BMW E24 M635CSi-

[Marquis Rex]

One of my childhood dream cars was the E24 BMW M635CSi. I used to sketch pictures of the E24 BMW in my English text books during GCSE.
I always promised I'd own one at some point. When the time came in the UK, I ended up getting a manual Porsche 928 instead and when I moved to Germany I found out they tax on engine size and emissions and it was uneconomic to runa M635CSi along side my Porsche 993 Turbo and E21 323i and my winter car.

Now I'm in the USA, I have too many cars -each one I can justify owning.
However my wife is supportive of getting one and these are only going up in value and I've found a cheap one in Kansas (8.5K). Space isn't a problem- I have 1 and a half acres, a triple garage and access to more dry storage.

The car in question is a Euro car, which means it doesn't have the stupid battering ram bumpers or restrictive catalytic converters and makes 286 Bhp rather than the puny US 250 or so. The guy seems honest and open and has spent some money on it. This has got to be one of the best looking BMWs bar none. The M88 engine is a legendary race derrived motor.

Trouble is: I have too many projects: The Jaguar X308 XJR - I'm trying to come up with a solution for a strengthened rear end with LSD, The Challenger- Im building a 'low deck' 470 cu in stroker mounted to the 6 speed tremec.
On the other hand, these old E24 M6s are only going up in value and this could be my last chance and when I come across the imagination-less conformists who claim they're car enthusiasts and then spend $25K on a Focus or 30K on a Fusion and claim they did it for fuel economy (Where fuel is super cheap and totally ignoring depreciation ) I start to see even more justification to not be like that!

Any comments - insights?

I'll probably ignore it anyway and do what I want!

Anyone want to share ownership experiences of one of these beasts?

[Vixpy1]

Buy it, Its the only car I own I would never part with. You will not regret owning one, they are not even that expensive to run

[Marquis Rex]

Vixpy1 said:

Buy it, Its the only car I own I would never part with. You will not regret owning one, they are not even that expensive to run

Thanks Charlie!
Would you prefer it over an E46 S54 M3?
I talked to my BMW master technician specialist and he told me about the chains, which I'll look into

[E30M3SE]

What are you waiting for?

Get it bought.

[Marquis Rex]

Looking at Charlies (Vixpy) list of cars I feel more justified owning yet ANOTHER car...

[Vixpy1]

Marquis Rex said:

Vixpy1 said:

Buy it, Its the only car I own I would never part with. You will not regret owning one, they are not even that expensive to run

Thanks Charlie!
Would you prefer it over an E46 S54 M3?
I talked to my BMW master technician specialist and he told me about the chains, which I'll look into

Yes, chain at 100K, make sure its done or been done.

Put it this way, I don't own an E46 M3 anymore

Mine has just over 167k on it now, its on the orig engine, but has had a rebuilt gearbox (not unusual). Its done 8 or 9 trackdays including an alldayer at Spa consisting of over 40 laps. Did'nt miss a beat. I've now retired it from Track day duty but as its not ideally suited (its big and although very well balanced on the stock suspension they roll quite a bit, plus the brakes are poor compared to todays offerings) However as a road car they are stupendous fun, Far more fun than my E34 3.8 in my opinion.

[Zad]

Send photos please

You get one chance at this life. What's the worst that can happen, you buy it, its not really worth the money and you sell it in a few years and break even?

[Marquis Rex]

The car is Zinnobar red, has a scratch on the side and the guy said the interior needs a bit of refurbishing.
He said the speedo was having problems picking up the signal.

I asked about rust and he said a few bubbles on the drivers side near the rear tail light.

He seemed very honest and open. He's going to send me the VIN number and some more pictures.

The prices out here seem to be 8k rock bottom but between 10k and 15k more usual.

[judas]

To echo everyone else, just do it. They are wonderful cars - make sure it's on original spec wheels though, unlike some of the monstrosities I've just seen on a google image search

[Marquis Rex]

judas said:

To echo everyone else, just do it. They are wonderful cars - make sure it's on original spec wheels though, unlike one of the monstrosities I've just seen on a google image search

It's on the original TRX metrics, even the spare is one, he said the tyres are past their best. Can I even get those size tyres now? Espcially out here in the USA.

[Vixpy1]

Marquis Rex said:

judas said:

To echo everyone else, just do it. They are wonderful cars - make sure it's on original spec wheels though, unlike one of the monstrosities I've just seen on a google image search

It's on the original TRX metrics, even the spare is one, he said the tyres are past their best. Can I even get those size tyres now? Espcially out here in the USA.

Hard to get, but not impossible i believe, however, and here's the catch, they are monumentally st. Think worse than Fullruns are you there

[Marquis Rex]

Vixpy1 said:

Marquis Rex said:

judas said:

To echo everyone else, just do it. They are wonderful cars - make sure it's on original spec wheels though, unlike one of the monstrosities I've just seen on a google image search

It's on the original TRX metrics, even the spare is one, he said the tyres are past their best. Can I even get those size tyres now? Espcially out here in the USA.

Hard to get, but not impossible i believe, however, and here's the catch, they are monumentally st. Think worse than Fullruns are you there

May be I'll get a set of Alpina wheels (with black centres) (I have a set of 16 inch 5 studs for the E21 already which were impossible to get!)

What is the diameter of the TRX wheel?

