e39 M5 restoration - which company?
Discussion
Good evening good people,
I’m asking as per the title really, anyone know the ‘go to place’ for a full resto of an e39 M5?
I’ve got a 70k mile car, in pretty good condition with no corrosion. Looking to get basically a new car at the end of the process.
I’ve had a trawl around and like what Redish do on the their underside resto’s, is there anyone else I should consider? Quality is paramount, I’m not looking to cut any corners.
Thanks in advance!
I’m asking as per the title really, anyone know the ‘go to place’ for a full resto of an e39 M5?
I’ve got a 70k mile car, in pretty good condition with no corrosion. Looking to get basically a new car at the end of the process.
I’ve had a trawl around and like what Redish do on the their underside resto’s, is there anyone else I should consider? Quality is paramount, I’m not looking to cut any corners.
Thanks in advance!
I’m using A Reeve Performance in King’s Lynn. They recommended a superb body shop very local to them to do the bodywork (Mark at King’s Lynn Vehicle Repairs, who from a customer perspective was brilliant to work with and has worked wonders on the outside during lockdown), while Aaron and his team at ARP are sorting out the oily bits and the underside.
You’re no doubt going in with your eyes open anyway but wherever you go, it isn’t a cheap exercise…
You’re no doubt going in with your eyes open anyway but wherever you go, it isn’t a cheap exercise…
How deep are your pockets?
https://retropower.co.uk/
Best known for their restomods (Gordon Murray's epic Mk1 Escort comes immediately to mind) but they also carry out restorations.
Their work is second to none but won't be cheap.
I've been pondering a restoration too and concluded that any outfit that takes on this sort of work needs mechanical technical competence (for the oily bits disassembly/reassembly) plus be in possession of a decent in-house bodyshop. I think there are a fair number of places that could carry out the oily bits restoration but may fall short on the bodywork side, and vice versa. I've come across a couple of places who seem to have mechanical competence but are let down by their 'bodyshop' being a dusty old industrial unit without a paint booth/low bake oven.
Watching this thread with interest.
Thanks again all. I approached Retropower several months ago, could still be an option. Their work is the standard I’m looking for. I would say body shop quality is perhaps the most important, not just paint quality but preparation and protection of the bits you don’t see, I don’t want to be seeing even the tiniest bit of rust even 10 years down the line. I guess the mechanical bits can be farmed out to whoever is the best for that particular component.
Another aspect I’ve been thinking about is getting rid of all of the computers in favour of a power distribution unit. The various modules are going to become an increasingly big PITA as time goes on. Anyone know if this is possible whilst keeping all functions? Concerns with this are ABS and airbags, also engine control, particularly VANOS.
As far as the man maths is concerned, if I can get a new e39 for the price of the latest whiz bang M5 then I’ll be happy. Having owned every M5 from the e39 onwards, I know which one I would rather have for the money, also where that money is safest when looking in terms of depreciation in the longer term.
I think my next step will be to see past work of the companies above.
Again, thanks all, much appreciated.
Another aspect I’ve been thinking about is getting rid of all of the computers in favour of a power distribution unit. The various modules are going to become an increasingly big PITA as time goes on. Anyone know if this is possible whilst keeping all functions? Concerns with this are ABS and airbags, also engine control, particularly VANOS.
As far as the man maths is concerned, if I can get a new e39 for the price of the latest whiz bang M5 then I’ll be happy. Having owned every M5 from the e39 onwards, I know which one I would rather have for the money, also where that money is safest when looking in terms of depreciation in the longer term.
I think my next step will be to see past work of the companies above.
Again, thanks all, much appreciated.
I can certainly recommend Redish for the underside restoration and protection work (my car features in one of their Youtube videos) and their attention to detail on this is phenomenal, including the mechanical work.
They are also restoring their own E39 M5 currently (there was a teaser video a few months ago) but I am not sure how far they have got with this.
Regarding the visible, cosmetic, upper body paintwork I have no knowledge of their capability here, but they are very helpful so I am sure a conversation would be worthwhile.
The Retropower website is pure restoration porn.
I am addicted...
They are also restoring their own E39 M5 currently (there was a teaser video a few months ago) but I am not sure how far they have got with this.
