 V12 Engineering August 2005 Newsletter
Greetings from Lake of the Woods,
Here at V12 Engineering we have been fighting getting this bulletin / newsletter out for over a year now. I watch as Don Finkle cranks them out, he owns RCR Yachts, www.rcryachts.com in the Buffalo New York area. Don loves sailing, and he's a good writer as well.
Why do these bulletins have to get out?
Well the fact is, it's time to move from being 'reactive', looking after your 'Parts' problems; to being proactive. It's taken us 5 years to get our inventory and systems close to 'BMW Quality. We are now there... well almost. It is never really done, always room to get better.
Service? Technical help? Here also we have been swamped. And the good news... we know where you can find a Good Mechanic, one that respects the opportunity to work on a BMW Engine. They are hard to find. But we know Mercury and Yanmar and Volvo have this same problem. For our sail-boaters, any Yanmar Dealer seems to be a good bet. If you approach one, the trick is to keep his eyes off your wallet and your VISA card. Watch the focus. If he won't 'look you in the eye' chances are... you get the picture?
About two years back, a Yanmar owner called me. He was interested replacing his 4 cylinder Yanmar with one of our D50-2's, the new one. To 'REPLACE' his Yanmar!!! That day is coming. As the bike riders say: "It's not 'If', it's when." And, you can bet you'll read about it here. Has it already happened? Maybe. Let me know please.
Bavaria, BMW & Beer
Next week I am off to Bavaria, to meet with BMW. I thought that I'd miss Oktoberfest. It's September. Wrong. Oktoberfest starts September 17th. Seems the Bavarians can't wait.
Like to do 'Ocktoberfest' here in North America BMW style? BMW Car Club of Americas annual event runs Sept. 17th - Sept. 23rd in Greensboro, N.C.
Click here to learn more.
Technical Information
Let's take this one engine group at a time. First the 'Gasoliners' - if the sailors wish, please 'skip on down' to your engine below.
POWER BOATS:
 B130 4 cylinder
What shows up? Our American friends, and we have a great many with BMW's in their boats, never cease to amaze me. How's this: A 'Brand New' complete B130 in the crate. Never opened until last week. Like a beauty! And even better news, we have the New Mark ll Z-drive with the 2.05:1 ratio to go with it.
Price for the package is US $12,500.00. Shipping inside the USA allow US $600.00. For shipping to Europe allow US $1250.00 for the Engine and Drive. Will we sell separately? Of course. Like an orphan Puppy dog, she deserves a good home. Maybe a Mahogany 'Gentleman's racer'?
B220 & B190 6 cylinder
Nothing beats a straight six! Unless it's two on the same crank; i.e. a V12. Was it Packard that called theirs the 'Double Six'? How do you tell the B190 from the B220? These two engines are identical. The B220 has a larger bore and longer stroke. Which one do you have? Easy. Under the carb, on the 'uphill' side of the block you will find about 1-1/2" high casting numbers. The B220 has 3.0/3.3. The B190 has 2.5/2.8. This means the B220 is a 3.3 litre displacement, and B190 has a 2.8 litre displacements.
New Engines? We have two new B190's with drives available now and a complete new B220 available soon.
 Over the last 5 years we have had some drop dead gorgeous BMW powered boats show up. Sail and power. And capital 'R' rare as well. Håkan Nilsson Nielsen of Stockholm Sweden sent us photos of his Alpina 31. Our guess is this boat was custom made for BMW as a Marketing tool. Apparently one did make it to the USA. Håkan Alpina has a matched pair of B220's.
Naturally he would like a bit more power, so he's talking to our good friend Roald Solberg in Norway about a pair of new B635's.
D150, D190, D636 'In-line Diesels'
As many of you know, in 1988 BMW closed BMW marine GmbH, and sold the assets with the plant in Belgium going to Mercury Marine of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin USA. It appears Mercury continues to assemble these engines here and use this site still today as their European headquarters. Latest news, Mercury has joined forces with Cummins, to market their Diesel engines.
So now this is how it goes: The VM Motori block, next a Detroit Diesel, next owned by Daimler Chrysler is now sold by Cummins Mercruiser. World wide. What started out as the BMW D150, is now the Mercruiser 4.2. Strange goings on in the Marine engine market.
PARTS. It gave us fits. Now however, not getting too big for our 'britches' we are starting to get parts orders for the Mercruisers. Especial the pre 1995 models. Why? As many of the BMW and Mercruiser parts are 'Interchangeable' our service on delivery becomes a good choice for Mercruiser owners.
