RE: PH Carpool: BMW M5 (E34) Touring
Discussion
If you're bored, have a long lunch break or - like me - are just a bit geeky in general, you might wanna have a look through this long thread over at m5 board:
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion...
It spans a good few years and over 30 pages, but it's worth it just to hear about the almost mythical 400bhp E34 M5...
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion...
It spans a good few years and over 30 pages, but it's worth it just to hear about the almost mythical 400bhp E34 M5...
There are two E34 M5 Tourings that were converted from lhd to rhd, one in Avus blue and one in purple - the purple one is presently for sale. There were/are also two rhd 525i Tourings that were converted to 3.6 M5 Tourings with a full powertrain transplant.
The E34's are becoming the timeless and affordable classic now so grab one while you can. I've had a 540i six speed Touring, an M5 Touring and now an Alpina Touring all in E34 flavour and they are lovely and reliable things to behold and run.
Good article too.
The E34's are becoming the timeless and affordable classic now so grab one while you can. I've had a 540i six speed Touring, an M5 Touring and now an Alpina Touring all in E34 flavour and they are lovely and reliable things to behold and run.
Good article too.
fushion julz said:
chilistrucker said:
any idea how many e34 saloons were made?
i'd also like to know how many are still left out there.
From the M Register:i'd also like to know how many are still left out there.
How many of each version were produced?
ECE sedan (3.6-liter, LHD): 5,877 produced from 9/88 through 4/92
ECE sedan (3.6-liter, RHD): 524 produced from 11/89 through 11/91
NA sedan (3.6-liter, LHD): 1,678 produced from 12/89 through 4/93
SA sedan (3.6-liter, RHD): 265 produced (assembled from CKD kits) from 9/90 through 3/93*
ECE sedan (3.8-liter, LHD): 2,676 produced from 12/91 through 7/95
ECE Touring (3.8-liter, LHD): 891 produced from 3/92 through 8/95
ECE sedan (3.8-liter, RHD): 343 produced from 12/91 through 6/95
- Dates shown indicate final completion of vehicles assmebled in Rosslyn, South Africa.
wow, so only 343 of my favorite were produced. a rare beast then today.
chilistrucker said:
fushion julz said:
chilistrucker said:
any idea how many e34 saloons were made?
i'd also like to know how many are still left out there.
From the M Register:i'd also like to know how many are still left out there.
How many of each version were produced?
ECE sedan (3.6-liter, LHD): 5,877 produced from 9/88 through 4/92
ECE sedan (3.6-liter, RHD): 524 produced from 11/89 through 11/91
NA sedan (3.6-liter, LHD): 1,678 produced from 12/89 through 4/93
SA sedan (3.6-liter, RHD): 265 produced (assembled from CKD kits) from 9/90 through 3/93*
ECE sedan (3.8-liter, LHD): 2,676 produced from 12/91 through 7/95
ECE Touring (3.8-liter, LHD): 891 produced from 3/92 through 8/95
ECE sedan (3.8-liter, RHD): 343 produced from 12/91 through 6/95
- Dates shown indicate final completion of vehicles assmebled in Rosslyn, South Africa.
wow, so only 343 of my favorite were produced. a rare beast then today.
chilistrucker said:
thanks
i stupidly just looked on car and classic, and an un-registered zero km e34 m5 is for sale
its in munich, yours for 65k.
It's been for sale for a good few years now. i stupidly just looked on car and classic, and an un-registered zero km e34 m5 is for sale
its in munich, yours for 65k.
As much as I love the idea of owning a 'brand new' E34 M5, it'd take a lot of time, money and effort to get a car that hadn't moved for the best part of two decades road worthy again.
belleair302 said:
Getting on somewhat now and rust is a bigger issue than EDC dampers. Good write up and oh so rare.
Just on the M or the E34 in general? My old 1996 525i Tourer had it's fair share of common problems but the one thing it didn't have, anywhere, was rust.Chris Harris said:
the quality of the materials in the cabin make an E61 Touring look v.shabby.
I haven't been in an E61 (F10?) yet but certainly the E34 I had felt better put together (to me at least) than the E39 and the E60. At 150K when I got rid of it, the only thing that made a noise inside, was the leather. And speaking of the leather, compare an 150K old E34's to a 20K old VAG's. The body structure felt impressively stiff too. Absolutely zero door seal squeaking when driven slowly over rough terrain (floorpan flexing). Built like tanks. BMW must have been close to their margins on the 34 as everything has an over engineered feel to it, totally the opposite feel to the 1 series!SuperchargedVR6 said:
belleair302 said:
Getting on somewhat now and rust is a bigger issue than EDC dampers. Good write up and oh so rare.
Just on the M or the E34 in general? My old 1996 525i Tourer had it's fair share of common problems but the one thing it didn't have, anywhere, was rust.Nowadays the bottoms of the doors and front wings can be tatty, it's far worse on all the cars with 'sport' kits though as the water gets under the side skirts
Loplop said:
SuperchargedVR6 said:
belleair302 said:
Getting on somewhat now and rust is a bigger issue than EDC dampers. Good write up and oh so rare.
Just on the M or the E34 in general? My old 1996 525i Tourer had it's fair share of common problems but the one thing it didn't have, anywhere, was rust.Nowadays the bottoms of the doors and front wings can be tatty, it's far worse on all the cars with 'sport' kits though as the water gets under the side skirts
I still remember to this day the pain of swapping out the wiper mech (worn spindle shafts - V V common!). A job that took an hour on my Corrado took nearly a full day in the BMW. The quality of the wiring looms, clips, heatshielding, construction techinques etc. I've not seen anything like it before or since. I had no special bias or fondness of the E34 before I got it, I just needed a hack with a big boot, but it left a huge impression on me. I'd love another (bigger engined) one some day.
