davintosh

Well, that’s probably overstating things a bit; I really just like it a lot and am very content with it. And that’s why I’d kinda like to replace it.

My daily driver is the 1988 BMW 735i 5-speed that I bought for $1,200 and brought home in the fall of 2009. It’s a great car, reliable as the day is long; has only caused me to call for help once in the 2-plus years of ownership. It came with a long list of issues, many of which have been tended to, but many warts still remain. Of course, many of those warts are to be expected on a 25 year old automobile; it’s got cracks in the windscreen, some rust on the bottoms of the doors, a sometimes drippy clutch master cylinder, a slightly ratty driver’s seat and carpet, a far-from-perfect paint job, a sunroof that needs adjusting (and maybe replacing because of some rust), brake calipers that need rebuilding (and brake disks that may need replacing), a driveshaft that has an issue with the center u-joint, and several other little things that need attention. Yes, the cost of repairing the things on that list would be a lot, but the cosmetic things could easily be lived with for a long, long time. The things that I’ve done since bringing the car home have made it a great driver, but part of me yearns for something prettier, without all of the warts.

I only started driving it again this week after it was away for the last month or so, and discovered how much I missed driving it. It all started with this cancer business; pain meds were sometimes necessary early on, which made me a passenger rather than a driver when I was on them. Then Emily’s 318Ti developed a problem with the alternator in early April, so we towed it home and I tore into things to replace it. But in the process of removing the airbox from the car I broke the neck off the radiator. The car had recently topped 200,000 miles, so was due for a cooling system rebuild; I had already purchased all the parts, and was waiting for a prime opportunity to tear into it. Although it wasn’t the perfect opportunity, as much as I hate dealing with coolant, I decided that this was the time to just bite the bullet and do it all. Then with the trip to California for Ian’s graduation from USMC Boot Camp, the car sat in my garage for over a month before it was done. So while her car was down and out, she used my 735i for the four weeks of her internship at the hospital in Huron. When I was able to drive, I spent some time behind the wheel of Ian’s ’92 Mazda Miata, which really didn’t do much to endear it to me. It’s a decently quick and nimble little car, but it’s buzzy little motor, difficult entry &amp: exit, minuscule cockpit, low windshield… I’ve driven far worse, but I just didn’t enjoy the Miata experience much. I prefer the comfort of my e32 with the gobs of torque and smooth highway performance. I’m a happy guy again!

But… Recently a car came up for sale that’s the better looking twin of my car — a 1988 735i with a 5-speed transmission — and it has… or rather had me considering the possibilities… But alas, it sold last night.

So, unfortunately I need to sell the e32. Lost my job, and its gotta go. Looking to get $3500 out of it. 170k miles, gray on black.

The Good:

• • Runs strong, shifts smoothly (just had shift bushings/linkage done)
• • Paint is in great condition, though has been repainted by P.O. (8/10)
• • Interior is in amazing condition (8/10)
• • Front suspension is almost brand new with some spare parts in trunk (all done and from P.O.)
• • Haven’t had any issues with any leaks since I had my mechanic do some work on replacing gaskets on both engine and tranny. The car sits for weeks at a time at my dads right now, and no puddles under it at all that I’ve noticed.
• • Passes CA smog like a boss
• • All the windows work!
• • New Fuel pump, and fuel pressure regulator
• • Have new fuel filter in trunk, along with new oil filter that I haven’t put in yet (Mahn or Mayle, can’t remember which)
• • New O2 Sensor
• • Tires are fair
• • Brakes in great shape
• • No slipping on clutch

The Bad:

• • Drivers side air not working. Broken servo brackets according to my mechanic and no power going to heater valves
• • Reverse lights stopped working.
• • Turn signals are intermittent. I’ve tried switching the relays, however it seems to persist meaning it is likely either a cluster issue, or the relay in the turn signal stalk. Not sure
• • Seats are not twisted right now, but do twist if adjusted too much.
• • Stereo was stolen out of car since before I got it
• • Sunroof needs adjusting. I have a spare motor sitting the in trunk in case it needs it.
• • Airbag light is on. P.O. had some hack job done on the airbag, disconnected it, and put tape over the Airbag light. I’ve put a replacement airbag and steering wheel on, and connected everything, but don’t have the tool to reset the light, so the tape remains on it.