Give credit where credit is due. Recently we got our hands on Mercury's excellent 350 page manual on these engines. A work of art. It covers the BMW D530, D636, as well as most of the Mercruiser D219, D254 and 4.2 'In-Line' engines. Tip, when you hear the reference 'Grey' Engine, they are speaking of the BMW's. Are the 'Black' engines the same unit but Mercruiser decals? Appears so.
Our biggest challenge on these BMW's is the intercoolers in the front tank. They have been N.L.A., (No Longer Available) for a few years now. We have tried to manufacture these, but without luck so far. Recently BMW sent us their original engineering drawings, so 'Hope springs eternal'.
However...We will try again!
 D254
If you cannot wait and can use a bit more torque, a few more 'Horses' and better dependability, we have a beautiful D254 in stock. A few years back, 'Sophia' came out of a 28' Bayliner in Alaska. She couldn't get the boat up on plane. Out she came. In went a Yanmar. Problem? The injector pump needed work. We had it adjusted, put on the Dyno at the Detroit Diesel dealer in Anchorage. Out came the 220 or 240 HP she was capable of making.
So next, she goes by boat down to Anacortes WA to Jason Graham. This was before Jason bought North Island Boat. Jason, who has a University Degree in Diesel Engines, personally went through her. Most of the accessories were rebuilt or replaced. We even painted her BMW 'Silver'.
Her cost? Never thought you'd ask! She's yours for just US $8650.00. We'd like your old D150 or D190 back so that we can 'Recycle' it. Sophia is F.O.B. Anacortes Washington on the West Coast of the USA. Ocean Freight costs to Europe will be about US $1,100.00
Will she fit in place of the D150 / D190 / D636?
As the engine blocks are virtually identical, the motor mounts and bell housing patterns similar, a good mechanic should be able to drop her in with very little fussing about. We have been told the HBW 360 transmission is not strong enough, however... The instrument panel has not been checked, but it is included. Sophia's TTSN [Total Time Since New] is just 830 hours.
SAIL BOATS:
 D7
'The Racers Engine'
The D7 is very popular in the S2 7.9 meter racers. We have been told the 'Handicap' down Punta Gorda Florida way, is 'tilted' in favour of the engine-less S2 7.9's. Do they need an advantage that bad? As they are not BMW owners, there is always the 'Envy' factor. Lastly, Owning a BMW seems to always denote a 'Challenge', where ever you are.
And next the 30' Pearson Flyers and their D7's. For some reason Lake Champlain has more than their share of these. Wes Eldred, one of our very first customers has his Lord Nelson 38' magnificent Tug there as well. Lake BMW?
The D7, at 150 lbs. with the transmission, these are a real 'piece'. Hopefully we can have 3 to 5 rebuilts available by next spring. If you'd like one, or like us to overhaul your D7, now's a good time to let us know. Live in California? Call Dennis Bastian at Dennis Marine in Long Beach. ( 1-562-493-3202) He has a respect for the BMW D7 that is, well nice to know about. He's very very busy, book early.
D12
The D7's big sister. In the last few years we've gone through more of these than any other engine. Three new ones have come and gone, one into Larry Mueller's Flyer, which he then sold and moved up to a bigger cruiser. One we shipped to Keith Blankley in Dubai. We have two more available now.
The D12 cylinder heads last about 17+ years and then, about half the time need replacing. If you think your head needs replacing, we are running low on these, so we recommend you order one. If the old one is still rebuildable, we can offer you a partial credit to offset the cost of the new one.
D35
The D35 came in two versions, the D35-1 and the D35-2. Like the D50's, the ' -1's are strictly 'Raw Water Cooled'. The Dash twos have the twin circuit cooling. Look for the 'radiator cap' on the tank on the left side of the engine as well as the fan belt on the front going over three pulleys on the Dash two engines.
Surprisingly the D35-1's, as well as the D50-1, seem to need the lest amount of maintenance of any the BMW Marine Motors.
We have one D35-2 in stock for rebuilding. As we bought her in Clinton N.J. she's naturally called 'Hillary'. She's currently in the care of Alfred Holzer in Bayfield Wisconsin. Apparently she was rebuilt before we bought her, however, we discount that about 85 %.
We expect more new D35-1's and D35-2's to show up soon. If you'd like to buy a BMW or repower, the prices should be quite good.
 D50
After having owned this beautiful Red BMW K75s, these have a 3 cylinder engine, I am partial to the D50's.
