As if it is not obvious, I like projects, and because of this I sometimes enjoy more of working on a project rather then finishing it. With the mtech1 pretty much done for this year (S38 is planned for 2008/2009), and the pro3 race car on hold, I've been wanting to work on a project of a different caliber.
Several months ago I picked up an Automatic 1988 528e, the transmission blew seizing the car and basically letting it sit idle for several months. I found it on craigslist and picked her up for a healthy sum of $600 dollars.
My goal for this car was to create a luxury car with all amenities. I've spent most of my car building years designs cars to handle around a corner, with most luxuries removed (who the hell needs A/C!), however this time around I wanted to build a car I would enjoy driving to work everyday (My 07 Nissan Xterra is great, but not a nice place to be, and I don't need an SUV every day)
John and I stripped the car down several months ago, yanked the motor and chucked the transmission into the trash.
I began acquiring parts several months ago, and finally the first week of December we will assemble the car and get it running. Then in early 2008 it will go into the body shop to have the rear dent fixed, and any other paint issue it may have (including hopefully aquiring a 535IS front spoiler)
Here are 95% of the parts ready to install, we are easily over the $3,000 mark when it comes to parts, however my point is to have a 100% reliable comfortable car that I do not need to worry about.
Next was the drivetrain. The stock engine had 280K miles on it, and while it was in pretty good shape, most of the seals were shot, and it was pissing out of every orifice it had.
I decided to build a 2.7I stroker motor with a spare 885/I cammed head that I had on the shelf, this included new rings, bearings, valve guides, valve seals, seals, etc. The point of this is to install, basically a brand new motor that will last me the life of the car.
Following the newness point of everything, the automatic transmission had to go, BMW's do not deserve automatics, and I don't care what you drive, they simply kill the driving feel of the car. Thanks to Joe Funk (who is totally AWESOME) we sourced a low mileage 120K Getrag 260, and mint condition 2.93LSD differential to replace the stock 3.46Open diff. I chose the 2.93 so I could enjoy a nice highway gear and cruise at 80MPH without killing MPG. A new clutch was also picked up to ensure everything drivetrain wise was new.
Suspension was the next topic of discussion, and while the car had been lowered on some unknown spring, the shocks were shot, and every bushing was cracked beyond use. I decided to go with H&R Springs to drop the car 1.25inches over its factory height, and Bilstein Touring Shocks to ensure a nice soft ride. All bushings will be replaced with their OEM Rubber equivilent (no urethane here). Brakes will be redone with OEM Brembo front/real calipers as well.
The factory exhaust was rusted beyond belief, and will be replaced with a factory CAT and factory Cat-Back with 2 chrome tips.. I want quiet remember?
Interior wise, the car came with tan interior, which I despise. Once again thanks to Joe Funk we will retrofit an entire black leather interior into the car, with Front AND REAR heated seats (yes, I give a shit about the rear passengers) Every tan piece (including the carpet eventually down the road) will be replaced with black or grey equivilents.. everything down to tearing out that ugly 4 spoke steering wheel and replacing it with a mint Mtech1 wheel we also sourced. And yes, this car will even have brand new A/C, talk about luxuries!
Stereo wise, I plan on having Luke design a rear box for the car, interfaced with a Full Intel Atom CARPC system with 250GB of local entertainment capacity. A Flip out 7inch Touch Screen LCD will provide control, and should provide enougn entertainment.
Anyway, that is it, I will post an update once we get the damn thing running under her own power. And here are a few old pictures of when I got the car, and a few of the CARPC setup.
And the CARPC setup
Several months ago I picked up an Automatic 1988 528e, the transmission blew seizing the car and basically letting it sit idle for several months. I found it on craigslist and picked her up for a healthy sum of $600 dollars.
My goal for this car was to create a luxury car with all amenities. I've spent most of my car building years designs cars to handle around a corner, with most luxuries removed (who the hell needs A/C!), however this time around I wanted to build a car I would enjoy driving to work everyday (My 07 Nissan Xterra is great, but not a nice place to be, and I don't need an SUV every day)
John and I stripped the car down several months ago, yanked the motor and chucked the transmission into the trash.
I began acquiring parts several months ago, and finally the first week of December we will assemble the car and get it running. Then in early 2008 it will go into the body shop to have the rear dent fixed, and any other paint issue it may have (including hopefully aquiring a 535IS front spoiler)
Here are 95% of the parts ready to install, we are easily over the $3,000 mark when it comes to parts, however my point is to have a 100% reliable comfortable car that I do not need to worry about.
Next was the drivetrain. The stock engine had 280K miles on it, and while it was in pretty good shape, most of the seals were shot, and it was pissing out of every orifice it had.
I decided to build a 2.7I stroker motor with a spare 885/I cammed head that I had on the shelf, this included new rings, bearings, valve guides, valve seals, seals, etc. The point of this is to install, basically a brand new motor that will last me the life of the car.
Following the newness point of everything, the automatic transmission had to go, BMW's do not deserve automatics, and I don't care what you drive, they simply kill the driving feel of the car. Thanks to Joe Funk (who is totally AWESOME) we sourced a low mileage 120K Getrag 260, and mint condition 2.93LSD differential to replace the stock 3.46Open diff. I chose the 2.93 so I could enjoy a nice highway gear and cruise at 80MPH without killing MPG. A new clutch was also picked up to ensure everything drivetrain wise was new.
Suspension was the next topic of discussion, and while the car had been lowered on some unknown spring, the shocks were shot, and every bushing was cracked beyond use. I decided to go with H&R Springs to drop the car 1.25inches over its factory height, and Bilstein Touring Shocks to ensure a nice soft ride. All bushings will be replaced with their OEM Rubber equivilent (no urethane here). Brakes will be redone with OEM Brembo front/real calipers as well.
The factory exhaust was rusted beyond belief, and will be replaced with a factory CAT and factory Cat-Back with 2 chrome tips.. I want quiet remember?
Interior wise, the car came with tan interior, which I despise. Once again thanks to Joe Funk we will retrofit an entire black leather interior into the car, with Front AND REAR heated seats (yes, I give a shit about the rear passengers) Every tan piece (including the carpet eventually down the road) will be replaced with black or grey equivilents.. everything down to tearing out that ugly 4 spoke steering wheel and replacing it with a mint Mtech1 wheel we also sourced. And yes, this car will even have brand new A/C, talk about luxuries!
Stereo wise, I plan on having Luke design a rear box for the car, interfaced with a Full Intel Atom CARPC system with 250GB of local entertainment capacity. A Flip out 7inch Touch Screen LCD will provide control, and should provide enougn entertainment.
Anyway, that is it, I will post an update once we get the damn thing running under her own power. And here are a few old pictures of when I got the car, and a few of the CARPC setup.
And the CARPC setup
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