1980 635csi Euro--a couple questions from a noob

[Jim Bob Cooter]

Hi Guys.

I've been doing a ton of digging on these and other forums and am finding it a bit confusing regarding finding parts for my particular model being it's a grey market car. I initially bought the car as an investment because I believed it was under priced but am now thinking I'm going to keep it...it's fun to drive, unique, and beautiful IMHO. I looked up the VIN and found out it was imported in 1986, sat for a 6 year period and a 14 year period (at least the tabs weren't renewed), and then the tabs were renewed every year for the last 12 years or so.

The car, a 1980 635CSi Euro with 88K miles, a 5 speed manual, and the M90 engine, is in very nice condition. As far as valuation, I've seen them everywhere from $2000 to $20,000, so I'm not sure where I stand if I ever do decide to sell it. Any ideas?

Also, can someone please give me a good parts source. At the moment I'm looking for an oil filter and am finding all of the parts websites I've visited don't even list a 1980 635.

Any insight and general information would also be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[alpinacsi]

As you mentioned $2000-$20000. Very difficult to give a valuation when we know nothing about the car.

For parts: use a reference like realoem.com to find the part numbers and then go to a site like autohausaz.com or pelican parts to price and order. There are many options and I am sure others will list more.

Welcome to the group.

[FernandoBunster]

Welcome and I hope you'll keep and enjoy your 635 for a long time. As Todd mentioned autohauosaz.com is a great resource.

Some other resources that I use:
http://www.bavauto.com
https://www.ecstuning.com

[FlyOverCountry]

I use FCPeuro.com for a lot of my parts

[TJC1]

I also had a 1980 635 Euro and I used AutohausAz, Pelican and Maximillian to source my parts. You can plug the last seven numbers of your VIN into RealOem, as Todd suggested, BMWFans or Maximillian websites to find the part number of what you need and then go to your parts source plug it in and find your part. I bought my oil filters from Autohaus and the Mann filter number is 11429063138 and looking at their site they are only $4.31 each.
I did a lot of work to mine and I have a Photo Gallery page with commentary on my website www.ttrstomtatalovichracingservices.com (http://www.ttrstomtatalovichracingservices.com) of the car if you'd like to take a look.

[mauryc]

FCPEuro used to sell junk Chinese along with quality parts - which they still do. They've done a good job of labeling their parts online though so you know the brand you're getting. I have also found their parts database/selection much larger that Autohaus, which I used to use significantly. From a business standpoint, they did a good job of listening to the complaints from sites like this (which they got a lot I assume), and making positive changes. Just my .02. Pelican, BMP Design and Bav Auto are still in the mix........

Maury

[smashervt]

Yea I have been using FCP euro even though i am in canada. parts come fast and are packaged really well.

[Jim Bob Cooter]

Yea I have been using FCP euro even though i am in canada. parts come fast and are packaged really well.


Thanks a million guys! I've checked out realoem.com and its great. I'll be looking at the others soon. We finally got a break in the storms here in Washington state so I took it for for a spin and the engine still pulls hard. There's no vibration in the steering wheel and it tracks straight and true. It's amazing this thing was built in November of 1979!!!

I've attached a few photos, tell be what you think.

Again, thanks for all the good info!

[Jim Bob Cooter]

A couple more...

[DesktopDave]

Thanks for posting your car here - that's quite the find you have. Very special cars, consider yourself lucky that it's not rusty...biggest bane o' the E24.

I like to use RockAuto for parts too. If you look carefully, they have special Euro listings, although the parts are scarce. Their closeouts can really be bargains, if you're careful about shipping costs.

RealOEM is a great resource, as well as the very similar BMWFans.info. I've had good luck with ECSTuning, competitive prices, but they're a little more focused on the left coast business. They have found some entertaining parts for me. I bought a brand-new diff cover from them to fit a Z3 LSD into my '86, and a brand-new transmission subframe for my '81 633CSi.

I've often thought that the E24 is almost a custom-built 'coachwork' car, distantly related to the more pedestrian E12 & E28 sedans. It's more like an Italian or English GT than a typical BMW. They really didn't build very many of them, they were in production for a long time, and they were split between many different sub-models.

[n2bimmer]

Very nice and clean looking e12.

[FernandoBunster]

Beautiful car!

[coolvegase34]

Nice car. The radio fitment could be better though. Not crazy about the shift knob

[TJC1]

Very nice looking car.

[Jim Bob Cooter]

Thanks again for the parts sources. There are a couple of minor parts I'm going to buy; a passenger sun visor bracket, a plastic piece that goes behind the headlights in the engine compartment for example. Nothing major.

As far a rust, there are two pencil eraser sized bubbles in the paint and a bit of a bubble where a wind shield wiper is attached to the body. The underside of the car is rust free but the protective coating in the wheel wells is deteriorating and there are a few rust spots where the coating has completely come off.

I'm planning on spending the winter in my garage detailing and fixing a few things like the sunroof that is slow and a rear window that doesn't work. I get a lot of satisfaction doing this kind of work.

I understand there are a bunch of moving parts when it comes to valuation (where I'm located, time of year, economy, ect.) but I'm curious what a ballpark figure would be. Obviously I've already looked online but I would rather listen to people who are knowledgable about the market and not, as some say, "some dude on the internet".

