Saving one from the junkyard

[Wertles]

This year I traded my 2007 Chrysler Crossfire in for a Jeep Wrangler. I needed a back seat. Not a large one, just one. My uncle came up this summer with his 1999 M Coupe and now I realize how much I miss having a 2 door coupe. Well my uncle and his friend (who owns a BMW junkyard) found a 1999 M Coupe for auction shortly after and I ended up winning the auction for about 2K less than what I was planning. After picking it up, I am kind of glad that it was 2K less (who wouldn't be) because there is always some more damage to things than the pictures show. Some good suprises though. The car already had H&R sport springs and Turner under drive pulleys installed. Planned upgrades are Bilstein sport struts/shocks, and I am in the process of buying Jeremy's Work Equip wheels and tires. The BBS rear wheels were perfect but I was unable to source out the fronts (RK011). The radio will have to be replaced because there is no faceplate for it although I found one on ebay for $17 but I really want iPod compatable and bluetooth and I have some cash back I need to burn up at Crutchfield. The plan is to have it all ready for the road by spring and some track time at Watkins Glen next summer. Any suggestions are always welcome.
If anyone can lead me to a link to decode the VIN it would be greatly appreciated. I don't even know the name of the color. This is my first BMW and I have sooo much learning to do!!
Edit.. I have pics but have no idea yet on how to post them on this site (yet, please don't yell at me to search how to do it, I will. I just typed this before I realized there isn't an attatchment manager here.)

[THADREAMIN]

Well too bad, I will still yell at you lol... A chrysler? A jeep? and only your first BMW? Shame on you! Just kidding.... Welcome and good luck!

[moonvan]

welcome, do you have any pics of it?

[grat]

If anyone can lead me to a link to decode the VIN it would be greatly appreciated. I don't even know the name of the color.

for VIN go here: http://www.bmwmdata.com/Home.html

you won't be able to post pics until you get a few posts (5 I think). e.g. keep talking


fj..

[Wertles]

Thanks for the link. Might have to make a few bad posts so I can post some pics. I have just been trying to play with photobucket but it is not going so well.

[moonvan]

how about we have a Q&A session, ill go first
1. What general color is it?
2. What color is the interior?
3. How many miles on it?

[jrmartin03]

You can also check the VIN at http://listings.mcoupebuyersguide.com/vins/ to get an idea of the production numbers of your color combination.

[Wertles]

Well too bad, I will still yell at you lol... A chrysler? A jeep? and only your first BMW? Shame on you! Just kidding.... Welcome and good luck!

My BIL was a Dodge salesman so that's how everything got started. Up here in Rochester, the salt eats cars with a ferocious appetite so no use buying nice cars. The Crossfire was a deal I couldn't pass on. New for 22K out the door.

how about we have a Q&A session, ill go first
1. What general color is it?
2. What color is the interior?
3. How many miles on it?

1. It is a darker green. It also has an OEM rear spoiler.
2. The interior is well taken care of and is tan. The seats look like they have "freckles?" on them. Very nice looking. It also has the rear cargo cover. The radio will have to go. The faceplate is missing and the unit is old.
3. It has 47k miles on it which was a large influence on my bidding on this car.

Edit: It is Boston Green Metalic with Dark Beige Oregon interior. Thanks for the vin decoder.

Some pictures...


http://s1185.photobucket.com/albums/...ile%20Uploads/

[Jonny Z3]

congrats on the new project! Looks like a decent amount of work, but will definitely be worth the trouble. (Especially with Jeremy's old wheels mounted up)

[clintjg]

My BIL was a Dodge salesman so that's how everything got started. Up here in Rochester, the salt eats cars with a ferocious appetite so no use buying nice cars. The Crossfire was a deal I couldn't pass on. New for 22K out the door.



1. It is a darker green. It also has an OEM rear spoiler.
2. The interior is well taken care of and is tan. The seats look like they have "freckles?" on them. Very nice looking. It also has the rear cargo cover. The radio will have to go. The faceplate is missing and the unit is old.
3. It has 47k miles on it which was a large influence on my bidding on this car.

