New Motor Mount

A lot of people end up changing the entire front subframe to that of a 2002 when they discover that their old drivers side motor mount looks like this.

As my old mount sagged, it caused the engine to shift and sag with it. BMW doesn't make the old, poorly designed specimen anymore; I don't blame them.


 Fortunately Ireland Engineering did a run of urethane motor mounts. They still had a few of them in stock and so I was able to grab one. 

With the new mount there's a bit more engine noise and vibration when the car runs but the peace of mind is worth it.

A Dashing Panel

Many thanks to Daniel from the FAQer forum for sendng me this splendid under-dash panel! They have been NLA forever. Why and when mine was removed from the car is another great mystery.

Engine Bay Details

Some fresh improvements to the egnine bay. Here is the old, creatively messy look on the driver's side, complete with misplaced voltage regulator.

Now the boxes are correctly placed and the wires cloth-taped to factory specs, or close enough.

Also, a previous owner had left the wiper relay dangling in mid-air while festooned with red electrical tape.

Perhaps he or she couldn't afford long enough wires to seat it properly on its hook opposite the wiper fluid pump, further down the side of the compartment.

Once again, thanks to Midnight Motorsport for making it real.

NOS Door Light Switch

No matter how many times I cleaned the contact points of the old, unpleasantly oversprayed switch, it just didn't work consistently.

Here it is pulled out of the door frame, looking even more nasty.

Luckily there's there's a stand-up, great guy on ebay, whose handle is "pmauto". He sells all kinds of cool little trinkets for NKs. So this is my latest acquisition from him - four bucks and well worth the five-minute install.

New Transmission and New Guibo

It's a good idea to keep an eye on the guibo, because when it looks like this your driving days may be numbered.

Much better to slather some armorall on a new one and switch it out.

Thus making a good complement to a shiny transmission, freshly installed (another four-speed, but with this one has perfect syncros).

With due thanks again to Midnight Motorsport.

The Dimmer is Brightened

A few years ago I replaced the turn signal stalk. This made obvious the worn condition of the left side headlight dimmer switch knob.

Using a small bottle of high-gloss black craft paint I was able to bring back a shine to the dimmer knob. The knob unscrews for easy removal and painting with an artist brush.

Now the knob is as shiny as a morning daisy in the sun. Or something.

Alignment Specs and Steering Rehab

I had the wheels aligned yesterday, after putting new tires all around. (The old ones were eight years old.) Here are the specs:

The car drives straight as an arrow now and as an added bonus the steering wheel turns easier. The techs at the alignment shop took the car for a spin when they finished, an acitivity I managed to record from the garage waiting area.

The shiny new 185/70 tires - on stock steelies - look great, too.