It’s been another great week here at Reggie’s Motorworks!  We’ve been loving the cooler temperatures for sure!  As we mentioned last week, the crew from Enthusiast Apparel joined us at the Cruise-In.  A huge thank you to Jon, Edgar, and all their crew and friends for coming out, we hope to see you all again soon! Here are some photos from our evening – we had some pretty cool rides show up…take a look (be sure to check out the slideshow below too!):

To see more, check out this slideshow:

Reggie’s also continuing the 1986 BMW 325es & 325 project.  We’ve got both cars in the shop right now.  The 325es is down to a shell now, and the 325 is anxiously awaiting its transformation.

Here is the ‘new’ ‘86:

In other news, if you’re on our local newsletter mailing list, you read about our trip to the Windy City to check out VintageFest.  If you’re interested in caravaning with us on Friday evening, September 17th, or meeting us up there on Saturday, September 18th, be sure to let us know!  We’re getting our plans lined up soon, and we’d love to have a nice group representing the Indy area and our love for vintage bimmers.  It was a really cool show last year, and we knew then that we definitely wanted to go back.  (Hi Kent!)

And there’s still time to vote in the IndyChannel.com’s A-list for Indy’s Best Repair shop!  We would love to have your vote!

Tags: 1986 BMW 325, 1986 BMW 325es, Reggie's Motorworks, RMW Cruise-In Fridays

Thankfully the heat and humidity have subsided a bit this past week.  It’s a beautiful sunny day here at Reggie’s Motorworks…which should turn into a perfect evening for tonight’s Cruise-In!  We’ll have the tent set up, as well as the corn hole boards.  We’ll be welcoming the crew from Enthusiast Apparel , and they love cars just as much as we do.  Check out their website for some cool enthusiast gear!  We hope you can join us!  And remember to vote for us for the IndyChannel.com’s A-List for Best Repair shop in the Indianapolis area!

Remember this 1986 325es from a few posts ago? The one with some rust that would need to be removed while replacing the differential and rusted brake lines and installing the rear shock tower brace?

Well…the rust damage was a bit more than we anticipated, unfortunately.  So, the owner is opting to find a better shell to house all of the goodies from his car.

Looking in through where the headlights used to be:

These parts are now on the sidelines patiently waiting to be reinstalled:

*Note: This photo is added just newlfor kicks…I really love flare, and it just happened to be streaming across the newly homeless parts, and I just couldn’t help myself! *

Back to business…we were discussing rust.  Here is some rust in and around the passenger side rear wheel well.  Not good.

Even with cool sun flare shining on this section of rust along the rocker panel, it’s still unacceptable.  The rust, that is.  Unacceptable!

The holes along the rest of the rocker panel have also rusted out.  Body skirts had been installed and the installation holes were not properly sealed.  And. therefore, rust had a perfect way to make its ugly appearance yet again!

And, finally, the original rust issue can be seen here.  See the daylight steaming through the metal?  And the traces of rust around the edge of the wheel well?  I told you it wasn’t good!

After weighing his options, the owner has decided to find a better shell, rather than removing all of the rust.  In fact, Reggie is meeting him right now to look at a potential winner…also an ‘86 325…in – you guessed it! – alpinweiss!  What are the odds?!  We love a story with a happy ending!  But actually, we’ve only just begun with this project, and we couldn’t be more excited about it! For now, let’s see the removal of the engine and transmission!

The engine was strapped to the cart to keep it from tipping one way or another as the shell was slowly hoisted upward.

The Beast is free!

Stay tuned for much more on this exciting project!

Have a great weekend!

As most of you know, Jordan has been working here at Reggie’s Motorworks on and off for the past year or more.  Not only is he extremely bright, driven, and detail-oriented, but also a great all-around person, with one heck of a brilliant future ahead of him.  His passion for BMW’s and commitment to excellence in school and work is amazing.  Jordan will be heading off to Purdue University to study engineering, and we couldn’t be more proud of him.  We’ll miss his work ethic, can-do attitude, and willingness to pitch in wherever there’s a need.  Thank you for everything. We wish you all the best, Jordan! We know amazing things are in store for you!

Speaking of Jordan, he was an immense help on one of our latest projects.  In fact, he did most of the work on the following project himself!

