Jumping on the "Band Wagon" :-)

[absolutezero273]

I have some epic friends. Dude needed some engine parts...I needed some seats. These will be dyed black eventually.

I think this would look PERFECT if you kept the seats this color and died the inserts of the doors to match the seats.

Looking good so far! Looking forward to seeing more progress.

[polov8]

Ooooh yeah I agree, maybe paint the base plastics black, but this scheme was used in E39's and looks pretty cool.

bmw_5_series_m_sport_package_4.jpg

[E34Driv3r]

What a project. Love to see this level of detail.

[BleedsBlue]

I'm embarrassed to admit the photos aren't working for me and I can't figure it out. Halp? I want in on this thread!

[absolutezero273]

I'm embarrassed to admit the photos aren't working for me and I can't figure it out. Halp? I want in on this thread!

Do you need to clear the cache in your browser?

- - - Updated - - -

Ooooh yeah I agree, maybe paint the base plastics black, but this scheme was used in E39's and looks pretty cool.

bmw_5_series_m_sport_package_4.jpg

Yes. Nice example.

[BleedsBlue]

I think my work machine was blocking the images. Now that I can see them, impressed as I expected!

[skwon]

holy cow, what a build! Can't wait to see more

[Uber Soldat]

@m60power - It has been quite a bit. Feels a bit like building lego at times

@Moroza - That is a pretty cool idea. When the current repairs break, we shall do that instead.

@Onizukachan - Thank you sir. The drivers side has been repaired using wire from the other touring hatch harness. Still need to look at the passenger side stuff though.

@absolutezero273 - That's actually not a bad idea. I feel the need to photo shop that. Thank you sir.

@E34Driv3r - Thank you sir.

@BleedsBlue - Happy you came right re the images showing and thank you sir.

@skwon - See below

Not too much has happened...but stuff is being put back onto the engine. Yay.

Replaced some seals:






Right engine mount:


Left engine mount:


Alternator power cable and knock sensors:


Waterpump:


Coolant accumulator:


Dampner:


Alternator:


Tensioners and pulleys:


Belts and powersteering pump:


Redone power steering line and more stuff:


Tappet cover gaskets are next. Previous owner used copious amounts of gasket maker...yay.

[moroza]

Good progress, but I spy a plastic thermostat housing...

[Uber Soldat]

@Moroza - Unfortunately yes. I'd very much like to get one... haven't been able to find anyone local that sells them yet.

Some more updates...

Flywheel and clutch mounted






Intake manifold installed


Tappet covers redone




Injector testing


…and installed


So close


Fun times.








Cleaned up the gearbox, replaced seals etc


Now I have something to play with…




Slave cylinder installed


Darnit…they made it too long :-(


Installed the tool holder. Looking for one in better knick though.

[dannyzabolotny]

Heck yeah! You're getting super close to getting that thing on the road, it'll feel so good to have it done.

[Uber Soldat]

@dannyzabolotny -

Update time!

An oil pan - I think it's clean enough.


ooooh...wiring


And done


They got it right the second time around...sorta


Nice and shiny


Time for a first start with the obligatory missing exhaust


Its finally on the ground. Have to do something about that wheel gap


Unfortunately, we put the exhaust back on. Far too quiet now.


And it actually drove, quite nicely. Tyres are rubbish so couldn't really tell if there was any propshaft vibration.




Bath time




Added a plate surround and a badge


Trying out a Dynaudio wheel well subwoofer. Really impressed with the bass output


No body smuggling here...I swear. Added some throwing star covers. They need to be sprayed silver again.


Now this is going to be interesting. More on this later.


Great success.

[moroza]

It's aliiiiive!

I would expect propshaft vibes from those washers. BMW driveshafts are *seriously* fussy.

Wheel gap? Eibach front springs and camber plates worked pretty well for my 544. Also consider this.

[dannyzabolotny]

Awesome! That had to be such a good feeling, to start and drive a car you've been building for a while now. What's the plan for the body work?

[Uber Soldat]

@Moroza -
Re the propshaft...I'm expecting it as well, but hoping it doesn't. About the spring compression, had that done for the 740 and it rides like a dream. Considering the same for the touring. My questions is, are the E32 740 front springs the same as E34 540?