That is literally everything I can think of. Overall, it is a solid driver, and I think would be a great car to anyone looking for one who is willing to sort those things out. I have driven it on/off for a while now, and have no hesitation driving it for long periods of time myself.

The biggest appeal with that car was the fact that it’s always been in the south and west — TX, AZ & CA — so the body has none of the rust that mine has. It also has a much nicer color combination; dark silver over a black leather interior; mine is Bronzit-Beige metallic over a parchment interior. Kinda bland, but in a nice way. Kinda. If you like General Motors colors. There were some obstacles in the way of cutting a deal on it though; about 2,000 of them, as in miles. The car was located in Del Mar, near San Diego, CA. A friend in San Diego was willing to go check it out for me, and I was ready to book a flight out there (only $177 one-way on Delta) for a fly-n-drive, but… C’est la vie.

Now I’ll just concentrate on making mine what I’d like it to be, and spend the money I would’ve spent on that car to spruce mine up so it’s what I want it to be. Or maybe just keep it mechanically solid and let it keep the rugged road warrior ugly to scare off the people with newer cars. I would dearly love to find a junked car with a decent black interior to swap in; the beige leather is so sad.

Here’s one that came up for sale on mye28.com recently, and I would dearly love to have.

The e23 745i was never sold in the US, so every one of them is a gray-market import; in most every case the car was originally purchased by someone who really wanted one and went to extreme lengths to purchase, import and federalize the car. The e23 735i was the version sold in the US, which is built on the same platform and had similar options available, but never the turbo.

BMW monikers usually follow the engine displacement, although somewhat loosely; the 735i in the e23 lineup means it was a seven series with a 3.5 liter M30 (actually 3,430ccs, but who’s counting?), whereas the 745i had a 3,430cc m106, but BMW reasoned that the turbo added power that was equivalent to about an additional liter of displacement, so it was the 745i.

The 745i was also sold only with an automatic transmission; the current owner of this car converted it to 5-speed, and lowered the suspension. Those two items, combined with the Diamantschwarz exterior & water buffalo interior, and executive package make it pretty tempting. It just pushes all the right buttons. And $3,500 for all that in a rust-free California car? Very tempting, especially with a trip to that neck of the woods in the offing, less than a month away.

Still need to finish a couple things on this, but I wanted to get it out there.

It’s a 1985 BMW 745i turbo with a 5-speed conversion. I have owned it for about a year now and have put a lot of time, money and effort in this car. Selling in order to get a smaller car and a motorcycle.

Specifics are as follows:

M106 engine – stock everything
running 6psi 252bhp (stock). You can upgrade the Chip and install a boost controller which will net ~14psi reliably. All vacuum hoses and lines have been replaced.
Cat has been removed and replaced with dual 2″ pipes (how they came from Germany). You will need some “help” from your smog guy because of this. Sebring muffler out back for a little noise.
Factory trunk spoiler installed.

Manual Conversion:
G265 2-piece transmission, very strong.
Resurfaced flywheel.
SPEC stage 2 clutch. Stiff pedal, but holds nicely. Good for daily driving.
Bosch Bypass valve routed to intake boot.
M3 shifter conversion (still need to install).
short shift lever.
wood shift knob from an e39
2.93LSD

Interior:
Executive package
Water buffalo leather. Front seats have split. All electric functions work.
Cruise control does not work.
rear armrest with radio controls (not hooked up) and passenger seat controls (which work).
Clarion head unit.
Dash has cracks, like many BMWs of this vintage.
Rear sun shade
Factory first aid kit in the trunk.
TRX spare wheel/tire

Custom coilover setup utilizing Hypercoil springs. E28 setup in the rear with bilstein sports (should be revalved or use a softer spring rate as it bounces). Front strut housings are sectioned 2″ with shortened struts (this is one of the things not yet done) and 500lb 5″ springs.

