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1988 M5 Project - Saved from being totaled

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37K views 71 replies 20 participants last post by  tschultz 
#1 ·
Well, we finally got the M5 back from the repair shop. It was a lengthy repair to say the least, as I have bought both of my other cars in the past 3.5 years, and this car has been in progress the whole time. It was a frustrating ordeal, but now we have it back in our possession and running so that we can get it in shape once again like it used to be. It was rear-ended, and the whole back end was crunched. Our body guy cut out the drivers rear quarter and transplanted one from a 528e.

Pictures from the accident. The car was hit in the rear by a lady checking on her baby while driving. :rolleyes::nono:












I also found a picture of the car while being worked on earlier this year.
It was a very sad sight- I wasn't too happy with some of the body work done on the car. We will have to find a new guy locally for any other small projects.




The car sat for so long that we removed the stock wheels and put the TRX's on there. They are dryrotted, but I had to get some pictures up since it has been such a long wait. Overall it looks good considering. Luckily, my dad was able to maintain a clean title even thought they tried to total the car!
This is chassis number 2791357 which was bought back in 2001 or so by my dad. He is no longer interested in the car, so I have bought it from him.

The rear is sagging in the pictures since the SLS Accumulators aren't working. Going to decide if we are going to remove it or rebuild it with a spare set we have.

Please ignore the crooked bumper- I have been working to fix this.























It looks so boring next to my friend's Black on Black euro conversion!



Replaced an engine mount, two transmission mounts, got a new air filter, along with a couple of new intake boots. Shame they didn't do this during the 'repair' hmmm



Have some slight taillight leakage, I will have to find the spare shadowline M5 taillights that I can't remeber where we put.
Also, the drivers side tail light and front sidemarker isn't working. The 'mechanc' who worked on the car replaced the fuel pump, but did not include the mounting nuts to hold the bracket on. I noticed this as I was swapping the wheels.

Now it is starting to look likje an M5 again. I just waxed the car but don't have the quality camera anymore :sad2:




Tough to find US Shadowline tailpipe extensions these days


Sitting next to the others:


Had a no start issue.
It ended up being fuel related. Here's what was in the fuel rail, along with basically in the tank:




The fuel was a milky color and had a sediment similar to the look of sugar water. This was due to the car sitting so long, and I believe from sitting in the tank/filter. The brown in the image was also not good, but not much of that came out. Pretty obvious when we hooked up power to the pump and took a look at what was coming out of the fuel rail...

I replaced the filter, along with draining the tank to get as much of this stuff out of the car.
I think the old fuel gelled/ and then hardened and once we got the car running again, the new gasoline acted as a solvent and slowly dissolved all of this 'sediment'.
It was about 6-8 weeks of new gasoline and occasional use that this happened (along with some seafoam in the tank).
The car now starts up, but this stuff is still in the tank/lines a bit.
Plan is to empty the tank soon enough again until we get it running right. Not sure what it is doing to combustion, but the catalytic converter was getting glowing red hot after a few minutes of idling. Hopefully it didn't burn up the new 02 sensor in the process.
Thanks for all the help, more news to come when I get out to work on it some more! Once we get it running properly, another oil change is in order and then the SLS and front rotors will be addressed, along with a few fixes in the lighting and previous mechanics 'fixes' :Thumbdown:


In the mean time, i got some pictures after getting the car out today:








And back under shelter next to older brother 635csi:



Now that we have clean fuel and purged lines, it is revving nicely-- what a quick car!! Significantly faster than my euro 635... :hihi::haha:



Tell me what you think!
 
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#7 ·
wow 214,000 miles i thought my 535i was doing well when it passed 190,000. great looking pair of e28's i think Bmw lost there way with the e39 on as they just feel like any other modern car although the e39 m5 is not a bad car by any means. Bmw's of this era where real drivers cars especially the 5 series cars the best 4 door car you can buy and the m cars are just something else.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Actually, the M30's are commonly known to go 300k+ with no issues. There are quite a few people who are over on mye28.com who have passed that mark (some close to 500,000 miles!!)

I had 2 friends who were each in the 276k range. All the more reason to make a driver out of the car. I guess the look of the M5 really got me hooked (when my dad owned the car), and I ended up getting the 535i later and I have been hooked since.
I am heading out to a local track day to see how the 535i does :)

However, I really enjoy the look of the Euro bumpers over the US bumpers (although I think it helps to have the spoilers). I always get so jealous seeing photos of all those UK and Austalian cars!
 
