Project E34 535i Restoration

[Bogracer]

stek said:

Fantastic project, had a '95 E34 520se and would have another tomorrow.

I do a lot of work on vehicle air conditioning and use www.autoairglos.net for parts, just had a look and they list all parts for your car and they are a decent company to deal with, ignore the prices on the web site if it is a garage buying the parts as their trade prices are very good.

Make sure any of the original parts of the A/C system that are staying on the vehicle are flushed properly as part of the conversion to R134a.

Yes, we a flushing the system as I am aware the gases are not compatable, most of the components are being changed for new, dryer, condenser, compressor etc anything else checked with guide gas and reassembled. I use a really great company called Autoclimate in Birmingham, which are local to me. They do the vintage stuff through to bespoke retrofit. Better the devil I know.

[Bogracer]

stek said:

Fantastic project, had a '95 E34 520se and would have another tomorrow.

I do a lot of work on vehicle air conditioning and use www.autoairglos.net for parts, just had a look and they list all parts for your car and they are a decent company to deal with, ignore the prices on the web site if it is a garage buying the parts as their trade prices are very good.

Make sure any of the original parts of the A/C system that are staying on the vehicle are flushed properly as part of the conversion to R134a.

Thanks for your support and advice.

The E34 is a great car, simple, strong, light, balanced and wonderfully engineered. Old enough to be rare-ish, new enough to feel like a modern drivers car with ABS. One of the greats. Genuinely good cars are getting really hard to find and are starting to fetch strong money.

[Bogracer]

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Edited by Bogracer on Saturday 7th January 14:31

[Bogracer]

Zwolf said:

Great to see a proper restoration of a great model, there's something about the E30/32/34 cars that I seem to keep finding irresistable compared with their descendents. Those + E38/39s in various flavours are all I can imagine owning.

I'd be interested to know the final cost as I've a good candidate for a similar sort of overhaul in my E32 and would really love to return it to its former glory over the next few years, so will certainly be following your progress with keen interest.

E30/32/34's it really how light and nimble they are compared to contemporary cars. Also, I dread to think how much I have lost in depreciation over the years, M5 £20,000, X3 £10,000 - in one year.

I am keeping a spreadsheet of all the costs and whats been done. It took me about 2 years to find a car that was worth bringing back to a new driving experience. Accepting on any 20 year old BMW that everything is old, even the really low mileage car you would still want to do a full and detailed refresh in one go.

Brakes, suspension, fuel, steering, cooling, air conditioning.

I think, what puts people off the investment is resale value. I had a 328i cabriolet which I did the magic on. Took me a good few month to sell - to the first and only person that came to see it and drive it.

[Bogracer]

I reckon the car will owe me £6,000. I paid £1000 for the car (a very lucky eBay purchase) £3,000ish in OEM parts, £2,000 in labour, plus my time. It has every potential to reach £10,000 like you suggest. Some of us gladly pay £600 a month for a car we will never actually own and going spiritual, it's a good feeling doing a rescue. I have a Facebook page with the car which I will pass on if I ever sell.

Edited by Bogracer on Sunday 8th January 12:02

[Bogracer]

NiceCupOfTea said:

Love this.

I wish I had the knowledge/ability (and money) to do this myself. Have just been trying to keep up with rust and fixing stuff as it breaks on my 900 turbo.

I have always loved e34s and would love one as a daily driver but think it's probably a bit long in the tooth to run every day. When this one is mint will you use it every day? I would worry about rust, other idiot drivers, etc...

I do these cars to improve my skills, I can do the bits and bobs some stuff you just need ramps and in truth if you buy all the parts and get the garage to blitz it takes a fraction of the time. I have got quite good at assessing cars, there are loads of shiny horrors about that look great, but the mechanics are tired and aged, even cars with full service history. I work the other way round.

I use all my cars and from experience its worse and a shame not to use them, most of the problems with this car was due to lack of use. I won't use it everyday I am not precious though, I am planning a big trip around Europe in May.

E34's do make good daily drivers as they are a surprisingly simple tough car, if looked after can shrug of insane mileage's. I was quite tempted by a very good 525tds with a mere 289,000 miles under its wheels. The smaller engined one's get overlooked like the 520i, some bargain gems do pop up and are more than likely a manual. Rot is the thing, they do last well mine is rot free, I am having the car professionally waxoiled now the suspension is off. E39's are also brilliant, £1,500 will get you something nice in either vintage. Bigger engined manual cars are desirable drivers cars so fetch a premium.

I have always wanted a SAAB 900 Turbo, it's on my extensive list.

