E12 M535i Project - 08-21-19 Update

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Feb 24, 2017 1:05 PM

Adam W in MN wrote:http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=142952

Should have been your car Chris.

DXXXIIIi · Post by **DXXXIIIi** » Feb 24, 2017 1:46 PM

wkohler wrote:I highly doubt they'd have any interest in my car after running this story. That will be all their E12 content for the next 10 years.

LOL. I dunno tho. Yours is such an awesome story of resurrection.
Though you might have to wait till they run eleventy hundred more stories 'bout how awesome the 911 is.

And thanks Adam.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 13, 2017 2:59 AM

So, a bit of an update. I haven't had a lot of time to do much with it, but I've been working out some kinks and putting some miles on it. It's been tough to find the time to drive it, let alone at times with low traffic, but I've been working on it. The other day, I took it out for a while since I had to drop a couple things off for my other job out in Chandler. It was a good time of day and decided I could do it. I swung by Mike's shop on the way back since he hadn't yet seen the car assembled. I picked it up from him 22 months ago! He was blown away by it and all of the people in his complex were over looking at it and asking questions. It was kinda weird for me, but I received a lot of compliments on the depth and quality of the work that has gone into it. I can't lie when I say it felt pretty good. Had to work ridiculous hours Friday and yesterday, but I did put roughly 155.7 miles on it today. I had a more northwesterly route planned hoping to stay away from congestion, but I got a text from a friend out in far east Mesa asking if I wanted to get together, so I changed course and went out that way, which also allowed me to drive up the Bush Highway along the lower Salt River and Usery Pass for a bit after lunch. It's not very far from civilization, but is very beautiful desert and a road that allows lots of changes in RPM which is ideal for the break-in process. Lots of motorcycle traffic but it flows pretty well. I had photographed some bikes out here a few years back and received a citation for using a camera on National Forest land. $200 plus a $58 court fee. Yay. Since then I was hoping to get back out since I had never personally driven the road during the day and it really was great.

Anyway, the M535i has been performing pretty well so some of the anxiety about it has subsided. Here are some photos from today.

We're sitting at about 460 miles as of today. Looking to change the oil to Valvoline VR1 either tomorrow or Tuesday depending on schedules. Then maybe I can take it over 4000 RPM and hopefully not go to jail. It feels like a pretty strong motor.

muleskinner · Post by **muleskinner** » Mar 13, 2017 6:29 AM

Great photos!

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Mar 13, 2017 8:25 AM

Great pictures and nice to see you're settling into driving it more!

ElGuappo · Post by **ElGuappo** » Mar 13, 2017 12:13 PM

I'm loving this car.
I am nuts about the stripes, especially how the rear flares up, makes it look like the car is in motion even when sitting still.
Can't wait to see it!

Post by **tig** » Mar 13, 2017 3:01 PM

How much was the ticket this time?

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 13, 2017 3:02 PM

cek wrote:How much was the ticket this time?

Lol. Well this time it was just me and my phone. Last time, it was me, a bunch of camera equipment and a bunch of guys with Harleys that couldn't keep their mouths shut. "Oh, yeah, we're doing a shoot for a magazine." That didn't exactly fit with my story.

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Mar 13, 2017 3:29 PM

Thanks for sharing.

Such a rewarding project even just to follow since back in 2010! I realized I never shard my thoughts on M90/dogleg combo. Yes, mine is in an E24 so it is heavier and balanced slightly worse... but still some insight for those who have wondered about the M90. I'm sure Chris can clarify a bit better with the cars he owns.

I haven't driven the 10:1 M30B34 but the biggest difference I have found with the M90 is that is has low end torque @2000rpm but also doesn't fall off about 4500-5000rpm like a us spec M30B34. Power continues in a quite linear fashion.

No it isn't a speed demon above ~90mph, the engine just doesn't make power in the high revs like an S38. But it is a much more versatile combination and I really love mine. Fortunately it has power in each gear and the ability to really pull well out of tight curves at 2500-3000rpm where an S38 car has to be above 4k rpm. This makes the combo brilliant for mountain drives.