#9 · (Edited)
A small update since I am having withdrawals since driving it lately. I found some shadowline tail lights to replace the leaking rear seals. I removed the hack wiring for the fuel pump that the 'mechanic' installed to find that it is not needed at all. Glad that it was that simple!

Some recent photos that I hadn't yet posted on this forum:
I finally got a few higher quality pictures with the M5 wheels and some minor bumper alignment tweaking. Car is running great. :banana:















I have some wiring to check why one brake light and the drivers side parking lights/ tail light are not lighting up. The bulbs are good, but I will have to trace the wire and see if it was cut somewhere. The wiring looked good, but I only glanced. That is where the panel was surgically replaced from the donor.


With the age and mileage (148,600) I wonder about the need to have the timing components repaced. But at the same time, I have heard of quite a few 200k-300k M5's around. I'm not beating on the car, but am not sure if the timing components fail due to mileage (cycles), or instead fail due to age (becoming brittle). Does anybody have some more conclusive evidence that suggests they do indded fail? I sure haven't been able to find much but also want to know with how much priority I should tackle this operation.


I took the car out for a spin this past weekend due to warmer temperatures and some spare time to get to my storage unit. The car started right up after connecting the battery.
It was a blast to drive around, and really was a great feeling to listen to the engine and the revs (for the first time having the car actually running 100%). Get it all warmed up, and you can really tell what this car was meant for. In normal city driving, it is deceptively pedestrian. You expect it to be perky and torquey, but it just isn't. Driving in typical 800-3500rpm, it doesn't feel much more special than a 535i (it definitely doesn't have much more power at 300rpm). It is very quiet, it shifts smooth, the suspension feels great--- smooth and comfortable, yet tight and agile. You take a couple of curves above 40 miph, and you realize there is something special about the car. It feels harmonius, like the engine is in tune with the suspension, and that the gearbox was no doubt matched to the engine on purpose. Maybe it is the quick ratio steering box that adds to the feeling, but it feels like a true package. I have trouble understanding why people upgrade the suspension for the street for anything other than looks. Even with the SLS in place, the car feels 'together.' It was designed well, and it just feels much more agile than my dads E24 M6. I find it pretty ironic that BMW lied about the 0-60 data to prevent people who bought the exclusive M6 into thinking that the cheaper M5 was indeed slower than the M6.

Well, I drove it around for about 10 miles, but didn't want to drive it too long and have to fill up with the crappy winter blend gasoline here. I noticed a large (3-4 mpg) drop in my 535i's fuel mileage, partly because of the cold (10 degree) temperatures, but also due to the fuel mixture. I figure getting the car all wamed up would be good for it, and help to maintain the battery. I parked it back in the storage space, and proceded to take out the 635 for the rest of the day. Ironically that car had been driven much more recently, and that was the car that had the dead battery (it turned out the radio was randomly turning on after the car was off and parked for over 12 hours).
That's a different story altogether, but it is very interesting to get used to my e28 535i with sport suspension, then hop in an E28 M5, and then get in an E12 based euro 635. It is pretty ineteresting to describe to others that they are pretty much the same car, but at the same time all so very different. This is a concept many E28 enthusiasts understand very well, but my other friends don't at all.


I will finish this post with a couple of great E28 M5 reviews I found that are interesting reads if you want to get a better understanding of the character of the car:



Retro Spin: 1988 BMW M5

BimmerFile Review: The 1988 E28 M5 | BimmerFile

And a great [LARGE] wallpaper:
http://s3.bimmerfile.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/DSC0595.jpg
 
#13 ·
Fantastic resurrection job on this car!
It's great to see another one saved and back on the road - congratulations!

If the timing chain was single row (M88/3 engine) I'd be doing the replacement immediately and without hesitation.
But the S38 duplex system is less susceptible to failure, so maybe just do a good inspection of all components for now, to check their condition.
Meanwhile, for your own peace of mind, you might want to start getting the new parts together and scheduling this maintenance for a future shop visit.
 
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#15 ·
Thanks for all of the kind comments guys!

