I bought a total loss e28.

[bmwstudent]

If you do buy it and part it out, I'm looking for the rear sheet metal under the taillights where the bumper shocks mount. Mine is rotted and needs replaced. Pm me and you can tell me if your close enough for me to drive.

[jdirty]

Update

you need a frame machine, section the rail then you can weld it on.
radiator support needs to come off obviously. you have a lot of structural repair ahead of you if you want to do it properly.

Had to quote that ^ because that's where I'm at right now.

So.. I did end up getting the car on a frame machine and it was pulled ( for free). It was straightened for sure, but the nose panel.. will have to come off because when I tried mocking up new stuff up front, nothing really lined up that well because of the the mounting points being wavy from the collision.

Most of you will probably think this is a waste of time, but I've decided to just go ahead and throw some euro bumpers on it despite not really knowing what the whole deal with this is. I know the rear is straight forward.. weld the old bumper holes shut and drill mounting points. But as for the front bumper.. I'm kinda lost on that since old information that I've dug up no longer have working hosted photos.

When I mocked up the lower valance, I'm thinking that the fog lamps (which i don't have yet) will hit the US frames? I'm not sure but I think I've read somewhere that the corners of the US frames need to be cut to allow clearance? What about mounting the actual bumper though? That's where I'm kinda lost I guess. *sigh*

[jdirty]

Hi, I have parted out 12 e28 and you can make a bit of money. The open diff sucks, but all the window motors will sell, the blower motors, carpet, front seats if not bad, you name it people will buy it. If you decided to part it the oem cats for the 528e are going for 150. If the tranny is good you can get 500 for the manual swap. What year is it? If you decided to part it the oem cats for the 528e are going for 150. If the tranny is good you can get 500 for the manual swap. What year is it? If it is a 82 it has the 265 instead of the 260.
If you are trying to save it I would go to mye28.com. I have a bumper and front end parts that you could use. If you do keep the car I would suggest replacing the soft fuel line since they tend to be old and leak.

Andy

Thanks for the tips Andy. I really want to avoid parting it out as i have no time and little patience to ship things out. This is a 1984 528e converted to manual and i head swap. The transmission's 3rd gear synchro is out. 3rd gear would pop out or grind unless i double clutch but the engine was newly rebuilt/converted.

I would be on mye28 right now if only my work allowed me. Surprisingly r3v isn't blocked. lol

[South26]

Hi, I have parted out 12 e28 and you can make a bit of money. The open diff sucks, but all the window motors will sell, the blower motors, carpet, front seats if not bad, you name it people will buy it. If you decided to part it the oem cats for the 528e are going for 150. If the tranny is good you can get 500 for the manual swap. What year is it? If you decided to part it the oem cats for the 528e are going for 150. If the tranny is good you can get 500 for the manual swap. What year is it? If it is a 82 it has the 265 instead of the 260.
If you are trying to save it I would go to mye28.com. I have a bumper and front end parts that you could use. If you do keep the car I would suggest replacing the soft fuel line since they tend to be old and leak.

Andy

[jdirty]

you need a frame machine, section the rail then you can weld it on.
radiator support needs to come off obviously. you have a lot of structural repair ahead of you if you want to do it properly. I would part this car out and make a ton of profit

Haha yeah. I'll end up making a profit off of it if i wanted to.
I plan on getting quotes/estimates first before doing anything major.
Figured it would be easier to have it looked at with the bumper off.

[oliver.r]

you need a frame machine, section the rail then you can weld it on.
radiator support needs to come off obviously. you have a lot of structural repair ahead of you if you want to do it properly. I would part this car out and make a ton of profit

[jdirty]

you cant straighten that frame rail, the ends of frame rails have crush zones, once the have been compromised the have to be replaced, not repairable.

Yeah. And i've been looking around realoem.. and they're listed as separate parts.. but no part numbers for #18 but #5 does. They kinda look the same to me. lol

So i guess i'll just have to chop one off of a donor. I've never done body work and this is all new to me. I haven't really looked around that much to see if anybody has done something similar.

[oliver.r]

you cant straighten that frame rail, the ends of frame rails have crush zones, once the have been compromised the have to be replaced, not repairable.

[jdirty]

Photo dump/ update

Day i took the car home, [Sunday, 18, august, 2013] it was raining hard in Vegas.
The end of summer. Sorta. lol

Insurance-labels-on-windshield-no-plate-cruisin



Got home. Outdoor chillin, rain spittin.



