I had to stop walking when I got to this house. I’d seen the Cutlass there before, but the garage was always closed. Not today, as the owner was just about to leave. That gave me a chance to hear about his cars.
The Suburban (’66, I think) has had a 292 six transplanted, which the owner says makes it pretty lively. The Cutlass was his dad’s car, and its vinyl roof is developing a particularly nice case of vinyl-patina. But his daily driver is this fine BMW 530i, a ’78, the last year before it became a 528i.
I think he said he’s had it for almost thirty years, and it still gets driven plenty, including a recent road trip down to California.
This is of course the first 5 Series, and was a very acclaimed and desirable car in its time. But the 530i used a thermal reactor to help clean its exhaust. That led to excessive heat in the cylinder head and resulatant cracking; BMW had to replace a lot of heads as a consequence. This engine has been modified with Euro-style exhaust manifolds, and runs cool and strong.
Its exhaust gave a lovely and delicate six-cylinder snarl as it drove off. This is the only E12 I know of in Eugene still on the road. Long may it grace our streets!
“Thermal Reactor” is a Euro-term used by those who want to sound “tech.”
Even though it is on a BMW it is nothing more than air injection into the
exhaust manifold to oxidize unburned hydrocarbons, as used on many
American cars of the era. I think it was originated by GM in the early
1970s. It had a reputation on American engines of burning valves,
but at least the heads mostly didn’t warp and crack. My 1976 Dodge Aspen
had it on its 318; plugging the fittings to the manifolds and removing the
belt from the air pump “fixed” it for good, which for me was for the 22 years I owned it.
Thermal reactors can be a bit more complex then the AIR systems used by the US manufacturers. Several import brands used them, and they involved a modified exhaust manifold with a reaction chamber and air injection (see the attached image).
I’ve mostly seen them on Mazda rotaries- A thremal reactor helps to oxidize unburned hydrocarbons, and rotary engines typically run high on the HC side.
GMH used a similar trick to clean up its ancient Red 6 for the VK Commodore the last year they used their own engine before switching to Nissan then Buick most got deactivated early on and left that way unless the car had to be reregistered then it had to appear to work in NSW anyway.
I have seen GM’s AIR system used as early as 1967, on a 4 bbl 327 Impala.
’67 Z/28 302 had it too.
Were those chevys California emissions spec models?
Yes the earliest applications of air injection were on the CA spec vehicles.
Air injection and Thermal Reactor are two different things. A thermal reactor is a larger than normal exhaust manifold that is insulated either internally, externally or both. Air injection may or may not be used. A engine tuned to run rich will need air injection while one tuned to run lean does not need air injection. For example the CVCC engine used a thermal reactor but no air injection. The insulated it internally and externally and the internal shields were known to occasionally come loose and plug the exhaust. The benefit was that it could be used on an engine that runs lean for better MPG and the lack of needing an air pump also meant no need for the air pump and the power loss associated with it. Everything you never wanted to know about Thermal Reactors http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/7030/bad0914.0001.001.pdf?sequence=5
The valve burning was due to higher operating temps, late ignition timing and not initially changing the exhaust valve materials to handle those changes.
Air injection does not need the chamber of a oversized exhaust manifold and requires the engine to run a little richer to initiate the process and also needs the late valve timing.
Dang, that’s a nice old BMW. I love the sound of those old BMW inline sixes. Nice truck, too.
So what is under the hood of the “Gut-less Cutlass”? (Asks one of the resident Oldsmobile lovers.)
Oh yes, I forgot: 260 V8. Why do you think it just sits there 🙂
As a former owner of a 231 V6 Cutlass, the 260 V8 sounds great to me!!!!
A 350 rocket swap is just a what it needs.
I’m surprised by how much I like that BMW. Apart from the bumpers.
Is that a Mazda 626 hatchback across the street??
That one caught my eye too. Nice-looking cars as sedans, even better as hatchbacks. (Much like the 1st-gen Mazda 6.)
I don’t suppose he’ll be selling any of those cars, huh Paul? 🙂
Nice Bimmer .
A.I.R. systems sucked , then and now ~ I still occasionally see one .
My ’69 Chevy truck had one , it’s gone away .
I’m also building s 292 C.I.D. i6 for it , those are _serious_ torque monster engines .
-Nate
Mercury Marine had a 292 based inboard/stern drive engine for a while early ’70s I think. Rated at 200hp, and used a Quadrajet 4bbl carb. 30 years wrenching on boats and never saw one in the wild. Only in the factory service manual.
Nate,+1 about air systems, and also thermal reactors. The 292 is a perfect truck engine, with torque in the basement. A short block may be faster, but need RPM’s and clutch slippage even with a Granny first, the six just let the clutch out and you are rolling.
I lived in a non emissions state; in my 77 320i, last year of the 2.0 vs 1.8- the thermal reactors had literally melted the under hood fuse and relay boxes and crackled the hood paint, Dali would have been proud. I got some proper headers STAT, and she woke up despite the low compression and the running hot in traffic jams and vapor lock issues disappeared. The fuse boxes worked fine. This was my favorite era for BMW, the 530i is a piece of art; along with earlier Bavaria 2500, 2800 3.0; 2800/3.0Csi; and pre fed bumper round tail light 1600 and 2002tii. Oh, and a 745i is beyond awsome. Such remarkably unique and original cars- I’m sad to see them making Lexus clones now.
Low compression engines aren’t so bad , you can make them breathe well (like you did) then bump up the timing quite a bit as LC allows in in fact wants , much more ignition advance than does any HC engine .
