Discussion
New owner here 
Thought I would give you all a bit of a back story...
As you know, Licking Llama put his car up for sale back in August last year. This was bought by Miles at HPC Classics, who then (after some prep detailing the car and replacing the prop shaft for a new BMW item) sold it onto nickpan (above) in November.
Unfortunately, Nick couldn't keep the car and needed to move it on. I know Miles at HPC and he knew I wanted the car, so he put me in touch with Nick and we made a deal in the new year.
At this point the car was based in London, and being a young family man, I don't get days off to go on a jolly anymore to view a car. So with all of the information available in this thread, BMW5 forum and via Miles, I decided to wire the money to Nick and have the car collected early Jan.
The only trouble was, I already had an e23 and an e12 at home plus a couple of others and I didn't have the space for the m535i.
Que Fred.
Fred kindly offered to store the m535i at his place in Cambridge. This was just until I could sell a car to get some room. Luckily, the e23 sold after about 5 weeks, but not having any weekends spare, I had to wait until the 5th March to go and collect it!
Meanwhile, Fred was looking to buy an e60 550i manual that was close to my work. So I viewed the 550i for him, made a deal and drove it home. So com the 5th of March, instead of getting a 4 hour train across the country I got to deliver his 550i to him and collect my m535i... winner!
Anyway, here are the pics from the advert.
Thought I would give you all a bit of a back story...
As you know, Licking Llama put his car up for sale back in August last year. This was bought by Miles at HPC Classics, who then (after some prep detailing the car and replacing the prop shaft for a new BMW item) sold it onto nickpan (above) in November.
Unfortunately, Nick couldn't keep the car and needed to move it on. I know Miles at HPC and he knew I wanted the car, so he put me in touch with Nick and we made a deal in the new year.
At this point the car was based in London, and being a young family man, I don't get days off to go on a jolly anymore to view a car. So with all of the information available in this thread, BMW5 forum and via Miles, I decided to wire the money to Nick and have the car collected early Jan.
The only trouble was, I already had an e23 and an e12 at home plus a couple of others and I didn't have the space for the m535i.
Que Fred.
Fred kindly offered to store the m535i at his place in Cambridge. This was just until I could sell a car to get some room. Luckily, the e23 sold after about 5 weeks, but not having any weekends spare, I had to wait until the 5th March to go and collect it!
Meanwhile, Fred was looking to buy an e60 550i manual that was close to my work. So I viewed the 550i for him, made a deal and drove it home. So com the 5th of March, instead of getting a 4 hour train across the country I got to deliver his 550i to him and collect my m535i... winner!
Anyway, here are the pics from the advert.
Edited by Alfred Pina on Thursday 10th March 09:45
Collection day.
After an extremely comfortable drive over to Cambridge in circa 18(!) way adjustable seats in the 550i, it was finally time to meet the most expensive car I have ever owned.
Upon pulling it out of the garage, it was pleasing to see how original the car looks. I have noticed that the doors are from an E28, but apart from that everything is as it would have been back in 1980. The interior is fabulous. Super fresh with plush carpets. I climb inside and immediately sit slightly higher than in my 520/6 e12 - this may cause issue later down the line as I intend on doing a track day or two and my noggin won't fit with a helmet donned. It's not an issue now though and I continue to take in the details of the lovely M1 steering wheel, original radio and restored wood trims.
What a cool place to be!
I fired it up with advice from Fred to hold open the throttle slightly. Nothing wrong with the idling or anything, this is just because it has quite an aggressive 270 profile piper camshaft and they need a little assistance whilst the engine warms.
It sounds great. It has really lovely thrum to it and it revs cleanly and smoothly. Selecting dogleg 1st was nice and direct with only enough interference to know it's positively engaged.
On the road, the engine and transmission work in complete harmony. It's difficult to describe what I mean, but I was expecting some harshness between changes due to the short ratios and high engine power. You know, some jerkiness where you might lurch forwards a little as you merge in each gear change. This is not the case at all. Each marriage of the clutch to flywheel blends in the power absurdly well and gives the car a real continuity between the gears. It allows you to make progress without having to think about your actions. Incredible really from a 42 year old performance saloon.
After a stop off at the local pub for one of their delicious burgers, we went back to the barn to work on the cars. Fred cleaned up his 550i and I set about replacing the old smokers lung in the engine bay which I ordered back in January.
I think you'll agree that this is a big improvement aesthetically, but Fred had also identified a crack in the old tank by the neck, so it had seen its day.
The car drove home wonderfully. I stopped off at the local service station and checked everything over. Then turned the tape over and kept going.
Once home, I pulled it into the garage and gave it a check over to find the coolant had leaked slightly from the top hose. Upon further inspection it looks like there may be a small split by the jubilee, or it's at least passing by it. I will get onto that over the next day or so.
I introduced my eldest daughter to the new family addition in the morning and she really liked it, musing at the tapes, wondering how they hold music on them
Finally, the first job once home was to fit some headlight covers I already had because they were missing.
That brings you up to speed where I am today!
