1986 M535i

Diddums said:
You need to move the battery to the boot and run some fuse wire under the car, great performance mod m9.
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Har har. :p

The M5 battery is in the RHS of the boot already, not sure about the M535i. It might still be in the front left of the engine bay down behind the headlight.

Nasher said:
As long as the chassis is healthy and it runs, you could probably get good money for it as is.

Someone can make a lot of money on a fully restored one. But they will need to invest a lot of time and money themselves. Worth it if you can do it all yourself, probably not if you need to pay people.
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For the price paid, I think even with paying people to do the work this one is worth it. A nice one is 10K. Fully restored to concourse standard, more than that. And the value is going up not down.
 
I've been chatting with Stuart at Munich Legends, and I'll probably end up just getting this done professionally, but until I'm able to trailer it over there I can't put a figure on it. Either way I think it's going to be worth it.

I'm also 5 weeks into a college course to learn spanners. I figured since I lost my business to covid I've got a lot of time on my hands so may as well learn what I can. I'd like to learn to weld, eventually. We'll see!
 
Because im very lazy, i've finally taken delivery last week. It's been at my brother-in-laws for a long time as i've had a lot of things that took priority; not least that I needed to buy a house with a garage to keep it in -_-

In any case it's here, and soon I can make a start on bringing her to life.

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Cheers chaps. I've been having a look at what I want to do. Originally i wanted to put it back to stock but what with rapidly failing parts availability and costs, im thinking about doing some light, tasteful restomodding.

Nothing wild, but probably:

Restomod current stereo to allow Bluetooth etc, replace speakers with modern and new wiring (though everything will look OEM so nothing bigger than current).
Replaced suspension
Replaced brakes, probably E34 540 with vented discs; or similar
Depending on how the current auto box is, if it needs replacing i'll attempt to sort a restored dogleg manual. If not, i'll leave it how it is.
Full stainless exhaust

But obviously before any of that, she needs booking in to be stripped and have the chassis checked out. When ive got a free weekend ill take a look in the moonroof to see what its like and have a poke around any other problem areas. Additionally this stage would be any engine rebuilding, fuel/brake lines and associated work discovered en route.

I'm assuming i'm going to be dropping 15k into this, minimum, and that it will never be worth that. But that's fine. I loved it as a kid, I loved how my uncle loved it and now its in my garage, i really, really love it.
 
Also, sorry i dont know if people are interested but just sticking it here for prosperity; Ive been flicking through all the paperwork. Theres mountains of receipts for work, tyres, MOTs etc dating right back to 1986. Ive discovered that it was SORNed in 2004, after failing its MOT for "Steering Mechanism" and "Front Suspension", though i cant read the handwriting to know exactly what the issue is. The recorded mileage was 81,080.
 
She's arrived this afternoon (after a very confusing journey via most of the south of England) at Munich Legends. Hopefully we'll get some good news once they've had a chance to properly evaluate.

Also spent the afternoon looking at my bank balance, since it will soon be gone.
 
These are strong money it seems, 17k in 2020, not bad.

Looks like it has a lot of potential, especially with some discreet mods. Should help with costs too. Fingers crossed on the chassis front!
 
I didn't know about that channel but now I'm watching them all. Probably too late now it's in a restoration place.
 
Got a call from Munich Legends today, it was... Not good news. I'm waiting for the full report but after a good week of having it up on the ramp and investigating it looks to be about 200 hours in the body shop just making right the rust on the chassis and underside.

That's before the replacement panels, two unsalvageable front doors, all new brake lines, fuel lines, and any mechanical work that needs doing (IE all calipers, discs, bushes, arms, shocks, and any engine work that needs doing).

So the budget is immediately blown.

Gonna take the weekend to think about it.
 
DampCat said:
Got a call from Munich Legends today, it was... Not good news. I'm waiting for the full report but after a good week of having it up on the ramp and investigating it looks to be about 200 hours in the body shop just making right the rust on the chassis and underside.

That's before the replacement panels, two unsalvageable front doors, all new brake lines, fuel lines, and any mechanical work that needs doing (IE all calipers, discs, bushes, arms, shocks, and any engine work that needs doing).

So the budget is immediately blown.

Gonna take the weekend to think about it.
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Get a second opinion, 200 hours is ridiculous, are their mechanics / welders all using zimmer frames?

I've seen welders strip and reweld half a car in a day, and to a very high standard too.
 
Rilot said:
That's nuts. What are they going to use, a soldering iron?
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must be a ground up restoration.......should get a second estimate. does sound like they are looking to keep there workshop busy for quite some time at your expense.

just re reading it if that is for just underside corrosion how did it stay on four wheels? its crazy hours.
 
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