Magnetic boost control valve is upgraded to a volvo unit for Better turbo response. I paired this with 3 ports on the wastegate plugged for quicker spool up.

AC Schnitzer type 2 wheels. 17×8.5 et13 with BFG 235/45 tires. Some curb rash.

The car all around:
Drives great with no shaking or bad vibrations. Engine revs up smooth and does not hiccup under boost. Vacuum at idle is at 18-20hg (solid, no vac leaks). HVAC system was disconnected and plugged. It only blows on defrost. Microswitch needs to be fixed ($4 Radioshack part). Heater does work. A/C belt was removed. Never looked into the system, but from what I’m told it’s just a few vacuum pods and it should be functional again. Started showing signs of worn turbo seals — good escuse to upgrade the turbo wheel. Sunroof guide broken. Windshield is cracked. It was repainted by PO somewhat poorly. May be able to come back with some color correction (wetland, buff, etc). Originally Diamondshwarz. This car is not a show car. Good project while you drive it car.

Autocheck is a bit spotty. Shows over 300k miles since 2001. Not sure if this is accurate based on the amount this car has driven since then (~15k in 12 years). Only issues from autocheck are failed emissions tests in 2005 and 2007. Odometer is indicated 336k miles. I performed a valve adjustment this past week and the engine looks to be absolutely spotless. Looks more like a 100k engine than a 300k.

No rust on this car anywhere. Dry as a bone. I have the factory manual and some other paperwork that will come with the car. Spare key included. Turn-key and go. I have driven this car to San Diego and back multiple times without issue. Wouldn’t hesitate to get in and drive anywhere!

$3500

If you have any questions shoot me a PM or Call/text 818.434.2478.

Thanks for looking,
Trey

Very tempting. But speaking of e23s, here’s another that’s similarly priced, and a lot closer to home:
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Here’s an interesting car… An ’82 528i with the heart of a 2002 e39 M5.

The look of this car is near perfect; euro bumpers, lowered suspension, etc… But the beauty in this car is what comes to life when you turn the key;

The 2002 M5 that this engine — with 394 hp & 369 lb·ft torque — came from is a rocket in its own right, but drop it into an e28 that weighs about 1,000 pounds less will make for a rocket-sled-type experience. At 55,000 Polish Zlotys (about $17,000 US) it doesn’t look like a bad deal, considering what you get in the package…

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It’s been a while since I posted a BMW of the Day, and this one caught my fancy. Price; stratospherically out of reach at $39,990. But for this particular example, it’s probably worth it. An extremely well done restoration, and it doesn’t look like it’s been driven much at all since then. Cars are not made for sitting in garages looking pretty, but I’d be afraid to drive this one. Part of me would totally do the Ferris Beuller thing with it, but Cameron would be there holding me back, big time.

Enough of my blabbing; I don’t need to extol the virtues of the e28 platform any more than I already have, and Alpina has already been discussed as well (although this one doesn’t have the super-go-fast turbo option), so let’s just jump to the gallery, shamelessly borrowed from the dealer, Enthusiast Auto Group. I don’t think they’ll mind me spreading the word around a little more.
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Rod Payne is quite a guy. He’s one of the more memorable characters on mye28.com mainly because he still owns and daily-drives the 1983 BMW 528e that he bought in April of 1983.

Rod’s 528e in April, 1983 with 547 miles on it.

Rod posted the following on mye28.com this morning to commemorate the birthdate of his car:

This month, our 528e turns 30, as it was built October 1982 and I bought it new in April 1983. This BMW is the longest I’ve kept any automobile, having been well known as the “car of the month” guy, many years ago. I tried to get a BMW Original Production Certificate from BMW Mobile Tradition several years ago, but they told me that during the period my 528e was built, they were revising their record keeping processes and as luck would have it, they had no information about my car, as it had been lost. Too bad, as I otherwise have every document associated with this car, since I took delivery of it.

