TheBeast's 1993 750il Thread

[theBMWbeast]

Thanks guys! I got pretty lucky with this accident, as the damage was mainly above the hood line.
B7888CBE-DEC1-4778-A235-CE43E2F0B401.jpgCFBAC654-7CD6-4CB8-AE03-4EA27ED251AA.jpg

As as you can see in the process pictures, the radiator, condenser, aux fan, all that stuff was untouched. His tow hitch cracked the bumper, but I’ll look and see how to transfer the late air ducts to the early bumper, and that problem will be solved. Also going to test the brake bomb, and install some bigger e31 brakes up front.

Have all new rear suspension components to install in the back, and thinking about going two tone with the brown interior, (seats and doorcard inserts brown, all else remains black). Expect some more progress soonish

[Cactuar]

Wow that was fast!! You lost no time to get it on the road.
I guess you didn't mess around with insurers? Usually the turnaround is not as quick.

But best of all you weren't injured in the collision!

[theBMWbeast]

Yeah, I have 4 cars and I'm already driving this one again. I think there is something to this 7!

$500 cash and a release of liability later, all parties were happy. Much better this way in my book.

No injuries, only my wallet is feeling the pain

[moroza]

Good work! I like the two-tone idea.

[theBMWbeast]

Appreciate it!

I’ll have to take some pictures in natural lighting, as the real color plays off the wood quite nicely. Still need to do the rears. Have some questions on the early seat heatings toggle switch, and if it works the same in a later car. And how involved would it be to transfer the leather from the rear seat bottoms, as the ones in car are heated and the early replacements are not. Best left to an upholstery shop?
ACDD981C-F0D3-49B5-956D-E32D55C66B74.jpg3D303C2D-03BB-4DE9-AD22-63956335F72D.jpg

Also did some of the suspension work I’ve needed to do. Installed new dogbones, sway bar bushings/ endlinks. Tried to do the subframe bushings (which I have done before on my e34), but for the life of me could not get that bolt to come out. I had a pretty big hammer too. Any hints? Going to tackle the front suspension when I get the time, shouldn’t be any hiccups there.
A05A68AF-7BF7-4DD6-8F81-807B0AF76DB5.jpg40512C71-5424-4CC7-B569-951F5B2AF0A9.jpg

[balidawg]

Looking good! I did put new dog bones on it a few years back, but a refresh is always good.
Will you rebuild the rear LAD struts? I think shogun has the required o-rings and such.

[moroza]

The seat heater switches won't plug and play, but rewiring is easy.

I harvested upholstery, complete with foam and heating elements, from 89 power seats onto 91+ manual seat frames without much difficulty. I didn't remove the heaters from that assembly, but it didn't seem too daunting to do.

Lift the car by the stud, so that it's just a mm or so off a jackstand or two with something soft-ish on top, so the car doesn't get too shocked by landing on it after you wallop the unibody right next to the stud with a BFH, hopefully releasing the stud.

[theBMWbeast]

Looking good! I did put new dog bones on it a few years back, but a refresh is always good.
Will you rebuild the rear LAD struts? I think shogun has the required o-rings and such.

Yeah, they actually looked fine. But the sway bar stuff was soft/cracked, so while you’re in there... I’ve been eyeballing the LAD struts, I haven’t seen a leak and they ride pretty well after I replaced the pressure accumulators. But there is a crash/ thump that I hear back there, so I may investigate the top mounts and see what’s up. I know for sure the bump stops are gone back there, so it’s something to do for sure.

Thanks for the tips Moroza, I’m going to have to try that method. I was surprised when I couldn’t get it to budge a bit. I have some blocks of wood I’ll shove under the jack stands for good measure. I had a spare seat as well that I should have kept, to play around with. You never seem to need things until you finally get rid of them!

[theBMWbeast]

Got some work done:
52D08100-C3DD-4ECC-A9DE-581C12F5F51B.jpgB1A0DD92-F11D-439B-AE9B-101DBD1EAE7C.jpg

Everything in the front replaced. Got it aligned afterwards, have a little caster up front, and camber out back. Interesting to see, as everything is new, and stock.

271B3830-E8FE-48B0-BC97-60AAF8D031E7.jpg7847E5DF-9480-4FBA-AF3E-A29E80C4DFD3.jpg1080BDE0-F8A1-4D65-993A-ED79AF81E574.jpg

Some beautiful rebuilt injectors went in tonight. Was surprisingly easy. Feels smooth, and pulls just as good as ever. Waiting on fuel filters to finish the fuel system refresh, as I have already done the fuel lines and FPR, and Bali did the pumps.

[a777fan]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moroza]

If I read that right, too positive caster in the front, and too positive camber in the back? Was the car loaded to spec (for E34: 150lb in each front seat and in the center of the rear seat, 46lb in the trunk, full fuel tank)?