Thanks for you interest and support

[Bogracer]

CarbonM5 said:

One decent mod I did to my old one was to put polyutherane washers between the rear axle beam bush and mounting plate.It really tightened the rear axle up and cost next to nothing.

A really good mod make perfect sense.

[Bogracer]

E38Ross said:

instead of waxoyl look at bilt hamber treatment, it's far superior.

Just Googled it, some excellent reveiws for the product. Many thanks.

[Bogracer]

E38Ross said:

Bogracer said:

E38Ross said:

instead of waxoyl look at bilt hamber treatment, it's far superior.

Just Googled it, some excellent reveiws for the product. Many thanks.

dynax UB is what you want for the main underseal. if possible use all of their stuff for rust removal too; it's cracking stuff.

for the hard to reach areas they do dynax S50 which comes with a long spray extension.

if you're doing the rest of the car properly, may as well do the rust prevention properly too.

cheers

Indeed indeed, thanks for the advice

[Bogracer]

They are both great cars in their own right.

I would go for the E39 530i Sport, the E34 530i is a bit in the middle not really fast or frugal, the straight six version I take it?
The E39 530i Sport is a magnificent car.

If you just prefer the lighter E34, later 525i 24 valve, 540i V8 or 535i if you are after the pace.

I hope this helps.

r4_rick said:

Really enjoyed reading this thread, just out of interest any views on what would be a better daily driver (low weekday miles for the wife, fun for me at weekend)

530i SE E34 for £950 105k miles (with some budget to refresh suspension)

OR

530i Sport E39 for £3350, 124k miles

Both cars are manual

Regards
Rick

[Bogracer]

There is not really a bad car in the bunch, the V8's offer woofle, the smaller engines fuel economy, the 535i bags of silky M30 'big six' character going way back to the sixties and are a classic BMW sounding engine.

Simple, strong and old school.

I think the trick is finding a good car these days, be prepared to put some refresh money into it and enjoy one of the useable greats. My preference will always be the 535i manual or the M5.

[Bogracer]

Does anyone know of another good 535i, 540i or 525i 24v manual for sale, looks like I am going to have to restore another for one of my friends?

Edited by Bogracer on Sunday 15th January 16:50

[Bogracer]

Zwolf said:

Bogracer said:

Does anyone know of another good 535i manual for sale, looks like I am going to have to refers another for one of my mates?

I think Mikey W often half thinks of selling his (shown earlier in the thread), so may be worth PMing for a chat.

Not keen on white cars, ideally 'Ronin' black?

[Bogracer]

bmthnick1981 said:

Mikey's is black mate, and its bloody lovely too;

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Lovely, truley lovely, how much?

[Bogracer]

Thanks for all the support, as I am starting to look in the mirror and go, er I am going mad!

The A/C has been delaying things, the pump going for a rebuild turned out it was rusty on the bearing shaft, which could contaminate the system damaging bearings and seals. So - a brand new pump, gulp. The heat exchanger fan has arrived from Germany.

I had cleaned and hand painted the diff casing, which was not good enough so I have masked off all the gasket surfaces with ply wood templates, going to the bead blasters and is going to be powder coated in matt silver.

Had all the rear interior out as part of changing the rear suspension.

That's about it so far . . . we continue

[Bogracer]

Does anyone know the cost of replacing lost keys for an E34 535i?
I have been offered one from a deceased estate, it's been garaged for 3 years but they can't find the keys!
By all accounts is in very good shape.

[Bogracer]

bmthnick1981 said:

You'd have to contact him, not sure it is actively for sale at the moment but it was not so long ago.

It think it's a bit too good to be a restoration/refresh project as it's so original and low miles, no doubt £5,000 worth!
A good car that needs a little love to be made into a fresh car - it took me two years to find this 535i

[Bogracer]

Its a balancing act, need to buy a car at right price to justify the expense of mechanical restoration/refresh. That's the tricky bit. The car I brought was pretty much a 1 owner car with 90,000 miles and verified history. However, even thought it was in excellent comparative health, age related issues were incredible on the strip down - if you want an as new or better drive.

[Bogracer]

pits said:

Is that why my 518i Touring sits on its fking arse all the time?
Can't really see it, but mine is always sat on its arse, especially with the full tank of fuel, always getting blinded at night by following drivers because it sits that low on the back

Ouch!

[Bogracer]

r4_rick said:

So Bogracer, have you bagged another 535i to make us all more envious ? £135 for a fresh set of keys seems okay, if the car is good ?

I have not seen the car in the flesh, it's a non runner (not started in some time) but its been sitting with a garage. Depend on how keen my mate is on having a car done. Might be a nail in the flesh.

Thanks for the key prices. I will investigate more.