1987 BMW (E28) M5
Discussion
sutts said:
Finally here’s a pic to celebrate fitting five new LED baton lights in my garage today - a brightly lit M5
Please excuse my wife’s sewing machine, the open boot lid (for the battery conditioner) and the corny picture on the wall..
Such a cool car ! Please excuse my wife’s sewing machine, the open boot lid (for the battery conditioner) and the corny picture on the wall..
I had one back in the early 2010's (initially as a my daily runaround/station car - they were a different value point then) - also did the majority of miles in it's first flush of youth, was the original Motorfair show car displayed by BMW AG/UK and the first RHD production car (late 1985), then sold to a chap who worked for an oil trader and ran it as his company car (and later in time was my eldest brothers boss, and quite the coincidence when my bro borrowed the car and showed it to said chap).
Shouldn't have sold it, but then again better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, and all that jazz.
Still drive an M5 now, albeit a slightly larger and more modern variant!
Edited by seawise on Tuesday 7th February 21:37
sutts said:
99t said:
Genuinely one of my top ten reader's cars on Pistonheads.
It makes me sad that I didn't buy one of these as my daily when they were affordable, instead opting for a slightly newer E34 version.
Don't get me wrong, the E34 was a great, great car, epic in many ways for the day, but the handling always lacked that little bit of sharpness which I believe the E28 might have had...
Wow, there are so many incredible reader’s cars on here I would never expect that.It makes me sad that I didn't buy one of these as my daily when they were affordable, instead opting for a slightly newer E34 version.
Don't get me wrong, the E34 was a great, great car, epic in many ways for the day, but the handling always lacked that little bit of sharpness which I believe the E28 might have had...
I have not driven an E34 M5 (must rectify that), but I understand from reading articles that they were SO competent that it almost took away some of the ‘edge’ that the E28 might have had in comparison. Whether or not that is a negative is debatable!
sutts said:
Cheers, that's an interesting comment about the body kit. Here's a picture I came across showing M5's with and without the kit.
(I have no connection to ML, have never used them, but understand they are very good).
Glad that you decided to keep the car Sutts. They are difficult to replace these days, should you get a dose of sellers remorse (which most previous owners tend to get). I love Cirrus Blue on an E28 M5.(I have no connection to ML, have never used them, but understand they are very good).
That's my white car BTW.
seawise said:
Such a cool car !
I had one back in the early 2010's (initially as a my daily runaround/station car - they were a different value point then) - also did the majority of miles in it's first flush of youth, was the original Motorfair show car displayed by BMW AG/UK and the first RHD production car (late 1985), then sold to a chap who worked for an oil trader and ran it as his company car (and later in time was my eldest brothers boss, and quite the coincidence when my bro borrowed the car and showed it to said chap).
Shouldn't have sold it, but then again better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, and all that jazz.
Red interior? If yes then I have worked on that car in about 2016/7.I had one back in the early 2010's (initially as a my daily runaround/station car - they were a different value point then) - also did the majority of miles in it's first flush of youth, was the original Motorfair show car displayed by BMW AG/UK and the first RHD production car (late 1985), then sold to a chap who worked for an oil trader and ran it as his company car (and later in time was my eldest brothers boss, and quite the coincidence when my bro borrowed the car and showed it to said chap).
Shouldn't have sold it, but then again better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, and all that jazz.
I used to own #88 around the same time.
That’s lovely. I know the M Technic body kit divides opinions, bit I still like it - especially the front and rear bumpers/skirts. I do find the side skirts a bit lumpy, and have been wondering about running the car without them (keeping the rest).
Although there are other BMW and Alpina E28 and E24 models with similar deep front and rear bumpers, but little or no side skirts, I wonder if this would just look a bit odd (but perhaps only to those in the know)?
Although there are other BMW and Alpina E28 and E24 models with similar deep front and rear bumpers, but little or no side skirts, I wonder if this would just look a bit odd (but perhaps only to those in the know)?
A few days ago my eBay search alerted me to a couple of 1988 model year E28 brochures for sale. I have the specific M5 one already, along with an accessories brochure (pictured a few pages back I think), and thought these would make a good addition. The advert was very light on detail and only showed the front covers so I wasn’t confident how good a condition they would be in.
As it is they are both almost perfect with no wear at all, so a nice thing to have with the other ones. I love the 80’s marketing copy and they’ve been interesting reading. For £14 delivered I think they were a bit of a bargain these days.
