E34 535, Advice and opinion - new to BMW's
Discussion
Hi All, I posted this in general gassing but got no help, can anyone on here help out with advice opinion.
I've been mulling over my next project for a while now, originally I was going to do a concours Jetta or Starion but I decided that I wanted somthing cheap, old and battered that I could just play with and not really car about (no offence to BMW fans here)
Anyway have decided to build a sort of fun road going Drag/Drift car based on a rear drive barge.
plan is:
Strip it out - completely, remove glass dash etc etc (minimum weight).
Weld diff
Add NOS (maybe)
Paint in funny colour scheme
Have FUN!
Anyway was thinking of starting with an E34 535 (I think it's E34) like this one, I read that they're 225bhp:
Thing is I have never worker on a Beemer' before, would one of these make a strong base vehicle? Does anyone have any experience with them.
And before anyone say "Google it" I can do that but I want to know people actual experiences or if they could suggest a better model? I thought about an E30 325 but these are fetching better money and I kind-of like the bigger car.
Criteria is: Cheap as possible, strong engine, fairly simple. It will be getting wrecked so I don't want to ruin an M5 or a 635.
Also anyone got any suggestions for coulour scheme?
I thought it would be funny to drive it round painted like this:
or this:
Yes I know I have bad taste but I really just want a fun, mess about thrasher car, it doesn't need to be great on track or devastatingly quick - just needs to make me laugh.
I've been mulling over my next project for a while now, originally I was going to do a concours Jetta or Starion but I decided that I wanted somthing cheap, old and battered that I could just play with and not really car about (no offence to BMW fans here)
Anyway have decided to build a sort of fun road going Drag/Drift car based on a rear drive barge.
plan is:
Strip it out - completely, remove glass dash etc etc (minimum weight).
Weld diff
Add NOS (maybe)
Paint in funny colour scheme
Have FUN!
Anyway was thinking of starting with an E34 535 (I think it's E34) like this one, I read that they're 225bhp:
Thing is I have never worker on a Beemer' before, would one of these make a strong base vehicle? Does anyone have any experience with them.
And before anyone say "Google it" I can do that but I want to know people actual experiences or if they could suggest a better model? I thought about an E30 325 but these are fetching better money and I kind-of like the bigger car.
Criteria is: Cheap as possible, strong engine, fairly simple. It will be getting wrecked so I don't want to ruin an M5 or a 635.
Also anyone got any suggestions for coulour scheme?
I thought it would be funny to drive it round painted like this:
or this:
Yes I know I have bad taste but I really just want a fun, mess about thrasher car, it doesn't need to be great on track or devastatingly quick - just needs to make me laugh.
A couple of lads on the M5 Board (http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion/) have stripped e34 M5s for track toys.
While you're not going for the M5 variant, there will be a lot in common.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion...
While you're not going for the M5 variant, there will be a lot in common.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e34-m5-discussion...
They are only 211bhp. Personally i think its too big and heavy to make an ideal drift car, not because you cant drift it but because you will wear out parts faster and they will cost more to replace.
If i was me i would go with a e36 325i, only 15bhp less, lighter and less likely to overheat!
If i was me i would go with a e36 325i, only 15bhp less, lighter and less likely to overheat!
tomTVR said:
They are only 211bhp. Personally i think its too big and heavy to make an ideal drift car, not because you cant drift it but because you will wear out parts faster and they will cost more to replace.
If i was me i would go with a e36 325i, only 15bhp less, lighter and less likely to overheat!
Cheers Guys, I will have a look at the E36 325 prices. Like I said though it doesn't have to have good mpg, be devastatingly quick or comfy, just needs to be fun.If i was me i would go with a e36 325i, only 15bhp less, lighter and less likely to overheat!
Any thougts on coulour schemes? I might use it to do the Scumball or Ramshackle rally next year as well.
E34 is the car to go for if you want to drift. I've got an E34 525i 24v build for track NS use. Its fully M5 spec with Bilstein B12 chassis and such. Slap on an LSD and you have an unbeatable drifter,incredable balance. Heavy? not if you strip em, then they will weight about 1300KG which is not to bad since a Z3M QP is over 1400kg and the e36 M3 is around 1300 Kg too, in stripped trim.
Hugo S said:
E34 is the car to go for if you want to drift. I've got an E34 525i 24v build for track NS use. Its fully M5 spec with Bilstein B12 chassis and such. Slap on an LSD and you have an unbeatable drifter,incredable balance. Heavy? not if you strip em, then they will weight about 1300KG which is not to bad since a Z3M QP is over 1400kg and the e36 M3 is around 1300 Kg too, in stripped trim.
