Butler's E34 M5 Restoration Thread

[Butler]

Hi guys!

I figure I should introduce myself to the E34 crowd and post some pics the newest addition to our family - A 1991 Sterling Silver M5. I've always wanted an M5 - figured it would be an E60, but life is full of surprises! Here is the story from March 27 2016:



My wife and I moved to Portland a couple years ago. We would go exploring either on foot or just driving around getting to know our new city. Of course (and probably just like a lot of you guys) I'm permanently on the look out for BMWs out of pure habit. So in an upscale neighborhood near where we were renting, while out exploring, I notice an E34 M5 sitting in front of a house. It was clear that this car had not moved in a long time. It was filthy and there was piles of leaves and gunk gathered behind each wheel.


I noted the car again months later while cruising through the neighborhood. The car hadn't moved an inch. The gears start turning and I say to myself "I wish I could be one of those guys that grabs something like this"... We were saving to purchase a house and our current rental house at the time had a really weird small drive way on a steep hill. Life goes on. And really, what was I going to do? Knock on the door and make some stranger an offer? Yea right.


Flash forward to Thanksgiving 2014 - after a night at the gym I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of another E30 or something project like that I could obsess over and throw money at. "Ah, yeah... that M5", I thought. "I should go drive by it and see if its still there". Sure enough, there she was in the dark. still had not moved an inch. I leave my car running and get out to look at the M5.. There I am-- 10PM, wet hair, in sweat pants and a hoodie looking like a creepy bastard, when bam! The porch light comes on and screen door swings open! Oh great... here comes the owner! Greeeeeat timing. I look like a thief snooping around in the damn yard. >.< The guy is nice enough but says I'm not looking to sell the car. Hes going to fix it up this summer.. blah blah blah. I give him my card and ask him to let me know if he changes his mind. Through out 2015 I drive by the car numerous times - almost hoping to see that the car is gone or at least in a new spot - Nope. September 2015 we finally find a house to buy and life gets busy as hell.


Current time - This week 2016, I get a wild hair up my ass and take the long way home from work... just to see if that god damn M5 is still there. Sure as hell, it still hasn't moved. Now there is moss growing all over it and its covered in leaves. BUT guess who is outside in the front lawn AND guess who is still in his work clothes looking like a decent human being. Yep. So I'm feeling bold. I park in his driveway and hop out with a giant grin on my face, introduce myself and we start taking about the car. He remembers me from that thanksgiving night and we laugh about it! Things are going good. After an hour or so he finally admits to me that he would be willing to sell it. He'd like a few days to think it over, which gave me time to talk my wife into it!!! Perfect! So we arranged to meet again on Saturday and try to get it started. This was the longest week ever! Saturday couldn't come quick enough holy crap! The owner was an 65-70 year old guy and very attached to the car. He didn't want to sell it but also wasn't driving it any more. He bought a new S4 and was focused on that, even with a history of owning a brand new 2002tii way back in the day. The M5 was the second BMW he owned.


Well, long story even longer- we met today, topped off all the fluids and the car fired up with no hesitation! 2 years of sitting like it was nothing. HELL YES. We signed the papers and I drove it home. Yes, I'm calling this a barn find because yard find doesn't sound cool.




CLIF NOTES:
Noticed an M5 sitting being neglected near my house. Talked to the owner in 2014, no dice. Talked to him again this week and we made a deal. Stoked.




BK06288

1991 M5
S38B36
196,000 miles
Clean title
2 owner car. First owner was the sales manger for Palo Alto BMW. Sold it to 2nd owner with 12k miles in 1992.



Serviced most of its life at the Dinan headquaters in Mountain View, Ca.


Sterling silver metallic
Light silver grey interior
6 cd changer




Here are the pics!




