E39 540i JD-M Sport
Discussion
First things first, I'm not sure if it's an M Sport or just a Sport in facelift E39 guise... I suspect it's just Sport, but I needed the M to make the JDM import connection for the title, so I'm gonna stick with it.
Bit of a background to the purchase; I have fancied another E39 for a little while and had been keeping a casual eye on the E39 classifieds in case something took my fancy. I had just made a space in my storage unit by selling my 8P S3 in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles I have; which was a plan that was going really well... for a couple of days... until I was browsing the Collecting Cars auctions and saw this car.
The spec and details of this particular car made it something I was immediately interested in:
- Japanese import.
- 22,000 miles.
- Recently imported and very high Grade 4.5B (Auction grading explanation here)
- Not used in a UK winter.
- Some bits and pieces already taken care of... MPH conversion, underseal, few little age related repairs/preventative fixes.
...and after a flurry of bidding and breaching my "I'm only going to pay X for it" limit, I came out on top and the car was mine.
Here are some pictures from the auction:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
After owning a few JDM imported cars before, I know how clean they are underneath and it was the reason that buying a JDM import E39 appealed so much... there aren't many UK versions left which are this clean:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
Very impressive for a 24yr old car!
Collection went well, aside from the absolutely hellish bank holiday traffic from North Devon/Somerset to NE Scotland. Managed to stop in and visit DanB79 and it was great to finally put a face to the name after chatting on here for so long.. it was also good to chat all things E39 and have a look at his lovely 130i LE as well.
The standard first fill up photo:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
...and the car passed a mileage milestone on the way home too:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
The car was great on the way home; quiet, quick, comfy and got a lot of attention too.. nearly a dozen different people either slowed down/sped up to give me the thumbs up on the drive home. The car has averaged ~900 miles a year for the last 24 years and from collection via a couple of days in Cardiff and then up the road to Scotland, the car has covered the same mileage in a few days.
Average MPG wasn't terrible on the journey either, given the endless miles of stop-start traffic and the solid progress I made once the roads cleared north of Preston:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
There are a few things which I'm going to address with the car, the first of which was removal of the front splitter. I don't think an E39 needs any help in the visual department, they are pretty much spot on from factory for me.
Thankfully, given it was fitted with stainless hardware then it came off within a few minutes.. as did the JDM plate holder, which I find a bit too chunky for the front end.
So this was before:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
...and this is after:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr
I'll put together a proper list of things I want to address at some point, including little age-related bits and pieces which I'd like to freshen up and think the car deserves. All in all, I'm very happy to return to E39 ownership and look forward to using it over the next few months before winter.
Bit of a background to the purchase; I have fancied another E39 for a little while and had been keeping a casual eye on the E39 classifieds in case something took my fancy. I had just made a space in my storage unit by selling my 8P S3 in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles I have; which was a plan that was going really well... for a couple of days... until I was browsing the Collecting Cars auctions and saw this car.
The spec and details of this particular car made it something I was immediately interested in:
- Japanese import.
- 22,000 miles.
- Recently imported and very high Grade 4.5B (Auction grading explanation here)
- Not used in a UK winter.
- Some bits and pieces already taken care of... MPH conversion, underseal, few little age related repairs/preventative fixes.
...and after a flurry of bidding and breaching my "I'm only going to pay X for it" limit, I came out on top and the car was mine.
Here are some pictures from the auction:
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrAfter owning a few JDM imported cars before, I know how clean they are underneath and it was the reason that buying a JDM import E39 appealed so much... there aren't many UK versions left which are this clean:
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrUntitled by Grant F, on FlickrVery impressive for a 24yr old car!
Collection went well, aside from the absolutely hellish bank holiday traffic from North Devon/Somerset to NE Scotland. Managed to stop in and visit DanB79 and it was great to finally put a face to the name after chatting on here for so long.. it was also good to chat all things E39 and have a look at his lovely 130i LE as well.
The standard first fill up photo:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr...and the car passed a mileage milestone on the way home too:
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrThe car was great on the way home; quiet, quick, comfy and got a lot of attention too.. nearly a dozen different people either slowed down/sped up to give me the thumbs up on the drive home. The car has averaged ~900 miles a year for the last 24 years and from collection via a couple of days in Cardiff and then up the road to Scotland, the car has covered the same mileage in a few days.
Average MPG wasn't terrible on the journey either, given the endless miles of stop-start traffic and the solid progress I made once the roads cleared north of Preston:
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrThere are a few things which I'm going to address with the car, the first of which was removal of the front splitter. I don't think an E39 needs any help in the visual department, they are pretty much spot on from factory for me.
