My 85 535i build

[bkbimmer]

About a month ago I bought this 85 535i 5-speed from a fellow board member, the car is in pretty decent condition and especially for having 300k on the clock. The car had been his daily driver and has been loved and enjoyed it's whole life...

Thanks Troy!!!

The car already had a 325 lsd, dinan sway bars, dinan fixed camber plates and dinan springs.

Now I come along and screw the whole thing up

Here is what it looked like the day I got it.



In the last few weeks I have put a lot of love into it, and it really is paying off...

List of phase one of the build that is already completed:

- New wheel bearings/upper strut mounts
- New drag link/idler arm
- New bilstein sports
-New vogtland springs
-Complete shifter overhaul/short shift and rear trans seals
- Big brake upgrade
- Valve adjustment/oil change
-Repair OBC
-Repair rear windows (came off track)
-Build custom exhaust

Lots of cleaning on the underside.

This thing is so much fun to drive now, runs and drives really well... It is more solid feeling than almost any of the other e28's that I have driven with half the miles. Not a rattle, squeak or clunk in this thing!

I'm really pleased with my budget hotrod.

[Kyle in NO]

Wow, that is a nice exhaust!

[bkbimmer]

Wow, that is a nice exhaust!

Thanks, it's a bit loud but sounds really good.

[tig]

Well done!!!!!

[austin8753]

Riding around in this the other day made me slightly want an E28 again. Super tight, stops on a dime and sounds damn good.

[CYoung]

What magnaflow parts did you use for the exhaust?

[bkbimmer]

What magnaflow parts did you use for the exhaust?

Just the middle muffler and tip. 2.5" center/offset and 1 into 2 2.5" tip. Very basic exhaust. Weighs about 1/3 of the stock unit.

[leadphut]

Nice job Brent! You're giving it the love it always needed.

I suspect we'll be doing business again sometime in the future.

[bkbimmer]

Nice job Brent! You're giving it the love it always needed.

I suspect we'll be doing business again sometime in the future.

Like next week?!

[leadphut]

i'm holding out for euro bumpers

[bkbimmer]

i'm holding out for euro bumpers

For sure, I am falling in love with this bucket.

[pldlnr]

I love the patented Brent exhaust system. Some of the sweetest sounding exhaust notes I have heard.

[wkohler]

i'm holding out for euro bumpers

For sure, I am falling in love with this bucket.

Good. I have a team of people watching the bumpers sit there as we speak. Lol.

[bkbimmer]

i'm holding out for euro bumpers

For sure, I am falling in love with this bucket.

Good. I have a team of people watching the bumpers sit there as we speak. Lol.

LMAO, sounds expensive!

[Brad D.]

That is a fantastic looking exhaust.

[bkbimmer]

That is a fantastic looking exhaust.

Thanks, but it's nothing fancy. It just needed something that wasn't full of holes.

[leadphut]

That is a fantastic looking exhaust.

Thanks, but it's nothing fancy. It just needed something that wasn't full of holes.

Too true.

[Twelvizm]

That exhaust is so sex that it gave me herpes.

[bkbimmer]

Budget stereo system/install

I started by removing the seats and rear parcel tray, next step was to install stinger road kill sound deadening.

I built front speaker pods with diamond audio 5.25" two way speaker.

I recovered the rear tray with some left over material I had from my e34 m5, then added premium sound pods and put infinity reference two way speakers in them ( they were blue so I painted them satin black).

I built a amp rack using 3/4" mdf and used the factory holes that the trunk wall cover used.

All said and done I have under $500 in this whole system since I already had a lot of the components.

I still need to finish routing all the wire in the trunk and some sound deadening in certain area's then put the interior back in.

I tested all of it today and it sounds pretty good, I might put one of my other head units in it that has more options for tuning though.

I could have done a better job on the front pods if I had a router table but the jig saw did an okay job, they work fine and will look good when they are covered.

[tschultz]

When you have a project, you DO WORK!

Speaking of which, i'm also curious about the progress on your E12. I think of the years I have been a member on thsi board, most of that time, it's been in a work in process (while other cars have come and gone)

[bkbimmer]

When you have a project, you DO WORK!

Speaking of which, i'm also curious about the progress on your E12. I think of the years I have been a member on thsi board, most of that time, it's been in a work in process (while other cars have come and gone)

My e12 has had no progress, I think about hauling to the scrap yard on a every other daily basis. It's just a heap in my way.

[Twelvizm]

Thank you BKbimmer for taking time away from your build to make an exhaust for my 533i. It sounds so good. It can go from being absolutely silent when in cruise on the freeway, to down shifting, putting the pedal down, and making babies cry.

It's your thread, but I'm going to whore your work on my car here.






And a sound clip shot on my phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=4wKX7c3oOeY

[bkbimmer]

No problem, I was happy to do it.

[misha]

Nice work so far. Any pictures on how the front speaker pods mount. I was thinking of making something like that myself. Would love to see what you did.

[unt0uchable]

Love the progress! You've got one hell of a budget! lol!