Some Bits Completed... sort of.

Managed to find time this weekend to accomplish some delayed repairs and upgrades to the '82. Among them are the reswap of the plug wires, change of oil, replacement of the center console and radio, and modification of the air intake.

Oil change was quick. Plug wires was a result of a faulty set of "performance" wires that are just junk. Too many arcs and breaks in wet weather. The center console was a long-awaited fix for a broken radio and jimmy-rigged panel. I restored the original look and replaced the radio with a new Sony red display model with CD and MP3 inputs.

The new air intake took some fabbing on the mount with an aluminium plate and is at least functional for now. The final set up will have an extension tube to get the filter away from the engine heat.

Getting to Bimmerfest East!!!

Hey all! I'd like to get together and organize a caravan to Bimmerfest and MD this Summer. Let me know!

It's nearing Summer and all the wheels are coming out....

What the heck is with me and round things for the 323i??? I mean, really! I've got my claws into a wonderful set of wheels (15" turbines and rubber to match) for the car. Glad to have all this rare wheel sets come my way.

Free Engine Turns into Gem

The engine I acquired from a fellow Legionnaire turned out to be a 2.7 litre engine from an E30 325e with a modified 200 series head that is now an 885 head. All this gibberish means that this engine nearly 180 hp and is about 40 hp more than the one in my 323i. With the engine in my 323i running less than smooth, it's really an option that I am willing to explore if the original engine suddenly goes bad.
These shots are of the head being pulled of the block and prior to cleaning. The head has new black intake ports roughly .5" wider than the exhaust ports (just like in an 885 series head). The block, bore and stroke all confirm a 2.7 block.

The shot of the head has the ANSA header still on it. Man, I would really like to get that off the block.

Trixie is at the doctors....

Bill stopped by with a couple of helpers to get her out of the back of my office this afternoon. Glad to see her heading indoors to have the work done. I'm trading architectural services because he's just not able to pay. Barter is the option since there's no cash available. The guys really had to take a look at how I managed to get her in there!
Ran her up the ramps and strapped her down. Definitely is going to be a "take it one step at a time" thing. I bought it as a parts car but I didn't have the time to do that. Once I looked through the car, it really wasn't that bad. Some rust in spots that a weld job couldn't fix.

What do you do? Toss what could be a good, rare car? Now I have to scour the garage for the parts in case he needs them.

Now I have a backyard again! Such as it is. I can't wait until spring...

Georgian Bay: Part 2...

I finally decided to post my trip to Georgian Bay and get some of the pics onto the blog from going there and back. I have to say that driving in the 323i for these trips made them that much memorable. No breakdowns or anything like that. The only issue was the apparent over-heating of the engine, but other than that it was fun.

These pics are of my meeting with the development owner of Cedar Ridge and with the owner of Cedar Coast Homes, the builder of future homes in this area. It is just spectacular to see this place. I'd love to have a second home here and enjoy the atmosphere.

These shots are of the drive back. I just loved the open roads with single yellow line, just like in europe.

An earlier post showed the trip up to Georgian Bay. These pics show the actual visit to the Cedar Ridge site and some of the trip back. I really need to take more pics or have a dash cam to get the shots I've been regretting I missed. One shot I didn't take was of an E24 in the parking lot just north of Toronto. The last pic shows some funny place names, like "Palm Beach Road" what, are we back in Florida? The Township of Tiny was also a nice touch.

Can't wait to get back up there!

Getting Trixie Running....

Well, I made a deal with one of my clients that is about as cash poor as I am. I will do his architectural work for car repair, namely towing out Trixie from in back of the office and fixing the fuel line issues and brakes. Once those are done, I can get her home under her own power and continue the work on the body at home. He owns a repair shop in town and has been caught up in all the bureaucratic garbage of planning and zoning approvals. Regular everyday business owner just don't have time for this, so I'll help him and he'll help me.

This should be happening over the next week. Hoping that January is the month of "gettin her done". That car is just suffering sitting back here and it's impossible to do anything to it in this weather.

Everyone keep your fingers crossed! The goal is to get here to Watkins this Spring.