Rhd pnzr

[mateo8]

Unlike most "build threads" on this forum, this is the history of my car and the things which I have had to deal with in the US as a UK spec car, I will modify it as BMW would/could've built the car at the time using BMW parts. My car is a 1/1 US legal RHD 2000 540it in glacier green. It has several 1/1 options on the car for the year and the color as I suspect that the original buyer was more focused on driving performance rather than creature comforts (no sunroof, manual sport seats, lightweight style 49 wheels, headlight washers, lowered sport suspension etc...). To answer the question which everyone has when they see the car, yes it is 100% US street legal. In 2005 it was brought into the country under the "substantially similar" clause for non-US citizens to import their cars as opposed to buying a new car on arrival to the US to work. It was allowed to stay in the country because it was a model of car which was for sale in the US for the year 2000. As far as DMVs in CO, SC, VA (the states the car has been previously registered in) it is a 2000 540it, the VIN does not specify that it is a RHD car, however the year digit of the VIN does specify it as a RHD car and the year which the car was produced (there are other official BMW stickers and markings of when the car was produced, thus able to meet the official documentation of any 2000 540it that would've been sold as a US spec car.) There have been some things which were difficult in getting the car VA state legal for emissions. Due to the fact the year digit of production on the VIN is not the same for the US and Euro spec cars, I had to get a government compliance officer to observe and report how the car did on the emissions testing. This was because I did not have the official government documentation from when it was originally federalized or when it was sold later to a buyer in CO. However after it passed emissions in February of this year, I now have official government documentation which should allow it to be emission tested in any of the 50 states without fuss.



That being said these are the things which I have had to do to make the car daily drivable (I can't stand empty panels where things used to be or dash lights):
I got the gauge cluster repaired by BavTek for the burned out pixels in the cluster (lifetime warranty on the repair) $180 => I still need to fix the DSC light which is constantly lit on the dash, but that is a summer project
I had to replace the cylinder 4 coil pack. When I got the car whenever I got onto the gas pedal enthusiastically it would throw a "service engine" light, and once it warmed up it would have a rough/jerky idle. $60
I replaced both missing cupholders (front and rear) $80 (the RHD front cupholders were kinda hard to find but amazon had a seller for then, thank god)
I also picked up a set of e39 m-sport pars off a 2003 540i m-sport which was in the area $500



There are some things which I would like to address which are cosmetic, there is a dent in the roof of the car, and there is what appears to be a belt buckle scratch on the driver side rear door (RH side rear door) Pictures of these are attached below


I have toiled with the idea of a s62 6speed swap, an LS swap or a potential rear mount turbo (just because I love the ideal of the rear mounted and it has been done before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9mg...A&index=2&t=0s ) as a performance upgrade later this year, but I do not know if I will have the time or the money to do it. I love the idea of the ultimate stock example which BMW could have produced at the time, this deters me somewhat from a rear mount or LS swap. If I do anything thread followers will be the first to know.

Also if you are in the DC area this car should be at every Katies cars and coffee this summer (starting in mid-May) so if you are in the area and have any questions please come up and ask. I would love to learn the differences between US and UK spec e39s.

style49_lightweight_wheel.jpg
Impossible to find lightweight style 49 wheels

wagon_on_mpars.jpg
M-pars installed

belt_buckle_scratch.jpg
what I assume is a belt buckle scratch from a previous owner

roof_dent.jpg
roof dent, not that big but bothers me

RHDPNZR_REAR.jpg
rearview

[DennisCooper]

Hi Mateo8!

You forgot to add a picture to prove your car is RHD ! I bet some will be thinking you are talking smack !

Obligatory proof mine is RHD;




Interesting about your car's history, there must be other cars from BMW and also models from other brands also imported into the US on that scheme I'd have thought! I think we've covered differences in LHD and RHD in the Touring section, but I bet you do get a lot of questions and curious/puzzled looks at shows/petrol stations etc!

If you ever need anything RHD specific or indeed any part or item from the UK, let me know and I can send it over. I've done this many times now for members on this (and others) forums now - perhaps one of the strangest I've had is a retired US serviceman wanted a specific set of Bullets from a seller in the UK who didn't wish to ship to the US, I picked them up and sent em over!

