It’s another sunny Friday here at Reggie’s Motorworks, and we love it!

Be sure to keep an eye on our Cars For Sale page to see what’s available!

Well, our “pending sale” on this e28 fell through this week, so it is still available! This is a 106K car with an amazing red leather interior and crack free dash. It just needs to be gone through mechanically as it has been sitting for 8 or so years.   Click here to see more photos of this e28 bimmer. We bought it as a parts car, but like a couple others we’ve had over the years, its just too nice to tear apart. We really want to see it go to a good home.

You can check it out HERE on eBay. The opening bid is only $900, so bid to win! If you have any questions, please give us a call.

We’re parting out a rusty 1984 325e with automatic transmission in saphirblau-metallic.  Click here to see the full gallery of photos.

Actually, the pearl beige sport seats are in pretty good condition.  One seam needs to be restitched, then a little Leatherique treatment, and they would look great!  Click here to see more detailed photos of these seats.  If you are interested in them, buy them now at a super deal. In the next week or so we’ll fix the bolster and leatherique them, but of course the price will go up!!

The engine was just hoisted out this morning by Reggie.

Reggie’s has also been working on an e36 with some knocking and idling issues. It turns out one of the spark plugs came loose (knocking), and somehow the tip got broken off (idling issues)! Oops…Remember to torque your spark plugs properly:

We hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend! It looks like we’re going to get a taste of spring here in the Midwest! We can’t wait to see 55 degrees!

We’ve been enjoying a day of sunshine here at Reggie’s Motorworks.   Could it be that spring is just around the corner?  Time will tell!

Now for a brief update on what we’ve been up to this week:

1. X3 was in for Inspection II
2. M5 parts for sale

Reggie had never driven the X3 before, and he was impressed with its handling.  Having concentrated mostly on smaller sports cars, he has read that both the X5 and the X3 handle well…he concurs!

And we’re working on parting out the M5.  Just listen to this S38 engine pur.  Here’s a look at the exhaust.  And one more video here.

Check out this link to get more information on the parts that are for sale, including pricing and shipping information.

Have a great weekend!

I realize our amount of snow is nothing compared to those of you to our east/northeast, but it still puts a damper on things around the shop.

Right now I have an e30 on a trailer, behind a truck, stashed at a local restaurant until our lot becomes clear enough to bring it back. Our lot is covered in slush, and every car that comes in the shop creates a lake….That’s what I get for keeping it above 32 degrees in here!

Enough ranting, we are taking tomorrow (Friday the 19th) off to celebrate Stephanie’s birthday, so I am blogging a day early! We are going out in search of a cool vintage tandem bike tomorrow, that she would like to have as a photo prop. Heck, she may even get me to take a spin on it when it gets warm out!

In BMW news, we found a new owner for the 733i, and it looks like we have a customer interested in buying AND having us refurbish the ‘86 535i that is in our “for sale” section!

From FOR SALE: 1983 BMW 733i

From Silver 535i

We also took a few hours last Saturday and went to our local “World of Wheels” car show, which is about the biggest indoor custom/classic car show in the area (that I know of). There weren’t any BMW’s to speak of this year, but there were some really cool cars. To my surprise, car customizing legend “Gene Winfield” was chopping a top live for people to watch.

Needless to say, I found some inspiration and motivation at the show…..hopefully I will get back on that ‘02 soon!!

We hope all is well with you and yours, and have a safe and happy weekend!!

A few weeks ago, we went on a tour of the Chip Ganassi Racing garage with our local “Hoosier” BMW CCA chapter.  There was a great turnout.  After hearing a little about their operation, we got to walk through their expansive, facility.   To say that it is impressive is an understatement. We were allowed to take some photos as well.

They have a few trophies…

…and a few race cars in their lobby.

One of their current IRL projects:

This is the Dinan/BMW powered car that finished 2nd at the Rolex 24 hour race

I asked Reggie if he’d be willing to drive this one if they’d let him…he answered with a resounding “Yes!”  As if I even needed to ask!

This was the other Dinan/BMW powered car that did not finish the race. This photo was taken on the Wednesday immediately following the race…note that the engine is missing. It was already on its way back to Dinan for inspection.

