YoungCR Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 So I though I might as well start off my own build thread as I hope to soon be tearing apart this baby! For those of you that don't know, I'm Chris and this is my wrecked 1986 528e that serves as my daily driver, which I've been calling the be28ter bimmer (E28 Beater!). Mechanically it is great aside from a few maintenance things but like I said it drives. As far as the body, its in pretty poor shape. This is how the car was bought 3 years ago, nothing has really been done to it except for changing the oil,brake pads and throwing on the super eta exhaust. Below are some pics I took the other day after I did an oil change at work This is "the good side", can't see any of the major damage. There are some dents and dings on all the doors, but for the most part the rest of the body is in great condition. As far as rust, there is a little bit starting on the door corners, license plate light and the very common bumper shock mount on the spare wheel well. Its otherwise rust free except for all the surface rust up front and one of the wheel arches too.This is where all the work needs to be done! No the bumper is not being held up by bungie cords, the hood catches both broke so the hood won't latch . The car was t-boned at the very front as you can see in the 3rd pic. Most of the impact was made on the bumper, which bent and crushed the frame rails as deep as the shocks go into the frame. All the body panels up front will be replaced once the new frame rails are welded in.As far as the interior goes, its showing its age. It had a crack free dash until about 2 months ago when it started to crack in a couple places, its only minor right now though. Only major problem with the interior is that the drivers seat has a really bad lean, hence the box supporting it. I have new front and rear seats that are in much better condition along with almost a full interior that will be swapped in.And this is after a trip to the car wash! The clear coat has faded in many spots, but it still shines.Basically here is my to do list. I'm hopping to get all the mechanical stuff and maybe interior stuff done before fall. Body WorkCut and weld in new frame railsReplace drivers fender, hood, upper and lower valence and bumperfix passenger rear wheel arch (bent and rusting)Fix bent gas door lock latchReplace rear valenceWeld in new wheel well rear shock mountweld in new license plate light holes (one started to rust out)Pull out all the dents and dingsNew coat of paint!MechanicalsTiming belt and tensioner! Unkown if replaced yet DONE 5/25/13Replace water pump while doing timing belt DONE 5/25/13Fix power steering leak (need to replace pump but may be another cause for the leak too)Heater core might need to be replacedHeater blower and A/C blower are both not workingA/C isnt working, havent looked into getting it working and probably won't for a whileFront-Right wheel needs a new bearingMy bottle-caps need refinishing and a couple might need some straighteningDrive shaft needs a new flex joint and center bearing DONE 10/19/12temperature sensor needs to be replacedExhaust needs an oxygen sensorExhaust has a crack at the bottom of the downpipe. There is also a joint where the cat was deleted that I want to get welded. Hopefully will be done within the next week or two DONE 10/19/12Front end components will be replaced when its all rebuilt as it doesn't hold an aligment very well.Suspension components will need to be replaced tooInteriorDrivers and passenger seat will be replaced as the drivers seat is broke and the motors are dead on the passenger seat.Most of the trim will be swaped as the vinyl is gauged and rippedGlovebox hasn't been opening easily, so it will be repalced with a nicer one and realigned.Gonna put in the premium sound system out of my parts car as its decent enough for my listening preferencesUpgrades Once its in tip-top mechanical shape, I'd like to get the Dinan chip to get a little more power when I wanna hit the floorAlso should get a K&N air filterEuro bumpers! If i find a good deal on some used ones I'll throw those one when I redo the front end, otherwise it can wait as I have all the US spec replacements I need.Euro Headlights with Hella H4'sEventually I'd like to go with a stainless steel exhaust setup, but only when I cant fix the current setup anymoreSeems like a long list, but most of it is really easy stuff. Its at 165k right now so its starting to show its age, but I got a pretty solid base car. Once its baselined and I get some money saved up, I'll get her looking pretty again with a nice new coat of Burgundrot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted June 24, 2012 Report Share Posted June 24, 2012 But my e28 for 2400. 98% of your issues would be taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted June 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I would if I could! I also like a good challenge though, gotta learn how to fix all this stuff somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Daily this while you fix the 528e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted October 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 Well I got her on the road again. Learned a couple lessons on this one and I can now say I'm an expert at '80s BMW driveshafts! When replacing your guibo and csb, only buy febi bilstein! Its oem parts and they do make the difference. The knock off csb's are not offset to keep the driveshaft in a straight line from the tranny to diff. During the replacement of these parts I opted to upgrade to the 1988 model year driveshaft from old car. It has the bigger guibo with no harmonic balancer and its a heavier duty driveshaft. This involved swapping the output flanges off the back of the transmissions, which is where I got hung up on. We weren't using a powerful enough impact, so they seemed to be seized. I learned that even some BMW techs dont have the best tools! I also cleaned up on of the joints on my exhaust and put on a new clamp which made it nice a quiet! Can't wait to show her off this weekend at the meet! Here is a picture of the upgraded guiboAnd the nice, straight upgraded driveshaft! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Replaced the fuel lines in the engine bay today. Had a small fuel leak behind the intake manifold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Yeah you did. Right in my driveway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 I'm liking this semi-private e28 owner only thread I got going on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Lol. People Don't know anything about e28's! They're probably like," fuel lines, what are those! Does my e30 have those?!".. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted January 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 Picked up a set of E34 15" style 5's for $100 in chicago over new years. Wheels are in decent shape, one just has some curb rash but he claimed they were all straight. Look pretty decent but will need refinishing as paint is peeling in places.Also got some Style 2 freebies. No plans for these right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 That's a solid deal on those wheels! Most people are selling sets of rusted steelies for that price. Also, not sure how I missed this thread the first time around but I have a question about the "fuel lines", what are those!? Does my e30 have those?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted January 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 I have a question about the "fuel lines", what are those!? Does my e30 have those?! Probably if its M20 powered . Yeah it was a really sweet deal! Now I just need to get the car to a point where it is worthy of wearing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 (edited) You said you want to do a Dinan tune. Does Dinan do one for the ETA? I know the tunes out there for the ETA seem to make a real nice difference. Any plans to convert it to "i" spec? If so, let me know and I will keep you in mind when I sell my MarkD tune and other goodies.From what I understand, the Dinan tunes only apply to the WOT maps and not the part throttle maps. MarkD did a great job with the M20 tunes and I am fairly confident that all 3 maps (idle, PT, WOT) were touched. Edited January 4, 2013 by Snap Understeer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted January 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 You said you want to do a Dinan tune. Does Dinan do one for the ETA? I know the tunes out there for the ETA seem to make a real nice difference. Any plans to convert it to "i" spec? If so, let me know and I will keep you in mind when I sell my MarkD tune and other goodies. From what I understand, the Dinan tunes only apply to the WOT maps and not the part throttle maps. MarkD did a great job with the M20 tunes and I am fairly confident that all 3 maps (idle, PT, WOT) were touched. Yep the Dinan tune is only WOT. I'm not set on a specific tune, I might actually go for better mileage now. Never planned on doing an "i" swap as I'm satisfied with the power it makes for my needs. Car is gonna continue to be a daily driver once I'm finished. I bought the m30 powered euro 528i that was for sale on here which will be my "go-fast" car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 Yep the Dinan tune is only WOT. I'm not set on a specific tune, I might actually go for better mileage now. Never planned on doing an "i" swap as I'm satisfied with the power it makes for my needs. Car is gonna continue to be a daily driver once I'm finished. I bought the m30 powered euro 528i that was for sale on here which will be my "go-fast" car. That car was being parted out, correct? Is it missing a lot of pieces? Is that one going to be NA or boosted? I saw pictures of the car pre-damage and it looked amazing. I love those euro front turn signals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 It has no interior! I have the entire interior... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 That car was being parted out, correct? Is it missing a lot of pieces? Is that one going to be NA or boosted? I saw pictures of the car pre-damage and it looked amazing. I love those euro front turn signals Sorry I missed this a while ago! Yes the car was parted out, all the unique euro pieces are gone, Brian bought the interior, etc. Basically I have a shell with a complete drivetrain. I have enough extra parts from my first e28 that I can at least make something out of it until I can re-euro it. Looking to stay N/A for now but who knows where it'll go in the future as I hopefully just want . Megasquirt seems like a great option too. I'll start a separate thread for it once I can actually start doing some work!! I'm very eager for spring so I can work on my E28's, I miss driving the be28ter . Plan for the summer is to get the 528i running so I can drive at meets/etc and then put down the 528e once Zach and I get into a shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B C Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Very cool! I would love to see an NA M30 on megasquirt. I have a 4.10 188mm ring and pinion that should fit if you find yourself itching for some acceleration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Very cool! I would love to see an NA M30 on megasquirt. I have a 4.10 188mm ring and pinion that should fit if you find yourself itching for some acceleration I'm itching for acceleration. And I'm debating on switching to MegaSquirt II, so I can eventually go turbo. But I'm staying N/a for now. Gotta get more low before I get more go fast goodies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowleym Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Buy my "i" swap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungCR Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Buy my "i" swap! Thanks but no thanks! I love the eta for daily driving. It's so much fun having all that low end torque and I wouldn't give up the 36+ mpg on the highway either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowleym Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Holy balls. I didn't know it got that great of gas mileage.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 Holy balls. I didn't know it got that great of gas mileage.. Really not THAT impressive. I'll get 30mpg on the highway if I'm not trying to keep up with Chris' ass on the highway. Cock sucker speeds all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowleym Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 My vdub gets like 26. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted February 4, 2013 Report Share Posted February 4, 2013 you also paid out the ass for it, and just replaced a ton of shit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.