For some reason on the E28 forum, everybody is worried about the time when the chain and timing components were replaced.
For now I am not planning to have it done until I get ta proper place to work on the car, along with the funds required to start puchasing the parts. I haven't heard of firstheand issues on the S38B35, but still keep it in the back of my mind.

I think the next step for me is to take apart the head and replace valve guide seals on my Euro 635, and once I get those replaced, I will be in a better place to look into replacing the components myself or finiding a shop that can perform the repair. I know you do need a special tool to adjust the valves-- that is on the to do list this spring.
 
#17 ·
I still have to look twice before my eyes adapt to the hideous US bumpers... True abomination on a wonderful car. You could easily get yourself some second hand euro-bumpers (Davidoli could surely help with that) and get them finished in black if chromed. Your original bumpers don´t seem to be in that good shape anyway (at least the trims between bumper and bodywork)

Sakke
 
#19 ·
I still have to look twice before my eyes adapt to the hideous US bumpers... True abomination on a wonderful car. You could easily get yourself some second hand euro-bumpers (Davidoli could surely help with that) and get them finished in black if chromed. Your original bumpers don´t seem to be in that good shape anyway (at least the trims between bumper and bodywork)

Sakke

I agree Sakke, when compared to the Euro cars with the bumpers and everything, it is night and day! I much prefer the Euro bumpers on all of the BMW's of the era. However, due to the rarity of the M5, they are becoming more and mroe difficult to find in 'stock' condition. For the time being, I will be leaving the car is US form, and keeping the SLS in tact. Maybe down the road I will consider the Euro bumpers. I don't mind the US look as long as the spoilers are on the car (even though a few angles are awkward). Thre is something about the US E28 M5-- if anybody knows anything about these cars, they should be able to recognize the Shadowline and know what it is.

For those days when I really envy the Euro/ small bumper look, I will just ahve to hop in my '80 635CSi: :blink:



I haven't had time to work on the car, but now that we have had soem recent warm weather, I am hoping I can make some additional progress soon.
 
#18 ·
Beautiful....nice job!
 
#21 ·
I finally had a chance to get to my storage unit and pull out the M5 for the first time in about 10 weeks. Haven't wanted to drive it with the snow and gravel and I was able to have the day off today.

I cleaned out the interior and trunk area and got more detailed photos to show the true condition of the car. IMO, the posters earlier were quite harsh about the body work. After looking through these photos, I am quite happy with how the car is looking. It's not perfect, but what car is? Having waxed the car at the end of last year, it was snap to wipe of the dust and get some glossy looking photos.
Enjoy.
Full Res. Album: 1988 BMW M5 - Imgur






























 
#24 ·
I can't really fault the bodywork from these pictures, except the wavy rear bumper cover.

Just lose that shag-pile dash and refurb the leather, and you'll have an M5 to be proud of.:M5thumbs:
 
#25 ·
I can't really fault the bodywork from these pictures, except the wavy rear bumper cover.

Just lose that shag-pile dash and refurb the leather, and you'll have an M5 to be proud of.:M5thumbs:
Thanks :byee55amg

I think the first step will be getting new brake rotors, replacing the SLS (thinking about just refurbishing the system). Get it road ready again first, and then really getting the interior back in shape. I'd love to get the leather seats recovered in the front, but that may be a couple of years away still.

I'll be taking it to a local BMW meet this year which should put it through its paces fairly well. About 300 miles away through some nice canyons, some open road, and then up and over the US Continental divide at over 10,000 ft (3000m) elevation.

From last year:

This year we may have 3 E28 M5's there. The E12 with the hood up was powered by an S38B36. :M5rev:
 
#26 ·
I had the day off today and was able to have good enough weather to work on the car. I started with an oil change. I had developed a SLS leak on the drivers side. After investigation, it looked to be a leak from the hose connecting to the shock itself. The good news is that the leak meant that the pump itself appears to be working. The hose was loose, so after tightening that up, it seems like the leak has gone away. Hopefully, that was the entire issue.
The rear is quite low, making me think that the accumulators may be bad. I don't know how to tell what on the system may be bad, but it seems to have 0 adjustment when I am on includes. I do remember our M6 would adjust (and could be noticed if you really paid attention). good news is this pump doesn't make any odd noises, the bad news is that it doesn't seem to have any adjustment. The car feels somewhat stiff in the rear, but I need to continue with additional diagnosis.
I'm not sure if it is worth removing or not, but for now I'd prefer to try to keep it. The reason being that the stock spring and shock setup is such a nice balance between comfort and performance. The stock SLS worked well in our old M6 and gives a super stiff rear when cornering. I would prefer to keep it for that reason, and for originality sake.

