Danny's 530it Thread

[dannyzabolotny]

Hey y'all,

Creating this thread almost feels like deja-vu, given that I just recently made a thread for my 1994 525i/5... that car was really nice overall— all original paint, mint interior, working factory keyless entry, etc. However, I was not 100% happy with it, and I just had this nagging feeling that I was missing something. That something was a touring, which the 525i/5 was certainly not.

One night I saw a post on a local Facebook group of a guy that was selling his 1994 530it, he mentioned in the ad that he was also considering trades. I quickly messaged him, offering my 525i/5 as a trade. I didn't hear back from him for a day or two, so I didn't think it would go anywhere, but then he responded and said he was interested. Long story short, we agreed to do a straight trade— my 525i/5 for his 530it. He wanted a manual E34, and I wanted an E34 touring. It was a trade deal made in heaven!

These were some of the pictures posted in the ad:







Clearly not a perfect car, but it was nicer than all of the 530it's that I had looked at so far. For whatever reason, I personally know of 5 separate 530it's that got trashed locally in Phoenix, which is really sad considering their relative rarity.

The 530it owner was located outside of San Antonio, TX, and I'm located in Mesa, AZ, so we mutually agreed to meet in the middle at a shopping mall in El Paso. It was a fairly easy drive for both of us, about 6 hours or so. Somehow I managed to find the touring owner almost instantly, even though it was a massive mall with a huge parking lot. I guess my touring senses are still sharp!



We took some time to look at each other's cars and drove them as well, just to make sure both parties were happy with the trade. The touring owner turned out to be a pretty great guy, he was definitely an enthusiast and he had done a fair amount of work to the touring in his ownership. Once the papers were signed over, we proceeded to swap wheels, since we both wanted to keep our own wheels. I had packed a hydraulic jack and an impact gun which made it a lot quicker to swap wheels; I would not have wanted to swap a whole set of wheels with just the factory jack and a tire iron, haha.

With the throwing stars on the touring, it started to look like a poor man's M5 touring... not that I'm complaining!



After an excellent lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. I quickly noticed that the touring was an absolute champ on the highway, I had forgotten just how lovely having an overdrive gear was— going 80mph with the engine spinning well under 3000rpm is wonderful. Road noise was minimal as well, which was surprising for a touring. No hatch rattles and no sunroof rattles, now that's a score!

Somewhere in New Mexico I took another picture of the touring, which was starting to accumulate a fabulous amount of filth. If only I had some steelies on, I could have rocked the dirty Eastern European look, haha.



All in all, the drive was quite uneventful, aside from encountering dozens of speed traps. Not sure why there were so many cops on the road on a Saturday, but I was very thankful for having my friend with me, along with his radar detector. We make a very good team— I drive fast, and he keeps an eye on the radar detector and Waze for cops. Let's just say the touring does triple digits very easily, with no complaints whatsoever.

We got home around 10pm, which is not bad at all considering that we left Phoenix at 6am, drove to El Paso, traded cars, ate lunch, and then drove back to Phoenix. The 530it managed a solid 24mpg on the way home, which is not bad at all for a V8 (albeit, a small V8).



Once I was home and started settling into the 530it, I started to figure out what was good and what wasn't:

The Good:

- Huge stack of laminated service records in a binder (I will make a separate post about this, just because of the sheer amount of info and records).
- The previous owner resealed the whole intake manifold, so the engine runs great and idles smooth.
- The front suspension and rear dogbones are new so the car feels wonderful to drive.
- It's got E32 front seats swapped in, which feel wonderful. Both seats have had the seat twist fixed as well.
- The JVC head unit is actually pretty nice for an aftermarket unit, and the backlighting matches well enough that I don't feel the need to replace it.
- Both front windows work perfectly.
- The 5HP18 auto shifts perfectly.
- 235k miles, which to me is a plus. I don't feel comfortable with cars that have under 200k miles.
- The hatch wiring had been completely redone by the previous owner. Very thankful for that.
- The trunk toolkit actually has most of the tools.
- Both the AC and heat work perfectly.
- It's got a V8! Granted, it's the 3.0L, but it'll be trivial to put in a 4.0L or a 4.4L in the future. That's the main reason I really wanted a 530it over a 525it.
- No SLS system from the factory, sweet.

