BMW E39 M5 touring build #2
Discussion
To keep the thread up to date, I had been looking forward to the PH Sunday Service at BMW yesterday, but family commitments meant that I wasn’t able to make it.
I’ve managed to get a few minor bits sorted recently, firstly I got Nick at Retro Plates to make a set of period correct dealer plates for it. Barons of Hindhead supplied the base car used for the build, so I went with them as the dealer. I also sourced a rear window sticker to match.
Next up was the drivers door seal, it had clearly seen better days after 178k miles! These aren’t cheap from BMW, but thankfully still readily available, looks much better.
Old:
New:
The only issue I’ve had to date was a check engine light which popped up today and didn’t clear when I turned the car off and on again. I quickly read the codes and it was pointing towards fuel supply, I will keep an eye on it. I did fill up with fuel today, but it happened approx. 30 miles later, so possibly just coincidence. I cleared the codes and the light hasn’t come back, but I need to drive it and check whether it reappears.
Cheers
I’ve managed to get a few minor bits sorted recently, firstly I got Nick at Retro Plates to make a set of period correct dealer plates for it. Barons of Hindhead supplied the base car used for the build, so I went with them as the dealer. I also sourced a rear window sticker to match.
Next up was the drivers door seal, it had clearly seen better days after 178k miles! These aren’t cheap from BMW, but thankfully still readily available, looks much better.
Old:
New:
The only issue I’ve had to date was a check engine light which popped up today and didn’t clear when I turned the car off and on again. I quickly read the codes and it was pointing towards fuel supply, I will keep an eye on it. I did fill up with fuel today, but it happened approx. 30 miles later, so possibly just coincidence. I cleared the codes and the light hasn’t come back, but I need to drive it and check whether it reappears.
Cheers
Edited by CB 987 on Monday 3rd July 21:38
Edited by CB 987 on Monday 3rd July 21:48
Edited by CB 987 on Monday 3rd July 22:03
JakeT said:
Hereward said:
What code reader is that? Happy with it? I need to get one for my 2001 car.
Thanks.
It’s a Creator C110 I believe. There’s a newer one now, the C310.Thanks.
Wish I could have made it today but after having 10 days off for a holiday in Germany, I had to work today!
Congrats on the trophy Chris and thanks for taking it to the event for others to see it in person.
I kind of wish I still had it to take to Germany with me instead of a normal E39 M5 saloon. (not the oxford green pre production car for anyone following the other thread!)
Would have got more beer in it!
Congrats on the trophy Chris and thanks for taking it to the event for others to see it in person.
I kind of wish I still had it to take to Germany with me instead of a normal E39 M5 saloon. (not the oxford green pre production car for anyone following the other thread!)
Would have got more beer in it!
It was great to meet so many of you yesterday, thanks to everyone for showing so much interest in the car and for all the positive comments, it was definitely amongst the right audience!
I was surprised when the car won, as there were some other great cars on display. I honestly felt a bit of a fraud accepting the award, it really should go to Barry in recognition for all his work on this build.
I am planning to go to the October Sunday Scramble and hopefully the Sunday Service at Porsche, so I might catch up with some of you again soon. Cheers
I was surprised when the car won, as there were some other great cars on display. I honestly felt a bit of a fraud accepting the award, it really should go to Barry in recognition for all his work on this build.
I am planning to go to the October Sunday Scramble and hopefully the Sunday Service at Porsche, so I might catch up with some of you again soon. Cheers
CB 987 said:
To keep the thread up to date, I had been looking forward to the PH Sunday Service at BMW yesterday, but family commitments meant that I wasn’t able to make it.
I’ve managed to get a few minor bits sorted recently, firstly I got Nick at Retro Plates to make a set of period correct dealer plates for it. Barons of Hindhead supplied the base car used for the build, so I went with them as the dealer. I also sourced a rear window sticker to match.
That looks good, I'd like to get some Barons plates for my Z4, can't get them now they've changed to Group 1. How much were they if you don't mind me asking, and do you have a contact email/number for Nick please?I’ve managed to get a few minor bits sorted recently, firstly I got Nick at Retro Plates to make a set of period correct dealer plates for it. Barons of Hindhead supplied the base car used for the build, so I went with them as the dealer. I also sourced a rear window sticker to match.
A slightly belated update in an effort to keep this thread up to date, rewinding to a few weeks before the PistonHeads 25th anniversary gathering, unfortunately I had a very minor bump in the touring. Pretty frustrating as the front end paint was pretty fresh.