A page on the M5
As it is they are both almost perfect with no wear at all, so a nice thing to have with the other ones. I love the 80’s marketing copy and they’ve been interesting reading. For £14 delivered I think they were a bit of a bargain these days.
A page on the M5
I’ve recently collected the car from the excellent BMR Performance who have carried out a thorough inspection and attended to various mechanical jobs and a few sympathetic and subtle upgrades. There was some mission creep…The big ticket items were:
Inspection 2 service (includes all fluids, plugs and valve clearances).
Replace exhaust manifold gasket, which was blowing a bit.
Fit an air conditioning ‘upgrade’ kit I had sourced from the states (see earlier post).
Investigate some play in the handbrake and centre tunnel console.
Replace differential seals, which were weeping oil slightly.
Fit a Blaupunkt SQR46 DAB head unit to replace the tape deck.
Replace rear parcel shelf speakers (mine still had paper cones and one had blown) retaining original covers.
Tidy up the air filter box and rocker cover with new paint.
Supply and fit an OEM E31 840 front brake upgrade kit (four pot Brembo callipers and bigger discs).
Everything went well although the exhaust manifold gasket (which I understand is not a simple job at the best of times, Barry feel free to comment!) turned into a bit of task as some of the studs were rusted up and wanted to stay where they were. They also discovered a hairline crack in the manifold itself, which was welded up.
The handbrake spot welded bracket mounts to the chassis turned out to have basically parted company with the rest of the car (again Barry could provide more detail!) so these were welded and now it’s all lovely and tight again.
On my drive home the M5 felt brilliant, sounding even better than before with the manifold sorted, and pulling really hard. They had adjusted the throttle switch as well which seems to have sharpened it up even more than before and eliminated a bit of drivetrain hesitation on a trailing throttle. The brakes are still bedding in but I think will be a really useful upgrade over the original calipers, which are a bit wooden and don’t quite match the capabilities of the drivetrain! These were all new parts from BMW, and the Brembo calipers were supplied nicely coated in black. Unless you really look for them behind the wheels you can’t see there has been a change, which is ideal for me. Barry if you’re reading this and have any photos please feel free to add one or two.
The air conditioning upgrade came about as one of the pipes was knackered and is NLA from BMW. The kit I bought from America includes a new more powerful and efficient compressor, condenser, dryer and associated pipe work. I believe it takes less power from the engine to run and is quieter. Experimenting with it on my way back it was certainly extremely cold, and also quieter than before. With the majority of the kit hidden under the radiator cover, and the pipe work looking OEM it would take a real expert to notice that anything had changed.
I had debated the head unit change for a few years. Although I liked the retro appeal of the original Panasonic tape deck the radio was poor, and on a long journey I was thinking the ability to use DAB (Absolute 80’s etc!) would be good, along with the ability to stream music or use a SD card or USB stick. The Blaupunkt SQR46 DAB has been out for a few years now, and is basically a visual copy of the original SQR46 Bremen from the 1980s but with DAB, Bluetooth and various input ports hidden behind the ‘tape’ cover. It looks really well in the dash as the colour is perfect, and the red graphics match the original look of the OBC.
The stick-on DAB aerial, which could otherwise look a bit out of place, was fitted very neatly up behind the rear view mirror, on the green band of the windscreen. That means I can hardly see it from the driver’s seat, and it’s also difficult to spot from outside as it’s under the darker band. Along with some new rear Audison speakers, which have kept the original speaker covers, I’m really pleased with the unit. The microphone for the Bluetooth is very small and subtle, and BMR fitted it really neatly high up on the A pillar. I successfully completed a call home on my way back, and the audio was really clear.
Here’s the new head unit looking like it was always meant to be there, with matching colour graphics available:
SD card and USB ports under a cover:
DAB aerial tucked away behind the mirror
|https://thumbsnap.com/sSQfX8U4[/url]
New Audison speakers underneath the period Alpine covers:
|https://thumbsnap.com/6S856hiK[/url]
The engine bay is also looking much tidier with the blasted and repainted rocker cover and air filter box, and a new expansion tank that was fitted with the aircon kit.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/D6PfCKq6[/url]
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The aircon kit is largely hidden away, although if you look closely you can see the shiny new compressor and bigger drive belt.
So all in all some really useful work completed, and I’m looking forward to getting out in it over the summer, hopefully with some very warm weather to make the most of the aircon!
I also had a preview of Barry’s latest E39 M5 Touring build, as per his thread on here…what a car. Would be my ideal daily!