Curious to hear what you have to say about ti after getting it fully broken in.

Hffvdbl · Post by **Hffvdbl** » Mar 13, 2017 4:19 PM

Looks fantastic Chris, great job! What size are the wheels and tires? They look perfect on the car.

M. Holtmeier · Post by **M. Holtmeier** » Mar 13, 2017 6:33 PM

Beautifully done, Chris!

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Mar 13, 2017 9:26 PM

You're like the Ansel Adams of color automotive photography.

wkohler wrote: I had photographed some bikes out here a few years back and received a citation for using a camera on National Forest land. $200 plus a $58 court fee.

What the F-ing F? When did this become a thing?

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 15, 2017 3:27 AM

Thanks for the comments. It certainly has been a very frustrating project at times but it is pretty nice to actually drive it. I did the 500 mile oil change today, so it's running on some fresh Valvoline VR-1. That oil filter canister is really a pain in the ass - even with a lift. Part of me wishes I had gone to a later canister and just powder-coated it to look the part but I decided to stay original. Meh!

With that done, I need to czech the timing and some other stuff again before taking the motor more into the rev range and going WOT. I guess we will see how it all goes this weekend as barring anything I haven't noticed or some impending disaster, I guess this is the car I'm going to attempt to make the trip to San Diego with. I'm not totally sure it's the right idea but what the hell.

vinceg101 · Post by **vinceg101** » Mar 15, 2017 12:05 PM

wkohler wrote:With that done, I need to czech the timing and some other stuff again before taking the motor more into the rev range and going WOT. I guess we will see how it all goes this weekend as barring anything I haven't noticed or some impending disaster, I guess this is the car I'm going to attempt to make the trip to San Diego with. I'm not totally sure it's the right idea but what the hell.

This kind of the way I feel at the moment; wish I had the month of shake-down I had originally planned. Oh well, at least we will have a wing man flying along side.

Can't wait to see this thing finally.

ElGuappo · Post by **ElGuappo** » Mar 15, 2017 1:34 PM

Don't let it being the wrong idea dissuade you from doing it!
Where is your 'Murican gumption?!

Pavel · Post by **Pavel** » Mar 16, 2017 5:50 PM

wkohler wrote:I highly doubt they'd have any interest in my car after running this story. That will be all their E12 content for the next 10 years.

But I do. Let's talk maybe we can put something specific this time for the M535i, restoration, owner etc. Maybe I will make a trip out to you to do a proper coverage on DRIVETRIBE. Got a pretty decent audience now at 35k members.

CSBM5 · Post by **CSBM5** » Mar 17, 2017 4:25 PM

wkohler wrote:That oil filter canister is really a pain in the ass - even with a lift. Part of me wishes I had gone to a later canister and just powder-coated it to look the part but I decided to stay original. Meh!

I assume this is the bottom bolt canister? The one where oil goes freaking everywhere just about no matter what you do? Ah for the days of such fun...

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 20, 2017 4:52 PM

This last week, I had an awesome time with Greg E34 and Kyle in NO as they passed through town to go to the St Paddy's meet in San Diego. Kyle also had a mostly empty trailer, so instead of driving the M535i over, I did something I've never done before in my life - trailer a car to an event. It made sense since I've been so busy and I could relax instead of spending a whole day cleaning bugs and crap off the car. While I was planning on heading over really early Friday morning, Kyle was planning on leaving later on Thursday, so that ended up working out for me too. We had to pick ldsbeaker up in Yuma since I was going to be giving him a ride to San Diego anyway and Kyle was cool with that.

The trip over went smoothly and we got to San Diego around 3:30am. Kyle dropped us off at Darin's house and he ended up spending the night in his truck due to concerns about theft of the in the bed in the hotel parking lot. Later that morning, he and Greg had the car unloaded for me when I got there. It drove pretty well but I was concerned about some rubbing I was getting with the left rear tire which I hadn't really been getting before.

