MyE28.com

Lookit, Mom! It followed me home; can I keep it? Please? I promise to take really, really good care of it!

I reassembled my console post A/C overhaul. The most annoying part...reattaching the hinges on the glove box. You might have heard some expletives had you been within earshot.

Before:


After:

Put the cat on in preparation for its biannual smog test.





It's Not Easy Being Green

Karl Grau wrote:Put the cat on in preparation for its biannual smog test.

I've got to hand it to you Charles, it's one thing to do it once and intend to do it every other year, but to actually do it is another thing.

Mike W. wrote:I've got to hand it to you Charles, it's one thing to do it once and intend to do it every other year, but to actually do it is another thing.

Mike, I have it down to a science. This will be my 5th (?) time since I've owned the car. I inaugurated my new toy, a cordless ratchet for this year's swap. I had always used an air ratchet in the past but Carl at LJI swears by the cordless so I gave it a try. I have to say, it is great!
As far as changing the Cat out every two years, it's more because the Cat section is so restrictive. I can't bear to have the engine choked down like that even though I don't drive it much.

I freshened up some black trim and decided to paint the horns on my bronzit beast.

after





Dubs

davintosh wrote:Lookit, Mom! It followed me home; can I keep it? Please? I promise to take really, really good care of it!

white chocolate wrote:

davintosh wrote:Lookit, Mom! It followed me home; can I keep it? Please? I promise to take really, really good care of it!

Replaced the oil level sender (Thanks Andy!) and gave the car it's finally oil change before the odometer officially rolls in to the 200k mile range.
Notice the difference?

davintosh wrote:Lookit, Mom! It followed me home; can I keep it? Please? I promise to take really, really good care of it!

Did you do it man? That's awesome! More pics...

Finally installed new rear seat and back (Thanks TCD!) in the M5. Picked these up last summer and only now getting to it. The previous owner ruined the seat and back by reupholstering it terribly, and in fact the installer bend the mounting tabs, didn't line things up correctly and used a terrible quality leather. These seats are original M5 Natur leather. I cleaned the crap out of them with some deep cleaner and Leatherique and they look amazing. The amazing fit is what thrills me the most. Like a glove.
Later this week, replacing front vinyl headliner with a beautiful original piece. My vinyl has pulled back and shrunk under the rearview mirror. I tried last summer to pull it and re-glue. It looked better, but still couldn't get it back to factory look.

Lastly, gonna drive her all over New Mexico.....

best,
jeff

She actually did it.

https://youtu.be/cODZaGNVwaU

86GT635 wrote:

davintosh wrote:Lookit, Mom! It followed me home; can I keep it? Please? I promise to take really, really good care of it!

Did you do it man? That's awesome! More pics...

Yup. Just got home after the ~1300 km trip (that included a few detours & side trips) from Ivo's e28 paradise. It's dirty as all get-out right now, and I only have a few pics so far, so more pics later. Ivo has a couple of 360° images on Google Maps, and my car is front & center in front of the shop in this one.

So what is it, the M535i (presumably) shown in the foreground? Or something else with a body kit?

Very nice there David. Waiting for more photos, but I checked out your link and looked at all of Ivo's photos and that 360 photo thing is awesome. You can even go into the shop and see Ivo working his equipment

Rabbit hole: car is as disassembled as I've ever seen it: dash, interior HVAC, windshield, consoles. All out either being rebuilt with new components or replaced outright. After pulling the condenser I discovered the mother of all oil leaks coming from the front crank seal (been there awhile; I was in denial) so while I was there might as well do cam seal, timing cover gaskets, guide rails, thermostat, water pump, and who knows what else. I've decided to simply stop removing things in the hopes that I will eventually have a running car again.

So today I'm in the hunt for a new AC pressure switch (everyone wants to sell me 64 53 1 386 971 when the book calls for 64 53 8 363 859) finally got one at a "real auto parts store" that had a working machine shop in the back. Beyond that, scraping off old gaskets and cleaning AC hard lines made my day. I've had to perform resuscitation on any number of old fasteners/bolts, etc., especially from the water pump & thermostat, AC dryer & lines; first with Evapo-Rust and then with Metal Prep. I'll install these with a heavy coating of anti-seize next time. Normally I replace but I'm trying to re-use everything that I can if I can make it serviceable - the parts bill for this is approaching $2K.

Tomorrow, more part orders, and continued prep before I get the rental tools. Have to start disassembly of the HVAC boxes for new evaporator, heater core, resistors, sensors, foam...

I put new Billy sports, Dinan springs and camber plates, Moosehead ucabs, 850 front brakes (324 mm) and brake lines on this weekend on the 535is. Love it! Getting ready for the trip to PVGP.

Took the front seats out to give them a proper cleaning & conditioning. But it's about 105F in my garage, so, taking a bit of a break.

It's so roomy in here with no seats!



Before / During



See spot...