Here’s a breakdown of the work done to this 1987 BMW 325ic:

*New brake lines from front to rear

*New brake hoses from body to trailing arms and from trailing arms to caliper

*New rear subframe bushings

*New parking brake cable and complete rebuilding of parking brake

*New right rear and left rear trailing arms

*New rear CV axle

*Installed refurbished fuel tank (sent off for professional cleaning, plus sealing and finish)

*Low-mileage rear Bilstein Touring shocks installed

*Installed e36 M3 rear shock mounts

*Had sub-frame sand blasted and we (Jordan) repainted it

Now this cabrio is ready to get back on the road where it belongs!  Hooray! Another victory for an old bimmer!

And don’t forget to vote for us on the IndyChannel.com’s A-List!  Cast your vote here, and help us become the Best Repair Shop in the Indy area!  Thank you for your support!

We will be heading to the Cruise-In this evening, and hope to see you there!  If it’s too hot to sit outside under the tent, we’ll enjoy the comfort of the A/C inside Park Street Pub!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!  What a beautiful day it is!  The heat and humidity have subsided for a bit, and boy, are we happy about that!  It should be a perfect evening for our Cruise-In!  Come join us!   And don’t forget to help make us the #1 repair shop in Indy by voting for Reggie’s Motorworks on the the A-list!  Thank you for your votes!

Last week, Reggie was tackling rust removal from the rear passenger side of the 1988 e30 M3.  Here’s a look at the rest of this project:

We had to patch both the inner fender well and the outer fender well.  This is a photo of the inner fender well after fabricating a patch from scratch.

Reggie fabricated a patch panel out of a leftover piece from the Baur’s battery box (more on that below).  Note how the panel folds downward to create a factory-looking seam.

Using a card stock template makes getting the right size patch much easier to achieve!

Here’s the view from underneath:

And the view from inside the trunk:

Once the metal patches are cut to size, Reggie uses his trusty magnet to help hold the patch in place while applying some tack welds.

Then they are properly welded in place.

Reggie uses a grinder to smooth the welds:

A coat of self-etching primer (green) is sprayed on to prevent rust.  The tan area is weld-thru primer, where a bracket will later be welded in place.

Reggie used fiberglass reinforced body filler to seal any pinholes that may have been left from welding.

And now to smooth out the finer areas with some body filler!

Once the body filler dries, it’s time to do some sanding to even out the surface.  Please note that the work done on this area is not 100% show quality, since it will be covered by the bumper in the end.  But we are super happy with the results!

Filler primer fills in scratches and finer details to create an even surface for painting.

Once the filler primer dries properly and some more sanding is done, the car is ready for color!

As we mentioned above, even though this area will be covered by the bumper in the end, we are very, very pleased with the results of the finish work.

And voila!  The bumper has been reinstalled and is ready to go!

Adios, rust!  Speaking of rust, Reggie had made some progress on the rusty battery box that he removed from the Baur.  See more here.

He’s welding in the new one as I’m typing this.  So I better get busy to get you caught up to speed!  Here we go!

Before:

Now: Prepping the area for the installation of the new battery box.  The surface needs to be clean and smooth to ensure a nice weld.

More grinding and sparks!

Finally! The new battery box is ready to be installed…

and is ready for welding!

Now that the nice new battery box is welded in, all Reggie will need to do is a little grinding on the spot welds you see below, prime, then paint.

We can’t wait to put her back on the road!

That’s where we’ll stop today!   Come and join us at the Cruise-In!  We’ll have a tent, some chairs, and good company!

Have a great weekend!

Tags: 318i Baur TC, e30 M3, Reggie's Motorworks, RMW Cruise-In Fridays, rust repair

The heat wave and humidity continue to roll through the shop…alas, that’s summer in the Midwest for you!  It’s been another busy week here at Reggie’s Motorworks, full of in-depth projects, oil changes, new tires, replacing odometer gears, and removing rust, just to name a few.  Today we’ll be taking a closer look at the last two items.

Here’s Jordan dismantling the gauge cluster out of Sean’s 1988 325i cabrio:

4 gears were replaced, 3 of them were already removed before this photo was taken.  The little orangish gear and its brass bushing were cut off.

Removing that little gear can be a bit tricky, so Reggie stepped in…wearing an orange shirt no less!  (No, we did not plan that, but it did work out quite well!)

