SBeckman7's Official 535i Vehicle Log

[sbeckman7]

Now you're probably thinking... "with a title like that, it's gotta be something good..." Well my friends, guess again!

Welcome: to what might just be the most boring, mushy, and shamelessly emotional build thread you have ever seen. But I am a - how you say - le suave owner and will not be installing anything containing the following keywords: stance, stretch, LED, rice, wap waaap, halo, neon, DUB, etc. Let the adventure begin. Well when I say let it begin, what I really mean is let it continue, because I've owned this thing for over 3 years.

Sometime in high school an explanation came to me of why I, why we as an e34 community, and why anyone else in the world sees something in a car that not everyone does.

A car is not just about the looks it draws or gives
A car is not just about the performance, accessible or not
A car is about the driving experience
And that is a personal opinion
Based on these two characteristics
So that each and every vehicle
Is a different vehicle
To each and every person.

And that is how I justify the immense, unbreakable love I have for Big red (Or Groß Zinnoberrot en Deutsch). I'll start with some über gushy composition pieces I've written over the years (enjoy writing a lot) because as of now this will be my page for all things E34. As in, when I walk back to my car after leaving a friend's house to go home and become love smitten all over again, I'll probably write about it here. Sorry if it gets bumped to the top excessively.

Starting off with an explanation of just how much this car means to me:

It’s my first car. It's hauled friends, family, pets, material possessions and memories. It's been the cause of my smiles and swearing, laughter and heart-skipping moments. It took me to school and back every single day for two years, rocketed me home during break when I forgot my lunch, and back before the bell rang. To see friends, family, baseball and basketball games, racetracks, doctors appointments, ice cream at midnight, full speed sprints with best friends. It’s been ready for me at 4pm and 4am. It’s taken me to the middle of nowhere and to downtown San Francisco. It’s been driven through mountainous foothills and over cement parking humps with 5 people and a full tank of gas. It’s seen off-road and asphalt like glass. It's the reason I've been pulled over seven times, never gotten a ticket I deserved and let off every time I do deserve one. It's carried parts from at least three other BMW's. It's given me a place to be when I need to think or just want to go for a drive. It’s put speed, handling, and braking in perspective for a young mind. It’s let me blast hip-hop with my hood on one night and roll into valet parking with jazz softly playing the next. It's shown me what burnouts and power slides feel like, and what ABS feels like. It's been danced on by girls in muddy Uggs and waxed for 4 hours at a time. It’s been my leather-covered bed when the camping tent was full. It’s made me feel like a million bucks and like a complete asshole. It’s taught me a lot. It’s been my first car and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

My parents said they would split the price 50/50 with me and I'm so grateful for that. They pay for insurance as well and - for the first year while I drove my brother everywhere - gas too. The down side? As I learned, it meant my choices were much more restricted than I had imagined. "No Porsches, no Alfas, no cars too old, no V8's... yadda ya. That really hit me hard. I had been looking for months, and everytime I found the perfect car for an amazing price, it never fulfilled all of my parent's requirements. A couple vulgar facebook statuses later to blow off steam I finally came to terms with the fact that I couldn't get what I thought would be my dream first car. My biggest mistake was not learning how to drive stick (another requirement) beforehand and having Dad test drive the cars instead of me... he called a 530iM "a ticket machine". Clearly he doesn't have the self-control I possess . I felt like I had to settle for seconds. Fine, if I couldn't have a Porsche 928, 944, a 540i, or even a 530i, then I was getting a 535i. Let the hunt begin.

I actually looked at two other 535i/5's before I found mine, all from San Jose. Why are the best cars always so far away!? The first one was a black on natur '89 with well under 100k miles. The couple who owned it explained that it had been the wife's father's car and he passed away so they were looking to sell it cheap. They were the most trusting and honest people ever, it was like heaven. They actually let me bring it home and drive it around for three days just so I could put it up on a lift at the local community college and see what I could find. Well unfortunately, I found rust. Lots and lots of rust. The woman's dad lived in Chicago his whole life and the car was brought to CA very recently. Plus it smelled faintly of smoke, and I hated that but I tried to convince myself it wasn't so noticeable. Anyways, it went back to San Jose and there were no hard feelings on either end. The next car to check out was a Bronzit on natur '90 at a used lot run by some Middle-eastern salesmen who cared infinitely more about a sale than my satisfaction with the vehicle. We test drove, left, and never came back. I was down but not out. After another week or two of searching, I found it on craigslist. I remember opening the ad and thinking "Wow... I'll never be able to get that." It was advertised well over my budget.

Pictures from the original ad... I know I have a printed copy at home in my file cabinet. It was written with minimal description... All I really remember was that it had a "new paint job and 150k miles." I believe there were a few spelling errors as well. It also had definite clear coat issues on the roof, mirrors, and rear doors, but even then. It looked. So. Damn. Good.








