No.39 - 1995 BMW E34 M5 UK Limited Edition #39/50

[James Hay]

My first PistonHeads discussion!

I'm delighted that earlier this year I managed to get my M5 back in one piece after two and a half years of being apart on the driveway. I decided to undertake a 'rear end underside refresh' back in 2017 which I was hoping to complete within a few months but of course various things got in the way and I must say I lost motivation at a couple of points, but I stuck with it and triumphed in the end. Looking back there are things I would've done differently but overall I'm proud of what I've achieved. I'm fairly handy on the tools but I've never done work this in depth before, of course I've learnt a great deal and overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In a way Covid19 worked to my advantage with having three months of furlough which gave me the time needed to get it back together. It's by no means 'finished' as there's still a lot I'd like to do before getting it back on the road, but for now I'm pleased that it's running again and moves under its own power. Plus now it doesn't have to ensure another winter out in the elements as whilst off work I also completely stripped the garage, painted it, put up new shelving and reorganised...and filled an entire skip with rubbish so there's now space for two cars.

Please feel free to click on the link and check out my Dropbox folder, I have sorted it in chronological order so hopefully it comes out correctly;

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sggh6qavd7m8kjk/AABtjRt...

Cheers.

[James Hay]

Forgot to upload a photo for you all...!

[James Hay]

tgr said:

Good for you. Those were the days of exclusivity

Certainly was. I believe in total something like only 150 of the late 3.8 6-Speed cars came to the UK (including the 50 UK Limited Editions. Very small numbers indeed.

[James Hay]

[James Hay]

nebpor said:

I had a 1993 Avus blue M5 with the 3.8 but 5-speed and the throwing stars

I still miss it, it was a fantastic car - well done!

I’d love another but the price ship has sailed. Mine went for 3.5k and the engine ended up in an E30 as the rust looked uneconomical with the values back then (around 2008-9)!

Love the throwing stars, 17s I imagine are a little more compliant as well.

£3,500 seems nothing but then I suppose that was at their lowest point and like you say a fortune can be piled into them sorting corrosion issues. I've certainly noticed the prices being asked over the last couple of years have increased as fewer and fewer survive.

[James Hay]

e28525e said:

Mate! So glad you have posted on here, at long last! The car is a credit to you. By the way - you forgot the best picture

Oops how could I miss that one...?! https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/2.gif

[James Hay]

e28525e said:

And some more of your mates sweeping in and robbing the glory for all your hard work!

I attempted to get that diff in about half a dozen times myself then got annoyed...called you and it was bolted in within 5 minutes. Proper job.

[James Hay]

nebpor said:

I had paid 6.5k 3 or 4 years years earlier, took it round the ring and used it as daily for most of that time and 30k miles so I wasn’t unhappy, as back then depreciation was still a thing for all of these modern classics, plus we were moving to Australia and all my car’s got sold

I love your stable even more as I’m a fellow Honda nut and had two heavily modded DC2 ITRs (at the same time as the M5), I’d probably have bought an NSX when we came back from Oz four years ago, but two youngish kids so have to make do with a comparatively sterile 996 turbo instead ;-)

The days of 35K NSX:R imports are long gone!!

I've never been around the ring but of course it's on my list of things to do one day! I believe one of the UK Limited Editions was exported to Australia, wonder if it's still alive.

The NSX isn't one that belongs to a friend, no chance I could afford both...!

[James Hay]

Gad-Westy said:

What a glorious car. Love it.

Thanks very much, the S38 engine is certainly something special.

[James Hay]

Dave Moore said:

This must be the first time I’ve logged into PH in years!

Some great work you’ve done on that car over the years, Jim. A real testament to your petrolhead values and OCD nature

Thanks, I love the detail!

[James Hay]

Mr Tidy said:

That's a stunning car, and some great work done on it too.

Thanks very much! Hoping to do a refurb on the front underbody and axle as well fairly soon, got to get some fund together first though.

[James Hay]

Jonmx said:

Of all the cars I've owned, only 2 I really miss. An S14 200 SX and a stunning E34 525i I picked up for £500 in 2007. Absolutely fantastic cars and I can only imagine what they're like with the M performance. An acquaintance has the Alpina version of this going slowly green on his driveway but won't entertain any offers on it.
Yours looks fantastic, and it would appear you have your own pit crew of grease monkeys to help keep up the maintenance!

Wow how prices have changed, a decent 525i nowadays seems to cost around ten times that. You definitely bought at the right time, a lot of car for the money back then. How long did you own it for?

A friend of mine has an Alpina as well (in the image below), used to be an automatic but he converted to a Manual. Hopefully your acquaintance has plans for his/hers and is just waiting for the right time.

I did the vast majority of work myself but indeed I had to call in reinforcements to get the diff in as I was really struggling! My dad gave me a hand guiding the subframe in as well but it was really easy to be honest I could have done that myself. All good fun!