The plan for the car in my ownership will be to continue maintaining and upgrading where required and replacing / improving any trim / panels etc.
It will be used for family holidays, shows, North Shropshire and Wales hooning plus the occasional track day.
Thanks
AP
After an extremely comfortable drive over to Cambridge in circa 18(!) way adjustable seats in the 550i, it was finally time to meet the most expensive car I have ever owned.
Upon pulling it out of the garage, it was pleasing to see how original the car looks. I have noticed that the doors are from an E28, but apart from that everything is as it would have been back in 1980. The interior is fabulous. Super fresh with plush carpets. I climb inside and immediately sit slightly higher than in my 520/6 e12 - this may cause issue later down the line as I intend on doing a track day or two and my noggin won't fit with a helmet donned. It's not an issue now though and I continue to take in the details of the lovely M1 steering wheel, original radio and restored wood trims.
What a cool place to be!
I fired it up with advice from Fred to hold open the throttle slightly. Nothing wrong with the idling or anything, this is just because it has quite an aggressive 270 profile piper camshaft and they need a little assistance whilst the engine warms.
It sounds great. It has really lovely thrum to it and it revs cleanly and smoothly. Selecting dogleg 1st was nice and direct with only enough interference to know it's positively engaged.
On the road, the engine and transmission work in complete harmony. It's difficult to describe what I mean, but I was expecting some harshness between changes due to the short ratios and high engine power. You know, some jerkiness where you might lurch forwards a little as you merge in each gear change. This is not the case at all. Each marriage of the clutch to flywheel blends in the power absurdly well and gives the car a real continuity between the gears. It allows you to make progress without having to think about your actions. Incredible really from a 42 year old performance saloon.
After a stop off at the local pub for one of their delicious burgers, we went back to the barn to work on the cars. Fred cleaned up his 550i and I set about replacing the old smokers lung in the engine bay which I ordered back in January.
I think you'll agree that this is a big improvement aesthetically, but Fred had also identified a crack in the old tank by the neck, so it had seen its day.
The car drove home wonderfully. I stopped off at the local service station and checked everything over. Then turned the tape over and kept going.
Once home, I pulled it into the garage and gave it a check over to find the coolant had leaked slightly from the top hose. Upon further inspection it looks like there may be a small split by the jubilee, or it's at least passing by it. I will get onto that over the next day or so.
I introduced my eldest daughter to the new family addition in the morning and she really liked it, musing at the tapes, wondering how they hold music on them
Finally, the first job once home was to fit some headlight covers I already had because they were missing.
That brings you up to speed where I am today!
The plan for the car in my ownership will be to continue maintaining and upgrading where required and replacing / improving any trim / panels etc.
It will be used for family holidays, shows, North Shropshire and Wales hooning plus the occasional track day.
Thanks
AP
Edited by Alfred Pina on Thursday 10th March 09:55
scottos said:
What a dream boat that is, i lusted after it a few times when i saw it up at HPC!
As did I! I had a 996 911 at the time and it just wasn't worth the same as the asking price for this, so I had to watch it pass by.Fortunately it all worked out in the end, though I am fully expecting 996 prices to rocket now that I have exited the fold
Chunkychucky said:
Congrats on your new acquisition, and nice one for continuing the thread
Missed the previous owner's updates somehow, glad the stripes got binned - they don't look bad when fitted correctly (below), it's just having them on back to front is one of the worst options of the lot.
I think you may be referring to a different car someone posted earlier in this thread, where the upsweep of the tri-colour was on the bonnet.Missed the previous owner's updates somehow, glad the stripes got binned - they don't look bad when fitted correctly (below), it's just having them on back to front is one of the worst options of the lot.
As you can see, the car is now wearing M colours that match the car in your photo. However, I don't think they will be staying for too long because they don't fit great.
I have never liked the rubber boot spoiler or the badging on the m535i. I would have opted to delete that option having ordered new (or maybe it was super cool in 1980?)
Output Flange said:
I can't tell you the joy this one line brings me, from having given Olly stick for this since he owned it (and started this thread).
It's a cracking car though, so enjoy!
It's one of those things that I may not have noticed for a long time if I didn't already own an e12. I thought that when swapping the doors to e28, the original frame was carried over.It's a cracking car though, so enjoy!
Either way, I hope to sort it in the future. For now, they are in great condition so it's not a problem. I believe Niko (LL) has a pair of front doors but I don't know if they are at his place, or with Miles at HPC.
I would also like the the 16" wheels that were on it as they will be much better for track days
Alfred Pina said:
I think you may be referring to a different car someone posted earlier in this thread, where the upsweep of the tri-colour was on the bonnet.
As you can see, the car is now wearing M colours that match the car in your photo. However, I don't think they will be staying for too long because they don't fit great.
I have never liked the rubber boot spoiler or the badging on the m535i. I would have opted to delete that option having ordered new (or maybe it was super cool in 1980?)
Ahh yes so I was, my mistake!As you can see, the car is now wearing M colours that match the car in your photo. However, I don't think they will be staying for too long because they don't fit great.
