E28 - the long slog
Discussion
Thought I'd put something together on the E28 I'm working on - partly for you lot to read and comment, and partly to remind me what I'm doing!
I've had an E28 before, and loved it. The last one was a 528i auto, that needed a light resto and got to see Le Mans. I sold it, moved on to other cars, and always regretted getting rid.
Then, one morning after a night in the pub, I got an email from eBay telling me that I'd won my item. Which was novel, as I didn't remember bidding on an item, and certainly not on the 518i I'd subsequently been highest bidder on. Still, to one to shirk my obligations, a train ticket was duly purchased (one way, of course) to Coventry, and within the week I was off to collect this glorious piece of engineering. My safety net was that it was taxed and tested, so how bad could it be??
So, as collected:
Its's a Zinnoberrot 518i manual, with Anthracite cloth interior, keep-fit windows all round (rare!), no sunroof, 37 shades of pink on the body, 14" steels with wheel trims and not a lot else. It's had a bump on the NSR corner, there's a little rust on the bottom of the OS A pillar, and it's generally a bit tired. The speedo didn't work, the fuel gauge didn't work, every MOT since 2007 has the same mileage listed, and it drives like it's running on 3. On the plus side, the boot and every available bit of space in the cabin is crammed full of spare parts.
So all in all, not too bad for £375. It got me back from Coventry without complaint, although it has been a while sincere had to plan lane changes, and drop down gears for hills!
First job was to replace the coil, the plugs, the filter, the HT leads and the fluids. And after all that,it felt almost exactly no different. So, into the garage it went while I had a think about what to do with it.
All tucked up:
Now, whatever happened with the car, it was clear that steel wheels were not the future. BMW saw the good sense in fitting the E38 with 16" style 5s, and these work nicely on an E28. So, a set was duly sourced from eBay, and some appropriately sized tyres to match.
Next job was plenty of elbow grease to see if the paintwork would clean up. After hours of cleaning, cutting, waxing and polishing it was all roughly the same shade of red. On went the new wheels, and out for a quick couple of pics:
Sadly it took about 18 seconds for the pink to reappear.
In the meantime I'd been poking around underneath to see what sort of state the body was in. The biggest killer of E28s is rust, but thankfully this one is pretty good. What's not so good is the condition of every bit of rubber underneath - the subframe bushes were shot, the front TCA arm bushes were shot, the shocks were shot etc etc. So, a full rebuild of the front and rear suspension has to happen.
By now the plans are growing. Now the idea is to drop the rear axle to refurb and refit,rebuild the front struts and renew all the arms, ditch the running gear and replace with something a bit more modern, repair/repaint the outside and fit some better seats and retrim the interior. So, change everything, basically!
So, rear axle off:
I picked up another beam and trailing arms from a 6cyl model, as they have additional mounts for the rear pitman arms, that the 4-bangers don't have. That was sent off to the powdercoaters, and returned thus:
At the same time, some orders went in with various suppliers to get:
4x Bilstein B6 dampers
H&R springs
Powerflex bushes for the rear subframe and all the front control arms
All new bolts, washers, nuts and various trimmings from BMW
The front struts went off to be powdercoated too, along with the headlamp frames. A word of warning - powder coating becomes addictive!
Next delivery was from BMW - again, various nuts/bolts/washers/spring pads etc. Although there are some bits missing,the front struts are now built up:
Just need to press out the old bushes in the TCAs and then they can all go on. The parts missing from the delivery were for the rear struts, so a pause on those while I await the parts. Once the RTABs are in, the rear beam and trailing arms can go on with the new shocks, and then the car can go back down on the ground. And once that has happened, the engine and gearbox can come out.
On the body side of things, the front has been stripped down to a degree:
As has the rear:
The old bumpers were tired, and would have needed splitting and rechroming. Given the cost, it worked out cheaper to buy a pair of nearly-new bumpers instead, and that was made even cheaper by selling the originals. It'll need a couple of front wings, a new front valance and some work to the chrome trim alongside a full spray job, but its all do-able.
Oh, and today the dashboard fell out:
So, still a long way to go, but some progress at least.
