fresh paint...back to the machine shop after line boring, and honing...

i have been down with the flu for a little over a week...the machine shop had finished boring the piston cylinders, and the mains for the crankshaft...the problem was that it was just sitting there waiting for me to paint it before the finish work at the machine shop could be completed and re-assembly could begin...and i had the flu!!!

after numerous attempts at fitting a new head on this block the final head was untouched, never machined or decked outside of the factory...it was a stock head that had never been off the engine...when i opened the box that it was shipped in the fresh grease marks indicating the fresh removal was apparent...the guy at maximillian importing delivered what they promised...the block had not been "worked" either...and that is both the good news and the bad news...the piston cylinders were stock bore...and the piston selection was a significant decision because my initial thoughts were to install new factory cast/flat top pistons...however, after some research i discovered that the cost for a lower compression, under performing piston (read that as non-european configuration) was greater than a higher compression, more efficient piston...that made the decision easier yet instead of a .25+ bore over standard, the more efficient domed top pistons were .40+ over standard...that still could permit a second cut to .50+ which is more traditional for a second rebuild...but i had some reluctance nevertheless...bottom-line: i got over it!

ok, so it wasn't the typical head gasket...instead it was head failure

virginous, freshly bored, and honed .40+ ready for paint

do dirty hand = a clean heart?

the other day i gave the 320i a significant portion of my attention...and as i worked on the car i noticed that as the day progressed and my hands touched so many of the dirty things in my life/garage...and yes, there are other dirty things that are not in the garage...i noticed that my hands became increasing dirty...after a day of applying my hands, my mind wandered...how my hands had become dirty as a result of the machinery i had touched...the machinery had become filthy over the last 31 yrs...i also have a 1929 model a ford roadster...that was purchased when i was 12 yrs old...with my father in mt. airy maryland...my hands were like his in that they were soiled...he lived in a world of dirty hands...machinery was the focus of his peers too...

after thinking of the many memories i had with him i began thinking about old other father's...ancient ones...who lived closer to the ground...in an agricultural society...not a mechanical society...and certainly not in an information society...i thought about how generations before me came from societies of dirty hands...their hands were soiled but it was not grease it was soil...

this week for the first time i have considered wearing gloves the next time i do mechanical work so that my hands are not soiled...this might be evidence of my migration from one cultural foundation to another...much like the church is transiting from/out of evangelicalism (modern) into something postmodern...so it seems with the church...changing...morphing...from movement to movement...as it is in the garage...

a day of new beginnings . . .

ok so i started this blog with the anticipation that i would track the dismantle and assembly of the 320i . . . thus far i have been far more consumed with the actual work instead of documenting the steps involved i have been busy either working or recovering from the work . . . so . . . today is a day of new beginnings . . .

at around 5:45 tonight jonathan, noah, and owen were in the driveway working on the installation of kenwood speakers into the back of jonathan's honda civic . . . as the frustration was peaked to the point that dad was needed for direction the brown ups truck came into sight . . . that's unusual because where we live is at a cross roads and when i saw the brown ups truck i knew he was headed to our house . . . he had 3 boxes for us . . .

the 3 boxes were filled with new engine parts from ireland engineering . . . schrick cam (292) 4 new domed pistons, stainless steel valves, schrick dual spring valve springs . . . new rod bearings, new main bearings, a new over sized aluminum radiator, lots of small stuff that the rest of the family just thought, "ah, yeah great, more bolts and stuff" . . . little did they know . . . and last but not least . . . and oil cooler!! . . .

...some assembly required

with the engine at the machine shop and a cylinder head that is acceptable finally secured...i fitted the radiator...and the oil cooler to the front-end...

this is the part of a restoration process that for me is the most fun...opening boxes with new parts and fitting them to the project...cool stuff...