Seeing this beauty and owning it, however, were worlds apart. I have never heard of anyone with such an awful, shady, dragged out, and infuriating buying experience. The car was located in San Jose, the name on the title said Raul, and the owner was "Raul." Why the quotes? I found out - not until the day of the sale - that the "Raul" we had been dealing with, this young hood kid I wanted to trust but didn't for a second, was really Raul's cousin, Pedro. He bought the car from Raul and was too lazy to ever change the name on the title. So when it came time to sell he thought it would be a better idea to pretend to be his cousin the whole time. Which was a goddam nightmare. He was never willing to take the car anywhere to have it inspected, didn't seem to know where all the papers were, and got visibly nervous the moment we talked about bringing in a third party to check it out. It got worse the more I found out. I think I spent almost a month in on-and-off contact with this guy trying to buy the car. Finally, one night while celebrating my godfathers 50th birthday at Stinson Beach, I realized that I would have to give it one more try and then just move on. E38's aren't so bad apart from the auto...

I called the next morning. Got the same response. "Yeah man, this one lady's coming to look at the car today so you kinda need to decide soon homie. I ain't tryna rush you or anything but I got people in line." I said, "Look man, you tell me that every single time we talk and then I guess she never shows up according to you. I'm done; call me if you want to sell the car, but I won't be calling you anymore." And I hung up.

Surprise of all surprises, woke up the next morning with a missed call from Pedro. Talked to him for all of 3 minutes. It went like this:

"Hey Pedro what's up"
"Hey dude, I think I'm ready to let her go."
"Will you let me have a shop look at it?"
"..."
"Yes or No?"
"Yeah man, it's cool I'll try to work something out."
"Good. I'm making an appointment at Phaedrus, San Francisco. See you at 6."

And he showed up! Good thing too since I had just walked through half the city to get there. I speak briefly with the chief mechanic, fill him in on the details, the car shows up and they get started. Pedro is twitchy as hell but I don’t even care at this point. Phaedrus did an absolutely incredible job; they checked quite literally everything. Two hours later the Pre-Purchase Inspection is finished and I pay. They go through the rundown: “It's overheated before. You can tell, and it does mean it will be easier to damage the block now, but at the moment it appears to be fine. Other than that, A/C doesn’t work, some suspension components showed minor to moderate wear, recommend replacing the dogbones and you should be good to go.” I said, “Awesome!! Now it just needs to get smogged and we're good to go!" Pedro backed up. "Nah nah nah man, that's on you." Apparently it was a big mistake saying that about a vehicle sale in front of the shop owners Oh did they go off on him "Listen man, if you sell the car to this kid, you are LEGALLY REQUIRED TO HAVE IT SMOGGED BEFOREHAND. That ones on YOU. That's how it goes, you don't like it, suck it up. Smog the damn car."

Three days later I'm back at school panicking like nothing else while Dad is taking care of the last day of car details before it officially becomes mine. He was in the city to meet the real Raul, smog the car, and get things straight. If all went well they were to make a deal at the end of the day. Dad texted me every 30 minutes with updates, he is such an awesome Dad The moment of truth came and I received two words in the text: It passed. I cannot describe how ecstatic I was at that moment. After all the torture, all the shady interactions, I was almost sure Big Red had something to hide, but when I got the official smog results back it turned out to be one of the cleanest running M30's on the planet. The exhaust shop was extremely surprised and I was extremely happy!! Dad called me after school, saying he had spent a while talking with the real Raul and that he was a night and day difference from his immature cousin. Raul owned a performance shop in San Jose and used Big Red as his personal car, bought it right after the overheating issue, and sold it to get an E39 (the silver one in the original craigslist pics). All I had to do now was wait until Dad got home... with my first car. The final purchase was made at $3050, down from the original $3500 asking price.

September 21st, 2009, roughly 7:30pm. My parents drove it home for me from San Francisco to our place, about 20 minutes north of the city. It had no functional muffler at the time. I was waiting outside jumping up and down well before it turned onto our street. They arrived, Dad pulled in, and was barely able to get out of the way before I dove into the drivers seat. I just sat there, looking at the dash, the steering wheel, those instruments, soaking up every detail of my new car. And grinning from ear to ear. It felt strange; not foreign but not something I was used to either. That would change very soon.

My first trip in Big Red was a celebratory drive to Whole Foods in San Rafael with the whole family. I just sat in the car with my brother while Mom and Dad bought groceries. We came home, ate, and then I ran off to show my two best friends, after a stern warning about some 11pm curfew... Whatever. Well I overdid the curfew by about 20 minutes, and subsequently immediately lost my driving privilege for the rest of the week. I was beyond furious. There are times when parents are supposed to let things slide, and I believe that was one of them. Oh well... next week was the begging of a wonderful routine school commute.

