Beige on beige in Seattle

[notouching]

Hello everyone!

Long time (many years) lurker, first time poster, finally!

I have loved E28s ever since I got into cars during college - and back then I drove an e30 sedan, a white '91 318i. I learned to wrench on the E30 and will always have fond memories of that car.



Fast forward 8 years to this summer, when I somehow stumbled upon a Reno Craigslist ad for a '86 528e in bronzebeige over pearlbeige, in great condition (on that later) and with documented history from day 1. After spending a couple hours on the phone with the seller I was ready to pull the trigger. My buddy and I flew to Reno and drove the car back to Seattle area via Redwoods and California/Oregon coast.


Viewpoint along Hwy-299 before dropping to 101 in California.

Some photos of the car when I got it:





The dash is covered by this silicone cover. I don't love it, but for now am too lazy to remove it and clean the glue off the original dash, which is known to be cracked.


These are seat covers

Details when I bought it:
- In Reno since 1986
- 151k miles, I'm the third owner
- The only option I believe is the sound system.
- Resprayed in original color in 2012 at 140k miles
- Kenwood stereo, tint - that's about it in terms of non-factory equipment
- Everything works except for cruise control and power headrests

Since bringing the car home I've made the following upgrades/repairs:
- Blaupunkt Bremen stereo upgrade
- Replaced the stock kick panel speakers with Kicker 4x6 units
- Oil pan gasket was leaking, so I replaced it
- I took the car to a trusty local indy BMW shop and had them replace the transmission output shaft seal, rear subframe bushings, and one of the half-shafts. Since they took the transmission off I paid them to install the UUC Evo 3 short shifter to replace the very sloppy stock shifter.
- Today I replaced the rear brake pads and front upper control arm bushings, and at this point all the car "needs" is an alignment, that's it. I'll replace the spark plugs and the wiring because it cranks a while before starting, especially when cold.

My current plan for the car is to slowly build it into a beautiful, reliable, and comfortable but fun daily/cruiser. Next up I'll be finishing the audio upgrades.

[muleskinner]

[notouching]

Have been meaning to post an update here, but have been lazy lately.

I've now finished the audio upgrades. No photos since everything looks OEM and the sub is hidden, but here's a parts list and some notes:

• Front kick panels: Kicker 47KSC4604 4x6
• Original tweeters, reused the high pass filter capacitor from the stock units in the kick panels
• Rear parcel shelf: Kicker 47KSC504 5 1/4"
• Subwoofer under the driver side of the rear seat: Kicker 11HS8 8"
• Amplifier in stock location in the trunk: Kicker 47KEY2004

I reused the original wires that run from the amp to the speakers, but ran new RCA cables from the stereo to the amp, 12" was just enough, if I was to do it again I'd buy longer cables. I am pretty happy with the sound. The main and the subwoofer amps are at about 1/4 of their max gain.

Got new carpet floor mats from Lloyd. I first requested the sample kit of their tan carpets and in the end picked "605 Light Shale". Very happy with them, the fit is great.

New shift knob and boot from E28 Goodies:


Recently the car spent a couple of days at the local trusty shop being diagnosed for interior and trunk leaks. Ended up needing new vapor barriers in 3 doors and new trunk and taillight seals.

Next up I'd like to sort the dash cluster. Something inside is clicking there, and it's tied to the speedo or the odometer, so I'll replace the odometer gears. The OBC backlight died recently, so I got a new part. I also think the previous owner used wrong backlight bulbs for the dash cluster - it is very red, not amber like the rest of the interior lights.

A couple of recent photos:

[Mdreamer]

Thanks for the update! Please keep sharing your progress.

[SeattleGuy]

Ha! Love the shift boot. My first Bimmer was an '83 533i Bronzit on Bronze in 1996 when some fool ran into my Jetta 16V. I have not messed around with stereo at all on this car, I like your work there. I was in North Seattle now Arlington. I get down to town often. I know Kenmore for sure. Next time I come to the area I'll give a holler. Maybe meet up at Hellbent or something.