I have never liked the rubber boot spoiler or the badging on the m535i. I would have opted to delete that option having ordered new (or maybe it was super cool in 1980?)
If you do ditch the boot spoiler, make sure to check/change the boot springs - I remember my dad saying when supplying them new, they had to change the boot springs for much stronger ones, the standard springs wouldn't lift the bootlid with the hefty rubber spoiler on it! I imagine with the uprated springs on a spoiler-less bootlid one could be in for quite the shock if not careful...
Chunkychucky said:
Ahh yes so I was, my mistake!
If you do ditch the boot spoiler, make sure to check/change the boot springs - I remember my dad saying when supplying them new, they had to change the boot springs for much stronger ones, the standard springs wouldn't lift the bootlid with the hefty rubber spoiler on it! I imagine with the uprated springs on a spoiler-less bootlid one could be in for quite the shock if not careful...
That's something I hadn't considered. There are plenty of other things that will take priority over minor aesthetic taste though If you do ditch the boot spoiler, make sure to check/change the boot springs - I remember my dad saying when supplying them new, they had to change the boot springs for much stronger ones, the standard springs wouldn't lift the bootlid with the hefty rubber spoiler on it! I imagine with the uprated springs on a spoiler-less bootlid one could be in for quite the shock if not careful...
Such a lovely car. I have been fortunate enough to own 3 E12 M535i over the years, the best being a Henna red car that was pwned by the mechanic at Munich Legends in the very early 90's when I was in my early 30's. I recall myself and a 205gti having a 'spirited' run down the A303 in the very early hours of a Sunday morning and how effortless those speeds were achieved. The M30 engine is just a peach!
Mark-E34-535 said:
Such a lovely car. I have been fortunate enough to own 3 E12 M535i over the years, the best being a Henna red car that was pwned by the mechanic at Munich Legends in the very early 90's when I was in my early 30's. I recall myself and a 205gti having a 'spirited' run down the A303 in the very early hours of a Sunday morning and how effortless those speeds were achieved. The M30 engine is just a peach!
Is it your Blue car that TonyBMW keeps uploading pictures of? 
Chunkychucky said:
Mark-E34-535 said:
Such a lovely car. I have been fortunate enough to own 3 E12 M535i over the years, the best being a Henna red car that was pwned by the mechanic at Munich Legends in the very early 90's when I was in my early 30's. I recall myself and a 205gti having a 'spirited' run down the A303 in the very early hours of a Sunday morning and how effortless those speeds were achieved. The M30 engine is just a peach!
Is it your Blue car that TonyBMW keeps uploading pictures of? 
Half a year has passed and over 1k miles since my last update. The dark nights grew lighter and have already began to fade
What a great choice moving from a 911 to the e12! I have so many more opportunities to use the car now the family fit in it. I have used it for trips to the in-laws, days out to the park, car shows, nursery run and a wedding.
I even had a volunteer to help wash it - with a keen eye on technique and ensuring no dropped mitts were used
I have found a couple of opportunities to pull over and take some snaps, too.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/oy3CVmeX.jpg[/img]|https://thumbsnap.com/oy3CVmeX[/url] <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/hWY4tjnF" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/hWY4tjnF.jpg)
amongst these light duties, I have also continued making some minor improvements, such as replacing the fuse cover, rear seatbelts, front door handle caps, number plates, tail lights, boot plastics, front grill and probably against the wishes of most - the steering wheel (I mean, who doesn't love the feel of a polished wood wheel?!)
Before pic only - new ones retract
[url]
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/UaZm6i38.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/dumw2TF6" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/dumw2TF6.jpg)
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Old ones had broken clips and caused the light trim to separate from the lens
|https://thumbsnap.com/f3cwfJGw[/url]
Replacement ones fit much tighter
All courtesy of my 49k miles 520/6.
Its a shame to have pilfered the good parts from it, but the 520 was going to be sold and the 535i has benefitted from the finer details
What a great choice moving from a 911 to the e12! I have so many more opportunities to use the car now the family fit in it. I have used it for trips to the in-laws, days out to the park, car shows, nursery run and a wedding.
I even had a volunteer to help wash it - with a keen eye on technique and ensuring no dropped mitts were used
I have found a couple of opportunities to pull over and take some snaps, too.
amongst these light duties, I have also continued making some minor improvements, such as replacing the fuse cover, rear seatbelts, front door handle caps, number plates, tail lights, boot plastics, front grill and probably against the wishes of most - the steering wheel (I mean, who doesn't love the feel of a polished wood wheel?!)
Before pic only - new ones retract
[url][url]Old ones had broken clips and caused the light trim to separate from the lens
|https://thumbsnap.com/f3cwfJGw[/url]Replacement ones fit much tighter
All courtesy of my 49k miles 520/6.
Its a shame to have pilfered the good parts from it, but the 520 was going to be sold and the 535i has benefitted from the finer details
Edited by Alfred Pina on Wednesday 31st August 11:51
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