- - - Updated - - -

I got used to Big Red very quickly and by the end of the first month of ownership the car felt like second nature to me, an extension of my body. Few people think about how much contact we have with our cars; we are connected with virtually our entire body, touch and see everything about it, smell the leather, taste the... wait no. Anyways, I was starting to feel like my bright red e34 was the perfect vehicle for me. The valve cover gasket gave me a scare during this time, as I found smoke coming out of the engine bay and had no idea why. This is right around the time I started to get into the DIY stuff. Called plenty of shops, looked online for answers, and came to the conclusion that the gasket was the problem. First thing first, I popped the hood. Sure enough, I saw oil seeping out of the right rear corner, the lowest point on the engine. I felt the screws to see how they were... and I could turn them with two fingers!! They were literally about to fall off. A few minutes later with a socket wrench and my very first DIY repair was a success. I like starting off easy Some months later at the beginning of February 2010 my radiator developed a tiny hairline crack and started to foam coolant out. I opened an account at Pelican Parts and ordered a new Behr unit along with the necessary hoses. It arrived very soon (Pelican won me over that day) and I did the install in an afternoon. I never put in BMW coolant, and that still nags me to this day, so sometime in the near future I'll flush it and fill it up with the good stuff Unfortunately, this DIY didn't go quite as well as the first one, and due to my exhausted hood struts, the hood collapsed in a gust of wind and broke my fan that was sitting on top of the intake while I worked on the radiator. It's amazing how much one broken blade affected the balance of the engine; at idle it felt like I was running on two or three cylinders. Freaked me out but I was happy to realize what a simple fix it was! Another order to Pelican and my problem was fixed a few days later. This was also the time period when I formed a connection with a specific shop in Berkeley by the name of German Auto Sport. From the first phone call, the owner Chris Lingle was by far nicer and more welcoming than any other mechanic shop I've ever called, and his laid back approach made me extremely comfortable driving the 20+ minutes to the east bay just so he could take a ride in my car and tell me if I should be worried about a certain noise I was hearing. We are still good friends to this day; I told introduced him to one of my best friends who ended up working for him for over a year. Chris is always ready to help out or recommend a place for me, whether I'm asking about my driveshaft or my headlights, which coincidentally were the first things I changed on my car...

My car developed a small problem sometime around the end of May. One of my lowbeam lenses was actually cracked and would fog up badly, eventually ruining the bulb. So I had one headlight out. Man I hated that look. The last thing I wanted to be was that guy with the one light out, who "probably doesn't take care of his car and should fix the bulb before he gets a ticket." Well, one night at dusk, while on my way home from my friend's house, I was driving with my headlights off (fog lights and driving lights on) just because I didn't want to have that look one-light-out look. I pulled onto the onramp, looked to my left to merge, saw a female cop stare me directly in the face through my tinted front window, and flicked my signal to pull over before she even turned her lights on. This was perhaps my first time being stopped by a real cop (sheriff once thought we were delinquents while on a drive out in China Camp but retracted his accusation). I was nervous and pulled off the freeway, into the hotel parking lot immediately on the right and shut it off. I remember the officer telling me to just pull over immediately in the future, no matter where I was. So that was my first lesson with cops. The officer turned out to be extremely nice; we chatted about the Race a Cop drag nights at Sonoma Raceway and I only left with a warning to turn my headlights on next time. I got a ~25$ fine/fix-it ticket for the tint too but it was easily taken care of.

Removing tint, June 1 2010. Notice the lack of a muffler


June 24, 2010 I bought my first official upgrade: a HID kit for my lowbeam headlights. Eventually the cracked lens ruined the bulb and I decided enough was enough. I got the DDM (I think DDM...) kit installed at a great price from Umnitza in Concord, CA. So, when I realized that it was flickering a lot it was hard for me to complain, but I did anyways. I only want to put parts on my car that look good, work well, and are made with quality. Today my lights are better, and I think any issues that remain now must just be down to my car's old wiring. I also wasn't sure I made the right choice on the 5000k tint, I felt the 4300k setup looked more OEM and fit the car much better. I will eventually replace the "pure white" with something more period correct in the future. Eventually the flickering stopped as the HID system got used to my car and although I still get the low beam error, I will take care of it at some point. Other notable vehicle updates at this time include an intact low beam lens and my first ever pick n pull score: a set of clear corners for $10 bucks!!! When I'm ready to spend the kind of money I hope to spend on Big Red, I'll replace them with genuine Hella's, but they look good and so far haven't given me any reason to doubt them.

