Benji
Well-known member
Myself and Mark decided to do the Bullrun this year after we met some very cool guys at one of the skid pan events who did it previously in a E12 with a 733 motor. For those not familiar, the Bullrun takes place annually in the deepest Karroo with the entrance criteria being a vehicle older than 1985 and cheaper than R40,000. It is a car related drinking event that happens to have some rally and pan related activities, so one cant take it too seriously at all. The hunt for a suitable BMW started in March this year.
The ideal candidate was found tucked away in Thembisa, erroneously advertised as a runner. A very straight and recently neglected 1978 E23 730 with papers, a manual gearbox and carburetors.
A few unsuccessful hours of township mechaniking and successful haggling resulted in the car being towed home for a bargain R9,000. The tow home however was an unmitigated disaster, underequipped and through violent weather, the whole front of the car bent upwards due to some "structural issues". Great. No longer a straight car. Whoops.
Towing things a bit better:
With the car home and suitably equipped with a wiring diagram and a multi-meter, we quickly found the cause of the no-start...rats had made breakfast of the live wire to the computer module. Said wire reinstated and the car started straight up and ran like a dogs breakfast. Win! No powersteering, no powerbrakes, binding brakes, haywire electricals, a dodgy starter motor, catastrophic ATF leaks, leaking coolant and many many botched township electrical works revealed themselves. One might say this was to be expected.
With a bit of luck, we found a similar colour E23 being parted out that had all the parts we needed for a fair price. This included new brake booster, master cylinder, fender, front valence, lights and steering linkages that were not f#$ked. Structural issues resolved with some suitably dodgy welding:
Came out surprisingly straight considering that the tools used were limited to a 4-pound hammer and 2 middle-aged men jumping on the "high bits"
First drive with powersteering and the ignition system being completely refreshed Car still drove like shit however Further investigation showed that the township mechanics had also been in the carb with the secondary throttles and choke being disabled.
With our pockets starting to hurt and the deadline looming, the carb went off to be rebuilt. Upon reinstalling the carb, the started motor failed in spectacular fashion with the nose of the starter breaking off in the bellhousing a week before the Bullrun. Confidence in the car was at an all-time low at this point. With a bit of luck, we fished out the broken piece and found that a E34 M5 starter fits perfectly on the M30 motor and spins it with vigour! A few more trips to an old-school mechanic to tune the carb and rebuild it for the second time with me doing the final fiddling on the carb, had the car running decently enough, 3 days before the Bullrun. Perfect time then for the thermostat housing to develop a leak:
Furious parts searching and some late hours had things all sealed up
A scurry of sticking stickers had the car looking the part and ready for the road with fingers crossed:
Let the adventure begin!
We had one tyre failure (blame 10 year old tyres), ran out of fuel once (blame ravenous fuel appetite) and used about 5 fuses, but otherwise, the car handled the drive impeccably and was as comfortable as one would expect a top-of-the-range BMW from the 70s to be Only complaint was the lack of AC in the 39°C karroo
Next day we did the rally on about 140km on mostly good dirt roads. We washed the dust down with cold beers:
Next day was what we were here for: the pan!
Good times indeed! A few courses were set up including drag racing, figure of 8s, fast tracks, ovals etc. Again the car surprised by having some speed, a lot of comfort and a fairly loose rear end which made for some spectacular sideways action.
Exhausted, sunburnt and hungover, we dove home the next day with one more tyre failure, but very very pleased at how well the car handled the incessant abuse we threw at it without any complaints and in relative comfort. Overall it was quite the experience, a nice adventure and a barrage to the senses with the funds raised at the event going to the local community.
The ideal candidate was found tucked away in Thembisa, erroneously advertised as a runner. A very straight and recently neglected 1978 E23 730 with papers, a manual gearbox and carburetors.
A few unsuccessful hours of township mechaniking and successful haggling resulted in the car being towed home for a bargain R9,000. The tow home however was an unmitigated disaster, underequipped and through violent weather, the whole front of the car bent upwards due to some "structural issues". Great. No longer a straight car. Whoops.
Towing things a bit better:
With the car home and suitably equipped with a wiring diagram and a multi-meter, we quickly found the cause of the no-start...rats had made breakfast of the live wire to the computer module. Said wire reinstated and the car started straight up and ran like a dogs breakfast. Win! No powersteering, no powerbrakes, binding brakes, haywire electricals, a dodgy starter motor, catastrophic ATF leaks, leaking coolant and many many botched township electrical works revealed themselves. One might say this was to be expected.
With a bit of luck, we found a similar colour E23 being parted out that had all the parts we needed for a fair price. This included new brake booster, master cylinder, fender, front valence, lights and steering linkages that were not f#$ked. Structural issues resolved with some suitably dodgy welding:
Came out surprisingly straight considering that the tools used were limited to a 4-pound hammer and 2 middle-aged men jumping on the "high bits"
First drive with powersteering and the ignition system being completely refreshed
Car still drove like shit however Further investigation showed that the township mechanics had also been in the carb with the secondary throttles and choke being disabled.With our pockets starting to hurt and the deadline looming, the carb went off to be rebuilt. Upon reinstalling the carb, the started motor failed in spectacular fashion with the nose of the starter breaking off in the bellhousing a week before the Bullrun. Confidence in the car was at an all-time low at this point. With a bit of luck, we fished out the broken piece and found that a E34 M5 starter fits perfectly on the M30 motor and spins it with vigour! A few more trips to an old-school mechanic to tune the carb and rebuild it for the second time with me doing the final fiddling on the carb, had the car running decently enough, 3 days before the Bullrun. Perfect time then for the thermostat housing to develop a leak:
Furious parts searching and some late hours had things all sealed up
A scurry of sticking stickers had the car looking the part and ready for the road with fingers crossed:
Let the adventure begin!
We had one tyre failure (blame 10 year old tyres), ran out of fuel once (blame ravenous fuel appetite) and used about 5 fuses, but otherwise, the car handled the drive impeccably and was as comfortable as one would expect a top-of-the-range BMW from the 70s to be
Only complaint was the lack of AC in the 39°C karrooNext day we did the rally on about 140km on mostly good dirt roads. We washed the dust down with cold beers:
Next day was what we were here for: the pan!
Good times indeed! A few courses were set up including drag racing, figure of 8s, fast tracks, ovals etc. Again the car surprised by having some speed, a lot of comfort and a fairly loose rear end which made for some spectacular sideways action.
Exhausted, sunburnt and hungover, we dove home the next day with one more tyre failure, but very very pleased at how well the car handled the incessant abuse we threw at it without any complaints and in relative comfort. Overall it was quite the experience, a nice adventure and a barrage to the senses with the funds raised at the event going to the local community.