The new black replacement gear is installed:

This is the cluster before the other 3 gears are installed (this is a MotoMeter cluster, which requires 4 replacement gears total; the VDO units require only 3 replacement gears):

Screws are tightened:

The speedometer assembly is ready to be put back in place:

Then comes the challenge of reinstalling the gauge cluster in the dash.  Jordan informed me that it’s quite a tight space to work in, since the steering wheel is kind of in the way.  And you have to watch out for sharp objects inside the dash.  Whew, I’m glad I’m only photographing this!

Besides replacing odometer gears, Reggie has switched gears from maintenance work to more rust repair.  This time, he’s removing rust from the rear passenger side of this 1988 e30 M3.  Here Reggie is grinding away the surface rust in order to get a better glimpse of the underlying issues.

As for the issue, here it is…our evil enemy, rust.

A section was then cut out to get a more in-depth look:

This car’s owner came by the shop this afternoon to see the progress on his bimmer.  He is pleased to see that the rust is being properly eradicated!

As luck would have it, leftover metal from the Baur’s new battery box fits perfectly in this area!

Reggie removes all traces of rust along the rough edges:

Having all the tools for the job nearby is a must!  This M3 is on our smaller lift, while a 1987 325i cabrio waits on the tall lift for a new (used) gas tank, new subframe bushings, new brake lines front to rear, etc, etc… (Stay tuned for details on that project next week!)

Reggie fabricates a patch panel using some wicked scissors (for lack of a more mechanical and technical term!) and some air shears.  And I do mean wicked in both senses of the word!  (These are tin snips.)

And here are the air shears!  I now have a cool pen holder on my desk thanks to some scraps from this project!   (Will post a photo of pen holder below)

Old rusty metal, meet your replacement!

As we’ve seen before with rust repair and fabricating custom replacement metal patches (check out more rust repair here, here, and here), there’s a little more to it than just getting the size of the panel correct.  There is often some tweaking and bending necessary to get the proper fitment.

Next, Reggie paints on some rust treatment.  “Destroys Rust!”

We’ll stop there for now…stay tuned for more on this rust repair project!  And as promised, here is a photo of my newest desk accessory while I’m working on the blog!  It’s recycled, it’s functional, and sharp (in more ways than one!), and I love it!  Especially since it shows of my Reggie’s Motorworks pen!

And if you attended our Open House earlier this summer, you saw the custom e30 grill belt buckle I had made for Reggie’s birthday…well, I’ve finally remembered to tell you where I got it!  Fosterweld! I was lucky enough to visit the owner’s shop and see first hand how passionate he is about his business (custom buckles, cuffs, furniture, and more!) – thank you, Chris, for making the coolest belt buckle for my husband!  He absolutely loves it!  Check out his website and blog, you will be amazed!

We’ll be heading over to the Cruise-In soon…we hope to see you there!  Have a great weekend!

Tags: 1988 325i cabrio, BMW, Fosterweld, M3 rust repair, odometer gears, Reggie's Motorworks, RMW Cruise-In Fridays, rust, rust repair

The heat and humidity has been a bit brutal this week, but that’s what summer is all about, right?  In addition to the heat wave, we’ve had a full house here at the shop. Here’s a peek at what’s going on right now!

Love for BMWs extends throughout Reggie’s family.  His Mom had a zinnoberrot 1986 325, which Reggie drove back and forth to Florida several times, and thus began his desire to tinker with these old cars.  Reggie’s Aunt Sally also has a BMW, which she drove up from Florida to have Reggie work on while visiting with family.  Her 2000 328i is really in great shape!  Reggie installed new front control arm bushings, front and rear brake rotors, pads, and sensors, flushed and replaced brake fluid, replaced the breather hose, changed the oil and filter, and polished up her cloudy headlight lenses (see below).

And the 2005 Mini Cooper is back for some additional service and repair!  A new clockspring/slip ring was installed for its multifunctional steering wheel.  The non-functioning horn was diagnosed and fixed, and was tested several times!    Reggie will also be diagnosing the malfunctioning occupancy sensor, which in its current condition will not allow the airbag system to function properly.

This 1989 325ix is getting new front brake rotors, pads, and sensors, as well as new outer ball joints and control arm bushings on both sides, and new brake hoses.  We’ll bleed the brake system and add new brake fluid.

We’ll soon be welcoming this car to the 5-speed club!  This 1988 325 will get a 5-speed manual transmission conversion kit, a new clutch kit, and a 3.25:1 limited slip differential.  Oh yeah!