Here are a couple photos of it from the event that I've found.

So that was pretty fun and we decided to head home on Sunday morning. Once getting Adam and all of our stuff in the car, that left rear tire was going to be constantly on the fender, which we know wouldn't last long. After going through a few options of how to fix it, JP from La Jolla Independent suggested we unload the car and take it over to the shop and see what we could do. So we did. Devinder, his assistant, Dylan and Yar came along as well. I don't know what the deal is with these Bilsteins but they're supposed to be for the M535i but the spring wasn't even compressed with the perch on the top ring. Without a lathe, Devinder came up with an idea, so we pulled them out of the car and went to the pile of old Bilsteins and got a couple more lower perches, inverted them and used them as a spacer, then reassembled. It worked well. No spring compressor needed either, though there was a real one right there.

Back at Darin's, we got it loaded up again, and I have to say I think it looks pretty sweet.

Back on the road again. For real this time. Our original 10am departure was now 1pm. Things were going well. Until we started climbing into Alpine. Suddenly, it started stumbling and we were running on five cylinders. I exited the Interstate and pulled off into a Carl's Jr. parking lot. Started looking some things over and swapped the cap and rotor. Started it up and it ran fine for a few seconds, then settled back into five cylinders. I moved some things around and when I touched the coolant temp sensor connector, the car died, so I popped it apart, re-tensioned the pins and reassembled it. Started the car and it idled for a minute perfectly. Took it up Alpine Blvd for about a mile and it ran great. Turned around and headed back downhill and it started stumbling again. Went through a few other ideas and then Adam suggested that we shouldn't risk it since there was so much climbing ahead. We got some lunch and he reached out to some friends with trucks and arranged for a U-Haul trailer. My friend Eric was with us in his E39 (totally packed with computer stuff) and he suggested we go back out and look at the car. I said I wanted to pull the wires 1 by 1 to see if this was a dead cylinder or something that was moving around. Started with 6 and had a change with it, 5, 4, 3 and then when I pulled 2, nothing changed. With that, we went through and found that the injector connector on #2 was not fully seated as I thought it had been. He easily unplugged it. I double checked the pins and found it was one I hadn't disassembled, so I reconnected it, grabbed a tool and tapped on it to make sure it fully seated. Took it for a drive and I pronounced it fixed. Adam's friend was grabbing the trailer, so we put him off for a bit and got back on the road. While I was a bit stressed out, the car performed flawlessly and ran well. We were soon coming into El Centro and while I wasn't sure it was necessary, we still had him get the trailer just in case a problem did arise. Everything went smoothly and we dropped Adam off at home. He got home later than he was hoping, but didn't complain at all.

After that, Eric and I were on our way and it was smooth sailing all the way home. The car ran very well, was quiet with no rattles, no squeaks, no clunks and no other noises. The motor was smooth and it consumed no obvious amount of oil. I made it home around 10pm. Much later than I should have, but I was able to drive the car all the way and I was happy about that. I had a couple of issues and I'd have likely had them on my trip to San Diego and I wouldn't have really had much of an answer for the fender interference then and I'd have likely turned around and just grabbed the E39. I'm glad it worked out the way it did and I really appreciate Adam and Eric being patient while I was upset my car was showing it wasn't truly ready for prime time. In the end, it was a couple of minor issues, but I've obviously got some great friends that have my back.

This morning, I decided to clean the bugs off and swap out the trip lights and grilles for the real set.

Pretty insane amount of bugs in places very hard to access. That said, it looks no worse for wear.

white chocolate · Post by **white chocolate** » Mar 20, 2017 5:32 PM

Man, that thing is too cool!

