M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Tifoso · Post by **Tifoso** » Jul 06, 2012 10:12 AM

I purchased one of my dream cars, a euro-ized E28 M5, last fall. While the car was well maintained by its prior owners, as I enjoyed the car over the first couple of months, I kept a running list of all of the things I wanted corrected to bring the car to that "next level" - both mechanically and cosmetically. Thanks to Mario Langsten and his expert crew at VSR, the transformation is now complete! The car looks and drives like an absolute dream....

Here are some before and after photos.

BEFORE

Started with a nice euro look, H&R springs:

Lots of rock chips in the front valance, hood, and quarter panels:

Rear valance was a bit of a mess:

AFTER

Overall view - including new Fikse wheels, spax springs:

Hood, front quarter panels, and valance all expertly re-painted:

Rear valance completely stripped and re-finished, painted to match body color. I know it's not "stock," but it looks incredible, and really helps to "balance" the look of the car:

All business:

Interior shots, including Mtech II wheel, new audio system with Nakamichi head unit, euro cloth:

One last shot:

S38Mike · Post by **S38Mike** » Jul 06, 2012 11:15 AM

Looks sharp dude! I dig the Fikse's.

Jelmer538i · Post by **Jelmer538i** » Jul 06, 2012 11:35 AM

Very, vey nice and shiny! You guys are lucky with all those Swart E28s!

gray635 · Post by **gray635** » Jul 06, 2012 12:23 PM

Isn't this Brooks Robinson's old car? Seem to recall the cloth interior in his car.

Looks very nice. Congrats on good job!

rcbmw · Post by **rcbmw** » Jul 06, 2012 12:44 PM

gray635 wrote:Isn't this Brooks Robinson's old car?

Yes, its 2875331.

Best,
RCBMW

elcinco · Post by **elcinco** » Jul 06, 2012 12:57 PM

VERY NICE!

whats the specs on wheels/tires and suspension?

Jeff B. · Post by **Jeff B.** » Jul 06, 2012 1:26 PM

The car looks great! I'm sure it drives as good as it looks.

Nice work on refreshing the M5.

Kyle in NO · Post by **Kyle in NO** » Jul 06, 2012 2:26 PM

What a fabulous M5! I really like what you have done.

Tifoso · Post by **Tifoso** » Jul 06, 2012 4:34 PM

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! I'm really thrilled with how she turned out.

This is indeed Brooks Robinson's former M5.

To answer the questions about suspension and wheel specs:

Suspension is Bilstein Sports with Spax springs, all worn bushings replaced, front and rear Mason strut bars.

Wheels are 17 x 8.5. Fikse spec'd an offset of ET13. Turns out that is too aggressive for a lowered car. Oops. Even with 225/45s, I was rubbing in the rear. Additional fender rolling did the trick, and there are no longer any rubbing issues, even with folks in the back seat. In retrospect, I could've gone with an 8" instead of 8.5" width, same offset, to save me some trouble.... But it's fun to push the envelope once in a while.

5280 JB · Post by **5280 JB** » Jul 06, 2012 5:28 PM

Dayum..........that looks great! You've taken an already great looking car and escalated it up to the next level.

Well done sir, well done.

Jim

Post by **mooseheadm5** » Jul 06, 2012 9:36 PM

Looks fantastic!

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Jul 06, 2012 9:51 PM

I love it, good work!

TurboChris · Post by **TurboChris** » Jul 07, 2012 12:16 AM

Looking great! Get a new Radiator reservoir in that engine compartment tho, they're only like $35!

Edit: Whoops, they're more like $116.00 I was thinking of the Washer bottle.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Jul 07, 2012 2:55 AM

That's a beautiful car. Congrats.

M. Holtmeier · Post by **M. Holtmeier** » Jul 07, 2012 7:27 AM

Wow, very nice.

Mark in Toronto · Post by **Mark in Toronto** » Jul 07, 2012 11:28 AM

Heino is very impressed with the attention to detail. And the cloth seats are killer!

Mab1957 · Post by **Mab1957** » Jul 07, 2012 8:25 PM

Very nice.