And who could forget about this 1988 325i cabrio?  This alpinweiss beauty is back!  She’s going to get a new full suspension…springs, shocks, struts, the works!  Two words:  SLEEK and LOW.

Speaking of alpinweiss…we’ve got another one for you!  That’s right!  I told you, they just find their way here to Reggie’s Motorworks! We met the owner of this 1986 325es (swap) at the Cruise In a few weeks ago, and he is a genuine enthusiast, who’s very excited to get his 325es back on the track.

Reggie will repair the  left rear inner wheel housing, and install the rear shock tower brace.   The rear suspension will be removed completely, the diff  and rusted brake lines will be replaced as well.  This bimmer also has some rust damage issues which will also be addressed.

Just look at the engine bay!

The Baur is awaiting the installation of her new battery box, which may be on Reggie’s to-do list over the weekend!  And it’s Friday, so we’ll be heading to the Cruise-In, and hope to see you there!  Have a great weekend!

It’s almost here!  Our annual Open House is this Saturday, June 19th, from 11am-3pm.  We’ll have food, games, prizes and more!    Speaking of food…our favorite chef extraordinaire, Sean, will be providing our taste buds with delicious delights!  And, yes, we will have those famous sizzling bacon-wrapped, grilled jalepenos! Oh, and we’ll have cars too!  So bring your Bimmer, Beamer, or whatever you love to drive!   Here are a few photos from last summer’s event!

And if you’re in the Westfield area Friday evening, join us at the Cruise-In!

Check out our flyer…you’ll find these at some local Westfield businesses as well as here at the shop!

We’re looking forward to a great bimmer and auto enthusiast weekend!

If you want to catch a nice car show on Sunday, June 20th, visit the Central Indiana Vintage Vehicles Father’s Day Car Show at Forest Park in Noblesville.

Have a Happy Father’s Day!

Tags: event, Reggie's Motorworks, RMW, RMW Cruise-In Fridays

Is it Friday already?!  It’s been another busy week here at Reggie’s Motorworks.  And it looks like we might see some rain tonight for our Cruise-In.

We love all kinds of cars…but there’s just something about the M3!  And we had two of them here at the shop, sharing the same garage space!  Let’s take a look!

This 1987 e30 M3 got the following:

• clutch kit
• clutch slave & master cylinder
• crankshaft seal
• driveshaft support
• guibo
• transmission output shaft and shift shaft seals
• exhaust seal rings
• transmission mounts
• new fuel injection hoses
• wheel spacers

Here’s a look at the old wheel spacers:

And the new:

Perfect fit!

The pedal box was cracked, where the clutch pedal mounts, so Reggie replaced this one with a good used one he had in stock.

A closeup of the unfortunate crack:

While the wheel spacers were being installed on the hennarot M3, some work was also being done on a 1988 lachsilber (“salmon silver”)  e30 M3.

Reggie services the differential:

Along with servicing the diff, this beauty had its transmission serviced as well as replacement of the valve cover gasket, cap, rotor, and spark plugs.  A valve adjustment check was also performed.   (I really wish I had more photos of both cars!  Maybe one of them will win a photo session for their car at our Open House next Saturday, June 19th…hint, hint!)

Speaking of wishing about more photos…last week Reggie worked on a 1986 BMW 325es.  This Bimmer got a new BTS Suspension kit, e30 M3 control arm bushings and e36 M3 rear shock mounts, and other new suspension components.  Maybe this car’s owner will win that photo session!

Reggie recently installed new front and rear brakes (rotors, pads, pad sensor, calipers, brake fluid) on a bimmer…here are the old ones.  Please don’t let this happen to your brakes!

See how the piston is extended?  This is an extreme case!

(Note: Please know that we’re not being judgmental here, we just like to make nice cars safe to drive again.)

These pads have definitely fulfilled their duty!

As well as the rotors (same rotor, slightly different views):

As mentioned above, next Saturday, June 19th, is our annual Open House!  We’re excited, and we hope to see you there!  Please let us know if you will be able to attend so we’ll be sure to have plenty of food!  P.S. Yes, “Grillmaster Goble” will be cooking!!!