At some point I'll need to decide on an engine for it. But not yet. There's an M535i LSD sitting in my garage waiting for a rebuild, so once that's in it should be able to handle a bit more poke. There are also some new E34 540i brake calipers and discs, and with an appropriate set of pads that should get it stopped, too.
More to follow as it happens!
I've had an E28 before, and loved it. The last one was a 528i auto, that needed a light resto and got to see Le Mans. I sold it, moved on to other cars, and always regretted getting rid.
Then, one morning after a night in the pub, I got an email from eBay telling me that I'd won my item. Which was novel, as I didn't remember bidding on an item, and certainly not on the 518i I'd subsequently been highest bidder on. Still, to one to shirk my obligations, a train ticket was duly purchased (one way, of course) to Coventry, and within the week I was off to collect this glorious piece of engineering. My safety net was that it was taxed and tested, so how bad could it be??
So, as collected:
Its's a Zinnoberrot 518i manual, with Anthracite cloth interior, keep-fit windows all round (rare!), no sunroof, 37 shades of pink on the body, 14" steels with wheel trims and not a lot else. It's had a bump on the NSR corner, there's a little rust on the bottom of the OS A pillar, and it's generally a bit tired. The speedo didn't work, the fuel gauge didn't work, every MOT since 2007 has the same mileage listed, and it drives like it's running on 3. On the plus side, the boot and every available bit of space in the cabin is crammed full of spare parts.
So all in all, not too bad for £375. It got me back from Coventry without complaint, although it has been a while sincere had to plan lane changes, and drop down gears for hills!
First job was to replace the coil, the plugs, the filter, the HT leads and the fluids. And after all that,it felt almost exactly no different. So, into the garage it went while I had a think about what to do with it.
All tucked up:
Now, whatever happened with the car, it was clear that steel wheels were not the future. BMW saw the good sense in fitting the E38 with 16" style 5s, and these work nicely on an E28. So, a set was duly sourced from eBay, and some appropriately sized tyres to match.
Next job was plenty of elbow grease to see if the paintwork would clean up. After hours of cleaning, cutting, waxing and polishing it was all roughly the same shade of red. On went the new wheels, and out for a quick couple of pics:
Sadly it took about 18 seconds for the pink to reappear.
In the meantime I'd been poking around underneath to see what sort of state the body was in. The biggest killer of E28s is rust, but thankfully this one is pretty good. What's not so good is the condition of every bit of rubber underneath - the subframe bushes were shot, the front TCA arm bushes were shot, the shocks were shot etc etc. So, a full rebuild of the front and rear suspension has to happen.
By now the plans are growing. Now the idea is to drop the rear axle to refurb and refit,rebuild the front struts and renew all the arms, ditch the running gear and replace with something a bit more modern, repair/repaint the outside and fit some better seats and retrim the interior. So, change everything, basically!
So, rear axle off:
I picked up another beam and trailing arms from a 6cyl model, as they have additional mounts for the rear pitman arms, that the 4-bangers don't have. That was sent off to the powdercoaters, and returned thus:
At the same time, some orders went in with various suppliers to get:
4x Bilstein B6 dampers
H&R springs
Powerflex bushes for the rear subframe and all the front control arms
All new bolts, washers, nuts and various trimmings from BMW
The front struts went off to be powdercoated too, along with the headlamp frames. A word of warning - powder coating becomes addictive!
Next delivery was from BMW - again, various nuts/bolts/washers/spring pads etc. Although there are some bits missing,the front struts are now built up:
Just need to press out the old bushes in the TCAs and then they can all go on. The parts missing from the delivery were for the rear struts, so a pause on those while I await the parts. Once the RTABs are in, the rear beam and trailing arms can go on with the new shocks, and then the car can go back down on the ground. And once that has happened, the engine and gearbox can come out.
On the body side of things, the front has been stripped down to a degree:
As has the rear:
The old bumpers were tired, and would have needed splitting and rechroming. Given the cost, it worked out cheaper to buy a pair of nearly-new bumpers instead, and that was made even cheaper by selling the originals. It'll need a couple of front wings, a new front valance and some work to the chrome trim alongside a full spray job, but its all do-able.
Oh, and today the dashboard fell out:
So, still a long way to go, but some progress at least.
