Awesome to hear you're also at 200k+ miles, is the S38 original? I searched around for Ken Little, looks like he was a prolific poster and knowledge base in the early 2000s?
I'll be switching back to my basketweaves come winter, though I wish they were 7J rather than 8J. The M5 is pretty capable in snow and even on trips to Breck, though I wasn't lowered last winter like I am now.
I'll be in the mountains this Saturday, but I should be at the next few Lafayette Cars & Coffee, if you can make it out sometime. There is much E34 M5 love at those meets!
Mike
93 M5 3.8 Sterling Silver/Black (euro)
94 M5 Touring Madeiraschwarz/Black
80 745i (project)
83 735i / 5 speed (euro)
86 745i
He did run that website and was an active participant in the bmwe34m5 yahoo group and on the original bmwm5.se site, though he did not haunt the mformation list (I have some of those archived, if anyone wants). He sold me his Alpine White II and kept his Mauritius Blue E34 M5, which I would have bought in an instant (still would). Great guy, tremendous resource, fanatical attention to detail (he got Meguiars or somebody similar to host a few detail weekends). I miss hearing from him.
- - - Updated - - -
A few pics from the bayaream5s.com website. The blue is his Mauritius and the white is mine.
I thinks its time for a Colorado M5 BBQ. Hell I'll host as long as you guys don't mind the house remodel.
-Greg
"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas."
Davy Crockett
www.Angry-Ass.com
My Build Thread Part 1, Part 2
DIY E31 X-Brace Mod and Install
DIY Rear Seat Backrest Modification for E32 Armrest
Mike
93 M5 3.8 Sterling Silver/Black (euro)
94 M5 Touring Madeiraschwarz/Black
80 745i (project)
83 735i / 5 speed (euro)
86 745i
Good gravy that Mauritius is fantastic. What a color, and the guy clearly knows his way around with detailing equipment.
You may be right, I was planning on 4 Corners, but it doesn't look like I'll have the A/C fixed in time and the gf's interest level is low in that case.
Have you made any progress on the cosmetic restoration yet? What about those elusive interior pictures?
Sadly no, Paul, I have only contributed to the cosmetic deterioration this summer. I haven't had much free time due to work; conversely, work has been going well enough that I am considering ponying up for a full respray and all new trim in the next 6-8 months! I'll keep watching the market to determine if a 226k+ mile M5 would be financially prudent to repaint (meaning, will I still get my money out of it). I'm hoping to the right enthusiast, the miles won't matter when the heart (S38), legs (suspension, brakes, steering), and body (assuming respray, and interior touch-up) are all freshly rebuilt/replaced.
Of course, I'll just want to keep it after a respray.
On that note, I just ordered new windshield trim (51-31-8-117-457/8) in preparation for a long overdue windshield replacement. I will also order a late-model E34 driver wiper arm and hang the original "upside down" driver wiper on the garage wall to remind me of German ingenuity.
The interior is unfortunately freshly dog-bombed after a trip to Fairplay, CO this weekend. Our beagle/shiba mix is not a fan of the M5 (or at least my proclivity to pass everyone on mountain roads in it) and was pretty nervous and drooly for most of the trip. I need to go through with a shop vac, spray everything down, and then I will attempt to take pictures. The used seats are well-used and the wood trim looks shoddy, but the interior is holding together well enough.
This hunk of junk acquitted itself admirably on the drive to Fairplay (from 5,200ft to the house at 11,200ft), without a single issue, and even returned 25.5mpg on the 200 mile round trip. There was about 4 miles of dirt road to get to the house, which meant slow going, but the suspension handled it with aplomb. I only braved the dirt road for one round trip (at the beginning and end of the weekend).
Awesome VRBO we rented below.
So $500 later (Safelite + new OEM windshield trim), I finally have a good windshield after driving around for 1 year+ with destroyed glass. To repay me, the driver side low beam euro Hella lens shattered a few hours later. And now my windshield cowls look bad, so I'll probably spray them black and will buy all of the clips for the cowls.
I have a late-model E34 driver wiper arm on order, and have now added a new Hella lens. I'll probably need to buy the pass. side lens soon (it's already cracked), but want to make sure I ordered the right part first. I will then lamin-x these things, which I should have done from the start.
Not expecting the Hella lens to shatter, I scooped up a used JC E34 M5 chip from eBay (thanks for the lead, Rolando aka Dizzythree) and look forward to trying that out. It's just money...
Discussing the cosmetics with friends, I do plan to book a respray in the next 6mos to a year; but until then I will probably sand down the bits of rust and cover w/ something like white Rustoleum to prevent further rot. I would rather have non-matching white spots instead of rust/bare metal patches (the spots are very small so far, anyway).
The new glass and black eye:
image.png
I will strongly advocate for keeping the lower trim white, but I totally understand if you go black.
Last edited by dizzythree; 06-15-2020 at 02:08 AM.
When it rains, it pours... the S60R just threw quite an expensive light that usually means either new struts or new SUM is in order. So, $500 or $700 in parts.
