...an M10 symphony...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
the money shot
over on the bimmerforums.com there is significant conversation brewing around the idea of creating a 2012 calendar with member cars...there are a lot of NICE cars on that forum...however, in my opinion this is the centerfold or money shot...this is a guy only known to me as TomD...this is however is not only a great shot of an e21...this is in my opinion what those forums are about...when i restored my model 'A' ford the car spent most of its life in this condition and those casual days of just 'piddling'...that is having a place to stand, surround with wrenches, memories of growing up in a garage and the mechanic that raised me...even when i'm there not doing a single thing considered "work" it is my place of silence, solitude...reflection...it has ALWAYS been a place where i thought more than worked...i'm rambling...i love this picture because once a restoration is completed...it may seem obvious, but its over...
valve covers
An NOS Alpina M10 Valve Cover
Logo Details
An NOS 6 Cylinder Hartge Valve Cover
New Stuff is always SEXY!!
Hartge Logo Detail
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| MK Motorsports |
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
1937 Triumph Speed Twin 500 cc
1937 Triumph Speed Twin 500 cc OHV vertical twin in a lightweight frame.
Monday, November 14, 2011
pilot bearing
below are pictures of the pilot bearing i FINALLY got out of my engine...i have read numerous times how its possible to push grease into the hole and with either an extension or a rod of some sort creating a hydraulic of sorts pressing out the bearing...on the tough ones...i've even heard that paper wads can be used in the same way...at lunch time i stopped by a friend's shop to ask if he had a pilot bearing puller..he too told me to just use the grease...i went to a nearby used tool place and picked up the puller...what a JOKE...this bearing would have NEVER come out like that...it almost didn't come out with a puller, pry bars, and a hammer...this is what remains looks like...
paint
..in the 70's cars began to be the subject of art expression...this is alexander calder's interpretation....the german flag and the german product merger here with a red/yellow/blue/white color scheme that works for me...not practical really but attractive nonetheless...
Friday, November 11, 2011
e21 repair manuals
E21 320i Repair Manual
54 Sliding Roof
Source for Downloadable PDF:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByqyzTaKbX3VZDE2MzhlNGUtOTlhYS00Yzk4LTliYjMtYTM3NTJkZTA0NThi
Source for Web Based Referrences: http://77e21.info/repairmanual.htm
Source for Downloadable PDF:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByqyzTaKbX3VZDE2MzhlNGUtOTlhYS00Yzk4LTliYjMtYTM3NTJkZTA0NThi
Source for Web Based Referrences: http://77e21.info/repairmanual.htm
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
front valence
I like the color of this car...but the front valence is also worth the posting...it looks like its an earlier valence with an early kamei front spoiler which is cut out for the oil cooler and speaking of a cooler...check out the hood vent...lots in this picture...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
323i Rear Disk Brake Dis-Assembly (Part 2)
a divorce forced me to sell the house i have lived in for over 20 years, this all took place while during the dis-assembly of the 1977 e21 that my son and i drove home from california where the car was raised and lived it 'sheltered' life...in the mist of this dis-assembly as you can image i have cardboard boxes and plastic containers filled with bmw stuff...my son and i loaded the car onto a car hauler several weeks ago and moved it to its new home...a 1 small one stall garage...in that move i have misplaced more than i've wanted too....but after some settling last week i jacked the car back up and placed the frame on jack stands in an attempt to finish the required work on the sub-frame, drive train, brakes, and wheel bearings...over the last few days i began to focus on the disc brakes from the newly restored 323i trailing arms...the motivation for restoring and upgrading to the 323i trailing arms was 2 fold...like the earlier model e21 the 323i has an upgraded braking system to accommodate the larger engines...in the case of the 323i another upgrade that is not commonly discussed is the increased size of the wheel bearings...this becomes important to tuners because many of us utilize larger wheels on our cars...and the jump from 13' wheels to 15" wheels in theory and practically increase the pressures applied to the wheel bearings as you can imagine..i replaced the wheel bearings, grease seals, and associated parts on my 323i trailing arms...the pictures below are of the 323i disc brakes...(but just for the record, i am of the opinon that wheel bearing increases are NOT a reason to upgrade to 323i trailing arms...the rear disc brakes are however are a good reason if you don't want to weld in the appropriate plate/brackets to hold disc brakes...