HID's installed. Used the ellipsoid beam pattern for a physics photo project


My next big repair/maintenance item wasn't until October, when I had my entire driveshaft replaced at German Auto Sport due to play in the U-joint. Between this repair and the light upgrade, I purchased some of Bruno's RaceKing Subframe Inserts (they didnt go on until last summer), Shogun's door handle gaskets that also had to wait a while, a Natur cupholder from Trevor which I ditched soon after purchase realizing I never used it, and a pair of side skirts from barry8108 which are still sitting in my garage to this very day.

By now I had a good taste of the DIY life, the e34 community, and a developed plan for my car. Even though I hadn't really installed any of my upgrades yet, I had the bug without a doubt. It was finally time get a few performance products. I purchased a set of 8, slightly uprated Bosch design III injectors from a board member in August 2010. I was really in love with the big six now, undeniably. And I was in love with the rest of my car too!

At this time I should add that throughout my entire high school career I was enrolling in summer autoshop classes at the local community college, College of Marin. After years of tinkering with mechanics (had engines laying around in the garage since I was ~10, they came from family members with old lawnmowers, pumps, etc) and drawing cars in my spare time, I wanted to improve my skills in both areas. I took a Vehicle Design summer course at the Academy of Art in San Francisco in addition to the autoshop classes. I learned how to draw vehicles in perspective and had the opportunity to completely develop a car design, from determining the customer market to printing the final sketches. I didn't own Big Red yet during the time of my design class, but he was the path to expanding my mechanical interest and helped me feel more comfortable with hands-on automotive repair. (To see some of my latest drawings, you can visit my personal website that I created as a starting point for my ultimate dream: founding a car company. I will eventually make another thread on that journey as well. http://www.beckmanautomobiles.com)

And then on December 16, 2010, came the worst blow I ever experienced to my car. Dropping a friend off at his house from school, I pulled out of his neighborhood on to a 4-way intersection. I waited for the light to turn green and turned right. There was an old man in a dark green '00's mustang on the opposite side of the intersection, turning left onto the same road as me. For reasons I will never understand, he failed to see a BRIGHT red, not very quiet, full size sedan turning and T-boned my right rear door, fender, and rim. It was maybe a 15mph crash, but also my first crash and I was horrified by the sound and feel of my car being forcefully rotated around the lane. I was never feared for my own safety or about my ability to control the car - it didn't move so much as jolt. But I was absolutely heartbroken for Big Red. I almost wanted to cry. Immediately the worst possible scenario's were going through my head: having a totaled car, not being able to afford repairs, all sorts of things. It wasn't until after the police came and jokingly told me to wring every penny out of his insurance that I started to see a possible silver lining. I gave it all I had in my quest to make the insurance company pay (that battle can be seen in more detail here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...surance-agency!). Little did I know, the crash would result in the healing of my clear coat, perfectly fixed body panels, new body trim, and a Macbook Pro laptop. There was one downside which hurt no matter what: Big Red now carries a salvage title. While this doesn't bother me in the financial sense as I hope to never sell the car, it does sadden me knowing it's there. I'm just happy it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'm not sure whether this was a subconscious decision or not, but I never took pictures of the damage to the door after the accident. I think I'll contact Progressive and ask for some of the pictures their adjuster took for my records. Also got the new license plate then.

The only pictures I have of Big Red in the aftermath of the accident.. none showing the damage ironically



Luckily, January 2011 was the start of a much better year for my e34 and me In January, after weeks of researching performance chips, I finally bought a used E.A.T. chip from another forum member (one with a redline I still haven't found yet... ). It really did amazing things for the M30. It felt like it had been given a new lease on life. It idled quieter, ran smoother, punched me into the back of my seat more, and achieved better fuel economy! I loved doing the install too, felt a little like brain surgery

Unfortunately another small problem developed, this time with the master cylinder. Air was somehow getting into the cylinder itself, causing a bubbling sensation in the pedal and the slow loss of brake fluid. I purchased a used master cylinder in April '11 in hopes of performing this repair myself, but now that I'm older and wiser I realized I don't like the idea of putting a used part in my brake system and I also don't feel comfortable performing this repair by myself at home so I'll most likely have that done at German Auto Sport. Then, to add to the braking issues, my new salvage title require that I re-smog the car and take it in for a safety inspection as well. This was of course at a time when I was very low on money. Passed smog fine again (with the E.A.T. chip now), no worries there, but the safety inspection was another story. One brake rotor. ONE was a hundredth below the "safe wear limit." And I had to get four new ones. I was furious that the timing had to be so poor, and it forced me to source some cheapo used rotors off a parts car from the forum. It only cost 50 bucks for all of them but my car never braked the same after that. I'm 99.9% sure it's because I didn't swap pads when I put the new rotors on. Luckily, brakes are at the top of my new wish list Brand new, very nice brakes, that is... 750iL brakes to be exact!