I drove it around after the oil change and it is running good. The reviews are completely accurate, you have to manhandle the engine and take control of it for the engine to really come alive. Not much power below 4k, as everybody mentions, but after that, whoa baby-- hold on! First gear goes by so quick with the 3.91, you hardly want to use it at all! As you get into 3rd and 4th gear, the ratios make a lot more sense! After shifting, the engine is just starting to get near the peaky powerband. The characteristics of the engine are very unique-- you have to keep in mind the revs really get going around this 4k, so it's pretty easy to get the car moving once you hit this rev range. My 535i feels like an old lumbering ox in comparison around 60-80mph (even if you are in the powerband!). The m30 has a little bit lower end torque for drivability around town, but when romping on it, this torque is hardly used. Now since I also have an M90, the comparison is interesting, The power on that engine comes earlier than the standard M30B34, and continues slightly longer. Matched with the proper dogleg gearbox, the M90 will get going immediately when you put your foot down. More torque means it pulls pretty good, but is definitely no comparison to the S38 once that's in the revs. It would be interesting to see the three in a side by side comparison on the autobahn. The I think from say 25mph-40mph pull, the three would be pretty equal. Then, M90 and S38 would pull away (I think those two would be pretty even up to 50mph). Once S38 gets in the revs, it's game over, it's gone.
The nice thing about the M90/dogleg (also the downfall) is that at highway speed, you are right in the meat of the revs. Put your foot down and it will go. Unfortunately that makes it buzzy on the highway, and I'm always looking to shift in '6th' gear (there is none). With the other two, you almost always have to shift down to get in the power band of the engine.

I had a chance to take some photos since my brother let me borrow his camera.
These wheels just make the car pop, and I love them on this car. I was going to wait to post an update until I did some additional work I have planned, but couldn't resist sharing with you all :alright:















My favorite:



I'm amazed at how high this thing sits in the front. Maybe it is because I am so used to my 535i. I would like to bring it down, but I could live with it if I got the SLS working in the rear (and it didn't look like I was hauling dead bodies in the trunk). :hihi:
http://imageshack.us/a/img404/3807/dsc0408mj.jpg
 
#27 · (Edited)
Small update-- added new rear brakes from an E34 M5. Now with Vented rear rotors, she stops much better! The original brakes are the same in the rear as a slow 528e!!

The new brakes weigh more, but give much more stopping power and do not strain the fronts as much. The surface area seems like there is almost 35% more on the pads, and a much wider contact patch on the rotor.

Didn't take many pictures of this as I was too dirty and sort of rushed.





Then i went forward with cleaning the engine bay. I completed a 'first pass' and it looks much better than the photos above. But after my next go-round, I will get some photos :) I got the tool kit almost complete and will have those photos as well. New front rotors will be ordered in the next week or so, so more updates will be coming!!
 
#29 ·
I'm thinking about trying the E32 front rotors-- I have 2 old sets of the M5 rotors, both are warped .The unique cooling design doesn't seem to be the best idea, and since the E32 rotors are a bit lighter, I figure why not.

I'd like to take the nose of the car down, but for the moment I will probably leave the front springs alone (I guess the stock springs are practically the same as 535i/635csi springs). The next thing will be front suspension, and I don't know how quickly I will get to it. It depends on if the shimmy is related to the rotors only, of if the upper/lower control arm bushings are worn also. I will find out when I get new front rotors.

It will probably stay as is for another 3 months, at that point I'll have to decide if I need ot swap some bushings and such.
 
#31 ·
Thanks Kdawg!



So this last week, I installed new front rotors on the car. They were the E32 ffront rotors (vented differently than the E28 M5 ones), slightly lighter, and zinc coated.

They completely eliminated the brake shudder! I expected the rotors to be the source of the problem, but it was excessive, horrible shudder on average braking, I thought the thrust arm bushing may also have been going bad.

Can't wait until these babies get bedded in-- the performance is already night and day. :thumbsup:
 
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