My 2001 E39 540i
Discussion
Hi All,
Thought I'd put a thread up about my E39 540i, which I'm in the process of restoring.
Here's a photo of it from a few years ago:
It's a really well specced SE in Oxford Green 2, with (what I think is a sand beige interior), with loads of M-Sport bits on it (seats, steering wheel, style 32's etc.). It's also only done 92,000 miles.
A brief bit of history; I bought it about five years ago from a friend who was emigrating to Australia and needed to sell it quickly. A deal was done and I got the car.
The brakes needed doing, so those were the first things to be done. You could say the pads that were on it were a little on the low side:
It was also filthy and needed a good polish, so I set about cleaning it:
(that's a mate in the photo)
When I got it, the steering had the typical wobble associated with the control arms being shot, so I got some Lemforder arms fitted. Instantly a million times better.
Anyway, shortly after I got it I ended up buying a few other cars and it just ended up sat in my garage. I then moved house and it sat on my driveway for about 6 months then got moved into my new garage. As a result, it ended up looking rather sorry for itself but it got to the point where I've decided to sort it out properly, and as a result of not having to spend four hours a day commuting to London, I've got a ton of extra time on my hands to do it.
Whilst it looks good in these photos, photos can be deceptive. There are a ton of things I've wanted to get done, from bits of paint to the engine bay
The wheels and tyres were the first thing that needed doing, so they've gone off to be done. I've decided to get them done in shadow chrome - so the same colour as the E39 M5 wheels. I think the colour suits the car better and isn't too dark - as I've never been a fan of really dark wheels.
Working on a car this big in a single garage is definitely a challenge but it's definitely possible with the help of a mate. It's now up on axle stands whilst the wheels are done:
I've started to do a combination of changing service parts and clean the engine bay. I've got time so little by little it's getting there:
Yes, it's easy to make a cover look nice, so here's an honest view of the V8 right now, but it'll all be clean in a few weeks:
The gold coloured paint on the front of the cam covers is flaking a bit and I'm debating whether to bother painting it or not. It's likely I probably will as it'll just bug me otherwise.
So yeah, that's it for now. I'll keep this thread updated as and when I have new things to show you, but I want to give an honest report on the car and what's being done.
Thought I'd put a thread up about my E39 540i, which I'm in the process of restoring.
Here's a photo of it from a few years ago:
It's a really well specced SE in Oxford Green 2, with (what I think is a sand beige interior), with loads of M-Sport bits on it (seats, steering wheel, style 32's etc.). It's also only done 92,000 miles.
A brief bit of history; I bought it about five years ago from a friend who was emigrating to Australia and needed to sell it quickly. A deal was done and I got the car.
The brakes needed doing, so those were the first things to be done. You could say the pads that were on it were a little on the low side:
It was also filthy and needed a good polish, so I set about cleaning it:
(that's a mate in the photo)When I got it, the steering had the typical wobble associated with the control arms being shot, so I got some Lemforder arms fitted. Instantly a million times better.
Anyway, shortly after I got it I ended up buying a few other cars and it just ended up sat in my garage. I then moved house and it sat on my driveway for about 6 months then got moved into my new garage. As a result, it ended up looking rather sorry for itself but it got to the point where I've decided to sort it out properly, and as a result of not having to spend four hours a day commuting to London, I've got a ton of extra time on my hands to do it.
Whilst it looks good in these photos, photos can be deceptive. There are a ton of things I've wanted to get done, from bits of paint to the engine bay
The wheels and tyres were the first thing that needed doing, so they've gone off to be done. I've decided to get them done in shadow chrome - so the same colour as the E39 M5 wheels. I think the colour suits the car better and isn't too dark - as I've never been a fan of really dark wheels.
Working on a car this big in a single garage is definitely a challenge but it's definitely possible with the help of a mate. It's now up on axle stands whilst the wheels are done:
I've started to do a combination of changing service parts and clean the engine bay. I've got time so little by little it's getting there:
Yes, it's easy to make a cover look nice, so here's an honest view of the V8 right now, but it'll all be clean in a few weeks:
The gold coloured paint on the front of the cam covers is flaking a bit and I'm debating whether to bother painting it or not. It's likely I probably will as it'll just bug me otherwise.
