Black Betty - 1987 E28 BMW 535is

So I sold the 83 944 and picked up a new project - a 1987 BMW 535is. She needs a bit of work, pretty much everywhere, but I immediately fell in love. After all of the great advice and glowing reviews, and those of a few E28 owners (thank you to the Suddard's), I couldn't pass up the very 1980's German goodness. The car is Diamond black over Pearl beige. A very fanciful combination as it sounds. But, don't let the bejeweled names fool you, she is rough. She sits on rims from an 840 (can someone tell me what tire size should be on such rims, the tires are shot and I don't think they even have the right size tire)

To say that this car didn't appear as it did in the Craigslist ad, is a gross understatement. As gross as some of the things I found under the seats. She has dents, ding, scratches, oxidized paint, but not a single spot of rust. The interior is a smoker's paradise and we spent most of today pulling the interior apart piece by piece and degriming. The sport seats fully function, but the leather is trash. The back seat looks okay and Enzo the Boxer settled himself in pretty quick.

Some fun discoveries today as we inspected a bit closer and tore into it a bit: There are large rocks under the battery, supporting it (seriously), the Check engine light is flashing (anyone know who can read the code), the coolant and oil lights are flickering but levels and temps are okay (new sensors?), there is an exhaust leak, and the exhaust is being held to the car with a hanger, a hope, and a prayer. The tires are dry rotted. And they include 3 snows and a Goodyear.

So um, yeah, we have some work cut out for us, but its more of a long term project. Im already more in love with this car than the 944, from an emotional attachment point of view. The tank-like driving characteristics are nice too.

So, here are some pictures, progress, etc. And I will update as we fix things, blow things up, bleed, cry, catch on fire, and race. And a combination of them.

When I picked her up: <img src="" />

Oxidized and broken. New mirror enroute today. <img src="" />

Some light cosmetic damage to the bumper. <img src="" />

Seats are rough. This was after a bit of cleaning. A LOT to still go. <img src="" />

Enzo likes the E28 back seat MUCH better. Need to fix the one back window. Won't go down. <img src="" />

Looks great from afar... <img src="" />

Car had some awful faded purple tint in the back. Came off fairly easy with a little elbow grease. <img src="" />

Started pulling the interior apart for cleaning and fixing. Cleaned up the door cards really well... <img src="" />

This week I will start assessing the overall mechanical needs and dump the old fluids. She runs well but the exhaust and tires are trash. The plan is a slow restoration and build, mostly using OEM and period-specific items. I'm already trying to find a period correct Valentine 1and Alpina goods.

bamalama!

i'm glad to see that you have two left wheels and two right wheels. all you need to do is decide which way you want the spokes to point, then swap wheels around to achieve that.

while you've got the wheels off the car, check them all for size and offset info on teh backsides of the spokes or under the center cap. once we know what size the wheels are, we can recommend tire sizes.

The PO's decision process was interesting. The wheel directions were nothing compared to some other modifications.

That check light on the dash is pretty basic - it's just there to alert you to the alarm panel over the rear view mirror. If one of those lights are on the dash light will flash (also, it comes on every time you start the car until you press the brake pedal the first time.) Push the button on the overhead panel to stop the light from blinking.

The coolant level sensor is in the top of the expansion tank. Take it out, clean it up really well and put it back in to see if that fixes the problem. The oil sensor is in the bottom of the pan and it just detects oil level, not pressure, so if the dipstick shows a correct level it's more of an annoyance than anything. I haven't replaced one so I can't comment on fixing it.

Get yourself an e28 5 series repair manual from Bentley, it's a very good book and is essential for owning these cars. You can get them on Amazon or from most any BMW parts house.

There is a good tire sizing guide for these cars here: http://www.scrappycrow.com/e28wheelstires/e28wheelstires.html scroll down and click on the spreadsheet link. You can plug in the offset and tire size and it will calculate the fitment for you. I don't recall offhand which tires work best with those wheels but 225/50-16 is pretty common.

Finally, www.mye28.com is the best resource for information. First thing is to check the FAQ section there for common questions, and then use the search function if you have other concerns - there are some uptight guys there who will rag on you for asking common questions without researching them first, but on the whole it's a pretty friendly community.

