Straight Six October 2021

OCTOBER 2021 £5

E T H A N O L We bring you the definitive answers to the E10 conundrum

PLUS: MEGUIAR’S CLEANING GOODIES TO GIVE AWAY!

STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD. M PERFORMANCE PARTS.

With our range of BMW M Performance Parts, you can take sportiness right down to the last detail.

Whether it’s enhanced aerodynamics, drivetrain, interior or chassis, we have all the equipment you need to ensure your BMW can be styled to suit you.

To find out more, please contact your preferred BMW Retailer or visit www.bmw.co.uk/mperformanceaccessories

BMW CAR CLUB

INSURANCE DEVELOPED BY EXPERTS FOR BMW CAR CLUB MEMBERS

BMW CAR CLUB GB ARE THE ONLY CLUB ENDORSED BY BMW UK

Bespoke arrangements for your Motor, Home and Commercial insurance needs.

COVER AVAILABLE CAN INCLUDE: Ÿ Classic and Modern Car Policies

Ÿ Multi-Vehicle policies

Ÿ Limited Mileage Discounts

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www.BMWCARCLUBINSURANCE.co.uk Call the dedicated members line on 0330 123 0197 and speak to one of the team for all your Motor, Home, and Commercial Insurance needs.

This agreement has been designed specifically for BMW Car Club GB, who have become an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of A-Plan Holdings. A-Plan Holdings is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Registered office: 2 Des Roches Square, Witney, OX28 4LE. Registration number: 750484. To confirm our registration on the FCA website, go to www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

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 Associated 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 Chairman Martyn Goodwin Board of Directors Dave Evans Jamal Blanc Nick Thomas Richard Stern Club Office Michelle Evans Lisa Davies

inside this issue

BMW Car Club Insurance Henry Francis Patron Colin Turkington, Mike Wilds, The late Barrie Williams Editing Team Jeff Heywood Lisa Davies Will Beaumont

21

21 E10 Away

Cover image: BMW Archive Advertising Print & Digital Next Step Heritage Madeleine Lillywhite 01485 779455 07855 447968 advertising@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Website advertising Next Step Heritage Madeleine Lillywhite 01485 779455 07855 447968 advertising@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

32

Published on behalf of BMW Car Club by Cedar Group, Unit 3, The Triton Centre, Premier Way, Abbey Park Industrial Estate, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 9DJ Tel: 01794 525 020 info@cedargroup.uk.com BMW Car Club (Great Britain) Ltd Registered in England Number 1617753

26 MLife: What does CS stand for?

Car manufacturers have made it a habit to abbreviate words to create short, snappy and powerful sounding model names, and that can certainly be said about the CS.

Classifieds - From £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

he recent release of the new grade T unleaded fuel has left a lot of classic car owners with a lot of questions; is it safe to use? Will it be compatible with my BMW? Will it actually corrode my fuel hoses? Fear no more, our run down on the issues the new E10 fuel can cause are all highlighted in this fact-filled article.

32 Putting the M into an E39 Touring

The last part of BMR Performance’s E39

40

M5 Touring build.

40 Surprise Surprise…

Club member Darryl Curran shares the story of his E36 328i Sport, which surely would have succumbed to the scrap heap one day.

Contents

from the editor Welcome to the October issue of Straight Six. Autumn has arrived, which means the classic cars and garage queens will start being tucked away in their cozy garages ready for the cold season. However, this year’s events have not yet finished; next month we head for our last trackday of the year at Oulton Park, and we will be visiting the return of the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at NEC, Birmingham. You will also have the chance to support your Region too, as plans are in full swing for your Christmas dinners and AGMs. Whilst on the topic of storing your cars for the colder months, we are sure you have heard of the new grade of unleaded fuel now available at all petrol stations. The E10 fuel has caused quite a stir, and this month we answer all the questions you may have regards the effects of the higher ethanol in your BMW. Read the feature on page 21.

This month’s MLife shares the history of the ‘CS’. These two letters that have had many different meanings over the decades. Find out more on page 26.

On page 32 we bring you the final part of BMR Performance’s E39 M5 Touring build.

After six long months, the final touches have been applied, and this one-off driving machine is finally completed.

26 regulars 6

Board Torque

8

Thoughts from the Boardroom

Darryl Curran’s E36 328i Sport was once destined for a life of modifications and hard work. Planned as a drift car, this Avus blue example would have surely been lost to the scrap heap one day. However destiny, with the help of his partner Sam, had other thoughts, which lead to the full restoration of the sporty coupe.

Do you have an interesting article for Straight Six? Whether it’s a restoration 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! Please send article suggestions to officeadmin@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.

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.

10 Club News

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, Silas Benaiah.

12 BMW News

Happy reading!

14 Motorsport News

Jeff, Lisa, & Will Straight Six editorial team.

18 Products 50 Crossword/Your Letters 51 Classifieds 52 Regions 67 Registers 81 Your Photos 82 Club Pub Meets

boardtorque Dave Evans - Region Director

A

t the time of writing the October 2021 Board Torque, I have just spent the day at Anglesey Race Circuit partaking in the Car Club Track Day. What a great day it was. If you have ever thought of having a go then take this from a fairly new convert: go for it. Starting with a thorough briefing on the rules and regulations, the dos and don’ts, followed by a sighting lap to familiarise yourself with the circuit, the rest is left to you. On and off the circuit as you please because of the open pit lane, chatting with and learning from the more experienced guys, it’s a great day.

I have definitely got the bug now.

Track days are just one of the many activities the club offers and whatever your particular forté is, the club has an event for you. If you want to get involved from static car shows, concours, foreign tours through to racing, it’s there if you want to get involved.

Reading through last month’s edition of Straight Six, it’s great to see most of the Regions are coming back to some sort of normality that we all missed so much in 2020. Pub meets are now back on the agenda, as are events across the country. We are looking forward to a return to a full calendar in 2022 including the national day, now called ‘Sommerfest’, planned for a date in mid-May at Donington Park. Keeping it at a more central location, we hope that it will be accessible to all members. It will be a much more family orientated gathering with entertainment for our partners and children. It will also include our usual format for the show, plus live racing, rallying action, anniversary

6 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

and speciality parade laps. We will be catering for all BMW enthusiasts, concours, vintage, classics, modified, Motorrad and all other sections of our wonderful BMW family.

As we slowly see out the last remaining months of 2021 many of the Regions will be holding their Annual AGM. The Regional AGMs follow the same format as the BMW Car Club AGM and it is where you as members of your respective Regions can go along and show your support for your Region.

The normal business to be conducted at these AGMs is the election of Officers and any Committee members, a review of the Region’s previous activities and events and also the planning for the year ahead. Results of these AGMs are

forwarded to the Club Office Manager who maintains a record of the results, such as names of Officers elected, a summary of what was discussed and a list of attendees. Keep an eye out in the Regions section of the magazine for details of when your AGM will be taking place or contact your Regional Chair directly.

The success of every Region is down to a team of volunteers who make up each individual Region and Committee.

The pub meets, breakfast meets, drive outs, quiz nights and treasure hunts we all enjoy wouldn’t be able to go ahead without their hard work and planning.

So why not go along to your next AGM or meeting and see how you can get involved in supporting your Region.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club GB Ireland Tour

4th – 8th September 2022 | Killarney, County Kerry Join fellow BMW owners in exploring some of Ireland’s most dramatic scenery on this relaxed driving holiday. The combination of rugged coastlines, imposing mountains and picturesque villages make this area perfect for exploring in your car. When you are not out enjoying the pre-planned circular day-drives, you will be able to relax at the 5-star Hotel Dunloe & Gardens, which will host us for four nights.

What is included: • Return cruise ferry crossings from Holyhead – Dublin with Stena Line (other routes are also available) • 4 nights at the 5-star Hotel Dunloe & Gardens in Killarney, in a double or twin garden room.

• Breakfast at the hotel each morning • Sunday evening welcome barbecue in the hotel’s gardens • Wednesday night tour dinner • Use of the hotel’s facilities including swimming pool, gymnasium, horse stables, fishing & indoor tennis courts • Suggested driving routes, route plans & rally boards

Tour Price: £879.00 per person (based on 2 people in a car sharing a double or twin room) non-refundable deposit of £200.00 per person A will be required at the time of booking This exclusive tour will be limited to 25 cars.

Please call Travel Destinations on 01707 329988 to reserve your place.

A BTA No .W597X

thoughts from the boardroom O

Chris Brownridge. CEO BMW (UK) Ltd.

ver the years BMW has revealed a mouth-watering array of concept cars at various motor shows and events around the world and choosing a favourite is an incredibly difficult task. Concept cars take so many different forms, from nigh-on production ready glimpses at next year’s model to those that hint at what the future might hold. Of course, there are many, many more that don’t see the light of day where our talented engineers and designers are experimenting with potential cars of the future.

One of my favourites was the Turbo Concept from way back in 1972, a glorious gullwing-doored vision of what the sports car of the future might look like. Some of its styling cues went on to be used on the M1 supercar but, despite the concept’s sporting bias, it was also a showcase for many advanced safety and production techniques. It had foam-filled bumpers that would regenerate after parking bumps and one of its features was a radar controlled braking system.

Pie-in-the-sky stuff for 1972. But a similar system did enter production as the Active Cruise Control option on the E38 7 Series, so don’t discount futuristic items on concepts as being unlikely to make production.

Last month I talked about the IAA Mobility Show that’s just taken place in Munich, but what I couldn’t mention before was the BMW i Vision Circular

8 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

concept car that we unveiled at the show for the first time. Like the Turbo, also revealed in Munich nigh on 50 years ago, the i Vision Circular is a forward-looking machine, but this time it’s a compact, all-electric vehicle for the year 2040 that is focused squarely on sustainability and luxury.

The BMW i Vision Circular has been designed with circular economy principles in mind and our aim is to produce a vehicle made from 100 percent recycled materials that is 100 percent recyclable.

Even today our vehicles are, on average, constructed from 30 percent recycled and reusable materials and the aim is for this to rise to 50 percent in the near future. For the 100 percent recycled and recyclable i Vision, this involves a comprehensive reimagining of the materials used in their construction as well as the production techniques involved.

Some of the processes used in the i Vision are quite remarkable and will go a long way towards reducing CO2 emissions throughout a vehicle’s entire life cycle. For example, the battery used is an all-solid-state unit, which not only achieves much higher energy density but is 100 percent recyclable and manufactured almost entirely using recycled materials. There’s also a significant emphasis being placed on ease of disassembly so several parts. The seats, instrument panel and wheels have

quick release fasteners to aid removal.

Clever new joining techniques within the interior avoid the use of glue in their construction and many components are manufactured to fit exactly using processes such as 3D printing.

Recycled plastics are used for the bumpers and for the seat shells, for the carpet and the upholstery. While the exterior eschews the use of paint as the surfaces are finished in light-gold anodised secondary aluminium instead.

Even the car’s exterior badging has been reimagined, with the BMW badge engraved on the front and rear of the vehicle to avoid using extra add-on parts.

There are a host of other innovations and features on the BMW i Vision Circular that I simply don’t have space to explore here, but I think it’s a fascinating insight into how sustainably produced cars could look by 2040. I love concept cars for the glimpses they afford us of what the future might bring and while the i Vision Circular is a rather different machine to the 50-year-old Turbo Concept, it’s certainly just as fascinating and I look forward to the day when we can see elements of its design in our production cars.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

9

clubnews Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, with Discovery, which brings together a great array of classic car and motorcycle clubs along with their iconic classic and vintage cars and motorbikes, is an event not to be missed. No matter what you’re looking for this is the ultimate season finale for any classic car or bike owner, collector, enthusiast, club member, or simply anyone with a passion for classic vehicles.

The show returns at the end of this year, from 12 – 14 November at NEC, Birmingham. Book tickets now using our Club code CCL174 through www.necclassicmotorshow.com.

Calling all Zed cars!

We are currently planning BMW Car Club GB participation at this premier event where as usual we have a display area among the Prestige Car Clubs exhibiting in Hall 1. This year we have a very central position in the hall adjacent to the Meguiar’s Headline Sponsors stand.

We’d like to remind members that you can easily and quickly set up a Direct Debit for your yearly BMW Car Club subscription to avoid having to renew manually each year.

If you are interested in renewing by Direct Debit, you can set one up by filling out the Direct Debit mandate enclosed with your monthly issue of Straight Six. Direct Debits can be cancelled at any time with no quibble provided you give 14 days’ notice before your renewal month.

For more information, please email office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.

10 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

The two parallel themes for 2021 are Z and Green (in the environmental sense, not the car colour) We would like to present the Z1, Z3, Z4 (E85, E86 and E89) and of course the iconic Z8. If you would like to be part of the show with your pride and joy on display, please let Martyn Goodwin know ASAP to be included in what is always a fantastic three day event.

Contact Martyn on bmwcotswolds@gmail.com.

We’re pleased to announce to return of the Halfords Rewards voucher, which benefits members with a 10% discount off their instore purchases. The voucher is available online and on request by emailing office@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk, or even easier, cut it out below for immediate use.

As the UK’s leading cycling and motoring retailer, Halfords is your one-stop shop for exclusive brands in bikes, high quality car parts, and accessories, as well as the latest sat navs, and travelling equipment.

Halfords has over 460 stores nationwide offering more than 115,000 different product lines plus many extra services like WeFit. Visit www.halfords.com to browse the full ranges.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

New Members CENTRAL

Scott Nicholls

NORTH EAST

WESSEX

Martin Thorpe

John Nicholson

Danny Hunter

Michael Brennan

Duncan Clarke

Dominic Riggott

Matt Butler

Karl Galloway

Jennifer Peckett

NORTH WEST

Kevin Townsend

Graham White

Jayne Elam

Jay Price

Brian McKay

Iain Collie

Cameron Adams

Tom McWilliam

IRELAND

Kassim Kolia

Stephen Mercier

CENTRAL WEST

Gary Harking

Steve Cooke

Michael Goodall

Colin Boyce

Yuen Cheong Cheung

Jason Purewal

LONDON

Theo Tsiolas

Liam Harmitt

Richard Brawand

Paul Jenkins

Christian Adamson

SCOTLAND

Salah Abbes

Angelo Brzezinski

Stuart Forster

Oliver Thacker

Dav McCosh

Ciprian Llie

Adam Bayliss

Maheshkanna Radhakrishnan Visalakshi

Claire Davidson

Lukasz Cywinski

SOUTH EAST

CORNWALL Geoff Allbright

COTSWOLD John Almond Michael Davies

CUMBRIA Ian Storey

DEVON Archie Halls David Astill

Robert Berry Jitendra Jidia Osman Manan Amanda Simoes Matt Onslow Swaroop Kumar Nicholas Page Peter Cousins Zakir Biplob Graham Hayes Oliver Fergus

Dominic Sinclair-Moore Harvey Mitchell Matthew Johnson David Brookes Phil Page

WALES - SOUTH Benjamin Culverhouse

WESTERN Michael Hine

What’s on...

October 2: Toast2Coast

Eastern Region event, everyone welcome. Contact trackdayregister@hotmail.com for more information.

10: Bicester Heritage October Scramble

Book through www.bicesterheritage.co.uk 16-17: BMW Car Club Racing

Round 7 of BMWCCR at Snetterton circuit

November 12-14:

NEC Classic Motor Show Club code: CCL174

EAST ANGLIA Bobby-Borislava Pepelyashka Phil Beale Stephen Jarvis

Trackday Calendar 2021

Phil Banks

November

Jason Holt

Stephen Carter

12: Oulton Park £175 SOLD OUT! Email lisa@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk to be added to the reserve list.

David Brown

Andrew Keep Pratik Padhiar

EASTERN John Dakin Shoaib Khan Aiden Moss

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 11

bmwnews BMW i Vision Circular With the BMW i Vision Circular, the BMW Group is looking ahead with a compact BMW for the year 2040 that is focused squarely on sustainability and luxury. The four-seater has a fully electric powertrain and offers a generous amount of interior space within its four-metre-or-so-long footprint, because the packaging is so clever.

The BMW Group’s overriding aim, as it strives to achieve climate neutrality, is to reduce CO2 emissions throughout a vehicle’s entire life cycle. Besides electrifying the product portfolio and switching to renewable energy for manufacturing, the company is focusing particularly on circular economy principles and the use of secondary materials.

These materials, such as secondary

aluminium and secondary steel, can be obtained by recycling waste material and then reused. The process for supplying secondary materials is far less harmful to the environment and carbon intensive compared to the extraction and manufacture of primary material. This can bring about a major improvement in a vehicle’s carbon footprint, especially on the supply chain side. At present, vehicles from the BMW Group are manufactured using nearly 30% recycled and reused material, on average. The “secondary first” approach is intended to gradually increase this figure to 50%.

“The BMW i Vision Circular illustrates our all-encompassing, meticulous way of thinking when it comes to sustainable mobility. It symbolises our ambition to be

a pioneering force in the development of a circular economy,” explains Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “We lead the way for resource efficiency in production and we are seeking to extend this status to all stages of the vehicle life cycle. This is a question of economic sustainability too, as the current trend in commodity prices clearly shows the financial consequences in store for any industry that is reliant on finite resources.”

This car is so clever, the press release was one of the longest we’ve ever received, explaining at great length every innovative detail of the car. We think it’s worth taking a look at this YouTube video which demonstrates all the features the i Vision Circular possesses: https://youtu. be/Zd7s5A9Xdok

The new 4 Series Convertible by Schnitzer BMW specialists AC Schnitzer has released a host of goodies for the G23 4 Series Convertible, including performance upgrades, AC1 and AC4 20-inch wheels, sports rear silencers, aerodynamic components, sports suspension and lots of interior styling parts. The performance upgrades cater for all convertible models, too. AC Schnitzer can increase the power output of the 420i to 224hp, the 430i to 300hp and the real monster is the 440i which can be tweaked to 420hp.

The best bit is that AC Schnitzer provides a two-year warranty on the tuned engine and five-year warranty on the actual unit and software.

For more details, visit ac-schnitzer.co.uk

12 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Revolution, not Evolution BMW Group to reduce carbon footprint significantly by 2030 using innovative materials The BMW Group is stepping up its fight against climate change with a unique sustainability strategy and clearly defined CO2 targets, as announced by Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG at a media event in Munich. The main focus of the company’s pioneering strategy is, on the one hand, to drastically reduce CO2 per vehicle by 2030. While on the other, with the introduction of the Neue Klasse, the BMW Group will be massively promoting the use of secondary materials and the forward-looking principles of the circular economy. The BMW Group is committing to a more sustainable pathway, with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Centigrade.

Fulfilment of all climate goals is closely tied to research and development of sustainable materials.

The BMW Group believes only a holistic approach to the use of proven and

new materials can permanently reduce CO2 emissions. For this reason, the BMW Group is focusing its research and development efforts on environmentallycompatible raw materials. At the same time, it is accelerating the creation of a secondary materials market and working with select start-ups and experienced material suppliers to develop pioneering materials.

The BMW Group has used renewable raw materials in its vehicles for a number of years. For example, in door trim panels, a natural fibre mat is paired with a plastic matrix to make the panel. Renewable raw materials like natural fibres are not only 30% lighter than plastic alternatives, they also come into the CO2 calculation with a negative value, since they absorb CO2 and release oxygen during the growth phase.

In recognition of this potential, the BMW Group and its partners have systematically further developed the use of hemp, kenaf

The first Mexican 2 Series Coupé rolls off the production line The BMW Group Plant in San Luis Potosi has started the production of the new BMW 2 Series Coupé. The new highpowered sports coupé is the first BMW model to be built in Mexico.

The San Luis Potosi plant is the newest within the company’s global production network. From its design and construction, the plant was designed to easily adapt to produce different models. In just two years since the plant first started to be built, it has enhanced operations to include the manufacture of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and has expanded its distribution possibilities to cover the globe. With an additional investment of $125 million dollars, the facilities were improved to incorporate a second vehicle into its production line.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

and flax, creating natural fibre lattice structures from the materials.

Wood can be used as a renewable raw material in many different areas, too. The application on wood includes a pioneering wood foam, made up of finely ground wood particles. The foam’s resistance comes from its own binding forces, which make it possible to dispense with synthetic adhesives.

The foam therefore consists of 100% renewable raw materials and could replace acoustic foams in the future.

The BMW i Vision AMBY

With the BMW i Vision AMBY, the first high-speed pedelec for urbanists, the BMW Group is presenting a visionary two-wheeled solution for the urban mobility of tomorrow. And for those who are wondering what the name means, AMBY is a neologism for adaptive mobility.

From the outside, the BMW i Vision AMBY looks similar to an e-bike, but it offers significantly more possibilities. The AMBY is fitted with an electric drive system with three speed ratings for different types of roads. The drive system enables speeds of up to 16mph on cycle tracks, up to 28mph on city centre roads and up to 37mph on multi-lane roads and outside urban areas.

Insurance plates and a corresponding licence will be required for the higher speeds.

The BMW Group views the BMW i Vision AMBY as an attractive means of transport for the future in larger cities. As a second vehicle for a family or an entry point into the world of pedal-driven, electrified two-wheeled vehicles, the BMW i Vision AMBY offers an extremely varied range of applications.

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 13

motorsportnews BMW Motorsport to race in LMDh Class BMW Motorsport has announced that it is to race in the LMDh Class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the 2023 season. This means it will be racing at the top of the GT tree for outright race wins at the Daytona 24H Race and similar events in the USA. BMW Motorsport recently announced that the chassis for the two prototype vehicles that will race in the IMSA series will be developed in close partnership with the world-renowned and successful motorsport manufacturer Dallara. The contract was signed in mid-September at Dallara’s headquarters in Varano de Melegari, Italy.

Markus Flasch, Managing Director of BMW M GmbH said “We are very pleased to have found a partner for our LMDh project in Dallara who share our passion, professionalism and great ambition in motorsport and who, together with us, is fully committed to the goal of writing a new success story in the history of BMW M Motorsport from 2023.” He went on to add: “After talking to all the chassis partners, it was crucial for our choice that Dallara, with all their expertise and experience, absolutely wanted to work with BMW M Motorsport. The chemistry between us was right from the start. We see our relationship as a real partnership in which we fight for a common

goal: success on the racetrack.”

Exciting times indeed. It’s great to see a BMW racing at the pinnacle of GT racing, once again. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see this car be adapted for running in Europe at Le Mans and emulating the LMR V12 victory in 1999?

Wittmann so close at Spielberg At the 5th Round of the new DTM series (now run with GT3 cars), Marco Wittmann came so close to adding a win to his weekend’s results; in the first race he finished 7th. For the second round of the weekend on Sunday, Wittmann was the star in qualifying and placed his Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 on pole with an immaculate lap. He was closely followed by the Ferrari 488 GT3 of New Zealand driver Liam Lawson. At the start of Sunday’s race, Wittmann made a perfect start and easily held the lead going into the pit stops.

Unfortunately, without a level playing field, issues arise. It seems that, in this season of DTM, some of the race teams’ cars have new wheel nuts that are attached to the hub of the wheel and are, therefore, much quicker to change during a pit stop. By

comparison, traditional single nut wheels have to be detached from each wheel as you change tyres, which takes longer.

