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02 Richard Stern

Happy Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. Keep 02ing. 02s at a Dealership near you! Sadly not new ones, but due to the shortage of new cars dealers are now happy to display our cars in their showrooms. My 02 is at Specialist Cars Stevenage and I know Mike Milbourne’s Fjord Tii is also at a dealership. I found at least two others at dealers around Europe as well. Why not ask your local dealer if they want your car in their showroom for winter? Cotswold BMW Cheltenham have a superb collection of classics all on display in their showroom, a fantastic dealership that obviously still cares for the classic BMWs. If you’re passing, it’s certainly worth a visit.

07770 443373 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Recent News. A Barn find Turbo No.0375 has been found and now with 02 restorer in The Netherlands. Also watch this space for a one-off original Golf Yellow 2002 Turbo. Yes, Golf Yellow.

Other news member John Paulding recently discovered that Red Hammerite is a near perfect match for Verona red cars, ideal for under arches and any other areas prone to stone chips and rust. 2022 – We are planning big things for next year and will be joining the clubs 70th Birthday and 50 Years of M Power so watch for more news on this soon.

Jaymic now has late grilles in silver plastic. A few more of the brightwork parts are now available aftermarket as well, B-post mouldings, rear window lower mouldings and gutter mouldings.

Maximillian in the USA now has complete chassis rails, early and late: classicbmwparts@gmail.com Don’t forget shipping costs and import duties, though.

We want to hear from you, any 02 related tips, stories, interesting related topics or just questions and answers, please contact your 02 Register at 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Tail Pipe. A recent classic car newspaper published that governments were going to outlaw modifying cars. This, of course, will impact the classic car and restoration business massively, never mind the loss of jobs and manufacturing. I shall look into this for next month and I hope, should this ever come into effect, that classic cars will be exempt. Although I do doubt it will happen at all, there is a huge global business for aftermarket items, from exhausts to trim and plenty for new cars too. I suspect there’ll be an online petition against it. More next month.

3 Series E36 Michal Michalski

Pick your poison

In December I wanted to appeal to E36 drifters. I have seen many E36 cars, some with Japanese engines such as Toyota’s 2JZ, some with giant turbos sticking out of the bonnet, and rarer ones with a V8 swap from a 5 or 7 Series. I am sure there are more variations, but I hope you get the point.

Beginners out there tend to start with a 328i, which has plenty of power and a manual gearbox. However, as some drifters say, “you can’t have enough power!” Hence, once you have mastered your 328i and noticed that the expensive K&N filter doesn’t really make much difference, you have to make more drastic choices. This brings me to Tadas Klimantavicius. He started with an E36 328i as his base drift car. Today he owns an E36 with M50 (non Vanos) turbo build and one with a V8 swap.

What’s better for drifting; turbo power or V8 torque?

“Both cars are very different from each other. I really like the V8 as it’s basically the standard M62b44tu engine, and the torque helps with low rpm. An M50 turbo engine has more power, but let’s not forget about turbo lag, so you need to keep your revs higher. So, I think it’s all down to driver preference.”

What are the advantages of V8 swap vs turbo build?

“The biggest advantage for the V8 build is that it’s totally a standard engine. Of course it’s being well used, but it’s running on its own factory ECU, injectors and stuff like that, not like the M50 turbo.”

Why E36 for drifting?

“I fell in love with the E36 chassis many years ago. My first drift car was an E36 328i. I really liked how simple everything was to modify and the car felt light and easy to control in the practice runs.”

What’s easier to build, turbo inline-six or V8?

“There is plenty of information on the internet”, according to Tadas. However he admits that the turbo build is probably easier as you don’t have to modify as much as you do to fit a V8.

4 Series Paul Roberts

Well it looks like winter is now upon us and, as a consequence, nothing is happening as far as the BMWCC is concerned here in Norfolk. I would hope that, as soon as we get Christmas out of

e36register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Which build has a bigger ‘cool factor’?

“Both are good fun, both sound great. V8 with its low, fat roar and turbo with its flames, pops and bangs.”

What is your personal recommendation for drifting, a inline-six turbo or V8 swap?

“It all depends on where your car will be used. Let’s say, on a nice chill drift weekend with your friends, I would say V8 and for more advanced race tracks I would go for the turbo build.”

Which setup lasts longer?

“Being a naturally aspirated V8 engine I think will last longer, but again, nothing lasts forever. An M50 turbo, if it was built right, should last too.”

