As an amateur DIYer myself, I have a thing for restoration videos. I love watching old, rusty things come back to life. Tools, watches, and — in this case — engine blocks, it’s all good. In this video, we get to see an M40 engine from an E30 BMW get restored. For those who aren’t familiar with BMW’s engine codes, the M40B16 engine is a 1.6 liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine used in several BMWs of the era. In this case, it came from an E30 BMW 316i, which itself is also getting a restoration.
This video is part four, which shows the last bit of the restoration, which is of the intake manifold and throttle body. However, there are three other videos, which show the rest of the engine getting restored.
The first part of this video is the dismantling of the entire intake manifold, throttle body, fuel injectors, and more. If you’re into wrenching, this video is therapeutic to watch, as it shows off this very old rusty engine getting thoroughly taken apart, each piece getting carefully restored, and then completely reassembled. It even gets some new technology, such as upgraded fuel injectors to increase power and performance.
Watching the manifold get rid of its rust and receive a fresh coat of paint is cathartic. The old engine is coming back to life and should work just like it did when it left the factory in the 1980s. There’s something very pleasing about that; taking something old and tired and breathing new life into it. Rather than waste tons of resources on developing a new car, giving an old one life is not only much more rewarding but it’s also good recycling. Most of us lack the time, skill, patience, or resources to pull off a restoration like this, even though many of us would like it. Which makes watching a video like this highly enjoyable.
