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uwbuurman wrote: Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:06 pm Thanks Rob, I must admit that every now and then I scroll through my topic, just to look at the pics.

Ow yeah, i understand, do the same thing now and then, thats why you took the pics in the first place.

It's your personal 323i album, and we are guests peeking in your album sometimes.

And then, after almost 8 years it was finally time to crank that engine. Topped the tank with RON 102, battery charged, all fluids on the max level, checked the vital components and I started the engine. Or, that was the plan. But whatever happened, the eninge wouldn’t fire up. Of brakefluid in the air intake it would, though, but that was it.
Seemed like a fuel problem, no fuel in the distributor. So my friend Arnold D. came over and spend the evening with me figuring this problem out. We found that the fuelpump was dead. So I ordered a new one.



After that it should be a walk in the park, right? Wrong. A weak stutter evernow and then, but no healthy start up. Jan and I went by every wire, every hose. In the end it could not be anything else but the relais. But that was ok when I took the car apart. Jan brought one of his relais, same story, but no solution either. So we called Gerwin who brought his complete ignition module, from his running car, but that wouldn.t help, so almost in the middle of the night I collected another relais at Arnold’s and guess what? One click and it fired right up. So in the end it was the relais and the replacement was also broken…



BMW supplies no new relais, a brand new one was nowhere to be found. But I manaeged to find a couple through some contacts, bought two new ones, 35 euro a piece. Put the new relais in the old BMW housing, like original.

But the engine still didn’t run right. Took every thing apart, place the inition again, time dit right and then the oil was full off gasoline. Probably due to all the starting attempts. So I had to change the oil and filter. All the first start grease and dirt came out.

Despite the fact that I couldn’t get that piece of sh#t engine to run proper I made a few appointments. I had hoped to be able to drive it to the first MOT (APK in Dutch) since restauration and after that to the Wheel specialist for wheel alignment. I cancelled the MOT but the Alignment could go on. The man is very busy, so cancellation would set me back quite some time. But more important, I was very curious to find out how straight the body came out of the restauration. So I trailered the basterd.







On the torture rack

It turned out that (and this surprises no one) the alignment was crap. But that was a simple correction. Axial displacement is 0,6mm. Or in other words, the front axle is 6 tenth of a millimeter shifted compared to the rear axle. That is a great value, since the factory tolerance was a couple of mills. So 0,6 is within the subframe rubber mounts. Needless to say that I am very happy with this outcome.
Took her home an hour later.



Back to with her younger sister.

Back in the workshop it was time to get some nitpicking done. Licenceplate frame at the rear is fitted with 2 bolts, they always rot. So I drowned them in sealant. Glued the sides to the car aswell, so the licenceplate has a tight fit. Supported it in the drying period.



Bootlight didn’t would’t work, because there was no ground, due to a good paintjob. Some strategic sanding worked miracles.

And then, the car was almost ready and done, apart from a couple of last chores and that rough running of the engine. But an important detail is the bonnet. Time to fit that.



Stuff needed to fit a bonnet:



And fitted.





Fitting it is a hell of a job, Jan helped me, thanks for that. Finally it was time for the pièce de résistance. The hood emblem!

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