If you have more questions, or some technical ones Tadas is super friendly, so find him on all social media under TK Garage, Instagram t.k_garage or send him a direct email klimantaviciust@gmail.com. Happy drifting!

4series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

the way, we can plan some events in 2021.

Personally, my car is due for an MOT shortly and it is booked in. However, a couple of days ago the horn stopped working.

This repair will be carried out under warranty the day before the MOT. I just hope nothing else goes wrong and that the test is successful.

I have been thinking about another scenic and continental break away for 2022, and I’m looking at a short break to the Peak District. I will let you know if this goes ahead.

Sadly, that’s all to report this time. I just thought I would attach another picture from our Wales trip.

Until next time.

5 Series E28 Tim Maltby

e28register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

So, was the 520’s MOT a formality? I don’t know about you, but even if I’m pretty sure that the car is okay I always feel a tad apprehensive as to what the MOT tester might find amiss. The sight of a clean pass sheet and no advisories is always a welcome feeling, especially when the exhaust emissions, for both the CO and HC, are well under the max limits. All that’s left now is to take the car over 100k miles.

The M5, on the other hand, decided to throw a spanner in the works as I was going through the usual checks ahead of booking its MOT. It decided that neither the front nor the rear fog lamps were going to work. Nothing so simple as a dodgy fuse I’m sorry to say, I just hope that the switch is at fault.

With winter officially underway, I am guessing that a common thought is whether to hibernate or not? I am, of course, referring to our E28s. The DVLA doesn’t make it easy for us with the taxing options being for 6 or 12 months. Ideally I wish we had an 8 month option so that a car could be SORNed between November and February.

As the 520 is on winter tyres all year round and is my daily driver, hibernation is not an option. But I am torn as to what to do with the M5.

Do you have any winter projects in mind or is it just regular fettling in readiness for getting out next year? For what it’s worth, and at the risk of repeating myself, I will finally embark on finishing the much neglected M535i. I have accumulated all the parts needed, including some new front wings, hammer, sheet metal and a new reel of MIG welding wire.

To help brighten up the pages of SS over the next few months, do you have any uplifting images of your E28 or interesting locations to share with us? Images would need to be a minimum of 1MB.

5 Series E34 Manj Sandhu

To get the ball rolling here a couple, one of the M5 at Nürburg in 2010 and the other of the 520i emerging from a Scottish loch in 2018.

This just leaves me to wish you all a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2022.

e34register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

I was re-reading Malcolm Borg’s article from last month about his plans for the 530i you saw in the pictures. It got me thinking about two things, firstly how passionate he must be about the E34 to restore the car to its former glory. And secondly, how many cars are not so lucky to have an owner like Malcolm and are sentenced to the scrap heap or become parts cars.

Speaking of reading, it was with great interest that I read the ethanol article in the October issue of Straight Six magazine. Since the rise of the E10 and E5 fuels, I have been getting emails from members to advise on the approach to take with their E34s. The article was superb and very informative, a must read if you did not do so. Unless you drive a diesel, as they are not affected. On a personal note, I have tried to use E5 wherever possible especially for the more powerful engines in my line up. Recently, I purchased a lead replacement additive as suggested in the article and will let you all know how I get on with it and whether I notice any change in engine performance.

Speaking of the 525iX, it has gone in for the oil and coolant leak assessment. The issues have been around long enough with the previous mechanic failing to resolve them, so I have

asked for a thorough investigation. Sam the mechanic has been busy looking under the bonnet this week and he has discovered some worrying developments (see pictures);

1. The rocker cover gasket that was replaced by the previous mechanic still appears to be leaking oil. Not a good start.

2. Spark plug number three is also stuck in place and is difficult to remove. It will need some extensive heat to get it out and inspect it.

3. One of the steering rack gaiters has perished so will need replacing

More on this next month as we get deeper into the issues on the car. It is important I get this sorted with Mrs Sandhu (the better half) using it as a daily and for all the kids taxiing duties.