Once in a while when we thought about selling the car, we could never answer the question what will we replace it with? Only once were we going to actually replace it… with a well known Euro M5, but that didn’t happen due financial timing. Bottom line is this has been a remarkable automobile and kept in top condition, it continues to provide very reliable transportation and great driving experiences. If you are new to the BMW E28 automobile, take the time to go over it and bring it up to spec. It will not disappoint you, if you truly come to understand the design philosphy of the various E28 models and can appreciate the driving experience they deliver.

Plus, you are here at MyE28.com, where most all of the resources you may need can be found. Believe me, I know and I am greatful I found this forum some years ago, which has enabled me to keep my E28 in the condition it is in.
-Rod

Rod has maintained his e28 meticulously — his motto is, A car can be restored many times, but is only original once. — and I am grateful to him for applying the same level of attention to documenting what he’s done to his car over his 30 years of ownership; his website is a wealth of information about how these cars are put together and what can be done to keep them looking good and working as they were designed to. Since his car is kept immaculately clean, the detailed photos of the mechanical bits on his site are invaluable in figuring out how things should look, if it weren’t for the grease, grime and rust that are present on most every other car like his. Well, present on mine anyway!

Rod is also an inspiration to me because he maintains his car on his own, and uses his single car garage to work on it.

Reminds me of my garage in regard to size, but mine isn’t nearly as well organized. Some day…

Here are a few photos from his site to show how clean it is; probably cleaner than when he took delivery in 1983. He’s made a few modifications on it over the years… Euro headlights, front strut brace, polished & painted valve cover, etc… But overall just an excellent example of how the car should look. Nice work, Rod! Keep it up!

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Well, it seems my better half has caught the BMW bug; she’s ready to offload the Ford Freestar van we’ve been driving for several years and has decided she’d like a BMW. I’m still trying to grasp the awesomeness of that; I knew I married well, but… Wow.

Anyway, she asked me to track down a few to look at, and since the Twin Cities area has a far greater selection than anywhere else within a reasonable drive, we’re planning a trip there this weekend to look at a few and maybe bring one home. The one that has really caught my eye is this 2001 X5:

2001 BMW X5 – Rare 5 Speed Manual – $7500 (S.E. Minneapolis)

2001 BMW, Sport Edition – Full Time AWD 3.0 V6 154K, in excellent condition mechanically & cosmetically.
Tires Good – All maintenance up to date – Repair Documentation available.
Tinted windows all round ( except windshield )
A/C blows cold
Sport self leveling Suspension
Upgraded Stereo with 6 Disk,
Fast & Easy fold down seats
OEM Towing package ( seldom used but great to have )
Luggage Area Cover
OEM Winter Floor Mats
18in Wheels with Sport rims
Great SUV – Fun to Drive – Peppy – Like new condition – no accidents or body putty – rust free – garaged
$7500.00 or best reasonable offer.

The seller obviously doesn’t know an I6 from a V6 (BMW has never built a V6 engine), but aside from that seems to know that this is a BMW built for the enthusiast… It looks to been special ordered with all the right boxes checked; Sport Package, 3.0 liter M54BB30 engine, 5-speed transmission, factory towing package, self-leveling suspension… I’ve corresponded a bit with the owner; sounds like he’s the second owner and has all the maintenance records since the car was new. No rust, no accidents, clean paint and interior… Looks like a great car. But considering that the NADA retail price is just a tad over $10,000 (with the optional equipment added) makes me wonder why he’s got it priced at $7,000.

We’ll have a look at the car on Saturday, if it’s still available. In talking with the seller it didn’t sound like people were beating down his door wanting to look at it, probably because of the 5-speed. I’m always amazed that so many people think a manual transmission in a car is a negative; when you consider that a manual is far more reliable and will return better gas mileage than an automatic, it seems a no-brainer, especially on a vehicle with 150,000 miles on it. But I guess the point and shoot mentality is pretty much the norm in the US today.

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Here’s a pretty unique car, a 1984 BMW 733i with the heart of an M5. It was built and owned by one of the members on the mye28.com board, and is pretty well known (relatively) especially for surprising the crap out of people by how fast it is.