I’m putting a TH350 Slushbox with lockup torque converter behind it so I can have decent in town scoot plus long legs for empty desert driving….
My business partner had BMW’s in the early through mid 1940’s , I wasn’t impressed once they got a buncha miles on them .
Fun to drive and handle nice yes .
Constant repairs and (seemed like) short service life on drive train parts, no thanx .
His girlfriends yellow one was *just* that shade of yellow that it attracted bees by the thousands , guess who got to drive it away ever time she came shrieking into the shop ? .
And of course, the damned bees would set up a hive in the bushes out front , guess who got to get rid of those too ? .
I hate bees , they scare me witless .
-Nate
To me, you just can’t say enough good things about the BMW E3 and E12: decently powerful, sure-footed, comfortable on a long drive. Not rock-solid like the Mercedes of their time, for sure. If I thought my wife would be comfortable in a car without airbags, I would get one of these for everyday use today.
The big BMW 6 starts to sound like gregorian chant around 2500-3000 RPM, just a pleasant hum that gets a little louder, and maybe a little higher in pitch, if you give your car the run it wants. It’s not an exotic engine, but it wants you to know it’s not a V-anything, either.
When I built my ’89 Caprice TPI wagon, the AIR was the first thing to go. Made it easier to reach the plugs/wires not to mention the improved appearance.
A year later PA enacted mandatory emissions tests but my 350 Tuned Port usually read very clean, a couple categories would come up showing zero. I just had to find a mechanic who wouldn’t fail me on a visual exam and fortunately that wasn’t tough.
The BMW is much more appealing than the current 5 series.I’ve come close to buying a s 528 but chickened out and kept my Ford Granada Mk2.
” You did the right thing, by keeping that Granada, Gem… I mean a 5 series BMW, simply can’t compare(sarcastically says as he turns to the studio audience).”
Jeremy Clarkson… Top Gear
Chevy inline 292 is a stroked version of the 250, which is in the same family as the 194/230. Solid motors, I have owned several and all gave great service.
An orchard sprayer manufacturer in or near Shepparton Victoria OZ sure liked them hundreds were fitted to spray carts they work fine but suck the gas
The timing of this post was perfect for me. I was eating dinner tonight at a local Taco restaurant with my cousin Dave, and after a while, the topic of discussion turned to cars. Dave loves BMWs, and he got to reminiscing about his first Bimmer, a 1979 530i that he bought when he was stationed in Germany. Naturally, I pulled out my Smartphone and showed him this post. His 530i was the same color as the featured car, but since it was a Euro-spec model, it didn’t have the thermal reactor and it had the much slimmer Euro-style bumpers. He said the worst thing about driving in Germany was getting stuck behind a 2CV on the Autobahn. I suppose that would be rather frustrating.
Not really an incongruous pairing. As people’s definitions of personal luxury changed, a lot of people traded in Cutlass Supremes for BMWs. In our neighborhood, it wasn’t uncommon for a Cutlass to disappear from a driveway and for a BWM to appear in its place. It was a big price jump from an Olds to a 530i, but most Cutlass owners could swing the payments on a 320i.
The target buyer was the same: People who want more than an appliance to drive, and people willing to pay a bit more and sacrifice practicality for something with some style. All that changed was the style that was currently in fashion. Cutlasses look as silly as bell bottoms today, but bell bottoms had their day in the sun, too.
GAH ~
I wore bell bottom trousers in the 1960’s and there’s a photo I hope no longer exists of me wearing a pair in lurid colored stripes….
Different times for sure .
I had long hair then too .
-Nate
Maybe I resemble that remark, I love(d) my 320i, my Granddad’s Cutlass sedan, Bellbottoms, my mullet haircut- all in different ways though.
I never thought of 320i’s or Cutlasses as appliances, though. They were special, the 320i was fun, spirited with great ergonomics, while the Cutlass was so smooth, comfy, quite and a relaxing luxurious cruiser. We laugh at long hair mullets and bellbottoms now, but they were cool at the time.
Ah, the E12. Definitely rare today but very nice-looking cars. And true that it’s not such an odd couple with the Cutlass, but probably much more satisfying to drive!
An eclectic garage indeed!
If I had a garage, I could see myself having this exact same collection. The Olds might seem like the odd man out, but I’ve always liked them, warts and all.
The 530i was one of the hottest cars available in 1978, even with the U.S. emissions equipment and big bumpers. 176HP from a 3.0l six was wild at the time (in this country, anyway), and its performance still compares well to modern cars. I wish I had the guts, technical know-how or $$$ to keep one of them as a daily driver. Most BMWs I limit myself to being an admirer of, but this is one that I’d really like to own.
My ’69 C/10 had it and was a Texas truck from new…
My ’67 Camaro RS with 327 (IIRC) was a Cali. car and had it plus of course , warped exhaust valves making it impossible to sell in 1975 unless I did a valve job on it first , not for a $350 car I didn’t .
-Nate
My neighbor across the street bought a 1978 530i, about 20 years ago. The car looked great it had a new paint job in a goldish tone. The interior was in great condition also. The problems started when the paint failed around the cowl between the windshield and the hood. One day a nice chunk of bondo flew off to reveal the bodge. There was a great big rust whole that had been stuffed with sponges and then layered smooth with bondo. The hole was big enough to get my fist into it with lots of room left. Not long after that I heard him say that the head was cracked…
It was a beautiful car on the surface and he paid at least a few thousand dollars for it. In the end the car was parked until they called the junk man to remove it.
Nothing wrong with these cars as long as you know what you are getting.