Inspection 2 service (includes all fluids, plugs and valve clearances).
Replace exhaust manifold gasket, which was blowing a bit.
Fit an air conditioning ‘upgrade’ kit I had sourced from the states (see earlier post).
Investigate some play in the handbrake and centre tunnel console.
Replace differential seals, which were weeping oil slightly.
Fit a Blaupunkt SQR46 DAB head unit to replace the tape deck.
Replace rear parcel shelf speakers (mine still had paper cones and one had blown) retaining original covers.
Tidy up the air filter box and rocker cover with new paint.
Supply and fit an OEM E31 840 front brake upgrade kit (four pot Brembo callipers and bigger discs).
Everything went well although the exhaust manifold gasket (which I understand is not a simple job at the best of times, Barry feel free to comment!) turned into a bit of task as some of the studs were rusted up and wanted to stay where they were. They also discovered a hairline crack in the manifold itself, which was welded up.
The handbrake spot welded bracket mounts to the chassis turned out to have basically parted company with the rest of the car (again Barry could provide more detail!) so these were welded and now it’s all lovely and tight again.
On my drive home the M5 felt brilliant, sounding even better than before with the manifold sorted, and pulling really hard. They had adjusted the throttle switch as well which seems to have sharpened it up even more than before and eliminated a bit of drivetrain hesitation on a trailing throttle. The brakes are still bedding in but I think will be a really useful upgrade over the original calipers, which are a bit wooden and don’t quite match the capabilities of the drivetrain! These were all new parts from BMW, and the Brembo calipers were supplied nicely coated in black. Unless you really look for them behind the wheels you can’t see there has been a change, which is ideal for me. Barry if you’re reading this and have any photos please feel free to add one or two.
The air conditioning upgrade came about as one of the pipes was knackered and is NLA from BMW. The kit I bought from America includes a new more powerful and efficient compressor, condenser, dryer and associated pipe work. I believe it takes less power from the engine to run and is quieter. Experimenting with it on my way back it was certainly extremely cold, and also quieter than before. With the majority of the kit hidden under the radiator cover, and the pipe work looking OEM it would take a real expert to notice that anything had changed.
I had debated the head unit change for a few years. Although I liked the retro appeal of the original Panasonic tape deck the radio was poor, and on a long journey I was thinking the ability to use DAB (Absolute 80’s etc!) would be good, along with the ability to stream music or use a SD card or USB stick. The Blaupunkt SQR46 DAB has been out for a few years now, and is basically a visual copy of the original SQR46 Bremen from the 1980s but with DAB, Bluetooth and various input ports hidden behind the ‘tape’ cover. It looks really well in the dash as the colour is perfect, and the red graphics match the original look of the OBC.
The stick-on DAB aerial, which could otherwise look a bit out of place, was fitted very neatly up behind the rear view mirror, on the green band of the windscreen. That means I can hardly see it from the driver’s seat, and it’s also difficult to spot from outside as it’s under the darker band. Along with some new rear Audison speakers, which have kept the original speaker covers, I’m really pleased with the unit. The microphone for the Bluetooth is very small and subtle, and BMR fitted it really neatly high up on the A pillar. I successfully completed a call home on my way back, and the audio was really clear.
Here’s the new head unit looking like it was always meant to be there, with matching colour graphics available:
SD card and USB ports under a cover:
DAB aerial tucked away behind the mirror
|https://thumbsnap.com/sSQfX8U4[/url]New Audison speakers underneath the period Alpine covers:
|https://thumbsnap.com/6S856hiK[/url]The engine bay is also looking much tidier with the blasted and repainted rocker cover and air filter box, and a new expansion tank that was fitted with the aircon kit.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/D6PfCKq6[/url][url]The aircon kit is largely hidden away, although if you look closely you can see the shiny new compressor and bigger drive belt.
So all in all some really useful work completed, and I’m looking forward to getting out in it over the summer, hopefully with some very warm weather to make the most of the aircon!
I also had a preview of Barry’s latest E39 M5 Touring build, as per his thread on here…what a car. Would be my ideal daily!
Edited by sutts on Saturday 29th April 19:07
Edited by sutts on Wednesday 3rd May 10:55
That's a pretty car. Mine is in the shop getting work on. We're stuck on the rear calipers which need rebuilding and caliper kits seem to be unobtainable. I'm trying to see if other kits (Saab 900) will work. Next is the valve adjustment and then it will be ready for me to pick up and I can hand over my E24 M635CSI
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