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CFlo's State of the Fleet Address

Here at the DT offices double-wide in the sky, it seems everyone has some sort of cool project car, wacky daily driver, or cheap performance machine. I think I might be the most deranged though, because at any given moment I need more than two full hands of fingers to count all the different project cars and needy old machinery sucking my time and attention. And I haven't lost any fingers...yet. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to write about everything I work on. This is where you come in!

DTM5 on BaT Auction

DT E-i-C Vince: Well...that's a first!!  The DTM5 didn't find any buyers over here, so CFlo submitted the 1993 BMW M5 for sale on Bringatrailer.com where it is currently bidding for $6,911 with 7 days to go.  I've personally driven/ridden in this car many times and can attest to the sheer brutality of its flagrant and unabridged awesomeness. 

The DTM5 is on the Market!

1993 BMW M5

The DTM5 - Daily Turismo Project Car

DT Gets Rad @RadWood2

This Saturday morning, we'll be firing up our DTM5 E34 project car and heading down to RadWood2, the show for '80s and '90s enthusiast machines at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, CA. If Jalopnik's coverage of the inaugural RadWood in the Bay Area is any indication, this show is gonna be...rad.

Feel like you just can't wear enough hairspray on the weekend anymore? Looking for a chance to dust off that denim jacket and your best pair of jorts? Want to ogle a big variety of awesome and DT-worthy depreciated rides? Then this show might be a decent way to waste a Saturday.

DTM5 Update: Hydraulic Losses

Some astute readers may remember that we do occasionally write about our own project cars around here! We started with a neglected refrigerator-white Volvo 242 in 2012, did some refurbishment, and sold to our friend Alex who went Full Swede on the car - it now sports a Volvo inline six swap, custom made wheels, luxed-out interior, mondo brakes, and has been detailed to the hilt. Vince and I went our separate ways into various other projects; the E-i-C chose to devote his spare 15 minutes every Saturday afternoon to a Saab 99 and then a Buick Roadmaster, while yours truly has delved into other Volvos and NA Miatae and BMWs more extensively, including a 1973 2002 and this black-on-black 1993 E34 M5. You haven't heard much about the M5 lately (since my trackday writeup) but rest assured it is still rumbling around the mean streets of the South Bay Los Angeles area. For a while it was also barfing hydraulic fluid all over those same streets, forcing me to face grim reality and address some necessary repairs in the power steering / self-leveling suspension system.

Come Join DT This Weekend at Coffee & Cars with Pelican Parts

Nothing better to do this Saturday morning than gawk at other people's cars? Yeah, us neither. That's why we'll be heading down to the 2nd-ever Coffee & Cars with Pelican Parts, a low-stress gathering of SoCal's finest Euro Trash. Come join us, have a brew (of the hot caffeinated morning variety), let us gawk at your cars, and you can make fun of ours.

Flogged: DTM5 - The First Track Test of our 1993 BMW M5

by CFlo

I'm out here in the high desert outside of Los Angeles with millions of dollars in track day toys. McLarens, Audis, and Porsches litter the pits like crew cab F150s at the local Home Depot parking lot. It's a Speed Ventures track day at Streets of Willow, part of the Willow Springs International Raceway complex in Rosamond, CA. Of course, the requisite smattering of Miatas, Civics, and E30s are out here too. There's even a new rented Camry with masking tape numbers on the doors. Camaros are represented in full force, with a fierce and costly lineup of Z28s, ZL1s, SSs, et al.

Streets of Willow in the DTM5, with our buddy's Exige giving chase.
photo: caliphotography.com

And here I am in my hand built, 22 year old executive express. This track is short, twisty, and bumpy - the kind of place best suited to an S2000 or STI; smaller, nimbler machines with transient response like nobody's business. An E36 M3 would be just about perfect out here with enough power for storming down the post-bowl straight and climbing the hill into Turn 1, but still telepathic in its reflexes and ability to go precisely where the driver's thoughts command.

The E34 M5, in contrast, is a heavy pig.

DTM5 Update / Blue Glove Tool Review: Eastwood Fender Roller

by CFlo

That's right, the DTM5 is still alive and well. You may remember my black-on-black 1993 E34 M5 from previous posts, but if not, check them out here. Up to this point I've dynoed the car, diagnosed and fixed the fuel delivery issue, shod it with sticky new tires, and straightened out the power seats. Can you guess where this is going? I've been focusing on functionality, with the goal of hitting a local track day in this Autobahn stormer. One major quirk was left unresolved however - a nasty sounding tire rub at the right rear fender lip. Follow along as I fix it with Eastwood's Fender Roller Tool in this multipurpose Project Car / Blue Glove Tool Review writeup.

