODIES TO GIVE AWAY! BMW Straight Six May 2020 Final.indd 1
30/04/2020 17:05
To advertise in the next issue of Straight Six contact us on 01452 730770 www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in selling your BMW and are looking for a prompt hassle-free cash buyer! Please feel free to contact me for a no obligation friendly chat.
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BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
73
Feature
clubpubmeets All non-virtual pub meets during lockdown are cancelled. This section is for those regular pub meets that are on-going within the Regions. You will always be very welcome to attend any of these events, so pop along and introduce yourself. CENTRAL: Second Monday of each month – Aviator Hotel, Northampton, 7.30pm. Earls Barton Meet thereafter, after the first Wednesday of each month through to September Clay Lane, Earls Barton, Northampton NN6 0EP. CENTRAL WEST: Second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm at The Manor House of Whittington, Wolverhampton Road, Stourbridge, DY7 6NY.
Your Region & Register officers Regional Officers BMW Car Club Central
Tony Skerrett
central@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Central West
Dave Evans
centralwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Channel Islands
Jonathan Harris channelislands@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Cheshire & Staffs Steve Cooper
cheshireandstaffs@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
CORNWALL: Date, Time and venue to be confirmed once the pubs reopen for business.
Cornwall
Jim Husband
cornwall@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
COTSWOLD: Second Wednesday of each month 7.30pm at The Swan at Coombe Hill, Tewkesbury Road, Coombe Hill, Gloucester GL19 4BA.
Cumbria
James France
cumbria@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Cotswold
Martyn Goodwin cotswold@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
CUMBRIA: 7.30pm – The Sportsman, just off the A66, CA11 0SG. Feel free to contact me beforehand if you have not been to one of our meets.
Devon
Kathy Jemfrey
East Anglia
George Champ eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Eastern
Paul Rice
eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Ireland
Nick O’Kane
ireland@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
London
Anthony Mason london@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
North East
Nick Thomas
northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
North West
Jeff Heywood
northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Scottish
Issy Phillips
bmwccscottishregion@gmail.com
South East
Ian Bryant
southeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Cambs/Beds Pub Meet – The Royal Oak, Barrington, near Cambridge CB22 7RZ – Recommences April to September, Fourth Tuesday evening of the month. Contact – Matthew Hunt (Cambs/Beds Branch Rep.) matthew.hunt13@btinternet. com 07973986525. See details of coffee mornings on Facebook facebook.com/groups/ 1795515350724518?ref=bookmarks
Thames
Tony Skerrett
thames@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Wales - Mid
Phil Pinnington
midwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Wales - North
David Allen
northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Norfolk Pub Meet – LOOKING FOR A NEW VENUE. Last Thursday of every month. Contact Richard Howard on bmwccnorfolk@gmail.com. Also follow us on Facebook: BMW Car Club GB Norfolk and Suffolk Branch.
Wales - South
Jonathan Bamford southwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Wessex
Tim Maltby
wessex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Western
Nigel Smith
western@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
DEVON: Last Wednesday of the month at 7.00pm for 7.30pm at the Hare & Hounds, Torquay Road, Kingskerswell, TQ12 5HH. For further information, contact Kathy or Derek on 01626 330436 or 07971 871739 or email: devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. EAST ANGLIA: Pub Meet Contacts – all members are welcome at any meet. ALWAYS double check with your Branch Rep. as some Pub meets are suspended or venues changed for a variety of reasons. Suffolk Pub Meet – White Horse, Stoke Ash IP23 7ET Contact – David Adams (Suffolk Branch Rep.) bmwccsuffolkrep@btinternet.com 0777 466 8596. Also follow us on Facebook BMW Car Club GB Norfolk and Suffolk Branch.
