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Thread: Colton's $38 per Cylinder Restoration: A Probable Financial Disaster

  1. #1
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    01 750il, E38/9 Parts

    Colton's $58 per Cylinder Restoration: A Probable Financial Disaster

    I'm Colton, I'm 19, and I'm a BMW-aholic. This is the third BMW I've owned, preceded by a 2002 525iT and a 1998 740il. I wreckeed my last e38 a month or so ago, and have been on the car search since then. I was mostly looking for a e34 540i, I love the styling of the chassis, and I fell in love with the M6X engine in my 740il. Then I saw this baby posted on craigslist and immediately emailed the guy for it. I told him, if it runs, can hit 55, and the body is straight, I'll give him the $700 asking. A couple days later we drive to Chicago, I drive it around the block a couple times, hand him the cash and I'm off with my brand new V12. I have to say, jumping immediately from the V8 to V12 is night and day. I love the V8, but the v12 is such a silk smooth engine and paired with the 5hp30 has the best torque curve of any engine I've ever driven. Anyway, without any further ado, Here are a couple pictures. I'll get some better with my Nikon at a later time, but for now the phone pictures will have to suffice.

    IMG_20170621_190553

    IMG_20170621_190746

    IMG_20170621_190750

    IMG_20170621_190755

    I'll update this lists as things come up

    Current to-do list:
    Front and rear suspension
    Driver door handle
    Battery issues
    ̶C̶o̶r̶r̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶i̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶z̶e̶
    ̶B̶e̶l̶t̶ ̶s̶q̶u̶e̶a̶k̶ Distributor squeak
    ̶M̶u̶f̶f̶l̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶l̶e̶t̶e̶

    The good:
    The engine seems to run perfectly
    The trans shifts perfectly
    Leather dash is in near perfect condition
    Leather console is in very good condition
    No major damage to body
    No (none!) dead pixels in dash
    Have yet to find any electronics issues

    The bad (long list!):
    EDC/SLS struts are completely dead on all corners (it drives like a 63 Cadillac, have coilovers to replace them)
    The tires are the wrong size
    ABS/Traction Control lights on (probably due to wrong tire size)
    Rust on FR door
    Rust on RL door
    Missing left fog light (have from 740il)
    Driver seat does not move forwards or reverse
    Absurdly loud squeaking noise upon startup above 1K rpms, goes away after car is fully warm.
    Interior in rough condition in general
    Rear seat adjustment works partially
    Other than dash and center console, all the leather in the car is in pretty rough condition.
    lots of dings, paint chips, paint is in rough, irrecoverable condition
    Front bumper is cracked beyond repair
    rear bumper is cracked, probably repairable, but since the car needs paint anyway, I'll take the black of my 740il
    missing engine cover
    Windshield is cracked
    one of the panes on the driver side quarter glass was shattered
    Awful peeling purple tint on all the windows
    Batteries may be iffy
    Need brakes and sensors
    Battery issues (isolator?)

    Eventual Mods:
    Re-dye / replace interior
    Refinish wheels
    Ultrasuede headliner, pilars, seatbacks
    Strip, stain, and refinish all trip (testing now on e39 trim)


    There's plenty more, I will add to this list as I think of things
    Last edited by ColtonBH; 07-08-2017 at 01:33 AM.
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  2. #2
    Join Date
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    97' m52 turbo
    I've always like the bigger BMW motors, v8/v12s but it's shame the majority of them are autos. I'd spring for one if it were manual.

    Any who, nice find.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    2001 740il
    Lucky guy you are

    Sent from my LGLS996 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
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    '93 740il '84 633Csi
    The most expensive car is a cheap BMW. Good luck.

  5. #5
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    Sonora, ca
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    2001 740il
    Sounds like a typical e38 owner. Happy resto!!! This time try not to roll it!!


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  6. #6
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    1995 Dinan 740il
    $700/12 = $58.33... just saying. Good luck with the project.

  7. #7
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    1998 E38 750iL
    Looking forward to restoration progress.

    The ABS/TC lights may also be due to a bad wheel speed sensor. Sometimes they are just rusty/clogged with junk and a cleaning will fix the problem; if you need to replace, don't use cheap Chinese ones, they often will not solve the problem.

  8. #8
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    [/IMG]

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by 328iFun View Post
    I've always like the bigger BMW motors, v8/v12s but it's shame the majority of them are autos. I'd spring for one if it were manual.