This wheel nut debacle lost Wittmann the race, basically.

Lawson’s Ferrari has the new wheel nut system and the M6 GT3 doesn’t, so the Ferrari team were able to bring Lawson in for his pit stop right behind Wittmann knowing their stop would be shorter. Wittmann tried gallantly to pass the Ferrari on the remaining laps, but had to settle for 2nd place in the end.

This is another issue that has been brewing up since the first race of the season, with the teams and DTM officials in crisis talks to solve this problem. It’s actually quite easy, make everyone use the same wheel nuts.

Wittmann held onto first place at the start of the second race after qualifying on pole. He comfortably held onto the top spot until the pit stop tyre change when the 2nd placed Ferrari 488 GT3 took his place in the lead until the chequered flag

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Roving reporters Jeff Heywood & Paul Kelly

Turkington shines in the Kingdom of Fife!

The BTCC circus headed north to the Knockhill circuit, in Dunfermline. Ciceley Motorsport hoped to build on their Oulton Park success, with another big points haul at the tight and technical Knockhill circuit. WSR were also hoping for success and to claim their 100th victory in the series.

Qualifying It was a bit of a disaster for Ciceley Motorsport. Adam Morgan hit a kerb too hard on the entry to the chicane, sending the 330i into the gravel and bringing out the red flags. Rules state that, if you are the cause of the stoppage, you are excluded. Early bath for the Lancashire ace, then. No problems for WSR, though.

Colin Turkington snathced pole with a superb lap, possibly helped by his team mates ahead. This set the scene for that century of WSR wins. Next was Tom Oliphant in 10th, Adam Morgan 13th, Stephen Jelley 14th, and Tom Chilton 16th.

Race 1 From the off, Colin Turkington made a great start and immediately pulled a gap on second placed Senna Proctor’s Honda.

Turkington was up to three seconds ahead by lap five. Then the safety car came out after Dan Lloyd’s Astra went off and hit the fence as repairs to the circuit were needed.

Further down the field, Tom Oliphant had dropped a place to 11th, Stephen Jelley was up to 13th, Adam Morgan down two to 15th, Tom Chilton one down also.

As racing resumed it was Turkington who remained ahead, building up a lead.

Going into the final turn, Tom Oliphant got tagged by local Rory Butcher’s Toyota which sent the WSR BMW spinning out of contention. But at the flag, it was Colin Turkington taking the win by four seconds and securing WSR’s 100th win in the series, only the 3rd team to ever achieve this result. The team’s first victory was at Silverstone in 1998. It was also the 75th win for the team in BMWs. Team Principal Dick Bennett was absolutely delighted.

Other BMW finishers were; Stephen Jelly 11th, Tom Chilton 12th, Adam Morgan 13th, and an unlucky Tom Oliphant in 28th.

Race 2 Colin Turkington got the hole shot again, but the racing was short lived.

Chris Smiley stalled on the line, causing many cars to take avoiding action. Nick Hamilton’s Cupra collided with the pit wall, I don’t think he even crossed the line. The safety car was dispatched again while the debris was cleared. Further down, Tom Chilton was having a great race and was up to 8th position. His

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Colin Turkington flies through the chicane on his way to that historic win

teammate Adam Morgan did have the same luck, he spun at the chicane, his nemesis in qualifying. Morgan rejoined way down in 26th. Stephen Jelley was 10th and fighting with Rory Butcher’s Toyota. On lap 11, Tom Chilton was having a great scrap for 6th place with Aiden Moffatt in his Infiniti and Tom Ingram in his Hyundai. Going through the chicane, there was contact from one of the cars, rotating the Car Gods-backed 330i of Chilton into the gravel. Chilton rejoined in 28th, which was a real shame as 6th place would have been Tom’s best finish so far this season. Up front, Turkington was coming under pressure from Josh Cook in the Norlin Honda Civic and reigning champ Ash Sutton in the Infiniti. By lap 16 now and Ash Sutton had fought his way to the back bumper of the heavy 330i of Turkington, who had to drive defensively to keep the flying Infiniti at bay. Turkington did a great job of it too, Sutton trying everything in his armoury to create an opportunity. The safety car came out on lap 23 as Rory Butcher went off at turn one. When the racing was back on, Sutton was right on the tail of Turkington, could he hang on? On the final lap, and under-pressure Turkington over does his entry speed to the chicane putting the BMW in the gravel, Sutton gets past. At the finish line it was Sutton first, Turkington recovered to finish second. Stephen Jelly was 9th, Morgan 16th, Oliphant 17th and Chilton 25th.

Race 3 The draw for the reverse grid gave pole position to Stephen Jelly in the WSR BMW. He had Jason Plato next to him.

WSR team principal Dick Bennett joins Colin Turkington on the podium to celebrate 100 wins.

The stalwart of the series would give his all in the Adrian Flux Astra. Jelly’s teammate, Colin Turkington, was shuffled down the pack to 8th.

Jelly got a great start and led the pack for the 24-lap race. He was under attack immediately from Plato. Lap two and the safety car was sent out after a collision involving Josh Cook’s Honda and Jack Goff’s Cupra. Jelley led until the end of lap 18 when Tom Ingram nipped up the inside at the final corner, sending Jelly wide and allowing Senna Proctor through in the Honda, too. With Jelly now in 3rd, he came under pressure from home boy Gordon Shedden, his Honda was all over the back of Jelley’s 330i. At the line it was Tom Ingram first, Stephen Jelly managed to hang on for a brilliant 3rd place. Colin Turkington held position in 8th. Adam Morgan finished 13th, the best of the Ciceley cars. It was a challenging weekend for Lancashire based Ciceley Motorsport, wanting results and having a really tough weekend. Scoring just a few points out of a possible 75 was not in the script and drops Adam from 5th to 10th in the title race. Hats off to WSR, though, 100 wins and Colin Turkington right back in it for the championship.

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 15

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BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

17

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18 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 19

Don’t let E10 keep your classic BMW off the road Classic Valvemaster and Classic Valvemaster Plus with Etha-Guard - stabilises E5 and E10 petrol.

www.classicvalvemaster.co.uk

Feature

E10 Away Words by Will Beaumont Photos: BMW Press

Everything you need to know about the UK’s new ethanol-rich petrol, what it can do to your car and how to combat the effects.

F

orgive us. Like some conspiracy theorist agitator, we may have added to the panic around the latest crisis. No, we’ve not called into question vaccines or masks, but in the last issue of Straight Six the editor, Jeff, looked back at the destructive fuelgenerated pandemic that affected BMWs (and a few other cars) in the 1990s, the Nikasil issue. Was that feature poor timing, or perfect timing? Because we either caused a stir or sharpened your wits about what could be another fuel disaster, for a small group of cars anyway.

A new type of petrol, E10, was introduced at the start of September and it’s not suitable for every car. That means, right now, we’re in the warning stages of this potential disaster.

Most of what you read about E10 www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

boils down to this: check the government website (www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10petrol) and see if your car can run on this new fuel. If it’s okay to use, don’t worry.

If the petrol is unsuitable, use premium unleaded and your car will be fine. I don’t know about you, though, but such vagueness, such basic simplicity, creates even more questions. What exactly is

E10 fuel? Why is it being introduced? Is it damaging to all cars, just less harmful to newer ones that issues are only ever minor? And, importantly, how can we avoid any damage to our precious cars?

To get to the bottom of what the change to E10 fuel really means, and to get a detailed understanding of the situation, we’ve spoken to the technical BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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Feature

departments of both Millers Oils and Castrol Classic Oils.

So, firstly, a simple one, what exactly is E10 fuel? “E10 fuel contains 10% ethanol, which is derived from biomass such as grains or sugar. Until 1st September 2021, standard 95ron E5labelled petrol contained 5% ethanol. This has now been increased to E10 which has 10% ethanol. Higher octane super unleaded has remained at E5” the team at Castrol Classic tells us. It should also be added that diesel is not affected by these new regulations at all.

The reason for the change is for environmental considerations, the Castrol Classic experts go into further detail: “By increasing the proportion of ethanol in petrol, less oil needs to be extracted in the first place. The idea behind using ethanol is that it can be distilled from biological resources such as grains, sugar and even waste wood. As these can be grown, and in a relatively short space of time compared to how long oil takes to form, they are considered to be a renewable energy source. Ethanol production also has a lower CO2 footprint than oil production. The government estimates that the introduction of E10 petrol will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 750,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent to removing 350,000 cars from the road.” The Millers team adds: “It reduces tailpipe emissions, and crops planted for the production of ethanol will over time absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.”

The planting of crops for fuel rather than food, however, does generate some issues, as the Castrol Classic guys touch on: “This one is contentious, there is an argument that growing crops for energy use is not the best use of farmland. In particular, a large amount of land and

22 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

water is needed to produce a small amount of ethanol distillate. Further, ethanol is often produced from primary food crops; in the US, for example, it is commonly produced from corn. This can distort prices in basic commodity markets and encourage less developed nations to move production focus from food to what can now be considered a cash crop.”

It’s not all bad, there are further benefits to ethanol supplemented fuel according to the Millers team: “It reduces engine knock and increases an engine’s performance.” But also: “Ethanol is less energy-dense and could reduce an engine’s efficiency, therefore lower MPG figures of approximately 1%.”

It’s the actual harm it can do to cars that we need to really discuss. We wouldn’t need this feature if E10 didn’t cause problems for vehicles. So what does ethanol-rich fuel do to a car?

“Some older vehicles have components in the fuel system that have never been designed to be used with fuels containing ethanol,” says the Millers technical team.

While the Castrol Classic bunch add: “The main issue with ethanol in petrol is moisture and the knock-on effects of acidity. Firstly, ethanol is hygroscopic, so it attracts moisture from the air. Water will mix with ethanol, but not with petrol.

Water drops to the bottom of the fuel tank, taking some of the ethanol with it.

This is known as partial phase separation.

With enough water, the ethanol in the fuel will become saturated and drop out of suspension completely.”

That doesn’t sound great, but it doesn’t sound like E10 is the fuel-systemdestroying petrol that’s been suggested.

Hang on, the technical squad at Castrol Classic have more to add: “A further issue is that ethanol-mix fuels can become acidic. Ethanol fuels are not acidic when they come out of the fuel pump. However, acidity can be caused by a reaction to CO2.

CO2 is extremely soluble in ethanol, so, like moisture, it will be attracted to an ethanol fuel blend from the atmosphere.

And, in the presence of water, it will convert to carbonic acid. It will effectively

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Feature

become rainwater, which is mildly acidic at pH 5.6.

“When the pH of ethanol drops below 6.5, it can cause fuel pumps to malfunction due to a film forming between the brushes and commutator, fuel injectors can fail from corrosion or carburettor floats to stick.

“The most safety-critical thing to check is your fuel hoses. Older hoses were made of more permeable materials, which allow more vapour to escape the hose wall than modern materials do.

When the petrol contains ethanol, the ethanol in the vapour will dry out the hose, causing it to become brittle and prone to cracking. Then there are other areas where corrosion may occur that will not necessarily give a visual indication, such as the base of the fuel tank.

“One other thing to look out for is hot-running. Ethanol actually burns at a lower temperature than petrol. If you look at the molecular structures of petrol and ethanol, you will see a major difference: ethanol contains an oxygen atom, whereas petrol is oxygen-free. When the ethanol petrol blend is combusted in the engine, the oxygen supplied by ethanol – that would not be there in pure petrol – is now added. This causes the fuel-air mixture to become leaner and can result in hot running. However, it can be resolved by setting your fuel mixture slightly richer.”

“Finally, it can even cause excessive cylinder wear.” Is this Nikasil all over again? No, don’t worry. “All vehicles from 2011 are required to be E10 or even higher percentage ethanol fuels compatible” the Millers Oils technical crew reassures us.

“Vehicle and component www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

manufacturers have been aware of ethanol requirements in petrol for several years, and indeed ethanol-blend petrol has been commonplace in some other countries for a long time. Most vehicles from 2002 onwards are compatible with E10” the Castrol Classic experts explain.

“BMW, in particular, has stated that all of their cars can use E10 petrol, so they’re confident that there won’t be any issues with running and that fuel system components will be made of compatible materials.”

For older cars, it’s a different story according to the masters at Castrol Classic: “The issue for owners of classics is that these vehicles are often only used occasionally or laid-up over the winter period. As the fuel is sitting in the tank for a longer period of time, the hygroscopic action of E10 fuel is exacerbated, potentially leading to more serious corrosion problems in the fuel tank and

lines. After sitting for so long, the petrol can also become stale making the engine run badly.”

The new E10 fuel, then, is mostly only a problem for older cars. But if you’re still not wholly satisfied with BMW saying all of its cars are compatible with ethanolsupplement fuels (because clearly, it isn’t taking into account the classic cars from its past) and what the government website says, and you want to do your own checks to see if it’s safe to use E10 in your car, the Castrol team has a few tips on what to look for: “The first place to check is your owner’s manual. Also, your fuel hoses should have their specification stamped on them. An R6-type hose was the original fitment on older vehicles, but the generally accepted standard nowadays for use with an ethanol blend is rated R9. Check and replace if necessary or damaged, and any hoses that look original on a car from before 2000, or around then, should be considered for replacement as a matter of course.”

If you’ve concluded your fuel system won’t be happy with E10 in it, the repercussions of accidentally filling the tank aren’t serious. “Filling up with a tank of E10 should not cause any immediate damage and it will still run the engine.

Ethanol corrosion to seals, plastics and metals will happen over time.” Says the Miller Oils specialists. The Castrol whizzes suggest not to panic: “The best thing to do is to drive the vehicle until the fuel tank is almost empty, then refill with suitable petrol, and do this as soon as possible. The potentially damaging effects of E10 will only occur with the introduction of moisture to the fuel, so as long as the vehicle isn’t sitting around for a long period of time you shouldn’t BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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Feature

have any problems.” Get out and drive, our favourite advice. We can hear you all now: “Sorry love, I think I filled the tank with that E10 stuff again. I’ve got to go out for another drive to use it all up. I can’t help it, it’s what the experts have recommended.”

If you’ve got a car from this century that you use a lot, hopefully, you’ll be a lot more comfortable with E10. There really is nothing for you to worry about.

For classic owners, or for cars that aren’t used frequently, it’s not so rosy. The default solution, use premium fuel which remains at just 5% ethanol, isn’t the magic answer you might hope for: “The issues previously mentioned regarding potentially damaging effects to fuel lines in particular, and other components generally, should still give the classic driver cause for concern. Even at the lower 5% ethanol content of E5, there is still ethanol in the fuel, albeit at a lesser concentration.” Says the Castrol Classic team, adding: “Still, we would normally

24 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

recommend running classic vehicles on super unleaded anyway, as the higher octane will be beneficial to performance.”

For classics and cars that only come out in the summer, the best way to counter the negative effects of ethanolblend fuels, whether it’s E5 or E10, is an additive. “Petrol additives are designed to counter the harmful effects that modern fuels can have on components in older vehicles. By using an additive that stabilises the ethanol, you mitigate the risk of damage” the aces at Castrol Classic say.

What’s the best thing to do, regardless of cost? What if you want the ultimate protection? You care for your car, service it regularly, treat it to all sorts of cleaning potions; you want to use the best thing in the fuel tank too. The Millers Oils team says: “The ideal situation would be E10 fuel treated with EPS and Petrol Power Ecomax.” Its own set of additives.

“When EPS is used, it will negate the harmful effects of ethanol corrosion. So,

essentially, using an additive will be far more cost-effective pence-per-litre than using a super unleaded fuel, which would still contain a percentage ethanol.”

The team at Castrol Classic’s opinion is slightly different, with a preference for their own products, naturally: “Super unleaded with Classic Valvemaster Plus will give you optimum performance alongside optimum protection. It is suitable for all vehicles that do not have a catalytic converter and, as well as stabilising ethanol, it will provide protection against valve seat recession, improve fuel economy and performance, keep your fuel system clean, and prevent corrosion. Valvemaster Plus also gives an increase in fuel economy that will counteract the effect of E10.”

The ideal solution, as ever, requires more money to be spent. It looks like a fuel additive can be added to the long list of car care products we already fork out for. In fact, because we’ve been using E5 petrol for years, something to counter the detrimental effects of ethanol in our tanks should have been there alongside battery conditioners, car covers and tyre savers, items we’ve lavished on our cars happily, a while ago. If there’s one benefit to the introduction of E10, it’s that it has highlighted just what a nuisance ethanol is in classic and modern cars that are used only occasionally. Thankfully there’s a solution in these additives. Yes, it involves spending money. And no, it’s hardly as sexy as new wheels, hot cams or racy suspension, but if there’s one thing we’re expert at, it’s spending cash on our cars. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

E10

Petrol Corrosion Alert!

Protect your engine components from the corrosive effects of ethanol contained in E10 petrol.

EPS ETHANOL PROTECTION SYSTEM

Recommended for use in vehicles manufactured before 2011.

Add to E10 petrol each time you refuel.

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MillersOilsLtd

Life Feature – What does CS stand for?

26 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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LIFE

What does CS stand for?

Words: Will Beaumont Photos: BMW Press

Some letters just scream speed. R and, especially on a motorbike, RR. There’s GT and, of course, M too. T and Ti deserve an honourable mention.

S should be more exciting, but it’s been used on too many mediocre trim levels to raise any pulses on its own. With an R, a GT, a T, even an I, however, now we’re talking.

T

he letter C, now I don’t get that.

Comfortable, casual, calm, compliant… conventional. It’s so soft, so lacking in intimidation that I am baffled as to why it’s one-half of BMW’s most aggressive badge: CS. Remember, there is currently no GTS version of the new M4… not yet anyway.

History is the reason it’s there. You know the story, but let’s go over it again quickly.

Back in the 1960s, the coupé-version of www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

the Neue Klasse was differentiated from its saloon brother by a C at the end of its name: 2000C. A more powerful version was then given an S, too. Together, CS stood for Coupé Sport. A fitting name for what was a brisk car, but one that majored on elegance rather than ballistic velocity.

BMW then continued to use CS on its big coupé models, the impossibly dignified 2800 and the 3.0 CS and CSi. BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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Life Feature – What does CS stand for?

It all changed for the pleasant pair of letters when BMW added an L for Leicht (light) and created one of its most famous homologation specials, the 3.0 CSL. From then on, in BMW circles, there were no three letters more important and this car gave further credibility to the previously modest CS badge.

The M635i CSi and oh-so-nearly-anM-car 850 CSi kept the reputation of the letters C and S in high esteem throughout the 80s and 90s. Then, with the best E46 M3 you could buy, the CSL title was revived. Trimmed down, lithe and with more power, the M3 CSL was, and still is, a highlight of the M3’s 35-year life span.

Along with aiding in the creation of a whole new genre of vehicle, the stripped-out track day special, the CSL is responsible for the modern BMW CS models too.

Once the E46 M3 was in the autumn of its production life, BMW added an optional

28 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

package, code name ZCP, that added some of the trick parts from the CSL. It didn’t include the carbon airbox or any of the engine upgrades, but the ZCP pack brought with it the CSL’s quick steering rack, its bigger brakes, the M-Track stability control function, an Alcantara steering wheel and CSL-inspired springs and 19-inch Y-spoke wheels – beautiful, but not quite as light as those on the CSL. In Europe, cars with the ZCP option were given the title Competition Package.

But here in the UK, some clever bod called it the M3 CS. For some, this was the M3 to have of the E46 range. Only those who have a phobia of automatics, though, because unlike the CSL, the CS could be equipped with a manual gearbox. Those three pedals and the quick rack combine to give the CS a character that’s not apparent in any other E46 M3. Not one from the factory, anyway.

The CS is more like an ordinary E46 M3 than a CSL, that’s for sure. It doesn’t have the same wide, stuck-to-the-floor feel of the CSL, nor the same howling motor. It’s altogether more relaxed.

It does, however, borrow a big dollop of the limited-edition car’s accuracy and poise. The different springs and livelier steering add more energy to the way the E56 M3 behaves, yet it’s always obedient.

Without the CSL’s tenacious appetite for speed, all that sharpness simply adds masses of control and confidence.

The CS is forgiving when the standard soggy-by-comparison E46 M3 is a little cumbersome, and approachable when the CSL is too senior. That’s within the parameters of the E46 M3, as none of them really feel clumsy or aloof compared to many other cars. Even many other BMW M-cars.

The result is a car that feels like it’s been solely designed to put a smile on your face. Barr the induction scream of the CSL, sadly, the CS has every one of the E46 M3’s most fun components.

Not the fastest ones, not the bits that will www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

knock seconds off its Nordschleife time like automated gears, super-sticky tyres or rock hard suspension. Instead, equipped with a manual ‘box, it has everything to encourage you to be a bit cheeky, to drive just for the sake of it.

Competition Package, as it’s called overseas, is a poor title for the E46 M3 CS. It doesn’t feel race-inspired in the slightest. Lap times are the last thing going through your mind as you’re playing, messing about and sliding around. CS makes sense, then, as a title for this M3.

It’s not as physically light as a CSL, so doesn’t deserve the L, and yet it’s sort of a CSL-lite.

That is, of course, if CS does stand for Coupé Sport. As the CS name was only adopted by the UK, you won’t find any CS badges on the car and the title doesn’t have truly official status. So what it really stands for, no one knows, because twelve years later BMW reused CS on the firstgeneration M4 and the letters stood for something completely different.

Like the E46, the new CS was the second most serious model in the linewww.bmwcarclubgb.uk

up, borrowing components from the top tier GTS. The M4 range was topped by the GTS, followed by the CS, then the Competition Package with the regular M4 at the bottom. This time, the CS’s initials stood for Competition Sport.

Why the change? Because Coupé Sport doesn’t sound like a step up from the Competition Package? Maybe. Most likely, however, is that a year after the M4 CS was launched, the M3 CS appeared.

A four-door saloon, where a c for coupé wouldn’t be appropriate at all.

This new breed of CS, which in the F80 M3 range was the ultimate iteration of this super saloon, had a different goal to the E46. It seemed like the CS was designed to right some of the wrongs of the F80 and F82 M-cars. Often described as spiky and dangerous, the regular M3 and M4 weren’t as universally loved as their forebears. The CSs, with more exhaust noise (rather than the speaker assisted sound), lightweight wheels, revised suspension geometry and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, were more honest and the more manageable cars in the F80 and F82

range. Despite even more power than the Competition Package, the CS has 460hp, the changes allow you to use everything the 3-litre twin-turbo straight-six has to offer more of the time.

It’s amazing what the CS tweaks do to the M3 and M4’s characters. The animallike manner of the base car is manipulated into a pure and devastating pace. Rather than being unexpectedly scary, one of the loveable/off putting traits of the standard car (delete as appropriate), the CSs can frighten you with their phenomenal, unrelenting speed. They feel like they have one job to do: the raw industrial engine is there to launch your destination. You just need to keep your cool, let the slightly improved suspension and much better tyres do their job, drive with just enough respect and either CS will sing to your tune. Not literally, its gruff gravelly gurgles are not all that melodious.