[Cactuar]

Is it just an optical illusion, or is the lower o ring on the old injector bigger in thickness than the new o ring?
Would they swell over the years?

[theBMWbeast]

Car wasn’t loaded to spec, although I should have. So that might explain the positive caster and negative camber. It drives nicely though ��*♂️

Looking at it now, it does look like the oring is thicker on the old injectors. But they are different designs overall, so I didn’t sweat it too much. No problems after install.

[theBMWbeast]

Some minor progress:

C15C8275-83C7-42D2-8210-613C3F4D6821.jpg7D8B7750-65D3-423B-9338-31BD721B2968.jpg7F972C01-CCF7-4A2B-95AB-07DA0FF1061C.jpg60AD4FE4-539B-49BD-8198-50016FE38AD0.jpg96DFBF4D-93EA-4293-B29C-6105B72D42AF.jpg

Replaced the rear bump stops, GM was double locking, so swapped that out. Sway bar bushings up front. Tried to do the shock top mounts, but the ones I ordered were the wrong size, so that’ll have to happen later. Fan hit the shroud somehow, and exploded, so replaced that as well. Both fuel filters changed out. Bled the brakes, and swapped out the front calipers with bigger e31 brakes. I have to say, if I had done this before, I would have never hit that truck. Stops like a much smaller car than it is.
Also got a good picture of the interior, still need to swap the middle door cards. I think it would look superb with a black headliner, but the headliner is brand new, so probably won’t be touching that! Getting closer to completion, need some new tires, and cosmetic things, but it’s running good. Occasionally it does not start on the first try, haven’t done any trouble shooting, so who knows lol. Work for another day

[balidawg]

Looking good! So glad this car went into the hands of a very capable mechanic who will keep her going for a long time.

[theBMWbeast]

Looking good! So glad this car went into the hands of a very capable mechanic who will keep her going for a long time.

Thanks, trying to do my best!

[Cactuar]

Not fair, you get to work on your car! Where is the snow??

The progress is very nice, well done.
Do you intend to keep the car and enjoy it or flip it?

[theBMWbeast]

Haha, one perk of living in California. And the word “rust” doesn’t really mean much to me, so make that two perks.

Appreciate the support. Funny you ask that question, as I have a few things on my plate right now. Haven’t been able to work on my Msport, haven’t even been driving my 535, and might be buying my friends Saab 900 (low mileage 40k car, but he just got into a bit of a front end fender bender, so yet another project). And I still have my Maserati. I make good money, but not 5 concurrent projects worth of good money. So someone’s got to go, if not more.

Either way, I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing with the 7. I don’t have immediate plans to sell, as I drive the car daily, and enjoy the comfort and power. But if I ever do, the car has a much better chance of being bought by an enthusiast, and cared for, if I allievete the majority of time consuming or perceived expensive problems. Bali actually knocked out some of the bigger stuff, like resealing the intakes, front shocks, etc.

I think once you tell someone that they have to pay > 500 bucks on a single repair, on a 30yr old car, it can quickly lead to that car ending up in the junkyard, for no real fault/failure. So I’ll keep fixing it as much as I can, to enjoy it as much as I can; and if I ever get rid of it, so that the next person can enjoy it, without the headaches.

[moroza]

I'm digging the dark tan seats and black doors, but not with the grey headliner. I did my former one in black suede for ~$80 in materials.

Your weatherstripping has shrunk. E32 probably shares its profile with E34, for which ~2005 Volvo S60 is an easily-found nearly-direct fit (slight squeezing of the metal channel required; for an E34 Touring, one set of doors was a direct fit from the Volvo, and the other needed shortened). E32 doors being larger, however, the Volvo's may or may not be big enough.

Recommend disabling double-lock before it causes a lockout situation like it did me one time, 4am in a parking lot. Not owning a phone at the time, I had to ask a drunk bystander to look up instructions on how to get into the car at all, and then the only way in was through the passenger door for a few days before I figured out how to fix it. Disabling involves cutting a wire, not sure offhand which but IIRC, E32FAN posted this at some point.

Intermittent no start might be a failing fuel pump check valve. A gauge kit is the way to tell. A new pump or generic 8mm (5/16") check valve is the solution.

[theBMWbeast]

Yeah, considering the headliner in the back of my mind lol.

I planned to cut it and fill in the gap, although I’ll look into your Volvo recommendation. The condition of the weatherstripping itself seems good.

Totally agree on the double lock, although the GM seems to have cured it for now. Will be on my list of things to do.

The fuel pumps are supposed to be new e36 units, per the Shogun writeup. I’ll have the check the valve, I know on my 535 that is integrated into the pump itself. Haven’t been inside this tank yet so we will see. Always starts on the second crank.

