Jordan's 1991 M5 Journal

[Johal E32]

​Here is a journal for my newly acquired daily driver, a 1991 M5.

Upon first glance you will notice the car has wide kidney grilles. Around 10 years ago it had a full glass out respray and at that time it had a 1995 hood and nose panel installed. The motor is a S38B36/B38 hybrid. Visually, this is a S38B36, but it was fully rebuilt around 100k miles ago (2006) with a full euro S38B38 3.8 liter crankshaft and rotating assembly. It doesn't stop there. The car also has larger fuel injectors, ported throttle bodies, and Schrick 280 intake and exhaust cams. To top it off, the car was dyno tuned and made approx. 380hp at the crank. It passes CA smog without any issues , idles beautifully, has a great cold start and the AC blows ice cold.

There's more..

The car also has a very rare 6 speed manual transmission from a 1995 M5 along with a light flywheel and Spec clutch. Behind that, we have a 3.45 210mm large case LSD built by Performance Gearing. Stock 5 speed rear end is 3.91. Stock 6 speed rear end it 3.25 IIRC. So the stroker motor plus shorter gears is an absolute animal. This car has no problem bouncing off the rev limiter at 7500 RPM's and hanging with E92 M3's on the highway.

Dinan Stage 3 Suspension. Sway bars, camber plates shocks and springs (SLS delete). Turner Motorsport monoball thrust arm bearings. I would like to sell the Racing Dynamics strut bar and acquire a Dinan strut bar instead. Other mod's to note: Autolsutions SSJ=K. Hella euro smiley headlights, full euro bumper trim, M par's, Hella blackline tails, AP Racing 6 pot front brakes, 343mm rotor size.

I think the car has a 540i muffler, but I am not sure. It is an aftermarket stainless steel box with no markings on it. I would love to get an Eisenmann race or something down the road.

I haven't done a lot to the car other than a wash and wax. Pressure washed the engine bay, did an oil change, wiper blades, brake fluid, spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor, oxygen sensor, fuel filter and a valve adjustment (performed by derrith on Instagram, check out his awesome E28 M5 which has a 3.9L S38 stroker).

The short list is relatively small.. I would like to install 850CSI lower control arms, new strut mounts, rear differential bushings and rear subframe mount bushings (AKG). The car drives really well, but I can tell it has a bit of rear steer and some new bushings wouldn't hurt. A new coolant reservoir would be nice, this one is all gross. Already got a new OE lighted shift knob on order along with most of the suspension components. Maybe down the line I will rebuild the steering gearbox and see if I can get something with a slightly faster ratio. Fix the worn outer bolster on the driver's seat and get a Mtech 2 steering wheel. We will see how I'm doing with this list within the next month or so ​

Stay tuned for more.



First day home, haven't even washed it yet

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Yes I know.. I need a new steering wheel.

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Love this angle

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Dirty.. but not too bad. The motor was leaking from the rear cover plate (back of the cylinder head) but Logan (derrith) and I have already replaced it. I think the oil return tube is leaking a bit.. I have the new gasket and o-ring, just need to schedule some time to replace it.

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So much better after a pressure wash and simple green treatment.



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New M5 badges and lic. plate frame


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The E34 will be replacing my trusty old 528e



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Interior was fully re-done at some point by the previous owner. They did a solid job.

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In the garage next to my other two M3's


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Silver is such an underrated color for 90's cars, IMO





I took these two photos last week while I was visiting some old friends in Oakland.

That's it for now! I will make a journal for my calypso sc Dinan 540 soon..



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[Johal E32]

Sorry the photos are so large.. I will work on resizing them..

[bigsixe34]

Could be on my end but I’m not seeing any pictures.
Nevertheless, that’s quite an impressive build and car. Can’t wait to see what it looks like!

[Johal E32]

That's odd. They are loading just fine from my computer. I will try again this evening.

Edit: pictures are up and working

[bigsixe34]

It does, beautiful car.

[m60power]

That sounds like a fantastic car! Lots of really tasteful / desirable modifications, I look forward to more updates!

[moroza]

Impressive that a cammed 1970's race motor managed to pass Cali smog.

That has to be the first E28 I've ever looked at and gone "Wow, that looks sharp..."

Looks like it went to a good home! Oakland, huh? I have very fond memories of the San Mateo bridge at Empty O'Clock in the morning

[Johal E32]

Could be on my end but I’m not seeing any pictures.
Nevertheless, that’s quite an impressive build and car. Can’t wait to see what it looks like!

