BMW E39 M5 Touring build
Discussion
You might want to check out speed academy on the tube of you. Also doing an e39 touring m5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVCBlI4abo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVCBlI4abo
hulksta said:
You might want to check out speed academy on the tube of you. Also doing an e39 touring m5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVCBlI4abo
Already mentioned in the thread... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrVCBlI4abo
RelentlessForwardProgress said:
I think the idea is that everything is transferred over- like reshelling an M5 into a touring body. Obviously quite a lot involved in doing that, as already seen, but I think the full engine, gearbox, prop, rear differential etc etc is going into that touring!
Exactly this.
From fully trimmed load area fresh from a dump run to stripped out ready for the bodyshop. Yep, a change of order from the original plan means a slot has been booked next week at the bodyshop for the spare wheel well delete and a deposit has been taken on the M62B44 540i engine so that will also be coming out sooner than expected.
This means the whole conversions should be a more speedier process.
bolidemichael said:
Barry, is the wheelbase the same as the saloon i.e. will you expect the handling to be the same?
As with all BMW touring versions of a saloon, the wheel base is identical.That said the E39 touring rear shock absorber mounts at an inboard angle as opposed to the saloons vertical mounting and the touring uses a separate air or coil spring as opposed to the saloons spring over shock absorber and having owned several E39 saloons and tourings there is a noticeable difference in how they handle and feel at the rear but not in a negative way, just different.
What is interesting is that BMW's own prototype used a saloon rear sub frame and shock absorber location with a partial bulkhead fabricated to low the use of this so one would assume BMW thought there would be an issue with using the touring set up.
Having said that, there are several S62 converted tourings around the world including some with supercharges and have no issues with the touring set up.
Easter weekend allowing for some spare time to prep for the bodyshop and as I had sold the M62B44 engine it was time to get that out.
A before shot of the underside. The last time its going to look like a non M5 V8 E39!
[Underside stripped down (rear air springs and accumulators aside) to reveal a relatively corrosion free underside. When the bodyshop it will be fully cleaned before any repairs.
The usual jacking points at the rear of the sill corrosion common to E39's has started to take a hold. Not the worst as E39s go but once the rot is cut out the hole will be a lot bigger.
Last weekend saw the return of the rolling shell after a longer spell than was anticipated.
Before work started on the cutting and welding, the underside of the car including all four wheel arches was cleaned of years of built up mud and road grime to reveal a reasonably clean underside with only the jacking points and a few small patches that had suffered from corrosion.
The M5 boot floor with all the excess metal not required now cut off. Unfortunately the donor M5 was not as clean as the touring shell which meant there was only one way to go with this.....
All of the relevant panels needed to be split apart to repair or clean up the corrosion. This added quite a bit of time to the process and a new boot floor panel (now NLA from BMW) would have saved a lot of time (money!) in doing this but when you can't buy new you have to work with what you have.
No turning back!!!
The boot floor conversion progressing
The E39 bodies Achilles heel, jacking points and the sills in general are usually the first area for them to start to corrode and a collapsed rear jacking point is often the death knell for an old lowly spec/engine E39.
The end result is now a rust free E39 "M5 touring" shell ready to start putting back together.
After all of the fabrication was completed and primed, 3M sprayable sealer was used then a combination of beige paints to match the factory sealer and E- coat then a dusting of Oxford green base coat to replicate the factory look of overspray from when the shell is painted at the factory then application of Tectyl ML cavity wax to all of the box sections and a few key locations.
Both rear quarters, both sills a new M5 rear diffuser and the pair of genuine M5 mirrors all painted at the same time.
Now the fun begins........!
Before work started on the cutting and welding, the underside of the car including all four wheel arches was cleaned of years of built up mud and road grime to reveal a reasonably clean underside with only the jacking points and a few small patches that had suffered from corrosion.
The M5 boot floor with all the excess metal not required now cut off. Unfortunately the donor M5 was not as clean as the touring shell which meant there was only one way to go with this.....
All of the relevant panels needed to be split apart to repair or clean up the corrosion. This added quite a bit of time to the process and a new boot floor panel (now NLA from BMW) would have saved a lot of time (money!) in doing this but when you can't buy new you have to work with what you have.
No turning back!!!
The boot floor conversion progressing
The E39 bodies Achilles heel, jacking points and the sills in general are usually the first area for them to start to corrode and a collapsed rear jacking point is often the death knell for an old lowly spec/engine E39.
The end result is now a rust free E39 "M5 touring" shell ready to start putting back together.
After all of the fabrication was completed and primed, 3M sprayable sealer was used then a combination of beige paints to match the factory sealer and E- coat then a dusting of Oxford green base coat to replicate the factory look of overspray from when the shell is painted at the factory then application of Tectyl ML cavity wax to all of the box sections and a few key locations.
Both rear quarters, both sills a new M5 rear diffuser and the pair of genuine M5 mirrors all painted at the same time.
Now the fun begins........!
, Speed Acadamy's build is about finished, so be interesting to see how yours comes out too. 
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