1982 BMW 323i Baur

1982 BMW 323i Baur
Memorial Day 2010 First Drive 1982 323i BMW Baur Lapisblau M20 5 speed #4154 of 4595 made. The car was imported to California by Dietel Enterprises. I have since changed the wheels, installed the clear turn signal lenses, and I am in the process of installing a new cabriolet roof. I have to do something about those bumpers, too. :) I love this car! To see one of the reasons why, check my post "Score One For the Good Guys" on 6/26/2011.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Mission Accomplished: Pulled the M20 Project Engine Today!







With the help of the "Green Monster', I was able to successfully pull the M20 323i with tranny out of the 1979 BMW this morning.  It came out without a hitch, and I took lots of pics.  As you can see I used a poly strap around the engine to lift it, and, since the Law of Gravity is still in effect, I used the weight of the tranny to get the proper tilt to clear the firewall, the subframe and the front grill.  No need for an engine leveler.  I will post them with all the details on how it was done later on today, after I separate the tranny from that engine.



































Catch of the Day, 2013 Edition!

Stay tuned!  ;)

Here is the prelude to this post:  http://baurspotting.blogspot.com/2013/12/pulling-m20-323i-as-spare-for-my-baur.html


Here are the pics of today's project:  pulling the M20 323i from the 1979 E21:
I used the 1977 320i to pull the 323i a little further up the driveway away from the garage to get clearance for the hoist.

I used a jack to lift the rear of the tranny enough to get over the front subframe.

I used another floor jack to lift the subframe enough to get the extended legs of the crane far enough under the car for the correct lift angle.

Lifting begins.


As you can see, the weight of the tranny as we lift is enough to tilt the engine at a great angle:  clearing the firewall, the front subframe, and the front grill as you can see in this pic.

Now we just lift straight up.


Beautiful!  I LOVE hydraulic power!  

At this angle, you can see where I have positioned the poly strap around the engine on the exhaust manifold side just behind the oil pan sump.

\

Up, up and away! 


Completely out and clear of the front grill.

Here you can see the poly strap on the intake side:  in this case I threaded it through the intake manifold, and behind the left engine mount.  



 I love that hoist!


Amazingly effortless to pull that baby outta there!  And that crane has gotta be about 9 feet high in this pic... and could have gone higher!




I set the engine down on my homemade car stands, preparing to pull the tranny off.  Once I get the tranny off, I will mount the engine on a proper engine stand.

Pic of the engine on the stand from the front.  The Baur is observing the action in the background.

Here you can see the position of the yellow poly strap behind the engine mount on the intake side.

The poly strap is in front of the engine mount on the exhaust side.

The rear of the engine on the temporary stand.

The homemade wheel stand.  That baby isn't going to collapse anytime soon!


The engine and its former home, the 1979 E21.


Getrag 5 speed


Mission accomplished.... and a fun project!


Happy New Year, everyone!   :)


















Saturday, December 28, 2013

Alpina Z1 by Baur!

Thanks to Mint Classics for posting this on Facebook tonight!

"Saturday Night Fever at Mint Classics!!! Just in is this absolutely flawless and fascinating ALPINA Roadster Limited Edition, one of only sixty six ever made!!

Are you looking for something special? Please contact us, thank you!"


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=489601914481560&set=a.353026911472395.77140.351431394965280&type=1&theater

Pulling An M20 323i as a Spare For My Baur


See UPDATE below!


I am selling my 1979 323i project car.  A friend of a friend is doing an M20 swap into his formerly M10 E21.  Because his E21 is a post 1979 model, he can't use my front subframe, but he will use the tranny, drive shaft and rear end/suspension.  The E21 323i was the top of the 3 Series model line and it was the only E21 to have 4 wheel disc brakes.

Since he has his own M20 (325i) to install, I decided to pull the 323i from this one and save it as a spare for my 323i Baur.  I am getting ready to pull the engine this weekend.   Everything is disconnected..... I hope!  :)  I took a few pics of the process today.


Poly strap with chain installed.

Ready to pull.

The "Green Monster" ready for assembly.



Upright installed.

A little help holding the lifting arm.  That arm is one heavy sucker when you are trying to line up the bolt holes!  I love this hoist.... it is a BRUTE!

Those are my homemade wheel stands, btw.  No way those babies are gonna collapse!

Tightening the lifting arm bolt.  That is a 28mm socket on a 3/4 inch drive. Thank you, Harbor Freight!

Here is the set.  

The 'Green Monster' is ready to rock 'n roll.

Ready to go.... just need to move it outside for the actual lifting.  Garage ceiling doesn't allow enough height.

Stay tuned.  Weather permitting, I will yank that engine outta there tomorrow.




Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Georgia Baurspotters: 1974 BMW 2002 KAROSSERIE BAUR TARGA CONVERSION

This article was posted almost three years ago in German Cars For Sale blog.  I didn't see this article originally, but I did see the listing on craigs list at the time, I believe.  I tried to contact the seller when I visited friends in South Carolina and Georgia in the spring of 2012, but I got no response.  So we do not know what ever became of this car, and we would love to find it!  As always, any help in finding it is much appreciated!

 The car was for sale in the Marietta, GA area, not far from Atlanta.

The article below is from German Cars For Sale blog:

NO RESERVE 1974 BMW 2002 KAROSSERIE BAUR TARGA CONVERSION


Like most convertible conversions, this isn’t for everyone. If you are however, a fan of cars with the roof cut off then its best to get a conversion done by a reputable source and not the guy down the street with a sawzall. The company that did this conversion, Baur, has a long history of working with the BMW factory to modify cars. Even so I still worry about how much stiffness/safety you lose with a conversion like this.

NO RESERVE 1974 BMW 2002 KAROSSERIE BAUR TARGA CONVERSION ON EBAY.

The seller states this 2002 is one of 1963 that Baur converted to the targa style. The front has a removable top while the rear has a fold down soft top. The open air is a good thing for the summer as the car’s nice black leather wrapping the Recaro sport seats probably roasts the backs of legs on a hot day. I suspect the roof will rarely be on the car so one can look past the car’s less than stellar looks with the top up.
This is a German delivery car and has retained its Euro spec gauges. The steering wheel with the blue inserts is a bit of a detraction, colored rims are ok with me (my BMW has body color rims), color insert steering wheels are a bit boy racer. The proper Baur emblem resides on the center console.
There are 85,000 miles on the original 2 liter inline 4. Power flows through the stock 4 speed manual. The exterior has been redone and the rich blue color looks great. There is an added front and rear spoiler, which look ok. There appears to be a larger than needed exhaust on the car as well.
This is a no reserve sale so high bidder will take the car home. Currently bidding is up over $7,600. The rarity of the vehicle will bring out BMW collectors. While not my cup of tea, this conversion doesn’t look bad. Its kind of a step up for the former VW cabrio owning teenybopper crowd.
~Evan