Thankfully it wasn’t my fault, but the timeframe for getting it repaired before PH 25th was tight, especially as my preferred repairer is usually pretty busy. As you can see from the photos below, it was pretty minor, but the bonnet and kidney grills took the impact, the number plate plinth and bumper also had some very minor scuffs.
In order to try and get the repair completed as quickly as possible I got a quote from BMW for a new bonnet in primer, I expected it to be about £5-£600, but apparently they’ve put the prices up recently and they are now £1450, they aren’t an M5 specific part. The second option was a used bonnet in colour, so we could keep the OEM finish underneath and then simply repaint the top, but I couldn’t find a decent replacement in colour.
Thankfully my body shop could fix the original bonnet, I ordered up two new genuine kidney grills and a replacement number plate plinth as it was slightly distorted, I’m fussy and it needed to be right.
The repair all went very smoothly, apart from a headlight washer jet pipe disintegrating when it was being dismantled. I thought I’d replace all the pipes whilst I was at it, but the long pipe was NLA, thankfully the section of pipe I needed was available, but it needed to come from Germany. It was really tight for reassembly as the replacement pipe landed from Germany on the Friday, the day before PH 25. The car was reassembled on Friday afternoon, I picked it up at 4:30pm, nipped home for a quick pre show clean, before getting up early on Saturday for the show.
I do need to source a new corner under tray (‘pork chop’) for the front bumper as one of them has previously been repaired and fell apart when the front end was dismantled. I’m reluctant to give BMW nearly £300 for a bit of plastic, but I will probably end up giving in. Frustratingly, like the bonnet, they’re now considerably more expensive than a few years ago when they were around £65 a corner.
Here’s some pics below of the damage and the repair.
Thankfully it wasn’t my fault, but the timeframe for getting it repaired before PH 25th was tight, especially as my preferred repairer is usually pretty busy. As you can see from the photos below, it was pretty minor, but the bonnet and kidney grills took the impact, the number plate plinth and bumper also had some very minor scuffs.
In order to try and get the repair completed as quickly as possible I got a quote from BMW for a new bonnet in primer, I expected it to be about £5-£600, but apparently they’ve put the prices up recently and they are now £1450, they aren’t an M5 specific part. The second option was a used bonnet in colour, so we could keep the OEM finish underneath and then simply repaint the top, but I couldn’t find a decent replacement in colour.
Thankfully my body shop could fix the original bonnet, I ordered up two new genuine kidney grills and a replacement number plate plinth as it was slightly distorted, I’m fussy and it needed to be right.
The repair all went very smoothly, apart from a headlight washer jet pipe disintegrating when it was being dismantled. I thought I’d replace all the pipes whilst I was at it, but the long pipe was NLA, thankfully the section of pipe I needed was available, but it needed to come from Germany. It was really tight for reassembly as the replacement pipe landed from Germany on the Friday, the day before PH 25. The car was reassembled on Friday afternoon, I picked it up at 4:30pm, nipped home for a quick pre show clean, before getting up early on Saturday for the show.
I do need to source a new corner under tray (‘pork chop’) for the front bumper as one of them has previously been repaired and fell apart when the front end was dismantled. I’m reluctant to give BMW nearly £300 for a bit of plastic, but I will probably end up giving in. Frustratingly, like the bonnet, they’re now considerably more expensive than a few years ago when they were around £65 a corner.
Here’s some pics below of the damage and the repair.
Edited by CB 987 on Wednesday 30th August 21:00
Sorry to be reading about the bump. You got it sorted though which is good...and yes, those washer lines love to crumple as soon as you look at them... 
Re the front corner undertrays / pork chops.
I bought and used these for my previous Japanese import E39 540i Sport and they fit superbly. They're a bit stiff, but once fitted they soon relaxed and you can use a small strip of 5mm 3m double sided tape to hold the rubber section to the bumpers inner lip if necessary. It can't be seen
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324709493861?mkcid=16&a...
I bought OEM ones for my Japanese import 530i Sport Touring back in 2020 and one side was £290 the other £180. Prices have shot up now and it's simply not worth it...
Re the front corner undertrays / pork chops.
I bought and used these for my previous Japanese import E39 540i Sport and they fit superbly. They're a bit stiff, but once fitted they soon relaxed and you can use a small strip of 5mm 3m double sided tape to hold the rubber section to the bumpers inner lip if necessary. It can't be seen
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324709493861?mkcid=16&a...
I bought OEM ones for my Japanese import 530i Sport Touring back in 2020 and one side was £290 the other £180. Prices have shot up now and it's simply not worth it...
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