Thanks to all of you who contacted me regarding my comments in the October 2021 issue on whether or not to increase the size of the alloys on my 535i from 15s to 17s. I am not denying the pressure from my friends may have enticed me to ponder the question. Nevertheless, I will go with my initial approach for now which is: the less you show the more

8 Series Debbie Blythe

you know. So the 15s will stay. Even if only from a financial perspective at this point, especially with a potential big bill for the 525iX looming. Maybe I should put the original 16-inch fivespoke sport alloys back on? In the meantime, the rear tyres were a little dubious during the wet conditions recently, so I decided to order another two of the budget ones from Blackcircles. Only yesterday, I got an email telling me that the mobile fitter would not be able to attend, which is disappointing. I may need to venture out locally to get them fitted instead. I do not recall a mention of the rear tyres requiring replacement on the last MOT, but it may have been close to the wire. Either way, it made sense to face the situation again especially with the winter months on their merry way. Once again, I will score some much-needed points with her indoors with the penny pinching.

Update on the electric throttle body assembly for the 535i. It started really well. To be fair the car ran like a dream with the new front tyres too. The budget ones are working out well, so far. However, after a few weeks the idle dropping issue is back. Sam has a plan to review all the auxiliaries around the area including the dizzy cap, which I think we did not replace. As a result, I am back doing the gaffergate process. It’s really not ideal, but it’s a minor inconvenience. More on that when we get the car in after the 525iX.

8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hi everyone. Well, after a long period of nothing happening we have had a busy few weeks. Our first meeting at Weston on the Green (WOTG) in August was then followed by three of the four weekends in September where we took both of our E31s out. Some of them with other 8 Series owners and then another with car enthusiasts from our local Pride and Joy Club in Hampshire. Our first meeting of September was at Lichfield, see below, and followed by a visit to Caffeine and Machine in Ellington the following day. We then took part in the Simply BMW day at Beaulieu Motor Museum the next weekend and then a very pleasant day in Middle Wallop with our local car club. We also have another WOTG at the end of October to report on. So 2022 will soon be with us and I have already started to think about events for the club. There is a list of possible events and dates in the future events section below, please come back to me if you might be interested in any or if you have some suggestions yourselves, my email is 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Cars in the Park, Lichfield – 11th September 2021

At last, we have been waiting to attend this one for well over a year. I originally booked to have an E31 stand there in July 2020 which was then postponed for a year due to the pandemic. The new date was then postponed again due to the lockdown restrictions being extended past the July 2021 date. Eventually, a new date was set for September. This show has been running for a number of years and is organised by the Rotary Club of Lichfield. It is a charity event and takes place over two days. We had booked to have our stand there on the Saturday and had a great turnout of 12 owners who all enjoyed some great weather, a car show of around 500 cars, various food stalls and some in

field entertainment, this year a Falconry display. I think they all flew back after being released, but there was a long wait for one large Eagle who decided he wanted to have a much longer fly around before eventually being tempted back by a tasty morsel in his handler’s glove.

Back to our stand and we had a great mixture of 840 and 850 models on display, showing the wide variety of colours that BMW used back in the 90s. There were many great colours including Dakar Yellow, Velvet Blue and several shades of red, green and blue. They cars were, as follows: Ray’s Black 850CSi, Angus’s Imola Red 840Ci, Geoffrey’s Silver 850i (na ex Sultan of Brunei car with just 17k miles on the clock), Sarwar’s Santorini Blue 840Ci, Ravi’s Estoril Blue 840Ci, Maggie’s Atlantis Blue 840Ci, Les’s Laguna Green 850i, Phil’s Helrot 840Ci, Tony’s Estoril Blue 840Ci, Gary’s Marina Bay Blue B12 homage, Paul’s Barbados Green 840Ci, and my Helrot 840Ci. The event was open to the general public as well as car owners, so we had a constant stream of visitors and people wanting to talk about the cars. Paul was kept extremely busy chatting away to numerous admirers. A quick shout out to Si who brought an immaculate E38 735i to the show and came over to see us as he has just got an 840 that he is beginning to work on. The rest of the show consisted of many car clubs with all manner of marques, way too many to mention them all. Overall it was a great show and venue and a place we intend to book again next year. I hope to see more of you E31 owners there.

Caffeine and Machine – 12th September 2021

Following on from the Lichfield Show, Paul and I visited Caffeine and Machine the very next day as we stayed up in Sutton Coldfield for the weekend and it was on our route home. I had to purchase tickets in advance for the weekend and chose the 12.30-3.30 slot on the Sunday afternoon. We arrived there just on time and managed to bag one of the best parking slots near the front entrance, close to the cafe and with a great view of all the different machinery arriving. They included several Ferraris, Aston Martins, Jaguars, a McLaren, a couple of Audi R8s, a Cobra, some great classics, many hot hatches and lots more. This being our first ever visit I can see what the appeal is, a great motor friendly venue and lots of genuine enthusiasts milling about around the cars and having interest in not just their own cars but others as well. As usual Paul managed to keep chatting to several individuals over the afternoon and showing all the features of the cars, including the pop up headlights that seemed to get a lot of photographic attention. We may try to include this on our list of events next year, watch this space.