There's not really much different between US and UK E39's except for the side the steering wheel is on. You might have the rear lamp clusters with the separate brake light and amber indicator light rather than the US Spec red indicators I believe on early E39's. I think the CELIS upgrade also had a different setup too. As usual, US guys want the UK/Euro spec and some of us UK guys want the US spec items! I've just put my US Touring number plate trim on;



Those style 49's aren't anything special really, lots of pre-facelift cars had them here, I think they were oem fitment or a option on UK spec cars and plenty examples had them on. All the other aspects seem relatively easy for you to sort in due course. Do you know if the ECU on your car has been adjusted to run the lower RON/MON unleaded fuel in the US? in the UK it's 95 and I think in the US it's 89? You might want to speak to a reputable US based re-map/tuning specialist to check/confirm and then possibly tweak.

I'm wanting to bring my 530 Diesel to the US on a temporary basis in due course, perhaps spend a month or so driving it over the USA and getting to events and shows - I know legally it can be done on that basis, it's just saving up for the shipping over and any legislative requirements etc to drive on the public roads. I need to research more on that ! If not, I'll do my usual and get a rental and might catch you up in DC

Cheers, Dennis!

[edjack]

Why would you want to futz around with a RHD car?

[Mless5]

Why would you want to futz around with a RHD car?

To stir up the adrenaline every time you are about to pass a car on the road.

[mateo8]

Dennis I realized my mistake in not uploading the picture of the RHD setup once I read your response below, there is a photo to rectify that problem. Some other issues which are wrong with the car is that there is a "check park lights" error message once I turn the car off, I don't know why because all the lights on the outside work, I want to believe that it is because the previous owner replaced the interior lights with LEDs, but I have no idea other than a wiring fault to cause this problem. The other problem with the car is the fact that the rear glass shows an error message once closed saying it isn't (right hand side of the glass is about 1/2 inch above the left hand side), again I do not know what would cause this problem other than the mounts the glass rests on. Other than that, I would jump in the car tomorrow and Cannonball it to CA (the cooling system has no documented replacement but runs on the cooler side) without a doubt, maybe I am young and naive but I stand by my word on that. I do have documentation of the transmission being replaced and is currently shifting a little hard once it gets warmed up, but I have not checked the fluid which has a slow leak in it according to a local PPI report (if it needs replacement then I have the perfect excuse for a 6 speed swap). One thing which I have had to get used to is the centigrade gauges in the car (being from USA I have no earthly idea what a comfortable temp with AC/heat on is). That being said I have never been in another e39, when I bought the car I was in the market for an e31 but the fact that it was a V8, wagon, which was legal even though it was RHD, I couldn't pass it up. As for the style 49 lightweight wheels, ever since I got the car, I have been scouring USA wide craigslist and eBay for them and none have turned up in the states, they are not the best looking wheels but they would be original to the car, which is something I would like to do. Other than that I like to keep a "For Sale" sign in the back of the car so I can get my phone number out to other e39ers who have questions about it as well as adopting the phrase (anything is for sale if the price is right). Another car which I was in the market for was the 996 turbo which have started to go back up in value and would like to get rid of the wagon for one of them within the next year. The reason why I started this thread was I had no other documentation on the car, which could have consequences down the road as in selling to a state which has different road regulations. I would assume if you, or anyone else met me I would not be the "typical e39 owner" but rather the young kid which bought something idiotic, but hey it is a 1/1 and I am fanatical about number produced in the states (other cars are a testament to that, but this is neither here nor there). I enjoy the car to the fullest, it is by far the fastest car I own as well. I hopefully am going to do a quick interview with a local YouTuber who goes to Katies (local cars and coffee) all the time and got my car in a video from last week (Link: watch parts where he mentions the car are: 2:14-2:33;4:43-4:56;12:32-12:35). I know my mirrors are different, the gauges (not being in Fahrenheit) are different with a couple other things. But I am curious about other 540is in my area and would love to know more about them (other than reading 50+ page threads on this forum) due to the fact I have never been in another one. This is all to try and bring documentation to the car on a source which allows anyone to access it and not get lost, which I believe the future buyer of this car would appreciate.




sorry for the long response, but here are the interior pictures capturing the RHD weirdness of it all

[mateo8]

Why would you want to futz around with a RHD car?

quick answer, I had never driven RHD before in my life. Also because it is the only RHD, V8 powered wagon I have ever seen (not to mention it is not 25 years old for "normal importation." I believe for car shows the RHD JDM cars are a little played out, so I got something unique) Also I drive more relaxed than most (or I assume so) so I am not passing everyone I see on the street. Yes I'll get on it to show other cars what is up on the highway, but everyone who has seen it in person is really confused or really loves it, it is definitely a conversation piece

[mateo8]

342 days have passed since I last drove the RHD PNZR so I thought I would give a little update:



After a couple of months driving in warmer weather with no problems I drove it to Katies cars and coffee one Saturday and that is where things went wrong. I drove it over there with no problem and parked it on the front row with a clown-shoe and new 3 series wagon flanking me on either side, life was good, or so I thought...