The Bad:

- The paint's not great. The hood has been repainted poorly, the hatch has been repainted poorly, the roof was repainted so poorly that it's got some rust bubbling around the roof rack mounts, neither bumper has clear coat, the rear bumper and nose panel are oxford green (the car is Schwarz II). Tons of scuffs and scratches all around too, along with plenty of dents.
- The windshield is super cracked. Insurance will take care of that soon though.
- The rear shocks are leaking, but they still work okay for now.
- The rear windows don't work properly (they roll down, but not up).
- The rear wiper assembly is missing entirely, along with the glass release mechanism.
- The back seat is pretty beat, looks to be original.
- The door handle on the front passenger door is metal, indicating that it's from an early car. Also explains why the lock actuator on that side doesn't work at all.
- The front bumper, hood, passenger fender, and front passenger door are all from another car.
- The M60 is actively leaking oil (is that really a surprise though?)
- The brakes are a little rusty and don't feel amazing.

All in all, I'm super happy with the car. It drives really nicely and most of its problems are cosmetic, which can and will be fixed in due time. Given the simplicity of Schwarz II, I can probably get it repainted cheaply at some point in the future. At the same time, I kinda enjoy the slight roughness, since it frees me up to use the touring for all sorts of truck-like functions, like hauling engines and dirty car parts.



Earlier today I finally got around to cleaning the 530it, and boy did it need some cleaning! It took three washes and a heck of a lot of clay bar to get all the dirt and junk out of the paint.



I then did a quick test polish on the hood and it started shining up real nice, so I'll be hitting it again soon with a proper two-stage correction, along with the rest of the car. The whole car needs a correction pretty badly, and since I have most of the materials to do it (as well as tons of patience), I may as well give it a shot. It won't replace the need for an eventual repaint, but it should give me a car I can be reasonably proud of in the meantime.



On a side note, it's always a good day when all you have in the shop are E34's:



tl;dr: I traded a really nice two-owner Hellrot 525i/5 for a ratty black 530it with half a dozen previous owners, because I am crazy for tourings. More to come!

[Sir Montalbon]

Looks like you finally found the e34 you've been looking for all this time! Congrats! The b30 baseline is is definitely the cheapest and easiest route to b40 power. Looking forward the the swap thread.....

[dannyzabolotny]

Looks like you finally found the e34 you've been looking for all this time! Congrats! The b30 baseline is is definitely the cheapest and easiest route to b40 power. Looking forward the the swap thread.....

Certainly feels like I've finally found the one, haha. In a few days of owning this 530it I already feel a lot more attached to it than my 525i sedan.

First priority will be getting new wheels, since these M-Systems are borrowed from a friend. Will most likely go with M-Pars. Then a manual swap, because the auto bothers me a lot more than the M60B30. One thing I also forgot to mention is that the M60B30 got replaced at 144k miles at a dealership for the princely sum of $7500 (because it was out of warranty) due to the Nikasil issue, so the current M60B30 is actually quite healthy and not in need of immediate replacement.

[Sir Montalbon]

I daily an auto b30 touring with 233k that was serviced it's entire life at dealerships in CA until I bought it from the original owner. Hard to image mine could have run much better when new, so I'm sure yours runs nice since it's so fresh.

I think the b30 is plenty of power for daily duties, especially if you have a manual behind it. Are you planning on going 6 speed until it's time for a b40? I imagine a b30 5spd is harder to come by than a 6spd. And if I recall correctly, the ratios are the same up to 5th gear.

[T444E]

If it were mine I'd do 95 door panels and side skirts.

And Sir Montalbon is right, a 6 speed is easier to come by - especially considering an E39 unit will work.
Unless you chance upon someone parting a 530/5 with a good trans.