The M3 and M4 CSs are impressive cars. Dependable where the originals are bad-tempered. But lurking in the back of your mind are two things. One, the CS was expensive when it was new. Both BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

29

Life Feature – What does CS stand for?

were around £20,000 more than the cost of a Competition Package version.

The second is that how much taming of the F80/82’s wild side is down to just the tyres. Would simply adding a set of Cup 2s on an M4 give you that same confidence? Some new rubber is a much more affordable solution than buying an entire CS. This new breed of CS couldn’t be faulted dynamically, but the cynical amongst us were worried for the future of M cars if the CS brand was here to stay. In many ways, the CSs were always what the M3 and M4 should have been out of the box. I like the M3 and M4, even the early ones, but I will admit they weren’t good enough. How they developed and the subsequent iterations proved this. Would this template be replicated in the future, would we be sold subpar standard M-cars to make expensive sub-brand CS models seem worth it?

It’s impossible to be so sceptical when faced with an M2. Whether it’s a regular version, the Competition or the CS. Not that there’s any need to be. The trajectory of the CS’s standing skyrockets thanks to the version made from the smallest M-car. It’s essentially the same recipe as the F80 M3 CS as it became the top of the M2 range with a few lightweight parts, more power and stickier tyres. Chassis changes were more comprehensive for the M2, however, rather than mild geometry alterations the small CS was awarded the fully adaptive system from the bigger Ms. Plus, like the E46, this car was available as a manual.

The beauty of the M2 has always been how simple it is to drive, how forgiving its chassis is, how easy it is to place its small footprint on the road, how rapidly it can make you giggle. The M2 Competition, the twin-turbo version, was more businesslike in its approach with more power and tougher looks than the original. Still, none of the M2’s playful demeanour was eroded.

The CS, with more technology, more grip, even more power, still can’t take away the M2’s jovial nature. Yes, all the fun happens at more serious speeds, but the CS is even more biddable than the softer M2s, and that means you can be even more juvenile if you wish. It will perform neatly if you want. On track, all the elements that make the M2 CS so willingly hilarious – its easy-to-tap-into agility, that almost telepathic control you have – make it a cinch to drive fast. It’s a deeply versatile machine, then, if what you’re looking for is a car for speed and fun. Beyond that, I can’t help you – I never once tried the rear seats, measured

30 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

the boot size or counted the cup holders.

It’s really not that kind of car.

As frivolous as the M2 CS might be, and it really is only in the best way possible, it disappears into sensible rational territory when compared with the latest CS, the M5. This new car is the most comprehensive CS job yet. The M5’s 4-litre V8 is taken from 616bhp to 626bhp, making it the most powerful M car to ever go on sale. It’s 70kg lighter than an M5 Competition, and it has re-tuned suspension and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres.

It features far more cosmetic changes than any other CS, too. Not only does it get gold wheels but the grille surrounds, side trims and badges have been made to match the rims. It’s available in just two colours: Deep Green and Brands Hatch Grey. Both are matte (or Frozen in BMW parlance) but the latter tint can be selected as gloss. Then there are the front lights, they shine yellow (only when stationary, though) to mimic the lamps on the front of endurance race cars.

That’s before we get onto the interior, which features two front bucket seats and, instead of a rear bench, two more race-style buckets in the back. It’s mad, unapologetically bonkers. And, because of that, truly and utterly brilliant.

I am yet to drive an M5 CS. But whatever it’s like from behind the wheel won’t detract from one of its best

attributes, that it exists at all. That in this day and age of planet-saving rhetoric and electric low-impact cars, BMW, which spends so much time and effort to look responsible, can create an obscenely fast saloon car with just four bucket seats and a big dollop of stuff-you attitude, is a huge achievement. It could drive like a tired 525ix with worn-out bushes and mismatched tyres and I’d still love it. But I know it won’t. It could drive exactly like an ordinary M5, which is spectacular anyway, and it would be worth the extra money.

The brashness of those race-car inspired lights, when the M5 has no connection to any sort of GT car, make it worth the extra £38,000 over an ordinary M5.

It doesn’t really matter what the letters CS have stood for over the past two decades because those two letters have represented such a diverse selection of cars. CS could just as easily stand for Completely Serious on the F80 and F82 as they could Comically Silly on the M5 CS. It doesn’t matter there isn’t total consistency across the board, though, because every CS has its place in the range. Whether it’s to exaggerate the car’s innate character, like the M2 CS, smooth out any faults, like the F8X CSs, create a machine of pure joy like the E46 or make us proud we live in a world where such ridiculousness can exist, like the M5. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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BMW E39 M5 Touring Build – Part 3

Putting the M into an E39 Touring…

Words Barry Sheward/Jeff Heywood - Photos Barry Sheward

In the second part of this build we followed how BMR supremo Barry Sheward stripped and prepped the Touring bodyshell in preparation for it to be sent to the bodyshop for a fresh lick of paint. As mentioned last month, some the corrosion found in the Touring’s underside did slow down the build somewhat. We left the article hanging where Barry had just received the Touring shell back from the bodyshop, looking all spick and span and totally rust free.

In this issue we cover the mammoth task of rebuilding the whole car. Including slotting the drivetrain back in place, installing wiring looms, brake pipes, fuel pipes, trim, seating, headliner. Plus a plethora of new parts to give the Touring a new car feel, while making sure every switch operates just as BMW intended.

R

ebuilding a car as complex as a large 5 Series Touring can be a daunting task, especially when you start to look at the piles of new parts, see the photo. Then there are the mountains of hardware, suspension, chassis, seats and interior trim that you can’t see.

32 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

This large pile of parts had accumulated while the car was away at the bodyshop so it was time to get cracking on it when the shell returned www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature The best way to tackle the job is to break it down into small manageable jobs, do them correctly (just as the factory would) and you get a sense of pride as each job on the list is completed. One of the first jobs I tackled was fitting the new OEM brake and M5 fuel lines along with new accumulators for the self-levelling rear air suspension.

Barry then tackled the rear subframe and axle build. As you’ll remember from the previous instalment, the rear subframe was modified so that the M5’s LSD would fit perfectly, just as it does in the saloon. refurbished lower arms and hubs were fitted with new bushes used throughout.

The new upper arms were fitted, along with new wheel bearings, new top mounts, new drop links and every nut and bolt was also replaced with new OEM items. The Bilstein B6 shocks were fitted, along with an Eibach anti-roll-bar. Arnott air springs were installed, along with refurbished drive shafts to complete the rear subframe and axle build.

Next on the list was to build up the front subframe, which was first blasted and painted before an M5 anti-roll-bar, M5 steering box, new centre drag link, steering linkage, all new bushes and all new M5 PAS pipes were fitted.

Having covered around 125,000 miles, the S62 V8 was now due for some attention. Although a good engine, the S62 isn’t perfect. BMR have seen engines with timing chain, guide issues and Vanos problems, so while the engine was sat on a cradle Barry took the opportunity to give the engine a good look over. Everything seemed to be fine, but he also decided to inspect and replace the rod bearings, see photo.

The rear axle was then bolted up in place along with the fuel tank using new tank straps. The engine and gearbox was mated, along with the recently replaced clutch and flywheel. It was then bolted onto the built-up front subframe using new engine mounts ready for its “marriage” to the body. Finally the S62 was bolted up into the engine bay and the car was put back on all four wheels with the rear air suspension inflated. The list of work in this paragraph was the result of 27 hours of graft over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Still, there was lots more to do.

Once the subframe and rear axle was bolted in place along with the fuel tank using new tank straps, it felt like we were making progress This strange item is the level sensor for the self-levelling suspension

The mighty V8 engine ready for its marriage to the body

I’ve made a start! On went the new accumulators for the selflevelling rear air suspension followed by the OEM brake and M5 fuel lines Here’s a close up of the Arnott air spring

The rear axle is built up and complete. I used the modified rear subframe (covered in the first instalment) and fitted the rebuilt M5 LSD to the frame, followed by refurbished lower arms and hubs and new bushes throughout. All new upper arms, new wheel bearings, new top mounts, new drop links were fitted, along with the Bilstein B6 shocks, Eibach ARB and Arnott air springs. Finally the refurbished drive shafts were installed and it was good to go. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

The original rod bearings were replaced with the engine having covered circa 125k miles

Finally the S62 V8 was in place and back on all four wheels, plus the rear air suspension was working BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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BMW E39 M5 Touring Build – Part 3 Using every bit of spare time available without the wife divorcing him(!), Barry pressed on to meet the Caffeine & Machine deadline.

Next on the agenda were the brakes.

Not everything went smoothly, there were one or two issues that cropped up like the parking brakes and the rear brake hoses that needed one to get one’s thinking cap on. This next sequence is better told in photos and captions.

Brakes. The first photo shows the new parking brake hardware and new wheel bearings fitted. Photo 2 shows the M5 hub flange. Note the two grub screw bolt holes; non-M5s don’t have these. New discs, pads and rebuilt calipers complete the rear brakes.

Saloons and Tourings differ where their parking cables pass through the knuckle. It’s at 12 o’clock on the Saloon and 9 o’clock on the Touring. This presents a minor problem. The M5 uses bigger rear discs and therefore bigger back plates, so there are two options to address this issue; either weld in the centre of a Touring back plate to an M5 outer plate or cut down the Touring’s back plate to clear the M5 disc. I chose the latter as it’s easier than welding thin bits of steel that can distort and the plates have a shape critical to the operation of the parking brake.

Another difference between the Saloon and Touring that needed to be overcome was the rear brake hoses. On a Saloon the hose exits the calliper horizontally then attaches to the rigid pipe in a vertical position. On the Touring, the hose comes out at an approximate 45-degree angle then turns rearward to a horizontal join on the rigid pipe. The reason for this is to clear the shock absorber, there is a difference in mounting points; the Saloon is vertical to the top of the inner wheel arch and the Touring is set at about 30-degrees to the rear subframe, as can been seen in previous pictures. To overcome this, custom-made HEL braided brake hoses were fitted to the rear with matching non-custom fronts.

At the front, Bilstein B8 shock absorbers coupled with the existing Eibach Pro Kit front springs were fitted, along with new top mounts. All four arms are new, with the brake reaction upper arm bushes replaced with Powerflex items. New M5 wheel bearings (like the rears have two grub screw holes plus two locating pins). And, as per the rear, new pads, discs and rebuilt callipers went on to complete the work under the arches.

And now onto one of the areas Barry enjoys with a build; the wiring. As mentioned at the beginning of the thread, there have been quite a few E39 M5 Touring builds, and having trawled the web to see others’ approaches, Barry found that people have taken one of two ways when it comes to the wiring alterations required. There’s a suspicion that their choices boil down to the base Touring they chose to convert as to the approach they have taken. The choices are to alter the existing Touring loom to suit, or use the M5’s loom and add in the Touring’s specific parts, such as tailgate, self-levelling rear suspension (if retained). The latter involves a lot more work. The following photos show the various looms and wiring Barry had to deal with.

The front-end came together nicely as the front subframe was bolted into position, while the M5 specific fuel filter and pressure regulator setup was plumbed in.

The front subframe was bolted into position and is now starting to look like an M5 Touring with the S62 sat nice and cosy above and the brakes and suspension, all ready for those 400 horses. I also plumbed in the M5-specific fuel filter and pressure regulator, that S62 is going to need plenty of Shell’s finest

34 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature Wiring sorted (for now!) Barry’s attention then turned to the engine bay, this meant plumbing in the oil filter housing and PAS reservoir. These are located differently to the 540i and have their own bolt-on mounting bracket. Whereas, the 540i Touring has a welded-on bracket attached to the inner wing. The next set of five photos go through the work in the engine bay.

The first photo shows the M5 body loom laid out. With the wiring, you have to take into account if the Touring was equipped with ASC or DSC (all M5’s have DSC), whether the Touring was a diesel or petrol and, even more importantly, if the Touring was built before 09/98. This is particularly important because the E39 had a major technical update from this build date and all M5s were post 09/98, which also included a lot of the electrical components and wiring.

There are also differences between V8 and six cylinder cars and even after the 09/98 technical update there are a few slight differences. The upshot of this is that the easiest Touring to convert is a post 09/98 540i manual which has a similar build date to the M5 donor car. Nevertheless, using an 03/99 built 540i Auto Touring and an 09/99 M5 there was minimal wiring alterations needed to the Touring’s loom. Plenty of wires needed to be harvested from the M5 loom to integrate the Sport button (for different throttle map and steering), manual transmission and S65 vs M62 differences.

As with my previous E46 M3 Touring project, all wiring alterations were done without cutting and soldering so that all terminal numbers and wires colours corresponded with factory wiring diagrams. Photo No4 shows a close up of the engine’s main power supply connector that runs to the engine’s DME. Photo No5 shows just one of a number of connectors that one of the previous owners of the Touring had left during work they had carried out on the electrical system. I rooted all these out, see above regarding the E46 M3 Touring build. Photo No7 shows the brown Siemens connector switch pack that lives (hidden of course) in the centre console. The two extra wires are for the M5 Sport button. Finally, Photo No9 shows the wiring harvested from the M5 for using in the Touring.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Next on my list of to-do jobs was to plumb in the oil filter housing and PAS reservoir. The top photo above shows the plastic fill in pork chop panels. Both the plastic panels from the 540i Touring were replaced to allow for the M5’s twin air intakes; both of these were damaged on the M5 donor so were purchased new and were some of the most expensive bits of plastic known to mankind. The second photo down shows the panels along with the last new undertray in Europe. This was a lucky find, they are now on backorder for at least eight months Due to the front end damage on the M5 donor car, a lot of the parts were scrap. The third photo down shows the new fan blade, viscous fan coupling and expansion tank, while the final photo shows the new radiator for the S62.

Both belt tensioners, belts and the top coolant hose were also replaced with OEM parts. Luckily the 540i shares the same front panel, PAS cooler, electric fan and AC condenser with an M5, so they could be reused.

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

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BMW E39 M5 Touring Build – Part 3 It was now time to fit the M5’s quad exhaust. This is a big part of the build because of the expense Barry went to to remove the Touring’s boot floor and graft in the floor from the M5 donor car. The following six photos plot the exhaust heat shields and pipework being fitted, before the engine bay is built up, fluids filled and it is fired up for the first time.

What you see in the top photo is all the hardware required to mount an M5 exhaust, which was all scrap on the M5 donor car.

That pile of nuts, bolts and brackets cost approximately £500.

That hurt. One of the photos show the rear silencer mounting studs all wound in after running a thread cleaner through the holes. A photo above shows the rear silencer heat shields have been fitted in place with all rear silencer six rubber mounts.

The heat shields seem like a minor thing but both were missing from the donor M5 and had to be bought new at great expense for what they are. Finally, quad pipes on a wagon. Grafting in the M5 boot floor, relocating the battery, the expense of all the new M5 exhaust mounting hardware just be able to have four pipes like an M5 Saloon, could have all been avoided if I’d used an alternative method with a lot less work and expenditure.

But it would have been a massive compromise and one most of the other M5 Touring builds have taken. But, as you are all well aware, my mantra was to build the car just like BMW would have built it. The 5th photo shows the donor M5 had been de-catted and had a rear silencer delete, all done quite poorly. I bought a pair of used rear silencers from ebay so I fitted those, but a pair of used M5 cats are quite expensive, now at circa £1200-1500. Ideally I wanted a complete, uncut system from the down pipes to tail pipes, so this unsightly exhaust is a temporary solution until a suitable system comes up. The final photo shows the engine bay now built with the intakes, fluids filled, petrol added to the tank, EWS, key barrel from the M5 fitted (for the time being) and it pretty much fired straight up!

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Barry then turned his attention to the interior refit. He was running out of time to make the M5 meet at Caffeine & Machine on 4th July, so apologies that not many photos were taken during the interior reassembly. Once the refit was complete, it was time for some new boots and a session on the wheel aligner to make sure the M5 Touring was running nice and true.

Once the alignment was sorted, Barry ran the engine up to temp, checking for leaks.

He did have to rectify a minor coolant leak.

Then it was time to take it for its initial test drive. It passed with flying colours, driving like an E39 M5 but one with a lot more load space than standard!

Barry was really pushing it now and as the clock clicked round on the final day before the meet. He burned the midnight oil getting the car presentable for the show.

Time was very limited for covering absolutely everything to finish the car, so to stand a chance of making the meet I had to prioritise what to do so it could be driven and so it looked complete. Pressing on last week after hours at work and all the way up to 11.30PM on Saturday, I just managed to achieve this.

In the first photo you can see that keeping the self levelling rear air suspension meant some rerouting of the pneumatic lines, wiring and removal of the compressor from its tortoiseshell housing that locates it under the spare wheel.

I ended up putting it in the forward compartment of the M5’s battery tray that normally houses a tyre inflation kit. One of the plastic trims (left hand side, it covers the BM54 radio unit) was already cracked and the ones on the right needed some cutting to allow routing of some wiring. This is an area that requires some finessing, so another set of plastic covers will be sourced and adapted to tidy this area up. Thankfully the boot floor carpet hides everything.

The photo above shows more of that gold plated plastic fitted up, the centre undertray specific to the Sport front bumper is often missing or damaged by speed bumps. In my case, it still has an SE one fitted along with ebay copies of the pork chop side pieces. I was initially told the centre piece was on backorder, with no stock in the UK or Germany. Then one turned up a couple of days later. Happy days I thought, but on closer inspection it had clearly been knocking about in a warehouse for some time as it was covered in dust and had (as can been seen in the pics) lots of scratches to the underside. Annoying, but I wasn’t going to be too choosy on something I would have to wait a long time for another. And that’s if they ever make another batch.

Time to get stuck into the interior refit, and time I didn’t have with the Caffeine & machine Meet looming large, so I cracked on with the refit. Looking at the first photo the job looks horrendous, but once you get the carpets in, trim, rear seats and front seats you are 99.9% finished. Talking about front seats, the second photo shows the M5 fronts, which were sent to a mate at The Polishing Company in East Anglia who recoloured the blue centres to black. Thankfully they were back in time to fit. The next photo shows a set of Michelin PS4s fitted, then onto the Hunter wheel alignment to set the car up to M5 spec

It wasn’t only the interior bits that required finishing, there was lots of exterior trim that needed fitting or replacing. New rear lights, an interior mirror had been sent away and had arrived back needed fitting.

Plus, the M5 Touring needed a quick clean up both outside and under the bonnet for the show in the morning. Barry looks back now and wonders how he fitted all this work into one Saturday! If he’d been working at a main dealer he would have probably done 40 hours or more of chargeable work. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature

I’d noticed that the M5’s oval mirror was suffering from the usual bleeding of its auto dimming glass, plus mine was missing its clown nose alarm LED lens. So I put in an order with www.mirrorjohn. co.uk for a replacement glass and lens. Thankfully, the parts arrived in time so I fitted the mirror and it worked fine. I ordered a set of covers for the back of the mirror and a rain sensor, but they didn’t seem to fit, so that’s been added to the snag list to investigate.

When I purchased the 540i, the previous owner had fitted a set of birch anthracite interior trim that was quite sought after. I do like them but I wanted the interior to have as much an M5 feel as possible, so I swapped the birch for a very good set of M5 specific titan shadow trim set.

Another couple of options already retrofitted to the Touring were the built-in child booster seats and rear door blinds. Having owned several E39s over the years, I always wanted the booster seats for my kids to use. Now they are old enough not to need them anymore, typical. I also added M5 rear outer head rests to match the fronts.

The next photo of the switch panel shows the M5-specific Sport button that adjusts throttle map and steering assistance. This took a bit of time providing a feed to it (see the wiring section), but it’s worth it to give the factory M5 look.

Another retrofit carried over from the Touring is the widescreen Mk4 Nav unit (a bit antiquated now) and DSP audio system, which, although not great, is a step up from the very poor base spec audio most E39 owners have to put up with.

The donor M5 still had its original early black face instrument cluster, so that was swapped over.

But, as you can see, it’s suffering from the usual dead pixels in the display. What isn’t noticeable in the photo are some other issues, such as the fuel gauge reading incorrectly and the warm up lights on occasion doing an impression of a crappy disco. I have tried another cluster to confirm that it is my dials at fault and not a dodgy sender or wiring issue. I now know I need to send mine away and see if it can be repaired.

The morning of the meet, Barry can’t believe he got out of bed just a few hours after finishing work on the Touring the night before. After a quick shower and into The M5 to fill up the beast with V-Power and a quick run around the M25 to meet up with a group of E39 M5 owners at Beaconsfield services, he then travelled up the M40 to Caffeine & Machine at Ettington, Warwickshire. It was an enjoyable morning out with some nice M5s in attendance, including plenty in some rare BMW Individual colours.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

During the week I had driven the car to and from work a couple of times to give it a short shakedown, so, with no issues, it was time for a longer run and at speed. A 40-mile round trip up the M23 then one junction of the M25 and back with (thankfully) no issues I was confident it would be okay for the 250-mile round trip on Sunday to the Caffeine & Machine M5 meet.

Fitting a fresh set of side mouldings was the next job on the tick list, with M5 badges, plus clear side repeaters to replace the body colour painted ones and ambers. Continuing with the amber-toclear theme, a set of mint condition facelift rear outer lamps, with clear indicators and new facelift inner lamps, were added to replace the faded ones. Plus, on went a pair of new outer bumper mouldings.

To finish off the clear indicator theme (all UK M5’s had clear indicators), the amber-shod halogens that had a cheap HID kit and broken adjusters were replaced with a set of OEM facelift Xenon headlights that had been refurbished with all new adjusters, polished lenses and new bulbs.

Also in the photos you can see the M Sport front bumper T-bar in the centre grill has been swapped out for the M5 mesh grill and the standard door mirrors have been replaced with M5 specific ones. A new motor and glass was required for the driver’s mirror as they had been damaged when the donor M5 was crashed.

The engine bay received a quick wipe down; it wouldn’t win a concours but it made it presentable.

New headlight gaskets and some of the bolts that hold the lights, radiator supports and front panel were replaced with new to get rid of the old, rusty ones. That helped tidy the engine bay up a bit.

Finally a quick wash before the meet, then the last piece to go on at 11.30pm was the M5 rear badge.

It’s 5.45am on Sunday 4th July and I’m filling up the M5 Touring with V-Power. I then travelled around the M25 with no dramas to meet up with a group of E39 M5 owners at Beaconsfield services. We then set off up the M40 to the E39 M5 Meet at Caffeine & Machine in Warwickshire.

We all behaved on the run up the M40, honest officer! The Touring ran like a dream on the motorway, the suspension nice and compliant making the Touring a nice cruiser. Once at the show, we were parked together with over 100 M5s, which the forum guys are saying is some kind of record. I enjoyed a great day at the show, there were some pristine M5s on display, including some in rare BMW Individual colours. My Touring received plenty of attention and favourable comments. I’m glad I made the effort to attend, plus the show gave me a date to aim for.

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BMW E39 M5 Touring Build – Part 3 Barry’s impressions “It goes and stops just like an M5, it handles pretty much like an M5 with the Eibach rear anti-roll bar keeping the body roll in check, even with the extra weight.