Simply BMW, Beaulieu Motor Museum – 19th September 2021

As a club we have been attending the Vanity BMW show at Beaulieu over the past few years, but this has now come to an end and the Motor Museum have now organised one of their own called Simply BMW. The weather on the day was very warm and sunny and in all there were over 800 cars at the event. There was everything from classics to modern cars, including a white M1 and a new M8 Competition. The 8 Series Register had ten cars in the display and there were a further three E31s parked amongst area club displays. So a quick callout to the owners as some had travelled quite a distance to attend the event and, as mentioned to me by one person when he left his home, it was pouring with rain. He was pleasantly surprised that we had sunshine all day. So thanks to Harry, Rob, Colin, Chad, Michael, Chuck, Balraj, Angus, Paul and also to Gary, who had travelled all the way from Milton Keynes but unfortunately had to return home just before the

event started. We had been given a prominent display area within the grounds and were able to see all the cars arriving. They could also see us, so we had quite a number of visitors speaking to the owners and also a couple of prospective owners asking about the plus and minus points of owning an E31. The entrance ticket also gave each person access to the museum, the stately home, the grounds and also the monorail and most of our group took advantage of this. This event will be in our plans for 2022, so hope to see even more of you there.

Pride and Joy, Middle Wallop Army Air Museum, 16th October 2021

This club is a local car club to us in Hampshire and caters for any car, no matter what the make or model. As the name suggests, if you cherish your car and it is your pride and joy then bring it to an event and share it with everyone. We have been attending these events for a couple of years and you always get a very varied selection of cars, from vintage Austins right up to a brand new Jaguar E-Pace and a great range of motorcycles. There is always a good selection of classic Fords and American muscle, Porsches, Cobras, along with quite a few BMWs. This event we saw an E46 Alpina Convertible, a couple of very nice E39s, an i8 and our two E31s, of course. What is nice about these events is that you get to talk to lots of enthusiastic petrolheads about your car and theirs.

Future Events

This list is just some of the events we hope to organise or attend during 2022, please feel free to email with any suggestions you may have, no matter where, we are always up for a trip, any excuse to get behind the wheel of the 8.

10th April - Sunday morning meeting at The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green, near Bicester.

Late April / Early May – How about a road trip? A few of the group have shown interest in the NC500, around the north coast of Scotland. I am looking into this and hope to have some plans soon. The initial idea is a four to five day trip starting near Glasgow, up to Inverness and then back to Ullapool, across to Skye and back to Glasgow. This is just provisional and may change. Let me know if you are interested as I may need to limit numbers due to available hotel space.

May – South East event – to be confirmed. 12th June - Sunday morning meeting at The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green, near Bicester. 2nd July – Lichfield Cars in the Park.

July – Caffeine and Machine visit, date to be confirmed. 7th August – BMW Car Club national event at Doningtson Park (provisional). 21st August – Sunday morning meeting at The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green, near Bicester.

September – Simply BMW at Beaulieu Motor Museum, date to be confirmed. 23rd October - Sunday morning meeting at The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green, near Bicester.

Also if you are not on my mailing list and wish to be please email me with your name, car details and location to 8series@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Alpina Simon Alcorn

alpina@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Written by Norman Burnham

Several members have referred to the lack of information concerning ALPINA in the magazine.

I have agreed with Simon Alcorn the Alpina Brand Officer to write the articles and assist members and owners with information.

Firstly, we need to point out that thealpinaregister.com is not part of the BMWCCGB and is run separately. Not all people who are on that register are BMWCCGB members. The Alpina register does not organise events, it does however allow those who are

approved by the administrators of the register to advertise events from time to time. thealpinaregister.com, this is not managed or maintained by the BMWCCGB. This is owned by Neil Whitehead & Charles Lovibond.

When we refer to Alpina activity within the BMWCCGB we refer to the Alpina brand as opposed to the ALpina register to avoid confusion.

Alpina activity with the BMWCCGB

If you have an Alpina and are a Club member you are equally entitled to attend any event the same as other members with whichever BMW they own. You will probably find there is a mixture of Alpina and other models’ owners at most Club events.