The picture above is a rear 323i disc brake that came with the 323i trailing arms i bought...these brakes are in reasonably good condition as you can see in the pictures...notice that the rubber piston seals are intact and still in good working order and could have been installed without replacement but while they are off of the car it makes sense to restore them...
if you look closely at the brake caliper in the picture above you may notice that the retaining spring that holds the 2 halves together has been broken off...this happened as i attempted to remove the clip...i broke 2 tapered punches trying to free the spring...usually these springs just slide into the holes and are held in place by the spring's pressure...this one was a BEAR...
...in the picture above you can see the backside of the caliper with the broken spring still in place...
...the caliper was taken apart...and as you can see...that's the first broken punch tip at the center!!!
...in my opinion, one of the most important aspects to rebuilding disc brakes is the condition of the brake piston, and the walls of the sleeve...in the case of this brake the piston is smooth, no scaring or scoring of either the piston walls, or the piston itself...for my purposes that means this brake is rebuildable and not scrap...
...as you can see...the 35 yrs or so of service has allowed sentiment, and crud to settle in the closed system...i am in the truest sense of the word only a weekend mechanic and my "poor boy" ways learned as a kid in my dad's garage never took things like this seriously...for me this was a lesson in maintenance...the interior walls of this disc brake will NOT be honed because the walls are in perfect condition as is the piston...with the new seal kit the rubber piston ring will seal nicely and fit/slide smoothly...
...this is the best picture i could get of the interior walls of the sleeve...notice the retention ring, the rubber seals have been removed...crud is still in place however!
...after dis-assembly and cleaning the caliper with solvents, a wire brush, and a wire wheel in preparation for paint, i fit the brake back onto the trailing arm bracket. notice the NOS dust shield...new parts are sexy!
...if you look at this picture closely...you'll see this was my best attempt to fix the retaining spring stuck inside the brake caliper...i thought i would be "smart" and put the caliper in my drill press, squared, and level i tried drilling out the spring fragment...what i DID NOT anticipate was the differences in metal hardness...when i tried drilling the spring out the drill bit shifted and the result was that the drill bit slid into the caliper avoiding the harder spring steel...thus creating another hole in the caliper!!! ugh...unanticipated result for sure...but confirmed i'm only an amateur...
...this picture illustrates the "second" hole that resulted...i am anticipating using that hole to install the new retaining clip...it will be tilted off angle somewhat and certainly not what i wanted...but...
...cleaned and painted...
...second half of the caliper cleaned and painted...is it my imagination or do those holes seem to stick out in this picture...lol...
..what is pictured above is the rubber boot included in the 323i rear disc brakes rebuild kit...specifically, the rubber seal inside the brake sleeve, the piston, the rubber boot, and the outer snap ring protecting the piston and associated parts for being contaminated with dirt and grit which eventually will deteriorate the inner rubber seal between the piston inside the brake...
...believe it or not getting this rubber boot to fit correctly down into the piston was the most difficult aspect of this assembly...
...finally, the boot fitted down inside the piston and the snap ring is installed...
...the pads were fitted to the brake pad mounting pins (seen unseated)...
...ok, the first one is finished...but, as you can see i didn't have the vent/airator but its on order.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
sunset e21
Arootin Rudy's e21
Really Sweet e21 (Calabasas, California)
Source: http://www.facebook.com/arootin
Coil Springs
Lowering e21's has become a fad within the tuner community...this is not without unanticipated effects...while lowering the mass will certainly have the aftereffect of less body roll, lowering a mcpherson strut can actually have the opposite affect. this occurs because the geometry of the strut when lowered will also lower the 'Roll Center'. think of it as a lever. if the pivot point (roll center) of the lever was about the top of the trans tunnel, the the lever to the roof is short, but if you lower the car and by doing so lower the roll center to the road surface the the lever becomes quite a bit longer and has a greater mechanical advantage. the added mechanical advantage will cause the car to roll more not less. this is an exaggeration of course to make the point.
Cutting off coils can only lower the car. Progressive coil - cutting some off will have less effect on height but more on stiffening. Non progressive - cutting some off will have more effect on height and less or none on stiffening.