Ride is nice and compliant compared to my M4, despite the Bilstein B8 shock absorbers. With every bush, ball joint, mount, suspension arm and steering rod being new it’s as tight as can be.

The only downside is the third gear synchro crunch, which is annoying as it means a ‘box rebuild and I had no way of knowing this as I couldn’t drive the crashdamaged M5.

Overall though, I’m very happy with how the build has turned out so far.

Despite there being a snag list, plus a few other changes I would like to make, I am looking forward to doing those as and when.”

Snag List After a short break from all the late nights working on the M5 Touring to recharge his batteries, it was time to tackle the snag list. It contained items like the air conditioning, the instrument display, fixing an issue with the DME/MWE. Plus, hopefully finding some roof rails and bike racks, as the Touring was going to be pressed into family use. See the following photos, it gets interesting.

So there we have it, one BMW E39 M5 Touring build finished. Built just how BMW would have manufactured it at the Dingolfing factory, using as many OEM parts as possible and driving just like an M5 Saloon, only with far more loadspace.

It has taken Barry the best part of six months to build the M5 Touring in his own spare time, when not running one of the UK’s most reputable BMW Specialists. An

After a couple of weeks break, I started to work through the snag list. Quite an important one, with the tropical weather we are enjoying at the moment, is the AC or lack of. When it was in use, and before the 540i was pulled apart, the AC was working fine, so despite my usual modus operandi of replacing everything with new, the condenser was left to be reused but a new receiver drier was fitted after the system was exposed to atmosphere during the conversion. The moment the AC machine was attached to the car it was apparent there was a leak from the condenser, so a new one was ordered up last week and it became quite apparent when the old one was removed it was clearly past its best. With that fitted, the system was gassed up and it’s now blowing ice cold air as it should be.

A lucky forum-find was a pair of genuine BMW accessory E39 Touring specific roof rails, so these were quickly fitted.

Another lucky find on ebay was a set of four genuine BMW accessory bike racks, which were attached to a pair of E46 and E39 Saloon roof rails which I swapped over to the new Touring rails.

Result! All in aid of pressing the wagon into family use.

With the deadline to get the car on the road in time for the E39 M5 meet there were a few things that I left to address later that wouldn’t stop me using the car, but needed sorting. To get the engine up and running I used the donor M5’s EWS immobiliser module, ignition barrel and key to work with the M5 DME (engine ECU) which allowed it to fire up straight away. Obviously this isn’t ideal, having two different keys and using the M5 EWS with its VIN and VO (Vehicle order, list of options fitted to the car) stored when it’s a 540i. So, using the excellent binary modification tool from www.ecuworx. co.uk, I could switch off the EWS input on the M5’s DME and I could switch back to the 540i’s EWS and ignition barrel. That meant everything was now working off the original 540i key.

While using the tool I also removed the 155mph speed limiter, switched off the post cat O2 sensors (for now, as mine has no cats) and switched off the secondary air pump for quieter cold

38 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

amazing achievement. Dare we broach upon the cost of a build like this? I asked the question while putting this final article together and Barry was quite open about it: “£23,000-ish, not including my time” came his reply. This might seem like a lot of wonga, but take into consideration Barry had to find a donor vehicle and then purchase an accident damaged E39 M5 to give up its M V8 and ‘box, plus lots of other bits and bobs, and the cost starts to make a lot more sense. Anyway, Barry is happy with the resulting build. Not only does he get to enjoy the Touring, so does the Sheward family. Next month, we’ll get to find out what it’s like to drive when we bring you a full MLife article covering Barry’s E39 M5 Touring, plus lots of amazing photos.

starts. The next photo shows the modified BIN file being flashed onto the DME using MSS flasher.

Everything is working off one key now, no post-cat O2 sensor faults and hopefully less annoyed neighbours when setting off for early Sunday morning runs.

Going back to a previous picture I posted of the M5 cluster, it was not happy. Lots of dead pixels meant the mileage and check control messages were unreadable, the fuel and temp gauges weren’t correct, the rev counter was inaccurate, plus the ABS/DSC lights didn’t work. Something was seriously amiss inside that cluster.

After recommendation by a few people on one of the E39 Facebook pages and a chat with the man himself, I sent the cluster to Keith at AK Speedo to investigate what the problem was. Upon taking it apart, it was clear where the faults lie. Various parts of the circuit board and motors had corrosion, some of the worst he had seen. Who knows how this cluster ended up like this, but needless to say it was not saveable.

With it being an early black face M5 cluster, instead of the later grey face one, it would have been a shame to bin it as they are hard to find now and quite sought after. Keith came up with a solution and it meant finding a donor cluster with a suitable SW and HW number. After a call to a BMW breaker I know, a cluster turned up from a 2003 530d, which met the requirements. The cluster was sent to Keith to cannibalise the relevant parts and to make up a fully working black face M5 dial set.

With the cluster now fully functional with no dead pixels, the next thing to do was program it with the 540i VIN number and mileage so everything tallied up with the cars physical VIN number, rather than have mismatched VINs in the cars control units and the incorrect mileage for the car (not the engine) stored.

Here’s the cluster fitted back into the car and coded up with the car’s VO matched to the EWS’s VO. Everything is now as it should be and working correctly with no tamper dot, mismatched VINs, VOs or incorrect mileages.

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BMW E36 328i SPORT

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Surprise Surprise…

Words – Jeff Heywood ~ Photos – Jeff Heywood & Sam Newman No, we’re not talking about an evening with ‘r Cilla here, the surprise would arise at a big birthday.

The car central to this story was a tatty-looking example of an E36 that was desperate to shake off years of dubious accessories and modifications, which were slowly smothering this poor car to death. Plus, it was facing a hard life being used as a drift car. The knight in shining armour in this story is Darryl Curran, proprietor of Swades Car Detailing and long-time club member. Darryl had the gumption to realise that underneath the cheap add-ons, this E36 Sport had potential, but the path was a convoluted one before it eventually came into his possession. Confused? I was. Read on to find out how this molested E36 was finally saved from the big crusher in the sky.

40 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature

W

ind back the clock to June 2017. Busy with his detailing work, Darryl took a call from a good friend. The conversation went something like this: “I’ve bought an E36 Coupe for £400 and I want you to give it a once over and turn it into a drift car for me.” It turns out that the car in question had been in storage

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

for at least three years and wasn’t in the best of condition. Darryl was reluctant to take on the work as he was busy with his detailing company and helping his partner Sam set up a transportation business.

But, because the request had come from a good mate, he reluctantly agreed to take it on.

When the car arrived on Darryl’s

driveway it was worse than he thought.

Although the car purported to be painted Avus Blue, it looked decidedly green as it was smothered in moss. A quick jet wash gave the car an instant lift, although closer inspection showed that all the windscreen rubbers had started to deteriorate and the moss had almost eaten into the rubber. So on first acquaintances things

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

41

Feature - BMW E36 328i SPORT

weren’t looking good. The car sat on copy E92 M3 wheels and had Angel Eye headlights fitted, but as they were from a saloon they didn’t fit correctly. Darryl’s friend had asked him to change the lights and wheels, so he set about that task. In preparation for his mate taking the car drifting, on went a new pair of BMW OEM headlight units and a set of Racing Dynamic wheels that Darryl had purchased for another project. With the wheels and headlights replaced, Darryl started to think that this car had promise and was surely too good to face a life of drifting. A visit to an MoT station confirmed his theory.

He asked his friend, in passing, had he realised what 328i Sports were now selling for now? Once Darryl told him the going prices, he asked if Darryl would place it on Facebook MarketPlace for him to see what price it would achieve.

Darryl also informed another friend and a fellow North West Region Car Club member OJ about the car. OJ had been looking for a solid E36 Coupé so that he could exchange all the running gear and roll cage from his E36 M3 track car into the donor and then use the donor car as his trackday motor while the M3 would be returned back to a standard road car because prices of E36s were on the rise.

OJ agreed a price with Darryl’s mate and then asked Darryl if he could get the 328i through an MoT. Darryl agreed to the request and took the car to his local MoT station. It only required two wiper blades and three bulbs and the car sailed through the test. But what was interesting was the MoT tester said to Darryl that the car was a cracker, adding that “underneath it was the cleanest, rust free E36 Coupé he’d had through the station in a long time. All of them are usually corroded, but this car is rust free”.

MoT completed, Darryl gave OJ a call and said that the E36 had passed its MoT with flying colours and was ready for collection. It was agreed with OJ that the car would be collected or he would bring his M3 track car over and swap over the parts onto the 328 donor car. The months passed and Darryl didn’t see or hear from OJ, although at a club meet or two he agreed that he’d sort out the collection, but needed to let his wife know that he’d purchased another car. He hadn’t told her yet.

This situation continued for another few months, the 328 still sitting on Darryl’s drive. As a year passed, he telephoned OJ to ask when he was picking the car up and to also warn him that the MoT was again due. OJ asked Darryl if he would get the car MoTd again and promised that he’d sort out the collection of the car.

42 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

The 328i Sport as it arrived back in 2017. The acres of moss have already been power washed off in this photo, but the car still looks tatty with its copy E92 M3 wheels and headlights that didn’t fit properly. But underneath, a gem was lurking

The bodywork needed attention, with corrosion in places, plus damage like this where a previous owner had dinged the rear panel and then let surface rust form. This dent was quickly knocked out and the rust removed prior to the repaint

Unknown to Darryl, his partner Sam now got in on the act. She had heard Darryl saying that the 328 was a great basis for a light restoration and what a solid car it was. Knowing that Darryl had a big birthday coming up she contacted OJ and asked if she could buy the car off him as she wanted to give it to Darryl for his birthday. OJ initially turned her down and they agreed that Darryl would continue to put the car through another MoT. But the seed had been sown…

In the meantime, the car went through its MoT again. It passed and it was returned back to its parking spot on Darryl’s driveway. The MoT tester had, again, mentioned how clean the car was underneath.

Behind the scenes a fortnight or so

Leaving the bodyshop. The paint looks good, the car less so riding on spacesaver wheels and with no windscreen and door glass

had passed and Sam received the call she was hoping to get from OJ, who said he was willing to let the car go if they could agree on a price. After some haggling, a deal was done and that allowed Sam to present the keys to the www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature

The Sport looks good from all angles; the Victorian cast iron columns supporting the railway bridge are the Grecian columns of the Industrial Revolution

Darryl arrives at Castlefield for the photo shoot, and boy does it look well, even in the Manchester rain

E36 328i Sport on Darryl’s birthday. Darryl was obviously taken aback, but also overjoyed with what Sam had pulled off.

He had grown fond of the car and it was now his to take on as a project.

The car drove very well, so Darryl used the car as his daily driver for the first six months-or-so while he assessed what he wanted to do with it. With the 328 being finished in the lovely colour of Avus Blue (genuine from new), Darryl www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

decided to give the Sport the M3 look, minus the badges. It isn’t something that hasn’t been done before, but he loves the understated look of the E36 M3, so that was going to be the theme. He had started picking up genuine E36 M3 parts from eBay and elsewhere, which included genuine M3 door mirrors and front and rear bumpers. Darryl was enjoying driving the Sport and that gorgeous M52B28 straight-six zinging away was music to

his ears. He then spotted a nice set of Mk1 Sunflower E36 M3 Style 22 wheels.

They were in decent condition, but Darryl wanted the finished car to be perfect, so he powder coated them himself so they look like new.

It was impossible not to notice that the headlining was starting to sag a little, until one day when driving along, it dropped down completely. He couldn’t see a thing but managed to pull over to the side of the road and reattach it back in place. Only for it to fall down again. Darryl made another temporary fix so he could make the journey home, but this was the impetus to starting the build.

Although the underneath of the car was in excellent, rust-free condition, the same couldn’t be said about the body, even if it wasn’t as bad as some E36s you see. There were one or two scratches on the Avus paintwork, plus a couple of supermarket trolley dings to the passenger side door and drivers side rear panel. These would all be taken care of when the car went in for paint. Corrosion wise, a new front wing was acquired for the passenger side. There were some rust scabs appearing on the edge of the wheel arch, so Darryl decided that it wasn’t worth trying to repair the panel when new wings can be had for a good price. He then fixed rust bubbles that had appeared in a couple of places around the windscreen, probably from when someone had replaced the screen at some point. So the screen was removed, BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

43

Feature - BMW E36 328i SPORT

Good looker, the E36 Coupe has matured into a handsome beast and the Avus Blue paint enhances those sharp looks. Apologies for the paintwork being covered in raindrops, we tried to towel dry the car more than once, but had to give in to the Manchester weather in the end. It showed us who’s boss

the rust was fixed and the screen went back in. Carefully this time so as not to take the paint off any panel edges. A couple of spots on the rear panel were then attended to. All this work was being carried out in Darryl’s detailing workshop in between detailing work, in the evenings and at weekends. The next panel that needed attention was the boot lid. It was in fine condition except for three holes where a rear spoiler was held in place.

The holes had been drilled through the flat part of the lid and obviously hadn’t been touched up before fitting the spoiler, which had resulted in serious corrosion forming over the following years. This annoyed Darryl greatly, as the boot lid was in fine fettle except for this avoidable damage. A new boot lid had to be sourced, which is more difficult than it sounds, as rust-free examples are very difficult to find, and new bootlids from BMW are exorbitantly priced. Eventually Darryl found a rust free example and quickly snapped it up. When it arrived, he was over the moon with his purchase as it really was in perfect condition. The new bootlid was fitted and the lock changed over and he was getting near the time when the car would be ready to go to the paint shop.

Darryl then scored two blinders. He had been looking for a rust free bonnet

44 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

The M3 seating gives the Sport a real M feel inside

for ages, but none had come up for sale that were corrosion free. The bonnet on the Sport had rusted in a really strange area, right on the front leading edge.

When closed it was hardly visible, but when opened you could see rust all along the front underside area and it was spreading alarmingly, and rightly needed replacing. Weeks turned into months, but eventually a rust-free bonnet came up for sale, and after being reassured by the vendor that the bonnet really was

corrosion free, Daryl snapped it up and was delighted that it proved to be just as the vendor had described. The bonnet was fitted and, as Darryl was making arrangements to book the car in for its respray, a light-grey leather interior from an E36 M3 came up for sale, complete with the Vader front seats, all in excellent condition. Darryl snapped up the interior and to pay for this purchase he sold the Sport’s original black leather interior and the Racing Dynamics wheels. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Feature

The M52B28 straight six engine is so smooth. Although clean, Darryl said that the engine bay still has to be detailed, but he ran out of time before the photo shoot

The car was now ready for its paint and it was duly delivered to K.S Autobodies in Stockport. Darryl knows the guys there and they have an excellent reputation for their work. A keen price was agreed and the car was delivered on spacesaver wheels and tyres as the sunflowers were in the process of being powder coated. The guys at K.S Autobodies did an amazing job on Darryl’s Sport, as you can see from the photos, even though they were taken on a soggy wet day in Manchester.

When he received the call to pick the car up from the bodyshop, it was driven home on the space savers while the front screen was held in with masking tape. The price for painting the car was so keen that it was agreed Darryl would fit all the glass, along with new rubber seals all round, including, of course, the windscreen. Once all the new seals were in place and the Sunflowers were bolted on, complete with new rubber, the car was beginning to look the business. The mirrors, front and rear M bumpers set the car off a treat, as do the ‘M-Twist’ side skirts, which are standard fit on a 328i Sport. The car was now looking resplendent in the wonderful Avus Blue paintwork.

Darryl now turned his attention to the interior. In went the new leather interior www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

The rear seats have hardly been used

The 328i Sport catches the eye as it crests the Rochdale Canal bridge at Castlefield, Manchester

and door cards. To fix the headlining, he had purchased a roll of the correct material to trim the area himself. He readily admits that he wasn’t looking forward to doing the job though, so the project ground to a halt for a couple of weeks as Darryl kept himself busy with his business. Unknown to Darryl, the ever resourceful Sam arranged for the guys at Auto Trim, Denton, to retrim the

headlining and fit new side mouldings at the same time. With the remaining material left over from the headlining re-trim, Darryl also trimmed the rear shelf to factory standard. The interior was now looking as good as the outside.

Darryl’s attention then turned to the underside, which had all been power washed and detailed. To finish the build he then fitted HSD coilovers, new Brembo BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

45

Feature

The E36 Coupé looks almost toy-like set against the heavy Victorian industrial backdrop at Castlefield, where the Industrial Revolution was born

discs and pads all round. The rear suspension was completely poly-bushed and the rear trailing arms were powder coated to give them that factory fresh look. Darryl has also acquired a purple tag E46 steering rack, but hasn’t had time to fit it yet.

The build finally finished, Darryl turned his attention back onto the new paintwork. Darryl had deliberately given the paint a couple of months to properly harden. Then, with the photo shoot just around the corner, he gave the paint a light machine polish followed by an application of Uno Protect, an all-in-one compound polish and protectant. Darryl tells me It is excellent for removing any light defects, leaving a high gloss finish.

This was then protected using P&S Bead Maker. He admits that he hasn’t had the time to treat the Sport to a full on treatment, so I pressed him on what he plans to use on the car’s gorgeous Avus paintwork. “I’ll be applying a ceramic coating using Gtechniq’s Crystal Serum Light, which is guaranteed for 5 years.

I’ll then top up the Crystal Serum Light with Gtechniq’s EXO V4, which is a hydrophobic ceramic coating that adds an even deeper shine that water and road grime just slides off.” Although Darryl ran out of time before the shoot and didn’t have time to ceramic coat his Sport

46 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

nor detail the engine bay, the paintwork looked like blue glass on the day of the shoot. It has taken Darryl two years of blood, sweat and tears to finish, but he has finally crossed the finishing line. Now for some photos.

That’s where I come in. Knowing we’d need a nice day, not too sunny, but hopefully dry, I suggested the setting of Castlefield, Manchester, the heart of the

Industrial Revolution. It provides some amazing, atmospheric backdrops for taking photos. And yes, it’s Manchester, so yes, it poured it down for most of the shoot. When it wasn’t chucking it down there was constant light rain, the sort that, as Peter Kay once said, ‘wet’s you through.’ Anyway, I think we managed to capture some decent pics. Enjoy.

Darryl Curran, proprietor of Swades Car Detailing, is naturally very proud of his E36 328i Sport. And, although he understands that an E36 M3 lookalike has been done many times before, Darryl’s car carries no M badges. He loves E36 M3s, and this build pays homage to the M3 without trying to trick anyone www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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crossword Across 1.

BMW Car Club GB Crossword 1

2

3

4

6

5

9

10

12

15

17

18

21

22

19

28

20

23

29

32

35

11

16

24

27

8

13

14

26

7

25

30

31

33

34

36

Winner of last month’s crossword Owen Jones issue’s crossword must be received into the office by 11th September. 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

October 2021for Crossword All entrants the October

Answers to September 2021 Crossword Across: 1. Mauritius, 7. Ohio, 8. Minores, 12. Titanic, 15.

CA (California), 16. Rein, 17. Cerin, 19. Earth, 21. Arat, 22. Al, 23. Ivan TLo, 25. Lancers, 26. Inti, 29. Malediven Down: 1. Montreal, 2. Ah, 3. UI, 4. Romantic, 5. Tonic, 6. Special, 9. IN (Indiana), 10. Ocean Sii, 11. Santorin, 13. ie Alarm 14. TIR, 18. RRT, 20. HV El E, 24. AR (Arkansas), 27. NV (Nevada), 28. TE

7.

9.

10.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Sixth installment of the "Mission: Impossible" film series, featuring several BMW cars and motorcycles including a classic E28 5 Series (7) Not off (2) Lady's name, floral and French (5) A stake put up by a player in poker or brag before receiving cards (4) …gale: Ducati's range-topping model. Also a dough ball in Indian cooking! (4) Slang or old-fashioned term for diesel oil for road vehicles (4) The opposite end to MAX on your dipstick, if you still have one! (3) Shortform for the BMW Car Club Region of which 36. Across is Regional Officer (1,1) Indefinite article preceding a word starting with a vowel (2) To wander especially over a large area. Also technical term for what your cellular network connection does if you travel abroad (4) Postcode for the Douglas Park Hamilton BMW dealership in Lanarkshire (1,1,) Postcode for the Sytner BMW dealership in West Glamorgan (1,1) Rock band (slash omitted) of which car-nut Brian Johnson is a member.

"Thunderstruck" track featured in a 2019 BMW advertisement (1,1,1,1) Postcode for the Williams BMW dealership in Rochdale, Lancashire (1,1) Could be Operating System (1,1) BMW model range Series of designations E87, F20, F40 and F52 (3) Not difficult! (4) "…Land": 2016 award-winning film in which an E30 BMW 325i Convertible makes a fleeting appearance (2,2) A vein of metal ore in the earth (4) Expel somebody from a property (5) Postcode for the Halliwell Jones BMW North Wales dealership (1,1) Jeff…: Former BMW Car Club Chairman and stalwart. See also 15. Across (7)

Sponsored by

Across 1. Sixth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” film series, featuring several BMW cars and motorcycles 20. including a classic E28 5 Series (7) 7. Not off (2) 21.

22.

9. Lady’s name, floral and French (5) 23.

10. A stake put up by a player in poker or brag before 24.

25. receiving cards (4) 26.

30.

12. …gale: Ducati’s range-topping model. Also a dough 32. ball in Indian cooking! (4) 33.

35.

13. Slang or old-fashioned term for diesel oil for road 36. vehicles (4) Down 1.

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(3) 3.

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Could be Logical Unit Number 15. Shortform for the BMW(1,1,1) Car Club Region of which 5.

BMW Individual metallic blue / green paint [codes 406 and 560] colour initially featured 35 of the 50Officer UK Limited Edition E34 M5 models (7) 36. Across isonRegional (1,1) 6.

To a small extent or a small amount of something (3) 17. Indefinite article preceding a word starting with a 7.

Could be On The Road i.e. price (1,1,1) 8.

Clive…: BMW Car Club i8 Register Officer (7) vowel (2) 11.

Shortform for the BMW Car Club Region of which Nick Thomas is Regional Officer (1,1) 18. ToSimon…: wanderBMW especially overand a large area.Officer Also(7) 14.

Car Club 3 Series E46 Register 16.

Chris…: BMW Car Club Vice President (7) technical termsymbol for what your(1,1)cellular network connection 18.

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A proprietary non-volatile memory card format first introduced in 1999 (1,1) 21. Postcode for the Sytner BMW dealership in West 29.

Slang exclamation meaning either "you" or "yes" depending on dialect (3) 31.

Lone Volkswagen!

Glamorgan (1,1) (1,1,1) 34.

Could be Turbo Diesel (1,1) 22. Rock band (slash omitted) of which car-nut Brian Johnson is a member. “Thunderstruck” track featured in a 2019 BMW advertisement (1,1,1,1) 23. Postcode for the Williams BMW dealership in Rochdale, Lancashire (1,1) 24. Could be Operating System (1,1) 25. BMW model range Series of designations E87, F20, F40 and F52 (3) 26. Not difficult! (4) 30. “…Land”: 2016 award-winning film in which an E30 BMW 325i Convertible makes a fleeting appearance (2,2) 32. A vein of metal ore in the earth (4) 33. Expel somebody from a property (5) 35. Postcode for the Halliwell Jones BMW North Wales dealership (1,1) 36. Jeff…: Former BMW Car Club Chairman and stalwart. See also 15. Across (7) 17.