At some point I'll need to decide on an engine for it. But not yet. There's an M535i LSD sitting in my garage waiting for a rebuild, so once that's in it should be able to handle a bit more poke. There are also some new E34 540i brake calipers and discs, and with an appropriate set of pads that should get it stopped, too.
More to follow as it happens!
The aim over the next week or so is to get it down off the axle stands and back onto its wheels.
The chassis spec will be:
- Bilstein B6s
- H&R springs
- Powerflex rear subframe and TCA bushes
- Either Whiteline or M5 ARBs (yet to order)
- New RTABs
- New wheel bearings front and rear
- All new nuts, bolts, spring pads etc etc from BMW
Fitting the new RTABs without damaging the powdercoat finish is proving impossible to do at home, and difficult to find a garage who will do it. In the end I dropped them off to my local BMW dealer yesterday, who admitted they've not touched part of an E28 in more than 10 years!
The plan is to just refit the front struts, rear beam, trailing arms and rear shocks for now, just to make it mobile. Once that has happened, the next job is to drop the engine and gearbox out, along with the fuel tank.
The ultimate aim for the car is for it to look standard cosmetically (albeit with shiny new paint etc) but to have more modern running gear - I'm thinking a donor lump from an E36 is most likely, along with a 6spd gearbox. The M535i diff I've got means that the ratios in the M3 Evo gearbox will work nicely, and as the car (as standard) weighs a shade over 1100kg from memory, it should end up fairly lightweight still.
So, plenty to do, although there will be a brief interlude while I wait for the parts missing from my last delivery to arrive.
Oh, and I should definitely plug Cotswold BMW here - they've been great at sourcing parts for me, with at least 10% off and free postage. It's cheaper and easier for me to use them than the BMW dealer 2 mins down the road...
The chassis spec will be:
- Bilstein B6s
- H&R springs
- Powerflex rear subframe and TCA bushes
- Either Whiteline or M5 ARBs (yet to order)
- New RTABs
- New wheel bearings front and rear
- All new nuts, bolts, spring pads etc etc from BMW
Fitting the new RTABs without damaging the powdercoat finish is proving impossible to do at home, and difficult to find a garage who will do it. In the end I dropped them off to my local BMW dealer yesterday, who admitted they've not touched part of an E28 in more than 10 years!
The plan is to just refit the front struts, rear beam, trailing arms and rear shocks for now, just to make it mobile. Once that has happened, the next job is to drop the engine and gearbox out, along with the fuel tank.
The ultimate aim for the car is for it to look standard cosmetically (albeit with shiny new paint etc) but to have more modern running gear - I'm thinking a donor lump from an E36 is most likely, along with a 6spd gearbox. The M535i diff I've got means that the ratios in the M3 Evo gearbox will work nicely, and as the car (as standard) weighs a shade over 1100kg from memory, it should end up fairly lightweight still.
So, plenty to do, although there will be a brief interlude while I wait for the parts missing from my last delivery to arrive.
Oh, and I should definitely plug Cotswold BMW here - they've been great at sourcing parts for me, with at least 10% off and free postage. It's cheaper and easier for me to use them than the BMW dealer 2 mins down the road...
E30M3SE said:
Are you Poly bushing the trailing arms?
Nope - as far as I know no-one makes poly bushes for the trailing arms of an E28. Not only that, but many people think that the RTABs are pretty much in for life - I don't know anyone who has replaced theirs, and I only really did mine because I didn't think they'd be up to the powdercoating process without wilting, and for £40...Very minor progress today.
In my eagerness to get the rear beam powdercoated, I failed to spot the metal outer sleeve of one subframe bush still in position. 45 minutes with a hacksaw and that was out, and the Powerflex bush in its place.
Next up was a bit of attention to the inner drive flanges:
Start:
After wire brushing:
After a lick of paint:
Having received the missing parts from my rear strut parts order yesterday, they're now built up and ready to go on (no pic at this point - oops).
Finally, spent a bit of time tidying up the garage. It really doesn't take long for it to become a bomb site, and important bits get lost or thrown away like that, so order was restored:
Hoping to pick up the trailing arms this week with the bushes fitted so that it can come down onto its wheels, ready for the next jobs.