We are currently in ongoing discussions with the Club Chairman to look at more inclusive Alpina exposure within the Club and will notify members in this monthly review when we have more details.

Alpina Archive

This is owned and maintained by Kees Den Hollander and Bob Whiffin. Bob has kindly contributed with the following information:

For facts about the full model range, with information on specs and production volumes, the archive is the primary resource. It is significantly enhanced when used in conjunction with member knowledge and ownership experiences, which have accumulated over 250,000 posts on the register forum. After that, use good reference books, the community elders and generally be cautious about accepting some of the perceived wisdom found on wider public forums, particularly Facebook.

A note from me adding to this, especially those who do not own an Alpina, but claim to do so or prefer to remain anonymous using pseudonyms to claim their expertise.

1. The Alpina Archive, which holds band and model specific in, is in no way associated with Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen

GmbH & Co. KG or Sytner Group. It has been collated based on information available at the time of publication. 2. Reference books, such as OAL BB-50, Brooklands Books

BMW Alpina Performance Portfolios 1967-1987 & 1988-199 and James Taylor’s BMW Alpina. 3. The more traditional internet forums, which are either Alpinadedicated (www.thealpinaregister.com/forums) or the various

BMW and motoring forums (PH,BMW5,Z4-Forum, etc) which have sub-forums dedicated to ALPINA models.

E3 Tony Wilkes

I was inspired to conduct an audit of E3s that we hold on the Register by the recent E9 Register update on a similar theme. Ably assisted by one of our members, the ever-enthusiastic John Hamilton, I have been pleasantly surprised by the survival rate of some models. Sadly, others have not fared so well. I shall leave you with that suspenseful thought however, as the full results will be published in the next edition of Straight Six.

Another one of our members has, with much regret, decided to sell his lovely 1972 2500 which he’s owned for over 30 years. It has covered just over 73k miles and has been very well cared for. Have a look at the attached photos, and if you would like to chat to the owner, please drop me a line at e3register@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk and I’ll be happy to put you in touch.

My own 3.0Si went off to the body shop last month and the big strip down has now commenced. So far, so good, with only a few frilly bits being exposed. I’m quite sure that plenty more will present themselves as the work progresses. However, I’m not 4. The Alpina community elders who Bob personally considers an essential source of historical information, particularly with regards to the cars built by Sytner. These people are found primarily in the forums. 5. Note from me, it might seem obvious and sensible to contact Sytner Nottingham asking for information.

However, this may not produce the result that you are looking for. Many of the original records are missing, lost or have been removed without Sytner’s knowledge. They do not run any archive records, so following Bob’s advice is your first route. 6. Finally, the myriad Facebook groups and pages dedicated to the Alpina, be that for owners, buying and selling activities or specific to models, ranges and ages and with varying geographical spreads from UK to Global. 7. I personally have a Facebook group, it is called ALPINA 2014 (the year it started) and is a closed group by invitation only. This is to ensure only vetted members who own an

Alpina vehicle are involved, as stated there are many other groups for the curious and new owners. It is aimed at social activity with like minded owners.

Alpina Archive links:

Main Site: www.alpina-archive.com

Vehicle Archive: www.alpina-archive.com/?page_ id=3413&nmt=Add-to-Archive

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AlpinaArchive

If you own an Alpina, have recently acquired one or are considering owning one, I trust this information will be of some use to you. Sytner Nottingham has been the sole importer of Alpina since 1983 and new Alpina cars can only be purchased via Sytner BMW/Alpina and no other BMW dealership. The Brand Manager is Gary Lott based at Nottingham.

Pre-owned Alpina cars can be purchased from any main BMW dealership or car dealer, trader or individual. Approved used Alpinas via any main BMW dealership come with a 12-month comprehensive warranty.

Currently there are no Alpina meets or gatherings at any Sytner Alpina dealership, this was suspended due to the impact that approximately 80 cars had on the dealership daily business. However, we are in constant dialogue with Sytner and if any change should come about it will be published in the magazine with specific details of how to attend and any criteria.

e3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

feeling too smug just yet. I deliberated for quite some time as to how I wanted the shell to be bare metalled. After quite a lot of research, I decided against chemical dipping, instead going for media blasting. Whilst this is of course very messy, I’m just not convinced that following any dipping process, the neutralisation process can be thorough enough to get rid of every last trace of corrosive chemicals from every nook and cranny of the car. The thought of these chemicals then rotting their way from the inside of a freshly restored and painted bodyshell to the outside sends a shiver down my spine.