M5_barnfind by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_barnfind-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_barnfind-12 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-13 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-14 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-15 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-28 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_barnfind-16 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_barnfind-18 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






So there she is. In 10+ years of driving only BMWs this is my first non 3 series, my first M5 and my second M car I've owned. Surprising the interior actually smells good - like worn old leather. The motor pulls without hesitation, no lights on the dash, no leaks detected from its resting spot for the last 2 years. Needs tires, suspension and I'll get the fluids changed as quick as I can. She will definitely need some attention, which I'll document here. tomorrow starts the cleaning process.

- - - Updated - - -



Clean up step one: Pressure wash


Before:
Holy crap this thing is filthy. Lets see what happens!


M5_pressurewash-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_pressurewash-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_pressurewash-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_pressurewash-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_pressurewash-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Clean up phase 2: Washing




M5_wash up-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


The paint looks a teeny bit decent here. Not actually the case :0


M5_wash up-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




OK, now time to move on the wheels! Damn, these wheels are really annoying to clean.


Before shots here -




M5_barnfind-20 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




And cleaned up!


M5_wash up-12 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-11 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




From here, I moved on to the interior. I gave it a hefty vacuuming and wipe down but that barely made a difference. Its freakin nasty in here. How do people let their cars get to this point and live in filth?


M5_wash up-14 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_wash up-15 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_wash up-16 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Beat down shift knob. Its illuminated though, I'll go out tonight and see if it still lights up. doubt it though lol :roll:
M5_wash up-17 by Nick Butler, on Flickr








What the hell is all this weird orange stuff in the center console!? Ughhh


M5_wash up-18 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-20 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Pulled all the pieces out to scrub individually.


M5_wash up-21 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




How do I re-glue this part of the center console? Any advice?
Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr








More nasty!


M5_wash up-22 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






I moved on to the trunk. There I found the new car binder. Had the owners manual, accessories brochure (which is ridiculous and 90s), the radio and CD changer operating manual as well as some random bits from the dealer it came from. The one and only thing it doesn't have is the radio code! Am I SOL? What other options do I have to reset the factory radio?


original spare tire!


M5_wash up-26 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




All cleaned up. I replaced a burned out brake light while I was back there. I took the tails out and cleaned them up the best I could. No pics of that. Trunk net is pretty handy. I should get one for our other cars.


M5_wash up-27 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Time to get the center console back together! Its better but not passable by my standards. I'll come back and figure out how to make it look really nice and factory fresh again.


M5_wash up-30 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_wash up-25 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_wash up-29 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Lots of elbow grease to get to this point.


M5_wash up-28 by Nick Butler, on Flickr








Here are 2 random S38 pics for fun. I hosed it off a little just to get the dust off of everything.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Continuing today's madness, I clay bar'd, polished and waxed a small section of the hood just to see what it would look like. Sadly I was really disappointed. Im an amateur detailer so I thought I was going to make it look amazing again... hahah! Shit, I was far from it. The paint is smooth but there are millions of tiny cracks in the clear. It looks ok from 10 feet - just dull old silver.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr








And up to this point was my first 24 hours of ownership! Time to go drink and relax a bit.
Cheers!

- - - Updated - - -

Today's update: Fluid change stage 1


Oil change
Tranny fluid
Differential fluid




Since this was the first time I've gotten underneath her I was able to evaluate where Im going to throw money first.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Ahhh so thats why the steering wheel has so much play in it. No surprise really. (Passenger side upper control arm bushing)


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Drivers side looks ok by comparison. Both will be replaced. don't worry.
Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr



I satisfied my OCD by cleaning the bottom of the motor.




Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr

- - - Updated - - -

April 4th: I started a more in-depth detail. This car was so freaking filthy my last weekend was just a start at getting it to to a point where it was drivable. Now I want to actually detail the car.






I had to get all the door jams, which I hadn't had the energy to scrub on my first go around.


M5_detail-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-6 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-13 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-14 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-15 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-16 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




A fresh wash, iron-x and then clay bar was done here -




M5_detail-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Now into my garage for some plastic and rubber treatment as well as some time with the Porter Cable. The paint is awful but I'll try my best to bring it back.