[LHD]

Vixpy1 said:

Marquis Rex said:

judas said:

To echo everyone else, just do it. They are wonderful cars - make sure it's on original spec wheels though, unlike one of the monstrosities I've just seen on a google image search

It's on the original TRX metrics, even the spare is one, he said the tyres are past their best. Can I even get those size tyres now? Espcially out here in the USA.

Hard to get, but not impossible i believe, however, and here's the catch, they are monumentally st. Think worse than Fullruns are you there

A la Chazzers fire it on a set of these:



Allows you to fit modern 17 inch rubber with the added bonus of looking better than the original.

[E24man]

Buy one, you will never regret it and the E24 is proving itself to be one of the most beautiful designs as it ages.

I've had E24's for nearly 15 years now, the standard 635CSi is as cheap as chips to run with the near indestructible M30 engine - the M635 requires a little more attention but still a budget supercar of it's time.

Later cars slaughtered a herd of cows to cover every surface of the interior and are an exquisite place to pilot. The earlier cars had the chrome bumpers and definately win in the exterior looks contest.

All M635CSi are 1984 onwards so based on the E28 chassis and electrics. The 635/633/630/628 cars are E12 based to mid 1982 and E28 based after that.

This is my 635CSi sporting 'M' front and rear spoilers - it's a very rare Baltic Blue



And my Alpine white M635CSi..

[Marquis Rex]

E24man said:

Buy one, you will never regret it and the E24 is proving itself to be one of the most beautiful designs as it ages.

I've had E24's for nearly 15 years now, the standard 635CSi is as cheap as chips to run with the near indestructible M30 engine - the M635 requires a little more attention but still a budget supercar of it's time.

Later cars slaughtered a herd of cows to cover every surface of the interior and are an exquisite place to pilot. The earlier cars had the chrome bumpers and definately win in the exterior looks contest.

All M635CSi are 1984 onwards so based on the E28 chassis and electrics. The 635/633/630/628 cars are E12 based to mid 1982 and E28 based after that.

This is my 635CSi sporting 'M' front and rear spoilers - it's a very rare Baltic Blue



And my Alpine white M635CSi..

Very nice charriots E24 man, what size wheels does the standard E24 635 CSi sit on?

[E24man]

Marquis Rex said:

E24man said:

Buy one, you will never regret it and the E24 is proving itself to be one of the most beautiful designs as it ages.

I've had E24's for nearly 15 years now, the standard 635CSi is as cheap as chips to run with the near indestructible M30 engine - the M635 requires a little more attention but still a budget supercar of it's time.

Later cars slaughtered a herd of cows to cover every surface of the interior and are an exquisite place to pilot. The earlier cars had the chrome bumpers and definately win in the exterior looks contest.

All M635CSi are 1984 onwards so based on the E28 chassis and electrics. The 635/633/630/628 cars are E12 based to mid 1982 and E28 based after that.

This is my 635CSi sporting 'M' front and rear spoilers - it's a very rare Baltic Blue



And my Alpine white M635CSi..

Very nice charriots E24 man, what size wheels does the standard E24 635 CSi sit on?

They both now sit on staggered 17's. The pictures show the 635CSi on the 415mm TRX's and the M6 on the staggered 17" style 5's. The Style 5's have just been refurbished and will go back on the 635 for a classic look; the M635 now wears a set of staggered style 32's and looks like this

[Marquis Rex]

Ok, got some picture back of this car, not as many as I'd hoped.






Did a check on the VIN- had alot of original options:

Type code EE31

Type 635 CSI (EUR)

Dev. series E24 ()

Line 6

Body type COUPE

Steering LL

Door count 2

Engine S38

Cubical capacity 3.50

Power 0

Transmision HECK

Gearbox MECH

Colour ZINNOBERROT (138)

Upholstery SCHWARZ LEDER (0203)

Prod. date 1985-04-01


Order options
No. Description
291 BMW LM SCHMIEDERAD/KREUZSPEICH

301 DIEBSTAHLWARNANLAGE MIT ZV

350 WAERMESCHUTZGLAS GRUEN, RUNDUM

401 SLIDING/VENT ROOF, ELECTRIC

427 WARNDREIECK MIT HALTERUNG

498 HEADRESTS IN REAR, MECHANIC. ADJUSTABLE

500 HEADLIGHT WASHER SYS/INTENSIVE CLEANING

530 AIR CONDITIONING

669 Becker Mexico Elec. CR Saf.

682 RADIOANTENNE AUTOMATISCH

915 nur Boden konserviert

979 VELOURS-FUSSMATTEN VORN UND HI

I think I understand most of the options: not quite sure what 301:DIEBSTAHLWARNANLAGE MIT ZV
is. Something to do with steel?
915: under body rust protection.

the headlamp washwipe is missing because in coming to the USA the headlamps were replaced with the stupid sealed beam units.

The chain hasn't been done yet and I believe there was a recall on the earlier 1984 S38 euro engines for a tappet/shim upgrade-not sure if it applied to this car. The chain is a single row chain and if I buy this car I'll probably have to upgrade it to the later dual row as fitted to the 3.8 litre E34 M5s along with the tensioner upgrade

[ikarl]

[Marquis Rex]

Ok, 301:DIEBSTAHLWARNANLAGE Seems to be some kind of an alarm

[cpl_payne]

Marquis Rex said:

I think I understand most of the options: not quite sure what 301:DIEBSTAHLWARNANLAGE MIT ZV
is. Something to do with steel?

Not steel, steal. It's a anti-theft alarm with central locking, unless my (very) rusty German is letting me down.

Wonderful cars.