[a777fan]

Ahehehe. Excellent. Tuned in for more as always >


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dannyzabolotny]

I daily an auto b30 touring with 233k that was serviced it's entire life at dealerships in CA until I bought it from the original owner. Hard to image mine could have run much better when new, so I'm sure yours runs nice since it's so fresh.

I think the b30 is plenty of power for daily duties, especially if you have a manual behind it. Are you planning on going 6 speed until it's time for a b40? I imagine a b30 5spd is harder to come by than a 6spd. And if I recall correctly, the ratios are the same up to 5th gear.

I plan on doing the manual swap within the next few months, or whenever I can buy all the necessary parts for it. I already have the Getrag 420g 6-speed and a manual pedalbox, now I just need everything else. I wouldn't bother with a 5-speed, I like having an overdrive too much.

If it were mine I'd do 95 door panels and side skirts.

And Sir Montalbon is right, a 6 speed is easier to come by - especially considering an E39 unit will work.
Unless you chance upon someone parting a 530/5 with a good trans.

Oh yeah, I'd love some 95 door panels, so as soon as I find some nice ones I'll throw em in. No side skirts though, I'm not a fan of that look at all. I like the humble look of the black lowers without side skirts... it also has more ground clearance that way. Manual trans will be a 6-speed for sure, I already have one out of an E39 laying around.

Ahehehe. Excellent. Tuned in for more as always >

Thanks! I'll definitely be keeping this thread updated frequently, as I do with all my other threads.

[doubleJC]

My heart..

I miss my old touring! Congrats on the pick up Danny! Gotta stay tuned for that manual V8 touring build! Which screams badass dad to me haha
Even when you clean up the touring from those cosmetic issues, don't be afraid to use it for what it was meant to do: haul stuff!
Could always find the rubber specific trunk mat and use tons of movers blankets anyway to keep it clean. My old wagon definitely saw a lot of car parts in its life. Hope you do the same!

Regards,
John

[dannyzabolotny]

My heart..

I miss my old touring! Congrats on the pick up Danny! Gotta stay tuned for that manual V8 touring build! Which screams badass dad to me haha
Even when you clean up the touring from those cosmetic issues, don't be afraid to use it for what it was meant to do: haul stuff!
Could always find the rubber specific trunk mat and use tons of movers blankets anyway to keep it clean. My old wagon definitely saw a lot of car parts in its life. Hope you do the same!

Regards,
John

Haha well for me it's less of a dad build and more of a shop build. I regularly need to haul parts, engines, and transmissions for my shop business, along with whatever I find at the local junkyards.

I still intend to use the touring as a truck, even when it's all cosmetically sorted. I hauled tons of stuff in my last wagon, and I intend to do the same with this one!

Photo Nov 16, 5 28 12 PM.jpg

What's always worked well for me with hauling heavy stuff like the engine is having some sheets of plywood to help reinforce the floor, along with moving blankets to keep scuffs to a minimum. Combine that with ratchet straps and I can pretty safely move an engine around without massacring the interior.

[Sir Montalbon]

Yes! Do all the touring things!

HaulsShitNAss2.jpg

HaulsShitNAss.JPG

[dannyzabolotny]

Yes! Do all the touring things!

Oooh, which tow hitch do you have? I’d love to tow stuff too.

[Sir Montalbon]

Euro OEM Westfalia. Be warned, touring and sedan versions are slightly different. I had to cut some metal to clear the bumper shocks, but not too difficult.

It's beefy too and mounts much more substantially than the generic Curt versions. There's a rumour that it improves handling, as the way you bolt it to the car spans the width and about 6in towards the front of the car, kind of like a strut bar for the unibody. I haven't "tested" it out yet, so who knows. It also has over double the tow rating of the Curt, like 3,800lbs or something.

And when you back up to a 12' foot U-Haul trailer that is physically larger than the car, expect the attendants eyes to get big and yell, "you can't tow that with that!"

[dannyzabolotny]

Euro OEM Westfalia. Be warned, touring and sedan versions are slightly different. I had to cut some metal to clear the bumper shocks, but not too difficult.