18.

Down 1. Initials and Jensen model that won the Don Safety Trophy in 1966, and was the forerunner of BMW’s xDrive models (1,1) 2. A BMW car made by Burkard Bovensiepen’s company (6) 3. The opposite to “rich” in terms of fuel / air mixture (4) 4. Could be Logical Unit Number (1,1,1) 5. BMW Individual metallic blue / green paint [codes 406 and 560] colour initially featured on 35 of the 50 UK Limited Edition E34 M5 models (7) 6. To a small extent or a small amount of something (3) 7. Could be On The Road i.e. price (1,1,1) 8. Clive…: BMW Car Club i8 Register Officer (7) 11.Shortform for the BMW Car Club Region of which Nick Thomas is Regional Officer (1,1) 14. Simon…: BMW Car Club 3 Series and E46 Register Officer (7) 16. Chris…: BMW Car Club Vice President (7) 18. Chemical symbol for Radium (1,1) 19. Shortform for motorcycle (again slash omitted) (1,1) 20. BMW metallic blue paint [code A35] colour. Presumably named after the location of a prestigious Grand Prix circuit in this sovereign city state (6) 25. Italian word for “oil” (4) 27. US web portal and online service provider.

An early pioneers of the Internet in the mid1990s, providing a dial-up service to millions of Americans (1,1,1) 28. A proprietary non-volatile memory card format first introduced in 1999 (1,1) 29. Slang exclamation meaning either “you” or “yes” depending on dialect (3) 31. Lone Volkswagen! (1,1,1) 34. Could be Turbo Diesel (1,1)

yourletters WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR ELECTRIC CAR CATCHES FIRE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH) Where a regular car fire is a matter of extinguishing and towing, a fire in a hybrid car is a much more complicated job. This article from a Dutch fireman friend was taken in Leuven, the Netherlands.

“At the scene we found a strong smoke development, which pointed to the battery’s thermal runaway. This is created when the temperature of a battery cell rises considerably.

Soon after arrival, there were already flames visible. After knocking down the flames, we had to refrigerate the vehicle so we placed it in a special water dripping container.

A battery that is damaged can catch fire

50 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

yourletters again even after abundant cooling, due to a chemical reaction in the battery. To stop this reaction, it is necessary to cool the battery for a long time. For this we therefore use a special container in which the vehicle can be immersed for an extended period.

The container was placed in a remote parking lot. As soon as the vehicle has completely cooled down, a branch service will remove it from the container and transport it towards a scrap dealer. Not for the sake of immersion, but because a car like this is destroyed when the battery catches on fire.

There was also some attention needed for the extinguishing water. After all, it was contaminated and we couldn’t just let it run away. It was collected in underground rainwater tanks and will be checked before processing.”

CLASSIFIEDS FOR SALE: Private number plate M5 JVD for sale and is currently held on a DVLA V778 retention document, which is valid until 12.06.2031. This plate would ideally suit a BMW M5. Sensible offers in the region of £500 please.

Contact via email: rosellenby@gmail.com

FOR SALE: 1994 BMW 530 Tourer, one previous owner.

130,000 miles. Cherished car, sad to lose but extension of ULEZ zone leaves us no choice. Minor bodywork issues, otherwise good condition. Buyer collects from London W4.

Offers over £4,000. Peter 07717 537378

FOR SALE: This stunning 2006 550i M Sport Auto in Individual Le Mans Blue with Individual Black/Cream Leather with Piano Black Trim is extremely rare with low mileage of 71,293.

The V8 4.8 litre engine’s a technology powerhouse producing 360 horsepower and 360 pound-foot torque with driving performances that creates confidence, solidarity and precision to whet any enthusiast’s appetite.

Options include Head Up Display, electric sunroof, auto dimming interior and folding exterior mirrors, front comfort seats with heating and memory, visibility display, navigation, media package including TV function, Westfalia/BMW detachable tow bar and aerodynamic bodykit

1982 BMW 635 E24 Coupe auto Immaculate Saphirblau with blue hide Low ownership, low mileage - history from new Fully restored by a franchised BMW dealership for display in their showroom £14,000 recently invested, making this the best early 635 available Practical, useable and spectacular!

£27,000 ono Tel: 07554 427144

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Superchipped primarily improving economy, c 27 mpg. Front discs and pads replaced.

Genuine Alpina 19” wheels refurbished, fitted with almost four new (not run flat) tyres.

Summarising this M Sport is extremely comfortable and thrilling to drive.

Price £15,000 ovno.

For more info contact email@jeffleeks.com

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 51

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52 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews Central Tony Skerrett Central Region sponsored by

07879 404648 central@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Barons Bedford

01234 362 400

www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw BARONSCC20133 = 15% discount code

What a month the Club has experienced recently, weather-wise.

There’s been heavy thunderstorms, grey forbidding clouds accompanied by a deluge like that experienced in late August.

As I write, we are experiencing high temperatures for the next week or so. Still, Central has managed two tours and two events with more to come if the weather holds fair.

We welcome new members enthusiastically in Central. So hello to the new members, it is anticipated you will join in the Regional Evening Meetings held at the Aviator Hotel, Sywell near Northampton from 7.30 on the second Monday of each month, the next being October 11th. So Ian Gayton, Doug Pollock, Daniel Bull, Graham Dear and Garret Fay, we hope you will add to the atmospheric revelry, banter and sometimes Club matters.

It is interesting to read that the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is set to receive a new vehicle, possibly an X8 Crossover variant. The mind boggles as to what the new variant will look like. Also the Group is introducing a redesigned 2 Series Active Tourer with battery-electric powertrains with a Sportier look for the compact minivan. I’m not sure how that will go down with our more refined members.

Past Events 22nd August – The Seaside East Coast Trip by Stephen Bailey, route planned by Peter Collison formerly of Marham, Norfolk.

Hoisting of the Flag!

Nothing motivates me more than the thought of a full English breakfast. Arbuckles, Downham Market, Sunday 08:30, was the brief from Tony, our leader.

The prospect of a damp Sunday in Norfolk, would probably not be very motivational, but meeting up with friends overwhelms all negativity. Congratulations to Ed and Emma on their very recent marriage, lovely news.

After a very good breakfast, reasonably priced and with www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

The Marriage Automobile at Fatty Arbuckles, Downham Market

thoughtful service, we proceeded deeper into Norfolk, receiving a warm welcome by the organisers of the Marham Fete and Car Show. Which also included a dog show, cake stalls, bouncy castle, ice cream and a car detailing mobile shop.

It was satisfying to arrive en masse, representing BMW Central and Thames Regions, joining forces with our BMW East Anglian friends led by Richard Howard and Chief Lady Spokesperson Martha.

What more could you ask for? However, like the sword of Damocles hovering over Marham, the heavens opened at precisely 13.05hrs, sadly the rain just poured down, the grass field was slowly but inexorably deteriorating into a soggy marsh.

A command decision was made to move on, towards the North Norfolk Coast or more precisely Hunstanton.

On arrival at Hunstanton, after wet but improving weather and a scenic drive past the Sandringham Estate, the sun started to shine.

Off to the beach for a stroll, then to Henry’s (a very posh sea food restaurant) for fish and chips, of course. All whilst watching a perfect sun set over the glistening sparkling sea.

The lucky few survivors from the Marham deluge, Rodolphe from France, the lead man in photo, had earlier detoured after leaving Marham to visit Cromer and then met up again at sunny Hunstanton.

On reflection, it was a very BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

53

regionalnews happy day. One we had all been looking forward to for so long.

That’s me at the end with arms folded as I had just dropped my ice cream. Despite that small disaster, it was all-in-all a fun day.

5th September – Our Annual Visit to Rousham House near Bicester

The first thing to say is the 5th of September lived up to the weather forecast with a high of 24°C. Ten members rolled up, noticeably Robert and Lyn Hogg from Loughborough in an outstanding red E30 M3. It was good to see young Karl and Isabella fully recovered from their exertions on the Peak District Tour. Going around a hair pin, or rather an acute right angle anti camber set of bends, was an experience; for an M6, at least.

Actually another BMW 640i inadvertently joined us, but he was such a decent chap that he was allowed to park and display with us. Good to mention that Jeff and Sasha Wyatt eventually joined us in his now famous E9 of the T-Junction near Matlock and the

case of the missing fuse; all in a resplendent green livery. Fred and Sue were there too, in Sue’s very impressive red E46 335i. We soon left to tour the Gardens. It’s usually £75 per person, but as we had a member guide we used him instead. He did look the part with his gentleman’s gold-handle walking stick. Such was the beauty of the place, the 16th Century House and superbly chaotic gardens, plus a very warm summer’s day, it was like walking in paradise.

Then we all departed for picnics amongst the superb lawns, views over the River Cherwell and the Pine Tree Walk which offered plenty of shade.

A great day and far from the madding crowd.

Central Diary Dates Regional Meeting at the Aviator Hotel, Sywell Nr Northampton 11th October from 7.30pm.

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

Rybrook Wolverhampton 01902 457000 rybrookwolverhamptonbmw.co.uk

A big welcome to all our regional members old and new. Now all of the Covid restrictions have been lifted we can look forward to getting back to what was normality. The past couple of months we have managed to have our regular pub meets and several events, including Wheels on Wednesday at Spetchley Park, Worcester, two large events at Shelsley Walsh, which were the Nostalgia weekend and Race Retro. And lest we forget our major summer event, The Classic at Silverstone circuit.

Recent Events – words by Brian Elliott Nostalgia weekend at Shelsey Walsh - A few of our members attended Classic Nostalgia at Shelsley Walsh over the weekend (17th and 18th July) and braved the weather. No, not rain but heat of 30 degrees plus. I must admit the gazebo provided the shade needed as the day got hotter. The show featured fabulous cars of all shapes, sizes and ages, plus an unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the great Murray Walker on the commentary box. Action on the hill was brilliant, with sounds and smells of hot Castrol R40 (nectar to the nostrils) filled the air. For those of a certain age, there was a 2002 sponsored by Radio Caroline. Pirate radio rules!

The Classic at Silverstone - Yippee. At last, the date had arrived for another car show to attend in 2021, The Classic at Silverstone circuit. With the car all cleaned and polished, off we went to join the various queues M42 (accident), M40 (sheer volume) and the one getting into the circuit. The rain gods

54 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

certainly worked overtime for the majority of Friday. Still, the water beading was impressive. In the breaks between the rain we took a good wander to see the fabulous cars that stirred a lot www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews of memories and enjoyed the retail village. It was great to catchup with friends I have not seen for two years, but such a lot of talking meant some races were missed. Still, it’s good to talk. It was also great to see some of the highlights on Channel 4.

Future Events October 10th – Bicester Heritage October Scramble October 16th & 17th – BMW Car Club Racing at Snetterton 12th - 14th November – Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at NEC Birmingham 12th November – BMW Car Club trackday at Oulton Park Monthly Pub Meet Our monthly pub meet is held at 7.30pm on the second Tuesday of every month at The Three Horseshoes, Alveley, nr Bridgnorth, Shropshire. WV15 6NB. All are welcome, just rock up and bring your friends and families too.

Hope to see you soon.

Dave & Dean

Cheshire & Staffs Steve Cooper Cheshire & Staffs Region sponsored by

Blue Bell

cheshireandstaffs@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Knights

DISCOUNT OF UP TO 10% IS GIVEN TO MEMBERS WITH VALID MEMBERSHIP CARD *Conditions apply

Blue Bell Fourth Avenue, Weston Road, Crewe Cheshire. CW1 6XH. Tel:01270 212525 Knights Bede Road, Radial Park, Stoke on Trent Staffordshire. ST4 4GU Tel:01782 572100

Whilst Steven Cooper works hard in holding the Cheshire and Staffs Region together through an active and responsive Facebook page, BMW Car Club GB Staffs & Cheshire, little has appeared in this magazine to record what the group has been up to and is planning for the future. One recent event was the opportunity to meet fellow members at a Sunday morning coffee and cars meeting just north of Stafford.

Despite some motoring enthusiast communities being internet-based, there is usually a lingering need for physical meetings where like-minded car aficionados can meet up and enjoy automotive eye candy. This has been proven by the resurgence of the Ace Café on London’s North Circular and the Coffee and Classics meetings now being held elsewhere.

At the time of writing, one is being held near Stafford at The Greyhound Inn at the top of Yarlet Bank on the A34 between Stafford and Stone where BMWCC Cheshire and Staffs members and friends have been getting together on the last Sunday of the month.

At our first meet, we were made very welcome both by Jim (the landlord who initiated these meetings for all-comers) and Cheshire and Staffs members. Up to 100 cars have been there previously but, on this occasion, the BMW contingent probably outnumbered the rest, maybe because of the many competing shows, motor sport events and other distractions taking place now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

The current plan is for Staffs and Cheshire members to continue to meet on the last Sunday of the month at the Greyhound, unless the necessary early opening of the pub

becomes no longer commercially viable. The landlord is well aware that many classic and cherished cars go into hibernation between October to April and may be obliged to have a closed season. This might be avoided if BMW drivers and their friends show continued support, so please look at the group’s

The author’s BMW E30 M3 and the E36 318iS of Jack Yorke with a BMW 8-Series

One of Steve Cooper’s BMWs and the BMWCC Cheshire and Staffs banner

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 55

regionalnews Facebook page and make every effort to attend and perhaps sample the Sunday lunches on offer. At the time of writing, the next meeting was on 26 September between 9 and noon (ST18 9SD).

Finally, earlier mention was made of competing events at a time when long-delayed programmes of activities are being

compressed into the remainder of the year. Subject to track time being available in the near future, it is hoped that a visit to the Curborough Sprint track can be arranged since BMWs have been called the Ultimate Driving machines.

David Yorke

Blue BMWs included an M4 and a 1-series

Cornwall Jim Husband

cornwall@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hello to all members of the Cornwall Region. If you need any information on meets, events or activities please contact me. I hope to see you at one soon.

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.

Recent Events The visit to ARM Motorsports and Mapfreaks Tuning on the 21st August was a fantastic event. I cannot thank Tim and Joe enough for their hospitality, food and drinks and arranging things at their end. Also, a huge thanks to all who attended. Everyone had a great day. I plan to write an article for the magazine on the event very soon. We are looking forward to the next one already.

Events / Monthly Pub Meets.

Pub meets – The second Monday of the month at the Plume of Feathers, Mitchell at 7:30pm.

Dates: September 13th, October 11th, November 8th, December 13th Christmas Meal 17th December – I am hoping to book the Britannia Inn between St Austell and Par for 7:30pm for this year’s Christmas meal, so please pencil the date in the diary. As soon as I get confirmation from the venue I will let everyone know and take numbers of those interested.

Cars and Coffee – Nothing more has been heard on this, however I will look to arrange a regular BMWCC Cars and Coffee meet in 2022. Hopefully at different venues and including a drive out at the same time for those that wish to.

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.

Photos If you do have any photos of past events or of your cars suitable for inclusion in the magazine please send them to me.

56 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews

Cotswold Martyn Goodwin Cotswold Region sponsored by

Cotswold Motor Group www.cotswoldgroup.com Corinthian Way, Cheltenham, GL51 6UP Roman Road, Hereford, HR1 1LN

Cheltenham BMW Cheltenham MINI Cheltenham Motorrad Cheltenham Parts Cheltenham Service Hereford

cotswold@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 01242 335 335 01242 335 345 01242 335 355 01242 335 365 01242 335 375 01432 375 555

The Cotswold Region, like most, had languished with sporadic contact over the lockdown periods and, for the most part, stayed safe and well until it seemed both opportune and appropriate to recommence meetings in the car park, if not indoors. Contact had been made with the management at The Swan at Coombe Hill, our regular meeting hostelry, to ensure that they were also happy for us to resume our meetings. So with an affirmation of consent, on the evening of 11th August we held our first meeting of 2021.

This in fact, like most things in our lives, was our first meeting since February 2020.

I think that we each drove to the venue with a sense of wonder – how many others would be making their way and would turn up on the night? In the days prior to the meeting I had been contacted by old members, a number of new members just to confirm that it really was happening, and even one prospective member that wanted to just come along and get a taste of a Regional Meeting before taking the plunge. As it transpired, it was one of the best turnouts that we have had, pardon the cliché, in a long time, by which I am referring to prior to the pandemic. As such, it was really encouraging to see so many people and their cars turn out on a mild and thankfully dry Wednesday evening.

We had a display of 14 cars at the peak of the evening, from show cars to daily drivers, and it was great to be able to catch up with old friends again and meet new ones.

The evening was spent in the open air, old habits die hard, so we were able to catch up and talk about all things car related.

Most people stayed the course until well after dark and even once the pub was locked up and the staff had gone for the night.

The Swan at Coombe Hill, and particularly the car park and its

Cumbria James France

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

surrounds, has changed somewhat during the lockdowns. The open fields to the side and the rear are now being developed for housing, hence the vista is not what it was. The car park is now more open and has been dressed with a few tons of extra gravel.

This has made manoeuvring within it and escaping the car park a skill in itself. A good time was had by all and I am looking forward to the next meeting on Wednesday 8th September at 7.30pm, which should be our AGM, and I’m hoping for a similar good turnout.

Diary Dates 13th October – Cotswold Region Monthly Meeting 10th November – Cotswold Region Monthly Meeting 12-14th November – Lancaster Insurance Classic Car Show – NEC Birmingham 8th December – Cotswold Region Monthly Meeting

cumbria@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hello to all Cumbria region members.

The Cumbria Classic Car Show at Dalemain House was attended by members in August and a good day was had by all. We were blessed with the weather and we had a huge attendance of participants and visitors. There were over 800 cars on display.

Hutton in the Forest car show was scheduled to be on again on September 12th, which was a week away as I write this. A few of our members are going along, but we are not putting on a club thing. However, we will get together to chew the fat as it’s one of the last shows of the season.

I will be looking at putting on a Sunday morning meet again at Cocklakes, so watch your mailboxes. It will follow the usual www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 57

regionalnews format with food available from the on-site café.

On a personal note, I was thinking of selling my ‘06 M Sport X3 in silver grey metallic. Long story short, but I was only offered low prices for the car which has relatively low mileage, full history gearbox in my hair along a fullI swear box, too. and is in oil great condition.

So with instead, have treated the car to Hoperefurbishment to catch up with if you are athe new member please a wheel and you, will be getting steering wheel feel free to come along to our meets and events.

recovered by Royal Steering Wheels as it has a few marks on it. Now I will be keeping it as it does what it says on the tin and suits my lifestyle with dogs and fishing etc.

Be careful, stay safe and be kind.

Be careful, be kind.

(It’s free!)

Phone 07799stay 620safe 381and or email jimfrance1@hotmail.co.uk Phone 07799 Regards Jim. 620 381 or email jimfrance1@hotmail.co.uk Regards Jim.

regionalnews

KathyJemfrey Jemfrey Devon DevonKathy

01626 330436 330436 01626 devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Devon Region sponsored by

INDEPENDENT BMW & MINI SPECIALISTS

The Sidmouth Car Show has been cancelled, however if anyone wishes to attend, we will be attending the Crash Box End of Season Car Show it is at Lady’s Mile Holiday Park, Dawlish, on George Champ

Sunday 27th September 10am until 4.00pm. Come and go as you please.

07514 216660 Take care and see you alleastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk soon.

East Anglia Champ East Anglia George www.group1auto.co.uk/bmw East Anglia Region sponsored by

Barons Cambridge www.barronsbmw.co.uk 01954 784 500 East Anglia Region sponsored Cambridge: Stansted: 01279 755 906 & Barons Stansted Cambridge : 01954 784 500

by Barons Cambridge Stansted

: 01279 755 906

& Stansted Let’s all hope we have a late Indian summer and can squeeze in a few more events and trips before winter sets in properly. In the Hi everyone, meantime, we enjoyed the following: To say 2020 has been a strange and difficult year would be an Funkeefish on 7th August. At least 25 of us enjoyed a understatement, but nonetheless I am delighted to say we still fascinating and enjoyable trip to see how they fit wrapping have new members joining the Club, so welcome to you all, the and decals to cars. One of our members actually had the front good times will return. In the meantime as I remind you all every section of his car transformed whilst we were there. We have month, keep up to date with your respective Facebook pages subsequently been able to acquire a discount of up to 15% for and enjoy reading the contributions and think about sharing your members subject to quoting your current BMWCC membership stories and photos with everyone as well. number. www.funkeefish.com We have a little glimmer of hope that we will be able to enjoy at least a couple of events and/or pub meets if the situation allows, hence I still produce a rather small list. I am sure like me you all miss shows and events. Personally I have found it frustrating that the only reason I have forced myself to get my 2002 out of the garage is the fact it deserves and needs to be taken out for a spin as leaving it unused does it no good whatsoever. I miss meeting members and strangers at events and don’t mind talking at length about my 2002 even if the same questions keep cropping up; how much is it worth, and are you selling it? I also get asked if I know of any classic or interesting BMWs that are for sale, and sometimes the answer is yes so keep sending me details if any of you are changing your BMW for any reason. It is not a substitute for advertising your car properly but sometimes word of mouth can help.

It would be fascinating if you would send me a few lines and photos of your BMW so that I can share these with other members. I am delighted to be able to share the following thanks to Carl Pereira, so don’t be shy, please send your stories and pictures.

“After many years of owning small cars I was ‘persuaded’

by Angela, my wife, to buy a bigger, four door car. After a succession of Renault 25s we moved from France to Italy and owned a couple of Alfa Romeo 164s. With each ‘upgrade’ the engines got bigger and/or the number of cylinders increased or often both, with the last 164 having the Busso V6 3 litre engine (a work of art). After years of temperamental French and Italian 58 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 cars I decided to venture into the world of German cars and in particular BMWs. My father often had Mercedes as a company

07514 216660 eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Barons offers members

• Generous discounts off the new BMW and MINI range • ABarons minimum offersdiscount membersof £500 on approved used cars in stock • 15% discount onoffparts and accessories • Generous discounts the new BMW and MINI range10% off servicing, excludes • A minimum discount £500 on approved cars inover stock 4 yrs old.

Value Line Servicingof which appliesused to cars

• 15% discount on parts and accessories 10% off servicing, excludes Value Line Servicing which applies to cars over 4 yrs old.

Castle Pub Meet on 8th August. The following day we attended our regular second Sunday of the month meet at this car but I always felt the BMW was a bit ‘sportier’ and less very popular gathering. The next meet is 10th October. ‘company car’.

Lodge Coaches on 22nd August. This is always popular and Scouring the local magazines and papers I found an interesting the weather was kind, we even had a glimpse of the sunshine. looking E34 540i for sale near Watford. The advert mentioned an There was a mixed selection of about 10 members’ cars, plus interesting previous owner but did not give any more details. A lots of other makes along with lorries and busses, including rides phone call was made and a trip to Watford arranged. on an open top bus and a small autojumble and food.

