BMW E39 540i Shed and a half budget
Discussion
carinaman said:
Six Fiend said:
£250
Thanks. Less than I thought.A whole rear quarter panel is about £300 and then £800 to do properly (screen out, door off, bumper off). Nobody appears to make an arch repair panel, which I reckon they could shift plenty of!
Hammerhead said:
That's scrubbed up really well, Pete. Brian would be most pleased
He would indeed. I still prefer his looks! Had a good look at every panel after the workshop mopped it. Every bit bar the roof seems to have been painted at some point! The tell tale signs are there but it looks tidy
Hving met up with SF and his new toy today for a few coffees interspersed with some wanton C02 generation - this is epic shedding.
Still giggling over the 520 badge - with the un-bling (and very comfy) turbine alloys/tall sidewalls and lack of rear valance exhaust cutout most will never know! And as a fan of E34/E39 540s the car is spot-on otherwise and only improved by Pete's usu. high standard of 'just a quick clean&polish...' Well done, chap
Still giggling over the 520 badge - with the un-bling (and very comfy) turbine alloys/tall sidewalls and lack of rear valance exhaust cutout most will never know! And as a fan of E34/E39 540s the car is spot-on otherwise and only improved by Pete's usu. high standard of 'just a quick clean&polish...' Well done, chap
Leptons said:
Lovely! Great tip for cleaning seatbelts I heard the other day- pull the belt out as far as it will go and close the door on it! Then you can spray it with tfr or similar and jet wash them!
Ha! Brilliant. 13 years of valeting/ detailing and I've only just heard that method?!
I have an awful lot of love for e39s and I think my car will be a 530/540 Sport, but even in SE spec this is a fine looking motor car. I thought the thigh supports were only on the sports seats and the "comfort" were the standard ones (have them in my e36 and they're NOT particularly "comfort"able IMHO).
ETA "NOT" in previous sentence!!
ETA "NOT" in previous sentence!!
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Sunday 29th November 13:22
Excellent tip Leptons - The outer rears may get that, the middle one perhaps not!
Mr Tea you're quite right I was talking cobblers, heated sports seats to go with the M-steering wheel and M-sport suspenders. Here's the spec sheet:
Vehicle information
Type code DE62
Type 540I (EUR)
Dev. series E39 ()
Line 5
Body type LIM
Steering RL
Door count 4
Engine M62
Cubical capacity 4.40
Power 210 (286bhp)
Transmision HECK
Gearbox AUT
Colour OXFORDGRUEN METALLIC (324)
Upholstery STANDARDLEDER/BEIGE E36 SANDBEIGE E (N6SN)
Prod. date 1998-07-20
Order options
No. Description
216 SERVOTRONIC
302 ALARM SYSTEM
339 SATIN CHROME
354 GREEN STRIPE WINDSCREEN
403 GLAS ROOF, ELECTRIC
428 WARNING TRIANGLE
431 INTERIOR RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-D
441 SMOKERS PACKAGE
481 SPORT SEATS F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER
494 SEAT HEATING F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER
500 HEADLIGHT WASHER SYS/INTENSIVE CLEANING
508 PARK DISTANCE CONTROL (PDC)
534 AUTOMATIC AIR CONDITIONING
540 CRUISE CONTROL
694 PREPARATION FOR CD CHANGER
704 M SPORT SUSPENSION
710 M LEATHER STEERING WHEEL
773 WOOD TRIM
812 ENGLAND VERSION
850 ADD FUEL TANK FILLING FOR EXPORT
863 EUROPE/DEALER DIRECTORY
877 DELETION CROSS-OVER OPERATION
880 ENGLISH / ON-BOARD DOCUMENTATION
Series options
No. Description
260 SIDE AIRBAG DRIVER/FRT PASSENGER
280 LT/ALY WHEELS SPOKE STYLING
411 WINDOW LIFTS, ELECTRIC
473 ARMREST, FRONT
510 HEADLIGHT BEAM-THROW CONTR. F LOW BEAM
520 FOGLIGHTS
555 ON-BOARD COMPUTER
665 RADIO BMW BUSINESS
853 LANGUAGE VERSION ENGLISH
Mr Tea you're quite right I was talking cobblers, heated sports seats to go with the M-steering wheel and M-sport suspenders. Here's the spec sheet:
Vehicle information
Type code DE62
Type 540I (EUR)
Dev. series E39 ()
Line 5
Body type LIM
Steering RL
Door count 4
Engine M62
Cubical capacity 4.40
Power 210 (286bhp)
Transmision HECK
Gearbox AUT
Colour OXFORDGRUEN METALLIC (324)
