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Acquired 2001 Beastly Restoration Project...

17K views 103 replies 36 participants last post by  AquilaBMW 
#1 ·
I recently came across a Lien sale locally for a 2001 Beast in Silverstone. Not one of my favorite colours, but it is really growing on me in person. It is not a common colour, I believe there were about 300 or so built, less number than the Imola Red surprisingly enough.

The car has 140K on the clock and has been parked for two year. I was told it had a bad clutch, leaking exhaust manifold and three years of registration penalties.

I picked it up for $2000 and figured it was worth it, at the least it is a good parts car.

The car has M-Audio, PDC, Shades, Two TOne Le Mans Interior with fold down seat. MKIII NAV, Wide Screen and Redwood trim. It also has some kind of Parrot thing attached to the left of the steering wheel.

Surprisingly the tires look fine and relatively new. The wheels are curbed to hell though and will need to be restored. car will also need front and rear bumper covers - both are cracked.

I consulted with Uncle Jed after towing it home and we went back and forth on what things to check before trying to fire it up. Fuel, oil, coolant, PS Fluid, etc.

First hand turned it, then installed a new battery and tried cranking it with the Fuel Pump Fuses and relays removed. Darn car fired up on second crank! I need to recheck those fuses... that was weird. Unless there was fuel in the rail or something.

Car does have the exhaust manifold noise, but it quietens down once it warms up. It moves under its own power and the clutch feels fine in all honesty. No slipping or anything... engages and disengages smoothly. I couldn't drive the car as there is a God Awful thud / clunk from the rear when it moves forward. I think something is broken like the sub frame front diff mount or similar. Going to have to raise her up and see what's going on there.

Anyway.... it will take me some time and money to get it back up on the road. Decision at this point is to keep and get it back on the road. The car cleaned up nice... the interior though is worse than Satan's trash room! FILTHY! That alone will take me a week to clean up! UGH! :|

Here she is...


Where she sat for two years plus...









First time on a street in two years.... not under her own power. Had to push her out...





Up we go... coolest tow driver ever btw!!!







Cleaned for the first time in two years... not too shabby...




Pre check on fluids and other things before starting her up.... Consulting and concurring with Dr. M5Jed during this process...





SHE RUNS!!! Oh... need to fix Cluster Pixels too.



In for the night with her stable mate (Big Sister)


 
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#2 ·
What a steal!!!!


Paul :)
 
#4 ·
An entire vehicle for the price of new wheels and tires ... one cannot go wrong there. I'm looking forward to that cluck source.
 
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#14 ·
Thanks! Guess that's one way to look at it. Except of course no one would pay that much for these particular wheels! HA HA :grin

What a bargain! Look forward to seeing her brought back to life.
Thank you - I hope I can fully bring her back to life. Will be spending time on here reaping as much information as I can.

Awesome pick up. Silverstone has definitely grown on me, good luck with your build!
Thanks! I am liking that colour more each day I look at it. I am realizing also that it is not too common a colour on these cars.

nice find, subscribed
Thanks!

Hi,

An absolute steal of a car and no matter what, you'll be 'quids in' if you restore it or break it for parts !

Looking forward to your updates on this one !

Cheers, Dennis!
Cheers Dennis. It was a very, very lucky find. I have started minor stuff like cleaning it up, so I hope to start updating soon. Car is filthy!

Congrats!
Cheers!

That's an awesome deal! It's nice to see it being saved from just sitting there rotting away too
Thanks! I guess you could indeed say it was just rotting away ... thankfully it was indoors otherwise it would be in even worse state.

What a bargain
Thanks!

Congrats!
Thanks Man!

what a deal, please keep us updated on the restoration process.

you know the times are changing when these cars start becoming "Barn Finds"
I will try to update regularly as I start working on it. I just started with the trunk - damn thing is super filthy.
 
#5 ·
What a bargain! Look forward to seeing her brought back to life.
 
#6 ·
Awesome pick up. Silverstone has definitely grown on me, good luck with your build!
 
#7 ·
nice find, subscribed
 
#10 ·
That's an awesome deal! It's nice to see it being saved from just sitting there rotting away too
 
#15 · (Edited)
Today, I decided to spend a bit of time on the M5 while at my workshop. When I replaced the battery, I had noticed how incredibly filthy the entire trunk was. I was planning to check underneath the car to see what was making that horribly clunk when moving, but with my good ole ADD self, I digressed and cleaned the trunk first which actually got interesting for me.