Edit: It is Boston Green Metalic with Dark Beige Oregon interior. Thanks for the vin decoder.

Some pictures...


http://s1185.photobucket.com/albums/...ile%20Uploads/

Huh. Congrats and good luck with the project. I believe that Boston Green is the rarest of OE original production colors.

[Jeremy]

Huh. Congrats and good luck with the project. I believe that Boston Green is the rarest of OE original production colors.

73 BG M Coupes, 3 98s (pre-production I believe), 70 99s.

46 OG, 41 EG, 41 LSB, 21 PY.

[clintjg]

73 BG M Coupes, 3 98s (pre-production I believe), 70 99s.

46 OG, 41 EG, 41 LSB, 21 PY.

Ah. It was Evergreen that I was thinking of.

A cool find none the less!

Was it 46AW (s54) as well?

[Jeremy]

Ah. It was Evergreen that I was thinking of.

A cool find none the less!

Was it 46AW (s54) as well?

Indeed. Especially at that price!

103 AW. 31 S54. 10 2001, 21 2002.

[Wertles]

So some not good news today. The car still won't fire. Trouble shot out everything. Looking at the computer, the previous owner/thief has scratched the numbers off. Pulling it apart, it appears to have everything inside. Tomorrow the scanner will becoming out to see what is going on. Could there have been a performance chip or something taken out/replaced?

[moonvan]

That or they stole the stock ecu and put one in there from a different car is a possibility

[clintjg]

So some not good news today. The car still won't fire. Trouble shot out everything. Looking at the computer, the previous owner/thief has scratched the numbers off. Pulling it apart, it appears to have everything inside. Tomorrow the scanner will becoming out to see what is going on. Could there have been a performance chip or something taken out/replaced?

Double check the battery. Also try a different key if you have it. Check the grounds. If the CEL light in the cluster comes when you turn the key on (position 2) then the cluster is reading the DME. If the light doesn't come on but other things do then the ECU doesn't have power.

[robrez]

You're a good man for saving a coupe

[jel]

Thanks for saving a coupe. You'll get it started eventually; some of the members here have amazing knowledge of these cars & share freely. Enjoy your project; you'll be pleased when you're driving it.

[janikphoto]

It doesn't look too bad. I think you did good! And, as mentioned above, there are a lot of little things on these cars that can cause a no start. Don't assume the ecu right away!

[Wertles]

Tested the injectors today and no impulse to them. Changed the crank position sensor and still no impulse. Got to love the fun and challenge of these projects. Starting to think someone messed with this car after the accident. All the bolts to the throttle body were loose so took that all apart and reassembled. I am going to have to go over every bolt on this thing before I am done. On a good note, brake pads came in today along with the passenger door air bag, passenger fender, radiator support and bumper reinforcement. As soon as I get it started, a quick trip to the frame machine for a little tweaking.
Just hope we can figure this out quick.

[Telecomtodd]

Wertles - my senior-citizen mom who lives in Pittsford has a 3.0 Roady with something like 27K miles on the clock. I last drove it a year ago and realized something was wrong with the suspension - turns out the tires were 11 years old and falling apart! This spring she got it re-shoed. It's Evergreen.

[clintjg]

could still be a ground or the EWS

[Wertles]

No good news today. The car went to the dealership for its no start issue. As I suspected, someone stole the car's computer and swapped a 5 series computer in there for looks. I should have figured it out when there was a Dinan intake sticker on the radiator support, a missing Dinan intake and a very loose throttle body. I might have a line on a computer and EWS from the same car but will I need the key as well to make them all talk together or will the dealership be able to program them to work?

[Wertles]

She's ALIVE!! Got a used DME (thanks Mpire!) and after 4.5 hours today at the dealership, she started up like I just came out of the grocery store. The CEL light came on but cleared on the second start. The only bad part of the day was the $600 bill at the end but it wasn't like I had much of a choice.
Aparently this car has been the talk of the dealership for the past 2 weeks. All the customers wanted to know what the story was with the car and if it was for sale.
Thursday it will be going to the frame machine. Then let the assembly begin.

[grat]