Dec. 5, 2006 - Getting up to date...
So, lets get all caught up to where we are now, eh?
After getting it, work needed to be done. I'll make it quick. I've been working on the car for about 5 months now. No real mods yet, my goal was to get it back to where it was when it rolled off the showroom floor. So its a restoration of sorts; I want the car to be as mechanically sound as possible. Lets see...
Welded drivers seat back together
New gauge cluster
New CV joint boots
New center tie rod (twice, don't know why the first one failed.
New wheels (Antera 5 spoke 16's with Sumitomo ZZR II's)
Fixed fuse box woes, replaced fuses
Shadow Lined the taillights
New rear seat
New vacuum lines
Grounded block to body (fixed the coolant temp gauge, no overheating)
New engine coolant temp sensor
New radiator
Tightened steering box lash
New clutch master cylinder
Flushed coolant, brake fluid, steering fluid
Fixed anti-lock brakes
Put in stereo (JBL 5 inches/crossover to tweeters in rear, MB Quart fronts with crossover for premium tweeters, Alpine head unit)
New front shocks
New plugs
AFM wiper adjustment
AFM idle mixture adjustment
New idler arm
Adjusted valves several times
Put on homegrown harge airdam from an e30 that we made to fit an e28
As of now, I have more work planned. I'd like to put in a lighter flywheel, I have to get the climate control lights in the center console working, I'm going to put an alpine sub in, I have a few exhaust leaks to corral, I want a chip, headers if i can find/afford them, and then hopefully soon I will custom install an eaton m90 with my dad. We're gonna use a rrfpr and bigger injectors, maybe an anti-knock sensor if i can rig one up. I'm hoping that at about 8-10 psi which is doable on the 8:1 compression ratio, I can get around 300 whp. Not an unrealistic dream, and damn that would be nice. I'd also like a UAS keyless entry system (real slick, only a hundred bucks.). I also have to put in the rear shocks (kyb adjustbles) which I have, just haven't gotten around to, put in the steering box I pulled from a wrecked 535is to fix the slight play, Put in the 3.25 LSD after I put in a new seal, and check the front passenger side suspension/steering assemble to chase down the looseness/clunk over bumps that I get sometimes.
|
|
Comments (0) Login to comment :: Permanent Link
|
Dec. 5, 2006 - The beginning of a saga
Well, this is an introduction to my automotive tale. It began around, oh, I'd say june-ish of 2006. My father stumbled across an Ebay auction for a 1987 black on cardinal 5 speed 535i. It was located in the mountains in North Carolina. Well, apparently the God of Speed was smiling down upon me and we won the auction for around $750. The car was a basket case, but having driven a 1982 528e, my love affair with the e28 was firmly established and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a machine such as this. We rented a U-haul car carrier and drove down in his 1991 F-150. It was like perfection in a day, gorgeous weather and a road trip with the old man. We played Hendrix, The Who, Steely Dan, I swear I've never been happier. Well, we get down there and the car is sitting in the driveway. It was old, dented, worn and in general severely neglected. The auction had said that the car would start and run, but had an overheating problem.
I got in the car and started fiddling. The car was in pretty poor shape seeing as how random interior bits were broken/missing and the drivers seat was flopping around like a wet noodle. Looking under the car was a different story, the undercarriage was flawless, not a hint of rust. The car had probably never seen snow. It was rough around the edges, and through the middle for that matter, but I saw something there. Somewhere, deep down, there was an incredible machine in there waiting to be released.
Shortly before handing over the money we found out that the car had no traceable paper trail, making it almost un-titleable in Maryland. I was crushed, I HAD to have this car. My father refused to buy it for $750, at this point it was a parts car with an unknown engine and transmission. He said it was worth $300 for parts only. After a heated debate over price, we were both pretty pissed, seeing as how we had driven 7 hours to find this out. The Owner caved, and we ended up getting it for $300. I started it, and backed it out. It started right up, and ran like shit. It was rich, stumbling, and surged at idle. But I loved it.
After getting it on the trailer, we began the long trip home. I was about as happy as a kid on Christmas, knowing what I had. I must have turned around to look at it 200 times on the way back. We got home around dinner, and parked it by the setting sun at the bottom of the driveway, where it sat for about 3 months. I didn't have time to work on it, having a full time job and not knowing what to do about the title.
Long story short, after a legal-rigamarole and some nimble stepping I got the car titled and on the road, and that's where the story really began...
by oneeyemonkeypie
With the car before working on it.
by oneeyemonkeypie
Good times.
|
|
Comments (0) Login to comment :: Permanent Link
|
|
About Me
Chronicling the epic journey of one e28 from near scrap to total road sex
Friends
|
