91 E31 Recommendation

[Rossiz28]

Hello all,

I’m new to the forum so please excuse if my first post is ignorant or confusing. I recently purchased a 91 850i with 142k on the clock that was abandoned in doors for 10-11 years. I’m currently in the works of getting the title via a court ordered title. Once I get the title in my name I’ll decide to do something with it. This is where I need some guidance as I purchased this on a whim and discovered the motor is bad. I know this by talking to the abdonner of the car. My question is, do I purchase a replacement motor and swap it in or do I say hell with it and part the car out/sell it as it sits once I get the title? It’s condition is boredline at this moment. I originally bought it to part it out but knowing what I know about the cars condition I feel like a new motor and new batteries might get this thing back on the road again.

Pros that I can tell as of right now:

Cleans up pretty nice but needs a new passenger fender

Interior will be 7/10 once it’s detailed

Remanufactured transmission installed around 130k (paperwork was in glovebox)

New EML? unit installed around 130k (paperwork was in glovebox)

New throttle bodies installed around 130k (paperwork was in glovebox)

Cons (I’m sure this list will grow once I can fully power the whole car with new batteries):

Needs a new motor (tracked the owner down and talked to him and he told me the motor is trashed and doesn’t want the car but won’t search for the title to sign it over)

Needs passenger fender

Needs two new batteries

Only one key fob

Needs new radio (aftermarket has the faceplate removed)

Needs new wheels and tires

And anything else that comes to light once I dig in deeper.

I prefer to get the car road worthy again but sadly I don’t know if I have the time right now for that. What do you all think?

[cartoonz]

Pictures would help.
As for the rest of it, all doable. Depends on what your objective is for the car.

[rjjablo]

M70 motors are not that expensive. But you do have to swap it and you are likely to break a lot of the rubber and plastic parts. Brakes need to be gone thru, PS Flushed, Radiator Flushed, Transmission flushed etc etc etc

I bought mine for 3K and it was rough. Might be a 10K car when it is done. and I have spent all summer on it.

Like cartoonz said, its all about objective. I am going to DD mine when I get thru it therefore keeping it original and looking for resale value has already been put lower on the objective list.

If you are going to pay someone to do it its not worth it

If you dont have the time or the skills its not worth it.

[rockytt]

And if you don't enjoy the project for it's own sake - it's not worth it.

If you really enjoy diving in and saving a neglected car for the fun/satisfaction of the endeavor - have at it. You'll never get your money out of it and if you're thinking you'll at least break even, not going to happen. (Better to take the money outside and set it on fire)

What could happen is that you clean her all up, freshen up the belts and fluids, swap in a functional motor and discover that you really love the way the car makes you feel when you drive. From the airplane-like whine the starter makes before the engine catches, to the effortless way that you can cruise all day at 85 while arriving at your destination feeling refreshed instead of beaten up. Then you're hooked and will start working your way through the car to bring her back to her former glory.
There's no turning back after that happens...

[Rossiz28]

Here are some photos. I would probably have to pay someone to do the motor, I don’t have a engine hoist/car lift at my house. It sounds like I’ll be parting it out then since it sounds like it’ll cost more to make it run again & safe than it’s worth once it’s finished.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sniff38]

You know that saying . . . There's nothing more expensive than a cheap BMW.

If you go into it with eyes wide open, you should be fine as there's a lot of support here. However if money is a concern, I sense you will be underwater when all is said and done even if you do all the work yourself. It's still a 140K mile car with plenty of needs. There are just too many e31's still on the road that are reasonably priced which are in much better condition with far fewer miles.

Now if you plan to part it out, I think 3 letters are in your favor . . . NLA (No Longer Available). BMW doesn't support it's older cars with spare parts the way Mercedes Benz does. I was amazed at how many things became NLA for the e31 during my brief ownership. Something to consider.
-------------------
Edit . . . For some reason Rossiz28's previous post with pics displayed after I sent this post. Now that I see his photos, I concur with his assessment to part it out. If the interior looks that bad, just think of all the things that are wrong that you can't see.

[dukegrad98]

What color is that interior supposed to be? Is it tan/beige, or is it filthy ivory? I'm used to seeing the beige interiors (like mine) with the two-tone beige/brown dash and door panels. That one appears to be black and something lighter. If those seats were ivory, wow! You mentioned replacing wheels -- all I can tell you is that the ones on that car are worlds better than the aftermarket ones on mine...

I say part her. I might even be interested in a few things, if I ever get around to working on mine that's in a somewhat similar state!

Cheers, John

[Rossiz28]

What color is that interior supposed to be? Is it tan/beige, or is it filthy ivory? I'm used to seeing the beige interiors (like mine) with the two-tone beige/brown dash and door panels. That one appears to be black and something lighter. If those seats were ivory, wow! You mentioned replacing wheels -- all I can tell you is that the ones on that car are worlds better than the aftermarket ones on mine...

I say part her. I might even be interested in a few things, if I ever get around to working on mine that's in a somewhat similar state!

Cheers, John

It’s pretty filthy grey/black interior. The door panels are spot less and are a world of difference compared to the front seats. That’s before I cleaned up in the interior tho and it was just soapy water and a towel. It has the potential to clean up a little better but the driver seat is probably too far gone to recover.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[masbury]

Here's another option:

If you paid hundred$ for the car, not thousand$ and you really want an 850, you might look for another car in much better condition and keep this one as a parts car to keep the other one alive.

Just a thought...

[Pneill316]

If you happen to end up parting out that car I have I few needs that you’d probably be able to take care of for me.

[Rossiz28]

Well I won the court ordered title so now I just have to go to the BMV and get the title with the court ordered documents. This car is legally mine and able to be titled as a clean title! What do these cars go for as a parts car as a whole? I’d imagine it could be worth about $4,000-$4,500? Or would I make more parting it out on my own?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rjjablo]

Looks better than mine other than that drivers seat.

I paid 3K for mine with 185K miles and immediately rebuilt the valve body, front suspension, PS and upper Oil Pan.

[Pneill316]

I just got mine $3,250 with 105k on the clock, basically needed paint and a little body work, but internally strong.

[Rossiz28]

I just got mine $3,250 with 105k on the clock, basically needed paint and a little body work, but internally strong.

That’s a good deal! I’d of been all over that.

Im going to post this up for sale on Craigslist for $4,000 and let someone get me down to $3,500. I think the parts alone are worth that and if someone really wanted to try and revive it, it’s not all too bad if they have the time and space which I currently don’t have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TedBobo]

What part of Indiana?

There's a couple of 8er's in the Indianapolis area that could be interested. Those ACS-3's if authentic are worth a few $'s after a refurb.

[Rossiz28]

I’m about 3 hours from Indy. I’m in Northwest Indiana about 45 minutes outside of Chicago. May I ask what ACS-3 are? I’m still learning about the different styles of things for these cars.

[razman850]

those are the wheels.

[Rossiz28]

Well that’s a good sign, I pulled the BMW logo off and behold, AC Schnitzer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TedBobo]

Nice! Nature has started stripping the chrome for you, finish the job.