Thankfully, given it was fitted with stainless hardware then it came off within a few minutes.. as did the JDM plate holder, which I find a bit too chunky for the front end.
So this was before:
Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr...and this is after:
Untitled by Grant F, on FlickrI'll put together a proper list of things I want to address at some point, including little age-related bits and pieces which I'd like to freshen up and think the car deserves. All in all, I'm very happy to return to E39 ownership and look forward to using it over the next few months before winter.
Good to see you've got the project up and running Grant...
Not bad for a rust bucket
You've got a superb example there; Jim looked after it really well. The thing isn't even run in yet
They're Sport too; only North America had them called M-Sport for their 540i variants; the E6x onwards in the UK were M-Sport
But good title
Not bad for a rust bucket
You've got a superb example there; Jim looked after it really well. The thing isn't even run in yet
They're Sport too; only North America had them called M-Sport for their 540i variants; the E6x onwards in the UK were M-Sport
But good title
Edited by danb79 on Sunday 8th June 19:27
Stunning! Great car. My lad has a 2002 130k miles Topaz Blue E39 540i. They are a solid beasty, too much power for an old man like me though.
That first fill up - Knutsford (J19) by any chance? We're about three miles from there. The grey concrete garage used to house one of the best little mechanical repair shops in the North West (back in the day, as they say).
On my lads E39 I've done alternator (water cooled), starter motor, new brake pipes (Kunifer) fuel tank, PS pump, hoses and fluid, various heating pipes and solenoids and the obligatory prop shaft bushes - plus calipers, hoses and pads. Dead easy to work on and well engineered, if not overly so in places. The car is now super reliable and returns 23 mpg which is pretty acceptable I would say. Enjoy yours, great choice!
That first fill up - Knutsford (J19) by any chance? We're about three miles from there. The grey concrete garage used to house one of the best little mechanical repair shops in the North West (back in the day, as they say).
On my lads E39 I've done alternator (water cooled), starter motor, new brake pipes (Kunifer) fuel tank, PS pump, hoses and fluid, various heating pipes and solenoids and the obligatory prop shaft bushes - plus calipers, hoses and pads. Dead easy to work on and well engineered, if not overly so in places. The car is now super reliable and returns 23 mpg which is pretty acceptable I would say. Enjoy yours, great choice!
That is a fantastic buy, well done!
I used to see a really old guy driving around Summertown in north Oxford is a lovely dark grey 540 and told him what a cool car he had. He was very unsteady on his feet (used the disabled bays) but still had his 540 :-) I wish I had asked him to let me know when he was selling it.
Enjoy!
I used to see a really old guy driving around Summertown in north Oxford is a lovely dark grey 540 and told him what a cool car he had. He was very unsteady on his feet (used the disabled bays) but still had his 540 :-) I wish I had asked him to let me know when he was selling it.
Enjoy!
Great to see this on here, Grant, and lovely to meet you too.
Hope you enjoy the car as much as I did importing it and fettling with it.
I have this one left to keep me company now but there will always be a place for a v8 E39 for me
Looking forward to see all the updates so I can keep up to date with it all,
Hope you enjoy the car as much as I did importing it and fettling with it.
I have this one left to keep me company now but there will always be a place for a v8 E39 for me
Looking forward to see all the updates so I can keep up to date with it all,
Rich135 said:
That is a fantastic buy, well done!
I used to see a really old guy driving around Summertown in north Oxford is a lovely dark grey 540 and told him what a cool car he had. He was very unsteady on his feet (used the disabled bays) but still had his 540 :-) I wish I had asked him to let me know when he was selling it.
Enjoy!
Ha I've seen this around too, it looked in great condition, not seem it for a couple of years, it had a personalised plate. I used to see a really old guy driving around Summertown in north Oxford is a lovely dark grey 540 and told him what a cool car he had. He was very unsteady on his feet (used the disabled bays) but still had his 540 :-) I wish I had asked him to let me know when he was selling it.
Enjoy!
I have a very soft spot for the E39. They drive amazing. I still own one which is an 03 with a 6 speed. I bought it at auction on election day 2016 (I live in Texas). The body and interior are in magnificent shape but the car would barely run due to timing codes so I parked it. Right now it's not worth the cost of farming out the work to get the guide rails done (and possibly valves) but i'll get to it myself when I have the time and energy.
W00DY said:
Minty fresh. mUst be a lovely thing to drive at those miles. The wood is so much nicer than the alu trim.
I'd be tempted to lose the tints and go back to a black rear valance.
That's exactly what we discussed when Grant dropped by I'd be tempted to lose the tints and go back to a black rear valance.
Just sent him a link too of some 66s being sold after a refurb and with cross-climate tyres on etc
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