racee78
10-11-2017, 04:51 PM
Well, here it finally goes and be forewarned, this may be a bit lengthy as it’s still in the works. I, of course, will update the thread as things progress but wanted to begin sharing my build. Thanks again to everyone who shared their opinions on my poll to decide which wagon to use for this project. Ultimately I decided on the Oxford Green slicktop rather than the Alpine White one with the fully functional double sunroof because, well… it’s cool and will give it that added sense of uniqueness in my eyes.
A misconception of some folks that I spoke with was that I am trying to replicate an M5 touring straight out of the factory, but that is far from the goal. Yes, I want it to be an M5 touring with as much authenticity as possible, but there is no denying the fact that it’ll never have the VIN of an M5 and it didn’t come out of the factory this way, but it’s going to be cool as hell!
A while ago, not long after my first 5 speed touring conversion project was complete, I got bit with the touring bug. With some Unicorn whispers in my ear, I found a great deal on another touring with the intention of doing something cool with it, I just didn’t know what yet. This led us (Me and the Unicorn whisperer) to ponder how to make this slicktop super cool. Well, it got put on the back burner for a while as other projects came and went. I then found a great deal on another touring… the white one with the fully functioning sunroof.
Now, I am not a big Oxford/Parchment fan, so felt the need to remedy specifically the parchment dislike. I found a black interior wagon from which I swapped the interior which was all touring specific and a few other good quality pieces from that donor. This was my very first interior swap and wow! What a pain in the rear! Or so I thought.. the back was the easy part hahaha!
Moving on to the carpet and all components of the dash, seats, door panels, center console… was a bit daunting and as I removed things, which seemed to take forever, I began to think.. uh oh, what did I get myself in to and can I really put it back together.. and how many leftover screws and other fasteners would I have when there should be none!!
Well, after a few unforeseen obstacles like some previous owner drilling a hole through the ventilation tube under the carpet and having to source and replace that, losing the pins that hold the seatbelt cable to the car, and breaking a few things, I was able to push ahead with the interior.
Rear cargo area – check!
Rear seat – check!
Carpet replacement – check!
Dashboard donated by a fellow E34 hoarder obtained – check! Hope the beer was great!
Well… now it’s time to get on with the story of the donor… she’s a 1991 black on black (originally black/grey) with roughly 165k on the clock and some fun goodies which we will see later. This lady was a bit rough when I bought her and somewhere along the line, she had her guts ripped out and shoes sold off. She came with comfort seats, a basic non-M shift surround, style 5’s instead of her factory shoes, some broken exterior trim, a cracked up front bumper, and a few other little things. I felt like this would be a pretty good donor since I didn’t need everything perfect, just mechanically sound.. still had to source seats, shift surround, and wheels which took a little time but I have it all now and ready to be installed.
Coming up soon will be the good ‘ol 525i engine and components removal in preparation for her new heart and soul. After removal, stripping of the donor will commence. Her seats and the remainder of the interior first and then will move on to the rest. At this point, it should be a couple more weeks into the project and I will give another update with some photos at that point.
What a great, yet challenging experience.. Thanks Unicorn whisperer for all your help, muscle, and patience!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more….
Green Sylph in her original state
612559
BK05201 Donor
612560
A misconception of some folks that I spoke with was that I am trying to replicate an M5 touring straight out of the factory, but that is far from the goal. Yes, I want it to be an M5 touring with as much authenticity as possible, but there is no denying the fact that it’ll never have the VIN of an M5 and it didn’t come out of the factory this way, but it’s going to be cool as hell!
A while ago, not long after my first 5 speed touring conversion project was complete, I got bit with the touring bug. With some Unicorn whispers in my ear, I found a great deal on another touring with the intention of doing something cool with it, I just didn’t know what yet. This led us (Me and the Unicorn whisperer) to ponder how to make this slicktop super cool. Well, it got put on the back burner for a while as other projects came and went. I then found a great deal on another touring… the white one with the fully functioning sunroof.
Now, I am not a big Oxford/Parchment fan, so felt the need to remedy specifically the parchment dislike. I found a black interior wagon from which I swapped the interior which was all touring specific and a few other good quality pieces from that donor. This was my very first interior swap and wow! What a pain in the rear! Or so I thought.. the back was the easy part hahaha!
Moving on to the carpet and all components of the dash, seats, door panels, center console… was a bit daunting and as I removed things, which seemed to take forever, I began to think.. uh oh, what did I get myself in to and can I really put it back together.. and how many leftover screws and other fasteners would I have when there should be none!!
Well, after a few unforeseen obstacles like some previous owner drilling a hole through the ventilation tube under the carpet and having to source and replace that, losing the pins that hold the seatbelt cable to the car, and breaking a few things, I was able to push ahead with the interior.
Rear cargo area – check!
Rear seat – check!
Carpet replacement – check!
Dashboard donated by a fellow E34 hoarder obtained – check! Hope the beer was great!
Well… now it’s time to get on with the story of the donor… she’s a 1991 black on black (originally black/grey) with roughly 165k on the clock and some fun goodies which we will see later. This lady was a bit rough when I bought her and somewhere along the line, she had her guts ripped out and shoes sold off. She came with comfort seats, a basic non-M shift surround, style 5’s instead of her factory shoes, some broken exterior trim, a cracked up front bumper, and a few other little things. I felt like this would be a pretty good donor since I didn’t need everything perfect, just mechanically sound.. still had to source seats, shift surround, and wheels which took a little time but I have it all now and ready to be installed.
Coming up soon will be the good ‘ol 525i engine and components removal in preparation for her new heart and soul. After removal, stripping of the donor will commence. Her seats and the remainder of the interior first and then will move on to the rest. At this point, it should be a couple more weeks into the project and I will give another update with some photos at that point.
What a great, yet challenging experience.. Thanks Unicorn whisperer for all your help, muscle, and patience!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more….
Green Sylph in her original state
612559
BK05201 Donor
612560