Upholstery STANDARDLEDER/BEIGE E36 SANDBEIGE E (N6SN)
Prod. date 1998-07-20
Order options
No. Description
216 SERVOTRONIC
302 ALARM SYSTEM
339 SATIN CHROME
354 GREEN STRIPE WINDSCREEN
403 GLAS ROOF, ELECTRIC
428 WARNING TRIANGLE
431 INTERIOR RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-D
441 SMOKERS PACKAGE
481 SPORT SEATS F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER
494 SEAT HEATING F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER
500 HEADLIGHT WASHER SYS/INTENSIVE CLEANING
508 PARK DISTANCE CONTROL (PDC)
534 AUTOMATIC AIR CONDITIONING
540 CRUISE CONTROL
694 PREPARATION FOR CD CHANGER
704 M SPORT SUSPENSION
710 M LEATHER STEERING WHEEL
773 WOOD TRIM
812 ENGLAND VERSION
850 ADD FUEL TANK FILLING FOR EXPORT
863 EUROPE/DEALER DIRECTORY
877 DELETION CROSS-OVER OPERATION
880 ENGLISH / ON-BOARD DOCUMENTATION
Series options
No. Description
260 SIDE AIRBAG DRIVER/FRT PASSENGER
280 LT/ALY WHEELS SPOKE STYLING
411 WINDOW LIFTS, ELECTRIC
473 ARMREST, FRONT
510 HEADLIGHT BEAM-THROW CONTR. F LOW BEAM
520 FOGLIGHTS
555 ON-BOARD COMPUTER
665 RADIO BMW BUSINESS
853 LANGUAGE VERSION ENGLISH
Time for an update because some stuff has happened. I've used it at the weekend a lot which is against PH rules because it has too many seats and too much roof to be a weekend car. I fart in your general direction!
To prove I should only drive it at weekends I took it out on a Monday early in the New Year and promptly bent it. The hows and whys are not being divulged except to say the irony of hitting a large lump of steel in the dark warehouse complex containing the bodyshop I was visiting did not escape me, or my friendly paint man. I can laugh at such things, thank goodness!
I was quite impressed that having felt nothing I had managed to kill a headlamp, fold the wing quite neatly and put the bumper out of shape...
That looks costly, but in the tradition of shedding I've done well. My "Just in case" box of headlamp parts (you may recall I bought a load of duffers to make a good set) meant a ten minute job building a new one. I'm quite good at this now.
The wing was almost as simple. They bolt on. Off to eBay I went and searched for one and stumbled across just the part in Oxford Green for £45 delivered. It looked okay in the picture so I nabbed it. The colour match is excellent and the overall condition good enough for my needs.
A few personal matters (I have Cystic Fibrosis and thus spend a lot of time out of breath and in pain) meant the car standing doing nothing for a few weeks, then I needed a dry day and a good supply of codeine to take on the task.
The flat battery made moving the old barge tricky, so jump leads and Golf to the rescue. It was another few days before the sun came out but at least I had everything ready.
Replacing the wing is easy in theory - wheel off, arch liner out, unbolt and remove.
Front wheel corroded in place, wheel bolts out, lower jack very gently until it cracks free. Spend longer cleaning up the wheel and hub than doing the rest of the job!
A normal person would have taken about two hours to get it all done. The wing alignment isn't too hard. It took me all day, lots of drugs, an inhaler and a lot of sitting looking at it, coughing, and calling myself a silly bugger!
The bumper needs work but that can wait until after the MoT later this month. It drives, that's what matters. For £45 I can't grumble. I have a new bumper insert too, £17.
After that pic I took it for a drive to give it a good run. A comfy seat and a rumbly V8, that's all I need to feel better. Sunshine so I can open the roof would be good.
To prove I should only drive it at weekends I took it out on a Monday early in the New Year and promptly bent it. The hows and whys are not being divulged except to say the irony of hitting a large lump of steel in the dark warehouse complex containing the bodyshop I was visiting did not escape me, or my friendly paint man. I can laugh at such things, thank goodness!
I was quite impressed that having felt nothing I had managed to kill a headlamp, fold the wing quite neatly and put the bumper out of shape...