My next purchase was from my friend MooseHeadM5. Paul has been an extreme help to me on my other car project (see here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...t-Epic-The-BR1) and I got a great deal when I ordered 2 complete sets of his spherical UCAB's. No, these are not installed yet either... I seem to have a bad habit of buying parts and then letting them sit in my garage for eons before I decide it's finally time to install them. Still, I've heard rave reviews of them and I love the concept. Never buying another set of bushings seems like a good idea too.

By mid-April I was feeling much more confident in my fabrication skills thanks to my experience building the BR1, and decided to tackle a project I had been wanting to try for some time now. Ever since I heard a 540i with a dinan muffler, I wanted one on my car. And not willing to source or pay for one, I took the stock muffler from my e32 750iL parts car, cut it open, removed half of the innards, welded it back up, and stuck it on the e34! I'll leave a few photos and video below (if you want the full rundown check that DIY thread here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...r-Modification). The result is a slightly louder, OEM sounding tone with no rasp or drone. It sounds more exotic at redline and the overrun is slightly more pronounced upon decel/acceleration changes. I am extremely pleased with the results and urge anyone with a little courage, some tools, and a weekend to themselves to take up the task if saving up for an aftermarket muffler is not on your to-do list.

750iL muffler going under the knife


And back together, grinding down the welds before reinstalling


The final product: my Dinan-style Muffler with about half the stock baffling removed. This sound clip most accurately captures the audio, other times I was getting too much air noise. Hope you like it!


That evening I drove to my friend Trevor's house to show off my work (I think I was meeting a girl later too ) and ended up having a small photo shoot session just because








Fast forward to October 6, 2011, and my car sees me though what I consider to be one of the most important events in my life during ownership of Big Red (getting accepted to college was the first). Oct. 6 was the day the project business/website I co-founded with a good friend went live. It's called Vehicle-Virgins and is marketed as the only business founded by students, for students, in an effort to help them find a great first car: “Vehicle-Virgins aims to help young adults find their first car. What sets us apart from other consumer review organizations is our perspective of review; we approach the cars as any kid would, not only as a professional automotive journalist would. We take into account real-world decision factors such as budget, reliability, safety, and maintenance, but we also rate cars on their appeal to a younger market. At 19 and 20 years old, we have spent lots of time looking for our first cars, and we know what appeals to us as well as our friends. Our mission is to guide individuals in the right direction for their first car. Vehicle-Virgins reviews popular cars that young buyers are in the market for and helps them decide if the car they are looking at is a good choice.”

And just like that, I was a businessman! It's something I've wanted to explore for some time and will continue to do so in the future. Like I just said we just managed to get the site up and running before I had to leave the country (read on ). It's been fairly dormant during the school year, but now as summer is soon approaching, we're aiming to ramp up productivity and get back on track. Our original flash website (www.vehicle-virgins.com) will soon be replaced by what is - in my opinion - a much cleaner and professional layout in HTML5 format. My friend Parker and I are really trying to make this big, with lofty goals of using our revenue to support our hobbies and passions. I want a high school student's 16th birthday to start with, "Happy birthday! Let's visit Vehicle-Virgins, because it's time for your first car!!" We are still developing the company as well as the site itself, but in a nutshell we are aiming to provide free written and video reviews of both new and used cars in a large price range, as well as offer a selection of paid services as well to help individuals who are needing more than just a guiding hand on their car search. This will deserve it's own thread (along with the Beckman Automobiles story) at a later time and date, but it's relevance to Big Red is due to the fact that my first ever video review was of my own car! I know several forum members already saw it when I asked for feedback for future reviews, but I will post it again in case anyone missed it the first time around.

Vehicle-Virgins™ first ever video review. More coming soon! We will also have an official YouTube channel once we complete ~5 video reviews, but I don't want to publish it until that time comes



Asides from being featured in a short film, almost nine months passed before anything else changed, for two very good reasons! One: the car was running well and I was just enjoying driving it. Two: from Halloween day '11 to February 17, 2012, I was having the trip of my life in Australia. Ok, admittedly this isn't strictly E34-related, but to sum it up it was a life-changing experience. I worked on a watermelon farm while living in an absolute dump for six weeks, making right around $1k per week, and then traveled for the remaining 2.5 months all around Australia with my cousin from Connecticut and some of the closest friends I have ever met from the youth hostel. Above anything else, it taught me that travel is one of my new favorite hobbies and that making a fortune is not the only way to live a really, genuinely happy life. Some trip highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H-qolfGvQ4

