1990 E34 525i

[Conki]

So I finally saved up some money to spend on my little E30, when I stumbled upon an ad selling this 525i on Craigslist.
It looked beautiful on the pictures, and even better in life, I just had to buy it.
It was cheap, because the timing belt broke on the previous owner.
So this is my new project, hopefully it will run in a few weeks, depending on what it needs!

What I know so far:

- Beautiful body and paint, not one ding or scratch!
- A few interior pieces need to be replaced, but nothing major
- 150,000 miles
- All service records are in a thick folder from when it was new
- Simple cloth interior, I love it!
- MANUAL 5 speed, I thought I'd never find an E34 that looks good and has a manual in it!
- Oil pan is a bit wet - problem will most likely be solved by a new gasket
- Broken timing belt ==> New valves for sure, or should I say new cylinder head. I want to inspect the cylinder walls, pistons, rods, and the crankshaft as well, as they might have some minor cracks from the impact.
- Oh and of course it has the M20B25 in it, so if I mess up something on this one, I won't make the same mistake on my E30:)
- Left side plastic trim on the front bumper is cracked, needs to be replaced

I've never taken apart an engine that was not on a stand before, so this shall be pretty interesting.
I hope I'll only have good news after I remove the head, so fingers crossed!

Onto pictures:




















The engine as they left it:


Engine parts in the trunk:


I can't wait to start it up for the first time:)

[Conki]

Oh and why is this a project?
I have two reasons:

1) I've never done work on an engine before that's more involved than changing the timing belt.
2) I want to see if I can make profit, when selling in the end, or not. I'm really optimistic, we shall see how it goes.

[Unearth078]

thats beautiful. if only it had an m50 in it id be interested when finished. if it had an m50 in it you wouldnt of gotten it for cheap though.

[Conki]

thats beautiful. if only it had an m50 in it id be interested when finished. if it had an m50 in it you wouldnt of gotten it for cheap though.

I know. M50 would be awesome, but I think this is a good start. I had little money, I try to do as much as I can with it. I'll post a detailed cost/profit list after I sell it, hopefully the revenue will exceed the costs:)

But if I buy a 5er for myself later, it will be a 535 at least. It has to be manual as well (which I don't even know if exists here in the states), and I'd love to have a touring. I love touring e34s.

[Jean]

Dude, cloth e34?! nice!

Yank the m20 out, put s50/s52 in :)

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/1943800395.html

E36 M3 S50 Engine/Tranny/ECU/Harness - $1200 (san jose west)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2010-09-08, 4:38PM PDT
Reply to: sale-entys-1943800395@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]


I have an S50 engine from a 95 M3

Has approx 140k miles

Still installed in my car, you must remove

Includes tranny, ECU, harness, and all accessories minus the alternator

Price is FIRM and I will not split anything up

Call ( 4 0 8 ) 666-0111, thanks

[Conki]

Dude, cloth e34?! nice!

Yank the m20 out, put s50/s52 in :)

I was thinking about it, but there are some constraints here:
1) I'm on a really tight budget right now
2) I don't have the tools for that. I can only lift part out of the bay that I can lift with my two hands:)
3) Currently I live in an apartment where non-op cars aren't allowed. The manager gave me a break and told me that I can park here for at most one week. So I need to be done as fast as I can

Just wait about a year guys, I'll get my own place after I get my diploma, hopefully with a garage, I can't wait to start on more serious projects:)

[Conki]

Dude, cloth e34?! nice!

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/1943800395.html

E36 M3 S50 Engine/Tranny/ECU/Harness - $1200 (san jose west)

Sounds tempting! Ahh don't do this to me, I have to keep this project quick and cheap:/

[Jean]

Sell me the e34 and i'll do the rest? ;)

I would love to find a MINT e34 manual for under $1000! Perfect to drop something with more power and have a nice DD with power ! Argh.

FUCK YOUR WAFFLES

[Conki]

Sell me the e34 and i'll do the rest? ;)

How 'bout a joint venture?;)

[Jean]

haha

[Conki]

haha

I supply the car, you the engine/tools/garage, and we split the profit?:) How does that sound? It sounds like a good deal to me:)

[Jean]

Do the swap for YOURSELF dude, not to sell :) It just wouldn't feel right to put the effort in to do it for profit imho. You got a nice clean example on your hands, keep it!

[Conki]

Do the swap for YOURSELF dude, not to sell :) It just wouldn't feel right to put the effort in to do it for profit imho. You got a nice clean example on your hands, keep it!

That's another thing I'd love to do. But I can't afford to have two cars, I need to sell one of them to be able to fund stuff for the other. And my E30 is just so amazing, with all it's little problems, I know I wouldn't get as much for it as it is worth to me. The E34 is the exact opposite, that's why I'd rather sell that one. But I don't know. I want both:)

[Conki]

One more detail:
When the belt broke, the PO took the car to a repair shop. They replaced the belt (so there is a new one on there), and then they proceeded to TRY TO START THE ENGINE.
Then since it wasn't working, they carried out a compression test, with a conclusion that "the car might need a valve job".

LULZ:)



And since this guy has the new Torx type bolts, I need to go shopping...

[TimKninja]

Harbor freight is your friend for E-Torx sockets.

Clean e34, my friend has got a 89 535i with a 5 speed, its awesome.