First ever BMW purchase- I'd like some help please!

[blakamin 0]

Like I said before, if you need a hand, just yell! Most saturday afternoons i'm free and I work in Grenada so I could cruise in from there after work with my tools...

[mac4 0]

Panel beater /restorer of 30 years experiance says unless car has major structural rust, (eg pillars rusted through) always work with what you have .He has seen several jobs where body swap has gone horribly wrong& owner forked out mega $just to get electrics sorted let alone all the critical chassis dimensions only available from manufacturer .Big difference between factory fit &amature fit . .Also if you get a 525 auto body, problems will arise on revinning as chassis # wont match & have a at end & will require certification as LVV( more $$$.)Unless you do the chop shop boys method of cutting out all chassis # &rewelding into new body shell( expertly ).He says biggest cost is paint &can save thousands by delivering it to paint shop pre primed ,wet sanded ,& ready for paint .Get stuck in with a grinder ,cut patches & get them mig welded in flush treat with anti rust prep &skim bog .The front headlight/ grille panel is only$230 new. That way you still have a legal car able to be sold for market value rather than a hashed cut &swap job. cheers

[39KiwiTouring 2]

Sickpuppy take Mac's offer of a grand and run need another word - Fast.

[blakamin 0]

Panel beater /restorer of 30 years experiance says unless car has major structural rust, (eg pillars rusted through)

Which is exactly what it has....

[Sick Puppy 1]

Which is exactly what it has....

What he said- Malcolm/Mac4, you've checked it out, you've seen the same pillar & body damage I have- I'm sure you'd have seen the rust on the A pillar/ mirror mounts/ sunroof too... now, I can either try and repair all the rust you can see for the $3k or so you mention (and that doesn't include the rust you can't), or I can strip the chassis and freshen up the running gear as I remove it to place into a second one- no welding/ chop shopped vin numbers/ LVV required. What would I rather spend $3k+ on? Getting numbers to match for a soon to be classic car that by that point's been structurally repaired at least twice, or on another manual shell, with a suspension rebuild, new brakes etc.? Be honest, which would you rather drive?

I must confess I am curious as to what you mean re: critical chassis dimensions though.

I also must confess that I love your offer of $1k now, considering you bid up to $1560 in the original auction, indicating you were prepared to pay that much at the time, but not now?

Fact is either I remove the bolt on bits to use myself a la Sick Puppy's new project, or I have other plans for the car that don't involve TM, but do involve me not losing any money (at all).

Edited May 17, 2009 by Sick Puppy

[BM WORLD 1283]

its easy to stick a 535i manual engine and gearbox kit into a e34 520i 525i 530i just etc dont use a v8 shell.

not much wiring if any to do when fitting to a 520i or 525i , if you use a older m20 shell no major wiring exceot maybe moving th battery to go under the back seat

if you use a m50 engine car then a little bit of a adpator plug is needed to do where the engine plug ,plugs into the body loom .

and maybe sawpping the rear arms or axles .diff etc to suit the bigger 535i stuff .