SuperchargedVR6 said:
Good to know, thanks. Mine must have been a good one as it was totally clean. It was a late 96, so one of the last off the production line. Not sure if that makes a difference?
I still remember to this day the pain of swapping out the wiper mech (worn spindle shafts - V V common!). A job that took an hour on my Corrado took nearly a full day in the BMW. The quality of the wiring looms, clips, heatshielding, construction techinques etc. I've not seen anything like it before or since. I had no special bias or fondness of the E34 before I got it, I just needed a hack with a big boot, but it left a huge impression on me. I'd love another (bigger engined) one some day.
They can vary massively though weirdly... I still remember to this day the pain of swapping out the wiper mech (worn spindle shafts - V V common!). A job that took an hour on my Corrado took nearly a full day in the BMW. The quality of the wiring looms, clips, heatshielding, construction techinques etc. I've not seen anything like it before or since. I had no special bias or fondness of the E34 before I got it, I just needed a hack with a big boot, but it left a huge impression on me. I'd love another (bigger engined) one some day.
The 540i in the family looks absolutely fantastic on the outside, all the paintwork is spot on and there isn't a patch of rust to be seen... However there's some rot on the passenger side of the floor.
The 3.8 M5 however has a few scabs on the doors and the bottom of the Drivers side front wing, but underneath is completely and utterly spotless - bizarre!
Loplop said:
They can vary massively though weirdly...
The 540i in the family looks absolutely fantastic on the outside, all the paintwork is spot on and there isn't a patch of rust to be seen... However there's some rot on the passenger side of the floor.
The 3.8 M5 however has a few scabs on the doors and the bottom of the Drivers side front wing, but underneath is completely and utterly spotless - bizarre!
Yeah mine was spotless externally and underneath. Plenty of scratches, dents and evidence of a hard life, but no tin worm anywhere. I was very surprised by it!The 540i in the family looks absolutely fantastic on the outside, all the paintwork is spot on and there isn't a patch of rust to be seen... However there's some rot on the passenger side of the floor.
The 3.8 M5 however has a few scabs on the doors and the bottom of the Drivers side front wing, but underneath is completely and utterly spotless - bizarre!
I would take a few external scabs over a rotting floor any day of the week though!
OK, so maybe I need to hunt my old tourer down again and drop an M engine into it
SuperchargedVR6 said:
Yeah mine was spotless externally and underneath. Plenty of scratches, dents and evidence of a hard life, but no tin worm anywhere. I was very surprised by it!
I would take a few external scabs over a rotting floor any day of the week though!
OK, so maybe I need to hunt my old tourer down again and drop an M engine into it
The 540 would've been broken for parts if we hadn't of gotten stacks of receipts for things such as: New autobox, fully recon'd brakes and suspension, loads of engine work etc... I would take a few external scabs over a rotting floor any day of the week though!
OK, so maybe I need to hunt my old tourer down again and drop an M engine into it
The fella who owned it had a lot of money and time to spend chasing the major problem with this particular car - it accelerated like a sluggish 520. About £4k into it he sold it to us for £400... A £5 filter later and it was completely fixed
Loplop said:
chilistrucker said:
thanks
i stupidly just looked on car and classic, and an un-registered zero km e34 m5 is for sale
its in munich, yours for 65k.
It's been for sale for a good few years now. i stupidly just looked on car and classic, and an un-registered zero km e34 m5 is for sale
its in munich, yours for 65k.
As much as I love the idea of owning a 'brand new' E34 M5, it'd take a lot of time, money and effort to get a car that hadn't moved for the best part of two decades road worthy again.
like you say though, after your 65k, still more to be spent to get it road worthy again.
i saw your post earlier with reference the m5 board thread, i'm off to work shortly but will check that out tomorrow, 400 bhp.
the one stand out thing i remember with the e34 i had, was that i never once had the urge to change a single thing about it, it just didn't need a different set of wheels, exhaust etc, it was for me perfect in standard form as it rolled out of the factory.
chilistrucker said:
oh right, didn't realise it had been up for a while.
like you say though, after your 65k, still more to be spent to get it road worthy again.
i saw your post earlier with reference the m5 board thread, i'm off to work shortly but will check that out tomorrow, 400 bhp.
the one stand out thing i remember with the e34 i had, was that i never once had the urge to change a single thing about it, it just didn't need a different set of wheels, exhaust etc, it was for me perfect in standard form as it rolled out of the factory.
I remember when I first saw it and I was overcome with excitement, then I stuck my thinking head on and realised how much will of perished over the years regardless of mileage, probably worse for sitting still. Still, astounding find! Yep, 400bhp from the factory over 100bhp/litre which for such an old design and large engine, it is quite impressive!like you say though, after your 65k, still more to be spent to get it road worthy again.
i saw your post earlier with reference the m5 board thread, i'm off to work shortly but will check that out tomorrow, 400 bhp.
the one stand out thing i remember with the e34 i had, was that i never once had the urge to change a single thing about it, it just didn't need a different set of wheels, exhaust etc, it was for me perfect in standard form as it rolled out of the factory.
I couldn't agree more, even though the 540 we've got is an auto, it just seems to work with that engine, while it's not as quick as an M5 it's a completely different kind of speed. Also, the intake and the exhaust systems are pretty much perfect on the M5, not many people see horsepower gains from changing either.
off_again said:
If only they did them RHD. Shame. Tried relatively posh estates with big engines, but I would go for something that is special. Merc E class V8's are great but lack the fiz. BMW M cars have the fiz but no real demand to make estate or 4 door models in RHD. Shame. Oh well.
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