M5_detail-17 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

- - - Updated - - -

April 10th: I spent the day with the car. No surprise! Today was finishing the exterior detail. I had clay bar'd the car last week and left it in the garage in anticipation for today's time with my porter cable. It was a great day tho the paint didn't bounce back, as I knew. It does look much improved from the dry, rough and scratched state it was in.


I didn't take any photos during the paint correction but here are the grills before I pulled them off to paint.




M5_detail-20 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-18 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-19 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






I was really excited to find the builders signature and date. ;D


M5_detail-21 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






M5_detail-22 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-23 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-24 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Spit shined all the nooks and crannies in the front bumper and then removed the fogs completely. I can't stand seeing the broken, mossy bits of broken glass! Better to have nothing than an eye sore if you ask me. haha


M5_detail-25 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Hours later and all back together!


M5_detail-27 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


M5_detail-28 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Its amazing how dirty and contaminated glass can get. Clay bar did wonders then good ole elbow grease and window cleaner inside and out to get this -


M5_detail-29 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Got a sticker.


M5_detail-30 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




I found a sterling silver gas cap - its in the mail. Very happy!


M5_detail-33 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-32 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_detail-31 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Finally back into the garage! More tomorrow for sure


M5_detail-34 by Nick Butler

- - - Updated - - -

Sunday funday!


Our local PNW BMW group got together for a cruise and special surprise... We ended up driving across the state, to the coast and back. It was 400 ish miles total! I was so happy with Scully! It was a really good opportunity to get to know her and do what M5s are meant to do... Drive! I've now really had a chance to push it and ohhhh my god it felt so good. This is an M car, no doubt about it! Its not "fast" by standard terms but its really fast if you work for it. It carries its weight easily through the twisty coastal roads we were on. 60-80 mph, in high rpm through rolling curves = pure smiles.



Here are my pics



I love taking rolling shots, even if I'm doing it out the drivers window by myself! hahah This E30 touring though --- such a nice car, shit. The interior is BMW black anniversary cloth (looks like M tech cloth but its purple instead of M colors), M50 swap, coils, 15" SSR mesh wheels and all the euro goodies that come with an import.


PNWBMW_April Cruise-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Sam's stupid fast single turbo 135


PNWBMW_April Cruise-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Derricks slammed Z4, which is now blown with an ESS supercharger.


PNWBMW_April Cruise-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




PNWBMW_April Cruise-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


PNWBMW_April Cruise-6 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




PNWBMW_April Cruise-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




PNWBMW_April Cruise-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Nathans Dinan M5 - just rolled 47,000 miles. It still looks showroom, aside from the BBK


PNWBMW_April Cruise-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Standard generational BMW M pictures -


PNWBMW_April Cruise-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


PNWBMW_April Cruise-11 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


PNWBMW_April Cruise-12 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Then this happened! This was the surprise!


PNWBMW_April Cruise-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






The weather cleared up on the way home so I snagged a few pics of Scully by myself.


PNWBMW_April Cruise-13 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


PNWBMW_April Cruise-14 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


PNWBMW_April Cruise-16 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Perfect day for a drive!


PNWBMW_April Cruise-17 by Nick Butler, on Flickr

- - - Updated - - -

April 11th: This afternoon's project: More cleaning (wtf!?)




I popped off the wheel, just as a "thing" to do since I haven't pulled the wheels/tires off the car yet. I wanted to inspect the brake pads because THEY SUCK and just poke around. I started at the drivers side rear since I knew that was the SLS shock that used to leak. I figured I should wipe it off and make sure its not leaking any more. Well.... wiping didn't really do anything sooooo, I went all out. They don't call me elbow grease for nothin'.




Before


M5_Detail-35 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


During


M5_Detail-37 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




After


M5_Detail-38 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Wow, stock brake calipers are actually silver..? I didnt know!