So yeah, that's it for now. I'll keep this thread updated as and when I have new things to show you, but I want to give an honest report on the car and what's being done.
I had a saloon one of these for a year or so in 2016-17. Very good! Bonkers fast, as my driving licence soon discovered via some speeding points. I was given the car for free by a friend, and later (after offering it back to him, but he said no) I chopped it in for a Jaguar X Type because I needed an estate car.
Have fun with your one, OP.
Have fun with your one, OP.
StuntmanMike said:
What wheels are they? There’s a E46 330 vert appeared around the corner from me with the same style on, don’t know what size bit they had quite a thick sidewall.
I liked it in a perverted kind of way.
BBS RC090, 17x8. They were optional wheels on early E39's. I've only ever seen them on the V8's and a couple of 528i's.I liked it in a perverted kind of way.
e28525e said:
StuntmanMike said:
What wheels are they? There’s a E46 330 vert appeared around the corner from me with the same style on, don’t know what size bit they had quite a thick sidewall.
I liked it in a perverted kind of way.
BBS RC090, 17x8. They were optional wheels on early E39's. I've only ever seen them on the V8's and a couple of 528i's.I liked it in a perverted kind of way.
Very nice, that's basically the estate version of my car, same engine, same colour, same interior, same wheels, same sport bits and I've also fitted sport bumpers, swapped the wheels for style 37's and I've also chopped and changed the interior so it's now beige and black two tone.
This is the only picture I have from when I bought it;
And how it looks now;
My two tone interior effort;
Oh, and the gold paint on the rocker covers is actually silver that has been cooked by the heat of the engine, I've painted mine gun metal grey;
This is the only picture I have from when I bought it;
And how it looks now;
My two tone interior effort;
Oh, and the gold paint on the rocker covers is actually silver that has been cooked by the heat of the engine, I've painted mine gun metal grey;
njw1 said:
Very nice, that's basically the estate version of my car, same engine, same colour, same interior, same wheels, same sport bits and I've also fitted sport bumpers, swapped the wheels for style 37's and I've also chopped and changed the interior so it's now beige and black two tone.
This is the only picture I have from when I bought it;
And how it looks now;
My two tone interior effort;
Oh, and the gold paint on the rocker covers is actually silver that has been cooked by the heat of the engine, I've painted mine gun metal grey;
That’s awesome. This is the only picture I have from when I bought it;
And how it looks now;
My two tone interior effort;
Oh, and the gold paint on the rocker covers is actually silver that has been cooked by the heat of the engine, I've painted mine gun metal grey;
If you don’t mind, I’ve a few more questions you might be able to help with? I’ll email you if that’s OK?
A small update. The wheels are now back from being refurbished at MyAlloys in Basingstoke.
They’ve done an incredible job.
I went for Shadow Chrome metallic which is the same colour as E39 M5, so period correct. I also think the darker colour will suit the dark colour of the car better.
More photos when they’re back on later.
They’ve done an incredible job.
I went for Shadow Chrome metallic which is the same colour as E39 M5, so period correct. I also think the darker colour will suit the dark colour of the car better.
More photos when they’re back on later.
StuntmanMike said:
Very nice. Definitely my favourite wheel they did from that era.
Gorgeous car 
I looked high & low for genuine E39 Style 32s before I bought my current LMs. None to be found; sods law 2 weeks after my LMs landed, a few sets of 18" 32s showed up
Deffo my favourite alloys for this ear of E39s and E38s; much prefer them to the Style 37sI had the 32s on my E38; had them resprayed in bright silver and finished with a sparkle lacquer:
I would have got the 32s refurbed like you, in shadow chrome or a gunmetal grey with a sparkle lacquer again; if I find another set, I may still do this as I think they'd really suit my titan silver E39 touring
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