Story of a good ol' blue euro Six. Project thread

[hunter8]

Hello Bimmerforum guru's,

The story goes like this...My father wanted a euro sixer way back when and so he bought one in 1988. The number of owners is unknown but he has owned it since the year 1988. The car is a 1984 euro 635CSIA (automatic). He kept the car nearly 100% stock up until a year or two ago. By then, the car was showing some age with the paint and the interior and it was obvious that it needed some restoration attention. He has documented some of the following work on another sixer blog. It began with tearing out most of the interior and salvaging what could be salvaged. However, all the the seats looked dry as dead elephant and the seams were separating all over the place. So all the leather was reupholstered with the exception of the rear center console. Bell auto upholstery is the shop who did the work and they did a great job for the price! All colors match the rest of the interior quite well, and even the center console. Around this time I was selling my 1994 525i with un-staggered M-Pars and an extra two staggered. After some test fitting dad decided it would be best to use the un-staggered for ease of tire replacement, strut housing space and overall appearence.
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This is where it gets interesting though....I was on my way down the I-17 in Phx, AZ driving my mom to her job in the six since her car was in the shop (740IL). Morning rush hour and she was in the back seat. Just prior we dropped my sister off so that's why mom was in the rear. So going down the HOV lane, about 40MPH; the car ahead stops rather suddenly and I don't have enough braking room. Turns out other driver was alone in the HOV lane and received a nice ticket. This may also have been the reason for her sudden stop due to a police car making an appearance.


So anyways, now the my dads super sixer looks like an accordion. You can imagine how great this must have felt....for both of us.

However, neither of us sustained any injuries.
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[hunter8]

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=530196&stc=1

Here she was with the M-Pars

[e24mpwr]

What color blue? Can't quite read the sticker... Looks like it might be Cosmos Blau (which is the color of my car).

What are your post-accident plans?

[hunter8]

Now began the search for either the required parts or an entire parts car. I wound up buying a parts car down here in the valley and I started a thread looking for interest in any of the parts; however I never found time to maintain that thread so I will just continue with this one.

The big issue with the parts car was the surface rust. It was the only one I could find at the time with matching part numbers such as the fender, hood and other items. I dont know if theses items are widely interchangeable but we decided to be safe and go matching.
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I don't have before pictures but essentially the entire front clip and body panels were taken from the parts car. The body shop I used was Eclipse Auto Body here in the valley. The owner is my next door neighbor and has been EXCEPTIONALLY helpful with the process of this project. ( Feel free to take down this message if it appears too advertising BF.com management or whoever you are) They are highly recommended!!

And here is the after results from the body shop:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=530200&stc=1

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@E24MPWR the car is baltic blue Metallic

[hunter8]

Here's some of the difficulties we came across:

The front was crunched so much we could not get the radiator or fan out. We hooked the front clip to the back of a truck with straps and de-crunched the front end a little. Sorry no pics.

The goal at this point was to make it run. This way we could assess whether or not the mechanical hiccups would be to much. With enough room now to install a radiator from the parts car it should run in theory. However, for some reason the car wouldn't fire up; but instead just turn over and over. Turns out it was just a loose connection on the crank position sensor and she fired right up like she had always done.

Some damage pics:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=530203&stc=1
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[hunter8]

After it returned from the body shop with fresh primer it was time to work out all the kinks with the mechanics. The first and biggest dilemma was the oil cooler and lines. All components were ruined and required replacement. We couldn't source a decent cooler from our mechanic (Sports Car Recycling) who specialize in BMW's. So instead we simply swapped out the non oil cooled filter housing from the parts car. *We are moving somewhere a bit less hot so the oil cooler doesn't seem necessary anyways.

Found some pics of the parts car together as its towed away to the shop:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=530206&stc=1
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[hunter8]

And some of the destroyed oil cooler

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Some more of the parts car engine:

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[hunter8]

Today the car was prepped completely for paint. Which included:

- Windshield removal (broken from impact)
- Trim removal (except for window surround trim)
- tail lights
- sunroof seal
- Trunk seal
- Rear bumper
- Rear spoiler

The next hurtle we are crossing at the moment is the front bumper. The parts car bumper is in very poor condition from the chrome up. Bottom valence fiberglass is in decent shape but everything aluminum is questionable. Hopefully the body shop will be able to work a miracle and restore as many parts as possible. Being optimistic, I will still need the center chrome piece and most of the rubber molding if the rest is salvaged.

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[Bert Poliakoff]

Bumper chrome should be dealer available. I got mine at BMW No. Scottsdale. Yes Hunter, there are some more euro E24s in the valley

[hunter8]

By now I have nearly completely stripped the parts car of anything worth value.

