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Thread: Frankenstein

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1988 535i

    Frankenstein

    hi guys and gals while not trying to beat a dead horse here I am looking for advice on building a E-28 track toy now before people jump down my throat saying they are to heavy, they can't handle, E-30s are way better, just save up and buy a E36, my mom smoked a e28 at auto x last weekend. yada yada yada... let me start of by saying that I have already made up my mind to do this and i'm way too stubborn and have to learn the hard way. i'm looking for input about places to buy parts that are not cheap, and someone who has experience building a e28 that i can pick their brains from time to time. i'm not looking to build a class winning car. the reason being that their are a lot more people with more money than me. im looking to build an enjoyable toy that i can become a better driver in, i was bitten by the autocross bug this summer and there is a road course that does events about 5 hours away from me. and i don't want to track my summer daily that im still making payments on.

    the car: I was helping a friend of my mothers move some stuff and we got to talking about cars and she said that she had a BMW out to pasture ( it is literally in a pasture) she didn't know what it was just that it was from the 80's, when i went to go look at the car it turned out to be a 1988 535I automatic it has been sitting in the field for about 7 years but overall has no severe symptoms of major rust. it does have a salvage title and the kicker is that she says that i can have it if i help her paint the house and call me a romantic but i believe that the car deserves to be saved. the pros to the care are

    1) its free
    2) salvage title so it will never be that sought after
    3) its roughly the same size and dimensions as my mustang

    cons:
    1) lack of aftermarket support
    2) it does have some rust to be addressed
    3) automagic transmission
    4) it will need some mechanical work to get going again.

    I have tools to fabricate and if i don't have a particular tool i can buy one. im finishing my degree this summer and will finally have the time for a project like this. i also understand that i'm about to start throwing money into a pit.
    if anyone has advice i would really like to hear from you so im not completely blind.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    denver, co
    Posts
    1,212
    My Cars
    m5s
    Regarding your cons . . . disagree . . . you just dont know where to look but that can be helped. Without digging into too much detail right now, the E28 shares many parts with other BMW chassis, E24 being basically the same chassis. E34, E32, and others have parts that can bolt on or be modified to work on the E28. For stock parts, www.realoem.com will be very important for parts searches and chassis cross reference.

    The engine in your E28, the M30 is common/plentiful, had a good aftermarket (cams, pistons, etc) and does nicely with standalone engine management and/or turbocharging. Keeping it stock will work too, but I dont want you to have the concept that you cant modify the M30. Check out a small company like Ireland Engineering www.iemotorsport.com for M30 parts and E28/E24 chassis parts/upgrades. If you want a coilover suspension, ground control is your spot https://groundcontrolstore.com/ VACmotorsports, Korman, etc plenty of options for engine and other parts.

    The transmission piece is probably the trickiest thing to tackle off the bat. You can find a junked E28, E24 or E34 with a Getrag 265/5 and all the necessary parts to do the conversion (there are threads in the E34 forum on this) or you could get one from a shop like metric mechanic http://metricmechanic.com/ Lots of options, just dont get suckered into the Getrag 280, get the 265/5. There was a swedish company that made a plate for mounting ZFs to BMW M30/S38s but dunno what the status of that is. A slick mod is a JB Racing flywheel. UUC Motorwerks for the best short shifter IMHO.

    Lots of options, doesnt hurt that it is free and the rust is minor.

    Salvage title . . . who cares. Id buy an E24 M6 and E28 M5 with a salvage title any day, just be sure to drive it. The whole investment grade nonsense that is occurring with E28s is annoying.

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