That looks costly, but in the tradition of shedding I've done well. My "Just in case" box of headlamp parts (you may recall I bought a load of duffers to make a good set) meant a ten minute job building a new one. I'm quite good at this now.
The wing was almost as simple. They bolt on. Off to eBay I went and searched for one and stumbled across just the part in Oxford Green for £45 delivered. It looked okay in the picture so I nabbed it. The colour match is excellent and the overall condition good enough for my needs.
A few personal matters (I have Cystic Fibrosis and thus spend a lot of time out of breath and in pain) meant the car standing doing nothing for a few weeks, then I needed a dry day and a good supply of codeine to take on the task.
The flat battery made moving the old barge tricky, so jump leads and Golf to the rescue. It was another few days before the sun came out but at least I had everything ready.
Replacing the wing is easy in theory - wheel off, arch liner out, unbolt and remove.
Front wheel corroded in place, wheel bolts out, lower jack very gently until it cracks free. Spend longer cleaning up the wheel and hub than doing the rest of the job!
A normal person would have taken about two hours to get it all done. The wing alignment isn't too hard. It took me all day, lots of drugs, an inhaler and a lot of sitting looking at it, coughing, and calling myself a silly bugger!
The bumper needs work but that can wait until after the MoT later this month. It drives, that's what matters. For £45 I can't grumble. I have a new bumper insert too, £17.
After that pic I took it for a drive to give it a good run. A comfy seat and a rumbly V8, that's all I need to feel better. Sunshine so I can open the roof would be good.
Edited by Six Fiend on Sunday 7th February 18:15
Lovely looking car OP!
Glad you have managed to fix it without too much expense and are still enjoying it.
I haven't had a V8 for over 30 years, so now I have weaned myself off 4 cylinder turbo-diesels and moved onto straight 6 petrols perhaps that should be the next step! I have absolutely no need of one, but that isn't the point!
Glad you have managed to fix it without too much expense and are still enjoying it.
I haven't had a V8 for over 30 years, so now I have weaned myself off 4 cylinder turbo-diesels and moved onto straight 6 petrols perhaps that should be the next step! I have absolutely no need of one, but that isn't the point!
Cheers Huff, didn't manage to crawl out until 12:30pm. Will have to do another coffee before long.
Thanks Mr Tidy I have no need for one either but it does make life better! As a child I dreamed of having cars with big engines, just loved the sounds of the neighbours' cars.
Hammerhead, that's quite called for
Thanks Mr Tidy I have no need for one either but it does make life better! As a child I dreamed of having cars with big engines, just loved the sounds of the neighbours' cars.
Hammerhead, that's quite called for
MoT passed with only an advisory for an oil leak.
This may well be remnants from the cam covers as it had plastered everything. Nothing is dripping onto the drive so I've purchased some Power Maxed tfr and engine degreaser. Once the weather is far warmer the under tray and front bumper will come off and it'll get a good clean.
Today I've changed the original candles for Osram Nightbreaker Plus Superfandango items, 12v 51w as per standard but they do seem brighter. Will pop out for a drive in the dark soon...
Dear manufacturers, the bulb change takes approximately 1 minute per side. This is how it should be. No tools, no scraped knuckles and no dealer visit.
This may well be remnants from the cam covers as it had plastered everything. Nothing is dripping onto the drive so I've purchased some Power Maxed tfr and engine degreaser. Once the weather is far warmer the under tray and front bumper will come off and it'll get a good clean.
Today I've changed the original candles for Osram Nightbreaker Plus Superfandango items, 12v 51w as per standard but they do seem brighter. Will pop out for a drive in the dark soon...
Dear manufacturers, the bulb change takes approximately 1 minute per side. This is how it should be. No tools, no scraped knuckles and no dealer visit.
Hi, resurrecting this old thread cos I just bothered to google image my reg.... yep, I bought S862LLX exaclty 6 months ago and it's been a brilliant shed, got it on a whim having fancied a v8 for a while and spotted late one night on FB marktplace. Been rather weird spending the last few minutes reading through some of it's history.
The 540i is now on ~118.5k miles, with 4,250miles having been me. From what of the history I got with the car and can peice together from the MOT history it came off the road in 2017ish and just sat in storage until last summer due to ruined cooling system and knackered alternator. The guy I bought it off replaced the whole cooling system and got the alternator rewound and then lost his storage so had to less it. It's still wearing it New Year's bumper war wound, mismatched front seat belts and cupholder blanking panels pictured previously. in the interveening 8 yrs or so it's also gained a stainless steel exhaust centre section and the guy I bought it off swapped the wheels to Style 49s, which I dropped off last week to get stripped, straighted, powdercoated and shoed with a new set of Michelin PS5s. Other than the refurb I've not had to spend a penny on anything but petrol . Hoping to get some of the paintwork on the rear sorted soon too.