Parts removed (rough estimate)

- Head and intake manifold
- starter, alternator, power steering pump, A/C condenser, and most other miscellaneous components.
- rear bumper (chrome and rubber in very poor condition) not sure if chrome can be saved
- unbroken tail light
- almost all seals
- windshield (broke trying to remove) but gasket seems reusable
- all dash components
- recaro electric/manual seats
- Door cards (poor condition)
- window regulators and door glass
- Most other hard to find pieces

The rest is scrap!!

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Interesting engine note: sadly when I took the thermostat housing off it was empty.... who knows how long this engine went without proper cooling but it does not look good. The odometer is obviously from a different car becasue it reads 38xxx miles. So I also don't have any real idea of engine mileage. Bores have evidence of cross hatching but nothing like major scoring. Pistons have plenty of carbon deposits but not any valve impacts.

The way the engine is turning out, I am glad I made the decision to remove only the head for future purposes.

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@bert poliakoff, sweet we should meet up once the car is finished! Monday is when she is due back from the paint shop so hopefully we can get her all done in the coming week.

[dcains]

Are those Recaro's salvageable?

[DesktopDave]

Sorry to hear about your accident, but it sure looks like you're putting it back together the right way.

Based on the surface rust, I'd presume the donor is a rusted-out wreck. They tend to look better here until you put them up on a lift.

Are you pulling the pistons? Those high compression 10:1 piano top pistons are relatively rare from what I've seen. Is that oil cooler similar to the M20 part mounted in the E30? I know the filter housing is far different, but the radiator looks very similar. I doubt it's a straight swap, but LMK if you need some quick measurements & pictures of the M20 part.

[hunter8]

The seats are not in the greatest condition to say the least. The leather actually isn't very bad, just dry and usual wear. Everything else is a mess such as the electronics which don't work at all, and the seat backing glue. The pics show the center portion falling out which is the biggest concern. If it were me, I would either live with the ugly square non-working switches, or reupholster that portion of the seat and fill in the switch board with foam. As for the center portion, a lot of re-gluing may do the trick but it wont look the greatest. (same story for both seats)

@desktopdave, Thanks! The donor car was a PO "project" that went horribly wrong. Stripped the paint and then never painted it so it was all surface rust. The engine ran rough the few times I got it running. The parts car actually just got taken away to the yard this afternoon and I left everything from the block down go with it. Oh well, without any history about mileage I don't feel horrible about letting the pistons go.

As for the oil cooler I am not sure about the interchangeability between the E30 engine and mine. I think for now we will see how the car does without a cooler. Thanks though!

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[tschultz]

Shame about the parts car. But glad it is helping another live on!!

[Layne]

I could see getting $500 for those seats as-is. Ebay is probably the best place for them. I think they're called "Recaro Original C" or something like that. Highly, highly desirable seats.


Woweee that parts car is THE rustiest 80's car I've ever seen. It looks like a 60's BMW. I would have bought that just to take the Sharkfest crusty award with.

[hunter8]

Maybe I will look into getting the seats looking spiffy! Hardest part would be getting electrical components working.

[Bert Poliakoff]

Duane and Pike had an E30 cooler laying around their yard. I had looked at it at one point and I believe it will fit, maybe a tiny bit of bracket adjustment. If the hoses are different, new ones made to your size can be done for about $22 at Granberry in Mesa or the Parker Store on E Broadway using your original fittings.

[hunter8]

UPDATE: Car is at body shop for paint as of last Thursday. Expected to be finished by Wednesday. So keep tuned in!

[tschultz]

Hope you could make it out to CO this August if it is road ready by then!!

http://www.Drive4Corners.com (http://www.drive4corners.com/)

[hunter8]

Not affiliated with the cars progress: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/4974836359.html

I don't believe the current owner has any idea it is a euro and what is is worth. Have not seen the car, but over the phone she said the drivers seat is torn and it needs a re-paint.

Somebody pick it up!

[hunter8]

Today most of the car arrived back from the paint shop! After re-assembly of everything the car will return to the shop for a final buffing so that's why its so dirty. What can be saved of the bumper is due back tomorrow. Car looks very good and the body shop had to go over the car twice in order to get a smooth finish. The paint also appears to be a tad bit darker than original BMW color but it looks just as good or better.

Some un-photoshopped pics from this afternoon:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=531253&stc=1

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[dm635]

Great story saving the 6. I'd have to think most of these cars with that amount nose damage would have been scrapped.

[hunter8]

It was definitely a possibility for the car to be scrapped but it had sentimental value. Thanks to the body shop we were able to piece together a pretty slick looking car! I'll post some better pictures once I have time and the lighting is right.

[daniels635turbo]

Nice work.

[daniels635turbo]

Updates?