It does, beautiful car.

Thanks

That sounds like a fantastic car! Lots of really tasteful / desirable modifications, I look forward to more updates!

Thank you! I will do my best to keep this thread updated. I hope to pressure wash the undercarriage and wheel wells this weekend

Impressive that a cammed 1970's race motor managed to pass Cali smog.

That has to be the first E28 I've ever looked at and gone "Wow, that looks sharp..."

Looks like it went to a good home! Oakland, huh? I have very fond memories of the San Mateo bridge at Empty O'Clock in the morning

Thanks! I have found that old BMW's can be fickle when it comes to smog.. However, if you have the Original BMW cats installed (which are fantastic quality) and the motor is nice and hot, put the car straight on the dyno and they almost always pass. It also helps the PO spent $2500 on brand new cats from the dealer a few years ago!

I love my E28 and I am really going to miss that car. The E34 is much more modern and comfortable, but the E28 will always be the better looking car, in my opinion..

I'm actually over in El Sobrante (near Richmond), but I work in Oakland so I'm there a few times a week. Are you local?

[BleedsBlue]

That's an impressive spec sheet! Does the car retain the standard ECU/is it chip-tuned/on standalone?

[Johal E32]

That's an impressive spec sheet! Does the car retain the standard ECU/is it chip-tuned/on standalone?

Thanks! I need order a secondary air delete kit from you ASAP. This car has a very noise air pump which is quite annoying on cold start.

Stock dme but it is a custom chip from what I understand. I can remove the DME one of these days and take a look to be sure.

[BleedsBlue]

Thanks! I need order a secondary air delete kit from you ASAP. This car has a very noise air pump which is quite annoying on cold start.

Stock dme but it is a custom chip from what I understand. I can remove the DME one of these days and take a look to be sure.

Sounds good! We have one pump-delete tensioner left on the shelf, but we are assembling more now. The header block off plates just entered production (this is batch 3) and will be ready in 4-5 weeks, but the tensioner can be purchased separately and is a much easier install

Sounds good about the chip - I would think that it must have a custom chip at minimum, but that true standalone would also unlock a lot of potential. Maybe something to consider in the future!

[Johal E32]

Sounds good! We have one pump-delete tensioner left on the shelf, but we are assembling more now. The header block off plates just entered production (this is batch 3) and will be ready in 4-5 weeks, but the tensioner can be purchased separately and is a much easier install

Sounds good about the chip - I would think that it must have a custom chip at minimum, but that true standalone would also unlock a lot of potential. Maybe something to consider in the future!

Great! I will probably wait until everything is ready to ship and then I will place an order for the level 4 kit that you carry.

Standalone and a B38 valve cover (coil on plug) could be a cool idea for down the road.

Didn't do much this weekend. New motor mounts, front strut mounts, and 850csi control arms. Pressure washed the wheel wells a little bit. I need to go back with a steamer and really attack the undercarriage.

Also have a photo of it next to my supercharged 540. It was interesting driving the two cars back to back. Definitley need to get some proper brakes and a new suspension for the Dinan 540 soon.. The around town power of the supercharged 540 is simply too much fun. But I will save the comparison stories for a different day..





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[BleedsBlue]

That's not a bad weekend! We love seeing those old school AP Racing calipers. That's a quality kit, just very rare.

The 540i looks tasty as well.

[Johal E32]

That's not a bad weekend! We love seeing those old school AP Racing calipers. That's a quality kit, just very rare.

The 540i looks tasty as well.

It sure is hard to find much information on this kit. From what I can tell its a 6 piston caliper, has a 343mm rotor size. Do you happen to know where I can get replacement rotor rings for this kit? I tried to look on AP's website but couldn't find much.

Another upgrade I would like to do is source some Nurburgring package rear calipers, pads and rotors as the stock rear setup looks so small in comparison to the front brakes

850CSI control arms really helped the front end under hard braking, I can tell the car certainly isn't as twitchy and feels much more confident. New motor mounts made a huge difference. This car had a fair bit of NVH inside the cabin which is all gone now.

Just ordered a new expansion tank +cap, diff mount + diff bushings, throttle cable, new lighted key from the dealer and a lighted 6 speed shift knob for a 1995 M5. I'm excited! Emailed AKG to see when the subframe bushings will be back in stock and it looks like it should be sometime this week.