The plan for the car is for it to be restored to factory specification. Whilst the original colour of Sierra Beige may not have been my first choice, it’s incredibly rare and therefore that’s what the car will be finished in. Having done a bit of research, it appears that mine was the only right hand drive E3 that was specified in this colour. The German E3 Club only has two Sierra Beige E3s (a 2500 and a 2.8L) on its books today.

As the nights are now well and truly drawing in, I’m sure that you are all placing your cars into winter hibernation. Hopefully with a few little jobs planned to keep you busy.

Following the piece on the amount of surviving E9s, I thought I ought to follow it up with an update on the second big question I’m usually asked: how many examples of my E9 are the same colour? As before, keeping track of cars changing hands, including being exported or of examples going into long-term restoration and disappearing from the radar, means it’s never an exact science but here’s my latest tally:

RHD CSL Colours

Current surviving cars records we have: 14 Polaris Silver, 13 Chamonix White, 12 Fjord

Blue, 13 Verona Red, 9 Taiga Green, 3 Golf Yellow, 5 Inka Orange, 2 Ceylon Gold. Also 2 Nachtblau, 2 Black.

E9 Nick Hull

e9register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

CSA and CSi Colours

Blue and silver were definitely the most prominent colours for this car. Examples featured in adverts, brochures and launch material were often in these hues. Blue remains the most popular colour of surviving examples, with 56 examples shared over five original colours offered: Fjord, Baikal, Nachtblau, Riviera and Atlantic. Also listed are 31 Polaris Silver, 9 Verona Red, 8 Turkis Green, 2 Black, 5 Taiga Green, 5 Inka Orange, 5 Golf Yellow, 7 Granat Red, 6 Ceylon Gold, 9 Chamonix White, 2 Anthracite Grey, 2 Siena Brown.

The three BMW staple colours that lasted throughout the E9 production life were Polaris Silver 060, Chamonix White 085 and Nachtblau metallic 040, which was the E9 launch colour and remained a unique colour for the CS coupe model, complementing the other three blues offered. Indeed a wide range of blues was always a notable feature of the E9 colour palette.

For the 1972 model year and the revised 3.0 CS range, BMW introduced a series of much brighter BASF paint colours. Fjord Blue 037, Taiga Green 072, Ceylon Gold 008 and Verona Red 024 replaced the older 2800CS colours, while two very bright high visibility solid colours were offered for the first time: Inka Orange 022 and Golf Yellow 070. These were part of a Swedish and German colour trend in early ‘70s, pioneered by Volvo, Mercedes and VW safety research programmes. The idea was that yellow and orange colours were deemed easier to detect in poor visibility, hence a rash of violent orange and yellow colours on rather dreary Volvos, VW Beetles and Mercedes W112s. They still look wonderful these days on CSLs, however.

E9 Windscreens

BMW E9 specialist Cotswold Garage near Moreton in Marsh has recommissioned a batch of E9 windscreens. Normally only available through a couple of German specialists, these new laminated screens are green tinted with the desirable blue or green sunstrip at the top are now available for a very reasonable £350 + VAT on a supply and collection basis only. For more details contact Domenic Surdi on 01608 674947.

i8 Clive Neville

i8register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

When I first bought my Honda NSX, all those years ago, I was astounded that the list of personalisation options that would have been available to me, had I bought it new, was limited to a set of over mats and a CD changer in the boot. Given that Honda was trying to compete with Porsche, this was a mistake in my view. People at that end of the market invariably want to personalise (or option up) their cars and there is serious money to be made from it. I mean the German manufacturers are famed for it, including BMW. Showering a car with a sprinkling of ticked boxes from the options list can add well over 20% to a car’s cost. And, often a lot of these options were, at least then, essentials. Honda did well to ensure that the NSX came packed with everything you could need, the fact that it only came in four colours at launch and that you had to buy it from a Civic garage is what would have put a lot of people off.

Nowadays, because of the fierce competition in the market from the likes of Hyundai, companies like BMW have to provide the essentials in the standard car. Still, the options list can be vast and the opportunity to personalise cars, particularly higher up the range, remains. This allows customers to build very highly spec’d and wonderful M3s and M6s and create cars where the number of examples on the road replicating each other might be very small indeed. We like this, as the regular reports in Straight Six on Individual cars attest.

