Wanting to learn about BMWs.....

[JollySipper]

Yea, I know.... You either really like them, or you really don't. Me, I have always thought the BMWs were really nice. Most of them you can get for a reasonable price. I understand the engine to have is the DOHC inline 6 (m3 engine?). What is confusing to me is the use of numbers to designate a model...... Like, what is the difference between a 318i and a 328i? I know the "i" came about when fuel injection was first being offered on them.

Anyone have any obscure knowledge on the Beemers (or is it Bimmer?) I've always liked them, like I said, but here recently I've been wanting to learn more about them.

 

[afx]

"3" indicates body type, "18" (1.8L) would indicate engine size.  So the difference between a 318 and a 328 would only be engine size provided they are the same model year and same body type (coupe, sedan, convertible)

Both '85 models

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by afx

[Ace-Garageguy]

Different strokes and all that.

Last Beemus I have any use for were the 633 cars.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1977/29/road-test-near-perfection-the-bmw-633-csi

Pretty much loved everything they built up to that point, then they seemed to me to go off the rails in a mad rush to make them hell to work on and unnecessarily complex.

2002s are wonderful, light, simple, well balanced, fun to drive. 2.8 / 3.0 CS were also wonderful cars, remarkably fast and fine handling. The sedans from the period were kinda sleepers too. I got in a highly illegal on-road race (me in a 2800 sedan) with a Pantera one night long ago, and he could never pass me. 

Part of town I used to live in decades ago, the yups drove 3-series (the E21 replacement for the 2002), thought they were hot stuff....but my hot-rod 2-liter Pinto would smoke 'em all.

EDIT: '73 3.0 CS, below. It's every bit as good as it looks.

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Ace-Garageguy

[Rob Hall]

I really liked their ‘80s and ‘90s cars.  Had a ‘96 E36 M3 for a while, the straight 6 was very smooth and fun to drive w/ the manual.  

[JollySipper]

JC, thanks man! That makes sense with the engine size..... probably common knowledge.

Bill, I'm with you in liking the older ones better.... I've been drooling over this little car since I found it on Craigslist in LA. and It's the same year model as me!

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/d/granada-hills-1980-bmw-633csi/7448830389.html

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by JollySipper

[JollySipper]

  On 2/24/2022 at 11:22 PM, Rob Hall said:

I really liked their ‘80s and ‘90s cars.  Had a ‘96 E36 M3 for a while, the straight 6 was very smooth and fun to drive w/ the manual.  

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I could have owned a Beem in highschool.... A friend had one with a 4 cylinder/manual. It would run until it got to operating temp, then it would shut off....... once it cooled down it would start up again. Thinking back, it could have just had sugar in the gas. Didn't know that then, though....

[Smoke Wagon]

Bimmer = BMW car

Beemer = BMW motorcycle

BMW = Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works) or my personal favorite, Break My Wallet

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 2/25/2022 at 2:18 AM, Smoke Wagon said:

Bimmer = BMW car

Beemer = BMW motorcycle

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I call 'em all Beemus (rhymes with emu) because nobody else does, and the oh-so-cool BMW guys think I'm a total drooling ignorant idiot when I say it.  

[stitchdup]

If drivers around here are anything to go by, indicators/turn signals are an extra cost item

[TonyK]

Always enjoy looking at a BMW on the road and my favorite is probably the 2002. The comment on turn signals is funny as I've noticed that too and say to the wife "For such a nice expensive car you'd think the turn signals would at least work".

[Mark]

They're the Special People, they don't have to use turn signals like us mere mortals.

[JollySipper]

I like to think that there is more than one type of BMW fan...... You also have those that would , say, swap in an LS engine into one. That's kinda where I fall in....

[iamsuperdan]

Worked for a BMW dealer for three years, and my wife was there for over 10 years. So we've been around them a lot.

Have only owned one though, an e34 525i. I want another one. Loved that car. No actual pics handy, but it looked just like this.

 

Anyway, here's a fun fact. The number on the back doesn't necessarily indicate engine size. It used to, for sure. But starting in the late 90s, the 328i could actually have a 2.5L engine. The 325i could be a 2.3L. And it got worse as we moved into the 2000s.The only constant was that first digit.  In order of size, you had the 3 series, the 5 series, the 6 series (which was essentially a 2-dr 5 series), the 7-series, and the 8-series. Now it's confsuing, because you have the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 series. Plus the X named SUV variants of most.

 

 

[iamsuperdan]

  On 2/24/2022 at 9:42 PM, JollySipper said:

 I understand the engine to have is the DOHC inline 6 (m3 engine?).

 

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Not necessarily. The 1.8L in the older 3 series cars was fantastic. a 318; from 84-91 was a fantastic car. Even the next generation, from 1992 through 1999 was great. Especially if you can find the odd little hatchback, the 318ti.