At this point, I figured I may as well scrub down the wheel. So I did. E90 has been neglected since Scully arrived. haha!


M5_Detail-39 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_Detail-41 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




M5_Detail-40 by Nick Butler, on Flickr








Back to the wheel well.


Before-


M5_Detail-36 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




After - :


M5_Detail-42 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Muuuuch better doesn't describe this level of clean or this level of crazy. I need to relax a little, no? I suppose it will be really nice when I'm in there doing suspension and brakes (hopefully in the near future!).

- - - Updated - - -

And now we are totally caught up to current time! Sorry I didnt post here to begin with.

Saturday..... and Sunday: Thrust Arms






I had a hell of a time getting one of the original arms out. I've never been so stuck by one bolt! It took two days before I finally got it. The winning combo was heat, a ball joint puller and then a BFH, over and over again. Next time wont be so bad, the first time is always the most awkward.


New parts! Got a tire shop close to me to press the new bushing in for $20.


Untitled by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Lets get the car up in the air and get to work!


TA &amp; Scrub M5-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


The drivers side popped right now. No snags, the passenger side was god awful.


TA &amp; Scrub M5-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr












Sunday: Finally managed to get the passenger side out. The new parts made a huge difference. The car is SO much more planted, it feels great. Now going over bumps, slowing down and cruising highway speeds aren't such a bad experience. hahah, Success!








Now lets get crazy and scrub stuff!


TA &amp; Scrub M5-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Seriously, WTF is all over this wheel well? Looks like this car drove through a puddle of oil...?! The really dark stuff was thick and disgusting.




TA &amp; Scrub M5-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-6 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Ahhh, yes so clean and satisfying. :


TA &amp; Scrub M5-7 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Now how about those damn door handle gaskets? Remove and destroy.


TA &amp; Scrub M5-8 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




No pic but you know I cleaned the area behind the handle.


TA &amp; Scrub M5-10 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




This was the only one that didnt crumble into a million tiny fragments. The new ones are soft and fresh.


TA &amp; Scrub M5-9 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




New again!


TA &amp; Scrub M5-11 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-12 by Nick Butler, on Flickr








It was a busy weekend!


TA &amp; Scrub M5-13 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-17 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-14 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


TA &amp; Scrub M5-16 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






I'm loving this car more and more. I need some new tires really bad maybe thats up next. I haven't decided yet.

[googone20]

Awesome post Nick!! I am such a sucker for E34 M5's, and it is a great story of how you got yours. I can see your going to really do a nice job with this car. I am willing to bet you fall in love with the E34 the longer you own it. I have owned a lot of different BMW's/cars, and the E34 still is my favorite.

[wmrcs]

Holy crap! What an awesome car and story! Congratulations, I absolutely love how my OCD was satisfied by your OCD during my reading.

[linklaterdavid]

What an awesome account of a great find. I can't wait to see all that's in store for the car come to fruition. The E34 M5 is a special beast. I feel lucky to own one myself.
Definitely subscribed to this journey, Nick! :-)

[ShapeShifter]

Nice work, enjoy the car!

You should call it "Moss Hog".

[Creesic]

Amazing car and amazing post! Such nice photography as well. Please keep us updated.

[Butler]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I've seriously appreciated other really detailed and well documented build threads in the past so I hope to use this as my chance to make one of my own. Its feels great to look back on the progress and of course share it with the community.

[QuiqueUY]

Looks beautiful , saw the thread on another forum too! i'm really jealous about your find ! i hope u enjoy it !

[Slosten]

Great find, and you've done an amazing job detailing it so far. How'd you manage to separate the kidneys from the center grill? I need to paint my grill really badly and the few times I've looked at the clips on the back I was just like, yeah no I'm gonna have to mask these. Getting them off without breaking them seems like a miracle.

[T444E]

You got balls driving an S38 home after it sat for so long sheeeesh.