That many D50's are installed in gorgeous boats, like the Hans Christian 38' and 40', doesn't do any harm either. These engines are very advance having a 'balance shaft', much like Porsches. They also have a forged steel crankshaft. Expensive ? Yes. Quality ? The Best. These engines were made for BMW by Hatz Motorenfabrik. Hatz is a big OEM vendor of 'Connecting rods' to BMW, Mercedes, etc. We hear they are also manufacturing the crankshafts for the new Harley Davidson engine.
The front cover plate on the D50-2, and D35-2, Oil Coolers had been N.L.A. for some time. This has presented a major problem to many of our customers. Some removed the cooler all together. Others have fabricated a remote cooler.
This winter we will finish off the design and engineering of a 'Remote Oil Cooler' kit, to replace the 'Ribbed' and 'None Ribbed' coolers on the D35 and D50-2's. If you'd like one please place your order with us as soon as possible. Delivery will be in the early spring.
We finally seem to have the time for this project, and doing it better. We still learn from our mistakes.
General BMW News
CORPORATION
BMW opens New Leipzig Plant, May 13th, 2005
- $ 1.6 Billion investment
- Situated in the former East German (DDR)...
- Unemployment in Saxony hovers around 21%
- Germany lately at 11.2 %
- 5500 new jobs created by the BMW plant itself will make a big dent in that figure
- The line at Leipzig can handle any of the 10 automobiles, allowing BMW to adapt quickly to changing demand.
- New York Times Nicolai Ouroussoff called the plant "a sophisticated attempt at social engineering"
| "The most drastic example of that interaction is the track that carries partially assembled car bodies over the offices of management on their way from the body assembly section to the paint shop." |
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FORMULA ONE
BMW and Williams struggle on
Renault and Ferrari dominate. For next year, BMW has apparently
bought Saber in Switzerland. The battle with 'Bernie' continues...
Good news : The V10 engine has been adapted to the BMW 'M5'
and wins '2005 Best Engine in the World title.
GOLF
BMW is committed to this sport. I see the odd advertisement for 'Charity Tournaments'. More to come on this front.
SAIL BOAT RACING
The BMW Dealers in Australia are well involved in sponsoring Regattas. Here's a link to The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s famous BMW Sydney Winter series.
AMERICA'S CUP RACING
As you may know the Oracle Team is now BMW Oracle Racing and can be found HERE.
BMW's activity here, with their sponsorship of Sailing Races is massive. This is bound to have a very positive effect, firstly on you owners of BMW powered sailboats.
Question: "If 'Oracle' wins in 2007 in Valencia Spain, where does the Cup go?" New York Yacht Club? San Francisco Yacht Club? Or to Germany? Let me know. Curiosity is killing this cat.
Photo to the right >
Our thanks to John Gunther Musaus of J.Gunther Photography in Sausalito. This race between America's Cup winner Alinghi and Oracle held in San Francisco Bay, September 15th - 20th, 2003. |
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 AIRCRAFT
The Vickers Vimy just crossed the Atlantic, sadly without the pair of V12's BMW built for the plane a few years back. Apparently they used the Chev V8's converted by Orenda. It would be nice to get a line on those two engines. lots of 'legal' stuff here. Apparently she was headed to Oshkosh and got grounded on the West coast a few years back, because of the BMW's. If you know more about this [many of our BMW owners are active in Flying], write us.
 MOTORCYCLES
With 1,000's of riders, the new HP2 recently won first, third and fifth places in the Erzberg race in Austria's Steiermark region. For more on this 'Beemer' visit
http://www.offroad.com/dirtbike/machines/2005/bmw
IN CLOSING
• Thanks for all the business you've sent our way over the last five years.
• It's been a wonderful experience meeting some many wonderful people all round the world.
• Our incoming e-mail box is overflowing with about 1287 e-mails. If we haven't replied, that's why.
 • Need faster advice or service ?
• Telephone or Fax us.
• These take priority over e-mail.
V12 Engineering
P.O. Box 50
Keewatin, Ontario Canada
P0X 1C0
Tel 1.807.543.3003
Fax 1.807.543.2528
Email: rich@bmwmarine.net
Commercial site: www.bmwmarine.net
Non-Commercial site: www.bmwmarine.org
V12 Engineering is pleased to provide information herein that we believe may be of value and interest to our friends and customers, however, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of information submitted to us by other parties. Unless specified to the contrary, the fact that we pass along information does not constitute an endorsement of that product or service. We suggest that you do your own 'due diligence' before purchasing a product or service. Please check dates for accuracy. We are not perfect.
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