1980 BMW E26 M1
Discussion
BlueMeganeII said:
PGN said:
I notice you filled it with regular unleaded. Wouldn't super unleaded be required?
Didn't look like regular unleaded to me? If so it's bloomin expensive.V-Power is 99, Tesco Supper is also 99. Most of the other premium unleaded is 98. BP used to have one or two stations that did 102 at very high price, but I don't know if they still do it.
AFAIK there is no point in using anything over 99 except in a race engine designed for it specifically.
AFAIK there is no point in using anything over 99 except in a race engine designed for it specifically.
e21Mark said:
Will you be at Brands in August Richard?
http://www.deutschefest.co.uk/deutsche-fest-get-in...
Can get you a pass / inside parking if you haven't already got it.
I think it's unlikely Mark.http://www.deutschefest.co.uk/deutsche-fest-get-in...
Can get you a pass / inside parking if you haven't already got it.
I've got a couple of things planned over the summer already, Silverstone Classic and the main BMW CC event at Gaydon, then hopefully an M1 Club meet near Rotterdam - if all goes to plan Jochen Neerpasch is supposed to be attending. Those, holidays, family and in-laws that are literally dropping to bits (father in law will be probably having his leg removed some time this week, old age can truly suck) any more events would not be very family friendly.
I was at Gaydon yesterday for the BMW Car Club festival, and took part in the concourse on Saturday. Staying up until 9:30pm until it got dark, and then getting up again at 4:30am just as it was getting light to finish prepping the car payed off.
On another note, I'd noticed that my car was missing two parts in the engine bay. Looking at other cars, there are shaped plastic uprights that fasten on to two bosses on the main chassis. They fit into the buttresses on the engine bay cover, presumably to change the airflow in some way.
There appear to be at least two versions, you can see them on either side in these two pictures, above the expansion tank and dip stick.
Early version from chassis number 4301013
Later version from chassis number 4301108
Most cars seem to have these parts. They attach by 2 bolts to the boss on the chassis. However, not only was I missing the parts, but there are no holes in the boss to fit the bolts to!
Appologies for the back focused picture
The parts are NLA from BMW and they are not just a flat plate, they have a hoop on which goes round the tubular chassis member. So, I borrowed a pair from another M1 owner
had them digitised and 3D printed
Using the highest quality printer and mode, these took over 20 hours each to print. The finish is not identical as the originals are moulded, but they are not bad.
I also noticed that some cars had the top edge wrapped in a trim strip and others did not. The variations may all just be due to the way the Italian assembly operators felt on the day, the availability of parts, of that bits have fallen off or been removed at some point over the last 37 years, who knows.
As the parts only arrived last Friday, I temporarily attached them with double sided foam tape.
On another note, I'd noticed that my car was missing two parts in the engine bay. Looking at other cars, there are shaped plastic uprights that fasten on to two bosses on the main chassis. They fit into the buttresses on the engine bay cover, presumably to change the airflow in some way.
There appear to be at least two versions, you can see them on either side in these two pictures, above the expansion tank and dip stick.
Early version from chassis number 4301013
Later version from chassis number 4301108
Most cars seem to have these parts. They attach by 2 bolts to the boss on the chassis. However, not only was I missing the parts, but there are no holes in the boss to fit the bolts to!
Appologies for the back focused picture
The parts are NLA from BMW and they are not just a flat plate, they have a hoop on which goes round the tubular chassis member. So, I borrowed a pair from another M1 owner
had them digitised and 3D printed
Using the highest quality printer and mode, these took over 20 hours each to print. The finish is not identical as the originals are moulded, but they are not bad.
I also noticed that some cars had the top edge wrapped in a trim strip and others did not. The variations may all just be due to the way the Italian assembly operators felt on the day, the availability of parts, of that bits have fallen off or been removed at some point over the last 37 years, who knows.
As the parts only arrived last Friday, I temporarily attached them with double sided foam tape.
silentbrown said:
Can I be rude and ask roughly how much something like that costs with 3D printing, and a rough split between digitizing/setup and manufacturing?
Digitising was £60, relatively easy as the parts are a mirror image, so only one had to be done.Printing some low quality prototypes was £175 for the pair. Once the shape was checked, the higher quality parts were £475 for the pair.
counterofbeans said:
Why did you feel it was vital for the car to have these parts?
Vital, no, of course not.However, my goal has always to have the car looking as original as possible and these parts were originally fitted, at least to most cars.
Also, why were they fitted in the first place? Although the originals are not high quality parts, to create moulds for both left and right sides must have been relatively expensive. I'm sure such costs would not have been incurred if the part had no function.