In my eagerness to get the rear beam powdercoated, I failed to spot the metal outer sleeve of one subframe bush still in position. 45 minutes with a hacksaw and that was out, and the Powerflex bush in its place.
Next up was a bit of attention to the inner drive flanges:
Start:
After wire brushing:
After a lick of paint:
Having received the missing parts from my rear strut parts order yesterday, they're now built up and ready to go on (no pic at this point - oops).
Finally, spent a bit of time tidying up the garage. It really doesn't take long for it to become a bomb site, and important bits get lost or thrown away like that, so order was restored:
Hoping to pick up the trailing arms this week with the bushes fitted so that it can come down onto its wheels, ready for the next jobs.
Rear struts done:
One front wing off, not too crusty underneath:
Just spoken to the BMW dealer who are pressing in the RTABs - apparently they have broken two of their tools getting 3 of the bushes in, and have broken the fourth bush as well. So, a new bush needs to be ordered as well as a replacement tool. As yet, no ETA...
One front wing off, not too crusty underneath:
Just spoken to the BMW dealer who are pressing in the RTABs - apparently they have broken two of their tools getting 3 of the bushes in, and have broken the fourth bush as well. So, a new bush needs to be ordered as well as a replacement tool. As yet, no ETA...
olly22n said:
That inner wing looks super dan, you must be pleased.
What are the jacking points like?
The inner wing is pretty much spot on - there's a bit down where it meets the bottom of the door that needs a bit of love, but otherwise solid.What are the jacking points like?
Jacking points all look fine. The only bit that's causing concern is the back corner of the passenger sill, where there's a bit of an 'ole:
That's a lamp shining up from underneath the car, and the pic is taken from over the rear seat base. Not ideal, but I'd seen it already when I dropped the rear beam.
Started stripping the doors down. Even though this is an absolute poverty-spec car, it still has pre-wiring for (I assume) central locking:
I've noticed some other redundant connectors behind the dash and by the rear seat, too. Wonder what they're for...
The driver's side back door will need to come off, and a replacement bolted on. It's the only one that isn't worth re-using. I've got a replacement lined up, but can't see me collecting it for a month or so yet.
What I like about this car is how simple everything is. A few bolts or screws and everything comes off. I'm making a point of putting labels on wires as I go along, so I stand a fighting chance of getting everything reconnected. I'm also going through ziplock bags like they're going out of fashion, but it's the only way to stop myself losing stuff!
The other wing is off. Less crusty at the bottom, but a bit more at the top:
This is the ding that's previously been "fixed" on the rear corner:
Otherwise, the inside of the boot is pretty solid, so other than labelling up the connectors not much needed:
I also stuck labels on the connectors for the dash, and stripped out the old stereo wiring. I now stand a fighting chance of getting things connected again!
This is the old dashboard. I'm wondering whether the cracks can be filled and then the dash covered (maybe with leather), rather than using an uncracked dash I have - anyone got any thoughts?
This is the ding that's previously been "fixed" on the rear corner:
Otherwise, the inside of the boot is pretty solid, so other than labelling up the connectors not much needed:
I also stuck labels on the connectors for the dash, and stripped out the old stereo wiring. I now stand a fighting chance of getting things connected again!
This is the old dashboard. I'm wondering whether the cracks can be filled and then the dash covered (maybe with leather), rather than using an uncracked dash I have - anyone got any thoughts?
Front tie rod plates cleaned up nicely too, with a lick of paint:
Spoke to BMW today about the RTABs. Basically, as soon as I can get another bush they can sort it (they're not OEM bushes). More ordered from eBay, hopefully to be delivered by the weekend. They also said that they'll honour the quote for half an hour's labour, which is good of them. I suggested next time someone comes I asking for bushes pressed into E28 arms, they say no. To which he promptly agreed
Spoke to BMW today about the RTABs. Basically, as soon as I can get another bush they can sort it (they're not OEM bushes). More ordered from eBay, hopefully to be delivered by the weekend. They also said that they'll honour the quote for half an hour's labour, which is good of them. I suggested next time someone comes I asking for bushes pressed into E28 arms, they say no. To which he promptly agreed
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