Vlad: The Zinno '87 535is
Posted: Mar 20, 2013 10:33 PM
This is the life-thread for Vlad, my Zinno '87 535is Daily Driver. This was my first E28 and since buying it I have tweaked, upgraded, replaced, or modified almost every part of it. It is (for me) just about the perfect E28. Here's a summary of Vlad as of September 2020. See below for the original '1st post', history, and then follow along for progress.
Car details:
Nov 2013:
July 2014:
March 2015 (M30B35):
As of July 19, 2015:
As of Nov 29, 2015:
As of Oct 18, 2018:
=====================================
Original 1st post:
Let's make one thing clear:
My Vlad has nothing to do with bad Vlad. Bad Vlad might be a bad guy. My Vlad is a car. Definitely a nice car.
I just received a scan of the title of my 'new' E28 from the seller. My money is in his bank account and he's signed the title over to me.
The only problem is the car is in Santa Barbara, CA and I'm in Bellevue, WA. But I like making lemonade.
My 17 year old son wants to be an engineer. He's a junior in high-school right now, and this is 'college visit' season. Turns out Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo is on his list. Also turns out his spring break is the week after next. It also turns out he's barely competent with a manual transmission, which, to me, is not good at all.
You can see where this is heading, can't you? Road trip time!
Meet Vlad (so named by the PO). He's the 1987 535is that you may have seen on Bring a Trailer recently. And he's mine now.
(BTW, the comments on the BaT posting are fairly funny)
My son & I have one way Alaska Airlines tickets from Seattle to Santa Barbara on April 4. We will pick the car up after we arrive and drive north to Seattle, stopping at a few colleges along the way.
(Pro-tip: If you ever need extra points with the missus with the whole 'buying another car thing', making it an excuse to spend focused dad-son time together works wonders.)
I don't have any of my own pictures of Vlad yet, just the ones the PO took. If you like car p0rn, and you *really* like E28 p0rn, you might want to subscribe to this thread because I take a LOT of pictures and love posting them.
Vlad isn't going to need much work. One of the reasons I was so excited when I saw him for sale is that he perfectly meets my requirements:
He has 170,000 miles on him, so he's still relatively young for an E28. The mechanic in SB I paid to do the PPI on said, and I quote "As tight an E28 as you'll find. Car feels wonderful." The compression test showed 175, 150, 175, 175, 175, 175 and the tech thinks the 150 is simply due to carbon buildup. Everything, and he emphasized *everything* functions correctly. There's a slight oil leak where the cylinder cover, timing cover, and block meet. The felt on the left door threshold is worn.
Sounds ready to use to me.
Just so you can calibrate what "anal-retentive" means, here's the front fender of my '88 911 Carerra.
Here's the engine bay of Vlad. (No, this car has never been rebuilt, and no the engine has never been pulled.)
For my budget, I never really thought I'd find an E28 this clean. I'm giddy in excitement about the prospect of driving him regularly in the Seattle weather and keeping him this clean. That's what I do.
5-Speed: Check:
The PO has put some upgrades in. There's typical stuff like the Conforti chip, "stage 5 brake kit", and 840ci wheels. There's also some 'interesting' upgrades such as improved interior lighting and a sub-woofer in the trunk. But the PO assures me, and the tech agreed, that he's been careful to make sure his mods are reversible. I need a BlueTooth capable stereo anyway, so as long as it works with my phone I'll be happy.
So, as far as requirement #4 (unmolested) goes: Check:
If I really had my choice of color I'd pick a metallic blue, not to dissimilar to my 911 (Venetian Blue). But color's relatively low on my priority list and I've never owned a red car...but wanted to. So there you go. Oh, and that is original paint. The driver's door and surrounding area has been painted, but the rest is as it left the Dingolfing plant in 1987.
I don't like tan interiors. I just don't. If I bought an M5 I'd end up hating it until I re-did the interior in black. Vlad has the black Sport interior. I bet the seats could be re-dyed...or I could to an E34 Sport seat transplant and get the lumbar support my bad back really desires. Anyway, we're good here.
(I've already ordered new OEM floor mats; I plan on taking them with us to CA and throwing out the old worn mats the PO, for some strange reason, has not replaced).
I'd love an E28 M5 someday. But right now my priority is a clean daily-driver that fits within a specific budget.
As a former E34 540 M-Sport aficionado, I have mad respect for the M535. But the chances of finding one of *those* in a condition I'd be happy with, at a price I could handle, is just not in the cards. So the 535is is a perfect balance.
Vlad's a California car, so the whole West Coast thing is obviously nailed.
There you have it. He's perfect. And he's mine.
Check back often and watch how my relationship with Vlad grows. And thanks for being a place where I can yap about him.
Other Vlad Threads:
Car details:
- 1987 BMW 535is - Built September 16, 1986
- WBADC7401H0964420
- Zinnoberrot (Cinnabar) on black
- Delivered to first owner in Orange, CA February 27, 1988
- Sold to 2nd owner in Santa Barbara, CA October 6, 2000 @ 87,525 miles
- Sold to 3rd owner (me) in Bellevue, WA April 5, 2013 @ 171,000 miles
- About 212,000 miles (Fall 2022).
- Personally built M30B35 high-compression (10.5:1) motor with Paul Burke N21 cam
- B34 block bored to 92.5mm
- B35 head, rods, springs, crank, manifold
- Paul Burke B35 10.5:1 "806" M30 B35 CNC Dome piston set
- Paul Burke "mild" N21 camshaft (282/279)
- 3-sided valve grind
- 22lbs injectors
- 179 ECU, Miller MAF, Miller WAR chip
- Walbro 255 LPH in-tank fuel pump (inline pump delete)
- 206 rear-wheel horsepower and 226 rear-wheel ft-lbs torque.
- Bavarian Auto ceramic coated headers
- Supersprint exhaust
- 740iL calipers (painted red), ATE power rotors, 740iL master cylinder, Akebono ceramic pads, stainless hoses
- 17lbs flywheel
- Autosolutions Short Shift Kit
- 3.23 "torsen" LSD (from a 2003 Z3 M Coupe)
- Summer tires: BBS RZ 418 16X7.5 ET13 wheels - Continental Extreme Contact DW 205/55-R16
- Winter tires: BBS RX223 16x8" ET15 wheels - Nokian Hakapelittas R2s in 205/55R16
- Rolled rear fenders
- E34 Sport seats
- Euro headlights with upgraded wiring, relays, and fuses
- Upgraded tail-lights (E28+4 light adaptation kit from MisterFixit)
- Motorsport Series strut brace (custom powder coated)
- H&R Springs + Bilstein Performance Pro B8 (Sport, 6-perch) shocks
- K-MAC Stage 1 street front adjustable camber kit
- Rear subframe modified with Ireland Engineering adjustable toe and camber kits
- Powerflex rear subframe bushings
- Custom hard-wired Valentine 1 radar detector install
- JVC KD-AHD75BT CD/MP3/Bluetooth head unit, big ass amplifier, and subwoofer (PO)
- Performance throttle pedal
- Lighted ///M shift knob
- M-Tech II steering wheel
- Shadowline conversion
- Black with red dots Cocomats
- Euro conversion - done right with all new OE parts
- Complete repaint using single-stage Glasurit paint
- Holy Grail Labs blade fuse upgrade kit
Nov 2013:
July 2014:
March 2015 (M30B35):
As of July 19, 2015:
As of Nov 29, 2015:
As of Oct 18, 2018:
=====================================
Original 1st post:
Let's make one thing clear:
My Vlad has nothing to do with bad Vlad. Bad Vlad might be a bad guy. My Vlad is a car. Definitely a nice car.
I just received a scan of the title of my 'new' E28 from the seller. My money is in his bank account and he's signed the title over to me.
The only problem is the car is in Santa Barbara, CA and I'm in Bellevue, WA. But I like making lemonade.
My 17 year old son wants to be an engineer. He's a junior in high-school right now, and this is 'college visit' season. Turns out Cal Poly at San Luis Obispo is on his list. Also turns out his spring break is the week after next. It also turns out he's barely competent with a manual transmission, which, to me, is not good at all.