It's beefy too and mounts much more substantially than the generic Curt versions. There's a rumour that it improves handling, as the way you bolt it to the car spans the width and about 6in towards the front of the car, kind of like a strut bar for the unibody. I haven't "tested" it out yet, so who knows. It also has over double the tow rating of the Curt, like 3,800lbs or something.

And when you back up to a 12' foot U-Haul trailer that is physically larger than the car, expect the attendants eyes to get big and yell, "you can't tow that with that!"

Thanks for the info! That's definitely going on my list of things to buy, I've always wanted to tow with an E34 wagon. Did U-Haul give you a hard time with renting a trailer? That would be my biggest concern. Though I guess I could always just buy a cheap used aluminum trailer if I'm going to be hauling stuff regularly...

[Sir Montalbon]

They only hassled me because I was renting the biggest trailer they had and backed up a little 25 year old station wagon. I think they are just used to seeing full sized pickups. Doing paper work, the woman literally chortled when I declined their insurance coverage. She was sure I was going to die.

It was only the second time towing with it, and the trailer was WAY bigger than the first one, but the car pulled it with little trouble. I raised the rear coilovers a bit and didn't have any trouble with handling or dragging ass. I was in town and kept it under 55, but I felt I could have gone faster if I had to. I haven't towed too many trailers in my time, so I played it safe.

[moroza]

Congrats, you have one of 481 530iT imported to the US. Yours is the third black one I've seen.

What are your plans for the suspension? Keep in mind the 530iT has the heaviest rear of any US E34, and a medium-heavy front (3880lb total, 1862 front and 2018 rear).

[BleedsBlue]

Danny, I'll be watching this thread jealously - I miss my Touring bad!

I used the crap out of that SLS, though, I have to admit. I didn't tow, but loaded that thing's hatchback up on the regular and thought SLS was invaluable. Granted, I didn't have to fix it ever

[dannyzabolotny]

They only hassled me because I was renting the biggest trailer they had and backed up a little 25 year old station wagon. I think they are just used to seeing full sized pickups. Doing paper work, the woman literally chortled when I declined their insurance coverage. She was sure I was going to die.

It was only the second time towing with it, and the trailer was WAY bigger than the first one, but the car pulled it with little trouble. I raised the rear coilovers a bit and didn't have any trouble with handling or dragging ass. I was in town and kept it under 55, but I felt I could have gone faster if I had to. I haven't towed too many trailers in my time, so I played it safe.

Good to know! I'll definitely install a proper trailer brake setup if I end up doing a lot of towing, I find that having a trailer brake controller and a trailer with brakes takes a lot of the scariness out of towing.

Congrats, you have one of 481 530iT imported to the US. Yours is the third black one I've seen.

What are your plans for the suspension? Keep in mind the 530iT has the heaviest rear of any US E34, and a medium-heavy front (3880lb total, 1862 front and 2018 rear).

Wow, only 481? I thought it was more than that, crazy! Makes it even sadder that I know of 5 530it's that have been scrapped/totaled locally, such a waste. Probably fair to say that there are maybe 200 left, and that's probably a little optimistic.

What makes the 530it more rear-heavy than a 525it? It still uses a medium case diff and whatnot. Mine doesn't have SLS either. Still feels a good bit lighter than the E39 540it that I had, which was solidly over 4000lbs. In any case, the weight distribution doesn't bother me much at all— I'm used to driving tourings, what with my previous E39 540it and my E34 525it. All of my track driving experience has been in tourings as well, funnily enough:



Not sure if I'll ever do any real weight reduction... I like all the luxury stuff, and the E32 front seats are supremely comfortable. It's got an AGM battery from the previous owner, which is nice because I could never justify spending real money on a battery. I also like having a full size matching spare, because I have terrible luck with tires. That being said, I will probably get the rear muffler removed for more noise, which will unintentionally save some weight as a side effect.

Plans for the suspension? Probably BC coilovers once I can afford them, along with some beefier sway bars. That's not the highest priority though, since the suspension setup is pretty good on it now. It rides very comfortably, never bottoms out, and is super smooth at high speeds.

Danny, I'll be watching this thread jealously - I miss my Touring bad!