Cylinder #5 Like a fish hook hurt to remain, so it hurts to remove...thanks to Maximillian Importing Company this head met factory specs! FINALLY!!!

paint, sand paper...and a job well done...

compared to the sheet metal i had worked on before this, this car is SOLID...but the clear coat on this car was badly peeling...but for the much of the car the paint was original (bonnet, top, trunk deck, front fenders)...so we began removing the clear coat, and the corral red base coat paint...in preparation for the new paint...

while doing this preparation work i discovered "the" rust on the car...i pulled the trunk deck and the truck deck rubber seal and discovered that over the years water had settled beneath the trunk seal and rotted the lip that carries the rubber seal...coming from a 1920's and 1930's restoration era cars this is very insignificant but still an undesirable find...

i am somewhat committed to replacing the original corral red color but from time to time my mind flirts with colors like black, steel greys, and other colors to numerous to mention...

my son Jonathan really enjoyed sanding...i know that sounds crazy..but there is something very fulfilling about doing something that you can see your completed work in a short time frame...he did a great job...

cylinder #4 and a lesson on why the term "flea-bay" is instructive

i think that i am desperate at this point searching for the long lost head for my M10...anyway, i find this head after getting a referral from a typically "reliable source"...and i find out that the company i am talking to only sell heads...this is there only business...this is singularly what they do...i call and after a through interview i order the head he offers...which of course the salesman assures me is a great head...long story shorter...i get the head shipped to the machine shop i am using...the guy from the machine shop gets the head several mornings later and he calls me and says david...i think you better come down to the shop and look at this head...i rush to the machine shop... 4 welds!! ... and a helicore sitting in 2 cracks at the spark plug seat...shaking my head that was my lesson on why they call often call ebay...flea-bay...

spraying on tintable truck bed liner

cylinder head # 3 (Ok, this is already getting old!)

cylinder head # 1 & 2 (Oh yeah, a previous rebuild? Ha!)

purple power verse gunk

the greasy side vs. the shinny side

what i think will be a "mild" restoration (or so i thought!)

ah, huston i think that we have a problem here...50 miles from home we blew the head going up a mountian...

it was a foggy morning...around 8:30am EST as Jonathan slept in the passanger seat we had driven all night...full of coffee we moved with the flow of the morning rush hour traffic...the car comfortably cruised at 75 mph effortlessly...the majority of the trip was over...we would be home soon...that meant well before lunch...we were about 75 miles from home as we began to pull that last big mountain toward our appalachian destination...this particular mountain was the last...and on the other side is the ohio river...i noticed that the while the car had no issues at all pulling through the desert at 116 degrees in the shade...no issues...did i mention that...the water temperature gauge was solid...periodic checks of the water proved no leaks either...i thought that we were good to go...but this last mountain just before stubenville, ohio was our undoing...as we ascended the top of the mountain the water temperature ascended with us...the mechanic in me thought..."well, since we are almost at the top, it will cool as we descend, and i'll check it at the bottom of the hill.."

well part of that was true...since we were almost at the top it did cool as we descended...however, as we float through town we escaped all the red lights (2-HA!!) but at the last light we got caught...and as we sat there i watched the temperature gauge climb...i knew we were about to get out of the car...i woke Jonathan and said: "houston, i think we have a problem!"...i watched the signature white steam coming out of the exhaust and i immediately killed the engine and pulled to the side of the road immediately...popped the bonnet and got my cell phone...i suspected that it was a blown head gasket...i would later find out...that was not the case, instead the coolant chamber had eroded and allowed water to leak into the combustion chamber...more on this development would come later!

after several calls to friends with tow trucks and roll-backs...i finally got a hold of a guy that was loading the bmw in just over a half hour!!! we were 50 miles from home...we drove from stubenville, ohio to the pittsburgh international airport so that i could pick-up my truck that we had left at the airport on the way to california...we were home in another half hour and the rest is history as they say...the end!

the great expanse...death valley 116 degrees in the shade!

starbucks in the morning and due east we travelled...only 2,754 miles to go!!

hot time in the city, well the beach anyway!

but first!! a few days on veince beach

destination: 116 degrees in the shade . . .

on july 17, 2009 my son jonathan and i arrived at LAX and jumped into a shuddle van to an address on rodeo drive in hollywood, california in search of a red 1977 bmw 320i offered for sale on ebay . . . i had already sent the owner $500 and honestly i was a bit fearful and excited at the same time . . . the sale was somewhat hurried . . . we took her for a drive around the block . . . small puffs of smoke at start up didn't overly concern me because the body had NO RUST at all . . . it is a typical southern california car . . .

after paying the owner the remainder of cask i owed jonathan and i jumped in and took off for the beach . . . due west . . . we stopped at several hotels in venice beach and after our fair share of looks those $400 + a night rooms we settled in at a beach front property and headed for the boardwalk for a view of the beach . . .

after a few short days of sun and fun in california jonathan and i set our gps due east and began a trip i will never forget . . .