Author Archive for: rsiegel

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my sight-unseen purchase of the Lama, a 1987 E28 535i that had appeared...

As I wait for the logistics on the Lama (the E28 I just bought sight-unseen in Tampa) to settle,...

I expected to be writing this week’s piece on the brief road trip I took last weekend in Bertha,...

In last week’s piece, The End Game, I went full left-brain on you, detailing Bertha’s four separate driveline noise-and-vibration...

That’s a silly title, really: There is no end, and thus no end game, to vintage-car ownership. If I...

Surely you don’t think I’d go to all this work, buying back and resurrecting Bertha, the 1975 2002 I...

One of my steps in preparing Bertha for drives longer than around the block was dealing with the charging...

Last week I discussed how, in order to continue drive Bertha, I needed to make her completely legal, which...

Two weeks ago, I described sorting Bertha, my reclaimed 2002, to the point where around-the-block runs were sufficiently uneventful...

It seems like back in the day, I replaced a lot of starters in 2002s and other vintage BMWs....

Two weeks ago, I described the work I did on Bertha during the feverish weekend just before Oktoberfest. I’d...

Last week I talked about my attempt to resurrect Bertha sufficiently to drive her to Oktoberfest, and taking it...

Last week, BMW CCA member Jonathan Selig saved the day by producing the valve guide I needed out of...

As I write this on the Friday evening before Oktoberfest, I stand on the precipice of either achieving jaw-dropping...

Last week I took Bertha’s head off and took it to the machine shop. Two bad valves were found,...

Last week, I got Bertha—the 2002 I sold to my friend Alex nearly 30 years ago—running well enough to...

Having repurchased Bertha, the 1975 2002 I brought up from Austin in 1984, drove away from my wedding in...

I am a man to whom context is important; this is why some of my stories have a long...

Last week I described the road trip to the Vintage, concentrating on caravan member Jordan Berube’s belt-related cooling-system troubles...

Two weeks ago, I described resurrecting the Black Shark—a black-on-black 1985 635CSi five-speed I got for free from my...

I ended last week’s piece on a cocky note, literally taunting the Automotive Powers That Be by saying that...

First, to close out last week’s piece on the Black Shark: The $25 Chinese-made viscous fan clutch I ordered...

You may recall the piece I wrote last fall about winding up with a free black-on-black 1985 635CSi five-speed....

You’d think that after my epic six-part online series a few years back on refinishing a set of Style...

Last week, I described taking Sharkie (my ’79 Euro 635CSi) for a post-winter drive, discovering that the car’s ride...

Over 30 years ago—in the April 1987 Roundel, to be exact—I penned an article titled “How To Buy A...