[gtopaul]

Great work! First thing I did when I bought my 91 Sterling Silver M5 was remove that damn pin stripe. Just don't like them. Mine was a $5k purchase and I quickly sunk another $7.5 into it before I sold it. Carfax says it's in Hawaii now. My original paint was awful too as there were lots of swirl marks in the clear coat. Mine had the split back seat with console and prior owner was a woman and her baby seats has ruined the back seats, kids had torn up the center console lid playing with it, and her high heels had put holes in the front carpet. I eventually replaced the entire interior and lucky to find a perfect one on ebay for $900. It just kept adding up.

[NikosX]

Looks like a ton of fun Nick!

Before you drive the car too far...

- Top up coolant
- Fresh Bosch Y6DC plugs
- Compression test
- O2 sensor
- Clean MAF

These motors have a tendency to ping/detonate and they don't have knock sensors. Make sure she's running nicely. Shouldn't be lumpy at idle and should be very responsive with no hiccups off idle when blipping the throttle.

Enjoy!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mgoods50]

Wow what a story. Glad it worked out for 'ya. I'm also happy to see someone more obsessive about clean than myself- thank you for the confirmation this is totally normal ☺

Sorry your paint isn't working out so far. I recently stepped up to a PC unit, and some pro quality correction supplies, but I've got health issues going on so the PC and supplies are still boxed up. I'm anxious to take a crack at it; I've got that 10' look personally.

Beautiful car, wonderful story..thanks for sharing and keep up the obsession ☺

[Butler]

Thank you for the comments and encouragement!

I just ordered a gas door hinge so I can attach my gas door. Yahoo!

[CblockM3]

Wow awesome find man! Can't wait to see more of this.

[Slosten]

Which hinge did you order? If you went with a cheap one, be prepared to trim it with a dremel; I ordered one of the cheap ones ($7 I think) and the square peg that goes into the top hole on the body was too thick to fit. I also had trouble with the spring not fitting, can't remember what I had to trim to get that to fit. If you went OEM, hopefully it will fit without any modification.

[M540fella]

Very cool thread man.

[Butler]

Which hinge did you order? If you went with a cheap one, be prepared to trim it with a dremel; I ordered one of the cheap ones ($7 I think) and the square peg that goes into the top hole on the body was too thick to fit. I also had trouble with the spring not fitting, can't remember what I had to trim to get that to fit. If you went OEM, hopefully it will fit without any modification.

OEM only, good sir!

Very cool thread man.

Wow awesome find man! Can't wait to see more of this.

Thank you. There will be lots more.

[yuceturk1453]

what a machine. Love the progress

[Xparty]

Awesome!! Great work!

[Butler]

Finally, a fuel door!


This stupid thing was wedged under the passenger seat. I found it during the cleaning phases. I bought a new OEM hinge and proceeded with some OCD and pics.


Inspect the old hinge


FuelDoor-1 by Nick Butler, on Flickr


Pop off the hing and compare to the new piece. Yep.. something tells me this one 100% broken. I suppose thats why it has been floating around in the backseat of the car for god knows how long. :dontknow:


FuelDoor-2 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




Degreaser and some soap to the rescue!


FuelDoor-3 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






It cleaned up perfectly. Now ready for install.


FuelDoor-4 by Nick Butler, on Flickr




YEESSS! So satisfying. I've been dying inside every time I see the passenger side of the car, until now.


FuelDoor-5 by Nick Butler, on Flickr






Cheers!

[Chivava]

Love the restoration, just wondering but what did you use to clean the wheel wells with, a heavy degreaser and a brush?

[atl530i]

I did the same thing to the wheel wells on my M Sport. Makes me happy to see others doing the same thing.

[Butler]

I did the same thing to the wheel wells on my M Sport. Makes me happy to see others doing the same thing.

Heck yea!

Love the restoration, just wondering but what did you use to clean the wheel wells with, a heavy degreaser and a brush?

Yep and a bucket of soap and water.

[Coslin]

I'm impressed! Keep up the excellent work!