1988 BMW 535is
M30B34 3.4L
5 speed
Schwarz Black exterior/Black Sport interior
184,000 miles
4/87 build
Condition
The exterior has the typical dings and scratches of a 23 year old car. The front spoiler and mirrors were recently replaced and painted. The rest of the paint on the car is original as far as I know. There are a few small areas where the paint has bubbled due to some small surface rust I believe. There are a couple tiny dents on the passenger side from doors in parking lots that could be removed via paintless dent repair. The windshield has 3 cracks. They all begin in the upper center of the windshield and travel downward. The windshield does not leak, and I’ve heard horror stories about windshields leaking after replacement, so I haven’t replaced it as of yet. The cracks do not block the driver’s vision, and haven’t caused any issues. Overall, the car is a “10-footer”. A repaint and a new windshield would make it look fantastic. It gets compliments frequently. I’ve had several people come into where I work just to ask me if that’s my BMW parked out front and chat with me about it. I've also spotted a few people snap photos of it out in the parking lot. I’m rather picky when it comes to aesthetics, so I may be making it sound worse than it actually is.
The interior is in fairly good condition. It has the sport seats up front and they have no tears, but do show signs of wear. A simple re-dye would make them look fantastic. Every portion of the seats works except the passenger headrest isn’t operational. That’s a common problem with these. The dash has 3 small cracks on the passenger side. It’s in rather good shape compared to others I’ve seen in these old BMW’s. The moonroof functions properly and does not leak. The trunk seal was recently replaced and does not leak.
Recent Maintenance
Last 6 months/10k miles:
New battery, radiator, upper/lower hoses, fan blade, fan clutch, t-stat, waterpump, coolant flush with BMW fluids and Redline water wetter, (4) new tires, fuel filter, all fuel lines front to back replaced, center support bearing, selector rod seal, output shaft seal, shifter linkage (every clip, bushing, bearing, and part except selector rod and shift lever), voltage regulator, trans mounts, rebuilt calipers, heater valve rebuilt, all fuses replaced with proper ceramic fuses, exhaust hangers, wiper blades, Redline MT-90 fluid in trans, rear shock mounts, ATE SuperBlue brake fluid flush, alternator ground strap, along with 3 oil changes. The first two were with Mobil 1 15w-50 and the most recent change was with Brad Penn 20w-50 which is a great oil for these old motors due to its high zinc content.
Last 20k miles (Previous owner):
The majority of the suspension bushings in both the front and the back were replaced. Upper/Lower control arm bushings, dogbones, diff mount, motor mounts, etc. The Ground Control coilover conversion was installed in this timeframe as well. The head was pulled for the head/cam/valve work. At that time, all of the gaskets and seals throughout the motor were replaced as was the timing chain. The plugs, wires, cap, etc were all replaced at that time as well. The car leaks no oil whatsoever. A new AFM was installed. A new OEM catalytic converter was installed in the last 20k-25k miles as well. Clutch pedal bracket, clutch slave, and clutch master have all been recently replaced as well.
I have a huge stack of receipts from the previous owner as well as all of the receipts for the maintenance I’ve done.
Modifications
Performance (All of this was done in the last 20k miles):
183whp/194wtq on Mustang Dyno
Turner Motorsports chip
TCD cold air intake w/ heat shield
Ported/Polished head
Custom grind on cam and valves
Ground Control coilover conversion
Ground Control billet/polyurethane rear shock mounts
M30B35 oil filter connection with oil cooler
Optima Redtop battery installed in trunk with battery tray and tie-down
RaceSkids skid plate
Pagid pads on all 4 corners
Exterior:
BBS e28 ///M5 wheels w/ 225/50/16 Falken Ziex-512 – Less than 8k miles on tires
Euro headlight conversion
///M5 taillights
535is front/rear spoilers
Bumpers have been tucked
Shadowline trim
Interior:
Alpine CD/MP3 player – hardwired properly to factory amp
Premium sound
///M5 steering wheel
///M5 rear mirror w/ map lights
///M badging added to seats
330i ZHP shift knob
Headliner dyed black
The Good:
Tons of recent maintenance since the beginning of this year. The radiator and hoses were just replaced last weekend. It's a very reliable vehicle and it made the trek down for 5erWest as well as 2 700+ mile trips to Spokane and back with no issues at all. Starts right up every time.
The Bad:
Transmission continues to leak from the output shaft seal. I've had a shop do it twice to no avail. The synchro on 3rd gear is getting tired as well. It shifts perfectly fine for normal driving, but 3rd will grind if shifted quickly at higher rpm. I've changed the fluid 4 times in the last 6 months to no avail. I good working used transmission can be purchased for $250-$350 from what I've seen.
The car is missing the knee panel that covers the steering column and the wiring beneath the dash. The original one stripped at a couple of the mounting spots and began to sag down. I still have it and will include it, although I'm not certain if it can be repaired.
I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, and I’ll add them in as they come to mind. The car runs great and averages great MPG for a modded M30B34. I routinely average 22.5-23 MPG which is more than some of my friends with stock M30’s get. Must be seen and driven to appreciate. At last count, I have $4,200+ in receipts for maintenance/modifications/parts since January of this year.
$4,200 OBO
-James
