The sweet-running 320i

I made a 250 mile round trip in the 320i last Sunday 4/19 and returned amazed with the way it performed. No drama, no overheating and great fuel economy. Many people don't care much about E21's, but I love mine. They make great daily drivers.

This one is basically stock, except for Bilstein shocks and a Weber 32/36 carb, which replaced the troublesome fuel-injection system. This mod is a great way to solve the multiple problems that these cars get with their old FI systems.

The body is getting rusty and the paint job was never too good. The interior also needs work, but the mechanics are almost perfect. Definitely a keeper.

Here's a pic from last Sunday:

Head Problems.....

No, not me, but the Schwarz 2002....

I went to a drive/photoshoot yesterday with a group of BMW owners from the www.eurocrewpr.com website. All went well until the drive back home from Ponce.Since traffic on the expressway was very heavy, I decided to take the coastal route. It was smooth sailing until I ran into a congestion in the Patillas beach area. The gauge started to creep upwards until it got to the red zone. To make it even worse, there was no way I could stop, since the road is a narrow one and there were cars parked in both sides for about half a mile.

When I was finally able to check it out, it was missing about 3/4 of a gallon of coolant. I had topped it off in the morning, and there were no signs of leakage, so I suspect it's the cylinder head.

I had previously noticed that the temp gauge used to go up to about 3/4 when in stop and go traffic, so I installed a new thermostat and hoses last weekend. I also flushed and bled the system in anticipation for the drive. The water pump, belts and radiator are good, so I will have to bite the bullet and remove the cylinder head.

Too bad, because there are a few good events planned for the next few weeks, and I was planning to attend a few in the car. Oh well, guess I'll have to take the ratty E21....


Here's a few pics from yesterday's event (click on each one to see it full size):

Update (?) and some decisions to make

As of today I have no news to report on the touring. Jeff Chang, the gentleman whom Alex was going to contact regarding the body work for it, hasn't shown up to look at the car.

I guess that, if I can't get anyone in the Atlanta area to work on it soon, I might have to bite the bullet and bring it to Puerto Rico. That will not happen for at least two months, though. Opinions from readers (if any) of this blog are welcome.

I have been giving thoughts about selling the Schwarz '76 2002 to gather funds for the touring's resto. I have very mixed feelings about this, since it is like part of the family, having been with me for 18 years now. Any thoughts?

If I do keep the Schwarz car, the touring's resto will be at a much slower pace, which is not really a problem.

So, that's it for now. This Sunday, 4/12/09, I will most probably be attending a BMW photo shoot. Hopefully I'll get to have some nice pics of the Schwarz car. The following Sunday there is a meet similar to the recent one we had in Ponce. This time it will be in Hormigueros, which is at the opposite corner of the island, but I plan to make it anyway. I'll post pics and info if I do.