my stormtrooper- e34 build

[maniak91]

Hello,
This is my 1990 520i (yes shitty engine). Started out like this.



Then, i started with the gifts: M5 kit, cruise control, hella smoked lights, facelift, M5 sway bars (in the back the 20mm one) and 18" Kerscher KCS:
9.5x18 ET9 235/40
10.5x18 ET 9 255/35





Next: 850i front brakes and e32 750 rears, e39 coilovers (today i installed the rears, i will do a diy with this suspension), new interior, bigger engine and other small stuff.


Will update this thread.

[DarkKnightM3]

Can you explain a little on the e39 coilovers decision.

As I do appreciate the hard work you put into it I have always felt that a e34 doesn't look right with that much poke. To stay within the body lines of the fenders always looked flawless. None the less still a beautiful example maniak91

[maniak91]

The main reason behind the e39 coilovers is the price. JOM Blueline it's not very hard to install compared to other e34 dedicated kits and it's cheaper than other coilovers.

The pics above are without the suspesion. This week i will mount the front suspension and change all the arms and bushings and take better pics. It will not poke so much due the recent fender rolling involved

[Sneezy]

Hello,
This is my 1990 520i (yes shitty engine).

Not if you have to pay a displacement tax and your fuel is lei900,000 per liter.

[RVAE34]

E39 suspension interchanges with the E34????

[maniak91]

The e39 rears are pretty straight-forward, you only have to modify the top mount, because the e39 spring has a bigger diameter. But for the fronts there is a lot of grinding, welding and cutting involved. As i promised, as soon as i finish this set-up i will post a diy.

Sneezy: You're wright about displacement taxes, but the 2l engine has a poor fuel efficiency.

[YourdaddysWagon]

Subscribed. Nice looking E34!

[attack eagle]

I thouht the e39 used a different mounting pattern for the calipers...

[mateo710]

oh man those lips are pure sex. I think a wide stance matches the aggressive square e34 body so well

[Schneider]

E39 coilovers work on e34 with some modifications. I have a buddy that has a set of e39 K&W's on his e34 touring (Chris Castro). Also I love those wheels, car is looking great! Sa ai bafta cu ea si multi km fara reparatii.

[loustylez]

more wide.

[hcash]

A little FYI for everyone:

I bought the Moosehead RSMs for the e34 and grabbed a pair of e32 rsm to take the spring cup off of to paint (etc) to eliminate downtime of my car. Turned out that the rear springs are ~1/4" larger on the e32. So, with the e39 rear spring, you might could just slap an e32 spring cup on the Moosehead RSM and have a legit setup if the diameter is the same...

[GIANUCCI E30]

The e39 rears are pretty straight-forward, you only have to modify the top mount, because the e39 spring has a bigger diameter. But for the fronts there is a lot of grinding, welding and cutting involved. As i promised, as soon as i finish this set-up i will post a diy.

Sneezy: You're wright about displacement taxes, but the 2l engine has a poor fuel efficiency.

E39 coilovers work on e34 with some modifications. I have a buddy that has a set of e39 K&W's on his e34 touring (Chris Castro). Also I love those wheels, car is looking great! Sa ai bafta cu ea si multi km fara reparatii.

Ok so how much modification are we talking about? Most of the e34 coilover kits require a strut housing mod which relatively simple in nature.
On a e39 strut housing you'll have to mod the brake caliper bracket on both front and rears as well as the other stuff, no?

I'm in to see the DIY. I like fresh ideas on our platform.

I thouht the e39 used a different mounting pattern for the calipers...

I thought that as well.

[bsirbu]

Didn't think there were so many Romanians in the e34 section...salut!

OP did they finish the road works in Bucharest yet??? Last time I was there it was ridiculous!!! (2 years ago)

[weksos]

Another Storm Trooper! subscribing!

[maniak91]

Nu ma asteptam sa fie asa multi romani. Multumesc de urari baieti Drumurile sunt inca destul de praf.


Today i installed my front suspension and changed all my arms and bushings.


So this is how you install e39 coilovers on e34. First step, I choosed JOM because they are ok for that price.

For the fronts:
You have the cut bellow the spring plate, you can cut it where you want, depending on how low do you want to be.



Then you need to grind the coilovers tube at the bottom, to fit it inside the original e34 tube (don't have pics with this). You dont need to grind mutch to make it fit.


Mount the coil tube inside the e34 origial one and weld them together.


Throw a little paint on them:


And you're done.



I used the original e34 520i top mounts, but then i changed them (they where beat down) with e30 ones. So either works.



For the rear:
The job is pretty straight straightforward.

The lower bolt fits perfectly as both dampers have the same diameter on that bush.



The only problem is on the top mount: you can either use the original e34 one but you have to enlarge it and cut the side rubber from the spring pad or you can use a e32 top mount witch is a little larger and fit perfect, as hcash said earlier.

I used my e34 ones, but will put e32 ones in the future.




By the time i finished the car it got dark and i didn't make picture of it, i will make some pics tomorow. However, I am going to wait a couple of days for the suspension to settle because now on the front with the adjuster fully down it is not quite low. If this doesn't work i will just remove the small spring from the front and slamm it.


Hope this helps you

[redimension]

very interesting.
Problems/issues that I see:

When the front shocks blow you gonna have to literally cut them out because they are welded into the housings right?

Whats up with the 2 springs in the front?

Im not liking the brace thats holding the bushing to the shock, could be beefier...

Otherwise I like the idea of just being able to slide the coilover housing inside of the original strut housing. Pretty simple and guaranteed to be straight..

[maniak91]

When the front shocks blow you gonna have to literally cut them out because they are welded into the housings right?

Nope, you cut the plate over the damper (its similar with the original e34 damper nut) and change (or you rebuilt it.) only the damper, without the hole support.
The 2 spring in front are specific for the low cost coilovers. I want to remove the lower one to get the car a little lower.

[redimension]

at second glance I see the collar nut now. hm, interesting choice!

[B10 BITURBO]

What a brilliant solution ,,,,,,,,,

Nice E34

[davisbl345]

subscribed, good looking car. I really want the M5 kit and those smoked headlights. Where did you find those.

[maniak91]

I made the headlights smoked, and bought the M5 kit from ebay.

Pics:

[ArnZ]

so awesome

[RVAE34]

Looking good! Now replace those 2 busted trim pieces at the bottom of the doors and it will look great

[warhammer23]

Didn't think there were so many Romanians in the e34 section...salut!

OP did they finish the road works in Bucharest yet??? Last time I was there it was ridiculous!!! (2 years ago)

Not that much ..

Good work maniak91.

OFF. ///
I'm curious regarding the taxes in the US.
I mean, if you own a car in US, what do you have to pay?

Here we have anual tax on engine size (everything over 2,5 L is insane) (For a 540i is ~ 1700 $)
If you buy the car from another country, ridiculous tax to register it , for a 520i E34 is ~ 12ooo $ and i'm not joking. For an E34 M5 3.8 is ~ 40ooo $.
The older the car, the bigger the engine and low emission rating make the register tax absurd for a car outside our country.
The irony is the emission rating are so badly done that if you want a Ferrari V12 5.5 L 550 Maranello from 1997 is way cheaper to register it that a BMW 750i, even lower than a E34 520i
Anyway..
Then you need to pay for assurance (valid for 6 (~ 100-150 $) or 12 months (~ 150-300 $) ) and technical inspection (MOT) every 2 years. (~50 $ )

So how is it in the US? Do they differ between states?

For example if i want to buy a BMW E34 540i in the US and own it, what are the costs regarding taxes etc?

Thank you. ///