@dannyzabolotny -
My father did, fortunately, remind me that the wheel bolts hadn't been tightened just before I drove off. Always takes me a while to trust a new-to-me engine etc though. Re the bodywork - Need to start saving for a respray but will stick with the original Polaris silver.

[moroza]

E32 springs physically interchange but are considerably taller. Layne posted a photo somewhere.

[Uber Soldat]

@Moroza - Thanks for the info

The Touring chronicles - Part...Complicated friggen sunroof

First off, find all the broken pieces...



Have a spare sunroof cassette and strip it down



Cables and stuff



"Repaired" actuator thingy



These hold up and move the rear panel



All assembled.



Sunroof "bench testing"



Removing the current cassette







And the reason it didn't want to work





Swapped in the other cassette



And added some panels.



When plugging the motors up, they didn't want to sync (They weren't connected to the cassette at this stage). When pushing the button up (Which would presumably sync the motors) the front motor would just spin for around 20 seconds and stop. Pressing the button in any other direction, nothing would happen. The rear motor wouldn't do anything either, except a bunch of clicking relay noises from the module. Being a bit hesitant to connect the motors to the cassette itself for fear of breaking stuff, we read on this here forum about the motors needing some resistance i.e grabbing onto a cable, in order to sync. We put some vice grips on the gear so it would jam against the motor housing to create said resistance when moving and the motors synced. We were then able to put the motors into their "rest" positions and bolt them onto the cassette.



More celebratory pictures. I can now retire the darn tarp. Thankfully it doesn't leak...so far.

[a777fan]

[dannyzabolotny]

Nice work! I don't see too many people fixing those complex dual sunroofs, so it's pretty cool to see what goes on inside them.

[Old525i]

Hats of to you sir. I admire your tenacity and desire to make this car run again.

[S14]

This whole thing is seriously impressive!

If I were a touring owner again and my sunroofs didn't work (mine did miraculously), I'd consider gluing a big piece of glass in place of the two sunroofs, that would look so cool.

[Uber Soldat]

@a777fan - Thank you sir

@dannyzabolotny - Thank you sir. To be honest, I was a little nervous about tearing into it at first, but as soon as you do and figure out how it all works, tis not that bad at all. If needed...I can do a much better write up on fixing them?

@Old525i - Thank you sir

@S14 - Thank you sir. I had the exact same thoughts would look friggen epic

[atl530i]

Super impressive thread! Most people would have wrote that car off or just went with a different I6 swap.

[paulmer]

Serious nostalgia looking at the trans pics...reminds me of doing the manual swap on my old 740. Never should have let that one go..

[Uber Soldat]

@atl530i - Thank you sir. I might have done the same, if there was more of a choice but alas, you work with what you can get. But having said that, I was really contemplating saving the first wrecked one I found as well. Is it wrong to want to save them all?

@paulmer - Hindsight is a bugger. Sorry man


An overdue update...

Once the seats were plugged in, fuse 5 kept blowing. We stripped half the interior trying to find the fault, thinking it was something else. Took the seats out again and found the issue. Extra crispy wiring. Not sure how that happened.





The seats were stripped down and dyed black.



And installed.



Onto the headliner recover. Thought we'd try this ourselves.









The master upholsterer himself. I just watched.



Dyed the visors and some other bits.















Some cargo nets.





And a cargo area cover.



Was about time to sort out the ugly wheel gap. Borrowed some H&R springs on a non return basis. These come out of a M20 engine 525 sedan. They work surprisingly well in the touring.







Have never really been happy with the look of the dyed carpets. The outer sections didn't match the center main board. Used a can of Rustoleum Fabric and vinyl dye to correct them. Once they're sprayed, the fibers tend to clump together. Let it dry and then rub the carpet with a damp cloth to get the OEM feel back.







The cargo area cover looked a bit tired. Redyed that as well.





Found some old matts. and well...you guessed it, they were dyed to match.



Yet another bath...



Dyed the trim piece aorund the sunroof opening.





Not bad methinks.



Was not a huge fan of the black centres. Thought Gunmetal might look better.