... see spot go!



Here's what was learking in the depths under the seat:

- Euro Auto Fest 2014 flyer
- Nearly $1 in change
- An invoice for new tires
- An unopened bag of zip ties!

e28Sean wrote: - An unopened bag of zip ties!

Man, some guys have all the luck.

white chocolate wrote: Man, some guys have all the luck.

Hahaha!

I dunno about "luck". I paid for those zip ties at some point in the past.

Another before / Aftah:


And the finished product, ready to be bolted back in:

What started as a cat install for my biannual smog test turned into rear shocks, sway bar bushings, sway bar links and a section of fuel hose.



I bought Powerflex bushings but after fighting them for 17 days I gave up and ordered stock ones.



I bought the el cheapo sway bar links because the boots on the 'good' ones only last 4000 miles apparently.

Put Snob up For Sale.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5687472827.html

Mike W. wrote:So what is it, the M535i (presumably) shown in the foreground? Or something else with a body kit?

Yes; M535i. 03-85 build date. Spent most of its life in Italy until Ivo acquired it. He prepped it for another customer but that deal fell through last fall. I saw the car in February when I visited his shop, and said I'd take it. I was hoping to get it sooner, but things didn't work out out until school was out. We got some cheap (€23!!!) EasyJet tickets to Amsterdam, rented a car and drove to Franeker to take possession. It gave us a little trouble -- it wouldn't start after we had to stop for a boat crossing at the near side of the Afsluitdijk, but a fresh battery put all things aright (thanks, Ivo!)

The first day we drove it to my wife's sister's house near Amsterdam (where the photo above was taken), then the next week we drove it the rest of the way to Kandern, with a couple of overnight stops along the way. The car ran great, but I didn't get a chance to really open it up; top speed on the way home was only ~150kph. It needs some fresh tires, and judging by the shimmy in the front end, maybe a set of upper control arm bushings (hello, Moosehead?) It also needs to have the AC charged (the weather was thankfully relatively cool for the drive home) and I need to track down an exhaust leak somewhere forward of the cabin. It has a few needs here and there, but all in all it's a solid car.

The next big hurdle is to get it registered in Germany without breaking the bank. I talked with a local mechanic before we left (Axel Zanger!) and will be working with him to get things squared away & ready for the TÜV inspection. From what I hear, many of the inspectors will make registering "oldtimers" (anything over 25 years old) difficult in an effort to keep junk off the roads, but Axel works with a guy who is a bit kinder & more flexible when it comes to cars like mine that are worth saving. He's seen the car and is excited to help me keep it rolling!

travisj wrote:Very nice there David. Waiting for more photos, but I checked out your link and looked at all of Ivo's photos and that 360 photo thing is awesome. You can even go into the shop and see Ivo working his equipment

Ivo did a great job with those 360 photos, but they still don't compare to a visit to his shop!

No photos yet; we left for the US a few days after getting it home, and things were busy enough that I didn't even get a chance to wash it before leaving, much less take any photos. I have a few that my 7-year-old nephew took of it when we first saw it in February, but... Nah.

Installed euro headlights on the 87 535i yesterday and drove it a bit last night. I still need to finish adjusting them, the aim is still a bit off, but they made a pretty big difference! Much better than the crappy US sealed beams.

Front end still doesn't look 'right', because of the US bumpers.

That will change soon, as I will get my euro front bumper assembly today, and the rear euro bumper should be here next week! Too bad my installation hardware for the front had to be ordered from Europe. I ordered part no. 51119056461 from Schmiedmann, (the complete front euro bumper mounting set) but they are on 'vacation' until the end of the month won't be fulfilling my order until then.

Stupid BMW NA wouldn't sell the 'mounting set' to me, since my car isn't a true euro car. I will go to my local BMW dealer and get the carriage bolts and hex nuts to install my rear bumper when it gets here next week or week after next.

Almost sold Snob.
Maybe Sunday.

Continuing to junk up the new car, I installed this groovy leather handled parking brake lever, with leather boot to ditch the bristles. Then went for some ice cream for the weekly car exercise. The temp showed 97 degrees, but the R12 was cold!

dsmith wrote:Then went for some ice cream for the weekly car exercise.

Do your feet even reach the pedals?




I replaced #9. It should have been easy but NOOOOO, it was a royal PITA. At least the weather was perfect though. 95° with 99% humidity.

I was inspired by FiverWest to get my eta's on the road. Gerda got a new alternator, some new fuel lines and the brake light problems diagnosed, new switch on the way. Re-installed the newly painted oil pan on Otto. Thanks again to "the collective"; all the previous posts are invaluable and make working on these cars pretty straightforward.

Installed the brake switch and kick panel; took Gerda for a long check ride. She is making clunking noises from what I suppose is the subframe area. Picked up Otto's intake manifold at the machinists where it had been soaking in the hot tub.

I drove her around. For the first time after this....

Oops