While I was there I purchased an e36 318i in Sydney to explore the country in... god I miss that car. There were so many great memories in it. Also BMW related, I bought Big Red his next present on January 7, 2012 from the forum: a set of turbodiesel grills for the lower front. It had to wait till I got back to get installed, but a nice touch in my opinion and an addition that would bring me one step closer towards my perfect e34. After fitting them, I washed the car and - for the first time - tried a can of seafoam in the engine and fuel tank. It was cool. I didn't notice any significant difference in engine performance but it was definitely a little quieter and smoother. I really like the look of the front end now and enjoy how they keep the OEM look with a slightly wider lower grill. Ultimately I want 540i ducts and painted lowers and the front will be perfect for me.

Picture of the new turbodiesel grills. Definitely not the best pic but at least you can see it. Just an extra 2" or so of grill but I enjoy the small details


My last summer job before college was undoubtedly one the most impacting experiences I've ever had. I had been trying to find a job on the commercial end of the automotive industry in a high-end car dealership. I had no luck. The economy combined with my near-complete lack of professional experience caused my optimism to fade quickly. Just when I had all but given up, I received a call from Marin Luxury Cars in Corte Madera, CA, a certified Aston Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Fisker dealership. After weeks of showing up in person and asking about position openings, it had finally come. I began washing cars and within a couple weeks advanced, becoming MLC's youngest ever technician in training/assistant technician. I was performing diagnostics, services, and repairs - brakes jobs, tires, oil changes, cooling system overhauls, Pre-Delivery Inspections - on the cars I used to dream about. I was repairing and driving cars that are on my ultimate wish-list. It felt like a glimpse into what my future could be like; one of the greatest feelings on earth.

There was another great perk of working for the dealership too: free car washes and lift time! I really used this to my advantage as much as I felt was appropriate. At the end of the day when most of the mechanics had already gone home and I had clocked out, I was able to put my car up as much as I pleased. I did oil changes, an alignment, cleaned bits in the parts washer, you name it. Last June, by the time I had gotten very comfortable working in the shop and using the tire machines, I purchased the single most expensive item for my car yet: a set of 4 Hankook Ventus V12 tires from Mike's Tires in San Rafael, CA. They were stand up guys; I called telling them I could get the tires for $510/set on tirerack.com but would prefer to support a local vendor and save the hassle of shipping if they could match the website's price, and they said no problem. I picked the wheels up, filled out my $80 mail-in rebate, and transformed the way my car handles in dry and wet for a total of $430. I was a very happy camper, although admittedly, it did take me well over an hour to do all for tires on Big Red. I was a little OCD with the wheel weights...

Pics from Marin Luxury Cars, summer '12:




Big Red, starring special guests Clairabelle (manx cat) and Maggie (dog)




By this point in my ownership and my life, I felt that it was time to allow myself - a 19-year old enthusiast - to finally act my age. I had wanted to do a top speed run ever since I got my car but always told myself I wasn't ready, or the car needed some more work beforehand. Finally on May 23, it was time. Sometime around 2:30 in the morning I took my good friend and we headed to one of the most deserted roads in California. He got out to film (didn't want to be inside for whatever reason...) and I did one pass. I felt my car at 140mph and I will always remember how it felt; the wind noise drowning out the engine, closing in on redline in fifth gear, the road being sucked up into my front grill, the steering more reactive and the brakes tested for their autobahn-worthiness. It was a success, it was a thrill, and I won't need to do it again for quite some time.



Sometimes I forget how much gas costs... This is probably the driest my 21.1 Gallon tank has been since it left the assembly line


This glorious heart is the reason!


Parking like an asshole, err, Boss. This is not a normal habit


One of the last shots I took before leaving for school: that freshly cleaned Zinnoberrot shine


I quit my job at MLC about a a week before school started; my parents decided it would be a good idea to have one last family trip together before both their boys were away studying (my twin brother started a year before me while I was in Oz but he has a 5-year program so we finish at the same time ) Chicago was great; we toured everything and enjoyed the late-summer midwest weather. However, I was already missing my car. I was home for Thanksgiving and winter break and got to drive it a lot during that time, but when while returning home from a family visit in Santa Cruz, some lady backed into me with her Land Rover Discovery at a 4-lane intersection. She said she was just trying to let someone pass through and didnt see my bright red paint or headlights, or the fact that I was looking at her through my windshield into her side mirror while she reversed into my car. Now I have yet another insurance hassle and repair that is currently being taken care of thanks to my Dad (Big Red goes in to the shop on Aug 15th I believe). It's so damn annoying how careless some drivers are, especially when they already fit the stereotype of a bad driver. People should buy certain sized cars based on their results of an IQ test. Only geniuses should be able to command Escalades, Suburbans, and Rovers.