KATIES_01.jpg

When I went to leave, the car started up, revved to 3k and immediately died. I tried again and again, but with no family in the area that weekend I had to limp the car, so thats what I did. I 2 pedaled the wounded engine home. After a summer of re-timing and chasing down a very rough, but silent idle, I discovered that I had bent 28/32 valves ever so slightly. Time to get rebuilt heads, along with all new parts from the head gasket up. Slowly I accrued the OEM parts with a shoestring college students budget. Once COVID struck I was luckily forced to come home from school which meant I could work on the car. Since quarantine started everything was meticulously put back together triple and sometimes quadruple checking my work, which culminated in me turning the key on the car on Sunday after a bevy of setbacks. But finally on Sunday, Flag Day, I got the wagon started, idling, and driving the way it should. I have only driven 20.8 miles since it started up with some minor problems, mainly the transmission which has developed a propensity of shifting very hard from 1-2 (I have a transmission flush kit coming in the week to try and take car of that issue), but hopefully it will be inspected this week and be back on the road

FLAG_DAY.jpg

Dennis here is the RHD interior shot
RHD_INTERIOR.jpg

[DennisCooper]

Hi Mateo,

Nice to see you've saved the engine there! keep your eyes peeled for a manual gearbox conversion kit too !

I bet it does cause confusion with many enthusiasts who just aren't expecting a RHD car as of course, there's also no real need to have RHD knowledge in the US given there's so very few around! thanks for the pictures too. I think I've mentioned it to you on the Touring specific section thread, but get yourself one of those lightweight litter picker handle things. As everything is made for LHD cars, when you pull up to banks, fast food places, car parks etc, you can just use the grabber to grab stuff/press buttons etc.

Any more plans for the car ?!

Cheers, Dennis!

[JimLev]

Nice story Mateo8.
In the 20 years I've been on 3 or 4 BMW forums I've never seen style 49 wheels.

[mateo8]

Hi Mateo,

Nice to see you've saved the engine there! keep your eyes peeled for a manual gearbox conversion kit too !

I bet it does cause confusion with many enthusiasts who just aren't expecting a RHD car as of course, there's also no real need to have RHD knowledge in the US given there's so very few around! thanks for the pictures too. I think I've mentioned it to you on the Touring specific section thread, but get yourself one of those lightweight litter picker handle things. As everything is made for LHD cars, when you pull up to banks, fast food places, car parks etc, you can just use the grabber to grab stuff/press buttons etc.

Any more plans for the car ?!

Cheers, Dennis!

Well the manual conversion kit search has been expedited... this is what happened when I was driving the car home after trying to get it inspected:

leak_1.jpgleak_2.jpgleak_3.jpgleak_4.jpg

Trans went into failsafe mode, lots of smoke and lots of bad noises, pretty sure there is no more fluid in the trans (the first picture is about 1.5 miles away from my house, but it is nearly all downhill so I was able to throw it in neutral and coast). I have not been able to take a closer look at it, but will diagnose what happened later tonight.


There is a lot of confusion when people see the car. Mainly people love it, but there are some people who say its illegal to own because it is not 25 years old yet, honestly I love it. I have one of those litter picker-uppers that normally resides in the passenger's footwell for gates and such


Well with this development I can see myself manual swapping the car at least, since the parents won't let me do it myself I am looking for a local outfit who has some experience doing the 6 speed swap as I am sure being RHD will throw some curveballs. The end goal before selling it is to m5 swap it, but it all comes down to time and money. I have talked with a couple of shops in the US who would be willing to do the m5 swap, as long as I supplied the parts, at a heavy discount/free so they can film the swap to grow their YouTube viewership, but I do not feel comfortable sending my car to another state

Hopefully it will not take another year for the car to get fixed and put back on the road, but in the meantime it is a great learning experience

[mateo8]

Quick maintenance update on the RHD PNZR:

After the last post I realized that I had blown a transmission cooler line which drained the entire trans of fluid. I ordered a new line and replaced it and did a transmission filter and fluid flush. Drove it around town and the line blew again. I finally gave in and took it to a local indy who has been doing work on BMW for 40 years now (he thought it was silly I brought the car to him after doing a ton of work to the car myself, see below). Quick analysis was I somehow didn't attach the new line properly, he also filled it up with BMW fluid and I have driven 200 trouble free miles until last week when I got 2 error codes, one was for an over-retarded cam trigger wheel, and the other was the same bank with the trigger wheel that was off was running lean. After some research I now know I need to reset the trigger wheel to the correct orientation. At times it has been more than maddening to work on the car and not be able to drive it but somedays after a hard day of actual work it is nice to go into the garage and wrench away without a care in the world. Here is what has been done since I bought it last year (all parts are genuine BMW, or very high quality alternatives):