Road & Track said that the E21’s ultimate cornering speed was limited by its predilection for lifting the inside rear wheel, and that aggressive drivers would be well served by specifying the optional limited slip differential. The press was not alone in experiencing this characteristic, which was blamed for the car’s tendency to suddenly oversteer and quickly became a known quirk of the 1977 320i. BMW’s chassis engineers responded by stiffening the front springs on all E21s for 1978, while U.S.-market cars also received a smaller front anti-roll bar and the total deletion of the rear anti-roll bar. The fix seemed to work, as Road & Track’s re-test of the 320i in 1978 found it to be “a very balanced and forgiving car to drive.”
Coil Springs
Springs are wound with the same wire diameter wire from start to finish. Spring rate is defined as follows:
k= (Gd^4)/(8nD^3)
G=modulus of rigidity of spring material
d=spring wire diameter
n=number of active coils
D=mean coil diameter
As you can see, as you reduce the number of active coils, spring rate will go up. Progressive rate springs act on this principle. A certain number of the total coils are wound closer together. As the spring compresses, all coils will compress equally but the closely spaced coils will bottom out and become inactive. In the case of the e21, the rear springs have about 8 active coils, 4 are wound very close. Once those 4 bottom out, the active coils are cut in half and spring goes from somewhere around 90 to about 180 lbs-in.
Changes in coil diameter also will affect spring rate (such as a bee hive shape), but this does not make a spring progressive as there is no change in rate as a spring compresses. It just means the active coils with a smaller coil diameter will be stiffer and compress less than the larger diameter coils, having the same affect on mean coil diameter through out the entire compression range.
To put it simply: cutting coils in a manner to reduce the number of active coils will both shorten the free length of the spring (which will lower the car) and increase the spring rate. To fully reduce the number of active coils, you have to re-close the end of the spring.
Removing one of the coils on the tight end of a progressive rate spring will reduce free length, and change the total number of active coils (changing both spring rates), and change the point at which the spring changes from one rate to the other.
Spring rate: refers to the amount of weight needed to compress a spring an inch (Example: 500 lb. per inch) To understand and properly check a spring for rate you need to know the factors that determine the rate of the spring. Fortunately, there are only three things that affect spring rate.
1. Wire diameter - effects rate, the greater the wire diameter the stronger the spring, the lesser the diameter wire the softer the spring. Therefore, as wire diameter is increased, spring rate increases.
2. Mean diameter of spring - Mean spring diameter is the overall diameter of the outside of a spring, then subtract the wire diameter. As the mean diameter of a spring increases, the spring rate decreases.
3. Active coils - Count the total coils, then subtract 2 for springs with both ends closed. Count the total coils then subtract one for springs with one end closed and one end open. Bottom Line: as the number of active coils increases, the spring rate decreases.
If a spring's rate is linear (i.e. racing springs have linear rates) then its rate is not affected by the load put onto the spring. For example, a linear rate spring rated at 500 lb. per inch will compress 1" when a 500 lb. weight is placed onto the spring. If another 500 lb. weight is put onto the spring the spring will compress another inch. At this point the load on the spring has increased to 1000 pounds. The rate of the spring, however, remains constant at 500 lb. per inch.
If the load put onto a spring increases the rate of the spring, the spring is said to have a progressive rate. Progressive rate springs are sometimes used on torque arms to absorb engine torque. Keep in mind that the load (or preload) put onto a progressive rate spring can greatly increase the rate of the spring.
Progressive rate springs are made by varying the spacing between the springs' active coils. During compression the close coils bottom out and deaden. This reduces the amount of active coils and spring rate increases as a result.
Springs that are designed to include coils of different diameter or are wound using a tapered wire will also produce a progressive rate.
If a spring's rate is linear (i.e. racing springs have linear rates) then its rate is not affected by the load put onto the spring. For example, a linear rate spring rated at 500 lb. per inch will compress 1" when a 500 lb. weight is placed onto the spring. If another 500 lb. weight is put onto the spring the spring will compress another inch. At this point the load on the spring has increased to 1000 pounds. The rate of the spring, however, remains constant at 500 lb. per inch.
If the load put onto a spring increases the rate of the spring, the spring is said to have a progressive rate. Progressive rate springs are sometimes used on torque arms to absorb engine torque. Keep in mind that the load (or preload) put onto a progressive rate spring can greatly increase the rate of the spring.
Progressive rate springs are made by varying the spacing between the springs' active coils. During compression the close coils bottom out and deaden. This reduces the amount of active coils and spring rate increases as a result.
Springs that are designed to include coils of different diameter or are wound using a tapered wire will also produce a progressive rate.