[BleedsBlue]

It sure is hard to find much information on this kit. From what I can tell its a 6 piston caliper, has a 343mm rotor size. Do you happen to know where I can get replacement rotor rings for this kit? I tried to look on AP's website but couldn't find much.

Another upgrade I would like to do is source some Nurburgring package rear calipers, pads and rotors as they look so small in comparison to the front brakes

850CSI control arms really helped the front end under hard braking, I can tell the car certainly isn't as twitchy and feels much more confident. New motor mounts made a huge difference. This car had a fair bit of NVH inside the cabin which is all gone now.

Just ordered a new expansion tank +cap, diff mount + diff bushings, throttle cable, new lighted key from the dealer and a lighted 6 speed shift knob for a 1995 M5. I'm excited! Emailed AKG to see when the subframe bushings will be back in stock and it looks like it should be sometime this week.

Jordan, I just checked our AP source and it appears that they no longer carry that style of rotor ring! They have gone to the J-hook style that we will be carrying, which also changed the style of retention to the hat. I have no information on cross-compatibility with your kit and the modern J-hook rotors, but I do see a 345x30mm J-hook rotor. I would get someone at AP on the phone, because it would make sense to switch to a rotor ring that is replaceable (obviously)!

We can help you on the late M5 big brakes. They were actually never associated with the Nurburgring package, and in fact by the time the big brakes were available on the mid-'94 M5s, the Nurburgring package had been discontinued. Anyway, those original parts are very difficult to find - the caliper carriers have been NLA for some time, and the rear calipers themselves (w/ 40mm pistons) are hard to find as well. To that end, we're currently developing a custom rear caliper carrier that adapts the commonly available E46 M3 rear caliper and identically sized 328x20mm rotor, to the rear E34 hub.

Besides having cheap and easily found replacement components, our kit will also enable you to tune bias slightly because the regular E46 M3 caliper piston is 42mm diameter, and the Competition/CSL caliper is 48mm.

We should have more of a sense of production timeline around the first of the year.

[Johal E32]

Jordan, I just checked our AP source and it appears that they no longer carry that style of rotor ring! They have gone to the J-hook style that we will be carrying, which also changed the style of retention to the hat. I have no information on cross-compatibility with your kit and the modern J-hook rotors, but I do see a 345x30mm J-hook rotor. I would get someone at AP on the phone, because it would make sense to switch to a rotor ring that is replaceable (obviously)!

We can help you on the late M5 big brakes. They were actually never associated with the Nurburgring package, and in fact by the time the big brakes were available on the mid-'94 M5s, the Nurburgring package had been discontinued. Anyway, those original parts are very difficult to find - the caliper carriers have been NLA for some time, and the rear calipers themselves (w/ 40mm pistons) are hard to find as well. To that end, we're currently developing a custom rear caliper carrier that adapts the commonly available E46 M3 rear caliper and identically sized 328x20mm rotor, to the rear E34 hub.

Besides having cheap and easily found replacement components, our kit will also enable you to tune bias slightly because the regular E46 M3 caliper piston is 42mm diameter, and the Competition/CSL caliper is 48mm.

We should have more of a sense of production timeline around the first of the year.

Excellent! E46 M3 calipers sound like a much more economical solution and it will certainly help with brake bias. I look forward to finding out some more information regarding the kit. I should be able to run the Euro E46 M3 semi two piece rotor or the CSL semi two piece rotor, right?

Thanks for looking into the front rotor situation! I will have to call AP when it is time for brakes. Currently there is a moderate sized lip on the front rotor, but I have zero vibration when braking, so they are fine for now. The front pads are around 50% life and I think they are DS2500 pads.

[BleedsBlue]

Excellent! E46 M3 calipers sound like a much more economical solution and it will certainly help with brake bias. I look forward to finding out some more information regarding the kit. I should be able to run the Euro E46 M3 semi two piece rotor or the CSL semi two piece rotor, right?

Thanks for looking into the front rotor situation! I will have to call AP when it is time for brakes. Currently there is a moderate sized lip on the front rotor, but I have zero vibration when braking, so they are fine for now. The front pads are around 50% life and I think they are DS2500 pads.

Ideally, it should be as simple as a custom caliper carrier and a minor handbrake adjustment! And correct to the rear rotors, both are 328x20mm and interchangeable.

[sugaki]

Nice, I have a similar car in SoCal, silver on dove gray with a six-speed but with the stock 3.25. Sounds like the PO really spared no expense for the car.

