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Thread: NEW PROJECT: major restoration of n 850Ci (M73B54)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Duesseldorf, NRW, Germany
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    '90 850iM70B54, '91 850i

    NEW PROJECT: major restoration of n 850Ci (M73B54)

    Hi everyone,

    I haven't been on this forum for quite a while because I'm (luckily) very busy with all my projects and E31 repairs.
    But now I'm going "transcontinental" and thought it might be interesting for some of you. This will become a looooong thread most likely. So be warned.
    The history of this project is as follows:
    One day in late September I received an email from a guy who recently purchased an E31-850Ci (ECE spec) and wants it to be fixed up.
    He claimed to have no knowledge about these cars, got the only one in the country (two four shorts are also registered and that's it) and wants to not only bring it up to it's old glory but also wants some upgrades.
    I gave him some estimates on the prices and thought, that I can delete the email because he won't get back to me anyways. Instead of that he actually called me a few minutes later (speaks excellent English) and asked, when he can ship the car.
    To make a long story short, we agreed that I'll fly down from Germany to inspect the car and then we go from there.
    What I found was pretty sad. A fjord grey metallic 2nd owner 850Ci (117.000km on the clock) with silver grey interior. 2nd owner has been the daughter of the 1st owner and she was definitely not appreciating what she got. The car is in a miserable but running condition. Beaten up Styling5 compound wheels with different tire sizes in the front and of course various tire brands all around. A radiator which had once been replaced with a wrong one (not wide enough), totally filthy engine compartment, beaten up interior and despite the few kilometers on the clock it had already received the worst paint job I've ever seen. Not to mention a completely f*** up suspension. Rear windshield cracked due to corrosion on the window frame (is my assumption).

    The car will be repainted in it's original color, but the interior will change. The owner also has an Aston Martin Vanquish in grey with brown interior and we will aim for a look like that.














    Since a few days the car is in Germany and I'm working on a project plan.










    1st thing I did was of course recharge the batteries (two different brands in different sizes were installed) and I found the larger one to even still be in decent condition (56% life expectancy).
    Then I took my steam cleaner and the soda blasting equipment and gave the engine a good treatment. Might have been a waste of time since the engine will be removed anyways for a 6-speed manual conversion.
    But I hate to work in more dust and dirt than necessary.



    The interior of the Aston Martin
    Last edited by wokke; 12-22-2017 at 05:50 PM.



  2. #2
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    1994 E31 840CI "Sport" 4.4 - Hellrot Red - Black Nappa Leather - Every Option available - OEM 65M Wheels, EDC delete/Bilstein, M60-M62 engine transplant, updated software, CSI Steering box & AHK, Full AC Schnitzer kit, Wood Trim, Front Plate Delete, Xenons + LEDs, Tints, Black Ind. headliner, BREMBO BBK, Hamann Exhaust, Custom aluminium throttle bushings, KAW springs, Strong Strut, Greg K GenII sway bars, Camber Plates, Stut tower reinforcements, X-Brace, Wokke chips, Wokke Sphericals, PM Steer Plates, H&R Spacers, Pioneer AVIC-F60DAB + more.

    1994 E34 530i
    - Calypsorot + Many mods

    2008 E66 760LI V12 - Every Option Available + Full Individual Composition

    2015 F02 750LI Xdrive - Every Option Available + Full Individual Composition

    2013 E70 40d TT - Full BMW Performance Kit

    2016 F06 M6 Gran Coupe Individual

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    840 IA 1993
    Hi Wolf,
    You move back in front of nothing !

  4. #4
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    '07 e65|N62 - Alpina B7 - Black Sapphire|Black|Loaded|GONE
    '02 e46|M54 - Orient Blue|Beige|'Vert|GONE
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    '01 e38|M73 - Anthrazit Metallic|Schwarz|Shadow-Line|GONE
    '91 e31|M70 - Schwarz|Schwarz|M70|FOR SALE

    '13 328i Auto - Black Sapphire|Coral Red|Sport Line|GONE
    '05 545i SMG - Jet Black|Black|Bamboo Anthracite|GONE
    '07 335i Auto - Montego Blue|Grey|GONE
    '05 545i SMG - (Euro Delivery 7/22/05)|Black Sapphire|Auburn|GONE
    '97 528i Auto - GONE

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
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    Montgomery, AL
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    '92 850i 6-speed (SOLD)
    When I read threads like this I don't feel as bad about spending the money I do on my car.