Of course, this car was popular with the BMW crowd in attendance.

We got to see the transmission room. I don’t recall if this was an IRL gear box or a Rolex car, but it was neat to reach in and turn the gears by hand.

These are several of the different race car brakes used at Target Ganassi, along with one of the wheel guns

They said these were for sale…don’t you love how they are stacked like that?

Stephanie has way too much time on her hands, just a little ‘remix’ of the same stacked cars here. Seeing so much red and white everywhere, I was ready to shop at Target…Reggie said, “Exactly!”

As you can see, this place is immaculate, bright, and well-organized.

Did we mention that this place is huge…..and CLEAN?

This is Dario Franchitti’s rig…pretty nice, eh?

We also got to see this punchy little number, a Porsche 914/6, which belongs to Mr. Chip Ganassi himself:

On the other side of the room from the BMW powered cars:

Wanna take a guess at how much one of these steering wheels cost?

We noticed this cool sculpture in the lobby as well.

We’ll be visiting the World of Wheels this weekend, so stayed tuned for more photos!

Have a great weekend!

We would like to thank everyone that came to the Winter Clearance Sale!  It was great to spend some time with fellow enthusiasts!

It’s been a busy week here at Reggie’s Motorworks.  Here are a few of the projects that we’ve done this week:

• We’ve installed a driveshaft and refurbished a serpentine belt system on an e32 740i.
• We flushed the brake fluid and mounted and balanced tires on a Mercedes 300e.
• The red convertible came back in for rear differential seals and service and transmission flush and mounts. (And the trunk light addition which you’ll read about below.)
• A 1984 533i gets a new clutch.

Here Reggie is wrapping up some work on the 1984 533i.  Rumor has it that it used to belong to a famous rock star who hails from the state of Indiana, none other than John Mellencamp.

Another project has been to add a second trunk light for the owner of the nice red cabrio we worked on recently.  Most US spec e30’s come with one trunk light, but two holes where trunk lights can be mounted.

Reggie eyeballs the length of the additional wire that needs to be added.

Reggie solders the new wire into the positive lead for the original trunk light.

This is the new trunk light with the ground wire attached.

Next, he splices the two ground wires together.

A quick dip in flux assures a solid solder joint.

Rosin Flux is available at local electronic stores, ours happens to be from Radio Shack.

Note: The heat shrink tube was installed before soldering the joint together. (Reggie forgets this from time to time.)

Soldering the ground wire splice.

The finished splice before the heat shrink tubing is installed.

Heating up the heat shrink tubing for a perfectly snug fit around the wiring.

Reggie guides the wiring through the various holes in the trunk to the light on the right.

Reggie installs a crimp connector the the ground wire for the new light.

Next, he screws the light switch in place. The way this circuit works, is that the switch creates a ground when the trunk is in the open position. You will notice that once the screw is in place, the lights come on.  (If the battery is connected…which it probably should not be while doing this work.)

Testing out the modification:

Some of the tools used for this job:

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Tags: 1986 535i, 533i, BMW, For Sale, Indianapolis, M6 wheel, Reggie's Motorworks, snow, trunk light repair, Westfield

Happy Friday!  We were promised some snow…and now we’ve got it!  Here’s just a small glimpse of what it looks like outside the shop earlier today.

On the left, a stack of ‘frosted donuts’.  On the right, a clean car that’s for sale, 1986 535i.  The wheel in the photo is an M6.  (To get a bigger view of the photos here on the blog, just click on them, then hit the back arrow when you’re ready to come back. )

Due to this snow storm, we will finish up our regularly scheduled blog post tomorrow!

Goodnight!

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, Saturday, January 30th, for our Huge Winter Clearance Sale!

We will be gathering in our heated shop to share the passion for these classics with our customers and fellow local BMW enthusiasts. We are offering 50-90% off our current used parts inventory!  So drive on over, get out of the cold, meet with fellow enthusiasts, and score some great deals on the parts you need for your Bimmer!

REGGIE’S MOTORWORKS

411 W. Main St., Westfield, IN 46074

Refreshments will be provided.