The car was a beautiful Forest Green E34 540i with a parchment leather interior and filled with ’toys’ such as a remote controlled radio and a car phone, completed with a personalised number plate, A2HKJ. The interior was perfect and the rear seats looked almost new. I still remember looking at the massive V8 engine under the bonnet and thinking to myself that while I could afford to buy the car, if anything ever went wrong with the engine I would probably not be able to afford to repair it! The vendor explained to me that the car had a full service history from new but it had never been serviced by a BMW main dealer!

It transpired that the previous registered owner of the car was His Royal Highness, the current King of Jordan, and that the person selling the car was his chauffeur who had bought the car from the King (although he was a Prince at the time). The number plate, A2HKJ, which had been added later, stood for Abdullah the 2nd, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

My 540i proved to me that large cars could be reliable, and apart from the fuel costs she was surprisingly cheaper to maintain than any of my previous ‘big’ cars. After a few years ownership, in 2007 I began to look for a replacement and finally bought my B10 V8 Alpina which I still own.”

Forthcoming events Sunday 6th September - Classics by the Lake. CANCELLED Sunday 6th September – Classics at Glemham.

Sunday 13th September – Kings Lynn Heritage Open Day and Little Easton Manor on 5th September.

Due to publishing Classic Car Show in Market Square.

Book direct west-norfolk. deadlines there will be more details next time of our first visit to gov.uk/classiccarday. this venue. Next visit 3rd October TBC. Sunday 27th September – The Warren Supercar and Classic Car Show. CANCELLED www.bmwcarclubgb.uk Sunday 18th October – Lodge Coaches including Auto Jumble.

regionalnews

Eastern Paul Rice Events Beckingham Transport Show It was our first visit for the club to this local village show and hopefully not our last. With a superb turn out of BMWs on display, including Andrew’s M5 which is also featured as this month’s COTM. Also of note was Rob and Lynne with their equally special E30 M3 and a rare outing for Steve’s concours E30. Howard had his newly acquired 728i, with its very apt registration and not forgetting Viv’s 328 Schnitzer, as ever well-presented and always a crowd favourite. A good selection of nine Zeds along with another two 528s, an E39 and an F10, completing the line-up.

The show, a charitable event with the Nottingham Air ambulance as the main benefactor, was extremely well run and very well supported. There was a great collection of vehicles on display, including lorries, buses and a good selection of motorbikes. It was the cars, though, that monopolised the show field. I visit many shows, so I do tend to see the same cars time after time, but not this one. On display was, for example, two Zagota designed Alfas and, although I’m not a fan of big Yank tanks, a stunning Buick Riviera caught my eye. Another car that got my attention was a gorgeous Audi 100 Coupé. Continuing the diverse nature of the show was a rally-prepared MG 6R4, two Morris 1000 Panda cars, an invalid carriage and a fire engine all adding to the many interesting exhibits.

Regional meets George and Dragon. We had our second outing on Tuesday 31 August since the Covid restrictions have been lifted and things have settled down. We had a good turn out on the night and a great collection of owners’ cars on display, a terrific evening pub meet was enjoyed. Look out for the pre-Christmas get together and dinner.

Elm Tree Inn. As with the George and Dragon, things have started to open up. Although we had to change our club night as the Elms no longer open on Mondays. The new day is the second Tuesday of the month for this club night.

Further information on these and our breakfast meets are available on the car club web site or our Facebook pages.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Car of the Month

This car is an E28 M5 UK chassis #180, believed to be the sole UK example in Zinnober Red with a mirror-finish glass sunroof.

It was bought by its current owner, Andrew Barrett, in 1996 for £9000 when it had covered around 100k miles.

In 1997 the car featured on BBC Top Gear, driven by Tiff Needell. See https://youtu.be/adJifY1aZ7I “I ran it for two years before part exchanging the car for an E34 M5 Touring.

I re-acquired ‘Red 5’ in 2003 for just £3000. The previous custodian had added a not insubstantial 60,000 miles. During this time the car did not get the TLC it deserved. There was mildew on the leather, broken springs, worn out brakes, knackered suspension bushes, and corrosion on the floors and sills. £3000 saw her roadworthy again and since my reacquisition she has covered between 1-2000 miles per year.

By 2013 the cosmetics were getting very poor: the front wings were rusty, the rear panel was rotting and there were worrying bubbles on the NSF screen pillar and bottom corners of the rear screen, bubbling on the boot lid lower edge and the bonnet had creases from being tugged open when the release cable had given way.

In 2013, with good examples being advertised at £20,000 plus, I decided that, even with £6k already invested in the car, it would still be sensible to spend a further £10k to restore it back to its former glory. That’s true man maths. I entrusted the restoration of the bodywork to David and Paul Sharman at Barkston Refinishing in Grantham. It’s since had a bit more fettling underneath and some new suspension bushes to keep the handling fresh. Now with just over 180,000 miles on the clock, it still goes like the wind. Red 5 recently featured in another video review. See https://youtu.be/yi882WKFATM “ Thank you to Andrew Barrett for the write up. If you would like to have your vehicle included in our car of the month feature please send a good quality picture, details and history, in no more than 300 words to eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 59

regionalnews

London Anthony Mason London Region sponsored by

london@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

BMW PARK LANE

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 Barons Borehamwood 02089 512 600 www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw

North East Nick Thomas

northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

The Region is very much into its stride again. We are back to our usual pattern of two gatherings per month of some shape or form. Many thanks to the North East committee who, as always, are doing a great job of supporting me and organizing events despite the difficulties and uncertainties we are still facing.

centre rather than the usual car show venues meant there were a lot of passers-by and the BMWs (as usual) attracted a lot of attention. Mike Milbourne won a well-deserved Best in Club award for his 2002tii – congratulations. Thanks to Greg Lyons for organising the day for us.

Recent Events Our August monthly meet was back indoors at the Black Horse Beamish, which was lucky considering the weather was not the best. We also made use of the sunny interludes to chat and kick tyres down at the Car Barn, taking advantage of the roof canopy when showers hit us.

On August Bank Holiday Monday we spent the day in Durham city centre at the Durham Classic Car Show. Being in the city

Forthcoming events Events are subject to last minute changes so keep an eye on the NE Region Facebook Group for the latest information.

• Saturday 02 October – toast2coast, Eastern Region run from NY500 (near Pickering) to Whitby.

• Sunday 10 October – Monthly Meet • Sunday 24 October – ‘Route 66 Run’ • Sunday 14 November – Monthly Meet • Wednesday 24 November – NE Region Zoom AGM • Sunday 28 November – Vertu Teesside • Sunday 12 December – Monthly Meet • Saturday 18 December – Christmas Dinner Car of the Month July Car of the Month was awarded to Martin Lone and his very smart E36 328i Convertible. All 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.

North Wales David Allen By the time you receive this edition of Straight Six we will be almost into October and Christmas will be around the corner.

This is the second year when I feel we have not achieved everything that I’d hoped. It has been difficult with Covid restrictions, travel chaos and planning ahead without knowing what is around the corner. I am hoping we’ll be able to organise ourselves next year, get out and about and enjoy North Wales.

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northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Recent Events I heard about and attended a Classic Car show on the seafront at Rhos on Sea on the 15th August. The weather was mixed and there were many cars of different ages, makes and models.

The pictures show a couple of potential new members with their classic BMWs and I’m hoping to include a rather special story once I’ve been able to obtain some more pictures. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews

Forthcoming events September was a busy month with shows and the trackday on Anglesey. Hopefully there will be plenty of pictures for next month.

Car of the Month If you like your car and story featured, please let me know.

North West Jeff Heywood North West Region Sponsored by The Zed Shed

07801 506632 Search for: BMW Car Club GB North West Twitter: @BMWNW northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

BMW & Mini Specialist Independent Specialist Concentrating on BMW Z4s.

Contact Mike directly on 07973 540495.

Mike@thezedshed.co.uk

Unit A3, Duke St. Earlestown, Merseyside. WA12 9QX. www.facebook.com/ZedShedNW www.thezedshed.co.uk

Read our reviews on our FB page: “Brilliant place to take your zed. Very reasonable and very knowledgeable.

Succeeded where others failed. Very Happy.” Emma Guest.

News Welcome to October’s North West News. By the time you are reading this bulletin we will have held our Show & Shine competition at The Kilton Inn in late September, here’s hoping it was a success and I managed to get to speak to many of you.

We have a visit booked at the new Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum, better known as Fireground. Our visit takes place on Saturday 23rd October and promises to be one not to miss. The museum has moved into new, larger premises after a multi-million pound refit and has something for everyone to enjoy.

Don’t forget to book with Jeff for this visit.

Trade Recommendations Darren Wood BMW Specialist, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2QB. Offering BMW repair, servicing and engine tuning etc. Facebook – Darren Wood Ltd – Independent BMW Specialists. www. darren-wood.com / 0161 425 7403.

Class Alloys. Mobile service, repairs and refurbs of alloy wheels.

All finishes, including perfectly matched chrome shadowline.

Covers most of North West. Discount given to club members – contact Steve on 07594 018525. Facebook - Class Alloys.

David Tully Bodyshop (Tully’s), Rochdale. For all body/paint requirements, comes highly recommended. 01706 643866 / www.davidtullyltd.co.uk Facebook – David Tully Ltd. Express Dent Removal. For those niggling dent/dings to your BMWs bodywork. Speak to Simon Robinson on 0800 998 9828 or 07767 832255, or visit www.express-dent-removal.co.uk www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Swades Car Detailing. For car detailing/valeting/alloy wheel refurb. Highly recommended. Give Darryl a call on 07415 945979. Facebook – Swades Car Detailing or visit www.swades.co.uk New Members We’ve signed up quite a few new members during the Covid pandemic, so first of all I’d like to welcome you all to the club and the North West region. Secondly, we’d love to see you all at the events and meetings we organise. There are no cliques, you will be made very welcome so why not come along and share in your passion for BMWs. Forthcoming Events 5th October - Manchester Branch Meet at Sheldon Arms Don’t miss our latest Manchester Meet at the Sheldon Arms, M30 5QL. Come and join us for a bit of tyre kicking and some banter. The meet starts at 7.30pm, but please feel free to arrive early and grab dinner before the meet starts. All details are in the Local Branch News below.

23rd October – Visit to Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum and Lunch This promises to be a stonker of a day out at the all-new Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum, Fireground at Rochdale. It’ll be followed by late lunch at the Kingfisher, Greenfield, Saddleworth OL3 7AE. There’s too much to tell you about the museum here, so visit their informative website (www. fireground.org.uk) for more details. Please meet in the Fireground museum car park (OL11 1DN) at 9.45am for a 10.00am start.

Charges for the museum are: Adults £7.00p.p, Seniors £5.00p.p and Children £5.00p.p.

We’ll be leaving the museum at 1.00pm-ish, giving us a full 3-hours to enjoy the exhibitions, then allowing us a good half hour to travel over to The Kingfisher (OL3 7AE), which is situated in the Saddleworth village of Greenfield. We have a room and tables pre-booked for our party from 1.30pm onwards. Places are limited so it is imperative that you book on this visit and lunch with Jeff on 07801 506632 or northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 61

regionalnews And yes, you are not mistaken, there was a typo last month as the visit takes place on Saturday 23rd October, not the 24th as previously advertised. The museum doesn’t open, as yet, on a Sunday.

2nd November – Manchester Branch Meet at Sheldon Arms See above for details.

21st November – NW Pub Meet at Kilton Inn, Cheshire More details next month.

7th December – Manchester Branch Meet at Sheldon Arms See above for details.

12th December - NW Xmas Party + Pub Meet at Kilton Inn, Cheshire More details next month.

South East Ian Bryant South East Region sponsored by

Chandlers Brighton 01273 423 312

The last month has seen increased activity, with many events being rescheduled to later in the season. Our Micro Meetings have been doing well, the Sussex meet was a bit down on numbers last month but primarily due to members being on holiday. However, it was encouraging to see a number of new faces. The last Kent Micro Meeting benefitted from beautiful weather with a stunning selection of cars: two E30 M3s, two E46 CSLs, a 600hp V12 760 and just about everything in between (32 cars in total) and many new faces.

On the same days as the last Kent Micro Meeting, a number of South East Region members attended the Sharknose Ace Café meeting and shared photos of what looked like a great event. I am sure this will be covered in detail elsewhere.

We attended the Michelham Priory Classic car show, which is such a beautiful venue. The weather was generally kind.

There was the odd shower, but the organisation and feedback from members this year was not positive so probably time to

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southeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hailsham 01323 844 032 Worthing 01903 784 147 www.baronsgroup.co.uk/bmw

BARONS CC20133 =

15% discount code

move on. Thanks to those that did attend, I apologise that I had to drop out at short notice and special thank you to Nigel for looking after things for me while I attended a last minute family holiday.

I have recently returned from a brilliant driving trip to the Alps with some friends and thought I would share details on how easy it was to travel abroad with the current Covid constraints.

You need to have had both Covid vaccinations and get a Covid passport via the NHS App to reflect this. You then need to fill in a health declaration, as we were traveling by Eurotunnel they provide the forms and you complete it online. Travelling to France was very straightforward, with the right forms completed in advance. Returning to the UK, you need to take an Antigen Test (supplied by an approved supplier) 48 hours before returning to the UK. You take the test and send the results to an authorised body, who then sends you a certificate that you attach to your return travel declaration (again via Eurotunnel online). You also need to take a PCR test within two day of www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

regionalnews returning to the UK. You have to buy the PCR kit in advance and attach the unique PCR reference number to the return declaration. PCR is more precise than Antigen test, once you have done this after you’ve returned, you send the test off and they respond with the result in 48 hours. In conclusion, it is a bit of pain but it costs around £100-£130 for both tests. However, it was worth it.

Top tip if travelling to France, it is worth installing the French TousAntiCovid app as many venues use this. All you do is attach a copy of your Covid passport to the app and they scan at the venue.

So briefly onto the Alps trips. It was seven days of driving, primarily in France and Switzerland. What an opportunity to test the AST suspension on my Z4M. The summary, I am very pleased indeed. The car handles and rides significantly better on all roads and varying speeds. The front end is particularly impressive, it just sticks, the rear is more planted, and it provides more confidence with ultimately greater enjoyment. So it was definitely worth doing along with other mods. I’ve finally turned the Z4M into the Roadster it should be.

Details of all events can be found on the BMW Car Club site under South East Region homepage. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk/ regions/south-east/

South Wales Jonathan Bamford

Kent Micro Meeting

The George, Taylors Lane, Trottiscliffe, West Malling, ME19 5DR

Sussex Micro Meeting

Billy’s on the Road, Stane Street, Billingshurst, RH14 9AE

southwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Welcome to our South Wales Regional news. I hope everyone is safe and well. If you are new to the club and this is your first issue, then welcome. Our monthly meetings are at the Twelve Knights Pub in Margam, SA13 2DB. They are held on the third Wednesday of every month. If you haven’t been to one of our meetings before, then please come along. 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. Please ensure the club has your correct email address so that you don’t miss out on any future events or plans.

Thank you once again for taking the time to come to these organised events. The effort that goes into the planning and organisation of these makes it all worthwhile when people show up and enjoy themselves.

We attended the South Wales Car Festival at Chepstow Racecourse in August. We had a good number of members join us. The show was well organised, especially considering it was their first one. It can only get bigger and better each year from here on in. I’m sure there will be many joining us next year.

Last month was our North Wales trip. Details of the weekend will be in the November issue due to deadlines for each article.

Keep an eye out for it and maybe join us in 2022.

We also hosted a German Car Night at Unit 7 in Llanelli last month. Details of the event were emailed out to members. It was also promoted on social media platforms. Again, at the time of writing, we had not held the event. Judging by the numbers forecast, this too is looking to be a big show. If you did attend, then I hope you enjoyed it. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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We will continue to arrange, where we can, meetings and small runs when possible. Most Sundays we organise a cars and coffee meet at Unit 7 in Llanelli. It’s a couple of hours out of the house and a great opportunity to meet up and stay in touch.

I know things can be difficult for everyone at the moment, and not everyone can make every event, but it would be good to see some faces and to all have a catch up. If you are not involved in our WhatsApp groups, then please contact me to be added. It is here that last minute runs and meetings may be arranged. Until next month, as always, stay safe and hopefully see you soon.

Thames Tony Skerrett Well, we have had some fun times in August and even in early September. With the loosening of the pandemic rules, members are beginning to circulate more often and it showed in both Central and Thames Regions. The Regional Meetings at the Littlebury Hotel, Bicester are still going strong with a real eclectic mix of members.

8th August – Peak District Tour What a day, single track roads and surprise bends. Those members I saw at the beginning of the day I never saw again.

Howard’s route was bedevilled by the weather, which closed some roads.

We met at Tansley Garden Centre Matlock on a pleasant enough morning for breakfast. There must have been about 20 to 30 members in around 15 cars. There were lots of new faces, but I did recognise Jeff and Sasha Wyatt, Gary Jackson and Marion, Brian and Sally Holroyd, Simon, Rodolphe Arnoult and Terry and Rosalia Nicholson (the 747 Pilot) amongst the crowd.

By the time we set off, the rain was falling again. Then an unfortunate Compact owner required a push start and then, later on, required a cable jumpstart via a certain E9. By then, we had made our way up the A6 to Bamford when we received a SOS from Sasha Wyatt who reported that their car had died just prior to Eyam at a T-Junction.

thames@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Sasha marshalled passing cars through by waving a white flag at the busy junction. Then Sasha spotted a blown fuse.

Voila! The fuse was replaced and the car was ready to thunder on its way. Apparently the fuse was caused by Jeff giving a jump start to the Compact owner and, due to the strange polarity system on the Compact, it caused the E9 to stop dead in its tracks.

Continuing on our journey towards Bamford Edge, Hope Valley, we ran into Karl Pattison going in the opposite direction with his partner glued to a map. We were now on the A57 with rain falling again. Then we came to the devils road, called Mortimers Road, which led to The Strines Inn. Howard did warn members to take care on this road. At Strines Inn I found to my amazement Howard was sitting cosily in the Inn with other members enjoying a fine meal. Soon Jeff and Sasha arrived and regaled us with their exploits at the Cross Roads at Eyam.

The E9

The Strines Inn, a genuine remote, haunted 12th Century Inn where Earl Mortimer came to a sticky end.

By the time we left, normal weather had returned with only a tiny bit of sunshine appearing. We carried on with our journey via Wigtwizzle and Bolsterstone, but we could not appreciate the scenery due to the incessant rain.

By now we were approaching Glossop, where, thankfully, we met up with Jeff’s green E9 and followed him to the oddlynamed Carding Shed, it has a café attached called the Oil

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Can. We spent a little time looking at the splendid antique cars and memorabilia. At the café we sat down with Terry and Rosalia Nicholson for afternoon tea. After that, we called it a day and headed for home via the Snake Pass and the A57.

Snake Pass Fortunately, I fell behind a 60-seat coach bound for Sheffield.

Amazingly, the road has been identified as Roman and is marked thus on the OS map. However, this is hotly disputed by local historians. Even so, there have been some Iron Age artefacts discovered near the route. Some of the evening scenery was stunning, but my wife had other ideas as her eyes were glued to the road ahead.

Once safely at the Lady Bower Reservoir, I set the sat nav for home. Now my sat nav, when actioned, will pick a route via any road, lane and dirt track to justify the quickest route.

So much to my wife’s horror, we find ourselves on multiple so-called roads that were hardly passable. Then disaster struck. We appeared at one hairpin bend and came across a collapsed wall blocking the lane entirely. My wife implored me to turn around, but as the route was a sunken lane with encroaching walls it was not possible. So I then proceeded to clear the rubble as best I could. I was then able to safely navigate the car through the lane now clear of the loose rubble. We then safely reached the M1 and home. No supper for me that night.

It was a great day out, thanks to Howard and Jackie from Thames and Central members.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

29th August – Classics on the Crick

by Mark Wells – Alpina D3 Biturbo.

How great is it to be able to be back out again.

Sunday 29th August saw us return to very well attended show in Naphill Bucks. I’m lucky enough to only live a few minutes from the show and rarely miss one. The show is a charity event in aid of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance with local music and food stalls. The range of cars is outstanding with everything from a Ford Model T to a brand new BMW M4 Competition.

It’s very much a family day. My wife, daughter and I wandered around the cars on display, taking in all the different styles and classes. Many of my first cars were there, including a concours spec Mk1 Escort 1300E in metallic purple. Complete with a vinyl roof. Thanks to Thames Region for arranging this again and having a nice mixed BMWCC stand. From a personal point of view, it is nice to have three Alpinas present with my D3 BT, the B3 Cab and a lovely B12.

It was a great Club family day out.

Brunhilda E9 Report by Niek Nijsen Hello members, I’ve swapped out some of the nuts on the new exhaust manifold on Brünhilda’s engine block as they’re better suited for heat than the Nyloc nuts I was using. I still have to torque these and repeat the process for the inlet manifolds. Otherwise, I’ve been working on the electric schematics and I’ve managed to spray the first layer of colour on mini Brünhilda. More on that to follow next time.

Diary dates for the next meeting at the Littlebury Hotel, Bicester – 28th October at 7pm.

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Wessex Julian Pickering

Snows BMW snows.co.uk/bmw

wessex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Our parts department is open 7 days a week.

Portsmouth: Eastern Road, Portsmouth, PO3 5FF 02392 657500 Isle of Wight: Forest Road, Newport, PO30 5QJ 01983 522555

Barons Farnborough 01252 518 185

Barons Hindhead 01428 605 000

The nights are starting to draw in and autumn is approaching, so our club nights will soon have to move back to indoor meetings.

Our Bournemouth event on 1st September saw 25 great cars parked on the lawn behind the Avon Tyrrell Hotel and the attached photo shows a number of them in the fading light. All is not lost though, as we intend to spice up our indoor winter club nights with some interesting technical presentations from local experts who have delivered great service to our members. More about this soon.

Our big social event this month was a BBQ at Bucklers Hard marina on the beautiful Beaulieu River, not far from the National Motor Museum where we had a club stand at the Simply BMW car show on Sunday 19th September. Bucklers Hard is an important historical maritime location that was created in the early 18th century by the 2nd Duke of Montagu, who planned to build a free port on the banks of the Beaulieu River for the import and export of sugar from the West Indies. However, it soon became a major centre for naval shipbuilding and three of Lord Nelson’s fleet that took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 were built here: Agamemnon, Euryalus and Swiftsure.

One of the yachts lying ashore in Bucklers Hard during our visit was Gipsy Moth IV, a 55-foot ketch that Sir Francis Chichester commissioned specifically to sail single-handed around the world in 1966 and 67.

the problem with driving cars to a party is the necessary limit on alcohol consumption and we ended up with an excess of wine and beer that was given out to attendees in a free raffle at the end.

The event has received great feedback and there has been strong interest to repeat it in the early part of summer in 2022.

My thanks to Eric Thompson for the BBQ pictures and special congratulations for the excellent evening shot over the river. This is definitely a candidate for a prize-winning photograph.

Forthcoming events All confirmed Wessex Region events are published on the club website events area and on the Wessex Facebook page.

