Happy September!  The summer has flown by in a hot and humid haze that keeps circling back with scorching intensity.  And it looks like this holiday weekend will be more of the same.  Speaking of holidays, the shop will be closed today, Friday, September 2nd, as well as Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day.   There will not be a Cruise-In this week due to our holiday schedule. If you need some car-related entertainment, consider driving up to Auburn, Indiana for their annual ACD Festival.  While you’re there, check out the wheels up for auction, ride around on a golf cart, peruse the swap meet, enjoy some fair food, and relax!   That’s what we’ll be doing!  If you plan on going, let us know on facebook!  We’ll take you for a spin on the golf cart!

We would like to thank everyone who made the Swap Meet such a success!   The weather was perfect, and we had a great turnout.  We made some new friends, and scored some cool deals!  It became more like a car show as the day went on.  Fellow enthusiasts met other fellow enthusiasts.  It was a really good time.  We’ll definitely do this again!  Here are a few more photos from the day:

It’s been a busy 4-day week here at the shop!  Let’s take a quick look at what’s been going on!

Last week we showed the progress on the retrofit of the A/C system on the 1978 BMW 320i.   This week Reggie and Jason finished up the final steps making this 320i ready for this heatwave!

Reggie applies some insulation to the duct work:

Cutting through the plastic quickly melted the edges!  Lesson learned!  Easy fix…we’ll show you that here in a minute.

Now for the same thing for the piece for the other end of the A/C box, this time at a slower pace:

Now back to that easy fix I mentioned above.  On the right, Reggie is carefully grinding off any rough edges made while cutting the plastic:

The pieces fit just right on the ends of the A/C box!   The duct work will run from the A/C box to the side ducts:

Reggie attaches the pieces to the A/C box:

The silver tape seals the end pieces.   Below is a look at where this goes in relation to the dash:

Now Reggie works on reinstalling the dash…no easy feat, by the way!

As you can see, Reggie moves all around the inside and outside of the bimmer to properly fit the dash back into position:

Voila!  Back together after some wiring.  Then it was time to charge the system and cross our fingers that this system would indeed blow that cool, refreshing air that we love so much.  We must admit that the system exceeded our expectations!   She’s now running cool on R134A.   Her owner picked her up yesterday afternoon.  We knew this bimmer was cool before, but now…now she really is one cool 320i.

Jason worked on this 2004 BMW X3.  This sleek bimmer got a new window regulator as well as a new valve cover gasket.

This 1986 BMW 325es had the A/C reconditioned and an R134A conversion.   Again, just in the nick of time to power through this Midwestern sizzle!

We’ll take a look at one more of the bimmers we worked on this week.  The sweet 2006 BMW 530xi!

This little valve pictured below was replaced.  It’s the stock valve for the clutch’s hydraulic system, which limits the fluid that flows through it.    We replaced it with one that allows more fluid to flow through it, providing a smoother shifting experience. We like that!

That’s all for now!  Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

What a beautiful Friday it is!  Sunshine, blue skies, puffy clouds…ahhh, just another perfect summer day!   That means a great night for our Cruise-In!  Come on over starting at 6pm!   We will be preparing for the Swap Meet tomorrow.  That’s right, Saturday, August 27th from 8am-?? is our first Swap Meet.  We’ve got some cool stuff on the list from several enthusiasts and customers, so come early for the best parts and best deals!  Read all about it here.

Once again, we’d like to thank everyone who has voted for us on the IndyChannel.com’s A-List.  Your support and loyalty make us who we are, and for that we are so very grateful.

It’s been another busy week here in the shop.  Let’s take a quick peek at some of the goings-on, shall we?

We got the 2003 BMW X5 back from the body shop.  Here’s a look at one area that was repaired:

Before going to the body shop, her front and rear brake pads and rotors were replaced:

One of our favorite e30 M3′s, 1988 BMW M3, is in the shop for transmission and differential service:

This 1992 BMW 325i cabrio came in for slight front end lowering and a custom antenna switch:

Jason trimmed a console that already had an opening  for an airbag button and installed the custom antenna switch in its place:

Stay tuned for “before/after” photos of this cabrio’s e90 drop hats!   The owner is ecstatic about how the slight lowering made such a huge difference in the stance of his bimmer.  We love that!