Glad you guys got things worked out. Being stranded hours from home is no es beuno.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Mar 21, 2017 10:43 AM

Glad you made it back ok, and looks like your concerns about the drive were well founded! Nice troubleshooting which can always be tough in the heat of the moment in a stressful situation.

cddallara · Post by **cddallara** » Mar 22, 2017 1:44 AM

Glad you made it there and back ok. You do have great friends. Some of the same ones have helped me before too.
Gonna be weird cruising by All Autos and not seeing a green British sports car there anymore. Hopefully Kyle has a safe drive up here and on to wherever Slammin's car is headed.

maybeillbuyit · Post by **maybeillbuyit** » Mar 29, 2017 11:08 AM

Sounds like a great first road trip. Nice job working through the problems. The car looks awesome.

That oil filter canister is really a pain in the ass - even with a lift. Part of me wishes I had gone to a later canister and just powder-coated it to look the part but I decided to stay original. Meh!

I've got the same canister on my M90 and it sucks. Not only does mine leak out the bolthole and the bolt falls out but once the canister is unbolted from below it doesn't have room to to come out the bottom. Then you have to go up top and twist and turn it to get it just right to have room to remove it from the top. The whole time dribbling oil all over.

Which later housing and canister would you use that has the oil cooler ports?

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Mar 29, 2017 11:38 AM

I agree it makes a mess, but I didn't think it was all that much worse than the M30B34. Just loosen the bolt by hand and then once it's fully unthreaded use your pointer finger to hold the bolt snug to the housing. Once you bring it down far enough you can move it and maneuver it around up and out. Maybe it helps that I have small hands, wrists and arms

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Mar 29, 2017 12:58 PM

When I change the oil on mine I put two plastic grocery bags around the canister and try to undo the bolt with a wrench inside the bag. It's convoluted and horrifically awkward but it sort of works to contain the bolt falling out and the oil spillage.

bkbimmer · Post by **bkbimmer** » Mar 29, 2017 1:45 PM

The car looks gorgeous, sir.

maybeillbuyit · Post by **maybeillbuyit** » Apr 05, 2017 4:04 PM

tschultz wrote:I agree it makes a mess, but I didn't think it was all that much worse than the M30B34. Just loosen the bolt by hand and then once it's fully unthreaded use your pointer finger to hold the bolt snug to the housing. Once you bring it down far enough you can move it and maneuver it around up and out. Maybe it helps that I have small hands, wrists and arms

I don't know, the b34 doesn't have a hole in the bottom dripping and it slides out the bottom of the engine comp. This one has to tilt over spilling more oil then out the top. Maybe I'll get better at it. I am fairly hamhanded as well

maybeillbuyit · Post by **maybeillbuyit** » Apr 05, 2017 4:05 PM

Adam W in MN wrote:When I change the oil on mine I put two plastic grocery bags around the canister and try to undo the bolt with a wrench inside the bag. It's convoluted and horrifically awkward but it sort of works to contain the bolt falling out and the oil spillage.

Ill try this, thx Adam

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Apr 21, 2017 12:25 PM

Ivo sent this link to me this morning.

http://www.justdashes.com/2016/07/dashb ... -pad-ease/

I guess Just Dashes is pretty proud of the work they did on my dash.

Adam W in MN · Post by **Adam W in MN** » Apr 23, 2017 10:13 PM

What's a "1980 535i"?

They should let you post publicly with your feedback on the quality of their work.

Mat & Pat · Post by **Mat & Pat** » Apr 24, 2017 3:39 AM

Adam W in MN wrote:What's a "1980 535i"?

They should let you post publicly with your feedback on the quality of their work.

