MyE28.com

Very nice. Glad it went to someone who appreciates it for what it is!

T_C_D wrote:It would be faster than a stock e28 M5.

Ha, I wouldn't doubt! You'd definitely need some balls to leave the brakes and suspension all stock.

Crazy_Canuck wrote:Does your 518i have the rear drum brakes?
How about a rear sway bar? Mine does not even have mounting points for the sway bar on the trailing arms.

Does it have the 4.27 differential in it? How about the CV joint connecting the driveshaft to the differential?

Correct on the brakes (solid discs up front, drums in rear), no rear sway bar nor any trailing arm mounting tabs to support one (and no dog-bone links either). The owner's manual shows the 4.10 as the only differential choice, but I've not looked at the differential closely. Haven't put the car up on a hoist yet, so I'm not aware of any driveshaft differences, but it appears to possibly be of a smaller diameter from memory after a quick glance last week.

m-racer wrote:Interesting car Justin, Congrats. I do have a stage 3 M10 (with a worked head, 2.3 crank, a 305 Alpina cam and twin 45 side drafts) in storage

That would wake things up, but then the rest of the car is so inadequate!

shagrath wrote:Hope that car cover comes in handy for this!

Yup, at least until I get a second lift installed so the car fits in the garage. I'm out of floor space, so up we go! The '87 535isA will be going, though. I actually like the auto but the car just doesn't fill any need of mine at this point.

Justin_FL wrote:

Crazy_Canuck wrote:Does your 518i have the rear drum brakes?
How about a rear sway bar? Mine does not even have mounting points for the sway bar on the trailing arms.

Does it have the 4.27 differential in it? How about the CV joint connecting the driveshaft to the differential?

Correct on the brakes (solid discs up front, drums in rear), no rear sway bar nor any trailing arm mounting tabs to support one (and no dog-bone links either). The owner's manual shows the 4.10 as the only differential choice, but I've not looked at the differential closely. Haven't put the car up on a hoist yet, so I'm not aware of any driveshaft differences, but it appears to possibly be of a smaller diameter from memory after a quick glance last week.

Your right on the 4.10 for your car, seems BMW changed to the 4.10 on 9/1984 for the 1985 model year. My 83 518 has the funky drive shaft, and the 4.27 differential.

My car at least has the mounting tabs on the body, so I can change the trailing arms and install a rear sway bar. I also installed vented front brakes on my 518.

Could not tell from the pictures, but does your 518i have a tach or a clock?

One of these days we'll meet somewhere in the middle of this vast country. You in your Taxi 518i and I in my Polizei 518i....

http://s121.photobucket.com/user/tjones ... brary/518i

That will take forever. Haha.

Yes, but we'll get 34mpg or more doing it.

I can reach San Diego from Vacaville on one tank....

Holy crap, you could house an entire family of illegals under that hood!

Justin, I am glad to hear or see that you are very well aware of what other steps and upgrades are involved in order to drive the car safely and enjoy the added power!

tjones02 wrote:One of these days we'll meet somewhere in the middle of this vast country. You in your Taxi 518i and I in my Polizei 518i....

Will have to see once I get it whipped into shape! I was thinking that a trip to the Northwest part of the country would be nice (perhaps in time for 5erWest); might ship the car west and fly out for a one-way cross country trip, since a round-trip journey could take too much time. But I don't know, since it would be a good chunk of change for all that. Not sure if I'd pick the 518i for such a trip (cruise control is nice on boring highway stretches). I would like to retrofit the OE stuff off a donor car. And I really have no idea how the car drives on the highway as it hasn't gone past 40mph. The seized front struts and toasted LCA ballpoints make for a frightening experience. Hopefully once it is back in shape the car drives around like any other sorted E28, but slower.

It is neat to see another 518i in North America! Besides a 518 that a forum member on here owned years ago in Canada, I don't know of any others besides our two examples. Who knows what is out there, though.

B7Turbo wrote:Justin, I am glad to hear or see that you are very well aware of what other steps and upgrades are involved in order to drive the car safely and enjoy the added power

Yeah, I'd have to find a 528e donor for a big brake upgrade. But I don't really want to change the car a bunch. Part of what attracted me to the car is that it is basically original and quite clean. And probably the least desirable of Euro E28s in a color combo most would consider ugly.

Kyle in NO wrote:Holy crap, you could house an entire family of illegals under that hood!

After always owning big-six E28s, I thought the M20 looked "cute" under the hood especially on the Euro cars with the small radiators. But the M10 is definitely smaller! Everything is easy to reach.

Justin_FL wrote: Besides a 518 that a forum member on here owned years ago in Canada, I don't know of any others besides our two examples.

This one:



My 518 is still around, waiting for me to finish my MASc.

Elvisnbc has one too.

Well, did a test fit yesterday for some Rial 15x7s. Wrong size tires, but from the side these wheels look decent and are a period correct upgrade.