Below's me sorting the insurance minutes after buying and taxing it and second's it mixing it with 4 e39 m5 at the Make Green Great Again event on St Patricks Day last month.
Would be great to hear more about it's history!
The 540i is now on ~118.5k miles, with 4,250miles having been me. From what of the history I got with the car and can peice together from the MOT history it came off the road in 2017ish and just sat in storage until last summer due to ruined cooling system and knackered alternator. The guy I bought it off replaced the whole cooling system and got the alternator rewound and then lost his storage so had to less it. It's still wearing it New Year's bumper war wound, mismatched front seat belts and cupholder blanking panels pictured previously. in the interveening 8 yrs or so it's also gained a stainless steel exhaust centre section and the guy I bought it off swapped the wheels to Style 49s, which I dropped off last week to get stripped, straighted, powdercoated and shoed with a new set of Michelin PS5s. Other than the refurb I've not had to spend a penny on anything but petrol . Hoping to get some of the paintwork on the rear sorted soon too.
Below's me sorting the insurance minutes after buying and taxing it and second's it mixing it with 4 e39 m5 at the Make Green Great Again event on St Patricks Day last month.
Would be great to hear more about it's history!
I owned a 540 with the M sport body kit on back in the day. A lovely looking car and went well too.
The only problem I had with it was the top hose connector on the radiator split and dumped the coolant. Googling showed it to be a common issue but an upgraded radiator fixed it. Worth checking on yours that the welds all look good.
The only problem I had with it was the top hose connector on the radiator split and dumped the coolant. Googling showed it to be a common issue but an upgraded radiator fixed it. Worth checking on yours that the welds all look good.
REUBS1215 said:
Hi, resurrecting this old thread cos I just bothered to google image my reg.... yep, I bought S862LLX exaclty 6 months ago and it's been a brilliant shed, got it on a whim having fancied a v8 for a while and spotted late one night on FB marktplace. Been rather weird spending the last few minutes reading through some of it's history.
The 540i is now on ~118.5k miles, with 4,250miles having been me. From what of the history I got with the car and can peice together from the MOT history it came off the road in 2017ish and just sat in storage until last summer due to ruined cooling system and knackered alternator. The guy I bought it off replaced the whole cooling system and got the alternator rewound and then lost his storage so had to less it. It's still wearing it New Year's bumper war wound, mismatched front seat belts and cupholder blanking panels pictured previously. in the interveening 8 yrs or so it's also gained a stainless steel exhaust centre section and the guy I bought it off swapped the wheels to Style 49s, which I dropped off last week to get stripped, straighted, powdercoated and shoed with a new set of Michelin PS5s. Other than the refurb I've not had to spend a penny on anything but petrol . Hoping to get some of the paintwork on the rear sorted soon too.
Below's me sorting the insurance minutes after buying and taxing it and second's it mixing it with 4 e39 m5 at the Make Green Great Again event on St Patricks Day last month.
Would be great to hear more about it's history!
Great to see an E39 being saved like this; my tenure with my Jap import 540i Sport saloon was short; but it was a fun timeThe 540i is now on ~118.5k miles, with 4,250miles having been me. From what of the history I got with the car and can peice together from the MOT history it came off the road in 2017ish and just sat in storage until last summer due to ruined cooling system and knackered alternator. The guy I bought it off replaced the whole cooling system and got the alternator rewound and then lost his storage so had to less it. It's still wearing it New Year's bumper war wound, mismatched front seat belts and cupholder blanking panels pictured previously. in the interveening 8 yrs or so it's also gained a stainless steel exhaust centre section and the guy I bought it off swapped the wheels to Style 49s, which I dropped off last week to get stripped, straighted, powdercoated and shoed with a new set of Michelin PS5s. Other than the refurb I've not had to spend a penny on anything but petrol . Hoping to get some of the paintwork on the rear sorted soon too.
Below's me sorting the insurance minutes after buying and taxing it and second's it mixing it with 4 e39 m5 at the Make Green Great Again event on St Patricks Day last month.
Would be great to hear more about it's history!
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