Wahey! Someone's still alive!

£250 is a great price, I'd ask where you're getting them done if I wasn't at the other end of the country! Will be looking for someone to sort a few spots of rust on mine shortly. I'm going to try Macmetals of Mill Hill first, Horsetan's recommendation.

Got my six back from my mechanic last week after a front suspension freshen-up. Had new thrust and lower control arms and bushes fitted followed by full wheel alignment. Tie bars also had to be replaced as the adjustment was completely seized on them. I went for the stock BMW bushes in the end as his recommendation was as long as they are loaded and torqued correctly they should be fine. Car now feels a lot better with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead, taking to Bristol on Saturday so only then will I know if the 60-80mph vibration has been exorcised !!

Also finally sorted the hot start problem which turned out to be the inhibitor relay which was replaced at the cost of £6.05. No more plugs 11 and 14 in sainsburys car park, petrol stations etc!!

it does seem awful quiet on here recently.

just wondering, what does the inhibitor relay do and what was the hot-start issue you fixed with it? And how does jumping 11-14 help you out?

enjoy the bristol trip, leave early and you'll get a quiet M4

Ah, Driving off into the sunset, how romantic!

I'm still about as well, btw.

Next Tuesday is the big day for my six, as it it FINALLY booked in to have the little tiny 14" original wheels swapped for freshly reconned 16" in the same bbs x-spoke pattern. I've gone for very modest tyre sizes, 205 at the front, 225 at the back - but that's still a big change from the 190's all round at the moment.

Rust will be next (isn't it always!)

you'll have the same wheels as me then. 205 up front and 225 at the back. I was told that 225s would not work at the front of my car as it is an E12 base car (as is yours, no?)

cylinder head rattling is next for me (did the rust last month!)

Jimbob wrote: Ah, Driving off into the sunset, how romantic! I'm still about as well, btw. Next Tuesday is the big day for my six, as it it FINALLY booked in to have the little tiny 14" original wheels swapped for freshly reconned 16" in the same bbs x-spoke pattern. I've gone for very modest tyre sizes, 205 at the front, 225 at the back - but that's still a big change from the 190's all round at the moment. Rust will be next (isn't it always!)

I think that rim/tyre combination is probably a good choice. It will be a massive upgrade in handling but still maintaining a relatively comfy ride that you lose with larger rims. I put 17" style 5's on my highline with 235/45 all round and I love the look, handling is great (vast improvement over the old metrics obviously), but the ride is harsh especially in London, and the car tramlines quite a bit. With the e12 and chrome bumper e28's, 16's look just right, with the Highline everything below 17's looks too small IMHO

Just about to embark on an engine rebuild for my recently aquired piece of 70s british motoring history.  A 1974 Triumph Dolomite Sprint with a mint body but tired mechanicals.

The M635 has now been modified to death and is now track ready for next spring.  (bar a few odd jobs of course)

Ian

Horsetan wrote: I've been in Switzerland...... *relaxed sigh*

Did you take the 6? Some alpine pass hairpin action? An E24 has to be a similar length to the bus they had in the Italian Job. Wrong country I know....

Drew21 wrote: Horsetan wrote: I've been in Switzerland...... *relaxed sigh* Did you take the 6?

No.

Switzerland, being the highly regulated, efficient country that it is is quite unfriendly to cars in urban areas. Trams and buses take priority, with traffic lights set to give them clearance, and you try to beat them across at your peril. I witnessed one hapless fella collide with a Zurich tram!

I went everywhere on the Swiss public transport network: railways (and particularly the railways!), trams, buses. With one exception (a 4 mins. late departure from Zurich Hbf to Luzern - I should know: I was on it!), all trains departed on time, and arrived on time with frightening regularity. The Swiss have turned efficient public transport, all dovetailing with each other, into a high art form.

WCUK will never be able to do the same. Certainly not in my lifetime.

Some alpine pass hairpin action? An E24 has to be a similar length to the bus they had in the Italian Job. Wrong country I know....

If I'd been able to stay only in the rural areas, this would have been a great laugh. But even out here, they do have speed checks......

AndyS wrote: Without "WCUK" neither would the Swiss - or have you forgotten GB invented the railway?

Inventing it is one thing. Keeping up the good work is another.

And as so often happens, WCUK then gets left behind.....

Still, if you like public transport to be unpredictable.....

Update

My car now has a set a beutifully refurbished 16" BBS wheels. I can't begin to describe the improvement in both looks and handling. Before and After pictures to follow at the weekend.

Wow!

AndyS wrote: Horsetan wrote: AndyS wrote: Without "WCUK" neither would the Swiss - or have you forgotten GB invented the railway? Inventing it is one thing. Keeping up the good work is another. And as so often happens, WCUK then gets left behind..... That's good coming from a champion of the Bog Republic - you can't even invent your own national drink, you have to rebrand an English ale

Uh-oh! Touch paper has been lit - stand well back!!!.... well it is firework night soon

Jimbob wrote: Update My car now has a set a beutifully refurbished 16" BBS wheels. I can't begin to describe the improvement in both looks and handling. Before and After pictures to follow at the weekend. Wow!

Excellent stuff, look forward to the pics.

Now that my suspension is (kind of) sorted and the starting problem fixed, the six has sprouted a couple of new problems - I should know better but i thought i might at least have a couple of weeks of it being problem-free!!

Now the driver's door isn't shutting properly - it has always needed a good slam to shut it properly, however now the window doesn't seal when the door is slammed. Something is stopping the glass sealing, leaving a half centimetre gap which howls when driving (how i noticed it!). Opening the window a smidgeon and closing again slots the window back into the correct position. Anyone had this before? Maybe just a door re-alignment. Also I heard someone talking about some rubber stops may need replacing, however I can't really see where these would go?!

Also, now the cold weather has started, I am getting a very weird noise I can best describe as a blocked vacuum cleaner!! Comes from the rear of the car (i think) and only when i go around a right turn... could it be the fuel pump maybe struggling if the petrol has thickened up a bit with the cold?? Any ideas appreciated!!

Cheers,

Mark

So, new wheels on, here's an after picture, see my sig for the before look.

Approve?

Looks great, Jimbob. Just needs the roundels to finish them off i reckon.. Bet it drives like a different car too!

Thanks Andy, I have checked and the door catch rubbers are present and look in pretty good nick. As it's just the driver's door I'm hoping it's just the door needing re-aligning...

As for the fuel filter, it was changed about 10k miles ago, although this was approx 3 years ago so could be gunked up especially as it was stood for a while. Seems to have stopped for the moment anyway... my six seems to have a habit of "fixing" itself sometimes, especially after a nice long run!!

Mark

Jimbob,

She looks a beaut mate - a lovely 6! What colour is it? I'm back into drool mode with all these lovely 6's!!

Paul

yup, nice six bob!

Love the elegant styling of the old sixes...sixy!

Cheers for the nice words, I'm dead chuffed.

e34silver530i wrote: ...What colour is it?

Kastenrot (sp) Chestnut Red. Quite unusual as I think it was only available for a couple of years.

What a beautiful colour - I bet it looks wonderful in the summer sun!

Paul