As a first time BMW owner I couldn't ask for a better initiation other than restoring a piece of it's own history. Just a few months ago I bought a black 1973 Bavaria 3.0 with red leather interior. Simply said, my wife and I fell in love with it and we had to get it. So far it's been an amazing adventure, both putting it back into shape and also driving it. It is still rough around the edges mechanically but I hope to have it running good soon. With that said I am looking for a mechanic around the NYC area that works on these cars, specially one that understands the Weber carburetors. If you recommend someone please let me know. I also have a worrying thumping noise under the seat that gets worse when I accelerate and stabilizes when I'm riding at a steady speed. Thanks for having me around and look forward to sharing BMW experiences and information.
Nice - labor of love to restore a classic like that, cool car too! You may want to check your driveshaft &/or drivetrain components. The rubber coupling at the front of the driveshaft (often nicknamed the "guibo", pronounced gwee-bo. Can't tell you why, either, have no idea, it just is), the universal joints, and the center support bearing. Guibo is this thing - it disintegrates over time: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-BMW-200...bo-driveshaft-coupler-flex-disc-/120829797901 (this one, from the looks of Bavauto.com part listings, is for manual transmission only). Check drivetrain components on the Bavauto.com site, looked fairly thorough. If the center support bearing is shot, that might be one of your most likely candidates for your thumping. If you have to go to the trouble of dropping the exhaust to get the driveshaft out, unless the guibo &/or center support bearing have been done lately, it's probably worth the effort to replace both - unless the u-joints are shot, in which case it may just be best to replace the driveshaft and not have to worry about any of it for the next 100k miles. I handed the driveshaft to the mechanic to remove and install the center support bearing - might be able to get if off with a puller, but I think installation takes a press, and removal might also. If you need a clutch, of course you have to drop exhaust & driveshaft, also a good time for attention to the driveshaft &/or parts. Check metal fuel and brake lines for rust, and if you need to drop the rear subframe for bushings or anything - that is _the_ time to replace the metal brake lines going to the rear, if needed. With such an old car, replacing the rubber brake lines on the car might not be a bad idea, or swapping to stainless-braided lines. Among, of course, a gazillion other things! You may want to check out mye28.com as well, although E12's & E28's followed the Bavaria, no doubt plenty of similarities, and much expertise with the e28.com folks on older 5er's. Welcome to the club & forums, best of luck with the project!
Forgot to add - check your local chapter for website &/or contacts, that might be a good way to get a shop recommendation. Also, try bimmers.org
Thank you so much for all the info you are giving me, this is great. I'll get under the car this weekend to take a look and check out any abnormalities, will also follow all your suggestions in replacing parts etc. I can now go to the mechanic and sound like I know what I'm talking about! Cheers
Welcome to the asylum! We have quite a few Bav lovers (and not all of them stuff M3 engines under the hood)!