So, what’s this got to do with i8s? Simply that, and counter to BMW’s usual policy, the opportunity to personalise the i8 was extremely limited. As I mentioned a few articles ago, the colour choice was effectively restricted to no more than five colours at a time, reducing to only three from 2019 onwards. And, the potential to opt for Individual paint was only available from late 2016 to 2017. That said, the reason for the lack of any real options on the i8 (the only options available for my Roadster were carbon fibre trim inside, laser lights, different wheels, and an aero kit) was that the car had everything fitted as standard. Pretty much everything that was available technologically speaking at the time was fitted, as were all the accoutrements of luxury, such as extended leather. One thing that BMW did was to introduce the concept of Interior Worlds. Rather than specifying an interior colour, you opted for a type of interior habitat. Whether or not you regard this as nothing more than marketing nonsense I will leave to you, but it did mean that a prospective owner could choose a sporty environment, a dark and cosy theme, a bright and airy one, or a naturally hued one. As you might expect, the brochures used rather colourful language to explain how this would change your life. By the time of the Roadster and LCI Coupé, the Worlds had been streamlined to Carpo Black (the black one), Carpo White (the white one), and Halo (the natural one). Replacing Neso (the sporty grey one) was Accaro, which was bright coppery orange and black. Each of these had different facets to demonstrate your taste. The grey one was standard and was the most boring, but the black interior (using Amido Black leather) had contrasting double row blue stitching and two different shades of black. The Accaro was a riot of colour and was not for the faint hearted, whereas Halo was the one for those that like their interiors in dark chocolate and clotted cream, dotted with little flashes of blue (the wheel, seat belts and stitching). The leather was actually called Dalbergia Tan and Carum Grey but there you go. Just for the record, and to make this slightly more complicated, the Worlds were termed differently in other markets. For example, the USA gets Tera World which is

the same as Halo World.

A couple of issues ago I promised you some statistics on interiors. Here they are. I haven’t added this up, but it should add up to the 3111 cars sold by BMW UK. By car type, the interiors of the launch Coupés came in Amido Black (736), Carum Grey (688), Dalbergia Tan (402), and Ivory White (567). The Special Editions of the Coupé, including the Protonic Red Edition and all of the Frozen cars, were in Black (49), Grey (2), and White (2). These cars could also feature a slightly different stitching and cloth theme and there were 53 of these. The LCI Coupé came in Black (64), Dalbergia Tan (43), e-Copper (12) and White (26). Finally, the Roadster came in Black (206), White (although this was actually a black and white scheme unique to the Roadster) (161), Dalbergia Tan (25) and e-Copper (75).

Make of this as you will, but it seems to me that there are no real winners or losers here in terms of uniqueness. But, having examined a number of cars (and this applies to most cars of course), some interiors are better suited to certain exteriors. For example, my Roadster is in Donington Grey (a very smoky grey) with Dalbergia Tan. The grey and brown theme works very well. But perhaps it wouldn’t go so well with Crystal White.

Before signing off, it would be really good to hear from other i8 owners in the club, including perhaps sending me a profile and photo of your car so that it can be included in a future issue of the magazine.

Next was the addition of a weighted gear knob and handbrake from Storm Motorwerks, the latter v2 version comes in at a weight 450g! And yes, you definitely notice a difference. The Autosolutions kit is very notchy (in a good way) and the extra heft makes it go in just that little easier to achieve the satisfying clunk. I opted for the titanium finish as I felt the aluminium would clash with the identical interior trim, and chose the M style emblem. My only complaint is that the silver holographic lettering and M stripe colours almost disappear in low light and, as such, photograph poorly. However, in bright light they look spot on. The items themselves are beautifully made and easy to fit, though I have had to re-tighten the grub screws on the gear knob.”

M Power Anthony Shilson

On 8th October BMW issued a Service Information Bulletin (SIB) for M cars built with the S58 engine (F97 X3M, F98 X4 M, G80 M3 and G82 M4). Due to issues with the big end bearings for cars produced between 13th July and 23rd September, delivery had to stop. Affected cars already delivered will have to be recalled and buyers are being contacted by dealers, but as of now there is no ETA.

