Yet another new E39 Touring owner

[karies]

the Pro-kit will ride really nice, esp since you have sway bars. i ran the pro-kit for a bit in my old Touring.

PS: im loving the Broadways!

[kingston]

Today I drove up to Nebraska (in a snowstorm) to pick up the black interior for the Touring. Not bad for $325!





I also picked up a set of Apec ARC-8s and rebuilt & powder-coated calipers and carriers while I was there for my track car All-in-all, not a bad day!

[StephenVA]

Great grab!

[kingston]

Thanks man!

and the Eibach springs showed up from Germany yesterday! WOOT!
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[kingston]

Well, tomorrow's the day! I will be attempting to swap out front and rear sway bars, shocks, struts, springs, swaybar drop links and front strut mounts. I cannot wait to see how she feels when she is done. I think I will set the Konis at about 80% to firm.

[jp5Touring]

Nice score on the interior. I had to buy a whole touring to get mine.

[kingston]

Thanks man!

Today was rear suspension day. Aside from getting the old sway bar drop links off the car (just not much room to work there), this really was a doddle! I will tackle the fronts tomorrow.
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[adm750]

num...num....num...!!! fitting fun stuff onto a cool car...nice way to spend a weekend !!! where's a "thumbs up!" emogie when you need one...

[kingston]

num...num....num...!!! fitting fun stuff onto a cool car...nice way to spend a weekend !!! where's a "thumbs up!" emogie when you need one...

LOL! Thanks man! I knocked out the front yesterday, and it turned out to be a bit of a faff. The passenger-side tie rod end was seized in the knuckle. I destroyed the threads on the tie rod getting it out of the car, so I am installing a new tie rod end today. The knuckle also had a little dent where the strut tube slides into it, so I had to fight with getting the old tube out for an hour. Then the subframe did not want to drop. Finally realized that the tutorial I had watched that said you only had to take the middle 2 bolts out partway was incorrect. Once I pulled them out completely, it was fine.

All-in-all. it was 9.5 hours straight of wrenching on the car yesterday. New struts, strut mounts, springs, swaybar and drop links are all on the car. I cannot wait to get the new tie rod on her and go for a drive!!

[kingston]

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Quick shot of the front setup.

[adm750]

very nice !! looks good !
I haven't replaced the sway bar...but I did fit new sway bar bushings when I replaced the tension struts. I didn't lower the subframe...(stupid of me not to...)and certainly cost me extra time weaseling those bushings around the bar, then under those caps. I have to admit a mistake I made a little while back....I had a Dinan suspension kit for a 540 sedan...adjustable koni's, front and rear springs, and it had the REAR adjustable sway bar and bushings.... I think I sold all that stuff to a local guy for about $200..(the shocks were shot, but he was more interested in the spring kit and the bar....)
....I should have kept that sway bar and installed it on the wagon....(same part number) I kick myself in the ass all the time for that...

That's a lot of work...but man, it's gonna be a great drive when you're done..!! Need that "thumbs up" emogie again !!! Looking forward to seeing more !!

[kingston]

Thanks for the encouragement! And I would have loved to have found an adjustable bar for the rear! The Eibach front bar has 2 hole for adjustments, but the rear is not adjustable.

i got to drive the car last night, and while she needs an alignment now, she feels SOOOOO much better!

[kingston]

The next project is to get the interior swapped over to the black Touring interior I bought a couple of weeks ago. I am in the midst it. Here are some pics of the progress.
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[itsbrokeagain]

Night and day difference with that interior. I need to swap my tired tan for some black bits..

[kingston]

The 530i/540i front calipers came in on Saturday, and the rotors are here now, too. I am going to have the calipers media blasted and powder coated, then will rebuild them with new seals and bleeder valves. I still have a lot more of the interior to swap over, and then it is time to start on the M54B30 swap Loving this car more and more all the time!

[kingston]

My buddy Adam found a great score for me yesterday - a fairly low-mileage M54B30, with transmission, intake manifold, injectors, throttle body, etc, for a great price! I will freshen up the motor and put on a single-mass flywheel kit and aftermarket headers (to delete the Cats in the stockers) before popping her in the car. I still need an MAF, airbox and a few other things...

[adm750]

you're killiin' me smalls....!!!

[daka]

Hey
You guys sure are having fun with the Tourings, so sorry I sold my 99 some time ago.
I am looking for anther one now trying to find the latest 02/03 3.0/Auto....gonna be a problem cause I'm a bit fussy.
Love to join you guys so if you see one for sale please let me know...(No 540's, and no manuals)
The E39's were the last "good" BMW's sold...

[kingston]

It has been a long time since I posted on here - I one of most heart when all the Photo bucket pics went away. Very cool to see the images showing up again on all the great build threads!
I picked up a set of M5 seats for the car, and have been slowly gathering g ore parts for the M54B30 swap.
one thing that I would really like to do I the car is to 6-speed swap it. I know that the six speed transmissions from other M5x family motors will bolt up, but I am unsure what driveshaft I would need. Any thoughts? I don’t mind going custom if I need to, but ‘off the rack’ parts sure are nice!

I have been through 2 amplifiers now, and am about to pop another used one in there. If this one dies, too (and I know they are all getting old at this point), then it will be time to go aftermarket...