DTM5 Update: The Gangsta Lean Remedy

One of the great things about buying a fully depreciated 20 year old performance car is that it's really not as expensive to maintain & repair as all the naysayers will have you believe...IF you do the majority of the work yourself. I've found that a casual enthusiast mechanic can fix just about anything with a good set of hand tools and a stubborn yet patient attitude. Yes - even on a hand-built BMW M car. For this update on my E34 M5, the umpteen-way power seats get some much needed attention. This is the next chapter in the DTM5 story, and part of Daily Turismo's Project Car series.

DTM5: It Needed Tires. It Got Tires.

Tires! They are the most important car parts. The only connection between the metal bits and the road. Without good tires, it doesn't matter what the chassis and powertrain can do because we don't all drive SoroSuub X-34 Landspeeders...or Light Cycles...yet. The DTM5 came to me with "temporary" tires that were old, hard, crusty, and bumpy. Fun fact: the Chinese "SUNNY" brand front rubbers were on DT Editor-in-Chief Vince's Subaru STi when he nabbed it a few years ago and immediately replaced them with something from Falken. Aside from the great attributes of being free and holding air, the old tires had no value whatsoever.

DTM5: This is a Low-Pressure Situation, Man

by CFlo

Despite not updating you, dear reader, on a regular basis I have been thoroughly enjoying the DTM5 after sorting out some "pressing" issues. This is the 3rd installment in that vein. I had a few theories about why the DTM5 was running "popcorn fart lean," a known problem with the car when I bought it, and verified on a local chassis dyno. Could my fuel pump be dying, not able to supply enough flow to the injectors? Could the injectors themselves be clogged or dirty, or just too small for the amount of air this (modified) 3.5L can flow at WOT? Might the tuning be utter crap, and not allowing the injectors stay open long enough at higher engine speeds? I've kept you guys waiting long enough, so in this episode of DTM5 Troubleshooting, we get to the bottom of it.

Coffee Brake: What's The Coolest Car You've Ever Driven or Borrowed?

As we recover from the 26-gun salute that was DT's ABCs for our 2nd birthday celebration yesterday, the DT crew and myself (CFlo) were looking through the massive list of fun & quirky machines thinking, "which one of these would be the best to drive, but not to own?" I'd probably pick the Lancia Fulvia myself - it would be great to borrow one from a friend, but I wouldn't want to deal with it's everyday needs. I also wondered about our readers - so tell us: What's the coolest car you've ever borrowed (or driven for a bit) that wasn't yours?

DTM5: Show Me the Data (With Dyno Video)

by CFlo

If you remember from the last installment of the DTM5 intro saga, I explained how I picked up a highly decent, thoroughly rebuilt and beastily upgraded example of the last hand-built ///M car for pennies on the dollar. There was a pattern - the previous owners dumped money in, drove for a few years, then passed it on to the next guy when it started acting up. The engine tuning was never quite right; high compression and lean air/fuel ratios are a recipe for heartache and an empty bank account. So I got a cheap M-Fünf with some issues. How do we go about fixing it the DT way? As cheaply and efficiently as possible - with data of course, and some help from the pros. It's dyno time!

DTM5: What's a Wideband Sensor?

by CFlo

The most expensive used BMW is also the cheapest used BMW. This is an axiom that I've heard repeated amongst enthusiasts, basically expressing the fact that any cheap BMW has to have something terminally wrong with it that will cost you a fortune to fix. In my case, the cheapest used BMW just happened to be an E34 M5 that fell into my lap. All of my well meaning, logically thinking friends and acquaintances warned me not to become that sucker who gets fooled by the cheap buy-in of a depreciated German sports sedan only to be crushed by mountains of parts invoices and repair bills. Well guess what? They were partially right, but oh so wrong. The dominant axiom that applies to this M5 is our favorite in the DT offices: There is no better money spent than the previous owner's.

Der Letze M Fünf: Introducing the DTM5

by CFlo

So yeah, as hinted in the last Daily Turismo Project Car posting, I ditched the 1983 Volvo 242 and traded up to an E34 M5. "What's the big deal with an E34 M5?" you may be asking now (if you're not a BMWphile or encyclopedic car geek). If I had to sum it up in two sentences I'd say the formula was: take a mid-'80s German luxury midsize sedan, shoehorn in the biggest, baddest, motorsports-derived inline six you can find, along with a 5-speed manual, limited slip rear diff, and beefed-up brakes. Then charge a premium for the high speed, low profile sleeper sports sedan that results from the righteous union.