47k mile 528e

[sefb222]

i wasn't really planning to pick up another e28 just yet, but my son came across a CL ad that sounded too good to be true.

one owner, an elderly orchestra violinist who cared for this car as if it were his first born child. everything ever done to the car was documented, including gas fills, and MPG in between. i've never seen an E28 in this kind of shape. every panel is laser straight, and the only real flaw is the cracked dash

i'm currently on the fence as to whether i should go ahead and swap in a 5sp trans, or leave it original, considering the condition.

[cactusjacks1]

Great car - truly a "one of a kind". Keep it totally stock !!

[south26]

OK, it has 47,000 miles, but will you enjoy it more with a 5 speed?


Andy

[Kyle in NO]

Do the swap. You won’t alter anything permanently and can always return it to 100% original.

[PowerSax]

Beautiful ride.
I find that modifications are a slippery slope. How good is your self control to make it more (and more) enjoyable?

[south26]

But why make it live any longer with an auto tragic? It is not like it is a one of kind, We as humans try an make things better, we do not always succeed, but with this you will.


Andy

[Mike W.]

It would be too good for me. I'd have to do a 5 speed conversion, then surely an e to i would follow. It's too nice to modify, but I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Regardless, treat it to a 5 speed. It's not like a matching numbers 63 split window Corvette or anything. And it would make it a better car.

[boomvader]

What a great deal! I was tempted to buy only to get it on BaT to see just how much it would go for! Glad it ended up in good hands!

[Bonsaibacker]

It would be too good for me. I'd have to do a 5 speed conversion, then surely an e to i would follow. It's too nice to modify, but I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Regardless, treat it to a 5 speed. It's not like a matching numbers 63 split window Corvette or anything. And it would make it a better car.

My sentiments exactly. For a cherry like that I would have picked it up for what it is or waited for one in poor condition that would benefit from my tampering...

Good luck and keep posting.

[austin8753]

At the end of the day, it's a bronzit 528e, regardless of mileage. Do whatever makes you happy. The 5-speed conversion is definitely way more appealing to 99% of people. I wouldn't think twice about it.

[wkohler]

Hope to see you and the car at 5erWest a week from Saturday! Beautiful car. Black interior makes the car.

[LeiseyJr]

At the end of the day, it's a bronzit 528e, regardless of mileage. Do whatever makes you happy.

Yeah what he said no matter how much time or money you put in to it that's how people will see it as. Ask me how I know.

[duggi]

At the end of the day, it's a bronzit 528e, regardless of mileage. Do whatever makes you happy.

Yeah what he said no matter how much time or money you put in to it that's how people will see it as. Ask me how I know.

This is unfortunately a very true statement. Be sympathetic to it, but a 5 speed will not ruin it in any way. You can always keep the auto and it's associated parts in a storage crate if you feel the need.

[tig]

Nice. Do the 5-speed. Get the paint ceramic coated now.

[sefb222]

A little update.

More to come.

[wkohler]

I’m so glad to see this fixed.

[sefb222]

Man, it was getting to be a nightmare with the insurance company, and them wanting to declare it a total loss. I threatened to file a complaint with the Oregon Insurance Commission and they changed their tune in less than 20 minutes.

The repairs were done at Burnside Collision in Portland, and they’ve been taking great care of me and the car. The payout for damage was enough to cover the repair and euro bumper swap, minus parts. Luckily I had a spare door laying around and they were able to repair the rear quarter without replacing it.

I should be picking it up today, and hopefully dropping it off with Austin next week for the 5sp swap.

My 535is went to the paint shop last week for a full respray, and the seats were just redone. (Salmon silver on Cardinal red)


I’ll post updated pics soon.

[tig]

I’m so glad to see this fixed.

^ This.

[taavipa]

What happened to it? I must have missed something.

[sefb222]

Back in July I was T-boned by somebody running a red light. I fought with the insurance company over the value of the car and whether it should be declared a total loss.
The damage really wasn’t that bad but I had to hire two independent appraisers to finally get the insurance company to stand down.

[sefb222]

Some old-school hammer and dolly bodywork saved the day, and the shop threw in the euro conversion for no extra charge.
(Did a killer job)

[sefb222]

Needs a little cut and buff.

[tig]

I think there may be only one nicer Bronzit E28 on the planet.

I don't recognize that front spoiler. Where'd that come from. I probably should know, but ...

[dsmith]

Always good to get that first broadside out of the way. Now you can do the manual swap without hesitation. Looks great and I think the value increased with the euro treatment vs original.

[sefb222]

I think there may be only one nicer Bronzit E28 on the planet.

I don't recognize that front spoiler. Where'd that come from. I probably should know, but ...

That’s just the stock early euro valance.
I’ve got a nice pfeba spoiler but I’ll probably just sell it.

I’m curious about the other nice Bronzit! I did see a super clean 535 recently with some very tasteful mods. is that yours?

[sefb222]

Always good to get that first broadside out of the way. Now you can do the manual swap without hesitation. Looks great and I think the value increased with the euro treatment vs original.

Agreed. It’s getting suspension on Thursday and 5sp swap is next. Parts are all gathered.

[tig]

I think there may be only one nicer Bronzit E28 on the planet.

I don't recognize that front spoiler. Where'd that come from. I probably should know, but ...

That’s just the stock early euro valance.
I’ve got a nice pfeba spoiler but I’ll probably just sell it.

I’m curious about the other nice Bronzit! I did see a super clean 535 recently with some very tasteful mods. is that yours?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=146222

[sefb222]

Yep. That’s the one.