    Sean
    Last edited by Sniff38; 12-14-2017 at 09:21 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2013
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    Stamford, CT
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    Looking forward to the seeing updates on this!
    My Cars - 1991 BMW 850i - mine for fun, 1993 Saab 900c - mine for fun, 2008 Lexus is250 - my daily driver, 2003 Dodge Durango - my wife's, 1994 Acura Legend - gave it to kid

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Tyler, TX
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    1992 E31 850i
    That car has many of the same issues as the sad old E31 sitting out in my barn -- but the body on this one is better. One of these days I'll get around to tackling mine...that day just hasn't arrived yet.

    Wolf -- are you using the 560 gearbox for the six-speed conversion, or are you going to adapt a 420 or something else?

    Cheers, John

  8. #8
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    @Wokke

    Can you give me a ballpark number on what a restoration like this would cost? With and without six speed swap?

    I have a 80 k km. Glacier Blue 850i in similar shape.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    93 850Ci, 09 Caddy SRX
    That "AM" would be a great compliment to my "8".
    1993 850Ci.....18 years & 165,000 miles and counting!

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    1994 850CSi #125
    Wow Wolf - I can't wait to watch this car go from ugly forgotten duckling to beautiful swan in your care. Reminds me of a home remodel. Gut, reconfigure, rebuild. I absolutely love transitions like this!
    Taylor in Carlsbad

    P=(p x v3 x Cd x A)/2

  11. #11
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Auckland, NZ
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    934
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    1994 E31 850CSi
    Nice to see another one being rescued, Wolf....and there's no better man for the job!!

    I really like the Fjord Grey with the CSi mirrors and Style 5 wheels.
    The engine bay is already transformed.....as you say, it's always better to work on clean components.
    Look forward to following this project.

    P.S. Just noticed the emissions testing valves on the inlets - was this car ex-Germany originally?
    Last edited by kiwiCSi; 12-14-2017 at 01:40 PM.
    Current:
    1994 E31 850CSi Sterlingsilber/Anthracite Buffalo

    Previous:
    1987 E28 M5 Delphin
    1986 E23 M745iA Arctic Blue
    1986 E24 635CSi Polaris
    1976 E3 3.0 Si Arctic Blue

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    1992 850i, 2015 M5
    Nice Wolf, I'll be taking notes!

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

  14. #14
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    '90 850iM70B54, '91 850i
    Quote Originally Posted by dukegrad98 View Post
    That car has many of the same issues as the sad old E31 sitting out in my barn -- but the body on this one is better. One of these days I'll get around to tackling mine...that day just hasn't arrived yet.

    Wolf -- are you using the 560 gearbox for the six-speed conversion, or are you going to adapt a 420 or something else?

    Cheers, John
    I'm using the 560 gear box. The smaller one is for the V8 and can't handle the maximum torque of the M73B54. I'm not even sure if it fits mechanically, but actually doubt it does.
    Actually the first time for me to do such a swap and I'm not even sure yet how to handle the CPS issue. The M70B50 has the sensors in the front while the M73 has them placed in the gear box bell housing and the incremental wheel ist actually the "flywheel" which has to go when I install the clutch. But that's only one of the many challenges this car gives me.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Torston View Post
    @Wokke

    Can you give me a ballpark number on what a restoration like this would cost? With and without six speed swap?

    I have a 80 k km. Glacier Blue 850i in similar shape.
    Difficult. My current list of parts is already €32k, but this includes stainless steel exhaust system, tranny swap incl. all needed parts, modified Styling5 3-piece rims, new tires, upgraded front brakes etc.
    My rough guess is don't start if you don't have at least €20k budget (w/o tranny swap) and time and space to do most of the mechanical work yourself. The tranny swap requires roughly €4k in parts next to the tranny itself.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by kiwiCSi View Post
    .......

