Eagle

Ive found ride height always raises after a full refresh compared to before. Being new springs you may need to wait a little longer but most E39's etc are driving around on worn suspension.

Finished off the rear suspension - Trialing a set of TRW rear shocks which are suppose to be Msport equivalents (Sachs don't make any now days). RTABS + limiters - old bushings weren't as bad as i expected but are '02 labeled so probably the originals. Front struts done - old ones were completely gone as expected, the weight of a 19mm 1\2" impact socket would compress the piston to near bottom. I only noticed one of the strut towers was mushroomed upon strut removal, likely caused by worn struts and mounts combined with pot holes. Have hammered it flat and will be putting in some reinforcement plates before re-installing.

Always money well spent. It's fatiguing driving a car with worn suspension.

Looks like reps to my eye. Can't see BBS stamped anywhere on those photos either.

Replaced the vanos seals for good measure, the old ones certainly were loose in the bores like some. Head and top valve cover clean as you'd would expect from a car like this.

Mostly comes down to being old, its 1960-1970's tech and 40 year old car. Parts harder to get\more expensive than e28 stuff. Manuals drive ok but 3 speed autos haven't aged well. Engines more problematic than the later M30's.

E12 based E24's aren't very good

@Sammo Haven't sourced one yet but will likely just find a good used one for now at least. They are around the same price as the lower coupling ($~370 NZD local dealer and ~2 week wait). About the same UK pricing by the time you add shipping and tax. RE bearing - Didn't even know it was an issue on these. Was it making any noises or just steering feel?

Made a dent in the list. Only issue was the hack who fitted the rubbish CTE FCAB's and cross threaded the RH threads while he was at it. Luckily the were repairable. FSU decided to start acting up so i had to replace that with a good spare i had. '02 build so may of been original. New genuine lower coupling on the way and will replace the upper as there is some minor play there also. Also fitted the 2x bottom rear window trims @hqstu gave me. Expensive parts for a little improvement.

Yeah its been for sale semi recently as KWS stated. My old 320,000km E34 535is made 171rhwp on Torque performance dyno, 5-10hp more than a similar car on the same day with MAPECU fitted. So many people try to improve performance on cars with even making sure all the EFI components are in good order.

Can't say ive had one issue buying or selling mostly BMW's, but im sure the trash count is much more than it used to be given the Japan>Euro migration.

Try Chartwell Panel and Paint. We use them for our work and they appear to have very reasonable prices for their work.

By the time you refresh the suspension, fix all the hopefully minor engine issues its bound to have, then do some preventative maintenance its doesnt look so cheap. At least after that it should be a better car than most of the 10k ones.

You going to put it on a dyno? Would be interesting to get an idea of how much power its putting down.

Spotted this yesterday as well, who know what issues its got though im guessing its why its going via Turners. There a few non M SMG's around (just bought one my self) The box is modified ZF 5 speed with mainly rear section being different. You can't easily convert the box to manual like the M3 versions as they don't use an external shifter rod, hence no where to attach any linkages. Driveshaft, cross member and diff are all the same as manuals though so you get half a manual conversion already.

I bought an E30 ~10 years ago after soley owning half a dozen E34\E32's. Everyone was talking about them then and most of this board owned one in those days. They were great cars for money back then (still are minus the money part) but no BMW really else drives and looks like them whilst still being available and mostly financially obtainable. If you think E34 are under valved go look at E36 Ti's prices, basically the E30 driving experience without most of the common issues. They just happen suffer from not looking very good for a BMW during 90's and not many 6 cylinders made, otherwise they would probably be far more popular. 3 series will always be more popular than 5 series for smaller car reasons, lower numbers of 5 series manuals doesn't help things.

E46 coupes are already worth more than the equivalent 6 cylinder E39, being more popular they have already won that race. Maybe they will surpass 4 door E46's.

Its been for sale for around 1 year iirc

Can't see the bottom end needing any work if its not using oil besides a possible oil pump refresh. Still could see the honing marks on my 450,000 and 550,000 M30B35 when i did the headgaskets.

BMW handbook lists the automatic sedan at just over 1600kg with full tank of gas, driver but no options so unlikely much more than 1700kg with a\c, towbar, sunroof etc. They do have full alloy suspension and subframes after all and aren't a large car by today standards. Manual is better but too rare. Still adequate power for most driving even with 230hp and the auto. Excellent chassis and looks is what makes them better than anything else in the same class and era.

TU strikes again

Most of the ones seen this year on facebook were asking 4-6k. They were what id class as average examples. Hard to find ones that dont drive and handle sloppy, most need a lot of suspension and steering work to get them to some sort of standard. I think owners generally tend to hold onto the actual good examples these days. Unless your run is lots of highway then imo a E46 is the better choice for run around, much more availability and easier to get bits for.

If your car has DSC you are going to need a master cylinder with DSC ports and sensors. If you dont have DSC you'd ideally want a cylinder without added bits but you can likely still use a DSC one if you plug unneeded ports on the cylinder.

@hqstu has passed the torch onto me so i thought id just continue adding to this thread. Lots of time and money already gone into this so just taking it to next level mechanically whilst keeping it original as i can. Cosmetically it's pretty much already sorted for me apart from a few trim bits i need to install. Still looks tidy despite the age and k's, only really let down by the classic NZ stone chips on the grill and bonnet which require a proper respray to sort. Engine wise its same as above, again Stuart has done a good job here. Engine still pulls strong like most higher k's NZ new cars ive owned. Vanos seals will be done for a likely improvement. Very minor seepage from high pressure power steering hose and rear main seal, otherwise one of the cleanest well running M5X's ive seen. SSG transmission takes a bit of getting used to, it can be shifted quite smooth in lower gears\rpm around town once you adapt but its really at home under sprinted driving using 3-5th gear. Still prefer the manual overall but it's far more enjoyable than the 5 speed auto. Suspension is average BMW, it appears most parts are still original items as expected but beside front bump stops nothing has outright failed. This is the main focus for me and is always money well spent in my experience. Steering isn't as razor sharp as it should be. There slop in the linkage from rubber steering coupler which is past its used by date. This will be replaced with poly version of some sorts due to cost\availability of genuine RHD one. Doing that along with the front control arm bushings should vastly improve steering response. Tyres appear to be flat spotted somewhat which is likely the cause of minor shimmy at highway speeds (lesser degree once warmed up). Re-balance, alignment and new parts installed along with more driving should help that. Following parts have\will be ordered: Sachs front struts with mounts and bump stops Sachs rear shocks with Meyle HD mounts Meyle HD front control arm bushings Lemforder rear trailing arm bushings and ball joints with limiters TRW brake rotors front and rear to go with supplied Akebone ceramic pads Brake hoses front and rear Caliper guide bushings front and rear Vanos seals 2x coolant pipes under manifold with associated seals and CCV + hoses (for piece of mind) Hood struts Front and rear sway bar bushings (maybe poly, genuine ones seem overpriced) Future: O2 sensors (reading slow) Rest of rear control and subframe bushings (will re-evaluate once above suspension parts done) Inspect clutch\flywheel and driveshaft. Replace flex disc and hanger bearing\support same time.

Way too ghetto looking to me especially with those hideous wheels.