Just one pic of the damage: thank god it was fairly minor. Didn't even touch the lights, just the hood and bumper moulding.




I think it's time for an update! Yesterday (June 3, 2013) I finally got my car back from the body shop, for the second time. They fixed the damage but the first time they did a poor job smoothing out the paint on the hood and there was a visible line from their work. They also managed to incorrectly install the bumper trim... one of the plastic tabs was poking out. How that sneaks by the vision of the man who repaired it, I have no idea. I won't be bringing my car back there any more. As a way to repay me, they did install a special present my girlfriend got me for my birthday last october (she's German). Check out the pics below

Sorta, not really fixed..


That's more like it! A real German plate for Big Red.


And finally, how he sits now in the California sun. There are so many things I still want to do to this car, and so much money spending I sense in my near future. It's into the 170k's and it's been relatively maintenance free for the past 2 years. In my immediate future is a brake job (I have a 750iL bbk waiting ), possible bushings, and a fuel pump most likely. It won't be cheap but I'm looking forward to making this car better with age.



Some more pictures! These were taken over the summer, between my work and class. I'm already back on the east coast now getting ready to go to school next week, but I am very happy I made enough money to be able to afford to keep the parts I've been collecting (thought I would have to sell some to make money for school). I put about 3,500 miles on the car this summer as my daily 100 mile commute for class was pretty mandatory. With that said, I averaged 20-21mpg; mixed city/highway driving with pretty quick cruising, so I'm happy with that number. Only thing that's officially on the to-do list now are brakes (I could tell they were gonna go soon for a few months now), which I will remedy with the E32 750iL calipers I have sitting in my garage

















And now, here it is - here I am, more than three years from when my adventure started. Crazy how fast time goes by, but I'll be updating this thread every time I so much as clean the car, and I love the idea of that. What's my dream E34? One day it will be the car I have now; it can only get better with age (and money). It truly has been the best first car I could have asked for. Now I'm in school, studying Motorsports Engineering at IUPUI in Indianapolis, far away from my car. I think about it every day, wishing I could just take it for a spin around the block. I still buy it parts occasionally, I actually splurged pretty good last Sept for it's birthday and purchased 540i6/Msport springs, M5 swaybars, a 3.46 limited slip diff, and 540 ducts. My ultimate goals for the vehicle, along with a list of my current expenses, are attached below. If this was going to be my only car for the rest of my life, then I would undoubtedly turn it into a monster. But as I have the luxury (or rather optimism) of being able to own additional cars in my future, I want to keep this car as little more than a showroom-perfect, OEM-updated Zinnoberrot 535i. I do go back and forth on this decision; choosing between a pristine, certified BMW Classic Center restored version of my car or a vintage twin turbo track-ready toy, but ultimately, for the sake of E34 character as well as my wallet, I think I just want the nicest possible, all-OEM car with a few modern updates. I want a car that looks like it belongs outside a nice restaurant, that's all. Thanks for reading, those who did.

Spence


Big Red's original build sheet:




These are my current long-terms plans for the car:




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[sse34]

Nice car, to much for me to read though. :/ haha... but i do like the tree in the pic of you removing the tint -_- watcha hiding?

[sbeckman7]

Nice car, to much for me to read though. :/ haha... but i do like the tree in the pic of you removing the tint -_- watcha hiding?

Yeah I dont think anyone will read the whole thing but I like the idea of keeping my journal on bimmerforums Just hiding an old shirt to remove the tint, had to wipe the residue off the windows.

[sbeckman7]

I was doing some work on my old E30 when I dropped the engine fan and broke one of the blades off. Put the fan back on thinking it wouldn't be an issue... a few months later my engine overheated along I84 in the Columbia Gorge! Thankfully I had AAA. I guess since the fan is off balance and mounted directly to the water pump, it caused abnormal wear on the bearings and eventually premature failure.

Good write up! I love your car! I just bought an 89 535i in the same color last month in SF.

Thanks man, I'm surprised you got that far into the post Never thought about the fan balance affecting water pump wear.. good point! Glad I replaced it when I did. And I appreciate the nice comments Hope you enjoy your big six as well.

[Chino5iT]

Great write up man! I'm in the process of buying a 89 535i also, but this one is an auto. The person I'm waiting for has a problem with the title and is waiting for the state to issue a new one. I have a 525i, but I've never ridden in a big six.

[Leonator134]

Read the whole thing! Excellent write up and story, man! Very interesting about the 750iL muffler project... that may just be something I look into.. if you have any more info or pictures on that topic I'd be interested in reading/seeing them!

Anyway, car looks great!!