 

The inline 6 had more power for sure, but that 4-cylinder is a lot of fun too. And much less complex.

[vintagerpm]

As someone who once owned a BMW (2011 335i) and who knows several present and past BMW owners, you will love driving a BMW but you will hate owning it (at least after the warrenty runs out).

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

BMW went the way of almost all the other "sports" car manufacturers.

What started as fairly low-production, technically-sophisticated but still relatively simple cars (like old Porsche 911s) aimed at driving enthusiasts became bloated, "luxury", gizmo-laden status symbols.

And like the man says, now they're perfectly lovely cars...until they're out-of-warranty.

The upside is that their market value plummets within just a few years, so those of us capable of maintaining or fixing an older one can get terrific image and performance for chump change.

But the parts cost and maddening complexity have kept me away from the more recent ones...and buying one with problems really cheap is always a roll of the dice.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm sure a lot of you have noticed, but some Ford guys apparently thought rather highly of the 633 too...

[stitchdup]

  On 2/25/2022 at 3:02 PM, JollySipper said:

I like to think that there is more than one type of BMW fan...... You also have those that would , say, swap in an LS engine into one. That's kinda where I fall in....

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They fit them well and I believe there are kits available now for this purpose.

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 2/25/2022 at 3:02 PM, JollySipper said:

I like to think that there is more than one type of BMW fan...... You also have those that would , say, swap in an LS engine into one. That's kinda where I fall in....

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  On 2/25/2022 at 4:44 PM, stitchdup said:

They fit them well and I believe there are kits available now for this purpose.

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...and set up all the subsystems as "dumb" standalones, you have a very fast, comfortable "luxury" car that you can drive pretty much forever.  

[JollySipper]

Do these cars have an interference engine, Bill? I understand the timing belt needs to be changed at regular intervals.....

[Earl Marischal]

My son has a BMW drift car that he built out of a 3 Series body and various parts.

If I was nominating a favourite model, it would be the 2000CS Coupe from 1965-1969.

steve

[Rodent]

I

I owned a 1990 325iS from 1998-late 2004. It replaced a Fox Body 5.0 Mustang as my daily driver. It was a fairly low-mileage example when I got it. You eagle-eye E30 experts will notice that it had a regular "i" lower front lip instead of the body-color one. It came that way and I left it. The 88-90 iS lips didn't play nicely with curbs and things.

This picture was taken just as the odometer rolled up 100k. After owning American and Japanese makes all my life, I was a little shocked at the poor quality of most of the rubber components were. Suspension and frame bushings, fuel lines, etc. looked like the car had been sitting in the desert for 30 years by the time it had 90k.

In those days, E30 M3s were still fairly common among mere mortals, so I bought a set of springs and the rear sway bar from a guy who was upgrading his M3. They dropped the car around an inch, and the slightly larger rear bar improved turn in. I installed solid offset front control arm bushings that were OEM on the M3s, new control arms, and a set of Bilstein Sports. The car was much more pleasant to drive, and not harsh at all after. These cars run a lot of caster anyway, and the offset bushings get you another 1-1.5 degrees. I bought a set of 15" BBS cross-spoke wheels from a breaker in the UK and had them refinished. The 15 inch E30 4-bolts are pretty rare in the US. They were only used on the M-Technic convertibles (149 for the US). Side pic showing the drop and the wheels.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Rodent

[Ace-Garageguy]

  On 2/25/2022 at 5:49 PM, JollySipper said:

Do these cars have an interference engine, Bill? I understand the timing belt needs to be changed at regular intervals.....

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To the best of my recollectory, everything up through the 633, which is about where I lost interest, had timing chains.

Hence, I've never really noticed whether those engines are "interference" or not...as I've never seen a chain in one fail.

CAVEAT: I'm not a BMW guru by any stretch of he imagination, and there's one helluva lot I don't know about them.

[Rodent]

  On 2/25/2022 at 8:44 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

To the best of my recollectory, everything up through the 633, which is about where I lost interest, had timing chains.

Hence, I've never really noticed whether those engines are "interference" or not...as I've never seen a chain in one fail.

CAVEAT: I'm not a BMW guru by any stretch of he imagination, and there's one helluva lot I don't know about them.

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The "smallblock" SOHC I6 (M20) like mine had a belt. The "bigblock" SOHC I6 (M30) and the SOHC I4 (M10) had chains and I believe that all of the DOHC engines are chain as well. I have seen a few pictures of M20 that were quite grenaded when the belt broke.

[JollySipper]

  On 2/25/2022 at 7:53 PM, Rodent said:

I was a little shocked at the poor quality of most of the rubber components were.

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A bunch of the Craigslist cars I look at always start with "Here are things I've done in X amount of time", then they go into a long list of bushings, seals, and rubber lines being replaced...... Seems to be a weak point in the construction of these.....