[doubleJC]

Just stumbled on this thread. Glad to have found one with another M5 being taken care of.
The specs on this one is lovely- I have somewhat similar plans with a B36/38 hybrid I'd like to do one day but maybe one day!

Also, nice period matching pair of the M3; I've done the same! haha

Can't wait to see more!

John

[Johal E32]

Last Friday I stopped by Logan's shop and we inspected the undercarriage. Overall it looks pretty good. Diagnosed my oil leak - front crankshaft seal. Once Angry Ass has the SAP delete kit back in stock I can tackle all of this. Rear main seal / rear crank seal might be leaking as well but that is expected after 90k miles or so.. No big deal.

Subframe bushings look tired and the subframe/diff bushings are toast - ordered some new AKG 95A bushings along with a Genuine BMW diff mount and OEM differential/subframe bushings. I'm excited to tighten up the car this winter.

Other items on order: tie rod ends, steering center link, idler arm, new expansion tank, lighted 6 speed shift knob.

On Saturday I took the car on a rally with my dad and brother and we had an absolute blast. It was fun driving an old heavy sedan and chasing 911's and old ferrari's through the corners of the North Bay. What amazes me about this car is the amount of torque the 3.8 has on the bottom end compared to my dad's old 3.6 which had a Schrick 280 intake cam but stock exhaust cam. I will update with some more photos of the rally as I find them on social media.




Here it as at the shop next to one of Logan's client cars. It is a 1991 M5 that is receiving a full mechanical restoration/overhaul. I can't wait to see it all done. Alpine white looks gorgeous on E34 M5's..

[Johal E32]

Not much happened this weekend. Grabbed a brand new rear underpanel from BMW along with some fresh yellow zinc hardware. Looks a little better underneath. New oil pan gasket and front
crank seal should take care of this oily mess..

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Met up with a local member, motati. I need a Eisenmann exhaust + stock tail lights, ASAP! He also gave me his old steering wheel, which is a HUGE upgrade for my interior.

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[Johal E32]

One evening after I came home from work, and saw a puddle of coolant under the car. I opened the hood and it was pretty obvious where the leak was coming from:


Easy fix. But I figured I will take this opportunity to go through the car properly and refresh it all. After spending some time on REALOEM, I compiled my list which consisted of every coolant hose (heater hoses too) all vacuum lines, brake booster hoses, intake boot, crankshaft sensor, idle air control valve hoses etc. Placed the order with BMW for the aforementioned parts along with new clamps (ouch, this was expensive). I also decided to tackle the front crank seal (I learned the 3.8 uses a different crank seal). Got the Angry Ass level 4 secondary air injection delete kit, thermostat, belts, moosehead UCABs, all new steering linkage components, AKG subframe bushings, new diff bushings (OE BMW or OEM unless noted) and sway bar end links. I also plan to reseal the rear diff cover and change out the fluid. While I was waiting for this massive order of parts, I decided to change out the oil pan gasket and do rod bearings since I'm in there. Still need to order rod bearings, but I will get there..

Still waiting for some parts to show up, but hopefully I can have this thing back on the road within the next few weeks. To top it off, I will have my buddy Logan service the throttle bodies and resync them. I look forward to driving this beast again.





I did a quick rinse when I first bought the car, that clearly wasn't enough.



This aluminum radiator fits really well, I am big fan of it. Seems to be well constructed.



The crank seal is the root cause for 90% of this mess. I also ordered a new cam seal and both cam cover o-rings (or whatever they are called)


Lots of swearing and some steam cleaning later, it looks better. I still want to spend some more time cleaning the engine before I move to the undercarriage and take it apart.

Enjoy!

[theBMWbeast]

Good progress, and you’ll definitely appreciate the time you spend cleaning now, whenever you go back in there to fix anything. Plus it justs looks so good

Planning on selling the rear Hellas? I sold my set of NOS ambers a few months back, but I’m sure there are some nice ones on eBay.

[Johal E32]

Good progress, and you’ll definitely appreciate the time you spend cleaning now, whenever you go back in there to fix anything. Plus it justs looks so good

Planning on selling the rear Hellas? I sold my set of NOS ambers a few months back, but I’m sure there are some nice ones on eBay.

Thanks.

I will be removing the smoked headlights, tail lights and turn signals at some point in the future. I will keep you updated.

[sbeckman7]

Man I'm glad I saw this thread! What an epic car and another local. Would be great to meet up sometime soon!