Monday 13th August 2012

PH Fleet: BMW M5 (E28)

Harris acquires a crashed M5 as a parts donor but plans swiftly evolve to more exciting schemes...

---

There are many good things about social media, but by far the best is the shrinking effect it provides for communities of specific old crocks. Like BMW E28 M5s.

Earlier this year we shot a video of my E28 and, during filming, it jettisoned a wheel centre. Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but it left the rim looking bare and it was compounded by the missing towing-eye covers from the front spoiler. I am not a man for aesthetics, but the car looked like it was missing two front teeth and had its right arm in a sling.

Poor Tim's loss is Harris's gain

I asked about on Twitter: "Anyone know of any E28 bits for sale?" As usual, there was much rallying and support, but those specific parts were not easily located. Plan B was to send an email to a very kind chap called Tim Horsley, who helped me with an E34 wheel question earlier in the year. I know, we M-people are a sad bunch. You see he had exactly the same spec. M5 as me.

I asked if he knew of any spares hanging around.

One man's loss
This was his response: "Your timing is perfect as I have also literally just had an incident I'm not especially proud of(!) and mine is properly bent courtesy of a rather large oak tree. Gutted is not the word."

Being a grave digger around someone's recently-pranged P-A-J isn't good form, so I tried to be subtle. Tim said it needed shelling and that now wasn't the right time for him to be undertaking such a job - he was happy to sell the car as was.

Looks like the oak tree won this argument

Now, as anyone with something a little bit old and rare will attest, getting hold of random bits to keep it looking and feeling good is the hardest part of ownership. Especially if it's German, because the parts prices of the bespoke stuff becomes confused with the parts numbers over time. That being the only way to explain some of the ludicrous prices quoted.

We did a deal and not long after Tim arrived with his car. Its motor is showing 190,000 miles with only a light top-end having been done in that time. The shell is a mess, as is the left rear corner where it looks like the trailing arm has failed, sending him into that immovable oak tree.

The living dead
Watching him poring over my car - identical in every way to his - was rather painful, but he has promised to get himself another one when the time is right, and he insists that he would prefer his M5 to be a legacy donor to a fit and healthy car. This marks him out as a proper human being, and for that I thank him.

Parts donor or budding race car project?

I'm not quite sure what to make of the way the E28 handled hitting a tree. The whole shell has buckled and the unions between the window-pillars and the roof panel have twisted like plastic straws. You really wouldn't want to invert one. But Tim's in one piece, so it can't be that bad.

My original plan for the car was simple. Leave it as-is, have the motor out and rebuilt so that when, one day, mine needs some attention, we have a spare. But looking at the car now, other thoughts are forming. One is the same plan, but a hotter motor. I hear some US builders are getting a decent 350hp from 3.7-litre versions - now that in a 1,500kg E28 would make a truly magnificent sleeper.

The other is turning it into racing car. I need to investigate the homologation situation, because as far as I know, despite being a Motorsport product, the E28 M5 was never homologated for competition - in which case it's a non-starter. The third is obviously to build it into another road car, but I think it would be less hassle to have the spares for mine.

The longer I own this car, the more I adore it. Every drive is an event; every day passed it becomes cooler and more significant. Thanks Tim for helping me prolong its life.

---

FACT SHEET:
Car: 1986 BMW M5
Run by: Chris Harris
Bought: August 2006
Mileage: 131,000
Purchase price: £9,500 ... possibly
Last month at a glance: Search for spares results in buying another M5...

---

Previous reports:
The M5 awakes from hibernation fighting fit

 

[Stuart]

Sorry, this story looks to have been set to seed in the wrong forum, which is why nobody has been able to comment on it. Should be fixed now - let the E28 geekery commence.

[LHD]

You should get Chris and Gruber's cars together for a feature.

Maybe even get Chazzers to wheel out the M635CSI.

[0a]

Seems excessive for a centre cap, Chris.

[Gruber]

According to the magnificently inaccurate "how many left" website, there are only about 95 left in the country (approx 50:50 sorned and taxed) out of the 187ish rhd cars made. Gotta be worth saving, surely!!??

Only two weeks into ownership of mine, but loving every moment of it. Superb car. Most fun I've had in a car in ages.

So I'm voting for resurrecting this one in stock form. Plenty of 518s and 520s around if you want to stick a crazy engine in one!

[Gruber]

P.s. Chris - tow hook covers are available new from BMW. Unpainted, unhelpfully, but available!

(And, for that matter, I'm pretty sure wheel centres are too... and cheaper than buying another car )

[Great Pretender]

LHD said:

You should get Chris and Gruber's cars together for a feature.

Maybe even get Chazzers to wheel out the M635CSI.

A two and a half car feature?

It's original, I'll grant you.

[LHD]

Great Pretender said:

LHD said:

You should get Chris and Gruber's cars together for a feature.

Maybe even get Chazzers to wheel out the M635CSI.

A two and a half car feature?

It's original, I'll grant you.

[Bash Brannigan]

Is there any difference between the shells of standard and m e28s? I'm surprised that the previous owner didnt build the parts into a new shell.

[Johnboy Mac]

Oh, Mr.Harris. One good car and now a twisted one (as a spares car)? Watch yourself, I can see your garage breeding them. A word from the wise

[smellypoo]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4065570.htm

can't say it isn't tempting, surely?

[Johnboy Mac]

smellypoo said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4065570.htm

can't say it isn't tempting, surely?

[Output Flange]

Shame to see it broken again - that one was last repaired last December by the same guy who painted my M3:





Chris, I'm after some M5 ARBs if you find they're surplus to requirements...

[Gruber]

Another very sad e28 vs tree incident earlier this year...

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e28-m5-discussion...

[Flipatron]

I take it you've checked your trailing arms Chris?

[timothymcn]

Gruber said:

Plenty of 518s and 520s around if you want to stick a crazy engine in one!

Exactly how I feel about engine swaps in M cars. It's just wasteful.

[Cheburator mk2]

Chris,

BMW never raced the M5 - it had to have 5000 made to qualify for the ETC. The M635CSi was never raced either. Instead they raced the 635CSi with great success, using a breathed on M30 12v pushing out around 260-ish bhp. Many teams raced the E28 with the 2.8 M30 version... In fact the E28 came 2nd in 1984 and 1985 at the N'ring 24hrs...

Now, I am off to stroke my beard...

[SammyW]

As tempting as swapping the engine is, my vote has got to be for resurrecting the car. It'd be a real shame to see it disappear, and i fancy the idea of following a restoration video diary...

[NateWM]

Would it be possible to repair the smashed M5 though? You can see in the rear shot with Chris' car jyst how twisted the shell is....

[Shipper]

The fourth thing you could do is;

Buy an old e24 635, one with a dogleg box. Straight body and mechanicals (sans engine as you don't need the M30).

Transplant the engine from the M5 donor.

Run a 1984 Australian Group C touring car. Could that run in anything?

It would also let you push the guards out for a much wider track. I hear the group 'C' JPS car ran to 470hp.

And if you have an improved production category like they do in Australia then it is a no brainer. 470hp and lightened to 1250kg, sa-weet!

[anonymous-user]

good stuff. reminds me of time my late parents went in to buy some items for a routine service and emerged some time later, smiling albeit slightly-dazed looking, with a new car instead. to a 10 year old, this evidence of impulse "parent maths" was seriously cool. some salesman that must have been: "You don't need some Castrol GTX and a set of plugs - you need a new motor ..."
the buying old wrecks for spares is tricky. i've tried it once, drove a 2.3 Audi 100 home from Wales and ended up doing her up; so now have two of them, and could do with another one for spares ...