The ET9 offset is a bit problematic once you look closer, but I wasn't expecting it to work:



Too bad! Even with a 205/60-15 I don't see the wheels working out in the rear. The wheels came from an E24 and looked great, since those have wider bodywork and fenders.

Unique and nice.

Hey Justin,

I have just finished reading through this thread, and I am more so now very happy that my 518i ended up in your ownership. Based on all the comments made by the E28 forum members, you are definitely the right person to keep and enjoy this very unique E28. BTW I just acquired another E28 to proceed with my Hartge H5S tribute, so thanks for not buying the Type "A" wheels with the car:-) Hope to meet up sometime and talk Bimmers since we are within driving distance of each other.

All the best!

Alex

OK, so I'm a bit embarrassed about not paying any attention to this car in 2 years. My garage is not a black hole! I have all parts for a suspension rebuild, plus a few other bits and bobs. Need to find wherever the hell the subframe bushings went along with the tool...



So not this weekend, but perhaps very soon I'll sort out the suspension and get this thing safely on the road.

I missed this thread before. Glad you're posting updates. Neat car!

cek wrote:I missed this thread before. Glad you're posting updates. Neat car!

During this time you have owned the 535is and done a bunch of work, I have managed to accomplish nothing with the 518i. LOL.

Those Rial's look a lot like my Melber's! Mine are ET11 though, and fit ok with 215/60's.



-Graham

grahamular wrote:Those Rial's look a lot like my Melber's! Mine are ET11 though, and fit ok with 215/60's.

Those wheels look awesome on that car. I would love to have an arctic blue E28 again. Once I'm motivated enough, I'll probably mount a junk 205/60 on the Rials and see how they clear the back fender. I've also got a set of 16" BBS RAs, which would look good too, but more tire than a 518i requires.

Since 14" tires are hard to find to fit a 14x5.5, a 15" steel wheel might be something I'd consider to keep the base model look. Early base E34s used as best as I can tell an identical hubcap design.

Sharp looking car!
Even here in Europe, it's "hard" to find an example this nice.

Nice example, no doubt the person in El Salvador was/is very wealthy. Things could have gone much worse for that nice example.

Maybe it is time for a yearly update, although there is not much to report. Life has been busy! So I got some room finally in the garage after clearing out stuff over X-mas break (was storing several cars for someone else making it gridlock). Put the car up on the lift for inspection. No surprises. Just a lot of GA clay residue and factory cosmoline. This is the first time I have gone over the underside in detail since buying it. The 4 post lift is not mine, it will be picked up sooner or later and I'll buy a 2 post for better wrenching access. I am planning (for reals) to get cracking on this thing. Engine health is currently a question mark, so that is the only unknown variable at this time.

Up in the air:


The engine and trans sure is short compared to the 535i:


Medium case 4.10 diff, not the small case E30 one as is sometimes mentioned in the archives:


Blown out ball joints, etc:




Typical exhaust butchery. O2 sensor does connect to a small box that I assume intercepts the CTS signal by the ECU.


No rust up behind the rear tail panel:


Looks like the original shocks were made by AP Parts. Never heard of them:


A friendly face with a growth on his forehead (I believe the mount is one of the attachment points for the missing plastic under tray):

This is neat Justin. Sub'd for moar!

Justin_FL wrote:Typical exhaust butchery. O2 sensor does connect to a small box that I assume intercepts the CTS signal by the ECU.

The generic term is 'Johnson Box' but they were made by others too.

I'm afraid to send my Valentine Model 1 in for an update.

The 518i is looking great, Justin!

/\/\ LoL.

Winner of a car here. Super nice.

When you've got it sorted to your liking, do share your driving impressions of such a lightweight E28. The M10 is rarely accused of being overpowered but once this car is moving I'll bet it gets around a corner real sweet like.

What a cool car, I like to see these longer period updates actually. There's more story to tell all at once.

I still want a m10 powered euro e28.

Lapisblau wrote:Winner of a car here. Super nice.

When you've got it sorted to your liking, do share your driving impressions of such a lightweight E28. The M10 is rarely accused of being overpowered but once this car is moving I'll bet it gets around a corner real sweet like.

Thanks, it's far from perfect but overall presents well for a 30 year old car! I really have no idea of the true mileage or kilometers on this thing, but given that a vast majority of the common wear items are still the factory installed pieces there is a lot of work to do before making it 100% roadworthy.

I have driven it only very little due to the horrible suspension, but it's obvious the car is 500-600lbs lighter than my 535is. Unfortunately with 14" wheels, replacement OEM shocks, the small front roll bar and an absence of the rear one this 518i probably won't add up to much cornering ability

My first E28 was a 535i that I put many miles on the stock suspension with 15" wheels and to be honest, it was no less enjoyable to me than every E28 of mine since then with upgraded suspensions and 16 or 17" wheels. So I was thinking a generally stock E28 on wheels/tires with some sidewall cushion could be fun to drive again.