BMW's galore!

Glad to hear the E21 is getting close to completion. How did Brands go?

The lesson for today though, is never join 2 multi pin plugs that look like they came apart, just incase they didn't. I did and ended up potentially frying the Alpha N unit, although I'm hoping I just corrupted the map and that reloading the map will cure it? It was weird, as it did seem to sort itself out and would rev cleanly but after turning it off, it simply wouldn't start and run / rev. That'll teach me.




As a result, it went back to Avers Racing and I'm waiting for a call. Mind you, the suspension is due back from KW so it may stay till then anyway.





Well after a worrying couple of days, it transpired that the part of the wiring loom that splices into the Motronic ECU was frazzled. I contacted Martin at Maxx Automotive and he said it would be a week or so before he could fabricate a replacement, so Joe at ARM made one by copying the damaged section. As a result my car is running once more! A quick run on the dyno to check all is well though and it seems it is running a base / installation map and only making 180 bhp! That's 50 down on what was expected! Initially I assumed that the Alpha N module had switched into some sort of safe mode (I know next to nothing about AN or mapping in general) but closer inspection shows there's no other map within the module. ARM, which is where my car is being worked on, are hoping to be able to map it live this week and get the power to the kind of level I was expecting.



As an aside, I managed to trace a previous owner a few days ago. He owned it between 2003 and 2005, when it then went to Ireland .

He bought the car from a guy near Bromley who treated it as a garage queen. I believe he had imported it from Germany (or bought it from a dealer who had imported it). Evidently, when going out for a test drive in it with him, he accelerated quite hard through the gears and was shocked, saying he did not realise it was that fast!

Reputedly the car was the Hamman Motorsport show car at the Cologne motor show, and not Munich as I first thought.

He loved the car and wishes he had kept it. He also did the BMW Car Club driver training at the Nurburgring and lapped (gantry to gantry) in 9'24" which wasn't bad for an old car and an old man! (his words not mine!)

Servicing was done by a chap near Birmingham, who was reputedly an ex works BMW mechanic, who emigrated to Australia?

Previous incarnation & owner at the home of M cars.



The E21 is getting closer and am just waiting on AH Fabrication getting new stocks of rad cores. Once the rad is finally replaced, we should be there mechanically. Time is also being eaten up by cleaning and/or refurbishing parts prior to bolting them on or in to the new car. The Rota alloys have been powder coated satin gold and I've not seen anyone else change these rims before. Hopefully it'll be a good contrast with the blue paintwork though. Have also decided not to fit any spoilers. I may go with the shallow 320is front spoiler that the U.S cars got.

Well the M3 is sorted and is actually running better than it was before I fried half the wiring loom! It took bloody ages to find all the damaged wires, as they were at different points within the loom itself, but we're sorted now. I also had to replace the ECU and Martin at Maxx Automotive was really helpful in checking the Alpha N module and installing the latest firmware. (I hate bloody computers!) The final map came from Wayne @ Chip Wizzards and there's certainly more power throughout the rev range, but the low down flat spot is also much less now. Mind you, I plan a swap to DTA management after the summer, so there should be more to come then. It's just so expensive when you start messing with s14's and I can see why so many people swap to s50/3.0 and s54/3.2's. I really like the s14 though.





The old H&R suspension has gone now and I'm running KW (inc true coilover rears), which are a little stiffer. I will take a look at the progressive rate springs KW offer, as because I use my car on the street, a little more compliance wouldn't be a bad thing. It's great if the roads are dry and relatively smooth but probably a little too hard for rain, unless I soften the ARB's right off? It should be awesome on track though, as it corners so flat now and really inspires confidence in what's going on beneath you. I still have to have the geometry properly set though, but at least I can get back to using it.



My E21 should be ready to collect from www.pristinebodyworks.co.uk within the next 3 weeks! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished car and taking it to the RR Gathering. The paintwork is stunning! . There are quite a few lovely UK E21 now so it should be quite a stand given it's the 40th anniversary of the BMW 3 series.

A taster.

Awesome! So happy for you that everything is coming together after all the bad luck you have had with the cars. Although I do wonder what you will do with your time when both cars are sorted!

let me know the tyre size on the steels for the 02 and I'll see what I can get my hands on

Wow that thing is gorgeous, and it only a rad lol!
Cant wait to see the new mib.

Great work, as mentioned that rad is a sight to behold

Was that you i spotted in this months C&SC mag, buyers guide on E21's ?

It was, although I was pretty poorly quoted.






As soon as I know I'll post here. I'm thinking the M3 is more likely but have everything crossed.

Paint looks like a mirror!