Good to have you join this circus. Will we see you at PVGP or maybe O'Fest/5erFest?

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Jul 08, 2012 12:20 AM

Love me some cloth seats, beautiful car.

Dinan e28 · Post by **Dinan e28** » Jul 08, 2012 12:21 AM

Very nice indeed. The fisks and cloth seats make it more individual.

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Jul 08, 2012 11:42 AM

TurboChris wrote:Looking great! Get a new Radiator reservoir in that engine compartment tho, they're only like $116.00!

FTFY

Hilda · Post by **Hilda** » Jul 08, 2012 11:43 AM

Great work on a great ride,nothing like that black schwarz.

Retro Rust · Post by **Retro Rust** » Jul 08, 2012 6:47 PM

Nice car man. Its examples like these that make me want to euro-ize mine.

MicahO · Post by **MicahO** » Jul 09, 2012 12:45 PM

Beautiful! This car was in some ways inspirational for my own changes. I do love a Euro-ed car with cloth!

Devinder · Post by **Devinder** » Jul 11, 2012 10:16 PM

great choice of wheels. just when you think you've seen all the combinations of wheels and trim ...

mallex · Post by **mallex** » Jul 23, 2012 4:33 AM

simply gorgeous, the M-tech 2 completes the look beautifully

Tifoso · Post by **Tifoso** » Jun 17, 2016 3:01 PM

I wanted to update this thread because Phase II of the M5 makeover is now complete. This update focused on engine performance and engine bay cosmetics. Modifications included:

- JB Racing lightweight flywheel
- Schrick 280 deg. intake cam and S38B36 exhaust cam
- Euro headers (ceramic coated)
- Carbon fiber airbox (approximates shape and location of stock box, but increases volume) and snorkel
- Miller "Powerfold" extended intake couplers
- MAXX Alpha N engine management
- Powdercoated valve cover (gloss black)
- Misc. engine maintenance and engine bay clean-up

My goal was to wake this engine up a bit and give it a nice intake bark. Mission accomplished -- this thing screams! And the sound of the carbon airbox at full throttle from 3,500 RPM on up is incredible (but it is very subtle when cruising).

I have to say that the every day driveability with the MAXX Alpha N system is beyond reproach. We are going to dyno tune shortly for more power and some fine tuning, but with some "real world" driving/tuning under our belt, the Alpha N has proven to really work amazingly well in all conditions. All work was done by Mario Langsten and his team at Vintage Sports and Restoration, so I can't provide any "how to's" sadly, but I can tell you that she now runs like a bat out of hell!

A few photos:

Mark 88/M5 Houston · Post by **Mark 88/M5 Houston** » Jun 17, 2016 4:38 PM

Pretty and fast, I can't think of a better combination in a car!

Karl Grau · Post by **Karl Grau** » Jun 17, 2016 8:43 PM

Can you give us any info on the carbon fiber intake setup?

Tifoso · Post by **Tifoso** » Jun 20, 2016 9:50 AM

Karl Grau wrote:Can you give us any info on the carbon fiber intake setup?

The carbon box and snorkel are made by Christian Opitz in Germany. His website is here:

http://www.vft-opitz.de/

Here's an ebay link for the box I purchased:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/BMW-M5-E28-Carbo ... 1005313994

The quality of the carbon work isn't top notch, but the price is fairly reasonable compared to other carbon boxes out there, and the box certainly functions well. He offers different inlet diameters based upon the application. Because I was doing Alpha N, he was able to provide a 120 mm inlet diameter.

The carbon setup offers an increase in volume over the stock box. No numbers could be provided, but the carbon box is considerably wider/deeper than the stock box. There is a much larger carbon box that is also offered (for an E34), but it seemed to require too much work to get it to fit in an E28 engine bay....

Post by **tig** » Jun 21, 2016 1:40 AM

I like.

Reading about http://www.maxx-automotive.de/ftp/alpha ... lus00e.pdf now.

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Re: M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Re: M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Re: M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Re: M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)

Re: M5 "Makeover" (Photo Heavy!)