Wessex has also set up a very successful WhatsApp group, which we are now using to notify members of all new events. If you haven’t joined this already, please send an email to wessex@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk to be added.

Tim Maltby sends the following update about the Basingstoke club nights: “We are pleased to report that The Fox has a full complement of staff and is now running at full steam. With that in mind, from October onwards we are reverting back to the third Tuesday of the month for our Basingstoke pub meets. The first will be on Tuesday 19th October.”

Over 40 of our members attended the BBQ and a good time was had by all. The deal was to bring your own food to cook yourself on the BBQ supplied, while accompaniments, desserts and all drinks were provided at a modest charge, which included the hire of the marquee and other facilities at the marina. However,

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registernews 02 Richard Stern

07770 443373 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

By the time you read this the 2021 Bavaria Tour will have been and gone, I hope it was enjoyable for everyone that made the trek.

I did see several of our 02 friends from the USA made the journey with their 02s, so credit to them.

August was a busy month for me, I had events every weekend.

Well, I did have to make up for last year. It was great to meet old and new friends and see people enjoying their classic cars again. If you follow me on Faceache and Instagram, you’ll see the images including some stunning cars.

Jaymic now has lots of new parts, including petrol tanks, body panels, inner repair panels, clear indicators, fuel senders and much more for 02s. You know where to go.

Graham Robson 1936-2021 - A sad loss to our historic vehicle community. Graham Robson will be familiar to many. His background is almost entirely motor industry-related, including running the Triumph Motor Companies Competition Department from 1962 to 1965. He never gave up his enthusiasm for rallying and was keenly involved in the Triumph Clubs, as well as anything post-war Ford connected. He ran the Coventry office of Autocar magazine before taking up freelance writing full time in the early 1970s. He has written some 170 motoring books, as well as many magazine articles and lots of classic car programs on the history of different manufacturers often shown on TV. He wrote speeches for industry personnel and was a very popular after dinner speaker himself. He was an established commentator at shows and events, too. He died on the 5th August, aged 85. Our thoughts go out to his family at this sad time.

Mass 02 collector Rudy Manseenus, from Texas, sadly died in August. Our thoughts go out to Rudy’s family at this difficult time.

For those that didn’t know, he was a massive petrolhead and had amassed a collection of Porsches and 02s.

Tail Pipe Close-ratio steering boxes are like finding a unicorn, but Ireland Engineering now sell the parts needed to make your standard ’box into a CR one, even RHD www.iemotorsport.com/product/ quick-ratio-steering-box-kit-2002/ www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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1 Series Anthony Mason I’ve been spoiled by my lovely girlfriend, again. She bought me a supercar trackday experience and the best part was that it was at the Top Gear test track. It was amazing driving the track having watched numerous celebrities pounding round it for years. When choosing the cars to drive, I was very tempted to try one of the film cars they had on offer, including Eleanor (the hero car from Gone in 60 Seconds), an iconic A-team van, some of the Fast and Furious cars, but, sadly, no BMWs. The key cars in the pack that I chose were a Lamborghini, a Porsche 911, a fast Jag and I think I could upgrade to a McLaren or a top of the line Lambo.

Although the experience was really good, frustratingly the whole booking process felt like they were just after your money, every other question was about upgrading. I went for an extra crash protection waiver although, after a couple of times round the track it seemed like overkill as there’s lots of run off space.

They wanted me to upgrade my Lambo, buy the in-car footage of the day, photos on the track, the list went on and on. When

3 Series Simon Maskell Hello to you all and welcome to the 3 Series Register news. I have been contacted by a member who would very much like to share his car with us all. So, the following are Tahir’s thoughts on his very lovely M3: “I am the proud owner of an individual E36 M3 Evolution Convertible in the very rare Atlantis Blue. I believe there is one other club member that has one, but I don’t know of anyone else in the UK with the same combination. Mine is totally standard and pretty much as it would have come from the factory, albeit with an upgraded Clifford alarm system.

I have been a BMW fan from when I first purchased a 318iS around 1999, shortly followed by a Boston Green E36 320i.

However, what really made me fall in love with the E36 M3 was a chap who lived up the road from me and owned a unique one-of-one Neon Green E36 M3. His was the pre-facelift and I recall seeing it around 1998. From that moment I set my heart on owning one in the future. I was only 18 at the time and not long had my driving license, the dream of owning one anytime soon was miles away.

Anyway, after five years (2003) following hard graft doing two jobs, I finally managed to save enough money and purchased an Estoril Blue 1997 M3 Evolution Convertible. I absolutely loved this colour and, at the time, it was the most popular option. In my eyes there wasn’t anything better. It attracted a lot of attention and was very fast. So, it ticked all the boxes.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances and very reluctantly, I had to sell this beauty and get myself something economical.

It was many years before I could set my sights on another E36

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1series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

it came to arriving, they direct you onto the airfield then you are somewhat left unsupervised. I went and got photos of my car with several planes. Bear in mind I drive around planes all day at work, I was surprised there wasn’t more security about. The briefing was the heavy sell on a demo lap, which was actually useful.

Funnily enough, one of the guys doing the laps was a now retired captain from Virgin Atlantic I knew from years gone by.

Overall, I’d say these types of trackdays are great events, but the incessant selling got on my nerves. I drove a Lambo, which had unbelievably quick gear shifts and I didn’t have to lift off to change gear. The car looked as though it had had a hard time, the interior trim was hanging off, but it still drove so beautifully and sounded epic. I thought driving the Porsche 911 was going to be the best part of the day, but with a slow gearbox and 80s-style turbo lag it wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

My final thoughts on trackdays, I’d love to take the 1M on a track, but I would probably melt my brakes and completely wear out my tyres. I think it would be worth it.

3series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

M3. The year was 2016 and I began the search for another M3. I wanted another Estoril Blue one and even tried finding out where my old M3 was. Funnily, one day browsing a popular auction site, I saw it listed for parts. It appeared to have sustained damage and was being broken. So, the hope of having that back was quickly squashed.

Over the next six months or so I saw many M3s and, unfortunately, most of them had seen better days. The term shed comes to mind. At this point, I realised that the last 10 years-or-so had taken its toll on old cars. So, I knew I wasn’t going to find a mint example very easily.

It’s now September 2017 and my brother calls me and says, ‘check your WhatsApp, there is an Individual for sale and I think www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

registernews you will love it.’ He sent me an advert from a VW forum, where a gentleman from Ireland was testing the waters with his M3.

Fortunately for me, my brother is a VW fan and happened to be a member of this forum and, with the other members also being VW fanboys, poo pooed the M3.

I got in touch with the gentleman and he sent me over a ton of photos and a few videos of the M3. After a lot of messages and a few phone calls later, I was sold. I asked if I could leave a deposit to secure the car as I wasn’t able to fly over right away. He was ok with this and a deposit was left. I would fly over in October and collect this beauty on the condition it was as described and drove as well as he said.

I flew to Ireland and the gentleman picked up my brother and me from Belfast airport. When we arrived at his house and I saw the M3 on the drive, my eyes lit up. The sun was shining and the colour looked insane. I had to have it.

The chap was as honest as they come and a true gentleman.

Everything checked out and I was now the proud owner of this very special car. I cancelled the return flight and headed to the port to jump on the ferry that would take us to Stranraer, Scotland before a long drive back. We arrived home at midnight, having

covered 450 miles. The M3 didn’t miss a beat.

I have owned the M3 for four years now and have loved every minute of it. It gets a lot of attention and the fact that the colour is super rare makes it even better. Unfortunately, I don’t get to drive it much as I would like to, but I do enjoy the odd blast during the summer.

In an effort to get it perfect, it has recently been in with a BMW specialist having a ton of work done. This includes replacing all the pipe work under the bonnet (most had split), new alarm, calliper refurb all round, powder coated rocker cover and plenum chamber, new door handle rubber trim and aerial grommet rubber, new carpet, new rear suspension, new seat belt trims, new plastic hood window... the list goes on.

I am planning on booking it back in for an underside restoration in the very near future so that it’s show ready.

It currently has 86k miles on the clock. This is creeping up slowly.”

If you have any stories you would like to share with us all, please send them to the register email address and I will endeavour to get you into these hallowed pages. Until next time, bye from me.

3 Series E36 Michal Michalski Garage queens are a very controversial topic, opinions are split.

Some people believe that you buy cars to enjoy them on the road.

Others treat their cars like a piece of art and keep them safe from the elements. Personally, I believe we need a bit of both. Cars are meant to be used on the road but eventually they will end up in the scrap yard if they aren’t looked after and I don’t want to live in a world of no classics.

In October I wanted to show you the queen of garage queens, Karl’s E36. Karl is a genuine E36 enthusiast, he had his first E36 318 20 years ago, as he said himself, he was smitten from that point onwards. He had five 328 coupés but his heart was set on owning the ultimate toy, the E36 M3 Evolution Coupé.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

e46register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Karl has searched for 12 months but nothing has matched his expectations, at this point he knew he had to compromise.

Personally, I don’t think he wavered far from his original plan.

He purchased a 1996 E36 M3 Evolution Cabriolet, finished in Cosmos Schwarz (black) with super rare Modena leather interior, matching hardtop and 99k on the clock. Apart from headlight washers, the car came totally standard, but Karl wanted to put his own stamp on it. He decided to fit every optional extra that you could have had back in the 90s when the car was new. It’s a very hard task, I know, I am a person who has fitted a fair number of extras into an E36. Some parts were getting rarer by the day, some parts had to be sourced new and some parts had to be BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 69

registernews sourced from overseas, but Karl has done it. The list is long, but I will mention some of the cool stuff: • Heated, electric seats with lumbar support • Cruise control • Reverse parking sensors • Full Harman Kadon sound system with genuine BMW Traffic Pro radio • Extended leather • Genuine E36 in-car telephone that can still be used in UK All the equipment above is genuine BMW, hence Karl’s nickname Mr OEM. He has confessed that the only non-OEM addition was the SuperSprint backbox, but knowing how they sound I think we can agree that it adds value to the car. At this point, the car has been brought up to the 21st century from the interior point of view. Next Karl decided to take care of preventive maintenance. Again, the list is long but some of the work he carried out was: • New bakes in all four corners • Refurbished VANOS • All hoses changed to silicone

The list is much longer, but Karl is afraid that if he mentions everything his wife will divorce him. As he said, “It’s part of the fun owning such classic cars, they are addictive”. He loves the car and the only reason why it looks like this is because it was a genuine labour of love over the six years he has owned it. Karl does admit that he should drive it more rather than having it as a garage queen. Prices of E36 M3s are on the way up, but Karl is sticking with his Evo. As he said: “they don’t call BMW the ultimate driving machine for nothing and, let’s face it, the E36 M3 says it all”. I agree.

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3 Series E46 Simon Maskell

e46register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Hello to you and welcome to another E46 Register article. I have had a busy month with work and with cars. Firstly, the 330i Convertible has had some body work to get it in top sellable condition. It now has 12 months MOT, too, and I had to get my hands dirty fixing an oil leak.

A great resource on E46s is the 50s Kid on YouTube. He has done most jobs you ever would need to do, as well as some you wouldn’t want to tackle, unless you are a die-hard spanner monkey. My 330 had a leak from the oil filter housing gasket, which was a massive pain to sort out due to the copious amounts of oil involved. God bless Swarfega. I diligently watched 50s Kid’s video and then my mate Phil and I got stuck into it. The job takes a skilled person an hour or so, but it took me and Phil three hours. The main problem was the old gasket was so brittle, it had welded itself into the housing and took an age to clean out. Plus, while the car was apart, I degreased the engine using Gunk Green, which seemed very efficient at doing what it said on the tin and I would recommend it to you.

The convertible is ready to go and should be sold or for sale when you read this. That leaves me with one less car to worry about. In other news, the track car – aka The Vibrator – has had an oil change and new brake pads fitted in preparation for the upcoming Anglesey trackday, where myself and Nick Thomas will be enthusiastically punting it around some Welsh tarmac. For those who have never experienced a trackday, you should really come along to Oulton Park in November and see what it is all about.

This has been a short article for this month, so hopefully I will have time for a wordier item next month. Until then, bye for now.

4 Series Paul Roberts Well, at long last, I have some interesting things to report on.

After months and months of relative inactivity I had a fairly busy couple of weeks. As I previously reported, we were scheduled to spend some time in Chipping Norton. This we did. And yes we did visit Diddly Squat Farm shop. We arrived at around 9.15am as it doesn’t open until 9.30am, to be faced with a huge queue. So we decided to join the line and would you believe two (yes two!) hours later we managed to get in. Apart from a cap for me, a bag for my wife, and a candle in a tin as a souvenir for my son, we managed to spend £75. The whole place is not much bigger than my lounge, and did we see anyone famous? No. Although I was told by my stepdaughter’s partner that he did see Mr Clarkson’s other half driving the Range Rover in Chipping Norton later that day. So was it worth it? Well it’s a tick off the bucket list for us.

www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

4series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Sadly the weather was rather poor, but we did enjoy the Motor Museum at Bourton on the Water. That certainly brought back some memories from my early driving days and is well worth a visit.

So back in Norfolk and the following week the Marham Village Car Show. This was attended as a BMW Car Club event and we had several cars also from the Central Region. Again, the weather was against us and it did rain for a lot of the day.

The next matter in hand is our trip to Wales, and we will be embarking on Monday 6th September. This is a trip organised by the Company Scenic and Continental and is a two centre event. On the Monday we will drive to Llandrindod Wells for three nights at the Metropole Hotel, which I believe has been used by the BMW Car Club previously. This will give us a chance

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registernews to drive the Brecon Beacons and some of the Pembrokeshire coast. On the Thursday, we drive via the infamous Top Gear road to Caernarfon where we stay for another three nights. From here, we will explore Snowdon and surrounding places. I’m really looking forward to this trip and will post some pictures soon.

Again, the weather forecast doesn’t look too good but what will be will be.

5 Series E28 Tim Maltby Another welcome to our Register with a couple of very interesting 525s hailing from Yorkshire. The 525E is in regular use and has covered almost 220k miles crisscrossing the UK and the 525i is an absolute minter with only 26k miles and a complete service history from day one. I reckon this could win the prize with the same owner having such good examples and wildly differing mileages. All being well you can read more soon in a forthcoming ownership article.

I still haven’t got to grips with posting notices under the Register, but have had a contact from a potential seller of a 528i manual located in the Harlow area. The car is a runner but needs a new clutch and some remedial work for the MOT. Let me know if you are interested.

Our dodgy summer put paid to having both the 520 and M5 back on the road in early September, but we are almost there with the M5. The rear suspension and drivetrain will be suitably refreshed. Along with new diff seals and beam bushes, I have also replaced the pitman arms, drop links and treated the old girl to some reconditioned driveshafts. Fingers crossed for the MOT.

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Finally, my son did take some pictures at the recent Sporting Car Club of Norfolk event that I mentioned last time so a couple are attached.

Think that’s all for now.

Keep safe everyone.

Paul Roberts.

e28register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

At the British Motor Show, held towards the end of August at the Farnborough Exhibition Centre, I came across this neatly executed M52 engine transplant. The car started life as a 520i auto and, over time, the owner undertook comprehensive upgrades to the suspension and brakes in readiness to installing the 2.8i from an E36 and a manual transmission. No mean feat and a tidy job indeed.

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5 Series E34 Manj Sandhu Welcome to another E34 article. With so much work over the past few months on my cars, I have been looking at my E34s and wondering what could be. I am not talking about buying and selling or moving them on. Nothing like that. I am wondering about something I do not normally focus on: the external aesthetics.

Mostly, the wheels on the white 535i Sport.

I took the original 16-inch five spoke M Sport wheels off the first day I got the car and replaced them with genuine BMW BBS 15-inch alloy wheels, part number 1179774. The 16s were nice enough and OEM, but they looked a little flash for my taste. I love how understated the 15s look and suit the late 80s early 90s vibe in my opinion.

However, a couple of friends of mine have recently been pushing the need to put some RC090 17-inch two piece split rim alloy wheels on the 535i. Citing how incredible it would look.

I do not deny that the 17s will not look good, nor that the bigger wheels will look out of place. I am just not sure.

I know what some of you are thinking, that it is a little left field for me. I do consider myself somewhat of a traditionalist as the years have passed, by not wanting to deviate far from what the original manufacturer had intended for the E34. Big, flashy rims usually do not appeal to me with my cars. I tend to shy away from showing them to others, I guess they are for me to enjoy and appreciate. I do love cars, I currently have 10 in my fleet that includes two Mercedes Benz models. But I have never taken any of them to a car show or a car meet. Not yet anyway. With my role as register captain, and with Covid now out of the way hopefully, I am sure that will change.

Looking around, it appears those 17s are not cheap. They appear to start at around the £1500 mark. This is outrageous in my book. Prices seem to have skyrocketed on these. Gone are the days when they were £400 to £500 for a set. Thinking back, I did always like the Alpina alloys from the 90s. Anyhow, it does seem impractical now. It was only last month I spoke about money being tight for two tyres on the 535i Sport, having gone with budget replacements. Now you hear me talking about replacement wheels.

What do you guys think? Should I stick with the 15s or go big

5 Series F10/11 Dave Routledge Hello fellow F10 and F11 enthusiasts. I hope you are all safe and well. It’s been a pretty quiet month with Boris, there is nothing to report on how it’s running.

However, he has been treated to an alloy wheel refurbishment, courtesy of Premier Alloy Wheel Refurbishment of Retford. They did an excellent job for me again, they had www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

e34register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

with some 17s?

A quick update on the mechanical elements of the car. You may remember me talking about the idle control problem in the July issue and this quote from the August issue: “You may recall the gaffer tape quick fix on the 535i Sport, where I debated if I needed a new £1100 throttle body. The intermediate fix of gorilla-tape is still working, but only just. It does need adjusting every few weeks depending on how often I drive it. We are looking into a more permanent solution that, hopefully, does not involve the large four figure outlay.”

Sam, the mechanic, found an entire electric throttle body assembly for the 535i, including the pedal. All of which has been fully tested and all for £300. Super effort!

Finally, yet importantly, I had a few days off recently so I thought I would treat the car to a proper clean, compound, polish and wax. I realised I had not done it for at least a couple of years. To do this, I bought a dual action polisher to tidy up the paintwork on the E34s. It’s probably better than my usual byhand efforts. It had remained in the box up until last week, but after 16 hours of hard (yet fun) graft later, I finally finished it and you can see the results. For my first ever go at it I think it went okay, but definitely room for improvement. Shame it was not a sunny day when I took the pictures, but let me know what you think.

f10register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

previously refurbished the wheels on my E90.

The wheels have come up looking new, apologies for the pictures as they do require a clean, and look splendid with their spinning BMW centre caps.

Also, to protect the rims, I have had Alloy Gators fitted, which have really finished off my wheels. Many thanks to DMS Vehicle BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 73

registernews Care at Bawtry for a friendly, excellent service.

That’s it for this month for Boris, a few more plans in the pipeline so will keep you all posted.

Anyway, to your cars. Could you kindly start sending in details of your F10 and F11 5 Series so that we can have

8 Series Debbie Blythe Hi and welcome to you all. I hope that over the last couple of months you have managed to get out and about in your 8 Series and, maybe, even joined up with a few others at the same time.

We have now had our first meeting back at our regular venue, The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green, near Oxford and have a couple more events coming up in September that I hope to report back on in the next edition of Straight Six. Weston on the Green – 22nd August 2021 It was nearly 22 months since we last met at The Chequers Inn, Weston on the Green and in that time we had a change of landlord and the pandemic, so this meeting was long overdue.

When I heard that the original landlord and landlady were retiring, I wondered if the new custodians were interested in cars and would allow us to use their car park on a Sunday morning for a meeting again. I then saw a Facebook post from the pub showing a picture of several TVRs that had turned up one night to meet and have a meal. So I immediately messaged them asking the question and was very pleased to get a positive reply from Steve, the new landlord.

Over the next few weeks, I sent out emails to everyone on my mailing list, now up to over 120 and advertised the meetup in Straight Six, on the BMW 8 Series UK Owners Facebook page and the E31 WhatsApp group. The day arrived and Paul and I drove up from Southampton in our 8s, getting there just after 9.00am to park up and get the 8 Series register flag set

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a Car of the Month feature, and so we can hear about your adventures.

Catch up in November.

Happy motoring to you all, keep safe.

Dave & Boris

8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

up. During the next three hours we had another 12 E31s arrive in a wide variety of colours, three in silver (Adam, Steve and Ollie), three in red (Phil, Nick and me), three in Barbados Green (Chuck, Jeff and Paul) and others including Laguna Green (Les), Calypso Red (David), Estoril Blue (Chad), purple (Huw) and Gary’s recently resprayed E31 in Marina Bay Blue Metallic. We also had ex-8 Series owner, Roy, join us in his M6 and Chris and Debbie arrived in their 635CSi as their 8 Series was still in for a respray. Several of the attendees had not been to the meeting before so it was nice to chat and get to look around their cars. The time spent there was a chance to get together and exchange knowledge, advice and admire the great array of E31s.

The majority of the group then sat down for a Sunday roast in a marquee in the grounds of the pub, they had erected that while Covid restrictions were in place so they could get enough customers to keep the pub open. The staff from the pub served us out there so as to keep the numbers of people going in and out of the pub to a minimum, this worked well and the lunch was appreciated. Then, after the meal, the meeting finished off in the car park for another hour as we continued chatting.

Eventually everyone left to make their way home. I did speak to the landlord about future meetings and he was happy to accommodate us. He even wants to look at holding a yearly car show as he has a field behind the pub and has had interest from several other car clubs. I will keep you all informed.

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Future Events There’s nothing planned at this moment, but I will contact The Chequers again for another meeting in October or November. If this meeting is in October I will send out an email to everyone, 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

E3 Tony Wilkes

e3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

I often get asked if I know of any good E3s for sale by prospective owners. The reality is that there are very, very few E3s left in the UK and fewer still are in nice condition. Consequently, it’s perhaps wise to broaden the search to mainland Europe if you’re really keen on finding the perfect car.

I was recently contacted by the President of the BMW Youngtimer Club of Italy, who has decided to sell his 1971 Malaga red 3.0Si. Originally delivered new to Zurich, for the first three years of its life it was used as the Italian ambassador to Switzerland’s official car. Being Swiss-delivered, it benefited from additional Tectyl underseal, as well as factory air conditioning. Having spent the majority of its life in Italy, fortunately the car hasn’t been exposed to salty road conditions and is therefore structurally very sound. Have a look at the photos below, and if anybody is interested in speaking to the owner of this car, drop me a line at E3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk In other news, I was really pleased to see that one of our Register members came along to the Sharknose Meet at the Ace Cafe in London on Sunday 5th September. Alan is a lifelong BMW fan and has owned his lovely Arktisblau 3.0Si for a few years now. Originally delivered to Australia, it is in great condition and clearly is much loved.

Hopefully you have all managed to get out and about in your cars this summer.