[smashervt]

Try checking out the Hagerty guide? It does not have all years but has a few conditions and shows how the prices changed over the years?https://www.hagerty.ca/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch/Report?vbe=85683

[alpinacsi]

I would say the valuation is in the $5000-7000 range. The interior looks nice with only a few issues that could be easily fixed. The dash looks great so that is a major plus. The exterior needs some attention. The respray looks ok but might be better if a color sand is done to remove some of the orange peel. You can see where it has had chrome fender trim installed at some point and has left marks when removed. Also not sure if the left fender is correct: could be a later one by looking at the wheel lip. Hard to tell by the pictures and because of the way the trim left marks. Bumper looks like it could be adjusted some because of the gaps on the left side compared to the wider one on the right around the amber light. Sunroof also looks like it needs adjustment. If the car was imported in 86: what was the mileage before the speedo was changed for MPH.

The exterior issues could be corrected along with the some trim work much easier than interior work. Not sure what you paid but it looks like a solid car from the top side. Value might be higher with documentation and some minor conditioning. Nice options with both sunroof and AC along with the CR 5spd. Generally you got one or the other (AC or Roof) with the early euro cars.

Not sure what your plans are or what shape the mechanicals are in but this looks to be a solid car with potential.

[Jim Bob Cooter]

Alpinacsi,

Man, you have a sharp eye! I just discovered today a very slight amount of over spray on some chrome trim today. I was kind of disappointed, initially thinking it was the original paint. It also had the hideous chrome fender trim which, after looking at numerous pictures of E24's without them, I took them off. I know chrome is period correct but it was just too much and put the cheese meter in the red zone!

Thanks for the input and keep the comments/obsevations coming!

[TJC1]

Values vary for sure but when I sold my '80 Euro in June of last year I got $8400.00 for it. I'm sure I could have gotten much closer to my asking price of $8900.00 but at the time I wasn't in the mood to negotiate. The car wasn't perfect and it did have the infamous Getrag Growl but it was a pretty nice example with just about 100K original miles on it, (still had the original gauge cluster in it, not converted, about 161K kilos) and some nice extras like the period correct 16" BBS wheels and Hartge suspension bits with Bilstein Sport shocks installed when it was still in Germany. I also did a bunch of work on it to make it a nice roadworthy driver. I had documentation going back to Germany as well as the federalization papers and I was the third titled owner. If you checked mine out on my website you can compare it to yours and go from there.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and one more thing, if you find that you're not fond of changing those somewhat messy cartridge oil filters you may consider getting in touch with Bert Poliakoff and buying one of his trick canister oil filter adapters.

[smashervt]

May i ask what the getrag growl is?

[TJC1]

May i ask what the getrag growl is?

Various Getrag transmissions used in different manufacture of cars, including domestic such as Dodge, are known for a certain growling noise that is more of a nuisance than indicator of a transmission problem. Bearings, gears, tolerances, etc. can all be within specification but the transmission will still be noisy as mine was in first gear. One may get rid of the noise for awhile with a rebuild, but chances are it will return. Mine abated some when I changed the fluid to Redline MTL.

[smashervt]

Is it this sound? When you drive from first gear and second it makes this weird sound. Like a nnnnnyeeeaaa sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU-ycIfuITM

[TJC1]

Is it this sound? When you drive from first gear and second it makes this weird sound. Like a nnnnnyeeeaaa sound. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU-ycIfuITM

No, the growl is more of a constant, usually in first gear. It doesn't happen when shifting through the gears like a noisy throwout bearing which is what you may be describing. I'm afraid your video wasn't much help to me.

[smashervt]

Yea sorry it was all i had. But yea first gear makes this strange sound almost like a bus

[DesktopDave]

As far a rust, there are two pencil eraser sized bubbles in the paint and a bit of a bubble where a wind shield wiper is attached to the body. The underside of the car is rust free but the protective coating in the wheel wells is deteriorating and there are a few rust spots where the coating has completely come off.

I'm planning on spending the winter in my garage detailing and fixing a few things like the sunroof that is slow and a rear window that doesn't work. I get a lot of satisfaction doing this kind of work.

Slow sunroof and non-functinal windows are most likely dirty switchgear. IIRC the switches are all the same, just swap them to test. They're not too hard to take apart, just be careful not to lose the springs. I clean them with a bit of wet-dry 1200 paper, pencil erasers & contact cleaner. The best electrical cleaner I've used is DeOxyit (spray or brush-on). It's pricey (http://www.amazon.com/Booster-Electric-Connection-Enhancer-Lubricant/dp/B0002BBVN2/ref=pd_sim_236_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51s8RznBfiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR83%2C160_&refRID=0GTMDBJ4XXHN94K68AWD) but well worth it. You can also find it at most RadioShacks...the few that are left...

You have to be careful about those rust bubbles - they can hide a lot of corrosion damage under the paint; they also might be old repairs that are letting go. The E24 is notorious for rust...especially the front inner arches, front fenders and the bodywork just in front of the rear wheel. The rear trim panels aren't too hard to remove once the seats are out...you can get a pretty good look at the "dogleg" inner fender just in front of the wheel to verify that it's clean. Sending pictures like that to prospective buyers is a great selling technique, BTW.

The wiper linkage is pretty easy to remove to get at the cowl rust. The cowl openings for the wiper studs have cheap rubber grommets that are easily replaced. It's a good time to lube the linkage pivots too. I prefer to use white lithium grease in the linkage since it's relatively water resistant. SilGlyde is great for installing & lubing rubber. Here's the RealOEM diagram (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=5331-EUR-05-1980-E24-BMW-635CSi&diagId=61_0887) for the wiper assembly. The grommet is part #19, it fits tightly between two dished washers. Parts 17 & 23 also tend to break down. I think to replace both of them you'd be out the door for about $10 in parts. Just paste the BMW part numbers into your favorite dealer's web site and you'll get a good idea of comparative prices.

I've heart Blunttech (https://www.blunttech.com/) is a good place too, he's pretty big in the 3-series community. I haven't dealt with him personally but his prices seem competitive.