ouvardom
My 1988 US-Spec BMW M6
A truly amazing and unique automobile, the 1988 BMW M6 was the last production year in the US for this car. There were only around 176 of this vehicle imported into the US in 1988 (correct me if I'm wrong), and I am privileged to own such a great original specimen. My intent for this car is to drive it often, and restore it back to as new a condition as I can manage. The first 12 hours I spent with this car was on the drive back from New York, where I picked it up, to my home state of Ohio. It was a great way to learn a lot about my new car, and to prove to me that I made the right choice!
My particular sixer was purchased in August of 2006, just a few weeks ago as of this writing. It was purchased from the original owner with just under 81000 miles on it's
S38∞ engine, and is in pretty good condition. Another cool aspect of this car is that I purchased it from a celebrity! I lucked into a deal with a famous actor, but I won't publish his identity on the web for privacy purposes (mine AND his). Suffice it to say that he has an Oscar, so is or was on the "A" list. Very nice guy too. Now for some insight as to what I'm learning about the condition of this car - check out my page:
CelebrityCarMaintenance.
Now, being about two months into ownership, she is proving to be 18 years old, with skeletons falling out of various closets. Luckily I am a handy guy, and I embrace monkey-wrenching, so I don't begrudge her the attention. On these pages, and links contained within, I will detail this car, and my journey to repair any defect, and maintain it as I continue to drive and enjoy this car as it was meant to be!
Thanks in part to the guys at the
Big Coup Group (BCG)∞ for their help, support, and advice. I've learned a lot just searching their forums, and I'm now learning enough to pay some back I hope...
The Project Pages:
UPDATES
-=10/21/07=-
Wow, a year since I posted an update on this page other than adding project pages. Well, that's where most of the info is going to be anyway. But in case you are reading this (have you nothing better to do? :) I'll update you as to where we are with the quest to make this car perfect.
She isn't perfect. But she's a lot better! Engine is running smoothly now with the addition of the new
MAF Sensor. Suspensioni is half done, with the front end now purrrr-fect! Rear SLS is still in and shot, but I have all the bits to rebuild - I'm just waiting to finally put together the rear subframe bushing tool, and attempt that in the process. I'd do it this weekend if I thought I could do that as well... but that's a PITA. Otherwise, not much else has changed, but she runs great.
-=10/21/06=-
Did some tinkering today - troubleshooting my rather erratic idle/power problem. See the page about my
Erratic Idle & Power Delivery Testing Project is balooning into replacing my fuel injectors and some hoses, etc. I'll be testing my Idle Regulator Sensor and Throttle Position Sensor today.
-=9/26/06=-
I bought a Dinan performance chip for the M6 on ebay.... it has made quite a difference, power-wise. The installation was pretty simple - see
MyM6ChipInstall to see how I did it. The only downside to this process was that, driving it with the new chip in it made me really pay attention to how this car delivers power, uncovering a rather alarming power problem. I noticed that when I accelerate, I get a great degree of hesitation at varying RPM's. I also noticed that with my foot motionless on the gas pedal, the car surged erratically, and I knew something was amiss. This was confirmed at the next stop light when I revved the engine to about 2500 RPM, and held it there. Just as I expected, the engine surged all over the place RPM-wise, so it is clear that I have a fuel / fuel injection problem to diagnose. My first inclination is inconsistent fuel delivery... especially given my original leaking fuel line. So I'm working on getting a fuel pressure tester to diagnose the problem. It's either a fuel pump, leak in the fuel rail or lines, or leaky injector... though most likely one of the first two.
-=9/5/06=-
I finally got it back from the shop! It has new fluids, has had a few things repaired, and a clean bill of health. Ok, so it is 18 years old, however, and while washing it this weekend, I pulled on the drivers side door handle to hear a "clang, clunk" and it didn't open. Something inside the door broke, so I had to do a Door Repair. To give a sneak preview, this bit broke:
So, though I had just gotten it fixed up, gotten new shoes, a new stereo, and chipped it wth a Dinan Chip∞, this car was sure to tell me who's boss. A clear sign from this girl that she is all woman and can be a bitch, maybe sometimes just to be one. I have prepared myself for a long time managing this.
Original Pics
Here is some pics to get us started - these will be updated and moved, but here are some to get you familiar with this beautiful car. I took these at the former owner's site when I picked the car up. He has a much nicer backdrop to take pics with than I have ;)
The dramatic distance shot:
...drool...
Rear Quarter Shot
OK so this shot is a bit off center
- I was a wee bit geeked at the time...
And here is a shot I took while driving.
Just picked it up and clicked - got at least this shot which isn't half bad ;)
The Project Pages:
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