Andy Hodgson sent me a video review by Auto Express of the new BMW i4 M50 electric vehicle. Impressive straight line performance, big screens and lots of tech, but a bit of a soulless driving experience. “Synthetic” was a word used often by the reviewer… not Andy’s cup of tea. To reduce CO2 by solutions that do not kill the planet, such as mining for lithium and other heavy metals required for batteries, hopefully we’ll continue to see proper M cars with real engines using hydrogen or e-fuels for years to come, but perhaps not in our country. Our foolish government is only permitting one option.

On a brighter note, the panic buying of fuel has calmed down as I write this on 14th October. I will try and buy some Esso Synergy Supreme (which is ethanol free in East Anglia) and go for a drive at the weekend.

Back to Ben Shaw’s E46 M3 that we featured previously with a few mods and replacement parts carried out. The first being the clamp bolts for the power steering pipe.

Ben writes, “I stole this solution from a fellow member and replaced the standard poor bits of rubber that BMW charge £10 each for, with a combination of nylon washers, nuts and bolts. Next were new lens seals to eliminate the water ingress into the headlights and some new side repeaters on the recommendation of a friend. The side repeaters are Depo branded, off eBay. As much as I’m a stickler for OEM, the genuine BMW items are just not good enough in this instance. They started developing moisture inside not long after I bought them, which seems to be a common issue.

essex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Z3 Register Alan Jones

Back in September I received an enquiry from fellow member Kaush Patel who was actively searching for a V10 M5 Touring and looking for some advice on what to look for and whether any members had one. I gave Kaush a few pointers, but if you do have one for sale please get in touch with our wonderful office team and they will pass your details on. Do you have anything interesting to contribute to this section? Please email me your own M Power mods, fixes, tips or stories to essex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Welcome to the December edition of Straight Six, this month I have finally managed to replace the outer sills on my car. I bought the sills before Brexit, just in case there were any problems getting parts. But I’m sure you all know that life just gets in the way of doing these jobs, even more so when you are in no hurry to complete the job.

Those of you with good memories and have been a member for a few years may remember that, in May 2015, I was lucky enough to have a piece published in Straight Six detailing the removal of my sills. If you do remember, I just put some antirust products onto the original sills and reattached them back onto the car. So I knew that the internal structural part of the car, under the outer sill was in good condition in 2015, but you always have that question in the back of your mind: will it be in the same condition six years later? Also there was a small rust area on the front edge of my outer sills, and also a small patch on the front wing so I decided to sort it all out with the replacement of the sills.

As you probably know all the panels on the Z3 simply unbolt, which is great for doing repairs. Unfortunately you cannot simply unbolt the sills and nothing else, you have to remove other panels to allow you access to the bolts to allow the sills to be removed. So first of all you have to remove the plastic inner wheel covers. I jacked the car up using a trolley jack in the middle of the sill, and then lowering the car onto axle stands placed on the jacking points. I had both of the wheels off the ground to enable me to remove them and the inner plastic wheel liners. Once the wheel is removed it is just a case of finding all of the small bolts and removing them too. Once done, the inner liners should come out with a little persuasion. Once both of the inner liners were removed, I replaced the wheels and put the car back onto its own four wheels. Next is the front wing to be removed, as you have removed the inner front wheel arch this gives you access to the front bolt, then there are two bolts on the top of the wing and one hidden one in the door jamb beside the hinges. The plastic trim on top of the sill is next. This is to gain access to the securing bolts on the top of the outer sill. There is a large grommet on the driver’s side of the car, which needs to be removed first, and then the plastic trim can be just lifted away, after breaking the hold of the small plastic fixings.

Now it is just a case of removing the bolts for the sill itself.

Concours Dan Wood

There is a bolt inside the rear wheel arch to be removed. I thought it would be easier to remove with the wheel off, so I then removed the rear wheel and removed the bolt, and then replaced the wheel. After removing all of the bolts the sill didn’t seem to be moving at the rear. After closer inspection I realised that there was still a bolt in a small gap within the front part of the rear wheel arch, so off with the wheel again to allow much better access to the bolt. This bolt was quite fiddly to remove, luckily I had a ratchet spanner which I got onto the bolt head, and although I was only able to get one or two clicks on the ratchet, it was coming out. Then with all of the bolts now removed the sill came off with a little pulling and pushing.

As I was doing both sills, I was only half way done as I had this to do all again on the other side of the car. But with the knowledge gained especially on the two bolts in the rear wheel arch, the other side was much faster to remove. Plus, as I type this, the new sills are at the shop being sprayed ready to be attached to the car, more of that next month.

Finally I would just like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Covidfree new year.

concours@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Concours

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