Essex Pub Meet – 9am every second Sunday of the month at Channels Restaurant, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 3PT, refer to Facebook BMW Car Club (GB) Essex Region. NW Norfolk, South Lincs, Peterborough Pub Meet – The Sandboy Pub, Gayton Road, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE32 1EP. Contact Aaron Reeve on westnorfolk@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. EASTERN: The Motorist Breakfast Meet – On the first Sunday of each month between 10am - 12noon. The Motorist New Lennerton Lane Sherburn in Elmet LS25 6JE. Further details on the Motorist can be found at www.themotorist.com. Contact: 01977 681486. Peak & South Yorkshire Pub Meet – Second Monday of the month from 8pm at The Elm Tree Inn, Mansfield Road, Heath, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 5SE. Yorkshire & Humberside Pub Meet – Last Tuesday of the month at 6pm at The George & Dragon, Doncaster Road, Whitley, Goole, DN14 0HY. North Nottinghamshire – The Reindeer Inn, Sturton le Steeple DN22 9HQ on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. LONDON/HERTS: The Crooked Chimney: Second Monday evening of the month from 7.00pm, Lemsford, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 7XE. Ace Café: First Monday of the month. NORTH EAST: Monthly breakfast meetings are held on the second Sunday morning of each month, from 10.00am to 11.30am at Black Horse Beamish, Red Row, Beamish, Co. Durham, DH9 0RW if allowed, or virtually if necessary. 14 June, 12 July. NORTH WEST: Cancelled until further notice North West Region Sunday Lunch & Quiz – Sunday of alternate months (all at 12.00 noon) at The Swan, Bucklow Hill, Cheshire, WA16 6RD. Contact Jeff Heywood – 0161 678 2088. Manchester/NW Local Branch Meeting SCOTLAND: See Scottish Region news and Club forum for more information or contact Issy on bmwccscottishregion@gmail.com. SOUTH EAST: Kent Micro Meet – Chatham Dockyard first Sunday of month 10:00am - 12:00pm. Sussex Micro Meet – Shoreham Airport fourth Sunday of month 8.30am. THAMES: Last Thursday of the month at Littlebury Hotel, Bicester, at 7.30pm. Contact thames@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk for more information. WALES: NORTH WALES: For more information contact northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk. MID WALES & SHROPSHIRE: TBC at 12PM, Hanmer Arms, Hanmer Village SY13 3DE. SOUTH WALES: Third Wednesday evening of the month at 7.00pm (6.30pm for food) at The Twelve Knights Pub, Margam, Port Talbot, SA13 2BN. WESSEX: Cancelled until further notice Bournemouth Pub Meet – Every first Wednesday of the month. 7.00pm onwards. Tyrrells Ford Country Inn, Avon BH23 7BH. Contact John Munyard 07977 501128 or Eric Thompson 07722 835930 with any queries or confirmation of meeting venues. Basingstoke Pub Meet – Third Tuesday of the month. 7.00pm onwards. The Fox, North Waltham, Basingstoke RG25 2BB. Contact Simon Alcorn 07973 299024. Alton Pub Meet – Every last Tuesday of the month. 7.00pm. The Jolly Farmer, Blacknest, Binsted Road, GU34 4QD. Contact Bob Ward 07980 833321. WESTERN: First Wednesday of the month: 7.30pm at The Woolpack, Weston-SuperMare. 6th May CANCELLED / 3rd June, 1st July, 5th August COVID RESTRICTIONS PERMITTING
74
BMW Car Club Magazine June 2020
devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
& Shropshire
Register Officers BMW Car Club Classic E3 E9 02 M Power ALPINA 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 3 Series - E21 3 Series - E30 3 Series - E36 3 Series - E46 3 Series - E9x 3 series F30/1 4 Series 5 Series 5 Series - E12 5 Series - E28 5 Series - E34 5 series - E39 5 Series - E60/1 5 Series- F10/11 6 Series 6 Series - E24 6 Series - E63 7 Series 8 Series Z Series Z Series - Z1
Sam Lever classic@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Tony Wilkes e3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Nick Hull e9register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Richard Stern 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Richard Baxter, mpower@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Tristan Glass & John Denny Simon Alcorn alpina@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Anthony Mason 1series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk VACANT 2series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Simon Maskell 3series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Kyri Nicolaou e21register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Neil McDonald neil@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Sean Garnham e36register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Simon Maskell e46register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Julian Pickering e90register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Katie Littler f30register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Paul Roberts 4series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Stephen Coulson 5series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Pat Tremain e12register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Mark Cox e28register@@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Manj Sandhu e34register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Dan Paskin e39register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk VACANT e60register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Mani Singh Hayer f10register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Mani Singh Hayer 6series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Konstantinos Loizou e24register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Duncan Antony e63register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Matthew Swanborough 7series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Debbie Blythe 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk VACANT zregister@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Jamal Blanc z1register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk
Z Series - Z3 Z Series - Z4 X Series i Series + i8 MINI Modified Concours Track Days
Alan Jones Paul Dodds Jonathan Harris Clive Neville David Young Dipesh Amin Dan Wood Neil McDonald
z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk z4register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk xseries@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk iregister@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk mini@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk modified@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk concours@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk trackday@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
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STRAIGHT SIX JUNE 2020
BMW CAR CLUB
