Having seen the Chris Harris review of his beloved E28 M5. I was longing for one. I never thought that I would own one and honestly wasn’t in the market for one when I saw the FB marketplace ad for this one.
Yes, a warning to those who cruise the marketplace listings for their dream cars. Careful you may actually find what you’re looking for when you least expect it. I just did.
I recently acquired a US Market M5 (2791238) with a build date of 3/87. I’m thrilled to be the approximately 9th or maybe the 10th owner
This is my first M5 and I’m down right giddy. Every time I walk in the garage I’m smiling ear to ear despite some shortcomings and the repair work I have underway (the rear subframe being about to be removed for refresh bushings and bearings). quick assessment
The bad: Mileage indeterminate, a deal break for some, but I’m mostly okay with that. I will document everything I find out to get a best guess using old receipts and he old odometer to piece the true mileage story together. Where the car needs most attention at the moment is the suspension, drive line refresh, HVAC repairs and some misc repairs (mirrors, license plate lights. Etc.)
The good: Runs decently, It has a rust free body, original paint, some documented engine work, overhauled cooling, new wheels/tires, new BMW exhaust, replacement cats, reupholstered front seats etc.
The unknown: compression, leak down, what’s leaking fluids under the expansion tank area, (not the engine) i will say that I drove it home, and the engine seems healthy TBD
Now the work begins to further rebuild/restore this ICON to former glory. Not a garage queen,but a driver to explore curves back roads in a spirited way.
I was very lucky to have acquired the car from an enthusiast (Syndrome) who found this message board to be very helpful in his revitalization of this beautiful car. It’s been very useful for me as a new owner to go back and read his posts on what problems he was experiencing and how they were resolved. Going back even further I found a few posts from owner #6.
. I plan to continue that trend, so that when I transfer ownership, there will be some context to go along with receipts.
My Plan is to do the repairs needed such that I may drive it to Vintage 2024 (Maryland to North Carolina), so if you’re going or interested in caravanning there, I look forward to meeting and chatting and if not I’m excited to meet you here.
Wish me luck!
V/ R
Dionk