Grünhilde My '95 530it

[deutschman]

I picked a 1995 530it up today in San Jose CA. I am super excited about her. She needs some love, but I see potential in her, and mechanically she seams very sound.

I some what saved her from neglect. She was previously owned by a younger stance nation type of guy who was planning to rust her hood, throw her on bags, and paint the roof German racing colors. Different strokes for differentfolks I guess. He had never registered her sins 2013, which is part of the resin I got her for a decent price.

Most of Grünhilde's problems are cosmetic, or are minor mechanical problems not related to the driving of the car. Almost all of her faults lie in fading paint/pealing clear coat, and fading trim. I think she will turn out great, and I dont think I will end up spending more money on her for the initial TLC than I sold my e30 for.

My goal for her is to get her looking good again with some paint corrections and other fixes, and then go for an OEM+ look. Some basic power adders, comfortable yet slightly lower suspension, and some nice wheels and sounds. Keep it simple.

The wagon came with two cool things which are an m5 exhaust which makes the V8 sound sexy, and some nice Style 37 wheels which are sadly chrome. I think Ill have to change that. The PO said they are the Italian 37s but I dont know if that is true or even relevant to anything.

Some lists for my self to keep track of things.

Important fixes:
-Rear hatch glass lock/window wiper regulator fixed
-Coolant overflow hose leak fixed
-Coolant tank leak fixed
-e34 electric seat twist fixed
-Revers rake and rear wheel/tire rub w/ squeaking! changed to original basket weaves
-Window drivers front side stuck down fixed
-Window drivers side rear off track? fixed
-Hatch struts replacement fixed
-Rear drivers side seat belt latch replacement replaced with sedan
-Drivers side front door stop fixed
-Drivers side rear door stop fixed
-Fix passenger rear bumper corner near wheel well part received

Things I would Like:
-Sssquid chip installed
-Kenwood head unit installed
-Polk component speakers installed
-Luke box/sub/amp
-Nicer steering wheel (Mtech2, or Nardi?)
-Fresh door sill trim
-Fix paint
-Smoother suspension (Bilstein Touring shocks/struts) install in progress
-m60b40 intake, TB, MAF installed
-6 speed



Here are some pictures from today. This is as I received her. The only thing I had the energy or time to do today was remove all the trash.

Most of the exterior. No picture of the rear bumper corner, but basically the corner of the bumper is not fastened and is poking out near the wheel well.







Ding in the drivers side rear door from the door brake failing.


Some bad interior shots. Its so bright right now! There is some sagging of the headliner, and the drivers side rear door panel could use some TLC. The passenger side front seat also has a rip I need to close up before it gets worse.




Headliner sagging :(



And the glass on the hatch is missing most of the lock and window wiper assembly.



Thats it for now.
More after I get her smoged and registered in my name.
Any input, positive criticism, parts offers, or advice is welcome. Im very new to these newer BMW models because I have only owned '70s, '80s and one '91 model till this point. Iv been doing a lot of reading. Im setting up an account on bimmerforums as well which will be under "Eur0driver" as my usual name is already taken.

[Kevinl]

love e34t's on M parallels

subd

[deutschman]

Thanks

[freeride53]

Ha, my old teammate was looking to pick this one up. Nice find.

[Jb325is]

That's a good looking car, nice buy! Unfortunately fixing that paint isn't really an option, those panels will all need to be resprayed. But with some paint correction to the vertical panels and new paint on the roof and hood it should look beautiful. Are you going to keep the M-parallels or go with something else?

[deutschman]

Im going to keep the M-parallels but paint them a different color for now. I have always really liked them.
Paint will happen after we get our truck fixed. I think Ill take it to that local guy who offers the affordable e30 paint jobs local here on the R3V. Or the place we had the paint on our 135i fixed.

[deutschman]

Started tinkering on the e34 today.
Cleaned the engine bay a bit and removed the plastic engine cover because it was only held on by one 10mm nut. The other three fasteners and their mounting points are missing. With out the cover the intake makes it look a bit LS1 like hahaha
This was the only thing holding the cover on.

I also did a quick temporary fan shroud fix because it was loose. ZZZZip!

While I was looking around I saw that the hood is rubbing on one of the window wipers badly. Ill have to move the hood forward a bit ones I get a helping hand.

Found out why the drivers side front door brake was making such a bad noise. e34 problems.
The drivers side rear door brake was only missing the pin to hold it on the body. Quick fix, and I added some lube to the rolling parts which were a bit dry and rusty.

The drivers side front window needs a motor because the gears are toast. Drivers side rear window is a bit wonky and I am not sure why. It works, but it binds up right as the window starts coming up through the frame, and then it straitens out and works fine. Maybe it needs a new regulator? Not sure.
I also identified the seat motor brand so I could order new cables.

Anyone know what this is for? Its located on the door side under the seat. Some kind of loose cable.

[AWDBOB]

Glad to see you purchased the car!

[deutschman]

Thanks AWDBOB, Im really happy with it!

Maybe a bit to happy. I just ordered all the stuff for the 540i intake manifold upgrade as well as a Sssquid chip. I sold my e21 Recaro sports seats for a bit of extra funding.

Tomorrow is smog and registration day. I am a bit nervous about the registration part because of the last owner being such a flake, but I think I have all my ducks in a row in terms of paper work.

[deutschman]

I check out the rear wheels and they are rubbing on the inner wheel wells. Thats making the sound that makes me want to blow my brains out. Dam stance kids and their stance nation hahahah
Ordered some 10mm spacers from Motorsports Hardware to correct the issue.
On closer inspection the chrome wheels are loosing their chrome. I think the base copper layer is peeling. POOP
Can Chrome be sand blasted off?

[deutschman]

Guess I need some new tires in the back. These are 0% and this one has a screw in it...

[deutschman]

Some wide inside shot.

[AWDBOB]

Thanks AWDBOB, Im really happy with it!

1) Maybe a bit to happy. I just ordered all the stuff for the 540i intake manifold upgrade as well as a Sssquid chip.

2) Can Chrome be sand blasted off?

3) Guess I need some new tires in the back.

1) I picked up an SSSquid chip for mine as well! Where did you order the 540i IM and TB stuff?

2) No, you have to go through a process called dechroming which normally runs ~$120ea for an 18" wheel. The industrial blasting that might be able to remove the chrome will pit your wheels to the point where you could see it after they've been repainted. I'm going through the same process right now with my style 65s.

3) You should probably pick up KMAC adjustable rear trailing arm eccentric bushings so you can properly adjust your rear toe in. By that picture it is obvious that you have excessive toe-in causing that inner wear, and these cars don't come with rear camber/toe adjustments from the factory. I just went through the same thing.

[deutschman]

1) Sweet! I loved the one I had in my 325e. With the intake upgrades it should be swell!

2) I spent a lot of time on eBay searching part numbers and names. Just bought everything from different people/venders. All free shipping buy it now options. Also made sure I got the right stuff by reading a few other build threads and DIY pages. Hope it works well.

3)Yeah I know. I really would like to raise the car in the back a bit. Its way to low and has MAAAAD revers rake. KMACs would help a lot as well. I need to find some more stuff to sell to make some funding for this car lol

[nighthawk]

Anyone know what this is for? Its located on the door side under the seat. Some kind of loose cable.

Pretty sure this cable adjusts the seatbelt height as you move the seat forward or backward. If I remember correctly, it attaches somewhere to the seat rail. Owned an e34 once.