Happy Father’s Day!
I’m taking a break from the model car building and was feeling nostalgic.
Often seen as the junk cars that some may refer to as money pits, daily drivers are those everyday work horses. Those dependable piles of metal that get you from point A to B no matter what. Those long-lasting, consistent modes of transportation. Sometimes the single source of exposure to the world around you. That’s probably why so many automotive manufacturers have slogans enticing consumers to look forward to driving.
“Das Auto”
“The Ultimate Driving Machine”
“Zoom-Zoom”
“The Power of Dreams”
Everyone has had one, or several unique cars in their lives. The one that could turn heads on any given day. The one that taught you many valuable lessons. Just as well, the many amazing memories it gave you. Many of these daily drivers take on an evolution of sorts. Some might say that “Project car” is a more fitting title.
What do you think? COMMENT BELOW!
This will be the first post in a small series of posts to highlight and review each of my daily drivers I’ve owned over time. I’ll do my best to include a video of each and some pictures where possible. Up first is my recently acquired 2001 BMW 740i M Sport. This is the short wheel base sport version, limited alternative to the popular “big body” 740iL/750iL models. Equipped with a stout V8, she sounds as good as she looks and moves quite quickly. (I admit, I’ve pondered intake and exhaust upgrades in the future. )
The Factory Sport Suspension Package which also includes the staggered 19″ M-pars give it a great stance. The first maintenance I performed on this car was a complete tire replacement in the appropriate sizes. 235/50ZR-18 KUMHO ECSTA PA51 SL and 255/45ZR-18 KUMHO ECSTA PA51 XL
What I love about this one is how unique this car is. It was ahead of it’s time for 2001. For the movie fans, this is a very similar car to the one James Bond used in the 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies 007 movie. Unlike that car, my car came with dual-pane “break resistant” windows which are both awesome and terrible at the same time. Awesome because of security. Terrible because over time, the “layer” of the window glass begins to split and separate which then creates a hazy, foggy look to the windows. It can be unsafe because you cannot clearly see outside of them from inside the car when they are closed. Unfortunately, all of the windows on mine suffer from this. Luckily, we recently replaced the driver’s side glass I sourced from a 750iL and am working to source the others.
This car has an amazing history to it. I bought it earlier this year from a really nice teacher who owned it since 2002. Carfax shows us the history to have started its life as a corporate car for a year. This family then purchased it from BMW of Irvine and owned it ever since. It came with a stack of records, original window stickers, Navigation DVD’s and more. The previous owners did their best to maintain it over the years and it shows. I do have some decent work ahead of me. But, progress is being made. Some things that need addressing still are the A/C airflow. Otherwise mostly cosmetic things like the trunk lid to faded headlight lenses could be addressed in the future. I also plan on repainting the recently installed Alpina Rep lip to match the rare stahlblau metallic color.