Resurrecting 1991 850i 6 speed - help needed

[sreten]

Making stupidly slow progress on reviving the paint.



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[davidof]

I'm using motul atf in mine s6s 420g.

[sreten]

I ended up finding a very nice surprise under the passenger seat in a form of a purchase invoice from February 1995.
The second owner paid 2.065.572 Spanish pesetas back then and this confirms that the car had just 1 owner from 1995 to 2018. Sad he forgot about it later down the road.




Now we are coming to probably most satisfying part of the entire project - cleaning up the interior.

Before/after carpets.



















A nifty tool for cleaning out vents.





The leather is mint, just needed a good cleaning.








Passenger seat.











I used Gliptone GT11 & GT12 leather cleaner and conditioner. Normally I'd go with Leatherique but it was too damn cold for it to have a proper effect. Nevertheless, Gliptone is also great stuff.

After the cleaner.








Driver's seat cleaned.





The bolster basically without any wear.





After sitting overnight with conditioner applied.








I finished off the interior with a set of brand new floor mats.





I cleaned everything I could see and reach in the interior. All of the plastic was cleaned and then treated with Aerospace 303. I took my sweet time with it and wrapped up interior detail in 2 days.

This is the end result. The interior really is mint, nothing is broken inside which is remarkable. Even the original headliner is still in great shape and rear sunshade is fully operational!






















































































Still wrapped glove box lamp and key pouch.











With that done, it was time to tackle the paint. Now I've done paint correction before with great results and I armed myself with the right products and tools. Got a very nice DA polisher, set of polishing pads, Menzerna and Meguiars products and million microfiber towels.

I started with a thorough wash and claying the whole car.





Just to give an idea of how bad the paint was, here are some examples.





























Besides tons of scratches, the whole car was covered with a thick coat of something, my guess is dirt and dust embed into the paint but it's like someone poured glue all over it. It was on every single panel, trim and glass. To remove it from the glass I had to use a combination of clay bar and rub 100% acetone and even that took a while. It also seemed that someone painted something near the car as there was overspray and dripping pretty much everywhere.


It took a while to test and figure out the best plan of action. Some panels I had to wet sand with 2500-3000 but what worked the best was Menzerna Heavy Cut Compound 1000 and heavy pad. Even that required several passes after which I followed up with Meguiars Ultimate Compound and drove it home with Meguiars Ultra Finishing Polish and finally sealed the paint with Sonax Xtreme Protect and Shine Hybrid NPT.


Detailing the paint is always time and labor intensive job but with paint being so bad it was taking a lot more time than usual. It was going so slow that it took me 4 days to complete this, 3 of which I worked 10-12 hours straight.


Some before after action.











The hood was particularly bad and rough.

















Difference between a polished hood and untouched panels.








Pretty much entire paint was like this.





After paint correction.





The roof.











It went from matte gray...





To black paint again.





Water beading.














Prior to starting paint correction, I knew there was no way of getting this paint perfect, for that the whole car would need new paint. There is still a fair number of deep scratches and dents left but perfection wasn't the point. The point was to revive the old paint and remove as many defects from it as possible. Some panels were repainted (pretty obvious one is the driver's door) and some are still original paint but I must admit it turned out better than I excepted.

I was able to remove 85% of scratches and defects altogether. The paint is nice and shiny again and very much presentable. It was an exhausting process but the end result was worth it.













































































The Spanish turd is no longer a turd!

[chicosito]

Absolutely Stunning! I love all the e31's that need a little love & return into their formal glory. Thank you for saving this beauty!

[TedBobo]

Fantastic job!
I'm next, when would you like to visit LA? ��

[Timm]

Brilliant work!

[sreten]

Absolutely Stunning! I love all the e31's that need a little love & return into their formal glory. Thank you for saving this beauty!

Thanks for the kind words! The car came a long way since I first saw it in Spain and it will continue to receive great care.

Fantastic job!
I'm next, when would you like to visit LA? ��

Thanks! I'd come to visit you in heartbeat. I used to live in Santa Barbara and I miss it dearly! Coming back to Cali is always on my mind.

Brilliant work!

Thank you, Timm!

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[mbarrett635]

I don’t know what’s more impressive-how much effort you dedicated to this job, or how great the results were. Looks fantastic. Congratulations.


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[mightydave]

Absolutely amazing work. I especially love the interior refurb process - easily my favorite kind of thread to follow having done these steps to many cars over the years. Bringing a car back from the brink has to be one of the most rewarding things one can do.

[dukegrad98]

This is outstanding work. It's threads like these that make me embarrassed over the state of my idled project 8er sitting out in the shop, more or less derelict!

Say...when you're done in California, head over here to Texas and tackle mine. You'll hardly be the first person to traverse that particular path.

Congrats again on a fantastic result.

Cheers, John

[sreten]

I don’t know what’s more impressive-how much effort you dedicated to this job, or how great the results were. Looks fantastic. Congratulations.


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Thank you on encouraging words, Mike!

