86 535i Schwarz on cardinal

[muleskinner]

I started a thread 5 years ago viewtopic.php?f=7&t=134990 when I bought this car sight unseen from Minneapolis. It was on ebay, and I PMd one of our long time MN members at the time, who was kind enough to go out and take a look at it and report back to me. His comments at the time were (paraphrased) "Car seems to be in very good shape, zero cracks in the dash, needs exhaust, interior is incredible, and it's possible that the odo is correct showing just over 48K". The carfax seemed to support that with an anomaly at one point showing 90K or so, but then the carfax went back consistent with the currently shown mileage many years before I bought it. Odo is still working flawlessly, and after 5 years since I've owned it, it now shows 51K.

Since the old thread got kind of diluted by me adding stuff about my other bimmers in the fleet (I've currently got 6(!) in the household), and I used photosucket (I didn't listen to cek at the time), some of the pics from that thread are crapped out now, so I thought I'd start a new thread dedicated just to this car.


A summary of what I've done to it:

--Mark D'Sylva chip (now sold by Turner)
--Z3 short shifter (I tried a UUC at first, but it's way too notchy for my taste...the z3 is an easy fit, and huge upgraded feel compared to e28 oem)
--H&R springs / Bilstein shocks
--ebay front strut brace (every bit as strut bracey as any of the big name brands)
--Supersprint cat back/resonator delete exhaust
--Full euro bumper conversion including front and rear euro valances (everything was sourced through great fellow members here on the forum...you know who you are)
--17" BBS / BMW style 5 (It came with a set of 16s in perfect condition...which I still have, but I like the look of the Style 5s most of the time).
--///M stitched steering wheel (I've got a MOMO/Alpina in near perfect condition which I also switch out now and then)
--PO had upgraded the speakers all around. I'll probably upgrade the head unit to bluetooth compatible, but haven't so far, because I don't drive it much, and when I do drive it, I just like to listen to the awesome sounds of the car.
--Black with red Cocomats

Here's some pics from shortly after I got the car 5 years ago:





This car slumbers comfortably under a car cover in my basement most of the time. It's been sitting for a couple of months, but cranked right up today.

I have a weakness for photo shoots in the fall here in ATL when the colors are all vibrant, but will try to expand my photo shoot options going forward. Heres' a few I took today:







A little interior porn today:



These are from a few years ago, but the interior looks the same today:





Driving video shortly after I bought it. Drives the same today:

https://youtu.be/7FuGiqpqi3w

[Bonsaibacker]

Great looking car. And thanks for linking to the old thread. As a newer member I don't know older member's stories unless they update frequently- I appreciate the refresh.

[Carma_Cardan]

Wow! Nice!

[muleskinner]

I just noticed my photos from yesterday were mostly from the left side of the car. Here's one from the right side



I just used flat black trim tape to shadowline it. It actually works pretty well, but as you can see, it's peeling on the Hofmeister kink, and a couple of other spots need some love. I want to get a full set of the actual OEM shadowline trim pieces for it, but haven't found a good source yet. Also, the paint is in very good shape, but you can see swirls in it when you get up close. I need to get a pro to compound and polish it and reset the paint, then maybe do a ceramic coating.

[tig]

Darn, you done great work with this car. Thanks for the thread!

Tell me about that shift boot.

[muleskinner]

My son's e39 came to hang out with its grandpa. @cek, I just now saw your question about the shifter boot. I think I got that on ebay from a seller in the UK. Super soft leather with ///M stitching.

[SteveKerwin]

This is very impressive. I couldn't have done better myself.

[muleskinner]

Swirls on the paint be gone!

I finally got around to having the paint reset. My friend Ezequiel, who 2000 grit wet sanded it, etc. called and told me "I think got it looking as close to the way it rolled off the factory floor!". So when I went to pick it up, I figured he was exaggerating. Well, he might have been, but not by much! I was more than pleased with the outcome.









So now the question is: what should I use to protect it? I know everybody has their own favorite wax, sealers, etc., and I've liked Meguiar's over the years, but am open to suggestions. No. Ceramic coating is not in the budget.

[RMP]

I have had great experience with Adams Polishes on the 88’ M5. The final glaze and the pure Americana Wax really make the single stage black really “pop”. Didn't go the ceramic route.

[Adam W in MN]

Gorgeous car and mods you have done. Thanks for posting the most recent pics after the detail work.

[Dale3783]

Looks great. One of my favorite color combinations.

Where'd you get the M stitched wheel cover? My steering wheel needs new leather...

[muleskinner]

Where'd you get the M stitched wheel cover? My steering wheel needs new leather...

Hmmm....I was about to reply "...you can get different kinds of re-stitched steering wheels on ebay all the time...". Apparently, no mas, but I got mine on ebay a few years ago. The ones I found on ebay now have also increased pretty dramatically in price.

[gray635]

That is a fine looking car. Went back and looked at your original build thread, too. You have done a terrific job with it!