Regarding the visible, cosmetic, upper body paintwork I have no knowledge of their capability here, but they are very helpful so I am sure a conversation would be worthwhile.
The Retropower website is pure restoration porn.
I am addicted...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=19...
My M5 touring built which also included a lot of restoration work.
My M5 touring built which also included a lot of restoration work.
Autotorque
https://instagram.com/autotorque?utm_medium=copy_l...
They deal with a lot of jap cars, as we all know they like to rust and I know someone whose taken his e46 m3 to them for a underside restoration and he was more than happy with the work. He also mentioned they were cheaper than reddish too
Another place which you should consider would be weldtech in Bristol he is ex reddish and again work is really really good.
He's on Instagram
https://instagram.com/weldtechbristol?utm_medium=c...
Again very competitive on pricing and many people in the e46 world are going to him instead of reddish due to £
https://instagram.com/autotorque?utm_medium=copy_l...
They deal with a lot of jap cars, as we all know they like to rust and I know someone whose taken his e46 m3 to them for a underside restoration and he was more than happy with the work. He also mentioned they were cheaper than reddish too
Another place which you should consider would be weldtech in Bristol he is ex reddish and again work is really really good.
He's on Instagram
https://instagram.com/weldtechbristol?utm_medium=c...
Again very competitive on pricing and many people in the e46 world are going to him instead of reddish due to £
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I had reasonably positive experiences there…Albeit about 15 years ago…
That said and as above, body shop is more important to me than mechanicals for work like this. More likely scope to get bodywork wrong I would say (yes I do know it is possible to lunch an engine too).
I think the 10 year and no rust target might be a bit of a stretch but I assume, OP, that it would be garaged and only driven in the dry or at least when there is no road salt.
zek said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.My mate and I both have e36 M3's. Having both used a variety of local specialist indy's and generally being either ripped off or underwhelmed, he and I now exclusively use Walkers Autotech. It's well over an hour each way but I'm that impressed with the transparency, service and cost that they are all we now use. Give Andy a call, he's a fellow M3 enthusiast who has a full resto'd e36 M3 GT
RichardM5 said:
zek said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.Ive been absolutely ruthless.
That said it does have an intermittent PDC operation that I never got round to sorting
Oh and theres not a single spec of rust! I've got a full ramp and Ive been over and under it countless times.
RichardM5 said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.
I tend to agree. Corrosion aside, there are a large number of rubber based components in the multi-link suspension and drivetrain that are now 21 years old. Unfortunately, age isn't kind to rubber. If it's to ride and handle really well then the running gear should have been refreshed at some point in its (recent) history. This sort of maintenance is something most vendors would mention when listing an E39 M5 for sale, especially one that's expected to be a market-maker.
The listing states there are 'various invoices for work carried out both before and during the vendor’s ownership', so perhaps this work has already been done? As a seller I'd be shouting pretty loud about it if it had.
RichardM5 said:
zek said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.LankyMcTally said:
RichardM5 said:
zek said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.I honestly think however that these e39 M5 are going to rocket in value - the next e46 M3 CSL in my view
lord trumpton said:
LankyMcTally said:
RichardM5 said:
zek said:
I bet that still has a load of maintenance that could be done. Even mint looking low mileage E39’s can have significant rust. Interesting that there are no underside pictures.I honestly think however that these e39 M5 are going to rocket in value - the next e46 M3 CSL in my view
I was not saying that the car was not looked after, just that any 20+ year old car is very likely to require some maintenance almost regardless of what has been done.
For example, at that mileage and age the suspension components are going to be past their best. Have all the bushings, socks and springs been replaced?
The underbody protection that the E39 had from the factory was not up to much. You can keep everything clean and dry, but there will be always places that accumulate dirt, trap moisture and start corrosion. The sills and jacking points are a well known E39 weakness, but there are others that are less easy to find. Under the fuel tank for example, the only way to even see what it's like to to take the tank out which involves dropping the rear sub frame.
So it's highly likely that a car that's had significant work is going to be better in the long term than a car that's been well looked after and maintained but not had a major overhaul. Obviously if you have both then that's the best of both worlds.
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