An old school project...1985 535i

[Itsbrokeagain]

Ive been into BMWs since...well the early 2000s when I started my first ever job at Ultima Performance in Lynbrook, NY.

Originally started off with Hondas, the shops pinnacle was the start of Ultima Technik, run by none other than Jim Pan, who some will know from the TWC euro crew.

When the shop closed, I worked various jobs until starting at Hassel BMW as a tech in late 2006. In early 2007 I decided to take the plunge and get an employee lease on a brand new 2007 335i..Crimson Red over Dakota Black, 6MT with almost every option besides navi, active steering and active cruise (early idrives suck and were such a problem fixing them that I didnt want anything complicated in my own car).

2 and a half years later, I reluctantly returned my car. I had a friend of mine who worked at Park Ave in NJ, and they agreed to take the car back with no fee for terminating the lease, since the economy was in ruins and they were selling more CPO cars than new ones. I would have kept the car could I have negotiated my buyout. Since that was a no-go, I gave up the car (a month later BMW NA announced they would allow negotiating to keep people in a BMW...this infuriated me because I could have talked them down to a lot lower price other than paying 500 a month for a car with 30k miles on it).

Since this was out of my hands, I resorted to driving my 1988 325is around while I saved up some cash and looked for another BMW. I liked the roomyness of the E90, but I wanted that in an older car....and everyone knows older BMWs, or cars in general were a lot smaller than the segments today.

First decided on trying to find an E34 535. Spent close to year looking for one....they were either rusted in the doors and fenders (typical problems) or they were pristine...and were fetching a very high price in return.

I gave up 9 months in, after sampling several cars, hoping I would be able to get that 'grandma owned garaged kept' BMW that I see from so many other owners. Most people at this point said 'why dont you look for an E39, they are more readily available?'

For the people who know me, I was never one to follow the crowd. Instead of looking for a newer, more expensive car, I went retro..digging back to cars that were the same age, if not older than me. I owned two Porsches before this of similar age and era, and I got stuck in it I guess

I became a member of mye28, checking the classifieds and checking BFC every night for new cars showing up. 2 clean ones showed up that were closer, but they weren't in the color scheme I wanted...red over black.

About that time, another one appeared deep in the south. Russell Griner had owned this gem for about a year, kept in the garage in the dry climate of Orlando. It had very little rust, one of seam welds on the passenger front had some rust and some under the rear corners of the shell, where road grime and dirt accumulate. Nothing too bad that I couldnt fix. Most importantly, it was red with a black interior.

I managed to sell the E30 the weekend before I flew out to FL. Accompanied by my girlfriend, we flew down to Orlando and had Russell pick us up at the airport. The car was in very good shape as he had stated, a bit of clearcoat flake here and there on the car due to a poor respray. Car was equipped with H&R sport springs, Bilstein shocks, poly bushings in the thrust arms, E38 16" BBS wheels (OEM) and the coveted Euro headlight conversion and a super rare BBS front spoiler. I know of about 3 in the country right now. And most importantly,

The trans/rear end/carrier bearing all had some noise in it which concerned me at first, but after we checked into the Crowne Plaza and went out and about, the car drove solid, the engine sounded great, and I was more assured it would make the 1390 mile drive back to NY. Russell had done a tuneup on the car prior to me taking possession of it, fixed a faulty fuel injector and replaced a fuel pump relay.

We were out the next morning (Russell texting me the whole way saying he was suffering withdrawal from selling the car and feeling depressed LOL) up the west side of FL into Georgia. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story as I could write another page

I will cut to the point...whats in store for it? Well after owning it for 3 weeks, the person living behind the shop backed into the driverside rear door christmas eve...exactly 1 year after my girlfriends 335xi got demolished in the rear corner by an old lady on meds driving a Nova econobox...she blacked out coming up to the stop sign and drifted into her car. No speak english either. That is another story in itself, but the car is still not repaired.

After speaking to an old friend of mine, he said he would be delighted to take on the project of restoring the car to its former glory. Over the winter and into next spring this car should take on a whole new perspective...I have a customer of mine who has a pair of matching BBS sideskirts and overflares so those will be going on the car as well as euro bumpers and front valence. A new dash and an alcantara black headliner will round out the interior...dont know what Im doing about seats yet.

