Taking our 635CSi for granted
Discussion
Evening chaps, as per the title, I have maybe just realised that I take our 635CSi a little for granted. Here’s a picture from last week
This post is promted by a typical weekend journey earlier today, I took my 6 year old son to the local barbers for a haircut . As luck would have it, there was a space right outside. So we parked up and basically the barber nearly fainted when he saw it, it was his dream car etc. While my boy was in the chair I noticed a steady stream of people stopping to look, take photos etc. it got me thinking, do we take the 6 for granted? We show the car occasionally so we are aware of the general interest in the car but maybe because of the way we purchase the car, we just take it for granted. Basically, we stumbled across the as an abandoned non runner (but underneath a few mm of dust it was pretty much perfect) and paid a very small sum for it. We then completed a simple recommission and got it back in the road. So for the past 6 years we have basically had a total blast in the car, it’s been on various European jaunts including a trip to spa and a 50mph parade lap of the Nurburgring. I’ve attended half a dozen Sunday services, as well as ace cafe meets, Duxford classic car shows etc etc. It’s been loaned out to friends ends as a wedding car on about 4 times. I use it quite a lot to commute to work. We’ve just settled into owning an old BMW. But taking stock of the car, it is a LHD 1979, E24 635CSi. It has covered 58k km from new (33k when we got it) factory Manual with the dogleg 5 speed box, LSD with Mahle alloys. The body is pretty much perfect and it’s mechanically very strong. Subjectivity, what have we got here. How rare is it? Should it be parked up on the road outside our house? (it’s garaged when not used for a period). We have the car maintained and serviced, a few times by Munich legends and earlier this year it had a light bodywork refresh and service at finishline in Hertfordshire. Should we be doing more?
I suppose what has prompted this post is the thought that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, what should we be doing with this car with the thought in the back of my mind when I retire in 15 years odd time I still want the 6 to be around. Thoughts appreciated. Many thanks
This post is promted by a typical weekend journey earlier today, I took my 6 year old son to the local barbers for a haircut . As luck would have it, there was a space right outside. So we parked up and basically the barber nearly fainted when he saw it, it was his dream car etc. While my boy was in the chair I noticed a steady stream of people stopping to look, take photos etc. it got me thinking, do we take the 6 for granted? We show the car occasionally so we are aware of the general interest in the car but maybe because of the way we purchase the car, we just take it for granted. Basically, we stumbled across the as an abandoned non runner (but underneath a few mm of dust it was pretty much perfect) and paid a very small sum for it. We then completed a simple recommission and got it back in the road. So for the past 6 years we have basically had a total blast in the car, it’s been on various European jaunts including a trip to spa and a 50mph parade lap of the Nurburgring. I’ve attended half a dozen Sunday services, as well as ace cafe meets, Duxford classic car shows etc etc. It’s been loaned out to friends ends as a wedding car on about 4 times. I use it quite a lot to commute to work. We’ve just settled into owning an old BMW. But taking stock of the car, it is a LHD 1979, E24 635CSi. It has covered 58k km from new (33k when we got it) factory Manual with the dogleg 5 speed box, LSD with Mahle alloys. The body is pretty much perfect and it’s mechanically very strong. Subjectivity, what have we got here. How rare is it? Should it be parked up on the road outside our house? (it’s garaged when not used for a period). We have the car maintained and serviced, a few times by Munich legends and earlier this year it had a light bodywork refresh and service at finishline in Hertfordshire. Should we be doing more?
I suppose what has prompted this post is the thought that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, what should we be doing with this car with the thought in the back of my mind when I retire in 15 years odd time I still want the 6 to be around. Thoughts appreciated. Many thanks
Edited by Itsallicanafford on Sunday 14th July 00:03
What Dj said. Rust kills these cars. Front wings, rear arches, floorpan/sills, rear bulkhead behind seat, suspension turrets etc. Get it properly protected. Dinitrol is your friend. Mechanically they will go on for ever as long as you change the oil and filter every year regardless of mileage. Mine looked
wonderful but underneath was scrap.
wonderful but underneath was scrap.
healeyfan said:
What Dj said. Rust kills these cars. Front wings, rear arches, floorpan/sills, rear bulkhead behind seat, suspension turrets etc. Get it properly protected. Dinitrol is your friend. Mechanically they will go on for ever as long as you change the oil and filter every year regardless of mileage. Mine looked
wonderful but underneath was scrap.