I used the crap out of that SLS, though, I have to admit. I didn't tow, but loaded that thing's hatchback up on the regular and thought SLS was invaluable. Granted, I didn't have to fix it ever

Tourings are lovely, and that's why I just couldn't own an E34 sedan, or any sedan really. I like the shape of the touring, and I make use of the cargo space very frequently. My 530it doesn't have SLS, which is fine by me because I am way too cheap to maintain a system like that. In the future when I have coilovers, I'll just adjust em higher for when I need to tow or haul lots of heavy stuff for long trips, otherwise I'll just let it sag and it'll be fine.

[moroza]

I don't know, but I owned both at one point and the 530iT was noticably heavier. All I can think of is the transmission, which is halfway to the rear axle and weighs ~150lb. Swapping to a manual is by itself a weight reduction, especially with a LWFW (which I otherwise highly recommend). My first 530iT weighed ~3760 as a 544iTM with sunroof delete and manual seats, compared to 3880 official 530iTA curb weight. For comparison, my 525iTA with no sunroof, manual seats, and rear wiper/washer deleted is 3650 (1740/1910). All weights with full fuel and spare, no passengers or cargo.

[atl530i]

Congrats, you have one of 481 530iT imported to the US. Yours is the third black one I've seen.

What are your plans for the suspension? Keep in mind the 530iT has the heaviest rear of any US E34, and a medium-heavy front (3880lb total, 1862 front and 2018 rear).

I had a black/black 530iT I parted a couple years ago. It was plagued with rust but donated much of its interior into my touring. So there's at least 480 530i tourings possibly still left on the road.

- - - Updated - - -

Looking forward to what becomes of this. Just don't sell it this time!!

[dannyzabolotny]

I don't know, but I owned both at one point and the 530iT was noticably heavier. All I can think of is the transmission, which is halfway to the rear axle and weighs ~150lb. Swapping to a manual is by itself a weight reduction, especially with a LWFW (which I otherwise highly recommend). My first 530iT weighed ~3760 as a 544iTM with sunroof delete and manual seats, compared to 3880 official 530iTA curb weight. For comparison, my 525iTA with no sunroof, manual seats, and rear wiper/washer deleted is 3650 (1740/1910). All weights with full fuel and spare, no passengers or cargo.

Ah yeah, the 5-speed auto trans probably weighs a good bit more than whatever 4-speed auto was used in the 525it. Manual swap will certainly save some weight, and will make the car a lot more fun to drive, as well as better on gas. Not sure what flywheel/clutch combo I'll go with yet, but it'll probably be whatever I can get cheapest, haha.

I had a black/black 530iT I parted a couple years ago. It was plagued with rust but donated much of its interior into my touring. So there's at least 480 530i tourings possibly still left on the road.

Looking forward to what becomes of this. Just don't sell it this time!!

Well I know of 4 530it's locally that either got wrecked or parted out due to severe neglect, so that makes 475. And I know of one that got parted out in LA recently, so 474.

I'm actually quite happy with this touring so I think this one will stay for quite a while!

I drove it to Tucson and back earlier today, and it did quite well. Rolled over 237k miles on the way back; now I just have to get it past 240k and I'll have the highest-mileage E34 amongst my friends.

[Onizukachan]

I see y’all met up at Sunland Park Mall.
looking forward to reading more about it.

[dannyzabolotny]

I see y’all met up at Sunland Park Mall.
looking forward to reading more about it.

Yep, that's where we met up! Didn't realize you were in El Paso, would've hit you up if I knew. There's a good chance I'll be passing through El Paso again at the end of this month on my way to Radwood Austin.

[dannyzabolotny]

Almost at 238k miles now, thought I'd update this thread on what's been happening with the touring. Mechanically it's been fantastic; I haven't needed to do anything to it yet, though I will need to do the valve cover gaskets at some point in the near future— valve cover gaskets leaking on an M60, surprising! Now as for the cosmetic side of things, that's where I've been busy. I scored a good condition black hood and black front passenger door from a 1994 540i at a junkyard that was honestly way too nice to be there.