Now for what most of you guys care about here....whats under the hood. So far Im still up in the air about what will end up happening to the engine. Since its an M30B34 with 250k on it and the engine management system is a bit outdated, I sourced a fresh M30B35 out of my friends 92 735i. It has low mileage but its been sitting outside for a while...going to need a complete teardown and overhaul.

As for that, I have conflicting ideas on whether I should keep it normally aspirated or boost it. I have a feeling which one most of you guys prefer

If I end up going the forced induction route, well....I have the turbo manifold and the turbo sourced out already. Jon from 666 Fabrication will be the supplier of the manifold, as for the turbo it would be either a Garrett GT35R or a Holset HX35/40. From there its still a question mark.

With intercooling its tough...the problem is that I dont want to cut the bumper up to run an air-to-air intercooler. air-to-water is preferred but it just adds more complexity to the setup...and one of those intercoolers is 1000 dollars on its own. I considered non intercooled with meth injection to keep it cool but then it turns into a finite source of power that I have to refill.

I will get the pics up tonight when I get home from work...see what you guys think

[Sticky]

Interesting backstory, I'm looking forward to seeing this. The E28 has really grown on me as of late.

[fundahl]

I think you have a great project in your hands and I'm excited to see the outcome! I've seen some really cool manifolds from 666, and either one of those turbos are good for fun, street-able horsepower levels. I personally would run a front mount air-to-air, with patience and the right tools it can look very "clean". The meth-only after-cooling works, but like you said, refilling would be annoying, and the intercooler is extra insurance anyway.

Maybe think up a custom radiator and do a slanted or flat intercooler?

[Itsbrokeagain]

I think you have a great project in your hands and I'm excited to see the outcome! I've seen some really cool manifolds from 666, and either one of those turbos are good for fun, street-able horsepower levels. I personally would run a front mount air-to-air, with patience and the right tools it can look very "clean". The meth-only after-cooling works, but like you said, refilling would be annoying, and the intercooler is extra insurance anyway.

Maybe think up a custom radiator and do a slanted or flat intercooler?

Yeah it would be nice to run a vmount style setup or an intercooler facing straight down with some creative ducting, but there is literally no room. The biggest issue is that the bbs spoiler has no ducts in it at all except for 2 down at the bottom to feed the brakes.

What most guys have done is run two heat exhangers right in front of the radiator. The problem with this is that you have to remove the ac to do so...or I could mount the heat exhangers flat across the bottom with the ducting forcing air into them.

Time will tell. As far as engine management...that's a whole nother story that makes my head hurt.

[GG///M3]

kool story dude. I used to live in Freeport afew years back, and visited hassel for parts every now and again.

[Itsbrokeagain]

here goes some pics..

[Sticky]

Hope you got rid of that dent!

[Itsbrokeagain]

not yet..that will be on the agenda once the car goes in for the resto..

[swatterssr]

Nice car.
Are you on MyE28.com ?
That is the ultimate source for anything that ails the e28, and then some.

Good luck with your project.

[Itsbrokeagain]

Nice car.
Are you on MyE28.com ?
That is the ultimate source for anything that ails the e28, and the some.

Good luck with your project.

I am actually, just havent been on there in forever.

[Itsbrokeagain]

A little bit of an update..the car should be heading to my friends house in about a month or so to start the long progress of tearing it down from the inside out.

[Sticky]

A little bit of an update..the car should be heading to my friends house in about a month or so to start the long progress of tearing it down from the inside out.

Tearing it down to do what? Just restore or do the FI idea?

[Itsbrokeagain]

Tearing it down to do what? Just restore or do the FI idea?

both

The interior will start first. Ripping it apart down to the bare metal to fix the rot, the windshield has a huge crack in it from I took a rock to the windshield on the way up from Florida so it has to come out.

While its out, a new uncracked dash will go in, plus a new AC evap and heater core as well while Im in there. Clean out all the ducting of dust and dirt, clean the AC blower motor (yes there are two blower motors in the car), and possibly yank the rear window out as well to replace the rubber seal and trim. If I go that route, the headliner is coming out and getting redone in black alcantara. The rear shelf will probably be redyed as well along with new speakers (polk audio in there now but they look tacky)

Then one by one I will go through each door. All new seals and trim, the rear doors will be getting new window regulators and a healthy dose of grease in the tracks to keep them alive. Once that is done, the paint will be sanded down, the US bumpers and front valence ripped off and new Euro Valence, lights and bumpers will go on. If this guy decides to part with his sideskirts and flares for a good price they will go on as well.