You can see where this is heading, can't you? Road trip time!
Meet Vlad (so named by the PO). He's the 1987 535is that you may have seen on Bring a Trailer recently. And he's mine now.
(BTW, the comments on the BaT posting are fairly funny)
My son & I have one way Alaska Airlines tickets from Seattle to Santa Barbara on April 4. We will pick the car up after we arrive and drive north to Seattle, stopping at a few colleges along the way.
(Pro-tip: If you ever need extra points with the missus with the whole 'buying another car thing', making it an excuse to spend focused dad-son time together works wonders.)
I don't have any of my own pictures of Vlad yet, just the ones the PO took. If you like car p0rn, and you *really* like E28 p0rn, you might want to subscribe to this thread because I take a LOT of pictures and love posting them.
Vlad isn't going to need much work. One of the reasons I was so excited when I saw him for sale is that he perfectly meets my requirements:
- 1. Must be ready to use as a daily driver "out of the box".
2. Previous owner(s) must have been obviously anal retentive.
3. 5-Speed.
4. Relatively un-molested (original).
5. Silver, white, black, red exterior.
6. Black interior (will suffer in the case of an M5).
7. 525is, M535, M5.
8. West coast.
He has 170,000 miles on him, so he's still relatively young for an E28. The mechanic in SB I paid to do the PPI on said, and I quote "As tight an E28 as you'll find. Car feels wonderful." The compression test showed 175, 150, 175, 175, 175, 175 and the tech thinks the 150 is simply due to carbon buildup. Everything, and he emphasized *everything* functions correctly. There's a slight oil leak where the cylinder cover, timing cover, and block meet. The felt on the left door threshold is worn.
Sounds ready to use to me.
Just so you can calibrate what "anal-retentive" means, here's the front fender of my '88 911 Carerra.
Here's the engine bay of Vlad. (No, this car has never been rebuilt, and no the engine has never been pulled.)
For my budget, I never really thought I'd find an E28 this clean. I'm giddy in excitement about the prospect of driving him regularly in the Seattle weather and keeping him this clean. That's what I do.
5-Speed: Check:
The PO has put some upgrades in. There's typical stuff like the Conforti chip, "stage 5 brake kit", and 840ci wheels. There's also some 'interesting' upgrades such as improved interior lighting and a sub-woofer in the trunk. But the PO assures me, and the tech agreed, that he's been careful to make sure his mods are reversible. I need a BlueTooth capable stereo anyway, so as long as it works with my phone I'll be happy.
So, as far as requirement #4 (unmolested) goes: Check:
If I really had my choice of color I'd pick a metallic blue, not to dissimilar to my 911 (Venetian Blue). But color's relatively low on my priority list and I've never owned a red car...but wanted to. So there you go. Oh, and that is original paint. The driver's door and surrounding area has been painted, but the rest is as it left the Dingolfing plant in 1987.
I don't like tan interiors. I just don't. If I bought an M5 I'd end up hating it until I re-did the interior in black. Vlad has the black Sport interior. I bet the seats could be re-dyed...or I could to an E34 Sport seat transplant and get the lumbar support my bad back really desires. Anyway, we're good here.
(I've already ordered new OEM floor mats; I plan on taking them with us to CA and throwing out the old worn mats the PO, for some strange reason, has not replaced).
I'd love an E28 M5 someday. But right now my priority is a clean daily-driver that fits within a specific budget.
As a former E34 540 M-Sport aficionado, I have mad respect for the M535. But the chances of finding one of *those* in a condition I'd be happy with, at a price I could handle, is just not in the cards. So the 535is is a perfect balance.
Vlad's a California car, so the whole West Coast thing is obviously nailed.
There you have it. He's perfect. And he's mine.
Check back often and watch how my relationship with Vlad grows. And thanks for being a place where I can yap about him.
Other Vlad Threads:
Nice that the PO fixed the A/C as well...enjoy it! 
You could call it "Lenin," who was also a "Vlad." Ok, I am done trolling now. Love the car. With my zinno was so clean. Are you putting Euro conversion on it? A car this nice is owed it.