Also, I remember you telling me about that ever so slight clunk on acceleration. I could barely feel it back then, but now it’s pretty audible. Guess it’s time to do the CSB

[balidawg]

Yeah, considering the headliner in the back of my mind lol.

I planned to cut it and fill in the gap, although I’ll look into your Volvo recommendation. The condition of the weatherstripping itself seems good.

Totally agree on the double lock, although the GM seems to have cured it for now. Will be on my list of things to do.

The fuel pumps are supposed to be new e36 units, per the Shogun writeup. I’ll have the check the valve, I know on my 535 that is integrated into the pump itself. Haven’t been inside this tank yet so we will see. Always starts on the second crank.

Also, I remember you telling me about that ever so slight clunk on acceleration. I could barely feel it back then, but now it’s pretty audible. Guess it’s time to do the CSB

I put in two new aftermarket fuel pumps a few years back when one of them went bad. Bought them from a race shop in Costs Mesa. I posted the part number and photos on RoadFly at the time, so Shogun probably knows which ones. There’s an access panel to them from the trunk, not too bad.

[theBMWbeast]

I’ll check it out, I doubt it’s the pumps themselves right?

[theBMWbeast]

199879A9-7565-46CD-8515-DB4C878B758E.jpg3BE03DBF-4CF7-42BD-83F3-E90317FC09D8.jpg

Fan clutch exploded on me. I just got that new hood too! Kinda bummed to have to be spending money on this car, as I just got the ball rolling on two of my other projects. Was enjoying it as a reliable, albeit mpg hungry daily driver.

Have a lead on a car for sale, we will see if I can fix the damage on the cheap. If I want to focus on my other projects, it might be time to move on, although I get pretty attached to cars and have a hard time selling them. Need to go pickup my new plates though, just paid $500 for that, so consider it motivation!

[balidawg]

Damn, and that fan was fairly new, right?
I hate mechanical fans and clutches, such a drag. LOL

What else is left to do on this car?

[theBMWbeast]

Damn, and that fan was fairly new, right?
I hate mechanical fans and clutches, such a drag. LOL

What else is left to do on this car?

Yeah, I’m not a fan of losing a brand new febi fan haha

Good question on what is left, as I should probably make a list. Here goes:

Rear subframe bushings (Have need to install)
Rear strut top mounts (Have wrong size, need to return and get proper sized ones to install)
Replace driveshaft center bearing (have part need to install)
Check/replace fuel pump check valve or at least diagnose occasional hard starting (clean sending unit if I’m in there)
Rebuild EML throttles (they work fine and I know you cleaned them, but they are leaking at the throttle shaft ever so slightly)
Fix slight coolant leak from somewhere by the expansion tank (either the tank itself or heater valves, not sure)
Fix leaking timing chain tensioner (have parts need to install)
Fix leaking power steering box
Replace high beam bulb
Cut early model front bumper lip off, fit late model dual brake duct lip and replace damaged bumper
Replace passenger window regulator clip
Diagnose rear driver window (possibly just unplugged)
Replace both rear quarter window sunshades
Replace wood in drivers rear door
Swap in brown door panel cards
Swap over heating elements front and rear from black seats to brown
Diagnose rear passenger headrest not functioning (believe it to be the seat switch)
Diagnose occasional sweet smelling heater (possible heater core leak)
Fix slightly burned pixels in radio
Diagnose 6cd changer cutting out when hitting bumps
Diagnose door open check control
Replace passenger rear seat belt receptacle
Free the folded under ski pass beauty cover
Re-glue sagging trunk lid carpet
Fix non-locking gear selector switch (or replace with e38 upgrade/lighted panel)
Replace rear door sunshade handles
Diagnosis rear dome light switch
Re-lube drivers door lock/mechanism
Re-glue windshield gasket
Diagnose windshield washer system and headlight/fog light washers
Adjust headlight aim
Repair cluster (trip counter does not reset)
Repair remote locking system
Repair/replace rear view mirror (does not hold position when going over bumps)


Because of the fan clutch explosion:
Replace-
Fan clutch
Fan blades
Both airboxes
All three cooling hoses
Belly pan
Hood
Reinstall hood lines to washer and plug for under hood light
Reinstall hood liner

Optional extras
Refinish the style 32s
Have at least the roof and trunk-lid repainted
Full paint correction
Repaint/rejuvenate bumper trim back to black
Redo headliner in black to better match new interior

If I was keeping the car forever:
M70B54 build with shrick cams, 3.15 lsd

Probably forgetting something here, as this is all just off the top of my head. That would be just about everything though, to get it as close to perfect as I could think of...
Now I need to make a list of everything that’s been done to the car to show that it’s not just a project. The heavy lifting has been done on the intake reseal, motor mounts, ignition system, fuel system. That’s got to be worth something...