I’ve got pics of it saved on my phone as inspiration. Having a hell of a time finding that front lip.

I think there may be only one nicer Bronzit E28 on the planet.

I don't recognize that front spoiler. Where'd that come from. I probably should know, but ...

That’s just the stock early euro valance.
I’ve got a nice pfeba spoiler but I’ll probably just sell it.

I’m curious about the other nice Bronzit! I did see a super clean 535 recently with some very tasteful mods. is that yours?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=146222

[Adam W in MN]

Glad you saved it after the collision and insurance nightmare. Well done.

[SeattleGuy]

It would be too good for me. I'd have to do a 5 speed conversion, then surely an e to i would follow. It's too nice to modify, but I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Regardless, treat it to a 5 speed. It's not like a matching numbers 63 split window Corvette or anything. And it would make it a better car.

Yah, curb it at 5sp but definitely do it. And you can take it right back to original in a matter of hours. Beautiful Beautiful rig.
E'rbody hating on Bronzit.... My first 533i was Bronzit. Not my FAVORITE color but it's all right. Great work on the car mate glad you kept it from getting a salvage title. Did you just tell them it's all my independent labor or what because to me it's arguably a total. I see you and I both raided the Discount Tire for Yokos.... they're actually pretty good and great for the $$$.

C

[sefb222]

Definitely getting a five speed conversion handled in the immediate future… I’ve got pretty much all of the parts gathered and I’m just waiting until my Tacoma is out of the body shop so I will have a daily driver back. (I’ve parked the f80 M3 for a while since I kept getting myself in trouble)

I threatened to file a complaint with the Oregon insurance commission because they were refusing to accept the results of the appraisal i’d obtained, and ordered their own which came in quite a bit lower. Then I got another, and they changed their tune and sent a check to the body shop. Appraisal came back @ 13.5k which is about double what they’d estimated the damage to be.

Since I gave the shop a pair of doors and they didn’t have to replace the quarter panel, they agreed to throw in the euro swap labor. I already had good bumpers and an OEM valance, along with NOS fog light, super clean turn signals, and an immaculate set of euro headlights and grilles.

[quote="Mike W." post_id=<a href="tel:1472704">1472704</a> time=<a href="tel:1562734481">1562734481</a> user_id=6102]
It would be too good for me. I'd have to do a 5 speed conversion, then surely an e to i would follow. It's too nice to modify, but I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Regardless, treat it to a 5 speed. It's not like a matching numbers 63 split window Corvette or anything. And it would make it a better car.

Yah, curb it at 5sp but definitely do it. And you can take it right back to original in a matter of hours. Beautiful Beautiful rig.
E'rbody hating on Bronzit.... My first 533i was Bronzit. Not my FAVORITE color but it's all right. Great work on the car mate glad you kept it from getting a salvage title. Did you just tell them it's all my independent labor or what because to me it's arguably a total. I see you and I both raided the Discount Tire for Yokos.... they're actually pretty good and great for the $$$.

C
[/quote]

[quote="Mike W." post_id=<a href="tel:1472704">1472704</a> time=<a href="tel:1562734481">1562734481</a> user_id=6102]
It would be too good for me. I'd have to do a 5 speed conversion, then surely an e to i would follow. It's too nice to modify, but I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Regardless, treat it to a 5 speed. It's not like a matching numbers 63 split window Corvette or anything. And it would make it a better car.

Yah, curb it at 5sp but definitely do it. And you can take it right back to original in a matter of hours. Beautiful Beautiful rig.
E'rbody hating on Bronzit.... My first 533i was Bronzit. Not my FAVORITE color but it's all right. Great work on the car mate glad you kept it from getting a salvage title. Did you just tell them it's all my independent labor or what because to me it's arguably a total. I see you and I both raided the Discount Tire for Yokos.... they're actually pretty good and great for the $$$.

C
[/quote]

[sefb222]

Not sure how I buggered up the quote. Sorry.

[Foonfer]

A sub-50K mile E28 with no rust and a recent partial restoration (even if involuntary - glad to see the outcome went well) is essentially a brand-new car.

This car needs nothing except a manual trans, a 3.25 diff and perhaps an e2i conversion. Oh, and sport seats.

I don't get the Bronzit hate. Perhaps it stems from the gold/gold-y/gold-ish era of 80s/early-90s auto industry, and the Gordon Gekko aspirations of many a douchebag way back when. All makes offered hues in that range, and let's not forget THAT DAY when all of a sudden you saw for the first time a Lexus with GOLD EMBLEMS and you couldn't look away, like a trainwreck in slow-motion.

Fast forward to 2020, when all cars have been gray, silver, white, red or black for more than a decade, with painful little concessions to color here or there, to witness the apparition of a well-preseved Bronzit BMW is, as they say, "something else". It is a great color, not gold, not silver, with the *right* amount of smokiness and mystery.

[Bonsaibacker]

Plus one on the Bronzit respect. The love has grown over the years and I appreciate the uniqueness of it. Besides- never kick a rust-free E28 out of bed.

[tig]

My bronzit hate is purely about how easily the clear coat fails. But with this car that's not an issue. <3

[sefb222]

Some updated pics, post detailing. Good thing it’s gonna rain for the next 6 months here

[tig]

Damn that looks great!

[gray635]

^^^ Yeah, it really does. Nice to see a good result follow an unfortunate incident. Car looks terrific.

[Ordnator]

Sharp

I hope my Bronzitbeige Eta looks half as good as this after its re-spray next year.

Best regards,

Mick