I loved the look of these cars before, but there is something about those wheels that is just friggin' awesome! Looks great, I'm excited to follow the build thread!

that thing is a manual transmission away from being the perfect car

Got a little bit more into it today after some home projects. Took some more of the interior out. Carpet looks salvageable even after a bit of simple green and scrubbing. Anyone ever try one of those rental carpet shampoo things from lowes? Was thinking about using it on the carpet if I pull the seats.

Trying to pull the aftermarket stereo out, it's dead. I'm thinking I will have to take the dash apart a bit to get it out but was hoping I could just pull it and swap in a new one.

What else. Lets see, oh yeah it's a disaster the more I dig in. The coolant sensor is definitely shot, tried adding some today but the light is still there. Someone took the air intake off at some point and totally put this thing in berkleying backwards. It's pretty much resting on things and I have yet to figure out how to get it seated correctly. See photos.

Also, something is missing on this engine bay. See photos below. There is clearly a bracket that is part of the cars body, with 3 holes that have evidence that at some point something was there.

The belts are hanging on by a thread. Literally. I ordered up some new ones from Bavarian auto tonight.

Pulled the front end apart a bit to change the lights out. Looks like someone may have resprayed at one time.

Later this week when I have time the fluids will be swapped and ill try to assess things a bit more mechanically.

So yeah it's a long road ahead but I feel it's a solid base to work from.

Any idea on a cost to replace an exhaust on an e28 M30?

Missing parts? This is not sitting right or bolted down.. <img src="" />

As promised, the granite rocks that are "Supporting" the battery. What is supposed to be under the battery? Is this even in the right place? <img src="" />

Total disaster. Ordered up new plugs and wires tonight and some other stuff (oil level sensor, coolant sensor, etc). <img src="" />

Literally, on by a thread. Also ordered this tonight. <img src="" />

So this is the bracket I mentioned. What is supposed to be here under the hood of an e28? <img src="" />

Missing the cover to the service port. Anyone have one or know what its called so I can order up a new one? <img src="" />

Started pulling some of the trim for repair.

Looks like you have the foundation for a very nice car. Congratulations.

No major updates for the moment. Did a bit more cleaning and fixing of trim last night. We got a set of front grills that were not cracked. Cleaned up very nicely...in our bathtub (ooops).

Also got the passenger side door cards cleaned up and put back together, now we need to tackle the left side of the car. Also ordered a replacement lower vented console piece. The one in Betty was missing most of its fins and the lighter assembly had long since disappeared. A new OEM piece was shockingly cheap from ECS Tuning.

The interior is slowly coming back together. The carpet will probably be the next task after the panels and missing bits. The seats will have to live with covers for a bit until we can find a better set of sport seats, or the cost to reupholster them.

I have some time off after Wednesday, so I have a laundry list of items to tackle. First off, the car is being registered with the great state of NY on Thursday, which is honestly the most tedious task on this list. Then on Friday Betty is getting an oil/filter change, coolant flush, new coolant sensor, new belts, fix the exhaust (busted gasket and hangers), and if time allows before our weekend trip, the plugs/wires.

That should hopefully begin to get some of the maintenance up to speed that has been sidelined. We're using Bay Diagnostics for any work that we can't tackle, supposedly a really great Euro shop near by to us in Brooklyn. Checked their work out and their rates and they seem like great guys for when we need to bring it in.

Rub a dub dub, grills in the tub.

Also, working from this list so that I can "baseline" the car and take care of what I assume will be things the last owner(s) put off....

Baselining and Resurrecting an E28

Let me know if any of you folks can recommend anything else as far as a baseline starting point goes. This is the first car we've ever really dived into fully. The Porsche was mostly sorted. This, not so much, but is already a lot more fun.

Ram-ba-lam!

Among a whole slew of other parts that I ordered (new and used), I found someone that was willing to part with this for a great price:

Will eventually go in once things are sorted a bit more.

Acquired Black Betty from Brian 9/7/13.

Build page follows up here: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/1987-bmw-535is-black-betty-part-deux/70343/page1/