    Any who, nice find.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
    You can always make your own with the adapter plates. I'm saving up for a set now.
    Last edited by XAlt; 06-22-2017 at 10:58 AM.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by XAlt View Post
    You can always make your own with the adapter plates. I'm saving up for a set now.
    Sweet

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grady in Texas View Post
    $700/12 = $58.33... just saying. Good luck with the project.
    I was rounding XD

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aitch View Post
    Looking forward to restoration progress.

    The ABS/TC lights may also be due to a bad wheel speed sensor. Sometimes they are just rusty/clogged with junk and a cleaning will fix the problem; if you need to replace, don't use cheap Chinese ones, they often will not solve the problem.
    My 740il had a bad wheel speed sensor. The difference is, that threw abs/tc lights as soon as the car started, this doesn't throw them until the car hits ~3mph, which is right when the wheel speed sensor start picking up data. Anyway, I have a set of 235/60R16, where as these are 225/50R16 IIRC, so I'll test it out

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sansouci View Post
    The most expensive car is a cheap BMW. Good luck.
    If I didn't have a full e38 parts car I wouldn't have ever bought this, well, I probably would've actually.

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by 328iFun View Post
    I've always like the bigger BMW motors, v8/v12s but it's shame the majority of them are autos. I'd spring for one if it were manual.

    Any who, nice find.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
    This motor and the chassis itself seem much more suited to an auto. Personally, I'd take an auto 750il over a manual conversation

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  15. #15
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    Dreams for interior. This has to be my favourite e38, I don't know who owns it, other than their Flickr is dominant_engineering. Since I would need to re-dye the interior black anyway, Might as well do a combo black and chocolate interior.

    2016-09-28_12-05-37 by Dominic Biro, on Flickr
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  16. #16
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    Congrats on new purchase. I'll be watching your progress.
    2001 740iL Guides,chains,vanos done. Full steptronic retrofit,3:15 diff. DUDMD tune. Sport seat retrofit. Porn lights
    [IMG][/IMG]
    Nitto ZR 285/40/18 rear 245/45/18 fr. UUC springs front. Porn lights. Sport wheel


    1991 735iL UUC springs front only Style 42 wheels

  17. #17
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    are slow
    Quote Originally Posted by ColtonBH View Post
    This motor and the chassis itself seem much more suited to an auto. Personally, I'd take an auto 750il over a manual conversation

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    I love my 4HP24 (forever jealous of fifth gear), but sometimes in life you just want to row your own.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by XAlt View Post
    I love my 4HP24 (forever jealous of fifth gear), but sometimes in life you just want to row your own.
    The fact that the 750il has steptronic is a consolation

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  19. #19
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    Congrats! Look like you have some money to spend... A young bull like you should be able to tackle all of this and will be a fun restoration project for you...

  20. #20
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    Doesn't the 420G fit right up to that engine?

    Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by purplecty View Post
    Congrats! Look like you have some money to spend... A young bull like you should be able to tackle all of this and will be a fun restoration project for you...
    The purr of the V12 makes it worth all the trouble

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    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  22. #22
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    Begin dual battery trouble... Now!

    It appears that the smaller battery for the auxillary power isn't charging, the symptoms are spelled out exactly in this person's post

    I should also note that I took a spare battery and jumped it to the terminals on the top battery and everything was restored to normal. Also, the voltage on the dash diagnostics seems low, 13.5-13.7 with lights on and low 13s when at idle with lights on. My 740il was always at 14v
    Is there a good, definitive test of the battery isolator that can tell me if it's bad and preventing it from charging? I do have two BMW batteries lying around as well that I could switch it with to test it out.

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grady in Texas View Post
    $700/12 = $58.33... just saying. Good luck with the project.
    I meant to type $58 XD
    If a mod wants to fix that it would be greatly appreciated

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  24. #24
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    On a side note, I'm not going to build an exhaust yet, but mufflers will be chopped very soon. I can't stand how quiet this car is.

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    --- 750il Maintenance/Restoration Thread --- E38/9 Parts Cars --- YouTube Channel ---



  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by ColtonBH View Post
    On a side note, I'm not going to build an exhaust yet, but mufflers will be chopped very soon. I can't stand how quiet this car is.

    Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
    It makes a world of difference. The nice thing is it seems a bit better balanced than V8s with muffler deletes, which seem a bit over the top to my ear.

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