Yeah seem to be getting differing advice, the e36 325 seem to be pretty heavy money as well but have seen a few manual 535i's for under 600 quid, which is more what I'm looking to pay. I reckon I can get a 535 down to under 1300kg with some all out weight reduction.Does anyone know the major issues that I need to look for when buying one? Not the usual stuff but any BMW specific faults, weak points on the 535?
Hugo S said:
Heavy? not if you strip em, then they will weight about 1300KG which is not to bad since a Z3M QP is over 1400kg and the e36 M3 is around 1300 Kg too, in stripped trim.
My E34 525i touring auto was quoted as weighing 1650kgs in the handbook IIRC, BMW tend to quote weights with a full fuel tank so maybe 1520kgs for an empty, manual saloon as standard I'd guess?Callan.T89 said:
the e36 325 seem to be pretty heavy money as well but have seen a few manual 535i's for under 600 quid, which is more what I'm looking to pay. I reckon I can get a 535 down to under 1300kg with some all out weight reduction.
Have a look at my build thread for my E36 325i, only cost me £300 to start with but maybe I was lucky. I reckon it would make a more lively and responsive car than an E34. Last time mine was weighed it came in at 1200kgs, since then I've stripped the rest of the dash, heater matrix, sound proofing, chopped most of the metal out of the inside of the doors and bootlid, removed a couple of bin bags of unnecessary wiring etc. Reckon I'm down to 1150kgs now with a fibre glass bonnet and smaller battery. IMO, the E34 will be the better car for your criteria but I would say the biggest point to consider is that the E34 comes with recirculating ball steering setup whilst the E36 has the rack and pinion setup.
The E36 has the nicer steering feel and feedback as a result if that makes a difference to you?
If it was me though, I would take the 535i.
Watch out for "thrashed from cold" engines with poorly maintained coolant systems (even though a second hand replacement lump will be cheap), and leaking fuel lines to the tank. The E34 is a robust car but the youngest 535i is now 16 years old so check for worn out suspension, particularly the bushes (unless you plan to replace it all anyway), and see that rust hasn't taken a major grip.
The E36 has the nicer steering feel and feedback as a result if that makes a difference to you?
If it was me though, I would take the 535i.
Watch out for "thrashed from cold" engines with poorly maintained coolant systems (even though a second hand replacement lump will be cheap), and leaking fuel lines to the tank. The E34 is a robust car but the youngest 535i is now 16 years old so check for worn out suspension, particularly the bushes (unless you plan to replace it all anyway), and see that rust hasn't taken a major grip.
Gravy said:
IMO, the E34 will be the better car for your criteria but I would say the biggest point to consider is that the E34 comes with recirculating ball steering setup whilst the E36 has the rack and pinion setup.
The E36 has the nicer steering feel and feedback as a result if that makes a difference to you?
If it was me though, I would take the 535i.
Watch out for "thrashed from cold" engines with poorly maintained coolant systems (even though a second hand replacement lump will be cheap), and leaking fuel lines to the tank. The E34 is a robust car but the youngest 535i is now 16 years old so check for worn out suspension, particularly the bushes (unless you plan to replace it all anyway), and see that rust hasn't taken a major grip.
Agreed. The E34 had a Pitmann arm steerkign construction. this means it wil never stear as direct as a rack pinion car. Nevertheless, is you set an E34 up correctly it will be direct enough. Get Powerflex BLACK as a bushings upgrade, change the rubber bushing in the pitmann arm change and steering 'uniballs' to new, fresh ones. Also change the reaction arms for new ones. make sure u tighten the steering box ( Dealer can most likely do this for you otherwise a BMW specialist ). Might sound like a lof of work but it can all be done in about two hours. Powerflex black is rather costly but the other parts are cheap. Do this and it will be a lot better. Also get new wishbones up front ( upper and lower ones ), Meyle heavy duty ones. Cheap, light and stronger than BMW ones. The E36 has the nicer steering feel and feedback as a result if that makes a difference to you?
If it was me though, I would take the 535i.
Watch out for "thrashed from cold" engines with poorly maintained coolant systems (even though a second hand replacement lump will be cheap), and leaking fuel lines to the tank. The E34 is a robust car but the youngest 535i is now 16 years old so check for worn out suspension, particularly the bushes (unless you plan to replace it all anyway), and see that rust hasn't taken a major grip.
Edited by Hugo S on Thursday 4th December 22:36
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