10am to 3pm

e30 BMW 325 318 325ic 325is 325e 325ix e28 e21 2002 Bimmer

A few quick updates on our 2002 project (you can find out more about our ‘02 by clicking on 2002, 2002 project, etc. in the ‘tags’ on our homepage):

This is the engine out of the 1973 2002 that we picked up in February 2009 in St. Louis.  Once it’s rebuilt, this engine will most likely be the heart of our 2002.   As it “stands”, the compression is bad in cylinder #2, which is most likely from a stuck valve in the cylinder head.

Nice, clean aluminum engine parts.

Reggie scrapes some grease and grime from the lower timing cover.

Before and After:  The upper timing cover has been cleaned and polished in both photos.

And, as you can see, both the upper and lower timing cover look pretty nice after some buffing with a brass wire wheel.

Reggie holds these newly brushed timing covers in front of the engine…yes, this is going to be nice!

And here we have the oil pan and timing chain.  This timing chain will be replaced before it makes its home in the ‘02.

This old beast is out of the 1971 2002, which, according to the casting numbers, came from a ‘69.  It’s a running motor and potentially for sale.

Looking for a stellar 7-series to add to your collection?

We’ve got the perfect one for you!  Click here!

If you would like to view this beauty in person, please call us at 317.804.9313.

Have a great weekend!

I got a call late last week from a local teacher that just bought a “new” 1992 325ic, and wanted to know if I may be able to take a look at it.

“Of course I can!!”

I was delighted to find that this little cabrio is in really decent condition!  Sure it has a few issues that need straightening out, but all in all it is a very nice e30!

The first order of business was a bumper to bumper inspection, and since there was no maintenance history with the car, we decided to do a timing belt service, coolant flush, new hoses, water pump, front engine oil seals, V-belts, etc. We also replaced a voltage regulator that was causing the headlights to flicker going down the road (this seems to be common with the later “Valeo” alternators).

Here are some photos of the car and the work we performed, courtesy of my wonderful wife Stephanie (www.stewartimagery.com):)!

Don’t forget the new t-belt tensioner spring!!

A previous tech must have forgotten that fancy clip to hold the thermostat-water pump hose in place. This is very common, the hose sits slightly forward and is slowly worn away by the fan. Luckily we caught this one before it burst!!:

Out with the old:

Dirty parts awaiting the parts washer:

Ah, so nice to see a new timing belt, and everything CLEAN!

Don’t forget to come see us one week for tomorrow (Saturday, January 30th)  for our   CLEARANCE SALE!!

It’s been a cold week here in the Midwest!  It’s Stephanie here, wishing you a Happy 2010!   We’ve got some “cool” icicles on our building, and here’s some proof that the sun does shine once in a while in this winter wonderland.

Reggie has been getting our newest shop wagon, the ‘91 240SE, up to snuff.  Here it is on the smaller lift:

This red machine called for a new set of plug wires…keep reading to see why!

The inside portion had come out!  Not a good thing!

Old plug wires…New plug wires, what a huge difference!

New brakes, rotors and pads were installed all around.

Good spark plugs are a definitely a necessity!

A clean air filter was installed too!

These studded tires are just begging for a good snow fall, so they can be *ahem* properly tested for performance and drive-ability.  Ok, ok, so we did happen to find a snowy parking lot earlier this week on our way home from the shop, but further “testing” would be fun, I mean, useful.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming Winter Clearance Sale on Saturday, January 30th!  Get the details here!

Have a great weekend!

Reggie’s Motorworks has decided to thin our shelves down some, in order to make room for new inventory! We want to invite everyone to the shop on Saturday, January 30th to share some great deals with all of our fellow enthusiasts!

This will be the one/only day that I will really bend on our normal BMW parts prices. Come prepared to make cash offers and take things home. If you need large/heavy BMW parts, bring something to haul them off in! My main motivation is creating space, so I will not be willing to hold items.

THIS IS NOT JUST A SALE! It is also a great time for BMW/auto enthusiasts to gather (in a heated building!) and chat about cars, projects, and whatever else we feel like!

Here are some photos of our overtocked shelves:

For those of you who don’t know, we are located in Westfield, IN, which is a northern suburb of Indianapolis. Here is the address:

411 W. Main Street

Westfield, IN 46074

We hope to see everyone there!!