They, uh... forgot the M?

leadphut · Post by **leadphut** » Apr 25, 2017 4:25 PM

wkohler wrote:Ivo sent this link to me this morning.

http://www.justdashes.com/2016/07/dashb ... -pad-ease/

I guess Just Dashes is pretty proud of the work they did on my dash.

better than Just Rashes

yikes! don't bother.

the_illermiller · Post by **the_illermiller** » Jun 05, 2017 9:41 PM

The perseverance and attention to detail in this thread really stuck with me. So much so, that I immediately asked Chris if I could draw it and use it as one of the first pieces in my fledgling business. Some of you have seen this already I'm sure, but I put this together for Chris:

While it is digital, it's not just a photoshop filter over an image. Some WIP

If you want your own, you can check out my store. I have a couple other prints available in various sizes and will be adding more variety (non-BMWs) over the next couple of months. Cheers, Chris and thanks for encouraging the plug!
https://www.ridgewerks.com/

M. Holtmeier · Post by **M. Holtmeier** » Jun 16, 2017 2:37 PM

Wow, Chris. I'm blown away at what you've built. Congrats!

I've got to get out to some west coast meets.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Jul 25, 2017 4:10 AM

Over the last couple of months, I hadn't done much. I had been so busy with work that I put the car out of my mind for the most part. Also, picking up the M coupe kept me pretty distracted (in a good way). 5erWest was approaching and I wasn't sure what to take. I had started working on a punch list for a couple of cars and figured that since I had a couple leaks on the M535i that needed to be sorted and I'd pretty much reached the end of my rope with them and my time was very tight, I decided to have them sorted professionally. When I picked up the car, I couldn't believe what happened.

The car was outside for about 90 minutes from when they called saying they were filling up the trans with oil and when I could pick it up. In that time, the Just Dashes dashboard suffered failure in multiple places. There were more issues than I photographed, but they convey the effect. I was crushed and livid and just felt terrible. Here I just wanted to get a couple things worked out so I could enjoy the car and hopefully take it to Oregon. I spent a huge amount of money on this dash and it's ruined. I called them when I got home and was told this was very unusual. I sent them the photos and was told to wait for a call from the production manager who was out, so it might be a day or two. I parked the car in the garage and didn't touch it for a while.

I was pretty much looking at taking the '87 M535i again, but one Sunday, I was working around the house and I decided to just take the E12 M535i out for a drive and just see how it felt. I made a couple of adjustments to the clutch pedal height and checked a couple things and ended up driving it around for a couple hours. Even took it down to South Mountain and drove the Summit Road in the park and with it being so hot, the bicycles were few and I could actually drive the road, which was nice. I spent about an hour or more in the park and stopped every so often to take a photo or two.

More time went by and I made a couple more adjustments here and there as time permitted and I felt that since I had about 1000 miles on the car since putting it back together, there's really no reason it shouldn't go to Portland. Sure, the dash is a bummer, but the rest of the car is sorta decent and maybe it would be a good trip for it.

A couple weeks went by and I finally got a call back. He started out talking about how hot it is in Phoenix and that I shouldn't expect the dash to hold up to those conditions despite the website saying "it will stand up to decades of blazing heat" and it was only outside for a short period for this failure didn't seem to matter. I had sent photos taken during installation showing other shortcomings and the beginning of the failure on the right side of the cluster binnacle and I do think that helped. At this point, he said they'd redo the dash and pay special attention to various areas. By the end of the call, I was reasonably satisfied with the solution despite the fact that I have to pay to ship to them and I also have to remove the dash with the windshield in place. I made everything much more difficult during installation to ensure we would do it in the safest manner, one time. Now I get to undo all of that.

I got an alignment (shop has really weird hours and the last two times I tried to take it, they had been closed for a vacation).

I bought some tape.

And we hit the road. I was in bed for about 25 min before leaving around 4:30 am on Thursday, July 13.

I met up with Vince and Eric at Vince's hangar in Pacoima, then headed north. Despite (or perhaps because of) my preparation for various component failures, the trip up was uneventful for this E12. The M535i ran well and despite the lack of AC and driving with two windows down for the entire trip, it was actually somewhat enjoyable. I was pretty tense and anxious for the first couple hundred miles, but once we settled into the seemingly unending wasteland of California's central valley, I was feeling pretty good, but not good enough to jinx the trip. Also, somehow, I managed to stay awake and alert. Spent the night in Williams, CA and a full night's rest was just what I needed. I was content that the M535i was running well and was looking forward to the long, but interesting and scenic drive to come on Friday.