As far as seats, not sure what Im going to do. 2 Grand worth of Recaros would be nice but that would be 2/3s of the turbo and manifold I plan to buy. Rear bench will be rewrapped in leather.


It sounds like a lot of money being spent but all these years of making friends in the business will finally start to pay off...all the favors I did, its time to start making some phone calls

the FI route will be later on, probably in the spring. I have to get the engine up on the stand and tear it down to send out to the powdercoater...block will be done in a light grey (better to spot leaks), get the oil pan cleaned out and have the head done. As far as headwork, might keep it stock and just add a Paul Burke cam....but if his head package deals fit my budget I will be shipping the head out to have him taylor it to his liking.

The E30 M3 gearbox will find a home in the car, as well as a big case LSD out of a euro E32. E38 4 piston brembos with E60 545i rotors should find their way onto the front of the car at some point as well (13.7" rotors)

[Sticky]

t sounds like a lot of money being spent but all these years of making friends in the business will finally start to pay off...all the favors I did, its time to start making some phone calls

I'm hoping we will get to see this all take place? I'm really trying to bolster our database of older BMW information as those guys are the most hardcore and dedicated. Usually, also the most knowledgeable.

[Itsbrokeagain]

I'm hoping we will get to see this all take place? I'm really trying to bolster our database of older BMW information as those guys are the most hardcore and dedicated. Usually, also the most knowledgeable.

you bet. With the gf (soon to be wifey but she dont know yet) going back to school, our trip to Aruba in November got pushed back for a while. Gives me some time to bang out some more work and get the ball rolling.

There should also be a new toolbox rolling into the shop, perhaps tomorrow or next week. I outgrew mine finally, and even though I dont want to owe Snap On anymore money, I passed up a lot of good deals on used boxes for the past 3 years until I came across one that would fit (we are tight on room) and that is one of the KRL series, not the lower end base KRA series. Still cost me a cool $3000

[Sticky]

Still cost me a cool $3000

A $3000 tool box? I think I grossly underestimated the tool box market. What does this thing look like? What does it offer you for 3k that you need? Don't get me wrong, that just sounds like a hell of a lot of money for a tool box.

[Itsbrokeagain]

A $3000 tool box? I think I grossly underestimated the tool box market. What does this thing look like? What does it offer you for 3k that you need? Don't get me wrong, that just sounds like a hell of a lot of money for a tool box.

and thats used. New it fetches $8500.

I will get pictures of it tomorrow. I was going to get a 6' wide KRA series box but its not very tall..forcing me to bend over to get into my drawers..even with the biggest casters they sell it wasnt enough. My back gives me enough problems as it is. Plus it wont fit between the lifts without hitting someones car...and the quality of the box overall is cheaper (thinner metal in the drawers, and its painted not powdercoated)

This is a double bank with one big drawer on top..all my sockets and ratchets go in there.

I was checking the prices on a new box a few months ago...I was somewhere in the $10k range...I told them I wouldnt do it unless they gave me the lowest interest rate possible (9%)...they agreed and I still walked off the truck. Snap On is hurting for sales so I am making them play my game. They always tell me 'oh this is the last time for a deal' and yet next month they are around again with the same dance and song.


They had a real nice one for 17k, with a top rolldown cover and a side cabinet. I could buy an E36 M3 with that kind of money.

[Sticky]

They always tell me 'oh this is the last time for a deal' and yet next month they are around again with the same dance and song.

They sound like Dinan.

Financing cabinets? Holy crap man, I had no idea these things got to 10k+. Can I see some pics of what makes these so special? Can't you just lock your tools in a shelf or keep them on a work bench or something? Maybe I just don't understand how it works in a shop.

[Itsbrokeagain]

heres one of Randys box..mine is the same as the center two banks...without the far right side and the cabinet on the left.

Please excuse the dirty mess...that picture was actually taken 9 months ago LOL

His box was about 14k if I remember correctly.

[fundahl]

Nice setup! Tried to positive rep, but I could only do one today...

[ScrotieMcBoogerBalls]

Toolboxes are ridiculously expensive. Snap-on did a Corvette anniversary tool box with custom artwork that was crazy expsnive.

Heres the link

http://charlotte.ebayclassifieds.com...ox/?ad=5029608

[Sticky]

Started doing some research on these things, $21,000 for this one: