Joined
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903 Posts
My First E34 M5
Hi,
My son and I have been looking for a nice M5 for some time now. After checking out several we finally found the perfect one for us. I have become a BMW enthusiast starting out with the E30's. I bought my first "daily driver" ('89 325 ic) which we have completely gone through and she is a wonderful car to drive. Then I bought a 1991 Mtech, that had not been loved, as a project car. During that time I have also bought 3 parts cars and taken every nut and bolt off of them to learn how the cars are built. My son owned a 1991 M5 before he started to go to school to become a BMW mechanic. While he was going to school he had to sell his car and get something that he could load the miles on commuting back and forth from Fallbrook and Rancho Cucamonga every day. He has worked for BMW of Beverly Hills for several years now and I thought it would be nice to get another M5. For now it will be my car but as soon as he can afford it and has a place to park it off the street it will be his. Currently we have two E30 325is, one E30 Mtech, one E30 325ic and my wifes E39. Today we had a local mechanic go through the car before we bought it and it received a clean bill of health so tomorrow we will do the smog test and bring her home. I look forward to learning from all of you on how to best maintain these wonderful cars and to share your enthusiasm of being an M5 owner. Here are some pictures the newest member to our BMW family.
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Personal luxury car]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Personal luxury car Luxury vehicle]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Alloy wheel Sedan]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bmw Personal luxury car]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Personal luxury car Bmw]()
![Land vehicle Vehicle Car Rim Alloy wheel]()
Cheers,
Jim
My son and I have been looking for a nice M5 for some time now. After checking out several we finally found the perfect one for us. I have become a BMW enthusiast starting out with the E30's. I bought my first "daily driver" ('89 325 ic) which we have completely gone through and she is a wonderful car to drive. Then I bought a 1991 Mtech, that had not been loved, as a project car. During that time I have also bought 3 parts cars and taken every nut and bolt off of them to learn how the cars are built. My son owned a 1991 M5 before he started to go to school to become a BMW mechanic. While he was going to school he had to sell his car and get something that he could load the miles on commuting back and forth from Fallbrook and Rancho Cucamonga every day. He has worked for BMW of Beverly Hills for several years now and I thought it would be nice to get another M5. For now it will be my car but as soon as he can afford it and has a place to park it off the street it will be his. Currently we have two E30 325is, one E30 Mtech, one E30 325ic and my wifes E39. Today we had a local mechanic go through the car before we bought it and it received a clean bill of health so tomorrow we will do the smog test and bring her home. I look forward to learning from all of you on how to best maintain these wonderful cars and to share your enthusiasm of being an M5 owner. Here are some pictures the newest member to our BMW family.
Cheers,
Jim
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My wife gave me a ride to pick up the car yesterday. I had about a 40 minute drive home. Even though it was raining once I got close to home I did not want to stop driving her. So I asked my wife if she wanted to head up to the mountains for lunch and she naturally said yes. It was a wonderful day, I hope I can find an excuse to drive her again today. Tomorrow my son and I will take her to Irvine for Cars and Coffee. Any of you go to that meet? As far as the mechanical goes she has oversize injectors, Dinan chip, UUC shifter, H&R Springs, RD sport shocks, and around 150K on the speedo. After driving E30's for quite a while I grew to enjoy how a 20 year old car could feel so nice, but the driving experience with the M5, out on the open road, is even better. I still like our E30's around town where they make the perfect urban assault vehicle. Thanks for your comments. 
Cheers,
Jim
Cheers,
Jim
Joined
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2,929 Posts
Very nice car
Hi Steve,
The car was bought in Southern California. From the records that I have. starting at 31K miles, it has not left the state. Sorry but no Euro car here but maybe the next one will be.
Hi Saliya,
You know Jack so you know it was owned by at least one BMW enthusiast that loved the car. It appears that there were a few other owners that took great care of this car. Most all of the major items have already been sorted out. We feel very lucky to have gotten it after looking at many others that needed a great deal of work to get them to the level of this particular car. Today we found that the rear O ring and vacuum line on the fuel rail were leaking so we fixed that and changed the transmission, brake/clutch fluids. We are making a detailed list of all the minor things that need to be replaced like vacuum lines and other rubber part. Still a lot of work to do just to get all the maintenance started out fresh for our records. Brian and I enjoy getting our hands dirty so this one will be well taken care of just like Jack told me to in his parting words to me.
Have you checked to make sure that Jack still has that nice Euro interior? Ha ha We need to talk, my son has the notion that he needs that.
Cheers,
Jim
The car was bought in Southern California. From the records that I have. starting at 31K miles, it has not left the state. Sorry but no Euro car here but maybe the next one will be.
Hi Saliya,
You know Jack so you know it was owned by at least one BMW enthusiast that loved the car. It appears that there were a few other owners that took great care of this car. Most all of the major items have already been sorted out. We feel very lucky to have gotten it after looking at many others that needed a great deal of work to get them to the level of this particular car. Today we found that the rear O ring and vacuum line on the fuel rail were leaking so we fixed that and changed the transmission, brake/clutch fluids. We are making a detailed list of all the minor things that need to be replaced like vacuum lines and other rubber part. Still a lot of work to do just to get all the maintenance started out fresh for our records. Brian and I enjoy getting our hands dirty so this one will be well taken care of just like Jack told me to in his parting words to me.