E9 Nick Hull

e9register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

The Silverstone Classic event in July turned out to be very wet on the Sunday, but that didn’t stop three examples of CSLs being brought along to the club stand by our three stalwart E9 owners: Sam Lever, Martin Wooler and John Castle. Thanks guys.

The wet weather did produce some splendid racing in the early morning Touring Car Challenge on Sunday, which included two CSLs. One was the familiar green and orange Jagermeister replica CSL built by Fred Wakeman and Patrick BlakeneyEdwards, which had a great battle with a brace of 3-litre Capris.

The other CSL suffered a rather spectacular spin at the end of the fast Wellington Straight coming into Brooklands that turned out to be due to a broken steering link. Sadly, the car had to be www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

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registernews brought back to the pits on the breakdown truck.

One question I am often asked by new members to the Register is “how many CS Coupes are there?” and it made me realise that it has been several years since we gave any update on the number of surviving E9s. Keeping track of cars changing hands, including those being exported or examples going into long-term restoration and disappearing from the radar, means it’s never an exact science in terms of surviving E9s, but here’s my latest tally: • 3.0 CSL (2285 VIN RHD): approximately 160 known to the Register in UK • 3.0 CSi: 106 cars currently known to exist in the UK, including 2 in Ireland. (59 series one, 47 series two cars) • 3.0 CSA automatic: 84 cars currently known to exist in the UK, including 2 in Ireland. (61 series one, 23 series two cars) • 3.0 CS manual: Just 19 currently known to exist, including 2 in Ireland • 2800CS: Just 11 manuals and 8 autos on our UK records, including 1 in Ireland Although not strictly E9s, the former 2000CS and CA Coupé that was sold in the UK from 1967-71 comes under our wing, and former club member Ian Juffs used to keep a decent record of examples that he spotted in the course of running his BMW specialist garage in Kent. A mix of his data and later records produces the following figures: • 2000CS/CA: 25 manual cars including 2 in Ireland. Plus 20 autos including 1 Ireland.

However, many have not been seen for over a decade and may now have been scrapped. Sadly, restoration costs for these cars are even higher than for a CSL as many parts were unique and no longer available. Yet restored examples are unlikely to be worth the full cost of restoration.

As mentioned, these numbers are our best approximation and there may be some degree of double-counting too, since

i Series Jules Archbold-Odulate

many E9s are registered on personalised plates. Without recourse to all VIN numbers and details it will never be an absolute figure, but being able to provide some record of a car’s life and its provenance is a valuable asset. In the past it was mainly CSLs that demanded a full ownership record to achieve top dollar, but as values for CSi and CSA models move strongly upwards, these details are increasingly sought after.

iregister@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Fashion for passion Robert Llewellyn’s Fully Charged Show 2021 was back, at last. Aptly, it had the title Outside added, as it was indeed held alongside the runway exhibition area of Farnborough Airport.

The last time I attended the event was 2018 at Silverstone.

The measure of the explosion of attendees was easy to see as the town of Farnborough was brought to a standstill on Friday 3rd September. Sadly about half a metric tonne of CO2 was deposited into the atmosphere as non EVs ticked over in their worst mpg state, standing still.

Once into the event, it was a pleasant surprise. The show had two large stages with guests from industry and there were outside displays, food courts galore, car manufacturer displays, energy suppliers, the car conversions and exhibits from all the electric supply chains associated with EVs. The talks in 2018 were pretty wishy-washy and uninspiring.

Not so in 2021. From 10.30am to 5pm, both stages had end-toend talks full of great information and some brainy talent sharing their views on the future of EVs, including UKAE. There were 45 stage talks in total. I doubt Robert Llewellyn has worked any harder ever in his life. Credit to him and his team.

Not all the EV manufacturers were there, which was a little surprising. The first Live Theatre Session was titled: How far ahead is Tesla and can it be caught? The expected discussions, which involved the audience, centred around the vertical approach from car manufacturing to the public charging Infrastructure. I managed to interview Jordan Brompton from Myenergi for a comment on how she saw the future for BMW

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registernews classic car owners. “Obviously we are agnostic to all brands in our approach. We see the sense in keeping old classic ICE cars on the road, but recognise that all new cars should be EVs and therefore MyEnergi’s focus is to make sure that energy supply to homes and EVs is sustainable and green-sourced electricity, with technology ensuring smart delivery to EVs.” Jordan represented the young enthusiastic entrepreneurial teams that are emerging in this sector with the right attitude and energy to see mission statements through to the end. Myenergi is looking at the home energy market as a whole. This theme was clear throughout the show, that EVs are becoming an important extension to the energy audit home trail.

Next stop was Sean Clarke CVO for Gridserve. Ecotricity was one of the early leaders in the UK electric car crusade when Dale Vince built his own converted wind car with Gordan Murray. Ecotricity was conspicuous in its absence as Gridserve recently bought all of Ecotricity UK sights, adding them to its own bespoke charging stations. Sean told me he had been working and piloting EVs for over 18 years. He had been involved with his own EV motorbikes design and manufacture, too. I asked Sean about how he envisaged the future for classic car owners typical to the BMW Car Club GB. As with Jordan from Myenergi, he saw no sense in the removal of old cars, but for principal vehicles in a household Gridserve’s main purpose is to make sure that the UK has a network to charge cars on the move. “Sun-to-wheel.

Sourcing energy from solar farms and other sustainable sources.

We have already replaced over 85% of Ecotricity’s charging unit with faster – up to 350kW energy delivery – more reliable units and made it easier for drivers to access by adding simple to use debit or credit card swipe payment. We will be introducing subscription options later, which will enable discounted pricing for the future”. It looks like the future of charging on the move at a reasonable, reliable fair price and fast is in safe hands with Gridserve.

Next up was Richard Morgan of Electric Classic Cars. His company had converted a 1975 BMW 1602 to be fully electric. The car was beautifully restored and fully converted.

If your game is to restore a dying classic, it may be well worth considering this type of bespoke conversion. Definitely a future proofing option. Not cheap, though. Not including the car itself, there’d be barely any change out of £50k. The car is a daily user, though, with a range of 150 miles on a full charge.

i8 Clive Neville Over the last month I have noticed an exponential media interest in Electric Vehicles. Manufacturers are pushing out increasingly large numbers of pure EVs and countless hybrids. The development of internal combustion-engined cars is definitely over. And, it happened in such a short time. Even if the number of actual vehicle owners is still quite low. But, with less to purchase and the media and Government drive focussing on EVs, it can only go one way.

All this got me thinking about hybrids and EVs, especially after owning an i8 for two years. And, you know what, I started to get a little wistful about the demise of the petrol engine. I’m not so bothered about diesels to be honest. This is because they have character and, for all their faults, they can usually get us around very effectively and with little worry or trauma. v So, what about hybrids? Hybrids, especially plug in hybrids such as the i8, are great if you have low mileage daily journeys as they can travel for the duration pretty much on electric power only and can then start to achieve the consumption figures that are obtained through the European testing regime. Which, as we all know, are largely unachievable in reality. Also, as they have an accompanying petrol or diesel motor, these vehicles can also www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

Zero maintenance other than tyres really and, with 120bhp, it’s quicker than when it came off the production line with its petrol engine.

Chris Hazell of Zero EV Car Conversions and his team have worked endlessly to try to minimise the disruption of any car conversion. Their recent milestone boasts a full removal of the fossil fuel and drive sections. They then store them and replace them with a bolt-in battery, drive and dash system. Zero EV Car Conversions has so far managed this for a Porsche 911.

It has also focused on the fast charge CCS so the car is not just a Sunday drive but could handle any long journey without disruption. Add the fact the car becomes sub 5-sec to 60 car, too.

So classic cars have their place and that’s good news for all of us, even if you have a toe in both seas. I guess we can’t ignore CO2 and we have to play our part in reducing the balance and beyond.

Shall we have a meet up at this show next year? If you’d never driven an EV there were opportunities to drive them, either ones with four or two wheels. Ideas on a postcard, sorry I mean Ecard (email).

i8register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

travel substantial miles all day, but perhaps not always with all of the power that they might have had at the start of the journey.

However, to combat this loss of battery power, the i8 has a hold state of charge button, which, as the name suggests, forces the motor to top up the battery at that level all of the time. This means that you will always have full power on demand, but at the cost of increased petrol consumption. The other issue is the fact that, if you don’t hold the state of change, then the i8 can’t match the 911 (the comparative norm in this case) and offer 369bhp all of the time. But, does this actually matter? Not in the real world, no. The demand for full power, in normal 21st century driving conditions, is infrequent and sporadic. Plus, in any case, the car always leaves a little in reserve to respond to a quick need for rapid acceleration, even without holding the stage of charge. As such, this compromise is largely immaterial, unless you bought the i8 as a track car, in which case you bought the wrong car.

The other issue I have found with PHEVs is that you can’t just park up mid-journey, fill it up with petrol, move to the EV socket and charge up, have a bit of lunch and then have a full tank of both volts and gas. No. What I didn’t realise when I first BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 77

bought the car was that the i8 takes all night to charge, even using the wall box. And, only you only get 30 miles-or-so. So, as mentioned above, this is perhaps only acceptable if the daily drive is small and you have bought the car for other reasons. Are hybrids therefore worth the extra expense and complexity? If I am being honest with myself, I would argue: not really. Despite owning an i8. Don’t get me wrong, the i8 is quite lovely and unique and I would not change it for anything else but is it, as a hybrid, better than that comparator, the 911? No, not at all. It might have lower running costs and be slightly more green; even if that isn’t a petrolhead primary criterion. But part of me certainly would prefer it with a straight six or small V8. While it might make things more green superficially, and help urban smog a tad, hybridisation doesn’t move performance along very much over conventional cars that already have over 400bhp and with near instant turbo-charging. All that said, I do like the novelty of the i8 and there is solace in knowing that its petrol drivetrain is ubiquitous. But, there is slightly more worry that overall complexity has gone through the roof. The question I still need to ask myself properly is: would I have bought an i8 if it had a V8? My gut feel is that I wouldn’t as it wouldn’t be that different from the norm. Never easy is it?

What about EVs then? Well. I have always been impressed with their sheer power and their ability to do most journeys without needing fossil fuel, but frankly that’s about it. They are ludicrously heavy for their footprint, remember the i8 weighs

M Power Anthony Shilson Evo magazine recently published its Best German Cars list, with the M2 CS taking top spot. They wrote “the CS has a 444bhp version of the TwinPower Turbo in-line six, just like its bigger brother the M3 and 4, which means it will crack 0-62mph in four seconds dead. The extra power is backed up by adaptive M suspension, and you can spec the CS with manual gears as well as the double-clutch auto, the latter-equipped car being quicker by a couple of tenths to 62mph, though not our favoured option.

With 406 lb ft from 2350rpm and an engine that revs out gloriously to 7,000rpm, the CS absolutely flies. The superbly balanced chassis provides a fluid driving experience that, in the absence of stability control, encourages tail-out cornering attitudes even in third gear. Even the steering manages to impart some feel – a rarity in current BMWs.” Outside the top ten, and in no particular order, there was the E92 M3 Competition, E39 M5, E60 M5, M2 Competition and E46 M3 CSL and E92 M3 GTS. Following the severe wet weather drive to Wales in June, I decided to jack up the rear of my M3 and remove the wheels for an inspection and thorough clean. In preparation I bought Gtechniq C5 ceramic wheel sealant and Lanoguard spray.

Lanoguard is a natural protection product that can be used on any material and is made in Britain, as are Gtechniq’s products.

I ended up doing a few jobs at the same time, including painting the AP Racing cooling vanes that had rusted. I went for Hammerite silver for the vanes and the rotor attachments (where they bolt into the hub) in black. First I needed to hoover all the small stones and bits of grit around the rear subframe. There was about 10mm of dirt around each of the two largest bushes, which I brushed out and hoovered. Then I wire brushed the cooling vanes, hoovered and brushed them clean with alcohol.

The rotor attachments only needed alcohol cleaning. After doing one side, I wrapped the brake system in a plastic bag and then rinsed all the arches, sub frame, suspension, diff and underside with a hose. Next I used Autoglym Motorcycle Cleaner spray. I highly rate this product from my motorbike days. It’s excellent

78 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

no more than a 911. Also using their power like you mean it all of the time and the range starts to shrink markedly. Using the air conditioning and other electric devices also impacts on the range. This is one of the reasons that the i8 has a pre-conditioning setting that heats up or cools the car using house electricity before it’s due to be driven. My judgement, and feel free to challenge me on this, is that EVs currently offer a near certain ability to get 100 miles range, a reasonable prospect of 200 miles range, but very little real world ability to get 300 miles out of a single full charge. And then you are on your own, facing the logistical challenge of finding a suitable charging point that works and which isn’t going to charge you exorbitant rates for the power taken on board. Not to mention the minimum of an hour to charge it, potentially more if others are queuing. This sort of worry is just an additional burden and would make any long overseas trip a worry and a chore rather than the fun it undoubtedly should be. Therefore, EVs are not for me. I need a car that can travel at least half way across a country in a day and then be refreshed for a similar journey the following day. Clearly, much of this might change in the future with a better infrastructure, more rapid charging stations and more regulated payment regimes. But anyone currently looking to undertake journeys of anything more than 200 miles-a-day really needs to look elsewhere or to have another vehicle that can do it for you.

Enough of my soapboxing. Next month: back to i8 statistics.

essex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

at cleaning, but gentle enough to use on all surfaces including rubber, polished metal, bare aluminium and many more. It needs to be applied in small areas so the product doesn’t dry. I simply used a soft paintbrush to clean any tough stains or grease.

Then I rinsed it off with the hose. I dried as much as I could and left that side to dry further whilst I repeated the process to the other side. I then thoroughly cleaned the two rear wheels and prepared them for ceramic coating. I also removed all the old copper grease from the mounting surfaces, as I also did from the hubs, cleaned the hub surfaces and removed surface rust from the centres of the wheel carriers.

I then sprayed the Lanoguard very finely onto all the items I’ve cleaned, getting it into all the nooks and crannies of the underside. Then I removed the plastic bags and painted the cooling vanes and attachments. Finally, in the style of Swiss Toni, I sat back, lit my pipe and admired my handiwork.

I had gone outside just after 10am and, by the time I was done, it was 6pm. After applying a slither of new copper grease to the mating surfaces of the wheels and hubs, I refitted the wheels and took the car off the stands. After tidying up and putting the car away, it was 7pm and I was bloody knackered.

Lying on the ground under a car all day isn’t fun, but the results were worth it. I need to do the fronts next. I bloody ached the next day!

Here are a few pictures.

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I went for an early morning B-road drive the next day and was pleased to see the rear wheels remaining very clean from brake dust after 70 miles. I’ll reserve proper judgement on the effectiveness of the wheel sealant until I do the fronts.

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

X Series Greg Lyons & James Brigginshaw

xseries@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

This month brings renewed information that October 2nd 09:00 sees the meet at NY500, Pickering for the X Register, along with the local register. There are already X Register members in touch who are attending with a great cross section of X models. Plenty of room for more, though.

We will include a write up of the NY500 meet in the next month-or-two with choice pictures of the motors on show. We will also have a couple of member write-ups and an introduction to the brave new world of an electric X. Into the future we are preparing an article that may be of interest to those X5 enthusiasts amongst us, as long as it passes editorial scrutiny: BMW models have featured in nearly every Police Force for years with, arguably, the most important roles being carried out by X5s. Needed for their load carrying capability, along with performance and reliability, it is no secret that the Armed Response across Europe have relied on The Boss (BMW’s own nickname for the X5) for well over a decade. An article on this will include pictures and details of the best cop cars of the bunch.

Short and sweet this month. I hope to see plenty of you guys on the 2nd.

Z3 Register Alan Jones

z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Welcome to the October edition of Straight Six. Thankfully, it looks like we are heading in the right direction with the Coronavirus and cases are falling to much lower levels than they were earlier in the year. I’m sure that this will give the green light for many more shows and meetings to go ahead as normal.

Hopefully next year’s meetings and shows will be as normal, and we can all enjoy them as well as chatting to new and old friends in the process.

I’d like to apologise to Pete Cossavella this month, as I’m sure that you remember in the August issue of Straight Six, he did an extremely comprehensive write up on his lovely Z3M Coupé. Unfortunately, which I’m sure that you noticed, there was

no photo of his car. Due to printing deadlines, I had already sent in the following month’s entry to the club office, before I realised that the photos of his car had not been added to the text in the magazine. So that is the reason for the two month delay. We can all now enjoy and see the hard work Pete has put into his car.

On a totally different topic, I came across a website the other week that sells packs of new nuts and bolt packages for people who are rebuilding or refurbishing the front or rear suspension of their vehicle. This will save you cleaning all of the old nuts and bolts to get rid of all the rust that will have accumulated over the years. As I’m sure you agree, if you have put a great deal of work cleaning, or powder coating all of the suspension components, and then putting rusty bolts back in their place, it won’t look as good as if the bolts were all new and shiny. As well as doing the Z3 suspension packages, they also do the packages for other BMW models such as E24, E30, E36 and E46 and many more. They are in the process of expanding their range to include other BMW models as well as other manufactures. Their web address is www.autobolts.co.uk. I would definitely check them out if you are thinking or contemplating refurbishing your suspension.

Concours Dan Wood Concours sponsored by

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BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 79

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Ian Conuel - 90s Classics BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021 81

clubpubmeets Please check with the event organiser before attending a pub meet. 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: Central Regional Meet – Second Monday of each month at Aviator Hotel, Sywell, Northampton, NN6 0BN. 11th October CENTRAL WEST: Second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm The Three Horseshoes, Alveley, Bridgnorth, WV15 6NB. CORNWALL: Date, time and venue to be confirmed once the pubs reopen for business.

COTSWOLD: Second Wednesday of each month 7.30pm at The Swan at Coombe Hill, Tewkesbury Road, Coombe Hill, Gloucester GL19 4BA. 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: 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.

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 Norfolk Pub Meet – 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.

Essex Pub Meet – 9am every second Sunday of the month at The Castle, Main Road, Great Leighs CM3 1NE, refer to Facebook BMW Car Club (GB) Essex Region. Contact Anthony Shilson on essex@ bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.

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: Breakfast Meet – Saturday / Sunday of each month between 9am – 12noon. For further information date, venue etc., please visit our Facebook pages or contact eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Peak & South Yorkshire Pub Meet – Second Tuesday of the month from 7pm 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. April to September.

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. 10th October, 14th November, 12th December NORTH WEST: North West Region Sunday Lunch & Quiz – Sunday of alternate months (all at 12.00 noon) at The Kilton Inn, Hoo Green, Cheshire, WA16 0PZ. Contact Jeff Heywood northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk / 07801 506632. 21st November, 12th December Manchester/NW Local Branch Meeting – First Tuesday of the month at 8:00pm. Sheldon Arms, Ashton under Lyne, M34 5QL. 5th October, 2nd November, 7th December SCOTLAND: See Scottish Region news and Club forum for more information or contact Issy on bmwccscottishregion@ gmail.com.

SOUTH EAST: Kent Micro Meet – The George, Taylors Lane, Trottiscliffe, West Malling, ME19 5DR first Sunday of month 10:00am - 12:00pm.

Sussex Micro Meet – Billy on the Road, Billingshurst. Contact Nigel to register interest.

THAMES: Thames Regional Meet – Last Thursday of every month at Littlebury Hotel, Bicester, OX26 6DR. 28th October WALES - NORTH: For more information contact northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk.

WALES - MID & SHROPSHIRE: TBC at 12PM, Hanmer Arms, Hanmer Village SY13 3DE. WALES - SOUTH: Third Wednesday evening of the month at 7.00pm (6.30pm for food) at The Twelve Knights Pub, Margam, Port Talbot, SA13 2BN. WESSEX: Bournemouth Pub Meet – First Wednesday of the month. 7.00pm onwards. Regular vanue Tyrell’s Ford Country Inn, Avon, Christchurch but varying during summer months. See Wessex events on Club website for details. Contact Eric Thompson 07722 835930.

Basingstoke Pub Meet – Third Tuesday of the month. 7.00pm onwards. The Fox, North Waltham, Basingstoke RG25 2BE. Contact Tim Maltby 07885 252448.

WESTERN: First Wednesday of the month: 7.15pm at The Woolpack, Weston-Super-Mare.

82 BMW Car Club Magazine October 2021

Your Region & Register officers Regional Officers BMW Car Club Central Central West Channel Islands Cheshire & Staffs Cornwall Cumbria Cotswold Devon East Anglia Eastern Ireland London North East North West Scottish South East Thames Wales - Mid & Shropshire Wales - North Wales - South Wessex Western

Tony Skerrett central@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Dave Evans centralwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Jonathan Harris channelislands@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Steve Cooper cheshireandstaffs@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Jim Husband cornwall@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk James France cumbria@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Martyn Goodwin cotswold@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Kathy Jemfrey devon@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk George Champ eastanglia@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Paul Rice eastern@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk VACANT ireland@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Anthony Mason london@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Nick Thomas northeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Jeff Heywood northwest@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Issy Phillips bmwccscottishregion@gmail.com Ian Bryant southeast@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Tony Skerrett thames@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Phil Pinnington midwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk David Allen northwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Jonathan Bamford southwales@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Julian Pickering wessex@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Nigel Smith western@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

Register Officers BMW Car Club Classic Sam Lever classic@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk E3 Tony Wilkes e3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk E9 Nick Hull e9register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 2002 Richard Stern 02register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Sharknose Richard Baxter sharknose@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk M Power Richard Baxter, mpower@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

John Denny/ Tristan Glass ALPINA Simon Alcorn alpina@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 2 Series VACANT 3 Series Simon Maskell 3series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 3 Series - E21 Kyri Nicolaou e21register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 3 Series - E30 Neil McDonald neil@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 3 Series - E36 Michal Michalski e36register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 3 Series - E46 Simon Maskell e46register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 3 Series - E90/91/ VACANT e90register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 92/93 3 Series - F30/31/34 Katie Littler f30register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 4 Series Paul Roberts 4series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series Stephen Coulson 5series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - E12 Pat Tremain e12register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - E28 Tim Maltby e28register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - E34 Manj Sandhu e34register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - E39 Dan Paskin e39register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - E60/61 Christina Kostova e60register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 5 Series - F07 VACANT 5 Series - F10/11 Dave Routledge f10register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 6 Series Mani Singh Hayer 6series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 6 Series - E24 Konstantinos Loizou e24register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 6 Series - E63/64 Mani Singh Hayer e63register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk 6 Series - F06/12/13 VACANT 7 Series - E23, E32, Matthew 7series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk E38, E65 Swanborough 7 Series - F01, F02, VACANT F03 onwards 8 Series Debbie Blythe 8series@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Z Series - Z1 Jamal Blanc z1register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Z Series - Z3 Alan Jones z3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Z Series - Z4 Tom Singleton z4register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk X Series Greg Lyons & xseries@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

James Brigginshaw i. Series Julian Odulate iregister@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk i. Series - i3 Tom Singleton i3register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk i. Series - i8 Clive Neville i8register@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk MINI David Young mini@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Concours Dan Wood concours@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk Track Days Neil McDonald trackday@bmwcarclubgb.co.uk

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