BMW Classic has asked transmission specialists ZF to make new gear clusters - just like the originals - for the Hurth gearboxes used in the BMW 328 sports two-seaters of the 1930s.
In one way it's a stunning tribute to the iconic status of the 328 and the fact that that there are still enough of them running to make it worthwhile - but there's a catch, a big one.
The original four-speed Hurth 'box was designed nearly 80 years ago and had synchromesh on third and top gears only. The anoraks at BMW Classic were unable to find a single example that hadn't been modified somewhere along the line.
REINVENTING THE (GEAR) WHEEL
Most 328's still in existence have later transmissions; the few that still run the original Hurth gearboxes have all been repaired or 'updated' over the years.
So technicians from the BMW Classic restoration workshop got together with classic-car specialists from the private sector and development engineers from ZF headquarters in Friedrichshafen to literally reinvent the (gear)wheel - a process that ZF said was just as much work as designing a new transmission from scratch.
But it worked, and BMW Classic now has a couple of 328s running original Hurth gearboxes with new, prototype ZF gear clusters, which will be tested at a number of classic-car driving events during 2012 and, if all goes well, BMW Classic will be able to supply new “original” gear clusters for your 1937 BMW 328 by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
How's that for after-sales service?