- new coil packs
- new spark plugs
- new filters (cabin, oil, transmission, air)
- new 4 jack pads
- new windshield trim
- new windshield cowl
- new power steering pump
- new water pump
- new pcv
- new ccv
- new timing chain guides
- new cam timing chain guides
- new timing chain
- new cam timing chains
- new oil pump chain
- new head gaskets
- new heads
- new intake manifold gaskets
- new valve cover gaskets
- new coolant
- new transmission oil
- new power steering fluid
- new timing chain tensioner
- new cam timing chain tensioners
- new VANOS
- new belts
- new transmission oil cooler
- new coolant crossover pipe
- new belt tensioners
- new rear air springs
- new lower control arms
- refurbished gauge cluster
- set of OEM staggered m-pars from 2003 540i sport
- OEM spec hankook ventus v12 evo 2 tires all around

I am sure I am forgetting some things


I do not have that many good quality photos of the car since it has been in the garage on jack stands more months than driving since I bought it so I plan on getting some HD photos next week of the car and I will post them here. Here are some of the photos I do have of the car:

[mateo8]

Quick history update on the RHD PNZR:

When I bought the car I was fascinated to learn more about the history of the car as it was a UK car that somehow was legally imported permanently to the USA. I have spent countless hours exploring forums, googling the vin, using vin decoders, reading up the differences between US and UK spec cars, etc... this is the story of the car as I have gleaned from my research:

To start off the only market to offer a RHD 540it was the UK market and they only made 345 of them. The car was built in 03/2000 in Glacier Green over Black Montana leather interior (1/1 color) and was optioned with lightweight style 49 wheels, manual leather sport seats, no sunroof, no navigation, no heated seats, but it does have PDC which is cool I guess. The car spent its time in the UK until it was imported in 8/14/2005 but made its national TV appearance on Old BBC Top Gear (albeit in the background) as it was presumably being kitted out to the USA spec equipment such as lights and side markers (it kept the UK parabolic mirrors which take a while to get used to). The lack of sunroof, the color and the lightweight style 49 wheels are a dead giveaway that it is my car (bad image of it below). Once imported the car spent time in Alexandria until it was inspected in Colorado on 7/14/2007, and was issued a title in Denver, Colorado. The car then moved to Central, South Carolina and a title was issued on 1/14/2008, it remained in South Carolina until 2008. On 2/8/2010 it appeared back in Virginia, this time it was in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The car remained in Harrisonburg until 2019 and served as a rural mail delivery car (the sign came with the car, I still have it). It put on 50k miles doing stop and go driving which resulted in the transmission being replaced in 2017. I bought it in January of 2019 and have done a ton of subsequent work to the car, I mentioned all the work in a previous post. The car has had a really cool past and I intend to make some history with the car myself.

Moving forward I am gathering parts for a 6 speed swap, I plan on driving the stick 540it for a couple of years so I get comfortable shifting with the other hand. Once I am comfortable with driving manual RHD and I have saved up enough money, I plan on buying a brand new S62 from BMW (they currently are still available) and will be going full bore on the M5 conversion. Bimmer Performance magazine will be publishing articles on the car, I just submitted my first writeup with accompanying pictures to introduce the car. There will most likely be a 6 speed swap article, a m5 conversion article, then a final feature piece on the car's history and journey to becoming a e39 RHD m5 touring, but this is all a couple of years out but I will keep this thread updated.
interior_05.jpg
TopGear01.jpg

[StephenVA]

Looking Good!

[DennisCooper]

Hi Mateo8,



Fantastic update and also, excellent to read about your future plans !

Although I haven't for a long time, I remember driving around in upstate NYC / Rochester over to Toronto Canada and back again over about a week or so in my cousins then beat up manual LHD Mazda sports something coupe thingy! The roads were so quiet, so it was 'relatively' easy for me to pick up changing gears with my right hand ! Of course, changing gears with my left hand is natural to me over here, I think you'll get used to changing with your left hand quite quickly too and then, as you drive much more often, it'll become second nature to you !

Looking forward to following the progress you make with the car! interesting examples always are great for a 'story' and you have that with your RHD in the USA! I get a similar'ish thing with mine being an Ex Police car !

Drop me a PM anytime you need any RHD specific parts and also any RHD goodies you may want. If any sellers/retailers aren't willing or want way too much for shipping, I can help you out there no problem at all - I have another set of wheels to send out in the next few days for instance to CA!

