I will still work on select 80s cars guys. My last video was a reference to quitting on the 70s and older cars.

Given the propensity of older plastics going bad I think it is time for the car wizard to invest a high quality 3-d printer for some of these bits and pieces.

Wizard - I’m not working on older cars, AND I’m not working on BMW’s.

Also the wizard - I’m excited to work on this old BMW !!!

The 80s BMW models were truly the best looking and most reliable

This gear can fairly easily be made on a 3D printer. And quite cheap aswell!

This is the era of BMW that driving enthusiasts just absolutely loved. This car has the 3 speed automatic (the 6 and 7 series didn't get the 4 speed O/D option until '84), but it could be had with a 5 speed stick and it was one of the most perfectly balanced, most neutral handling cars in the world at the time. It was stable and rock solid and planted to the ground all the way up to 150 mph at a time most American cars were hardly able to hit 120. You felt every inch of asphalt through the steering wheel but it was light and laser sharp to steer. The brakes were powerful, consistent, easy to modulate. That engine - BMW's glorious inline 6 before they started throwing turbos on to it and computers and plastic intake manifolds and plastic fuel injector rails - silky, silky, silky smooooooooooooooth and consistent power all the way up to redline in every gear. And the entire car felt like it was chiseled out of one solid block of steel.

Somewhere between here and the late 1990s BMW started hiring people who did not understand what BMW was about. What that car was to people who enjoy driving - I mean, REALLY enjoyed driving, took it very seriously, and every second behind the wheel of the car was what they lived for. Driving a 6 series to work was not just the commute to and from work, it was for many the absolute highlight of their day. Their life. Guys driving this car weren't wearing Ray Ban sun glasses, leather gloves, and driving shoes just for show - they wore them because they took driving very seriously.

The Ultimate Driving Machine. It wasn't just their slogan. It was what BMW strived to build.

And then in the late 1990s, they threw that legacy out to chase every suburbanite soccer Mom and image-seeking Dad. BMW cheapened out on the engine parts not to make the cars disposable so much as to make them cheaper. That aluminum intake manifold probably cost 3 times to cast than the plastic one used today. But that was alright - it meant more to pay $60k for a BMW in 1983 than it does to pay $60k for a BMW today. They were cars to aspire to. Cars you'd have to work hard for in school, or work. Today, every schlock with a $399 lease payment can drive a BMW.

I restored a 1990 735il to close to showroom condition about 12 years ago....same engine only 3.5L versus 3.3L.  When I finished and enjoyed it, I said, I am never selling this car because it is so good. But I did. Famous last words.  A collector bought it...flew in and drove it back to Nevada where he got a high speed speeding ticket through Nevada.  The big six...what it is referred to is considered one of the best engines BMW ever made...simple and bulletproof.  No vanos or variable valve timing.  Single timing chain and no belt. 2 valves per cylinder and still pulled like a freight train and would rev like a dentist drill.  Around 130-150K mi best to pull the head and change the head gasket.  These engines will go 300K miles without touching the bottom end.  Yes, repeated heat cycles always exposed a weak radiator design BMW's have been known for.  Clutch fans fail once in a while.   At 150K, the engine still had all its cross hatchings in its cylinders and always run on dino oil and not synthetic until I owned it.
BMW as the Wizard rightly says repeatedly, lost its mind about 20 years ago.  A company that exists for profit only.  The last BMW I owned was a 2003 330ci coupe which was really the beginning of the collapse of BMW with all the plastic under the hood and overcomplicated designs which were engineered to extract money from people. Design intent.  The public who doesn't know better...buying into the marketing myth of Ultimate Driving Machine...until they own one or two and stop wanting to be broke and so stop buying them. I will NEVER buy another BMW and I can fix them.  Simple and reliable used to mean something.  Not anymore. The public is utterly clueless...in other words BMW's design philosophy is rewarded and why it continues.

AS a young man I always wanted a 6 series like that one! But the price point was always out of my reach! I opted for an 1984 528 e ..similar but not as sporty and stylish! Those BMWs from the 80s and early 90s had a lot of character!

I had two of these, and loved them both. Super reliable, bulletproof, elegant cars, built when BMW's were robust driving machines. The new ones are a punch line, just junk!

What a car they don’t make BMW’s like this anymore this car is beautiful

That gear is a perfect application for 3d printing. I would think someone here would want a crack at that. Put up a thread at a BMW owner’s blog and next thing you know you’ll have customers.

3d printing a gear is doable. Additive manufacturer is the new way forward on car restoration.

"BWM," must be a new entry by a Chinese Manufacturer in the US using the old BMW tooling from the 80's

In 1967, I bought a BMW 1600 for $3200, taxes included. Great car. Lasted a long time and never cost me tons on upkeep. I wouldn't buy a new BMW on a BOGO today.

I agree. 3D printing is the way to go. The Car Ninja can order a small batch of 10-12 parts to keep in stock.

Wow that thing is nice. I had a W126 Mercedes for a while and it was built with the same philosophy as this car. It was designed to be repaired and kept on the road for as long as possible, not like the newer ones

I’ve seen one of these in St. Louis at the airport. Pretty good condition. Obviously  enthusiast. Nice ride… before BMWs got hideous. They were graceful up until about 20 years ago

Wizard vS ninja needs to happen 🔧

I got a 1990 bmw 535i. It’s got a few things I need to take care of but it’s been super super reliable and somewhat easy to fix!

BMW color name is "bronzit" - I had an E34 535i with the mearly-same M30 engine which went 400k miles before I sold it to a surfer dude.  Bring back the Toyota-like reliability BMW!  I LOVED THAT CAR!