You may recall that we’ve been working on a special project, specifically retro-fitting A/C in the 1978 BMW 320i.   Things are coming along quite nicely now that

we’ve acquire all the necessary parts, including custom hoses and fittings.   Last week we showed you that the dash had been removed to make installing the A/C box that much easier.  Here’s a look at the interior before removing the dash:

Last Friday we asked our Facebook fans how many A/C boxes were used on this model – the answer is 6!   Reggie took this photo showing 3 of the 4 we acquired to get the best fit for this bimmer:

Now fast forward to this late this week.  Reggie made custom hoses for this bimmer’s A/C system.  Here he had re-routed the hose to place a hose to avoid getting in the way of the hood spring:

It’s quite popular to relocate the car’s battery to the trunk using the A/C hole, as is the case with this 320i.  So Reggie drilled a third hole for the A/C hose.

Reggie and Jason use teamwork to get a grommet into proper position:

Reggie feeds the proper length of hose into the new hole:

Once the proper length is determined under the hood, the hose is cut and ready for fittings:

The black rusty piece, also known as the receiver drier, will be replaced.  This part helps to remove moisture from the system and should be replaced any time the system is opened up.

Just a cool view of the valve cover!  Love the texture!

Ok, now back to the A/C system!

Now the same thing is done to the end of the hose that Reggie fed through to the inside:   Cut the hose, attach the fitting.

And as promised, the new receiver drier has been installed!

A view of the engine bay (prior to the installation of the new receiver drier):

Jason has evacuated and charged the A/C system, and is now ready to do the wiring.   The system does blow nice frosty air!   You may be asking what the title of this blog post has to do with anything.  Fair question, very fair question, indeed!   Though Reggie enjoys so many different genres of music, one of his all-time favorite hip-hop groups is Outkast.  It just so happens that in one of their songs they sing “Cooler than a polar bear’s toenail.”   Name which Outkast song this line comes from and leave your answer on our Facebook fan page!  And just what does all of this have to do with A/C on this 320i?  Well, we’re hoping that this A/C system blows air that is just that cool.

Stay tuned for more next week!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!   We’re ready for another great night for the Cruise-In!   Cruise on over to our facebook page to see some photos from last week!  Come join us tonight starting at 6pm!   And thank you to everyone who has voted for us for Best Repair on TheIndyChannel.com’s A-List!  Cast your votes tonight before 11:59pm!   Thank you so much for your support – we wouldn’t be doing what we love without you, our customers!

On another business note, we’re hosting a Swap Meet on Saturday, August 27th at 8am!   We’ve got a nice list of parts coming from fellow enthusiasts, so get here early for the best selections and deals!  Got stuff you need to get out of your garage or work space?   Let us know!  Someone else may be looking for exactly what you need to get rid of!

Some of you have met Lucy already.  Here’s a quick photo of her from this week.  She saw me shooting some photos for the blog, and hopped in front of my camera.  What a good puppy!  Don’t worry, I won’t be showing a ton of photos of our new favorite 4-legged one in every post.  Maybe just a few…especially if she’s in the shop working on a bimmer! 

It’s been a busy week here in the shop, so let’s take a look at a few of the bimmers we’ve worked on.   This 2003 BMW X5 is in for new front and rear brake pads, a brake system flush, new thrust arm bushings, new oil filter housing gasket, new air filter, and new hose from the power steering reservoir to the pump.

A 1998 BMW 323i cabrio needed to have its top realigned.  She also needed a new window regulator.

Jason installed new windshield washer jet nozzles, a new radiator, and some other odds and ends on this 525i:

A 1989 BMW 325i  came to us on a tow truck.  She got stuck in reverse, and needed a new transmission as a result.

Here Reggie and Jason are reinstalling the exhaust after the transmission work was complete:

More progress was made on the 1978 BMW 320i’s retro-fit A/C project.   Fortunately, we received more parts that we’ve been so patiently awaiting.  The good news?   One of the four parts is a great fit!   Now wait a minute…what do I mean by one of four parts fit?  Great question!   Air conditioning did not come stock on this bimmer.  It was only installed once it was brought to the U.S. as part of the federalization process or at the dealer.  And legend has it that BMW used 6 – yes, six! – different A/C boxes on this particular model.  We managed to source 4 of the 6.  You know how the old saying goes:  The 4th A/C box is the charm!   Or something like that.

Due to the nature of this project, Reggie opted to remove the dash to make fitment of the A/C box a little easier:

Basically all that’s left to do is reconnect the wiring and charge the A/C system!   I make it sound so easy, right?

Reggie fabricated one of the mounts for the A/C box:

Sparks flew:

And voila!

We’ll be joining the Hoosier BMW CCA for their PreOktoberFest event at Mallow Run Winery tomorrow.  Click here for the details!

Have a great weekend!