1982 628CSi rebuild

**Nullified** · 07-31-2018, 02:51 PM

Good day to my fellow BMW-enthousiasts,

I joined the board today as my 1982 628CSI will be disassembled, restored and rebuilt. I plan to ask questions, there will be many questions! Please don't hold back any advice anyone wishes to inform me of.

The car will be restored slowly as my budget allows for it to be done slowly unfortunately, we think it might take a few years to complete the project.

Who are we?
Car: 1982 (E28 based) 628CSi with 5-speed manual

Owner: Mr. Nullified from The Netherlands

Restorer: Mr. Restorer from The Netherlands (not active on this forum)

Plans:
1: disassemble the car completely
2: weld all bad spots and repair bodywork to fix welding damage
3: repaint
4: assemble with rebuilt / new parts where needed

Mr. Restorer is a professional mechanic who has built several rallye- and performance cars and is proficient with bodywork. The prepping for paint will be done by a professional bodyworker as this dictates the overall result, and paint will be done propoerly too.
Mr. Nullified is not a car mechanic but an enthousiast wrench monkey with too little time on his hands.

I hope I can place a younger engine in the car too as engine types from for example the E39 are a lot lighter (aluminium top and bottom) compared to my cast-iron block, and more powerful too. I am not too fussy about restoring the car to the original state, I'm looking for driveability and classic looks, if this involves a newer engine and ECU, so be it.

There will be some mods done too, think of relocating the battery to the passengerside of the trunk, above-right over the fuel tank towards the side like an M6 and some strengthening between the shock towers front and rear.

The car already has a 635CSi front airdam and rear spoiler and later it will receive an M6 rear spoiler as I like that look a lot better. The 'normal' style spoiler is one big chunk of plastic and the M6 spoiler is just more elegant to look at; aesthetics are important too!

Maybe buying a newer car with less rust and restoring this is cheaper, but as all old cars have rust where you don't see it I think a newer car will also be more rusty than expected and the benefit of my car is that is is accident free if you forget about dings and dents. No major impacts have been found on the body and all is straight, therefore I think it is a good restoration object.

The goal is to have a good-looking and even beter driving 6-series with fresh internals so I can drive, then drive again and then drive some more. I won't be using the car in the winter as my daily workhorse is better up for the job.

The passenger-side window guide has rusted out and the window won't go up any further, hence the plastic.

**Bert Poliakoff** · 07-31-2018, 09:56 PM

You might take a look at my pictures, not up to date, regarding my 81 euro which has been undergoing a total nut and bolt restoration. As to a Motor, you should look for a pre 82 635 Motor. These are designated an M90 and have the same bottom end as an M635 and also an M1. It shouldn't be hard to find one in Europe Go to flickr.com/pictures/bertspictures and you can get an idea of what you will be doing and getting into.

**DesktopDave** · 07-31-2018, 10:21 PM

Great first post! I can't wait to see your progress, however long it takes. Mine's four years in, and still a work in progress.

**TowJamma** · 08-02-2018, 12:09 AM

Welcome! That's a good looking ride. Definitely worth saving.

**Nullified** · 08-04-2018, 04:46 AM

Hi guys,

Thanks for the welcome. I looked at Berts photo's and it looks astonishing. Also the time frame is astonishing, you started in 2006 and still going, this reflect the utter thoroughness you're putting into the project.

My car will be taken apart this week if all goes well, and then I expect to be horrified with all the rust ��

@desktopdave: I'll catch up on your topic later on, what is the main reason it is taking so long? More problems than foreseen? Or are you as thorough as Bert?

@towjamma: thanks!

I can't wait to start with the car!

And about a possible engine swap, this will be decided in a later stage, all feedback is welcome.

**Bert Poliakoff** · 08-04-2018, 01:40 PM

After all these years we were ready to light it up and found the drain plug in the pan was stripped so a new pan was just cleaned, going to the powder coater Thursday and maybe we can get it fired week after next. from there it is just the body trim some paint wwork that shop gremlins chipped up and other odds and ends and then on the road. It's been a long haul and I will never do a modern car again. Hopefully this girl will be dependable and i can put some serious miles on her!!

**dmac156** · 08-04-2018, 09:03 PM

That's big news Bert. Please post some pics and video.