First the trunk... I took out ALL the trim pieces in the trunk, including the battery and then the CD Changer. I decided to clean everything as much as I could. I think this was to prepare me for the task of cleaning the interior of the car - that will require HazMat equipment I think.

Anyway... so out came all the trim pieces. Then I got a chuckle at this point because with all the trim pieces out and the battery tray and all - there is just a big, gaping hold in the middle of the M5's trunk floor... LOL! I guess this was BMW's idea of a weight loss program... HAHA!

Here is a pictorial summary of my work....

Filthy Trim Pieces...



The carnage I removed....



The filth...





Holy Crap! Literally.... (The Battery Tray)



Many 10mm bolts later, the trays are out...



Don't ask... I don't know what it is either. I thought it was alive!



It's all coming out... The gaping hole!



Now you know how to escape from the trunk of an M5!



Almost done cleaning ...



After a few hours.... So fresh and so clean, clean....



Before....



After....




With the trunk clean, I then proceeded to check underneath the car. It was pretty cool to slid the floor jack under the trunk and just look straight down to make sure it was position right... there was no need to bend down and check it. Heck! I think I could have just crawled through the hold in the floor and checked under the car. I am amazed the Fast N Furious team did not use this for a stunt... wait. The car was not really an M5.

Placing the Floor Jack... easy, breezy...



With the weight loss, the rear is SO LIGHT, I can lift it high, high, HIGH!



Broken Sway Bar Bracket....




Anyway.... much to my utter dismay and astonishment I found the following:

Guibo / Flex Joint: I have NEVER seen one in this condition. I will let the pictures do the talking. I mean........ seriously !!!!!

The WORST Guibo I have ever encountered....






Sway Bar: Right side mounting bracket is broken. No big deal as the plan was to install an Eibach or DINAN sway bar with beefier mounting brackets. Either Best of the E38 750 ones.

Rear Differential / Sub Frame: Well... I could guess what was causing a clunk when I checked on the sub-frame and Rear Diff. The bushing for the front differential mount was literally non-existent. I mean.... it was completely chewed up. That bolt was literally swimming in that area. I am AMAZED that the mount area itself was not broken or cracked. It also looked like the Diff itself was leaking from the front output flange or seal. I wouldn't be surprised and I am sure with the bad mount and the condition of the flex joint, things must have been moving around quite a bit which may have put strain on the output flange.

The Front Differential Mount bushing.....






Where I think it's leaking....



The mount itself is not broken...





So.... figure I will need to replace the flex joint, the sub frame bushings, probably the center bearing (did not get a chance to look at it) and might have to send the drive shaft out since it needs to be separated to install the center bearing and then I believe it needs to be balanced.

So... I am at a pause at the moment and having total First World problems. How superficial does this sound huh? What do I do with two M5's? Do I part out this one? Do I part out the Avus Blue and make it a donor for this one? Do I take all the good stuff off this one and put them on the Avus Blue? This engine sounds much better than the Avus Blue's engine - MUCH!

I also found out that this car had a front end fender bender which involved replacing the hood or at least getting it painted the it has brand new headlights... well, at least brand new two years ago.

What to do people ?!?!
 
#16 ·
Wow! Never seen anything like that on the guibo and the diff bushing. Last time I checked my guibo and everything else I have to say mine is at least in better shape compared to yours. Even at 174k mi ....

Glad I've got all the stuff I need to do the suspension overhaul. Well, almost ....

Perhaps a mix and match from the Avus M5 and try to part it out and try to save this M5? You know the engine is 'according' to you is bad in that blue one, so you might want to save this one.
 
#18 ·
I still have to check the engine on the Avus Blue to sure it is either good or bad. The car drove from San Diego to Los Angeles then to San Francisco and back to Los Angeles. So... it's covered over 1500 miles since I got it and is still ticking.

However, I may be leaning the way you suggest. I will probably get crucified for parting out an Avus Blue though...
 
#17 ·
Wow, this car won the lottery! It does seem like it will need a lot of work. One M5Board member bought a neglected M5 a few years ago for approximately $5K as I recall, and then documented his $20K investment to make the car pristine. I haven't seen recent posts from him - I hope his car is running well.

You clearly have a shop and mechanical skills (I lack both). If you have the financial resources, it would be wonderful to treat the car to a full restoration. You probably won't get your money back, but it should be a satisfying experience. Since you have another E39 M5, a very prudent course of action is to transfer what you wish to your Avus Blue car (or vice-versa) and part out the remainder.
 
#19 ·
Thanks Kevin... I do have a workshop space to work on the car. That is fortunate. I am leaning along the lines of your prudent suggestions. At the moment, my First World Problem is which car to keep! LOL!