[James Hay]

James Hay said:

Jonmx said:

Of all the cars I've owned, only 2 I really miss. An S14 200 SX and a stunning E34 525i I picked up for £500 in 2007. Absolutely fantastic cars and I can only imagine what they're like with the M performance. An acquaintance has the Alpina version of this going slowly green on his driveway but won't entertain any offers on it.
Yours looks fantastic, and it would appear you have your own pit crew of grease monkeys to help keep up the maintenance!

Wow how prices have changed, a decent 525i nowadays seems to cost around ten times that. You definitely bought at the right time, a lot of car for the money back then. How long did you own it for?

A friend of mine has an Alpina as well (in the image below), used to be an automatic but he converted to a Manual. Hopefully your acquaintance has plans for his/hers and is just waiting for the right time.

I did the vast majority of work myself but indeed I had to call in reinforcements to get the diff in as I was really struggling! My dad gave me a hand guiding the subframe in as well but it was really easy to be honest I could have done that myself. All good fun!

[James Hay]

Pig benis said:

Bloody hell, you did that on a driveway without a ramp.. I am amazed, fair play OP.

I did a similar resto to my friends E46 M3 over lockdown, but using his 4 poster ramp and that was a ballache of a job.

Like the E46, do you need to weld in strengthening plates to the subframe chassis area?

PB

Thanks, yes all done with the car sitting on axle stands. I would love a ramp one day, I've looked at those moveable scissor ramps that can be parked over in the garage and then dragged out onto the drive for use, but in all honestly I can manage fine without one plus it would be quite an expense for me.

I haven't heard of people welding strengthening plates onto an E34 so it's not something I did, although I understand it is good practice to do on an E46 if the subframe is out. I did have a small hole welded in however on the OS subframe mount.

[James Hay]

Quhet said:

Absolutely love these! Without the wheels on, there's barely any hint that it's an M. Long gone are the days of such subtlety

Completely agree, I like the understated aesthetics. All trousers no mouth!

[James Hay]

scottos said:

Love these and hats off for doing that on a driveway on axle stands! A friend has one sat on his drive and it needs this sort of love (plus intermittent wiring issues) cant wait for him to sort it out!

Thanks very much! Hopefully your friend will get his all sorted. One of the things I was worried about was wiring as I've heard all sorts of horror stores about cars not being used for periods of time as mice love the taste of wiring insulation apparently, so far I don't seem to have any issues luckily.

[James Hay]

Drive it fix it repeat said:

I’m not much of a BMW fan normally, find them a bit dull but always loved the look of an e34 and they don’t come better than an M5. Impressive work aswell and now you are reaping the rewards. Look forward to seeing more of the car hopefully.

Thanks very much, I'll aim to keep this discussion updated. I can see how some could think the subtle styling as dull as there is not a lot going on, however restrained handsome looks is what I like. Very rarely is it good to be the loudest person in the room...unless you're Lemmy.

[James Hay]

Pig benis said:

James Hay said:

Thanks, yes all done with the car sitting on axle stands. I would love a ramp one day, I've looked at those moveable scissor ramps that can be parked over in the garage and then dragged out onto the drive for use, but in all honestly I can manage fine without one plus it would be quite an expense for me.

I haven't heard of people welding strengthening plates onto an E34 so it's not something I did, although I understand it is good practice to do on an E46 if the subframe is out. I did have a small hole welded in however on the OS subframe mount.

I would like one of those scissor ramps at home as well, I'll invest in one next year I think, as they do make working on cars so much easier.

Ah okay fair enough - I don't know the E34 very well, glad to hear they don't have subframe cracking issues like the E46.

I just remembered I do know a chap who has had to reinforce his centre subframe mount on his 540i, the one that bolts to the box section. He put a triangular cross brace in the boot between the suspension turrets and then down to the top of that box section. In all fairness though I believe it's the car that has done over 300,000 miles and he told me he drives somewhat 'spiritedly' most of the time so it's taken a lot of punishment over the years...!

[James Hay]

Aluminati said:

Had number 30, sold with regret .

Looks great, I much prefer them with a boot spoiler, hoping to fit one to mine at some point.

I believe I know of this car, a father & son owned/still own it?

[James Hay]

Maxus said:

Love the car OP. Is it an Orinoco Edition? The E34 is such a great car. I had a 1995 manual 525i Sport in Daytona Violet that I absolutely adored. The closest I got to an M5 was installing the rear number plate plinth from one onto it
Amazing job on your driveway. Looks really smart underneath. Keep the updates coming.

Thanks very much. It's a Limited Edition, one of the 35 that were painted in Orinoco Metallic yes.

Awesome the 525i Sport is very desirable now especially in Daytona, lovely colour!