Alloy Alternator Bushes
BMW Alloy Alternator Bushes
This is a set of alloy alternator bushes made from high grade 6061-T6 Aluminium for the replacement of the original rubber bushes located in the alternator bracket. Replaces BMW part numbers 12 31 1268 433 and 12 31 1268 435.Often forgotten when modifying or just keeping your vehicle up to scratch. The OEM rubber bushes in the alternator bracket can perish with age and be affected by the heat from the engine resulting in excessive play at the bushes and misalignment of the belt. This can result in the alternator belt being thrown from the pulley (costly repair).
Includes (depending on model):
2 x Alloy Alternator Bushes, 1x long bush (lower bush) replaces BMW #:12 31 1268 433 and 1x short bush (upper bush) replaces BMW #:12 31 1268 435
or
2 x Alloy Alternator Bushes, 2x long bush (lower & upper bush) replaces BMW #:12 31 1268 433
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
E21 fusebox
E21 fusebox
| Fuse no. | Amps | Item(s) |
| 1 | 8 | right front fog lamp |
| 2 | 8 | left front fog lamp |
| 3 | 16 | fuel pump (inj. only), automatic choke |
| 4 | 8 | right headlight |
| 5 | 8 | left headlight |
| 6 | 8 | all other lights including dash and hood |
| 7 | 8 (16 with 2 units) | right beam light |
| 8 | 8 (16 with 2 units) | left beam light |
| 9 | 8 | parking light, some other lights from fuse 6 (varies) |
| 10 | 16 (25 with electric sunroof) | rear windshield heating, electric sunroof |
| 11 | 25 | interior heater fan, air con |
| 12 | 8 | brake lights, radio |
| 13 | 25 | electric fan (or no. 18) |
| 14 | 8 | rev. lights, cockpit instruments |
| 15 | 16 | horn, indicators, all wipers & sprinklers, electric mirrors |
| 16 | 16 | sigarette lighter, power antenna |
| 17 | 8 | alarm lights, interior lights, glove compartment light, side blinkers, bonnet light |
| 18 | 16 | electric fan (or no. 13) |
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
323i Rear Disk Brake Dis-Assembly
Because of the rarity of the e21 323i caused by low production numbers, and even lower import numbers parts for the e21 323i rear brakes are expensive..many have suggested simply upgrading to the e30 rear brakes and there is great reasons to do that, particularly parts availability. on several forums i have also recently discovered that with a 2.25 inch trailing arm spacing you can use VW type 1 calipers which have a built in handbrake. (e21 323i early/late trailing arms have 2 different spacing for the brake calipers, earlier model seem to utilize the 2.25" spacing, the later models utilize the 3.0" spacing.)
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| i purchased a set of 323i trailing arms with the disk brakes included, upon arrival, i removed the rear brakes. during the dis-assembly one of the tension springs had frozen in the caliper and would not come out after repeated hits with a small punch from the back side...ultimately, the spring broke after being subjected to my vise grips!! |
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| As you can see in the photo above, a spring broke off in the caliper, even after being soaked with penetrating oils...the 323i brake calipers are made in two pieces and those pieces side together. the photo above is immediately after the spring broke off in the retaining hole. this required drilling out spring steel...ha! not an easy task... |
About the 323i rear brakes
There is one system on the E21 323i that is completely unique among all other BMWs. All E21 models except the 323i used drum rear brakes. Rear disk brakes were only used on the 323i. Besides that, many of the parts used on the 323i rear brakes were not used on any other BMW model. This can make parts availability a bit troubling. This page contains all I've been able to put together about servicing and upgrading the E21 323i rear brakes.
The easy stuff first - the rear rotors (discs) are the same as the ones used on all E30s with rear discs except the M3. So those rotors are easy to find, and not expensive, either, unless you pop for the cross-drilled and/or slotted ones. Like most BMWs, the parking brakes are miniature drum brakes contained inside the hub area of the rear rotors. They seldom wear out, and I haven't researched whether any of those parts are common to other models. I'll add that information to this page at a later time. I do know that the parking brake cables are specific to E21 323i.