The hood wouldn't fit inside the touring and since I don't have a roof rack (yet) I swapped the hood in the junkyard parking lot with the help of a friend. Imagine the surprise/bewilderment of the junkyard employees when I brought the old hood back 15 minutes later to get my $5 core charge back. Stupid core charges get stupid core returns, haha. The old hood appeared okay after my previous polishing efforts, but the paint texture was awful and it was a green hood on the inside which just didn't jive with me. Plus it had quite a few dents that would be really annoying to remove.

The old hood:



The new hood:



Even in its filthy junkyard condition, the new hood was a significant improvement. No dents, far better paint match, and the fact that it's from an originally black car means the inside is the correct color. I don't feel bad throwing out my old hood since it wasn't an original part anyways.

The next order of business was installing the new front passenger door. Why was I replacing this door? Well as I found out shortly after getting this touring, that door was replaced with one from a 1990 535i, so not only was the door handle metal (like on all early pre-92 E34's), the lock actuator didn't work at all due to the different electronics. It also felt different when closing the door, and that's the kind of stuff that bugs me. The final nail in the coffin for the old door was that it had some pretty massive, un-correctable scuffs that went almost completely through the paint. Off with the old door:





Much better! Swapping doors was a lot easier than I imagined it would be: just four 13mm nuts on the hinge, the door brake pin, and two 7mm bolts holding the electrical connector in place. It really helps to have a friend (or two) helping with this, as the door is quite heavy and unwieldy. Additionally, aligning the door correctly is a pain unless you have some help. With the help of my friends, I got the door lined up pretty decently. I might mess with it a bit in the future to perfect the body lines, but at the moment the door closes properly and doesn't have any wind noise, so I'm happy. And whaddya know, the window regulator, lock actuator, and door brake are all in excellent shape, so I really scored big time with this door. Immediately after installing the new door, my locks started working correctly. No more having to lock the car, it unlocking itself, and then having to lock it again.

With the new bits fitted, it was time to clean the car up and finish the paint correction process that I started a few weeks ago. It started with a thorough wash and clay bar to make sure the new panels were free of contaminants:



Pulling the car inside the shop, I prepared my tools: masking tape, Harbor Freight DA (cheap but works well enough), Hexlogic Orange cutting pad, Hexlogic White polishing pad, Meguiar's M105, Meguiar's M205, and a whole bag of high-quality microfiber towels.



Starting with the door, I was able to remove a lot of the deep scratches, the pin stripe, and any remnants of the yellow junkyard markings on it. Here's the 50/50 shot that everyone loves:



The rest of the door cleaned up extremely well... I love working with original BMW paint, it's very resilient and forgiving, even to a relative amateur like myself.



Since the door was replaced and I had the door panel off, I threw on a nicer passenger mirror that actually has clear coat. It's a huge improvement cosmetically and cleaned up very well:



After that I did the rest of the side, going all the way back to the hatch. So far so good!



Next up was correcting the hood. While it initially looked to be in pretty good condition, under the shop lights you could easily see that it was pretty rough:



50/50 shot:



All compounded:



Once the entire car had been compounded, I moved on to polishing the whole car to get more clarity and remove the haziness that happens after compounding, much like switching to a finer grit sandpaper to get rid of sanding marks from coarser grits. All in all, it came out quite nicely considering the questionable condition of the paint.





With the correction completed, I coated the paint with some Meguiar's wax that I had laying around at the shop. Normally I'd use a more robust synthetic sealant like Ammo Skin, but I was all out, so I just threw wax on there to have some protection in the meantime. I'm very pleased with how it came out:







Now that the car's all cleaned up, it's time to start thinking about the next step... wheels & tires. The M-Systems that are on the car currently are borrowed from a friend, so I wanted to buy my own wheels. I have the wheels in the shop and I just got some new tires in for them. Those who know me well enough should already know which wheels I plan on going with, but if not, here's a hint:

[moroza]

Shiiiiiny! What are your plans for the interior?

[scrib99]

Looks great, making me want to sell the e39 and get an e34