Moved the car closer to the garage since the big coupe needs the garage more.



Started digging around





Kinda dropped the hood the other night and it got stuck.. so
i unbolted the hood latch mechanism on the hood side through the kidney grille area and ta-dah.

I used the OEM jack to pry the core support and flex the bumper apart from each other..



Then.. I started taking off the headlamp assemblies, us grilles (ripped them off really), bumper shrouds so i can access the bumper shock bolts.. not really didn't have much progress. gonna need a sawzall.

I'll take photos of the boring interior if anybody wants to see it. lol
Typical beige ripped driver seat. I thought i got an mtech 1 but not really. only notable thing interior wise is a short shift kit. lol

[Vtec?lol]

Good deal man! congrats. more pics when you get it please!

[jdirty]

The owner and i agreed to me buying it. Originally it was a $500 dollar car because of the money that the owner recently put in, for the swap, and other driveability issues that were addressed; such as a fuel pump and injectors, fuel filter, tires, brakes. It was just unfortunate for him to be crashed into. The owner just wanted to get some money back. He dropped down the price knowing that he considers me as an enthusiast and would rather have me have it than the crusher. And he said it himself, he'll only get $200 from the yard as is.

As far as restoring the car. Maybe, if i feel like it since i may be able to get it straightened out for free. On an actual rack and not the "tie to the tree method" (that i wouldn't mind doing either). Let's put it this way, my dad scoffs at the idea of me swapping an mtech1 into my airbag 318is because of safety concern and yet he's fine with having the frame rail straightened out. Contradicting, but this concern was backed up when i talked to a known mechanic and also the head of BMWNA NV chapter, that it is just the crumple zone.

At $200 it's a steal no matter how you put it.
If i can't get it straightened out for free or cheap,
I'll take the motor put it in my e30 and swap a v8 in the e28 and drift it.
Then scrap it. so all in all, if i end up spending on the e28 it's not gonna be that much.

I appreciate all the points brought up by fellow members. and whoever moved it to the appropriate section. Should've posted this in the e28 section to begin with. sorryz

[NeedaE30]

I'll trade you my ak for the doors, but only if they are rusted :roll:

Sell the doors and drive it like a Jeep.

this.

[Threehz]

We wouldn't do 3/4ths the shit we do with e30's if our time wasn't worth it.

Sell the doors and drive it like a Jeep.

[Vtec?lol]

^Dude, do you approach everything in life this seriously? Lets start an argument with insults because adults.

before you go screaming and playing with bull poop, realize this car isn't that far from saving. He's not trying to restore it, he's just trying to play with it and take the motor out when he's done.

Should anybody buy this for long term transpo? no, everything we know and have been taught is to stay away from salvage cars.

Regaurdless of what his time is worth, if he's up to the task he should go for it. We wouldn't do 3/4ths the shit we do with e30's if our time wasn't worth it.

[smooth]

Dude, seriously. There's far worse shit being driven around out here and everyone knows it. If people are so concerned about saftey, you damn sure wouldn't be driving an e30. These things break legs and ribs from front end collisions at 35+

If you need a cheap daily to ride around while you swap your other car, this is the answer. Drive the dog fuck out of it and then part it when you're done.

If you get a heart for it, find a certified body man to throw it on a rack and straighten it for a few hundred. Especially if you can get the car for $200...

All it really boils down to is do you really want to fuck with another car?

where are you getting your information?

the safety claims you're making about E30's in general are complete bullshit and it's going to cost about $200 dollars just to set the car up and clamp it in!


Common sense should tell anyone that if the repair bill was only going to be $200 bucks the insurance company wouldn't have totaled it and the owner wouldn't be selling it for that cheap. Of course common sense ain't so common...

As for parting it out: how many people have offered you anything other than a hope and a prayer? any money offers for any parts other than the steering wheel? that's how much interest you'll have when you are parting it out==none.

There is, unfortunately, nothing of value on that car other than the possible exception of the steering wheel and *maybe* the engine if you need it. I have *never* sold a block and I've been here and elsewhere for about a decade. You can sell the head, you can eventually sell the manifold and a bunch of other misc. small parts but the only way you'll "make" money is if you value your time at $0.

If you already have a project then focus on your project. if you need a daily driver then buy a daily driver...a <$1000 honda or geo metro that will get you economy and from point A to B with cheap insurance until you're done with it and can flip to the next person needing cheap transportation.