The drum brake E21s use four flexible brake hoses, one to each front caliper and one at the pivot of each rear trailing arm. The 323i uses six hoses, four of which are identical to the drum brake car's hoses. The remaining two hoses connect directly to the rear calipers. These hoses attach using banjo bolts, which make them different from any other BMW brake hose. Their rarity - of course - makes them rather expensive, around $50 each. A good alternative is to get a set of stainless braided teflon hoses from Korman (the only supplier I've heard of who has them for E21 323i). At last check, the entire set of six hoses was less than $100, which means you get all six high-performance hoses for the price of the two rear stock ones. When I added those hoses with no other changes (fresh DOT 4 fluid, of course), the brake pedal felt noticeably firmer.
There were two different rear caliper types used on the E21 323i, early (through ~78) and late ('79 and up). Both styles are similar and were only used on this model. Similarly, the rear pads are specific to these cars and are not going to be easily acquired locally. There is a pad wear sensor on the right side, which is the same one as is used on the front of all E21s and many other '70s and '80s BMW models.
Factory pads (generally Texar) are still available from numerous sources, but aftermarket pads can be a bit tougher to find. Korman lists Ferodo in their catalog, but I don't know if they are really available. BMP Design had PBR (formerly Repco) Deluxe and MetalMaster rear pad sets in stock during the Summer of 2000.
Seal kits to rebuild the calipers are still available from BMW in Germany, as are the pad hardware kits. If your local dealer can't help you with them, Maximillin Importing can. But note that (at least for the later style caliper) BMWs part references (both CD-ROM and the old fische) call for only a single kit to rebuild both calipers - not so, you need one kit for each caliper! The calipers themselves are still available new, but are rather expensive (~$250 each).
Another option is to fit E30 rear calipers and pads. This makes parts availablity much simpler, everyone knows what brake parts an E30 325e takes. Plus the E30 pads have more surface area, and in theory should perform better. But there are some modifications needed. You will need the rear flexible hoses from an E30, and the mounting holes are not a direct match. More information on this conversion will be added later.
Original Page at:
The easy stuff first - the rear rotors (discs) are the same as the ones used on all E30s with rear discs except the M3. So those rotors are easy to find, and not expensive, either, unless you pop for the cross-drilled and/or slotted ones. Like most BMWs, the parking brakes are miniature drum brakes contained inside the hub area of the rear rotors. They seldom wear out, and I haven't researched whether any of those parts are common to other models. I'll add that information to this page at a later time. I do know that the parking brake cables are specific to E21 323i.
The drum brake E21s use four flexible brake hoses, one to each front caliper and one at the pivot of each rear trailing arm. The 323i uses six hoses, four of which are identical to the drum brake car's hoses. The remaining two hoses connect directly to the rear calipers. These hoses attach using banjo bolts, which make them different from any other BMW brake hose. Their rarity - of course - makes them rather expensive, around $50 each. A good alternative is to get a set of stainless braided teflon hoses from Korman (the only supplier I've heard of who has them for E21 323i). At last check, the entire set of six hoses was less than $100, which means you get all six high-performance hoses for the price of the two rear stock ones. When I added those hoses with no other changes (fresh DOT 4 fluid, of course), the brake pedal felt noticeably firmer.
There were two different rear caliper types used on the E21 323i, early (through ~78) and late ('79 and up). Both styles are similar and were only used on this model. Similarly, the rear pads are specific to these cars and are not going to be easily acquired locally. There is a pad wear sensor on the right side, which is the same one as is used on the front of all E21s and many other '70s and '80s BMW models.
Factory pads (generally Texar) are still available from numerous sources, but aftermarket pads can be a bit tougher to find. Korman lists Ferodo in their catalog, but I don't know if they are really available. BMP Design had PBR (formerly Repco) Deluxe and MetalMaster rear pad sets in stock during the Summer of 2000.
Seal kits to rebuild the calipers are still available from BMW in Germany, as are the pad hardware kits. If your local dealer can't help you with them, Maximillin Importing can. But note that (at least for the later style caliper) BMWs part references (both CD-ROM and the old fische) call for only a single kit to rebuild both calipers - not so, you need one kit for each caliper! The calipers themselves are still available new, but are rather expensive (~$250 each).
Another option is to fit E30 rear calipers and pads. This makes parts availablity much simpler, everyone knows what brake parts an E30 325e takes. Plus the E30 pads have more surface area, and in theory should perform better. But there are some modifications needed. You will need the rear flexible hoses from an E30, and the mounting holes are not a direct match. More information on this conversion will be added later.
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