I’ll second these comments. A pal started a restoration on one a few years ago. His mates (including me) couldn’t understand why as, bar a few lights scabby patches, it looked to be In excellent condition. The strip-down for a bare-metal resto revealed all of the problems Healeyfan describes and then some. It was going to cost so much to repair that he broke it for spares. It was so sad to see a once beautiful car reduced to a badly rusted hulk.wonderful but underneath was scrap.
They’re still one of my favourite cars however; just a stunning design that BMW has never bettered since IMO.
I think people are flooding to old German cars (or classics, if you will) because they are so useable everyday and the carry much style (especially 60s/70s/80s). The usability is compared to modern German stuff being so mass produced (lots more made and cheaper) with lots of tech, they seem to fail. Whereas an old German car (like this) just works and is relatively simple to fix. As said above, it's only really corrosion you have to watch out for.
To answer the question, yes you may be taking it for granted, but that's what it was designed for.
To answer the question, yes you may be taking it for granted, but that's what it was designed for.
Itsallicanafford said:
is the thought that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone,
Too true.Edited by Itsallicanafford on Sunday 14th July 00:03
There's a few cars I wish I had still although most were sold to fund the next
Still wish I had the E30 M3 Cecotto, not withstanding the price increase since I traded it for £8k against a TVR
Or the Elan, or the 2002tii, or the Clan ....
I remember though a red 635CSI that guy at the place I worked at (John Parker I think he was called at NCC if he's on here) loved the look of that car.
The prices for these now seems all over the place, is it worth me looking for a decent one at a sensible price????
Skyedriver said:
The prices for these now seems all over the place, is it worth me looking for a decent one at a sensible price????
I collected one for a dealer recently, beautiful example, but I thought he'd way, way, overpriced it.It sold the next day.
So I'd say it'd be a fair choice.
Chaps, many thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
you are of course all correct, we should just keep on enjoying the car. I think the original post was prompted by a little bit of a crisis of conscience with the car now being 40 years old and questioning should we be treating the car the way we do (i.e I used it to do the weekly shop yesterday). But in the end of the day, its not some fragile piece of exotica, its built like a tank. Maybe just as long as we are sensible by not leaving it outside for too long during the summer, tucking it away in the garage for the winter and we stay ontop of maintenance and any bodywork issues, we just have to crack on and enjoy it the way we have this past 6 years.
Thanks again for your perspective on things.
Cheers
you are of course all correct, we should just keep on enjoying the car. I think the original post was prompted by a little bit of a crisis of conscience with the car now being 40 years old and questioning should we be treating the car the way we do (i.e I used it to do the weekly shop yesterday). But in the end of the day, its not some fragile piece of exotica, its built like a tank. Maybe just as long as we are sensible by not leaving it outside for too long during the summer, tucking it away in the garage for the winter and we stay ontop of maintenance and any bodywork issues, we just have to crack on and enjoy it the way we have this past 6 years.
Thanks again for your perspective on things.
Cheers
Itsallicanafford said:
Chaps, many thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.
you are of course all correct, we should just keep on enjoying the car. I think the original post was prompted by a little bit of a crisis of conscience with the car now being 40 years old and questioning should we be treating the car the way we do (i.e I used it to do the weekly shop yesterday). But in the end of the day, its not some fragile piece of exotica, its built like a tank. Maybe just as long as we are sensible by not leaving it outside for too long during the summer, tucking it away in the garage for the winter and we stay ontop of maintenance and any bodywork issues, we just have to crack on and enjoy it the way we have this past 6 years.
Thanks again for your perspective on things.
Cheers
Good call. you are of course all correct, we should just keep on enjoying the car. I think the original post was prompted by a little bit of a crisis of conscience with the car now being 40 years old and questioning should we be treating the car the way we do (i.e I used it to do the weekly shop yesterday). But in the end of the day, its not some fragile piece of exotica, its built like a tank. Maybe just as long as we are sensible by not leaving it outside for too long during the summer, tucking it away in the garage for the winter and we stay ontop of maintenance and any bodywork issues, we just have to crack on and enjoy it the way we have this past 6 years.
Thanks again for your perspective on things.
Cheers
Keep enjoying it
I got like that with my 2002, i was that used to seeing it in the garage up on axle stands whilst i built it and it just became the norm.
Then when i finally got it out the garage and trailered it down to get mapped on my mates truck i kept wondering why a lot of people were slowing down when they got a long side us on the motorway and now i have people waving and thumbs up etc when out driving it. Very surreal and is taking some getting used to, i'm not really one for getting lots of attention!
