SOTW: BMW M5

A performance motoring icon at Shed money? You'd better believe it...

Super-saloons are not, ordinarily, fodder for SOTW. Fast four-doors rarely dip into the sub-£1k domain of Shed, let alone genuine performance icons.

But this week is different. This week, for the first time ever, Shed of the Week has a pukka M Division car sitting on its virtual forecourt. With tax. And MOT. Dribble.

But, very much like the Jaguar XJR we featured a few weeks back, this is a battle-between-head-and-heart thing. Your heart says 'mmm...M5', while your head says, 'yep, with a clutch that needs replacing'. Your heart says 'mmm... M5 with 311bhp 3.6-litre straight six', while your head says 'uh-huh - with 142,000 miles on the clock and M Division running costs'. Your heart says 'mmm...M5 with 311bhp straight six for the price of a cheap holiday', while your head says 'there's probably a reason why it's so cheap'.

You see what we're getting at with this... there are plenty of logical arguments against this car. But sod the reasoned argument - this is a legendary sports saloon at a bargain bucket price. Buy it, get some alloys that aren't black, run it until it breaks and then either a) lavish the attention on it that it so richly deserves or b) sell it. Because even if it ain't running it'll surely be worth a good few hundred quid.

Please do this, and do it soon, because otherwise the Riggers driveway might just be filled with an E34 M5 that I can neither afford to run nor which would find the approval of a certain OH...

Advert is reproduced below

E34 M5 (3.6) Rolling Restoration (1990)
142,000 miles £1,000

GA25130 in Macau Blue
Tax Expiry 11/2011
MOT Expiry 20/06/2012

Originally kept as a spares car for my other 3.6, I never had the heart to remove any parts and instead ended up replacing various items to keep the car roadworthy. Car has done approx 4000 miles in the past three years.

During this time, the following new parts have been replaced by me:
Radiator
Water Pump
Thermostat

Aux cooling fan
Rear axle beam bushes
Rear springs + top mounts
Front thrust arms
Brake switch
Front discs

I have also checked the valve clearances and re-shimmed where necessary.

The clutch will need replacing (supplied as part of the sale)

I've sold my other 3.6 so this is going as well.