Greetings from Canada - New Shark Owner

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:00 am

Hi Guys, recently signed up over and bimmerforums and someone suggested coming here too. Both seem to be great resources so far.

I bought the car a couple weeks ago and have been sorting out some of its issues. Idle and fuel mixture seems to be satisfactory for now. After replacing the o2 sensor and changing the settings of the AFM, its finally running nicely. Had a tendency to oscillate when at idle, Surge at WOT, and backfire when upshifting or engine breaking (nothing crazy, just an occasional muffled pop).

Main issue right now is the suspension. One of the car's many previous owners lowered it, and the rear camber/toe is visibly out of spec with negative rear camber. The front wheels seem to be ok but I haven't checked the alignment yet. I'm not yet sure what brand of springs I have in, but the red paint led someone to suggest they are BavAuto lowering springs. No plans to hoon this thing, and after scraping one speed bump already, I'd rather just put the car back to OEM height than try installing a camber correction kit.

I wouldn't mind keeping the current spring rate on all corners since handling is quite good as is, but does anyone know if I can get some stiffer springs that are stock height? I'm new to BMWs but so far everything seems to be geared toward lowering. Kinda like pickups, only the other way round.

As you can see in the photos, someone already did the euro bumper conversion and the BBS wheels are a nice upgrade. The earliest Carfax records are from southern California and it does have an American speedometer so I'm guessing that's where it came from. Other than a few spots where a power buffer wore through the paint, its 99% rust free.

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:10 pm

What year is it? I am assuming '83/84?

GRNSHRK · Post by **GRNSHRK** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:36 pm

Welcome David

Yes, you're in the right place, for dealing strictly with 6ers that is

Looks like a nice example, with some nice mods already completed

Too bad the P/O didn't go with the later wraparound style rear bumper from the later Euro models

You should be able to get plenty of help here with your current running issues, and sorting out the suspension, evrything really

Once again, welcome to the madness

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 7:55 pm

Love the rusty 2-6-2 in the background. Canadian Pacific? Can't read the markings on the tender. Almost like an unrestored 6'er. But they use thicker metal than the German car builders.....

Sidrick · Post by **Sidrick** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:31 pm

Love the car, love the train!

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 11:21 pm

GRNSHRK wrote:Welcome David

Yes, you're in the right place, for dealing strictly with 6ers that is

Looks like a nice example, with some nice mods already completed

Too bad the P/O didn't go with the later wraparound style rear bumper from the later Euro models

You should be able to get plenty of help here with your current running issues, and sorting out the suspension, evrything really

Once again, welcome to the madness

I like the the early bumpers personally!!

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:16 am

Thanks for the complements guys. Yeah the car has been turning a lot of heads. Wasn't quite prepared for that in all honesty. Normally I drive either a saturn or a rusty old ford F250 (latter is in early restoration process).

The car is a 1986, and yes, I agree the euro wrap around bumpers would have been nicer, but beggars can't be choosers. The only other euro styled 6er I saw was a white 1984 M6 (german spec car). Needless to say, I couldn't justify that kind of price. I almost went for a 1987 canadian version CSI for the same price a while back but that one already had some rust at the rear wheel arches. I'm glad I held out for this one.

So...does anyone have some suggestions for front springs? I have done autobody, suspension, engine/auto trans overhaul on other vehicles but I'm new to BMWs. Figured I better ask before going out and buying parts.

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:27 am

sansouci wrote:Love the rusty 2-6-2 in the background. Canadian Pacific? Can't read the markings on the tender. Almost like an unrestored 6'er. But they use thicker metal than the German car builders.....

Its actually a 2-8-2. Letters say "Canadian Forest Products Ltd."

Pretty much everything on the island that old was either in mining or forestry. Even now the rails are mostly used for freight on the island. Thicker steel or not, there are plenty of spots where rust was coming through. We actually came on it by accident while looking for a reason to drive the car.

I'm discovering that driving a shark can be quite habit forming.

GazM3 · Post by **GazM3** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:02 am

Looks great there.

Some rear -ve camber is ok up to about 2deg is ideal. I have -3.5 on the rear which is too much also as a consequence of lowering.
The only real option is to install done weld in adjusters which you would do on the toe as well. If the toe is ok around 0.5 to 1mm per side it will wear the rear tyres fairly evenly. If you have any toe out on the rear it will use up the inside edges pretty heavily.

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:07 am

Now I see the other pair of driving wheels behind the steam cylinders. Love the contrast with the red 6 against the black and silver engine

Pod · Post by **Pod** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 2:37 pm

Welcome to the forum

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:06 pm

welcome aboard! -have you run your VIN number to identify the exact build date?

cheers

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:41 pm

sansouci wrote:Now I see the other pair of driving wheels behind the steam cylinders. Love the contrast with the red 6 against the black and silver engine

I'm kinda wishing I parked the car right next to the locomotive. There were no signs of anything fenced off so it would have made for some interesting contrast. My sister got some better photos of the car on her camera. I just used my old Iphone.

Brucey wrote:welcome aboard! -have you run your VIN number to identify the exact build date?

cheers

Hmm, yes that would have made sense. Now I'm a good 1000 miles away in the next province.

I could probably get someone to text me a photo of the dash tag though.

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:36 pm

Don't you keep your registration in your wallet?

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:08 pm

Nope. That stays with the car.

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 2:02 pm

Last thing I want is to have some moron break into my car and know where I live....

david85csi · Post by **david85csi** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:00 pm

Well, new front springs are on the way. I ordered a pair of 31331127662 springs which should bring the front up to stock height (thanks to Brucey for his list over here: viewtopic.php?t=16947). For the rear, I'll try just changing the perch height. Once everything is at the correct height, and properly aligned, I'll decide if its worth replacing the rear springs as well (probably not).

bigcoupe.com

Greetings from Canada - New Shark Owner

Greetings from Canada - New Shark Owner

Handle says 85csi . . .

Re: Handle says 85csi . . .