New economic car

[FC123]

Hmm,

As some may remember I've been driving an 84 w123 230E (Herman) for the past years.

As it happened my business partners father had a go in it an offered me more or less, what I paid for it. So long story short Herman was sold, but I still see him a couple of times a week...

Having driven an 84 saloon I wanted something newer this time.

And 88 is at least 4 years newer

My "new" E32 730i manual with 86kkm on the clock. (54k miles)

 

[Giannis]

Congrats mate! Now i want more interior and exterior pics!

 

[FC123]

Will do, just as long as the weather doesn't threaten to kill me...

 

[SDNR]

Great car .....amazing to think that it's a 20 year old car. *Gulp* it's scary to think that I can remember when it was the latest model.

 

[Giannis]

20 year old car are a lot of fun! Trust me

 

[VroomVroom]

Very nice!

Looks rather tidy as well

Enjoy many safe miles

 

[Giannis]

Forgot to ask, what about the equipment? What did the 88' 7er offer?

 

[FC123]

Forgot to ask, what about the equipment? What did the 88' 7er offer?

Quite basic by today's standard.

5 gear manual
Velour upholstery
Electric windows
Electric sidemirrors
Electric sunroof
Comfort closing of all windows and the electric sunroof
Mine has remote control central locking
Heated front seats.
4 Headrests

The car feels quite up to it. Driving at 130 km/h it doesn't feel less capable as such than my fathers E90. And it feels a hell of a lot more special to drive.

will be adding (I plan to) Cruise and air con.

 

[Giannis]

It doesn't have A/C?

The Renault Clio of 1992 had A/C as standard

BTW, i'm jealous! I always liked old bimmers

 

[ateekt]

What a beauty she is! Still looks young & solid, do get detailed pics! Enjoy & be safe!

 

[FC123]

It doesn't have A/C?

The Renault Clio of 1992 had A/C as standard

BTW, i'm jealous! I always liked old bimmers

I guarantee you, that the Clio did not have air con in DK.

But yes the 730i was relatively basic. Mind you equipment is just icing on the cake, I always prioritize that the car is sound before anything else. And only 86kkm with a full service history, is quite a rare find. So it wasn't a difficult decision.

 

[FC123]

Took some shots with my Iphone, since the paint had a nice wet look this morning:









Picked up an oil filter at the local BMW dealership. Apparently, a standard 520i Aut. runs 103,000 Euro these days, scary stuff...

 

[mayham85]

very nice car

 

[ree]

Damn, how could I miss this thread!! Beautiful car. Would be great to see some interior shots, especially since this is a ultra rare manual!! Love the rims on your car - fantastic choice!

 

[FC123]

The car is bog standard inside, so not terribly exciting, next time I get it cleaned I'll be sure to take some shots.

I'm glad you like the rims, they're better to look at than riding on though.

It has winter 15" on now, and the ride is miles better. However, the best I can say about the looks is that they are 80's contemporary...

 

[FC123]

Since I got it, the car has been Megasquirted, improving power and economy.

 

[Giannis]

Since I got it, the car has been Megasquirted, improving power and economy.

What exactly is Megasquirt?

 

[FC123]

What exactly is Megasquirt?

MegaSquirt is a DIY ECU system, it gives full control over engine parameters.

It's especially useful on old fuel injected designs like the Bosch Motronic in my car, as some of the power sapping features can be eliminated due to the much newer tech in MegaSquirt. Furthermore, it allows for easier turbocharging if such a thing floats your boat.

I have a USB cable in my glovebox that will plug into my laptop, giving me full access to the engine, so AFR, Ignition timing and the like, can be adjusted on the fly.

I had a rough idle (common with these cars) that different mechanics just gave up on. When the MegaSquirt was setup, the issue was solved in 10 minutes.

Before Megasquirt best economy run was about 11,5L/100km, with Megasquirt I've seen 10L/100km, so a nice improvement.

On a side note, power used to be 182HP/260nm, now it's 200hp/275nm. And the engine is much smoother.

Further info: http://www.megamanual.com/index.html

 

[FC123]

Newest developments.

Since moving, the car has become too fuel inefficient to function as a daily driver, so I've decided to keep it as a fun-mobile and change it to FI. The system will be capable of 450 hp but scaled to 300 hp initially to increase reliability. Will report back, as to how it plays out. Hopefully, I'm good to go about Aug 1st. However, these projects have a tendency to drag out...

 

[FC123]

And drag out it did...

Anyway, the car was fitted with a new VEMS ECU and after some fiddling, a new catalyst and some repairs to the ignition system it is now idling. Will try to post a video later.