Firstfives.org

The odd thing is that the idle was fine until I put in a new dist cap because the old one had a lot of carbon on the copper transfer points. I thought a new cap would improve things but maybe the last person to set the idle did so with the bad dist cap? There is an adjuster for the idle speed. Try ...

In any event the Getrag 265 5 speed is the best gearbox for an E12. More fun to drive and better gas mileage. IMHO :) I know a lot of people get bugged by the highway cruising, but the old Getrag 262 4 speed was nice. The earlier ZF (it had BW synchronizers) 4 speed had a lighter feel, but the 2nd ...

Karl, In my experience throughout the years and various generations of bimmers (E12, E28, E34, E38, E46, E53), I have tried to avoid ZF as much as possible. They seem to enjoy "complicating" parts that have no business being complicated. I have dug through ZF and GM transmissions from my ...

Karl, In my experience throughout the years and various generations of bimmers (E12, E28, E34, E38, E46, E53), I have tried to avoid ZF as much as possible. They seem to enjoy "complicating" parts that have no business being complicated. I have dug through ZF and GM transmissions from my ...

I'm repairing a new to me 77 530i. Is there an easy way to tell if the automatic is a ZF or Borg Warner...markings? Was one considered more trouble free than the other? Easiest way to tell is the shifter stick, the BW-65 has an old school T-bar handle, the ZF 3HP22 has a rounded handle, like the ye...

Excellent Eric. And I like your red pinstripe on the black paintwork. Pinstriping used to be so fashionable on cars.

Mike W. wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 3:27 pm E21s with O2 sensors used a frequency valve. It modulated the control pressure going to the fuel distributor which in turn controlled mixture.

Thanks Mike, I always wondered how those cars worked, since the rest of the range had L-jet.

The O2 sensor produces an electrical signal, so it has to be processed somehow. This article mentions a controller of some kind that modulates fuel pressure through a valve that appears to be especially for K-Jet with lambda control : http://cleanflametrap.com/kjetControlller.htm I don't know much ...

The 1980-83 e21 320i had the 3 way cat and oxygen sensor, but how did they do that with K-jet? How did they keep the fuel/air ratio at the 14.7:1 level precisely, when the fuel injection didn't have a computer

If you get lucky you might find an early, possibly Euro, block for a very reasonable price. An easy swap in for a very noticeable improvement in performance.

I have a new Rad. Its OEM Brass but new. Temp was around 20C outside. I bled using the bleeder screw on the T-Stat. I think i might have a bad ground issue. The temp needle rocks when i have my flasher on, much like an ammeter would. Aux fan might well be a NA thing. I might just wire a switch to t...

I think the aux fan on non a/c e12s could be a North American thing. I have seen pics of Euro cars sans a/c, and they don't have the extra fan, not even e28s. Given the 530i got factory a/c standard from 1977, and you are likely to be using a/c on a warm day anyway, I guess the window of the aux fan...

From what you said it sounds like the car has a/c, but didn't come new with factory a/c :?: My understanding is the aux fan is for the a/c condenser, and only comes on when the a/c is turned on. The aux fan's job is to expel heat from the a/c condenser. For the car's cooling system radiator you have...

This is an account of a 1975 530i owner, his first car, that mentioned how stable the car was at over 80 mph.

First car e12 530i

Here's a You Tube clip of someone doing 100 mph in his 1975 530i automatic

e12 530i at 100 mph

One reason BMW liked to mount the M30 far forward was so the weight would pin the nose of the car to the ground at high speed. Many cars get very light in the front end at high speed (over 100 mph). I had the hood off my E12 recently and at 80 mph the front end was getting noticeably lightfooted wi...