E24 - Schlampe

[dewme5]

Just picked up a 635csi for a project car. It's my 4th BMW, but my first project BMW. Right now, I have no intentions of keeping it stock, or restoring it. I purposely found a down on it's luck version to alter, and make my own.

[dewme5]

The bad:
This car sat for 6 years without being started.
The interior is wet, the spare tire well is full of water.
Some rust is present in the corners of wheel wells where they meet the cab.
The engine cranks, but does not run.
Only one power anything works right, the drivers window.
Dash is cracked.
Seats are not what I want.
Tires are dry rotted, and on the metric rims TRX 390's

The good:
It's a Shark.
Pretty straight body.
M30B34 w/Close ratio 5speed Getrag 280 and LSD
My wife is fine with whatever I want to do with it.

The plans..
Strip the interior to fix the rust.
New carpet. New seats.
Custom dash
Megasquirt 3x, new injectors, and a turbo a few months from now.
18" rims, and a 1" drop. thicker swaybars, and brake upgrade.
Dip your car. More to try out the colors before going for a full paint job. Graphite pearl.
I want to keep AC.

If something is wrong with the m30, I have a 1uz v8 and manual swap just itching to drop in here. I like the idea of keeping the 6, but it'll have to push at least 350hp, and be fun, or a swap will be in my future.

[Bimmerista]

Congrats! It may be a long hard road to travel when it comes to these cars, but what you learn along the way is priceless.

[jhaurimn]

Congrats, you got a long road ahead. Sounds like there's more rust then you think. Should still be a fun project! Try and find some euro bumpers as you fix it up

[dewme5]

You know there is to much water in your car when you find a few of these.



This is as bad as the passenger front gets.



The rear set support is all good to go.



Passenger rear wheel well.


Driver rear wheel well.


And then, the bad news. The driver floor board.




So. Anybody have a good floor board laying around?



All in all, not to bad really. I expected/was prepared for more rust when I bought it. All the suspension points are good. Subframe is good. A little weld time, and things will be right.

[Thujalvi]

Yeah, not too bad.:eeek:

Still, please not to molest it too badly, I for the very least really like these cars, though then again, I kind of like the sound of a v8 E24. :)

Looking forwards to where this is heading.

[dewme5]

Here is the back after pulling out the spare.


But, once dried out, everything looks good.



The start of repairs.


First bit of repair.


I've not finished the driver footwell, but 3/4 of the repair is accomplished. I'd call it a good day.

[F34R]

I have junked two nicer sharks than this one...much work ahead.

Put a b35 head and convert it to 1.3 ;)

[dewme5]

I have junked two nicer sharks than this one...much work ahead.

Put a b35 head and convert it to 1.3 ;)

I'll skip the 1.3, and go straight to full sequential injection, and CNP ignition.

[dewme5]

Ok, the question has come up, and my mind is working. Currently, the M30b34 and G280 sits in the engine bay, in unknown condition. In my garage, I have a Toyota 1uz v8 and r154 manual.

The 1uz is a great motor, easy to boost to 500hp on stock internals. And if it blows up, just go to the junkyard for another for $200.

My question comes from not knowing the m30's potential. At this point, it's not a question of my ability, or money. I have the parts already, and fabability to do the swap.

I'm seeing several 350+ hp m30's. How are they for long term reliability on stock internals at this power level. Yes, I am aware I can build a motor, but at the moment I'm not going to do that.

So, what's your take on my dilemma?

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk

[dewme5]

I'm thinking this project should get nicknamed "The Rabbit Hole". I started down this path, and it keeps going deeper.

Congrats, you got a long road ahead. Sounds like there's more rust then you think. Should still be a fun project! Try and find some euro bumpers as you fix it up

Ain't this the truth! Every where I turn, the rust is multiplying! The undercoating on one side looks pristine, sound deadener on the other side looks perfect, and in between sits rust and more rust. Tried to use the jack pad, and the floor just stared to fold like aluminum foil, from being so thin from rust.

I have junked two nicer sharks than this one...much work ahead.

This is my first older bmw project, I'm normally used to older Muscle cars as projects. As with everything, there is a learning curve. I did not know what to look for as well as I thought I did. In hindsight, I would not have given more then $100 for this project, and in reality, this should go to the scrap yard.

CAUTION: When driving 7 hours away to get a vehicle, make plans to drive home without it, instead of day dreaming about how awesome it's going to be once finished.

I also don't think the guy who sold it to me was straight with me. (shocker right). I've started to pull the engine and trans. Planning on cleaning everything up, new seals, replace all rubber lines/hoses, painting the engine bay, etc. During disassembly, for a "ran great when I parked it" kind of car, there are some obvious problems, like... Shouldn't the CSB have a mount? Two piece driveshafts do require a center support, right? The shifter bracket, it's supposed to be mounted to the transmission, right? The center console is supposed to be screwed in place, and not just pull out, right? And on, and on, and on, and on, and on.. on.. on.. on.. on.....


So.. What to do What to do.
I've already got parts coming in. Tail lights, carpet, seals, paint, injectors, ECU... So, the project must go on. Now, it's just going to take longer, and cost more, way more, then intended. The bad side to this, is I scrapped my semi-daily driver toy, to fit this project in.

As it stands, until I can find a reason to scrap the M30, I'm going to keep it, and run a turbo.

[Calypso Moor]

My mom just bought one of these (also her 4th Luthe BMW), upgrading the brakes is a definite necessity.

[JFarhanbod]

E24 - Schlampe

I have rust free panels if you're interested.

[dewme5]

I have rust free panels if you're interested.

Not sure how easy it would be to get the panels. My problem areas so far, are the front footwells. Basically a section of the car, from the front of the seats, to the bottom of the dash board. All the way across... I can get by with patching, but a real shop would have to replace the whole section.


Brakes will be getting upgraded too. The 740i/540i big brake setup, along with all new suspension bushing, and lowering springs and shocks.

[JFarhanbod]

Not sure how easy it would be to get the panels. My problem areas so far, are the front footwells. Basically a section of the car, from the front of the seats, to the bottom of the dash board. All the way across... I can get by with patching, but a real shop would have to replace the whole section.





Brakes will be getting upgraded too. The 740i/540i big brake setup, along with all new suspension bushing, and lowering springs and shocks.

Check out my fs thread. Im selling all that stuff