JakeT said:
Congrats on the award!
Thanks! JakeT said:
Was nice to meet you there. Even if (rightfully) you looked a little nervous there with people poking around it.
You do have to keep an eye on what people are doing. 99.9% are totally respectful and careful, but you get the odd one that oversteps the mark. With the engine cover open many people lean carefully over without touching to look at the engine, no problem. But you have to watch out for those that might lean over and put weight on the thin fibre glass partitions to the boot and side areas to support themselves, lean on these and they will brake.
If the doors are shut and someone asks me if they can look inside I'll open up and let them look, usually I'll let kids sit inside for a photo etc. as long as there's not a group of them. But sometimes people think it's OK just to open the door and get in just because it's not locked, it's not!
The car will be on display at the NEC Class Motor Show this coming weekend, one of 16 cars on the Meguiar's Club Showcase stand in Hall 1.
https://www.facebook.com/meguiarsuk/photos/a.13802...
https://www.facebook.com/meguiarsuk/photos/a.13802...
e30m3Mark said:
Car of the show as far as I'm concerned.
Not sure about that, there will be some lovely things there.TheLordJohn said:
I met you at Beamish (when you read my E38's fault codes, thank you!) and saw your M6 (I think).
Will be nice to see the M1 when I go on Sunday.
Yes, M6 GC, that must be over 3 years ago now.Will be nice to see the M1 when I go on Sunday.
TheLordJohn said:
XJ220 - top of the list
When I bought the M1 I also considered an XJ220 as it is one of my other dream cars.I wanted a car that I could use, would be an investment and that would not cost a fortune to run (and so negate the investment side). There were a couple of things that put me off the XJ220 at the time:-
- The tyres were not available, they are a unique size at the rear and Bridgestone stopped making them. Since earlier this year they are available again as Don Law has managed to get Bridgestone to make another batch using modern construction techniques.
- The XJ220 uses a bag fuel tank that needs replacing at regular intervals, this is not a trivial task and requires engine removal.
- At the time I was looking, there were very few M1's for sale and seemed to be loads of XJ220's, at least 10 in the UK. Made me wonder why. There are far fewer for sale now.
- The XJ220 is a massive car and a 2 seater, yet the standard boot would not carry an over night bag. Don Law Racing will do a mod that increases it considerably by removing the exhaust silencers.
Several things were in the XJ220's favour though so it was a close call :
- The acceleration and sound of the XJ220 is just something else, the outboard twin turbos and waste gates just behind your ear, I've never been in another car of any age that does what a tweaked XJ220 can do. I do wonder if I would have killed myself though as is so addictive.
- Don Law racing is only a 2 hour drive from me, so major service requirements would be much easier than the M1 (although more frequent).
- The inside is a much more luxurious place to be than the M1, except that steering wheel which is awful.
- The quality of the build and techniques used, that bodywork is just mind blowing, it's all formed from honeycomb aluminium. There is only about 10 years between them, but the XJ220 uses amazing construction techniques and could almost be from another century.
If I could buy one now (and still keep the M1 of course!) I would. Top of my list though, McLaren F1, no contest, but you need deep pockets to run one.
After rather a long time without much to report, I took the opportunity of lockdown to have some minor cosmetic repairs.
A previous owner had fitted a stainless steel exhaust which was one of the first things I removed when I bought the car, replacing it with the OEM system. However, in order to fit the exhaust, they had to enlarge the cut out in the rear bumper. Although largely unnoticed by anyone else, this had always irritated me, so I decided it was time to do something about it.
This is the enlarged cut out
You can see where the profiled of the edge of the hole changes where it had been cut. The remaining piece on the right of the hole was very thin and had started to crack.
I used a local body shop, Chris Gregory, that I have used before on my E39 M5 and who do a lot of work with TVRs so know a thing or two about GRP. The repaired hole now looks as it should, and as it did when it left Ital Design in 1980.
A previous owner had fitted a stainless steel exhaust which was one of the first things I removed when I bought the car, replacing it with the OEM system. However, in order to fit the exhaust, they had to enlarge the cut out in the rear bumper. Although largely unnoticed by anyone else, this had always irritated me, so I decided it was time to do something about it.
This is the enlarged cut out
You can see where the profiled of the edge of the hole changes where it had been cut. The remaining piece on the right of the hole was very thin and had started to crack.
I used a local body shop, Chris Gregory, that I have used before on my E39 M5 and who do a lot of work with TVRs so know a thing or two about GRP. The repaired hole now looks as it should, and as it did when it left Ital Design in 1980.
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