Nick's "520i" - 1985 - Alpinweiss - M54B30 swap on Air

[kcin]

Hi all,

Here is my e28 520i from 1985. Bought it in July 2017 in the Netherlands. This thread will be picture heavy





Did not take long, and I mounted e12 mirrors















Bit later I bagged it on TA Technix air suspension and bought some AC Schnitzer Rims in 9x17 et33 with 20mm spacer and 10x17 et33 with a 15mm spacer.













Then I got a Nardi wheel



And I made some stripes







Later I fitted a Zender Frontspoiler:











Bought some daily wheels:



As well as French front headlights which I restored











Some more pictures:















And because I had a crash with my daily (e46 330i m54b30), I had a perfect engine for the e28

So the full restauration of my e28 started in 2018:

Brakes:

• BMW e34 540i Brakes Rear
• BMW e34 540i Brakes Front
• Fischer stahlflex flexible brake lines
• New Kunifer Brake lines
• BMW e90 brakebooster
• New Handbrake cables

Fuel:

• New Polyamid Fuel lines
• QSP Fuelpump
• BMW e46 m3 fuel pressure regulator housing
• BMW e46 330i fuel regulator
• Restored my fuel tank

Suspension:

• BMW e31 Control arms
• e28goodies Control arms
• New Lemförder droplinks
• BMW e34 rear axle
• New PU bushings from Strongflex (rear)
• Driveshafts restored + new grease
• All new bolts from Sperber Classic

Other:

• e28goodies short shifter
• e28goodies Motormounts
• BMW e38 oil pickup tube
• M54b30 Engine
• M50b25 Oilpan
• BMW e46 electronic Gaspedal

Electrical

• Put the Battery into the trunk
• New fusebox in the trunk
• New Main harness

Chassis:

• Shaved Engine Bay
• New paint in the engine bay [Work in Progress]
• Fixed some rust

Interieur:

• Removed old insulation
• New Paint
• Insulated with Alubutyl

And some more pictures:

Sperber-classic Bolts:



Drive shaft:




Fuel pump:





Interior:







Chassis:










Engine Bay:








Suspension:








Brake lines:





Electronic Gas pedal



Trunk:




That was the whole progress from the last 3 years.

Next steps will be to paint the engine bay, making the main driveshaft, some small electrical work, and exhaust

Hope you liked the progress and the work

[muleskinner]

https://youtu.be/F_iJ28iXwo0

[Bonsaibacker]

That bare interior is CLEAN! Looks like a lot of love and money- enjoy your chariot.

[tig]

You do fantastic work. I love the chrome E12 mirrors. Not a fan of the stance.

Thanks for sharing!

[BDKawey]

Damn this thing rules. everything looks fantastic

[kcin]

https://youtu.be/F_iJ28iXwo0

That bare interior is CLEAN! Looks like a lot of love and money- enjoy your chariot.

Thanks, yes was quite a lot of work, especially since it's the first time I am restoring a car

You do fantastic work. I love the chrome E12 mirrors. Not a fan of the stance.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks a lot The mirrors were one of the first mods I did, as the original ones were very badly painted. And luckily I found new e12 mirrors for a very good price. Yes the stance is not for everybody

Damn this thing rules. everything looks fantastic

Thank you


Currently I am working on the airlines, and my DIY air suspension management system. This Friday, I will paint the engine bay as well, hopefully turns out good, first time using a real spray gun I also have the Zender side skirts and the rear "bumper". Not sure if I will mount it, the rear one looks kind of weird. I like the sideskirts tho.

[kcin]

So after quite some time, I have another update here as well

Engine bay is painted:



Engine is fitted:





the e90 brake booster with 2002 reservoir:



Rest of the engine has been fitted, and first time outside of the garage:





With my daily e82 125i:



and getting it street legal:



230hp and 314nm

oh and the money shot

[Preacher's 5]

Great work! Beautiful car! I love that you smoothed out the engine bay. The M54 looks sweet!

[81E12]

Hey nick, I’m new to the forum so I apologize if there is a better way to get a hold of you but I was wondering if I could pick your brain about how you wired the m54b30 in. I’d really like to do something similar to my 1981 528i e12. The first five forum has had a few threads of people saying they were going to do the swap with a m54 but no follow up. Just curious as to what challenges there are wiring and with engine management. Also your e28 is my favorite build I’ve come across very clean.