The car is pretty nondescript; looks pretty much like an older 7 series ought to look, which is part of the appeal I guess. Here’s the story from the seller:

My priorities are changing and I can’t keep so many BMWs. Unfortunately, this has to go on the chopping block.

I bought this car as a 1984 733i in 1998 with 150k miles. A couple years later I got the hare-brained idea to take this car to driving school. I was hooked and was learning my apexes, but got tired of being passed on the straights. After considering several options, I figured my best one was to drop an S38 in the darned thing. The rest is history.

The conversion was completed in 2001 when the chassis had 201k miles. The car now has nearly 290k miles. The modifications include:

* S38b35 engine (80k miles at the time of conversion)
* Euro headers
* G280 transmission (40k miles at the time of conversion)
* 4:10 big case diff with 50% LSD (rebuilt by Blanton about 7-8 years ago with new 4.10 ring and pinion from Maxmillian)
* Dinan springs
* 28mm front sway bar (stock 27mm)
* 22mm rear adjustable sway bar
* Custom valved Bilstein struts front and rear
* Recaro SRD driver’s seat
* Bav Auto front strut bar
* Short shifter (can’t remember if it’s M3 or Z3)
* Euro bumpers
* Slotted rotors with Porterfield Racing Pads
* Custom exhaust with E36M3 cats and 745i muffler (yes, it passes the CA sniff test…)

I can provide either BBS RX or Style 8 wheels, both with Kumho Victoracer tires.

The car has been very reliable on the track. The only issue I’ve ever had is power steering pumps, as E23 pumps don’t seem to like regular trips to 6800 rpm. In the last few years, I’ve learned that upshifting at ~6200 (redline of the M30) not only doesn’t upset the balance of the car, it saves PS pumps.

Of course, I have driven it on the street and cross country…with street tires the car is not too harsh.

The car was repainted stock Arctic Blue in 2004 and is a bit worn. There are a couple of scrapes but the car has not been in an accident in my possession. The interior is in decent shape, the HVAC doesn’t work but the pieces are there.

I have had great fun with the car. If I had won the lottery, I would keep the car but alas such is life.

This is a difficult car to price as you can imagine. I put out about $20k to put together this car. The memories are priceless. I think a fair price is $7,500…

And now the pics:

Update: This car & the mye28.com ad were featured on Jalopnik yesterday, under the Nice Price or Crack Pipe category. The NP/CP gimmick features a car advertised for sale and asks readers to judge the car a good buy (Nice Price) or the seller to be out of his mind (Crack Pipe.) This one looks to be judged overwhelmingly the latter. The commentary in the article (and I thought Graverobber was a decent fella) and the reader comments that followed reminded me of why I don’t enjoy Jalopnik much these days. It was encouraging to note that many comments said it was a decent car, just not worth the asking price. But the seller did say he’s open to offers…

A few weeks ago I drove to Minneapolis with Emily to pick up her new-to-her car; a ’98 BMW 318Ti (e36 Compact.) It’s a great little car — zinno red, 5-speed, hatchback — and suits her perfectly. Seeing the grin on her face when we first took it for a test drive was priceless!

Since we brought the car home, that body style has been growing on me. I love to drive the car, but even though the 1.8L four-cylinder motor helps it zip around pretty well, it always feels to me like the car needs more power. And of course, I’m not the only one thinking that, and others have already paved the way to putting more power under the hoods of these cars. BMW made the task pretty easy; the e36 Compact shares a great deal with the coupe and sedan, in fact, the cars are nearly identical from the firewall forward, so transplanting the mechanicals from a sedan or coupe is pretty straightforward using off-the-shelf parts.

Which brings us to today’s BMW of the Day; a ’95 Ti with the heart and soul of an M3. Sweet.