Absolutely amazing work. I especially love the interior refurb process - easily my favorite kind of thread to follow having done these steps to many cars over the years. Bringing a car back from the brink has to be one of the most rewarding things one can do.

Thank you, Dave. It really is rewarding work, looking back it feels like I ended up with a different car in a short span of time.

This is outstanding work. It's threads like these that make me embarrassed over the state of my idled project 8er sitting out in the shop, more or less derelict!

Say...when you're done in California, head over here to Texas and tackle mine. You'll hardly be the first person to traverse that particular path.

Congrats again on a fantastic result.

Cheers, John

Thanks, John! I might take you up on that. Never been to Texas and that sounds like a good excuse.

[rogbmw]

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!

Lots, and lots, and lots of work there. We know you are proud! Congratulations - The Spanish Turd, as you called it, has transformed itself into a Spanish Rose, on top of a beautiful Sangria!

[sreten]

Can't believe I managed to miss your post, Roger. Thanks so much on kind words! You and everyone else will be happy to hear that more work went into this beauty.

To the update.

Fixed one of the most common leak spots on the M70, the timing chain tensioner O-ring



Cheap and straightforward fix with a couple of remarks - mark the position prior to removal and set the same tension when installing it back as the tension is determined by turning the screw at the end, and it's important to make sure the piston at the end engages the chain tensioner properly.











Replaced the brake master cylinder and bled the brakes again.



Got board computer pixels fixed by Pixelfix in Hungary, great guys to deal with.





Then I moved onto the suspension. Having checked all wheels for play and finding that everything is tight and in order, visual inspection revealed that the rubber on ball joints on upper control arms was split.

Sorted that with new TRW control arms and I got new sway bar links while in there since they are cheap and shiny new parts always look nice.



Original control arms made by TRW as well and the old bushings were actually still good.







The rest of the suspension is in great condition and nothing else is needed, a true testament to the low mileage of this car.
EDC shocks are without any leaks and they switch from Comfort to Sport flawlessly and the change on the road is obvious. I love the fact that the car is fitted with EDC shocks.

Given that the car spent its life in Spain and hasn't seen any salt, it is completely rust free but it was sitting for a while and condensation got the best of the rear mufflers.



The outer metal had rotted away.







I was preparing the car for TÜV and even though it wasn't blowing out of the holes, this would've been an instant visual fail. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on new exhaust and I wanted to keep the original exhaust. The used ones are all like this so I was weighing my options. The old man that's renting me the garage restores old British cars and is pretty good with metal and welding so he offered to cut out the rotten metal and weld in the new pieces.

So I decided to give that a shot, removed the left muffler and chopped off the right one.



From above they are in good order.





Finished product.







Got new hardware from HJS and bolts and coppers nuts from the stealer.





Turned out great! Should last for a while until it's inevitably replaced.








Another oil change for good measure.



Then the car reminded me that the cooling system needs to be refreshed due to age by developing a small leak from the radiator.



New parts in - radiator, all coolant hoses, expansion tank and cap, bleed screw with plastic shroud, coolant...



Out with the old.



Pretty easy DIY and all buttoned up.





I wanted to round up the replacement of all fluids by changing the gearbox and diff oil.




75W-90 liquid for the open diff.



I always used MTF-LT2 in BMW manual gearboxes so I was kinda on the fence about ATF but that's what the sticker calls for and I went with it.



The fluid that came out was indeed ATF and it was nice in color. The gear changes were buttery smooth and tight prior to the change and it stayed like that with the fresh oil.



Then it was the big day and time to take the E31 to TÜV and get it roadworthy again after nearly 10 years! New chapter in this cars life.



Since this wasn't a German car and was lacking certain technical documents, the big TÜV § 21 needed to be made. Which is like a normal TÜV but a bit thorough, longer and more expensive.






One happy TÜV guy. He was actually excited about inspecting the 8 series and was smiling all the way through it.



They thoroughly inspected the suspension, brakes, exhaust system, checked for leaks, etc...



The last step was the emissions which went without a hitch.



And then I heard the sweet words: Alles in Ordnung mit dem Auto. The 8er passed the TÜV with flying colors and is ready to hit the Autobahn!
I'm am extremely happy with this news and the fact that this beauty is back on the road.

Good company with my M5.



As a reward, I treated it with a period correct cassette radio. I believe from E36 but fits splendidly and I like the look of it. Even the cassette player is working.





It started being hot as hell outside so perfect time to break out Leatherique and treat the leather. I've used many leather products and cleaners but nothing gets the job done like Leatherique.

The interior is absolutely mint.















Fresh wash for fresh pics.



























The revival project of this forgotten machine is practically completed and the car is fully sorted. The final piece of the puzzle will be to get the A/C working.
I finally learned that those 3 cut wires are actually from the plug for the A/C compressor. I'm sourcing necessary parts and hoping to get it fixed.