Once it's safe to do so, I can't wait to fly back over to the US, will need to make a stopover in DC!

Cheers, Dennis!

[StephenVA]

Time for an update on the Panzer! Or just pop over Chain Bridge and say hello!

[CPHES]

I love wagons. If that was mine, I’d convert it to LHD. I can’t wrap my brain around the wheel on the wrong side.

[DennisCooper]

I love wagons. If that was mine, I’d convert it to LHD. I can’t wrap my brain around the wheel on the wrong side.

Please re-read from Post number 2 on this thread !

There's nothing wrong with the steering wheel being on the Right side !

Cheers, Dennis!

[mateo8]

Time for an update on the Panzer! Or just pop over Chain Bridge and say hello!

Nothing much to report since the last update. Intro article has been written and sent off to Bimmer Performance magazine along with pictures, just waiting to hear back from them. The car doesn't get driven much as I don't really have a need to leave my house as I still can operate my day to day life all online. I did just get in a new oil pan gasket because that was leaking a little. The only issue I have had since the top end rebuild was a cam trigger warning which caused one bank to run lean, but I quickly fixed that. Other than that it has been smooth sailing. Depending on the weather on Saturday I will have it out at Katie's C&C. I still need to get the windshield pulled so I can put in new windshield trim (whenever it was replaced previously they put too much of that black glue and it won't let the trim slip in)

I love wagons. If that was mine, I’d convert it to LHD. I can’t wrap my brain around the wheel on the wrong side.

If I get pulled over, when the cop gets to the door, I can tell them I am social distancing. It's not that hard to drive on that side of the car, mail carriers do it. In fact mine spent 80k of its life as a rural mail carrier (PO used it exclusively for that) I still have the sign too

[effduration]

....Once I am comfortable with driving manual RHD and I have saved up enough money, I plan on buying a brand new S62 from BMW (they currently are still available) and will be going full bore on the M5 conversion......

Keep saving....A remanufactured S62 from BMW is $17k - $20k (Part#11-00-1-407-803)

Is this what you mean?

[mateo8]

Keep saving....A remanufactured S62 from BMW is $17k - $20k (Part#11-00-1-407-803)
... If you really want a new one, a so-called "crate motor" S62, I bet it is at least 50-75% more if not 100%

$17k here in the DC area for a new s62 long block
https://www.bmwoffairfaxparts.com/oe...UtMGwtdjgtZ2Fz

[StephenVA]

Or you could just buy a high mileage M5 and have cash in the bank....

[SenorTaylor]

Seriously, should have bought a trashed M5 and I could have parted it out for you

[mateo8]

Quick update:

Other than m5 axels, I have not bought anything else m5 for the swap, the magazine article will run when I can get good pictures of the touring in the spring. I am thinking about getting the RHD PNZR a stablemate this summer, the LHD PNZR but that will be an actual m5. One of the people in my neighborhood has a very unique, per-say, e39 m5. I do not know anything about it, but will be willing to reallocate funds towards that and then go forward with the m5 touring swap. Car has been running great since the summer, but with all the snow in the DC area has confined it to the garage.

In other news, what is everyone's opinion on the lightweight style 49 wheels that my car came with from factory?? I am thinking about getting them for a winter wheel set as they came with the car from factory. There is a poll at the top of this thread (I think, never done a poll before). Here are some pictures of the style 49s:

[mateo8]

I say get the m5, or 2 if you have room.

Don't have room unfortunately, already paying parents rent for garage bay my touring is taking up in their garage (don't have a garage at my current place). Pretty good deal overall, I go over and visit them once a week (so they're happy) and the car is in a garage. Win win, as long as I am concerned, or at least until they realize I'm only "coming over to see them" once a week so I can check in on the car. They're currently winning as I have been shoveling the driveway a lot recently

[DennisCooper]

Hi Mateo8,

I can't vote in the poil..

Because there's no option for 'aftermarket nice/better than OEM looking wheels !

For me the Style 49 'date' the E39 and would suit a pristine condition pre-facelift/amber indicators E39. If you *really* want a set and none come up in the US, then I'll keep a lookout for you over here as a couple sets have come up for sale over the last few weeks, so no doubt when you are ready, it won't be 'too' long before another set becomes available.

That all said, I'd suggest nicer looking aftermarket wheels. Use winter tyres on them and that way your car looks 'nice' all year round! Lots of owners have nice summer wheels and then the car looks pants for winter as they put on ugly OEM wheels!

Cheers, Dennis!