The car is being advertised for sale on the 318ti.org web forum for $8,500. Not much for photos provided, but it sounds like a lot of car for the money…

Hey Guys,
I’d like to sell my car, my dad is selling his 77′ porsche and will give me a deal I cant refuse if I buy it from him.
I have a 95 Alaska Blue with a full 95 M3 swap (s50) with a euro 6sp trans. No rust and great paint
Every M3 part from the M3 donor car was moved across onto the ti. the swapped parts have 62k on them. Trans has 30k. Lots of money into this no expense spared swap.
Parts on the car

Car

• 95 ti sport with M body kit
• Depo hid headlights
• M3 contour wheels (staggered) Kumho MX tires
• Sparco Adjustable seats
• Black Leather rear seat
• Suede headliner, also everything above the door panels is black (a-pillars and so on)
• subframe x-brace

Motor

• S50 motor, with following upgrades,
• turner motor-sport ecu
• euro MAF 3.5″
• larger injectors
• bimmerworld samco intake boot
• samco radiator hoses
• fan delete kit (lower thermostat and electric fan sensor)
• AFE intake

Trans

• 6sp euro m3 evo trans
• Rouge short shifter
• custom shorterned drive shaft
• uuc trans mounts

Brakes

• M3 fronts new rotors and pads
• ti rears

Diff/ subframe

• E30 3.73 lsd diff with z3m bushing
• Ireland subframe bushings
• e30 halfshafts

Suspension

• Bilstein Sport Shocks
• H&R race rear springs
• M3 front spring
• M3 offset caster and rear control arm bushings
• rear UUC shock mounts

here are some pics
I can email as many pics as needed
arcamlee@sbcglobal.net

Im asking 8.5k OBO dont be shy.

Here are the photos provided by the seller in his ad and what he sent me by email, plus the pre-purchase photos of Emily’s car.

Confession time; I have no idea who Chris Harris is or why I found this video of his, but what I do know is that he is dead on about the M5. Some day…

It’s been a while since I put up a BMWotD, and when a car comes up for sale that I would love to own, it’s time to break that silence. This car just came up for sale in Oregon; a black over black ’86 535i with Euro headlights & bumpers and the M30B35 swap already done. And it even has a set of Style 32 — one of my favorite wheels on the e28.

The front airdam on this car looks a little goofy, but that’s something easily remedied, or probably something I could live with. I just can’t help but think of how much fun an e28 would be with about twice the horsepower of the M20B27 in my car. Would love to see some photos of the interior on this car; for the asking price, it had better be next to perfect. But with this car, I could live with a little imperfection there!

BMW 535i ’86 rebuilt engine, euro bumpers – $8500 (N Portland)

Date: 2012-04-12, 11:53AM PDT
Reply to: c44fv-2954594276 @ sale.craigslist.org

For sale is a very nice 1986 BMW E28 535i, 227K on the chassis. I am the third owner and have a folder of receipts dating back to the day it was purchased. I have owned it for about six years, and struggled with the decision to finally put it up for sale. The car is Schwartz black, repainted professionally before I bought it, and the interior is also black, which is a hard to find combination. The following upgrades have been done by professionals since I have owned it:

-b35 rebuilt engine swap done last August, rebuild had approx. 40,000 miles on it when I bought it.
-euro bumpers, front and rear, painted to match
-Paul Ladue fiberglass airdam
-Paul Ladue headers connected to a custom-made stainless exhaust system
-euro grill and headlights
-Bilstein Sports all around
-Bavarian Auto lowering springs installed properly
-BMW M-tech 2 steering wheel
-Alpine stereo and power amp in trunk
-LSD installed previously, just not sure which one

Parts replaced since I have owned it: clutch master cylinder, brake master cylinder, trunk gasket.

This car’s cornering abilities are amazing, and with the engine swap it gets much better gas mileage and highway-speed power than the stock motor. The previous owner installed BMW style-32 wheels from a 2001 540i, which look really sharp, as well as a front stabilizer bar. This BMW frequently receives compliments everywhere I go. Please call Jon xxx-xxx-xxx with any further questions. Serious inquiries only, must have cash or other proof of funds on hand to drive it, otherwise you may be a passenger.