mslev's E38 740iL Project

[mslevin]

Hey everyone!

I just bought a 2000 E38 740iL earlier this week- always wanted one and finally decided to just go for it. Starting this thread as a record of all my modifications and upgrades (and fixes).


It is a nice addition to my current fleet, which consists of:

1993 E36 325is track car. Pretty much nothing is stock apart from the engine.




2003 E46 325iT. My dream car! 5spd, RWD, sport package, premium package, ZHP bumper. Love it.




1985 Ford Bronco XLT 302. For sale actually. Only got it a few months ago but getting rid of it to make room for the E38




And finally, the newest addition:



Biarritzablau metallic, ~172k miles. I bought it from a good friend of mine, who bought it in good condition from the first owner and kept it as such. Paint is almost person, with no oxidation or fade with two minor scratches and a small scuff on the front bumper. Interior has no rips, tears, or discolorations, and all the gauge cluster pixels are intact!

Within the last 5k miles:
- OEM cooling system
- Valve cover gaskets
- Timing cover gaskets
- Timing chain guides
- Spark plugs
- 5w30 BMW synthetic oil change
- new rear tires

Current issues:
- Steering wheel doesn't move up/down (only in/out)
- Missing interior B pillar trim
- Pretty sure it needs new speakers


I've only cleaned it up a little so far, and ordered new trunk lift struts and a GROM bluetooth module (and a DSP adapter). This car is awesomely fun to drive and surprisingly quick!


My plans are to lower the car, most likely on BC BR Extreme Lows, and then get some new wheels for it. M Pars maybe? Rotiforms perhaps? My inspiration for buying this came from this video of H2Oi 2016 from iLoveBass: https://youtu.be/HxTV5ZBMd3E?t=744 (watch it from 12:20), and my goal is to get my car as similar to that as possible. Going to get the windows tinted within a week or two.

I have a track car and a DD, so why not build something totally impractical?

[ancho]

These impractical things *are* DDs for many of us! That aside, congrats on the new addition. Sounds like a lot of the expensive maintenance has already been done for you.

[mslevin]

Small update and my first real issue!

Put some yellow film over the fog lights to see how it'd look. It looks just ok, so I'm probably going to take it off.

Before


After


Ordered new trunk lift supports and a GROM bluetooth adapter with DSP converter. Should be here tomorrow, looking forward to getting it all installed.

Unfortunately on my way back from lunch today I saw steam rising from under the hood



Pulled over and shut the car off to check it out. Turns out a heater hose line burst and dumped coolant everywhere.




Thankfully I was only about a mile from home, so I was able to get home okay without the car overheating. The dealership has the part in stock, so I should be able to get it fixed tonight!

[robo740il]

I would replace all 4 hoses while you are back there in that tight spot.

[M I C H A E L]

I would replace all 4 hoses while you are back there in that tight spot.

+1

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[leadbetter27]

+1Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

Woahhh how the heck did you just all of the sudden become " unsuspended " after YEARS? wtf...cool. what's up dude, hope all is still well. Nice to see you're still rolling with the e38s!

[purplecty]

+1

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What a surprise :p Still have ur e38?

[purplecty]

Woahhh how the heck did you just all of the sudden become " unsuspended " after YEARS? wtf...cool. what's up dude, hope all is still well. Nice to see you're still rolling with the e38s!

Wait you have 3 posts and know he was suspended for years? Im confused... well not really...

[M I C H A E L]

What a surprise Still have ur e38?

Hola sir. 😊 yep still in the E38 game. Nope sold that one years ago. I bought a 2001 750il.. Anthacite/black w sport pkg.

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[purplecty]

Hola sir. yep still in the E38 game. Nope sold that one years ago. I bought a 2001 750il.. Anthacite/black w sport pkg.

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Good choice! How is she treating you?

[M I C H A E L]

Good choice! How is she treating you?

Needs some work but runs and looks good. 😊

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[mslevin]

Glad to see a mini reunion happening in my thread

M I C H A E L - your E38 is sweet. Love that color.


Got a few things done on mine today.

Installed new trunk lift supports, because the trunk wouldn't even stay up by itself. I took a risk and bought some super cheap ones from Amazon. They're made by BOXI and were identical to the OEM ones, but for 1/4 of the price. Not too worried about longevity because they were so cheap.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Also got bluetooth set up!

Untitled by Michael Slevin, on Flickr


I used a GROM BMWTB3 (link) and a GROM DSP Conversion Kit (link). Installation was surprisingly simple, and I'm shocked as how well it works!! Bluetooth connects when you open the door. Steering wheel controls work and the phone responds quickly. Audio quality is great too, overall very happy with it. The only downside is that you lose your CD changer, but that isn't an issue for me. The stereo even shows the track/artist on the screen.

If anyone has any questions about the GROM install, don't hesitate to ask. I felt like I was taking a bit of a risk because I couldn't find any exact information about the product, compatibility, or installation. Happy to help!

[M I C H A E L]

Thanks man. Its one of my top fav colors. Turns out this combo is 1 of 16 worldwide, and 1 of 12 in NA. ( North America )

Anywho, speaking of things I finally got to changing trans fluid currently waiting for it to cool off enough to fill her up. Eveything looked good in the pan, fluid was extremely dark.

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[Alpina7]

Holy crap it's been a while Michael !!

[M I C H A E L]

Holy crap it's been a while Michael !!

Hey man hope you're doing well!!!

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[Alpina7]

Yea man I'm good. Bought my 4th e38 now hah a while back. 01 shorty sport in need of a lot of exterior cosmetic work. Going to do something very crazy with it here soon hopefully..

What's new with you? Nice car man

[Sabreslight]

Glad to see your back and still in the '38 game Michael

[M I C H A E L]

Yea man I'm good. Bought my 4th e38 now hah a while back. 01 shorty sport in need of a lot of exterior cosmetic work. Going to do something very crazy with it here soon hopefully..

What's new with you? Nice car man

Same old really new job and new E38 that's about it. Work work work save money you know!

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[M I C H A E L]

Glad to see your back and still in the '38 game Michael

Thanks man! Hope this one doesn't break me like my other one did...

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[purplecty]

Buy save you mean spend on your E38?

[M I C H A E L]

Buy save you mean spend on your E38?

Yep save and spend LOL

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[mslevin]

Bought some wheels yesterday

[Aitch]

ooooooooohhhhhhhh.......

[mslevin]

BC Extreme Low coilovers should be shipping today. Found some in San Diego, "used" but never installed, thankfully basically exactly what I would've ordered anyway!

Also found the B pillar trim I needed at Pick n Pull. Ended up buying two sets to get cleaner pieces, total was $20. Much better than $100+ to buy it new!

In the next two weeks, the car should have: coilovers installed, wheels installed, tint done, and headliner replaced (found a shop that'll do the whole job for $420).

[RVAE34]

Which Rotiforms did you go with? My guess is BLQ.