[ShapeShifter]

I saw you evaluation video on YouTube a few months back, not bad...

[Leonator134]

I saw you evaluation video on YouTube a few months back, not bad...

Me too, great vid!

[sbeckman7]

Great write up man! I'm in the process of buying a 89 535i also, but this one is an auto. The person I'm waiting for has a problem with the title and is waiting for the state to issue a new one. I have a 525i, but I've never ridden in a big six.

I know what it's like, best of luck man and hope you enjoy it!

Read the whole thing! Excellent write up and story, man! Very interesting about the 750iL muffler project... that may just be something I look into.. if you have any more info or pictures on that topic I'd be interested in reading/seeing them!

Anyway, car looks great!!

Thanks a lot dude! Very surprised but also happy someone bothered to read it all That DINAN muffler project is in the link, that's all I covered on the subject. I just uploaded an exhaust video and put it in this thread as well. I'm basically just gonna keep the whole log in post #1 and let the rest be for comments, so check when it gets updated

I saw you evaluation video on YouTube a few months back, not bad...

Thanks guys, that was my first ever video review for the business I started with a friend. We're currently designing a brand new HTML5 site and hoping to really pick up some momentum with the company when summer rolls around. I will inevitably post about that on here as well

[Precision]

Posts like yours are why I come to this forum. I haven't owned a vehicle for a while now because of a divorce but this weekend that will change! Your post makes me so excited to get the car and start another vehicle adventure!

[sbeckman7]

Posts like yours are why I come to this forum. I haven't owned a vehicle for a while now because of a divorce but this weekend that will change! Your post makes me so excited to get the car and start another vehicle adventure!

That means a lot to me, thanks man. All the best to you and I hope you soon find a car you love as much as I love mine

[sbeckman7]

Updated everything, filled some gaps, included more pics and videos as well.

[sbeckman7]

Dad didn't have time to bring the car in for inspection on Monday so rescheduling... as long as the damage is fixed before I get home at the end of May I don't really care when it happens. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll get anything good out of this deal, but oh well...

[darknezz7]

Quite the post. I too fell in love with these cars with my first at a young age. a 78 530 auto when I was 15, it was a beater but i rallyd it and it took me thru hell and back for 2 years of highschool. Then I got a 94 530, paid 6 grand, blk on blk and pristine, it was totaled a year later... Now I'm here 7 years later lol, finally put a manual in the current 530 that still has my first ones heart and the black leather with all the backseat memories ^_^

yeah I'll always have some bmw's and a e34.

[KyleCleveland]

Nice story, SBeckman!
If you'll remember, we met briefly in Marin/Corte Madera in the parking lot. You were a fresh owner of the e34 at that point if I recall. I was in a black 540i next to the 540i Touring. Your car looks great! Glad to see how much you've learned and the effort you've put into it.

Unfortunately I have sold mine and my next trip to BMW land will probably be a e60.

[sbeckman7]

Nice story, SBeckman!
If you'll remember, we met briefly in Marin/Corte Madera in the parking lot. You were a fresh owner of the e34 at that point if I recall. I was in a black 540i next to the 540i Touring. Your car looks great! Glad to see how much you've learned and the effort you've put into it.

Unfortunately I have sold mine and my next trip to BMW land will probably be a e60.

Of course I remember you dude! You and Aquilla, the first (and only) forum members I met in person haha. I'm always gone when local meets are planned... have to do something about that. Hope you enjoy your E60 or whatever you end up in, I was really impressed with the platform even with a 525i automatic. That says something! 7k stock redline helps make it fun too

- - - Updated - - -

Updated again, added long-term goals

[richinvan]

Thanks for sharing, Spencer. Your vid has finally convinced me to drag the extra 750 muffler I have in storage out and get to it.

PS - think very carefully on your to-do list about a 292 cam. That is crazy aggressive. I find my 284 to be slightly too much for DD'ing.

[sbeckman7]

Thanks for sharing, Spencer. Your vid has finally convinced me to drag the extra 750 muffler I have in storage out and get to it.

PS - think very carefully on your to-do list about a 292 cam. That is crazy aggressive. I find my 284 to be slightly too much for DD'ing.

Thanks, that's good to know. That spec was just my wishful thinking as a 17-year-old.

[sbeckman7]

Just got a check from insurance: 1,025 to fix the hood Hopefully I can come out on top again and have plenty to spare!

[sbeckman7]

Updated, fixed damage and new plates!

[PorscheH6]

[sbeckman7]

Updated, and with more pics!

[sbeckman7]

Just ordered everything for my E34 BBK retrofit, should be happening in the next month or so

[Leonator134]

Spencer you're on the East coast?

[sbeckman7]

West, normally. I live in the SF Bay Area, but study in Indianapolis.