I can't do it! The contrasting lowers are just such an M5 touch. I might not mess with that until the respray, since the front bumper and side skirts are all subject to road rash. My Rustoleum rust repair will be facepalm worthy, but it should look a tiny bit better and at least slow the rot.
I sadly know the feeling: while I work out better arrangements mine has sat outside and has become a favourite target for the local birds.
Hopefully you'll get the car to the condition that you're happy hanging on to it for many years.
This guy doesn't know what he's writing about: you want to paint the lower trim granite silver or sebring grey.
I will definitely go with proper DS lowers when it comes time, and may even plasti-dip or spray paint in the meantime.
I've just been driving the thing. I'm very skeptical when it comes to minor modifications and am quick to blame placebo, but I can definitely notice improved mid-range with the Jim Conforti/Turner chip. Mid-range on this car being 4000rpm+, but I believe the dyno claims on this one. I blame early Motronic being quite primitive, same as on my 911--modern software for that car reliably yields not only similar power gains, but smoother idle, better mpgs, etc...
Took it shooting w/ buddies (practicing for my elk tag), and loved the "one of these things is not like the others" aspect of this shot:
I was planning on having a shop deal with replacing the shot A/C compressor with my eBay rebuilt unit, but gave it a try myself the other week. Despite numerous assurances from the seller (who has a stellar rating), it's not the right one for this car. Different ports, only one wire (no switch on the side). I waited too long to return it, so I'll sell it and in the meantime, Sir Gregory of Scope Creep (93FIM5) was kind enough to ship me the compressor from his '93. Which in true Greg fashion was cleaner and packaged far better than the rebuilt eBay unit
Unfortunately, it had been a few months since I researched A/C compressors, and I forgot to verify which of the two OE E34 M5 brands Greg had. Of course, his was a Seiko, mine a Behr. Ever the gentleman, Greg is now shipping me the correct Seiko bracket (apparently from Trevor's car, small world). Below is my Behr on the left, Greg's Seiko on the right. The ports are almost identical and will match easily, it's just the attachment points are located further apart on the Seiko:
In the meantime, this arrived from Germany, and I crossed my fingers it was the right P/N:
Sure looked right:
Since the A/C compressor swap was aborted and on hold until the proper bracket arrives, I replaced the broken low-beam lens. The end.
Juuuuuuust kidding, it was not fun, but now that I've done it, the inevitable next time will be much quicker.
A close up of the damage, which again due to the Law of Murphy, occurred the same day I dropped $500 on a windshield w/ new OEM trim:
Mmmmm, 227,000 mile nose panel. That came off, then I fumbled with the headlight assembly, not looking for a DIY first. The metal trim ring pops off easily. Lots of brittle plastic, and it took me a while to figure out underneath the dirt, there were screws in the headlight adjusters:
Though it didn't matter once I pulled the assembly, because on the backside of the adjustment screens are tabs you turn 90 degrees and the adjustment screws pop out. The screws pop out of the lens with some needle nose plier persuasion, and then they pop right into the new lens holes.
All buttoned back up and making the other lenses look bad!
While I was scrounging around on the floor, I replaced the black holes of my fog light apertures with... black fog deletes.
It's common in the E36 M3 world to paint the deletes body color, but I'm not sure what I want to do with these.
Also, do people Lamin-x the headlight lenses? My passenger low-beam already has a chip, and I'd love to avoid both the $90 per lens replacement cost and the annoyance of dealing with all the plastic replacing the lenses.
Id say go for the lamin-x clear film over the headlights... I actually have this clear stuff over my lows, and yellow over my highs and fogs.
http://www.amazon.com/Masione-Headli...W7WZGEB3R8QF25
Great thread and nice work! Sub'd.
I'm going to have to find myself a white M5 when I make it up to CO. Can't find any here in Florida....
Might copy your fog deletes, I like the black instead of body color, looks almost factory with the bumper moulding. Also, will have to check, but may have some nice used headlight lenses unless you're opting for something different.
Minor update, but lots of transactions have been taking place
No progress on the cosmetic side. It's been hot enough here that the M5 isn't daily driven right now. I have Greg's used AC compressor and bracket waiting to be installed, but have been playing on other projects.
I had a set of 345mm late M5 floating rotors, but after some discussion with Sir Gregorious, I sold them (on their way to Grim Reaper) because I didn't want the 0.5" of unused inner disc space. I will be going with Greg's custom aluminum hats and a two-piece Brembo or Stoptech rotor (most likely 332x32mm, as Greg is not convinced the 355x32 is worth it). In the meantime I have received the first "customer" set of Greg's BBK brackets and hardware. They are gorgeous, and lighter than air (http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...&highlight=f50).
