Luke
SuperDork
11/9/09 11:18 p.m.
I drove this old girl home last night ('82 528i.) Like just about any $1000 car, it needs a bunch of work, but nothing overly complicated or costly.
The engine starts instantly and runs like a top, and it's not short on power . But best of all, it has a lovely Teutonic solidity about it. Everything closes with a nice thud, and you get the impression it would run on forever. Unlike the Italian cars I've had, which felt delicate and dainty by comparison.
Seems to be a bit of a 'stripper' model as well, being the only one I've seen without electric windows and a sunroof.
Some pixors:
Interior is a shambles, but should clean up okay.
I've seen a lot worse interiors than that. Still not in love with the brown paint, but at that price, it wouldn't be worth complaining about. I'd say you did well for $925 US. Hope you have some fun with it!
Looks very well bought. What are you planning to do with it? Restore it or mod it?
Luke
SuperDork
11/10/09 1:01 a.m.
No big plans yet, really. I'll buy the Bentley manual, then get stuck into fixing as much as I can myself, (shifter linkage, idle fluctuation and other weird vacuum-related problems, freshen up the front end with some new ball joints and maybe some poly bushes, etc.) A general service will probably do it a world of good, too. Plugs, leads, new fluids all 'round.
As far as mods go, I'll look into what can be done to improve the handling (without spending too much $$$), and I'd like to get the little boot spoiler that some of them came with.
This one ---->
Someone went and lost the steering wheel? What's it doing on the other side?
David
this was the hit of the Volkswagen show i went to a couple of months ago, dude slammed his E28, threw some muratic acid on it to get the color...
Good buy! They are built like tanks. (for the US guys, that car isn't the same as the 528e we got here, it has a 2.8 liter version of the M30 big six so it's a fairly quick car.) www.mye28.com is the the online community for these cars - I'm on there as well as Mike Burroughs, the owner of the oxidized 535i pictured above.
Nice! I am loving my old-man eta. I've put 800 miles on it in the last week, and it's just motoring along wonderfully.
Margie
One other thing - these cars do tend to have a somewhat uneven idle, so if it's just a little rough but not jumping around all over the place you may not have a problem there.
Heck for $1000 I even like the colour.
02Pilot
New Reader
11/10/09 9:19 a.m.
In addition to the obvious (a clean ICV, no vacuum leaks), a careful valve adjustment is absolutely key to getting the idle smooth.
I wish we got those bumpers, lights and I love the UK standard headlight treatment
Jay
Dork
11/10/09 10:00 a.m.
Please keep the fake-sheepskin seat covers.
Luke
SuperDork
11/11/09 2:11 a.m.
Cool car Stuart! Your BMW was a big hit on the Retro Rides (UK) forum, but I didn't realise a GRM'er owned it.
Sheepskins will stay, until I can find decent replacement seats . According to their website, there's a 528 sitting at my local pick-a-part, so I might have some luck there.