Butler's E34 M5 Barn Find Restoration

[Butler]

My future car is looking damn good, Nick :)

:devil:;D

[Butler]

Well! After waiting for a whole freaking week I got my new intake book and intake actuator. I promptly installed them both!

Intake-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr





The results? Intake actuator start test approved!

The real results were AMAZING. The car pulls much harder and is far more responsive. Word on the street is that a working actuator is worth 30hp :D

[Butler]

The previous owner got in touch with me to see if I wanted two extra keys, brand new dealership keychains, more mainteance documents, the original paper license plate and some other random tid-bits. I of course said, yes!

M5paperwork-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5paperwork-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5paperwork-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

[IceWhite]

The original owner got in touch with me to see if I wanted two extra keys, brand new dealership keychains, more mainteance documents, the original paper license plate and some other random tid-bits. I of course said, yes!

You lucky B*st*rd!! :D

[Eric]

That's awesome! How did he find you?


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[Butler]

Oh god, sorry guys! I meant the previous owner - not the original owner. MY BAD! :)

[2mAn]

Time for Euro Trim? Makes a BIG difference in the overall look on these cars. Love what you're doing keep it up

[Butler]

Two weekends worth of update here: fix power steering leak


Started out simple enough - stop the annoying leak. It was a few drips per night. Not crazy, but enough to stain my driveway and be obnoxious. I grabbed two different sizes of hose, fresh hydraulic fluid and felt courageous enough to start this messy project!

Pull off the intake

PowerSteering-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Theres the soggy bastard

PowerSteering-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Still building courage getting ready to start cutting the original lines. I did this job on my E36 M3 years ago and it wasn't that bad.. I must have had a premonition because both hose sections I bought didn't fit (1/2" and 3/4").


PowerSteering-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


I couldn't really find any straight info online and tried calling every auto parts place I could unlucky for me it was Saturday night and everyone was shutting down for the weekend. One last trip to Autozone produced another section of 1/2" hose that seemed at least more pliable than what I had on hand. I made it work. Ughh and that means I just fought/forced it on. Not my favorite thing ever but by Sunday night I was at day two and in the end it worked.

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Walked out Monday morning to this lovely slight.

Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Had a crazy work week and didnt get a spare minute to touch this mess. Turns out it started leaking from another, smaller hose directly off the reservoir. I must have jostled it so much during my wrestling match that I broke it. Not a huge surprise for a 25 year old hose. :(

I ended up googling auto parts stores and asking them for bulk power steering hose and got lucky on my first try! An Advanced Auto Parts across town happened to have 5/8" power steering hose! That was the magic size that I couldn't find the weekend prior! Stoked. I brought it home with another new bottle of fluid - bam. I was done in 15 minutes.





I scrubbed everything down for the last time and let it sit over night before completely reinstalling all of the intake. Didn't leak a drop!
Anyone looking to replace their power steering hose without buying OEM hoses, look for 5/8" or 16mm.

PowerSteering-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Feels great to be out on the road again.

PowerSteering-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

[Butler]

My wife came through big time for an insanely nice birthday gift! She had some help from my friends! :)

M5_MtechII-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_MtechII-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_MtechII-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_MtechII-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


And profit. Ahhhhhh SO MUCH BETTER.

M5_MtechII-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Seriously, this is an amazing upgrade. The wheel is the smaller, 370mm version, wrapped in brand new leather with M color stitches! This is a mod that I've always wanted but never actually had in my 12 years driving different BMWs! The steering feel is much improved over the stock wheel which is just hideous.



This came from my best friend.. He came also through big time! Portland BMW said this was the last one in the states!

M5_shiftknob-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_shiftknob-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_shiftknob-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

M5_shiftknob-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

Gahhhh! The interior feels like a million dollars now! I know you guys understand what a piece like this means to a old time BMW nerd like myself. The new knob + steering wheel... just damn. It feels so good. :devil:

[doorman]

Nice gifts bud!!!!
Car is looking great.
What are your feelings on the wheels?
They definitely convey a "sleeper" look in my opinion.

[Eric]

Wow, awesome! I would agree, the Mt2 wheel feels superb in the e34 M5!




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[Butler]

Nice gifts bud!!!!
Car is looking great.
What are your feelings on the wheels?
They definitely convey a "sleeper" look in my opinion.

The turbines!? They are amazing in a awkward and very subtle way. :) I like them. After I get my suspension dialed in, I'll spend some time polishing the lips and fitting some spacers.

Wow, awesome! I would agree, the Mt2 wheel feels superb in the e34 M5!




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Tell me about that interior! I'm very much planning on an M cloth interior down the road for this car. Whats the story with yours?

[Butler]

I haven't updated you guys in a while!

New stuff -
Koni sport adjustables
LowTec 60mm springs
KMac adjustable camber plates



Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


FrontSuspension-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




And done! Honestly, not as low as I was expecting or as low as I wanted. I might switch camber plates down the road if it doesn't settle a little more. So far, they function as they should... which is DAMN GOOD! Holy crap, these parts made a huge difference over the nasty blown out stock parts. The install was pretty easy for what I've experienced in the past working on old BMWs. No tricky bolts or parts stuck together. I was, very literally, sprayed with 30 year old shock oil while disassembling the first shock. It sprayed all over me and my driveway making a huge mess - it was my first time dealing with an oil filled shock apparently.


Here is the final result. So far the front fender is at 25.75" I stupidly didnt measure the before height. Doh!

FrontSuspension-6 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

FrontSuspension-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr



I had a mix up with ECS who accidentally sent me a set of front shocks... I ordered rears. That took a quick 2 weeks to get sorted out but eventually I was back on track with the right parts and I finally got down to business.

New rear shock mounts
Koni sports
LowTec 10mm springs



RearSuspension-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

RearSuspension-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

RearSuspension-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr



You guys only get a sneak peek rain pic for now.

RearSuspension-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

[2mAn]

Did you drive it around at all after you lowered it?

[spiDmang]

Nice progress, Nick!