**Shipper** · 08-08-2018, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by Bert Poliakoff

After all these years we were ready to light it up and found the drain plug in the pan was stripped so a new pan was just cleaned, going to the powder coater Thursday and maybe we can get it fired week after next. from there it is just the body trim some paint wwork that shop gremlins chipped up and other odds and ends and then on the road. It's been a long haul and I will never do a modern car again. Hopefully this girl will be dependable and i can put some serious miles on her!!

good to hear Bert-meister!

**Nullified** · 09-02-2018, 12:57 PM

I've got some pictures of the first stages, the dismantling:

**Bert Poliakoff** · 09-03-2018, 08:01 PM

Contact this young man in Holland. About 10 years or so ago he was very very active on this forum. He did a major ground up restoration on an early, very rusty, euro 635. He was a student at the time and the car was his main means of transportation and he drove the hell out of it. Here is his Email address. at the time.......If he is still around you will find him a wonder of knowledge as he drove all over Europe finding parts for his car.

**Shipper** · 09-03-2018, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Bert Poliakoff

Contact this young man in Holland. About 10 years or so ago he was very very active on this forum. He did a major ground up restoration on an early, very rusty, euro 635. He was a student at the time and the car was his main means of transportation and he drove the hell out of it. Here is his Email address. at the time......email withheld If he is still around you will find him a wonder of knowledge as he drove all over Europe finding parts for his car.

I have found that Ivo Christov who is an e28 specialist in the Netherlands is also a good supplier of parts. His Ebay site is here. https://www.ebay.com.au/str/ivochristovbmwe28specialist

But my best supplier is Bert! The guys a legend!! And rather handsome!!!

**Nullified** · 09-04-2018, 01:19 AM

Thanks for the emailaddress, for privacy it may be best to remove it from your post, I'll contact him. I know Ivo as he repaired my instrumentpanel some years ago.

**Bert Poliakoff** · 09-04-2018, 12:41 PM

I did remove it. Young man's, young to me anyway, name is "Bent" Yes, Ivo is quite knowledgeable.

**Nullified** · 10-04-2018, 01:22 PM

Progress: as you can see the dashboard and most of the interior has been removed

**Shipper** · 10-04-2018, 07:45 PM

Wow. This will be a lot of work. Good start though.

**Nullified** · 10-05-2018, 07:22 AM

Strange things are happening: the links to the pictures in Photobucket had disappeared (open the post by editing it, and see that the links have gone) but are back now. I have taken some better pics now so I will add them.

**Nullified** · 10-06-2018, 03:45 PM

There is one thing I don't like about this forumsoftware; it is updating my post when I add pics. I don't want that, I want to make a new post and put three pics in it so I don't make one huge post and create a huge page.

**Nullified** · 10-07-2018, 01:57 AM

and some more

**Nullified** · 10-07-2018, 02:17 AM

**Nullified** · 10-07-2018, 05:17 AM

**Nullified** · 10-07-2018, 05:25 AM

The engine, transmission, guibo and driveshaft have already been sold to someone who bought a 1982 728i without the drivetrain and will be removed this month so he can finish his car. The car had a perfectly good M90 that was pulled for another project.

**DesktopDave** · 10-07-2018, 09:21 AM

What's going into your car to replace the M30B28? Inquiring minds want to know...

Nice tow bar too, I've never seen one installed before.

**Nullified** · 10-08-2018, 01:12 AM

Hi Dave,

I'll be using something from an E39, a 3.5 Litre engine. There are some cheap donors to be found that can be used cost neutrally. In other words, buy a car and sell it in parts and the parts for me are free.

The towbar is a removable one, I used to only a couple of times but will sell it.

**Nullified** · 10-17-2018, 04:09 PM

I wanted to sign up at Bigcoupe.com as it seems like a knowledgable place for E24's but after a very annoying signup procedure my posts were removed by moderator 'ron'. So much for that. It is not my normal modus of operandi to post pm's on a aforum, however, I thought these can be posted here.

**Nullified** · 10-17-2018, 04:16 PM

This forum has a wider knowledge base due to having more than just one model so I hope that when I run into questions about my project I can find the information here that I need, and as I will use an engine from an E39 I might be on the best forum for this.

Lets build! Or at least, lets disassemble.