We rolled into town around 6:30pm on Friday. The second day of the caravan is a pretty tightly scheduled 10 hr drive from north of Sacramento to Portland and with lunch and fuel stops as well as the occasional blown off coolant hose, time goes quickly.

The show went well. About 80 cars showed and we had four E12s, which was nice. I think that's been the highest number since 2012 where we had a few. E12 B7 Turbo and a couple of '79 528s joined my M535i this year, so it was a nice group.

As usual, I failed to take any photos, so here's a shot I stole from @vintageeuro on Instagram:

It ended up being a great day for this E12 M535i since it was voted both Best E12 and Best in Show. I was pretty surprised given the great cars that were there this year. Definitely honored to have received it.

We had a great drive out to Hood River and on some great roads, including the killer Cooper Spur road. Joel323 rode along with me on the drive this year and it really was great to have another person in the car and he could tell me what to expect on turns for Cooper Spur also. That was pretty sweet. Amazingly, the car handled it all with aplomb and while there were times I wish I was in the M coupe that was on our ass the whole time, it was great to drive the E12.

I stayed up in Portland for a few days after the event and even got to watch the odometer turn over to 150k.

Headed for home around 4:30 Friday morning. I drove 1,003 miles (according to the map - a few more miles with fuel and food stops) to Corona, CA where I spent the night at photopark's house. By this point, I was confident in the car and even thought about finally admitting that I put together a pretty good car. Fortunately, there were no issues on the trip back aside from the odd piece of crap person trying to run you off the road so they could be a couple car lengths further ahead on I-5. I spent plenty of time in traffic both Friday on the 210 and Saturday on the 91 and 60 and didn't have any temperature events or anything like that. It really did great.

Made it back into town around 10pm on Saturday night. The car ran great and ate up the miles. Overall, it was a great experience to take the car on the trip to Oregon, and to come back with Best E12 and overall Best in Show was just icing on the cake. I've put a lot of effort, time and money into this car and I was glad I got to enjoy it and to get generally positive feedback on the car from others as well.

So, now that it's all cleaned up and back to where it was before the trip, I guess I need to gear up to start taking things apart again. :/

Post by **tig** » Jul 25, 2017 4:26 PM

Best in show: Deserved.

muleskinner · Post by **muleskinner** » Jul 26, 2017 6:09 AM

That really sucks about the dash. My car hasn't spent much time in a shop, but I always tell them "please, please, pleeeeeease don't leave it sitting out in the sun". For a little extra piece of mind, I recently put a dash pad in it.
Hopefully they get yours right the second time around. Great road trip story.

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Jul 26, 2017 10:13 AM

cek wrote:

Are you guys discussing whether or not you're going to look for the big W?

vinceg101 · Post by **vinceg101** » Jul 26, 2017 11:43 AM

^^^This was my Pit Crew.
They were actually waiting for me to catch up after I had pulled over when my engine temps spiked. You should have seen them go into action when I showed up, it was inspiring.

[But yes, put a large Duck-billed cap and overalls on Chris, and I think you're on to something]

I have to say that despite all the trials & tribulations Chris has had with this car, it really turned out fantastic. It is truly an impressive feat of hard work and dedication that more than shows in all the details. I spent a lot of time behind Chris and trying to catch up most times.

zentropy · Post by **zentropy** » Jul 27, 2017 1:52 PM

Great story! Love the car. The rear of the E12s look so good with the spoiler.

grbbenny · Post by **grbbenny** » Jul 27, 2017 2:36 PM

"Fortunately, there were no issues on the trip back aside from the odd piece of crap person trying to run you off the road so they could be a couple car lengths further ahead on I-5."

OMG I love your droll writeups!

Congratulations on both the car and the awards.