    P.S. Just noticed the emissions testing valves on the inlets - was this car ex-Germany originally?

    Sharp eyes
    Yes, the car was imported from Germany.
    Last edited by wokke; 12-22-2017 at 05:52 PM.



  15. #15
    Join Date
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    SF Bay Area
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    Supercharged 850ci
    - - - Updated - - -



    Difficult. My current list of parts is already €32k, but this includes stainless steel exhaust system, tranny swap incl. all needed parts, modified Styling5 3-piece rims, new tires, upgraded front brakes etc.
    My rough guess is don't start if you don't have at least €20k budget (w/o tranny swap) and time and space to do most of the mechanical work yourself. The tranny swap requires roughly €4k in parts next to the tranny itself.

    - - - Updated - - -

  16. #16
    Join Date
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    1991 e31, 1986 e24
    Oh boy - this should be interesting. I cringe to think what that rear windshield will cost..

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by e31jann View Post
    Oh boy - this should be interesting. I cringe to think what that rear windshield will cost..
    €705,02 in Germany. Most likely a bit less in the US and twice as much in Australia.



  18. #18
    Join Date
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    trying the "new" wheels. My customer wants his Styling 5s modified into BBS RS looking 3-piece wheels.
    So I test fitted my set to check how well the gold centers go with the grey of the car.
    Unfortunately the paint job on this car is so horrible (about 1.000µm thick - my resprayed E38-750iL has a max. of 205µm), uneven and not shiny that it is hard to judge.









  19. #19
    Join Date
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    E31 4.4, E66 V12, E70 TT
    You can tell how bad the paint job is by looking at the body panels... they are all distorted and look disproportionate. Poor E31


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1994 E31 840CI "Sport" 4.4 - Hellrot Red - Black Nappa Leather - Every Option available - OEM 65M Wheels, EDC delete/Bilstein, M60-M62 engine transplant, updated software, CSI Steering box & AHK, Full AC Schnitzer kit, Wood Trim, Front Plate Delete, Xenons + LEDs, Tints, Black Ind. headliner, BREMBO BBK, Hamann Exhaust, Custom aluminium throttle bushings, KAW springs, Strong Strut, Greg K GenII sway bars, Camber Plates, Stut tower reinforcements, X-Brace, Wokke chips, Wokke Sphericals, PM Steer Plates, H&R Spacers, Pioneer AVIC-F60DAB + more.

    1994 E34 530i
    - Calypsorot + Many mods

    2008 E66 760LI V12 - Every Option Available + Full Individual Composition

    2015 F02 750LI Xdrive - Every Option Available + Full Individual Composition

    2013 E70 40d TT - Full BMW Performance Kit

    2016 F06 M6 Gran Coupe Individual

  20. #20
    Join Date
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    '90 850iM70B54, '91 850i
    it's amazing how little respect some "body shops" or "painters" show for a nice car.

    Last edited by wokke; 12-17-2017 at 09:35 AM.



  21. #21
    Join Date
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    bmw 850i M-tech
    Quote Originally Posted by wokke View Post
    it's amazing how little respect some "body shops" or "painters" show for a nice car.

    So i guess this is going to be stripped to the metal?

    If the paint is really that thick, it's thicker than the metal itself...

  22. #22
    Join Date
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    On the passenger door I stripped some of the paint using a steam cleaner.
    Yes, the paint will all be stripped. Maybe not to the bare metal but to the factory base coat.
    I was once told by a painter it's better to leave the factory base coat on because it's more durable than any base coat applied afterwards.
    But I'm not a pro in this and leave it to the body shop doing the job.



  23. #23
    Join Date
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    If there is something I love than its threads like this. Keep up the good work Wolf.
    Makes me want to step up my game.

  24. #24
    Join Date
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    The eyes of 'Bimmerforums' are on you Wolf. Good to have you back.

  25. #25
    Join Date
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    Wolf, I am hoping that you have a plan to electronically upgrade the performance of this M73.
    Desecrator of all things Sacred

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