We had a great trip up to Troy, Michigan last week.   The weather was beautiful – warm and sunny with blue skies.  A perfect day for a road trip!  Upon arriving at our destination, the seller uncovered the alpinweiss cabrio.  Reggie inspected the exterior, the interior, and under the hood before taking it on a test drive.  The seller agreed to an allowance to cover work that will need to be done to the air conditioning system.  Reggie contacted the buyer to get approval, and a deal was made!   We put the top down and headed home under sunny skies.  And this is how this 5-speed 1988 325i cabrio made its way to Reggie’s Motorworks!

In fact, it’s another sunny day and the new owner of this fine car drove here from Lafayette to check out his new e30, to meet Reggie, and to take a look around the shop.  It’s always great to meet another enthusiast!  And we’re excited to get this alpine beauty back on the road!

Since we brought the cabrio into the shop immediately to begin addressing its issues, we did not get any ‘proper’ photos, but we’ll be sure to get some in-progress and after photos. Click here to see more! Don’t get us wrong, this is a NICE car to start with. It turned over 99K original miles on the trip home!!

Here’s the plan of attack:

1. Repair seat bolster and re-dye worn bolster (the driver’s seat is already at the upholstery shop!)

2. Replace dry-rotted fuel hoses, both under hood and at fuel filter

3. Oil change

4. Install correct spark plugs

5. Diagnose & repair idle issue (it’s currently idling high)

6. Evacuate, vacuum, leak test, and recharge AC system

7. Replace front sway bar links

8. Rust repair (both rear quarter panels and fender lips) – The driver’s side rear quarter panel and fender lip are shown here:

9. Valve adjustment

10. Shave antenna  (we’re excited about this!)

11. Replace deck lid to eliminate 3rd brake light, spoiler, and “325i” emblem – the owner wants a real clean smooth look to go with his Alpine White 335i…..down the road there may be “other” similarities between this car and his 335i……We’ll let you speculate on that one.

In other news, the Baur got new Bilstein sport shocks and struts, new front strut mounts, e36 M3 rear shock mounts, and reused H & R lowering springs that came with the car.  Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of that project…however, Reggie is quite happy with the results from the upgrade.  If you missed the Baur’s most recent photo session, check it out here!

And we hope to see you at the Cruise-In!  Here are the details!

Have a great weekend!  And we wish all moms a very Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Friday to you!  It’s been a dreary day, but maybe, just maybe, it will clear off for our Cruise-In Friday event tonight!  Here’s a photo from last Friday – thank you to all who attended!

Last week, we took the Baur to a beautiful location for some spring photos:

It’s been another busy week here at Reggie’s Motorworks, as more and more people get excited to get their bimmers in tip-top shape for spring and summer motoring, road trips, and track time:

1. Changed oil and replaced sway bar end links in a 2003 BMW 525i.

2. Performed track/safety inspection and installed a new fuel hose on a 1989 325i.  We can’t wait to show you this car!  The owners just moved here from Washington, and are excited to meet fellow e30 enthusiasts.  This husband and wife team are very active in auto-cross events, and they love their Bimmers!  It was great to meet them last Friday at the Cruise-In!  Welcome to Indy, Justin and Jenna!

3. Leatherique treatment on interior. Rebuilt power antenna for 1993 325i cabrio. Not only was the antenna mast bent, but the fitting was broken off.

Left: Broken Fitting; Right: Normal Fitting.

Removing the bent mast and a view of the inside of the antenna assembly:

When these two pieces were sandwiched together inside the antenna assembly (see photo above), they spun freely, and as a result, did not pull the antenna. The culprit? A plastic tab had broken off inside the half on the right.  When put together, that little piece of plastic fits above the plastic bit on the left. The two halves turn together in unison to pull the mast.

One new antenna mast and seal, coming right up!

Reggie used a wire brush to clean out any debris in the tube.

Now the new antenna can be fed into the unit. Then it’s tested to make sure it’s working properly before being installed in the car.

Reggie is also currently installing the keyless entry system from the M5. More to come on this project!  For now, here’s a look at the tools Reggie will be using to complete this project.

“Way Fast Whitey” performed nicely last weekend at Putnam Park for the Hoosier Chapter BMW CCA Rites O’ Spring event. Here are a few photos of “Way Fast” and some of other drivers (click on each photo for a larger view!):

Have a great weekend!

Tags: 1987 325is track car, 1991 M5, BMW, BMW M5, keyless entry, M5, Putnam, rebuilt antenna, Reggie's Motorworks, RMW Cruise-In Fridays