36 BMWcar
ME AND MY CAR
Luckily for me, my dad is an ex-racing car
technician, and one of the most talented
people I know. Without his expertise over
the years, I’d never have been able to
drive these old cars every day, and still
afford to maintain them.
“Dad performed a compression test,
only to find that the head gasket had
blown between cylinders two and three.
But, thankfully, it hadn’t overheated. Then
we discovered that the head bolts were
only finger-tight! It transpired that most of
the bolts on the car were only finger-tight
and, when we checked everything, a loud
knocking from the rear was cured this
way, too.”
MORE LOOSE BOLTS
Then, on the way home from the
Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Touring
decided to celebrate having witnessed a
smorgasbord of exotic cars, by colourfully
lunching its own gearbox, forcing Paul
to limp home at little more than walking
pace. Once the car was jacked-up he
found – yes, you’ve guessed it – yet more
loose bolts! This time it was the giubo
between engine and gearbox which wasn’t
fully bolted together; the giubo itself was
in good nick and hadn’t failed, yet three of
the nuts were missing and the remaining
three were just about hanging in there.
“It had a smashed a hole in the backEvery time I think of selling it,
I just go out and drive it and it
reminds me how mega it is
A sudden loss of power
was traced to a blown
head gasket and
finger-tight cylinder
head bolts!The car’s not been without its problems,
but Paul couldn’t bear to part with it now.