Then conveniently (for timing, but not my budget) a set of mint used Brembo F40 calipers (basically Brembo GT kit) in silver with new pads popped up, and became mine via eBay (coincidentally sold by Ireland Engineering). The F40s are not Greg's ideal caliper, since they're only 38/44mm pistons versus his F50 40/44 set-up (which is identical to the late M5, but half as heavy). The F50s are impossible to find though, and these F40s were a smoking deal IMHO. Furthermore, they have the same clamping force as a 996TT's front calipers (which is a 3500# vehicle). Furtherfurthermore, I don't plan on upgrading the rear axle brakes for the foreseeable future, and I think the 38/44 pistons will provide better balance. Of course I want the late M5 328mm rear setup, but $1500 is steep (could almost do a pieced-together rear Brembo BBK for that money) and $500 of that is the carriers. That's just wrong.
Meanwhile, I've been autocrossing a little more and have yet to take the M5. My goal is to take the Panzer to a late September BMWCCA autocross, and in preparation I picked up some cheap used RS3 v2s in 255/40/17.
Then commenced a short search for wider wheels. I ended up with a pretty cool set, which I will debut later this week when my spacers for the front arrive. In the meantime, a little teaser.
Left is Michelin PSS 235 on 17x8 M System, right is Hankook RS3 255 on ??? muahaha:
My stud conversion was far too short, I think I went with 44mm worried about Turbine cover clearance (I ordered the studs before I had the Turbine covers). Needless to say, 75mm studs fit without any trouble behind Turbine covers--in fact, 75mm bullet nose and I bet 90mm would fit, too. Since I need spacers for my front wheels and the 44mm studs didn't even stick out of the lug nuts, I ordered 75mm studs from Turner and swapped. Removing the 44mm studs was not fun (red Loctite), even with a torch. Double-nutting is just grueling. I may replace the perfectly functional rear rotors with some coated rotors, the surface rust is very unsightly and the new wheels don't hide the brakes like the Turbines do.
Since I now have three sets of wheels for the M5, and more importantly, the front BBK is in the works, I'm selling my E38 16x8 basketweave winter wheels and tires. They barely fit over the stock front brakes. I'll be using the girlfriend's S60R for snowboarding and other snow driving this winter, which should stall further cosmetic deterioration on the M5.
Standby for an update in a week or so with the new wheels mounted, and maybe functioning A/C, and maybe test-fitting calipers.
The deletes match the bumper moulding perfectly, and I think I will keep them black. I might feel differently when the lower trim is painted the proper DS black, but we'll see. I'm good on lenses, thank you! Still need to Lamin-x them, though.
Sent you a text man regarding rotor size, balance, and such let me know what you decide and we'll make it happen. Nice progress!
-Greg
"You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas."
Davy Crockett
www.Angry-Ass.com
My Build Thread Part 1, Part 2
DIY E31 X-Brace Mod and Install
DIY Rear Seat Backrest Modification for E32 Armrest
Soooo those calipers are Lotus, not F40, so the mounting areas are different, the pistons are "only 36/40," etc etc etc. Those are for sale already.
I have helped Greg confirm that the Lotus Brembos don't work with his brackets, ha.
My Turner 15mm spacers arrived early (gorgeous pieces, btw), so it was wheel fitment time! This made up for the caliper boner.
This is with H&Rs with stock spring pads still installed, and no negative camber (aside from the minimal amount from the springs). Thanks again to member S14 for some info on his E34 and E28 M5 set-ups, which helped verify my offset, spacer, and clearance math. I can't go any further inboard with the wheel (I have a few mm clearance), but could probably fit a non-existent 265/xx/17 on the current set-up. Perfect.
I couldn't resist these wheels while shopping for some wide 17s, and at the price point of a new set of et30 17x9 ARC-8s.... these look much better, IMHO.
They are Petrucci's ex wheels (famous on M3forum.net, at least). 17x9.5 et22 square. Only downside to these Mitos is the weight (~25lb). While almost a stretch, the tire fitment looks good to me (255s). Heck, McLaren put a 235 on 9J on the F1. Yes, that is relevant to my man maths. Plus, no 265s in 17, and no 275s for my purposes either (not going R888 [autocross illegal], or R1R [not competitive at autocross, won't last under 3600+ lbs]).
I definitely need camber plates now, and then I can pull the spring pads with confidence for the remainder of the drop and dat stance. These Hankooks were cheap and if the Mitos don't grow on me, I may move to 18s in the future to better accommodate Greg's BBK, and, more importantly, find out just how wide I can go square. 265/35/18s square are common fitment on E36 M3s now (and a good OD for us E34s), and I think with ARC's 18x9.5 et22 (so same width and offset as the Mitos, but 5lbs lighter per wheel), that could be a killer set-up and the widest possible square set to actually fit under the fenders. The primary purpose of these shenanigans is to compete in local BMWCCA autocross, thus the square efforts. I know a 10+" rear and 275/285 is doable, but tire prices also start jumping exponentially beyond 265/18.
This post is dedicated to janders. Whenever I searched "OZ Mito" + "E34", he posted his desire for a set for his Alpine. The man has good taste.
Awesome project and nice job on the restoration. I have a couple OZ center caps that should fit your wheels, but I'm certain at least one has a broken tab. PM me if you're interested.
E34 525it/5 S52
E30 318is slicktop M50T
F15 X5 50i M Sport
Just read over this thread. Awesome work.
95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95
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