Project Wolf Wagon - '92 525iT

[Wolfwgn]

So I thought I would introduce myself and at the same time try to document a little bit of the history of my E34.

I've been a long suffering German car enthusiast. Ever since I bought a $2,500 '83 Porsche 928, at 17, I've had a love for the older German stuff. While the 928 didn't manage to cope with my lack of resources it did manage to infect me with the disease.

I had an automatic E36 325i for a short time until it was rear ended on the highway. Amazingly the rear doors still opened after a 30MPH+ impact. I was fortunate enough to get a '03 Honda S2000 as a replacement. Can you say upgrade? I enjoyed that car for six and a half years. But living in the Midwest and with kids on the horizon, I thought about getting something more practical.

Enter the E34. I found my car for sale in CT back in 2014. It's an early production (02/92) 525i, black on black, automatic. I flew out to see the car and proceeded to drive it 900 miles home. The car was flawless during the trip. For about a year, I just drove the car and really didn't do anything in terms of upgrading or major repairs. I had always planned on doing a 5 speed swap, and when the transmission started acting up I jumped on the chance to start collecting parts.

I ended up with a ZF 310Z and a 3.23 LSD. Project was a major undertaking for me and I didn't exactly go about it in the cheapest way. I ended up buying a new driveshaft after dealing with damaged and incorrect parts. But it was worth it. The car is better in every way. More engaging, better acceleration and much better fuel economy. What more could you want?

I also ended up replacing the SLS with Koni Sports and the sedan H&R Sports springs. I'd recommend that you find properly setup springs for a touring, but I was being cheap at the time and they'll do. I have to say I love the way the car currently sits.

Last and most recent project was pulling the rear subframe. I replaced all of the differential bushings, went with Powerflex subframe bushings, new RTABS, new pitman arms, M5 wheel bearings, upgraded the rear brakes to 540i specs, and threw on the Racing Dynamics sway bars.

I also had Ireland Engineering camber and toe adjusters welded in and powder coated the rear trailing arms and subframe while I was in there. I haven't really been able to test the car with the proper tires on, but it was a huge improvement over the clunking and shifting subframe of old.

So there's the Wolf Wagon. I've got plenty more planned for the car, but I do have a little one and another new project in the garage. Hope to continue to learn more than the little I know from all the experience here. Cheers guys!

Please excuse the terrible quality of some of the photos. I suck at taking pictures.

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[ross1]

Welcome aboard. That looks like a great car.
I see you are local, I'll keep an eye out for you/it.

[Kingpin025]

Looks good!