It would be relatively easy to just transfer the entire driveshaft, Diff, sub frame and such from the Avus over to this car and DONE!
 
#23 ·
Nice progress, Yeah get those parts replaced ASAP LOL. That is some shocking destruction on the guibo, and diff bushing.
 
#25 ·
Wow after seeing the drivetrain condition more closely maybe you didn't get a very good deal :rofl: keep both M5's this really isn't a ton of work. Just some part swapping and it should be fine. Maybe $1000 in parts with the clutch and 15 or so hours labor and a solid car it'll be!

Chad
 
#26 ·
Wow after seeing the drivetrain condition more closely maybe you didn't get a very good deal :rofl: keep both M5's this really isn't a ton of work. Just some part swapping and it should be fine. Maybe $1000 in parts with the clutch and 15 or so hours labor and a solid car it'll be!

Chad
 
#27 ·
why butcher one car to make the other good? The Silverstone one is not at all beyond saving, you need a couple hundred bucks in bushings and CSB. Driveshaft does not need to be sent out for balancing - just mark the center joint before disassembling it and pull off the old CSB by hand. Reassemble with same spline orientation. The rest of the stuff - diff seals, guibo, diff mount, is a cakewalk. Since you'll have to drop the shaft to get to the CSB, you already have everything out of the way to get to the guibo and diff. This should be a walk in the park.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I have never taken apart a DS before. I have removed them quite a few times, so that is not a big deal. I find taking the exhaust system off is more work actually.

If anyone can post a DIY for the DS - CSB, that would be brilliant, otherwise I will be off to search for one.

You are right, guibo is staring right at you once DS is off. Diff is a bit more work, and I will need tools to replace all the bushings there. Might be easier to drop the whole subframe actually.... I am also working on getting a reinforced sub-frame or reinforcing this one - so I guess I will just drop it.

As far as choices, I will need to let one car go regardless of what state it's in. I'm not planning on having two M5's in the stable.

Butcher is such a harsh word.... how about "re-distribute"? :devil

By the way, no one commented on how clean the trunk area is.... .:eek :crying
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HA HA HA HA HA
 
#29 · (Edited)
the 2 driveshaft halves are joined with one bolt in the middle, and it's cleverly hidden right inside the u-joint junction. you need to remove the shaft from the car, mark it in the middle (i use a grease pencil), and put the shaft on the workbench. You will need to angle the 2 halves to their extreme angles of travel to be able to fit a wrench in there. a 12 point is great since you don't have a lot of travel back and forth, as the wrench hits the u-joint. I forget what size the bolt is. the CSB *should* slide right off but may need some convincing with a hammer and piece of wood to come off, as the bearing may be stuck on the shaft it rides on. new one should slide right on. be absolutely sure to assemble the two halves back together in the orientation they came apart. otherwise it is really that easy.


VAZBMW over on bfc documented his driveshaft diassembly/CSB replacement. see, the LS guys are good for something.
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-530-Touring-LS1-Swap&p=26624135#post26624135
 
#31 · (Edited)
@nsogiba <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> - Thanks! Once I have the room to really tear into the car, I will jack her up and drop the exhaust and DS and try to get her on the road. I am sure there will be other things I will need to fix on this car anyway. Hopefully this is the biggest issue it has.

By the way - Anyone know if the DS from a 540i 6/Speed is the same as the M5? I have one laying on the floor in the garage.

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> @auaq <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> - Thank You Kind Sir!
 
#33 ·
By the way - Anyone know if the DS from a 540i 6/Speed is the same as the M5? I have one laying on the floor in the garage.
:eek: One is from a supercar and one is not :rofl:

Similar but not the same.
 
#32 ·
4/2001 540i/6
No. Description Supp. Qty From Up To Part Number Price Notes
01 DRIVE SHAFT ASSY 6 GEAR TRANSMISSION L=1609MM 1 26101229285 $831.90


4/2001 M5
No. Description Supp. Qty From Up To Part Number Price Notes
01 DRIVE SHAFT ASSY 6 GEAR TRANSMISSION L=1590MM 1 26102228910 $885.46 +core
 
#34 ·
HAH! Well... that answers that question and squashes that idea! I did have an M5 DS from a while for a project I was working on. I'll see if it is still laying around. That will give me a jump start. I can just rebuild that one, stick a Guibo on it and will be near ready to go.
 
#35 · (Edited)
nice work on the trunk cleaning. Another amazing find. I'm liking silverstone. (and i like having someone to tell my wife about, you think i have too many cars? let me tell you about this guy named Michael).
 
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