Results from Strictly …

When I bought the car, I was made aware of low compression issues in the engine which most likely needed extensive engine work. I wanted to know for sure what the problems were as the engine seemed quite zippy and the best way to diagnose engine troubles are compression and leakdown tests. So I took the Red Beast down to Strictly BMW for a quick check-up. And here’s what the doctor found:

Diagnosis: Cylinders 2, 3, and 6 are in excellent condition. Cylinder 1 and 5 could be fixed by doing a top-end rebuild. However, to get cylinder 4 back into shape a bit of love and care is needed. More to the point, the cylinder may have deformed into a egg shaped cylinder which can only be fixed by boring. So my two choices are to rebuild it which will gurantee me a good competitive engine for the next couple of years to come, or buy a used block from somewhere. To rebuild an engine it will cost about $4000 including parts and labor, whereas, I can get an used engine for a mere $900. I am holding back on making a choice till I talk to a few racing gurus.