It begins: Another E34 535iT project! (56k warning)

[Mr Project]

Hi, I'm Mr. Project, you might remember me from such internet forums as this one, a couple years ago! I used to have a '91 535i, but I sold it a year or so ago to a local friend.

It used to look like this:


A few months later, he decided he really needed a minivan (boo) so he sold it to another friend of mine. About a month ago, on a quiet Saturday morning, I got a phone call from that second friend....he had just been rear-ended by a drunk driver.



I instantly knew this was the opportunity I have been waiting for and trying to arrange for years....I also happened to know of a 525iT locally with a blown tranny, owned by a mechanic friend of mine. Well, yesterday I managed to talk him out of the car for a reasonable sum. It's been sitting for 5 years in the back of his lot, so it is FILTHY. The paint is also in pretty sad shape. This is after a solid 30 minutes with my 2500 psi power washer:




As you can see, it's far from perfect, but it's all there. The broken headlights/grill won't be a problem, as the front end of the 535i is perfect and even has my old euro ellipsoids that I'll be swapping over.

I've wanted to do a project like this for a long time...I always loved my 535i, but I haul a lot of crap around pretty frequently, and who doesn't love the classic lines of the E34 Touring? I've always thought the big, torquey M30, combined with the 5-speed manual tranny, made for the best combination of performance and low operating cost of any E34 drivetrain, and combining that with the Touring body is my personal 'realistic' E34 dream car.

So, this is the plan for the final output:
1992 BMW 535iT
M30B35 engine
5-speed manual tranny
3.46 LSD rear axle
Sachs kit (this is still up in the air)
M5T sways (19/25mm)
Euro ellipsoids
EAT Chip

[Mr Project]

6/22/06 Progress

Yesterday I got the Touring towed to the house, so I have both cars at my 'shop', I did a little cleaning on the Touring, and got the front end disassembled:

From this:



To this:



It'll be a little while before my next update since I have some 'around the house' projects I need to do this weekend. But I promise regular updates and as many pics as imageshack will let me host.

[kyleN20]

cool project, i envy peoplee who are able to undertake such things. good luck

[uflnuceng]

Way to think outside the box... interesting project

[Scott H]

rewiring to perform.

I've wanted to do a project like this for a long time...I always loved my 535i, but I haul a lot of crap around pretty frequently, and who doesn't love the classic lines of the E34 Touring? I've always thought the big, torquey M30, combined with the 5-speed manual tranny, made for the best combination of performance and low operating cost of any E34 drivetrain, and combining that with the Touring body is my personal 'realistic' E34 dream car.

So, this is the plan for the final output:
1992 BMW 535iT
M30B35 engine
5-speed manual tranny
3.46 LSD rear axle
Sachs kit (this is still up in the air)
M5T sways (19/25mm)
Euro ellipsoids
EAT Chip

[Ross]

Great idea. How about a giant hairdryer on that motor?

[kyleN20]

ditto

[Mr Project]

Yeah, a hairdryer is something I'd like to do eventually, but first I have to get this done, and I'm in the middle of a big Corvair restoration project as well. $$ is something I'm a lot shorter on than tools and expertise.

[DrewZ]

Enough about the stupid station wagon, let's see the 'Vair.

Yeah, a hairdryer is something I'd like to do eventually, but first I have to get this done, and I'm in the middle of a big Corvair restoration project as well. $$ is something I'm a lot shorter on than tools and expertise.

[Ross]

How about just selling the pair to me and getting on with the Corvair?
Tell us about the Corvair.