Then when i finally got it out the garage and trailered it down to get mapped on my mates truck i kept wondering why a lot of people were slowing down when they got a long side us on the motorway and now i have people waving and thumbs up etc when out driving it. Very surreal and is taking some getting used to, i'm not really one for getting lots of attention!
Ah.... the elderly ladies car that was found in an underground car park......
You and I have spoken in the past and I'm so pleased to see you still have it and moreso , still enjoying it.
I think the 635 E24 is still teetering on the edge of going the way of the E9 . They are being acknowledged as attractive classics but there are still some dog rough and dreadfully modified samples around preventing them gaining that , rightful , elevated status . Time will rectify that though.
I understand and congratulate you on using your car in the way that it was designed to be used.
My advice would be to ensure you have a very good alarm / imobiliser fitted when it is parked out in the street and make sure you have signed agreed value insurance .
You were fortunate in finding a good condition car , I had to restore mine but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and it was the only way I could get it to the condition I wanted . As said rust is the achilies heel of these cars and , like mine , being a series one car suffers slightly mor than the later series two.
Wax injection is a necessity and not just a quick spray , there are cavities that can only be accessed from certain directions and these will rust in silence .
Three areas that you should spend money/time on . One the rear side window seals , if perished ( and they will be if original ) these allow water to pass down into the sill / subframe mount area which has no drain.
Sunroof , if fitted , front drains terminate in the sills again allowing water to rust the sill/ floor area . There is a manufactured drain hole at the bottom of the A piller but I've never seen a drain pipe exit from it ......
And lastly buy a pair of Lokari inner wing liners ,they WILL pay for themselves in the long run.
Like you I decided to avoid taking the car away from standard spec, because that is whre the money will be in them in the future . Mine is 15 minutes work from being factory spec .
They are great cars to drive , turbine smooth and quiet , just the car for those long European trips . Once I retire ( too soon now ) I plan on just such a trip .
In short , use it , enjoy it and look after it .
Good luck .
Mine
You and I have spoken in the past and I'm so pleased to see you still have it and moreso , still enjoying it.
I think the 635 E24 is still teetering on the edge of going the way of the E9 . They are being acknowledged as attractive classics but there are still some dog rough and dreadfully modified samples around preventing them gaining that , rightful , elevated status . Time will rectify that though.
I understand and congratulate you on using your car in the way that it was designed to be used.
My advice would be to ensure you have a very good alarm / imobiliser fitted when it is parked out in the street and make sure you have signed agreed value insurance .
You were fortunate in finding a good condition car , I had to restore mine but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and it was the only way I could get it to the condition I wanted . As said rust is the achilies heel of these cars and , like mine , being a series one car suffers slightly mor than the later series two.
Wax injection is a necessity and not just a quick spray , there are cavities that can only be accessed from certain directions and these will rust in silence .
Three areas that you should spend money/time on . One the rear side window seals , if perished ( and they will be if original ) these allow water to pass down into the sill / subframe mount area which has no drain.
Sunroof , if fitted , front drains terminate in the sills again allowing water to rust the sill/ floor area . There is a manufactured drain hole at the bottom of the A piller but I've never seen a drain pipe exit from it ......
And lastly buy a pair of Lokari inner wing liners ,they WILL pay for themselves in the long run.
Like you I decided to avoid taking the car away from standard spec, because that is whre the money will be in them in the future . Mine is 15 minutes work from being factory spec .
They are great cars to drive , turbine smooth and quiet , just the car for those long European trips . Once I retire ( too soon now ) I plan on just such a trip .
In short , use it , enjoy it and look after it .
Good luck .
Mine
Like many young(ish) and foolish people with more money to spend than was reasonable, I had an E30 323i and then the 325i Sport followed by an M6. If only I could have the latter two back again. That turbine smooth engine, the acceleration and the slick gear change. Please keep on using yours; you are giving more pleasure to people than you will ever know.
Yes, they are stunning cars!
Back in 1985 I had a 2 year old Capri 2.8i which I thought was the mutt's nuts, but then I met up with a former school-mate and he turned up in a 1984 manual 635 CSi.
What a fantastic car!
So to anyone who has one, please keep it going so I can still enjoy looking at it!
Back in 1985 I had a 2 year old Capri 2.8i which I thought was the mutt's nuts, but then I met up with a former school-mate and he turned up in a 1984 manual 635 CSi.
What a fantastic car!
So to anyone who has one, please keep it going so I can still enjoy looking at it!
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