I have another project coming - E38 750iL Highline and seeing as E31 is done, it's up for sale. Which has been kinda slow going and seems the market isn't as strong as it is in the US, but finding the right buyer always takes time so I'm patient.

I wanted to thank everyone who participated and helped out during this project! E31 community really is amazing and hopefully we see more and more of these cars getting restored.

[jimmythefish]

Impressive!! Thank you for sharing this experience and valuable information with us. Such incredible detective work to fix all the things that were hacked by previous mechanics.

[rotomoto712]

Amazing work! I can truly respect the amount of time and effort put into this. It's too bad your selling, as my 6spd E31 is on it's way to Otterberg. I would love to have seen an all-original spec 6spd, as mine has become more of a resto-mod.

[TedBobo]

Fantastic find & story, thanks for sharing.

[sreten]

Impressive!! Thank you for sharing this experience and valuable information with us. Such incredible detective work to fix all the things that were hacked by previous mechanics.

Thank you! I'm glad it was a useful read.

Amazing work! I can truly respect the amount of time and effort put into this. It's too bad your selling, as my 6spd E31 is on it's way to Otterberg. I would love to have seen an all-original spec 6spd, as mine has become more of a resto-mod.

Thank you! It is too bad but once I'm done with a project, I get a desire to start working on something else.

Fantastic find & story, thanks for sharing.

Thank you!


Here's the final update on this project.

I went the extra mile and fixed the last piece of the puzzle on this car: the A/C.

If you followed along then you might remember the wiring fiasco that I had with this car. Well, the lunatic with a knife did stop there and the madness continues with the A/C compressor.
I always knew something fishy happened with the A/C compressor but in the spirit of not losing my mind, I decided to ignore it at that point of time. However, I also knew that the day for further investigating will come and here's the outcome.

Remember those 3 chopped off wires I couldn't figure out what they were for? It's the connector for the compressor.



Butchered compressor. All of the wiring on it was destroyed, I have no idea what they were trying to achieve here nor do I want to know.







Chewed up line going from the compressor to condenser.





The only logical explanation that comes to mind is that there was a rodent that had a thing for wiring in that corner of the car since there are no signs of accidents there (all of the plastic trim is original). Then an even bigger human rodent came along and played electrician.

I ended up buying a cheap used E32 750i compressor and transferred the wiring from it to the compressor that I removed from the car. My compressor seemed overall in better shape than the used one I got so I went that route.



One finished compressor along with other bits I needed to convert the system from R12 to R134a. Added correct amount of synthetic oil to the compressor.



A lot needed to be dissembled to replace the bad A/C line and get to the dryer.







Dryer lurking underneath right headlight.



Then I found a screwdriver in the guts of the bumper, presumably dropped there by the incompetent imbecile who previously worked on this car.



Another look at the dryer from the wheel well.





New dryer in situ.





Replaced missing connector for the compressor.







Installed R134a adapters.



Then it was time to pull the vacuum and pray to God almighty that there are no leaks.



Upon the first hour, things were looking good and it was pulling steady vacuum.



I left the system sealed and came back tomorrow and happily it was still holding perfect vacuum!







Since in Germany you can't buy cans of R134a to refill the A/C anywhere, I had to find a cheerful Italian to do this part of the job.

The 8er has a large A/C system and takes 1550 grams of R134a refrigerant.





Another forgotten 850i sitting in this shop.



And for the moment of truth.





We have fully functional air conditioning! With this, I have fixed every single thing on this car, every button is working and the car is mechanically sorted.

After a long 6 months of trying to sell the E31, I finally found a buyer 2 weeks ago. This is by far the longest I ever had a car up for sale.
I've never had so many idiots contact me and come by, I had a guy coming with 3 sheets of paper printed out with questions and things to test (front and back), I spent 3 hours with him that day and several weeks of emailing just for him not to buy the car.

All of the potential buyers were only hung up on one thing - the cosmetically condition of the exterior, dents and scratches. Despite paint being good for an old car and front and rear bumpers, hood and most of the body panels were actually in original paint. Everyone wants a concourse condition car and pay as little as possible. You can imagine how frustrated I was when everything I've done to the car is overlooked and dents and scratches are used as the main argument.

Anyway, all of that is behind me now and this car was a great learning experience in every sense. I found a very nice buyer and the car will join his collection of 7 cars with this being the first BMW. He is also only an hour away so hopefully I'll get to see the car in the future. Just goes to show you have to be patient and wait for the right buyer. The car was in my custody for around 9 months and I am very happy how it turned it and that I put in the condition it deserves to be.

Here is the newest member of my fleet and the next project. To close out, I give you 32 cylinders and 1.026 hp in one picture!

[JDP530]

Congratulations! You have accomplished a lot and car is looking great!

[sreten]

Thank you!

Another one found its way to me. '91 850i 6-speed finished in beautiful Laguna green metallic over black leather interior. Off the road since 2011 and stuck in an underground garage in Spain.

Non-runner, I wasn't even able to turn it over. Comes with nice BBS rims and atrocious interior modification that will be promptly removed.