Have you checked to make sure that Jack still has that nice Euro interior? Ha ha We need to talk, my son has the notion that he needs that.
Cheers,
Jim
Joined
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905 Posts
I am the said son. Some of you may remember me from the past (my alpine '91 M5 was featured in the M5 board callender for the month of March). Since I was last on here I have worked my way to a level 1, certified BMW technician with about a year to go until I become a master BMW technician. I have missed my M5 and am very happy to be back behind the wheel. This '93 is a far better example of the car then my previous one and I look forward to taking over the reigns in the future. For those of you on this side of the pond, I hope to see you at Bimmerfest this weekend. I will be the guy behind the wheel of the beautiful M5 from this thread, grinning ear to ear.
Cheers,
Brian
Cheers,
Brian
Thanks malik22! Last weekend we took the beast for a ride. On the way home it sprung a leak on the pressure line of the power steering. What a mess. Today I will take on the chore of cleaning the underside of the car and the motor to get ready for Bimmerfest tomorrow.
Cheers,
Jim
Cheers,
Jim
I would say welcome, but it is evident you are no stranger to the wonders of Bavaria! That is a sweeet example, the tint job has worked really well. Whats the interior? You two should post some pics from the weekend on here, if you get the chance?
see you around the board and if i find myself in california, ill let you know.
see you around the board and if i find myself in california, ill let you know.
Thanks Turk, The interior is Dove Gray. We had great plans of taking the Mtech and M5 to Bimmerfest but neither one of them wanted to make the trip so no cool pictures. The power steering lines gave out in the M5 and I have not figured out what the grinding noise is on the Mtech yet. Oh well, it's back to the shop to have more fun with the cars.
Cheers,
Jim
Cheers,
Jim
Sorry to hear the bad news! I am looking forward to the next adventure once the grinding is resolved! I hope it is something relatively managable like the power steering lines.
Dove grey sounds interesting, i love the names the automotive industry comes up with for their colours! My all time favorite is still Galactic Mica Grey (mazda 3 colour).
Dove grey sounds interesting, i love the names the automotive industry comes up with for their colours! My all time favorite is still Galactic Mica Grey (mazda 3 colour).
I really enjoy working on the cars as much as I do driving them. It is sad that we could not show the beast off at Bimmerfest but I am over that.
The grinding is on the E30 Mtech which I have been restoring for about a year now. The good news is that I have lots of parts for it and know those cars pretty well. I think that squerrils are picking up nuts and bolts in the shop and stashing them in odd places. The last time I had a noise like this I found a bolt that had nothing to do with the front end of the car between the rotor and the dust shield. Go figure, ha ha.
The power steering lines have become an interesting fix seeing that one of the previous owners disabled the self leveling suspension. The line that is leaking goes to that system so we are trying to figure out how to remove it and plug the outlet in the pump without damaging the pump from too much pressure. Brian found that you can remove the two check valves on the pump and then plugging the output to the self leveling suspension hopefully without hurting the pump. I think that we just about have it figured out.
Dove Gray would not have been my first choice because it is hard to keep clean and looking good. However when it is clean and well maintained it does look awesome. I will have to have a little reupolstery done to the front seats and have the head liner sag fixed but other than that the interior is in good condition.
Hi Mottati,
Thank you, I have records back to around 31K miles on the car and it looks like the furthest north it ever had service done was in Oxnard. But a trip to Northern California would be a nice ride so it is possible. I have found one of the original owners and plan on taking the car to his house and seeing if he can give me a little more history on the car. Fun stuff researching the history on these cars. On one of the invoices it say that the previous owner was taking it for a little road trip to Florida from California and wanted the car checked for any issues. Man would that be a nice ride for the beast to stretch her legs on.
Cheers,
Jim
Joined
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905 Posts
Thanks to some PM's from Blitzkrieg Bob and Sebring NL, it has been concluded that a simple modification to the pump this weekend will solve all of our P/S woes for now. Thankfully it doesn't appear that anything major (expensive) has been damaged and we will be good as new in no time.
This vehicle was originally sold at Steve Thomas in Camarillo Ca so it is not likely that it is the same one seen at the events mentioned in Nor Cal however it is a pretty rare color so anything is possible. I can say though that this car will be enjoyed and may be spotted up and down the California coast in the months and years to come. If you do happen to see one of us driving it, don't hesitate to flag us down for a quick look and chat. The E34 M5 is rare enough and I have been known to go out of my way to say hi to fellow M5 owners.
Cheers,
Brian
This vehicle was originally sold at Steve Thomas in Camarillo Ca so it is not likely that it is the same one seen at the events mentioned in Nor Cal however it is a pretty rare color so anything is possible. I can say though that this car will be enjoyed and may be spotted up and down the California coast in the months and years to come. If you do happen to see one of us driving it, don't hesitate to flag us down for a quick look and chat. The E34 M5 is rare enough and I have been known to go out of my way to say hi to fellow M5 owners.
Cheers,
Brian
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