If I sold my E32... what should I get?

[Auzeras 28]

Thinking it might be time for the old bird to go, don't want to but it's getting a bit much work to do whilst working and studying. In fairly good shape, just needs a few big mechanical jobs which are putting the cost of maintaining close to the cost of what the car is worth (I got it for free but I'm looking at about $5k of work all up) so I'm thinking maybe I save the time & money - sell up and move on.

What sort of BMW would be purchasable for a reasonable price - say under $10k, be fairly sound yet still provide room for projects? It doesn't have to be immaculate, I don't mind doing the odd big job. It's just the E32 needs a full head rebuild + pan gasket and assorted other missed maintenance stuff which is just too much to keep on top of, the other day I went around a corner (albeit with the back wheels sliding) and she ate her belts. I knew they were bad & had been lazy not replacing them.. nearly paid the price for that as I ended up facing a wall with no steering. Managed to save it but I digress, lots of little things to do that I don't keep on top of + the big jobs mean I think I should be looking for a new machine.

My mate had a Z3 which was fun but they're so small there's just about nothing you can do on them. The E32 has soooo much potential for a project but it's too much effort at the moment. I was considering an E30.. but then thought what's the point? I might as well keep the E32 rather than spend more money to get a smaller version of the same thing.

Any ideas? Was hoping to find something with a manual trans, or maybe a diesel but right now I'm just thinking.

Alternative plan is I (finally) get my class 6, garage the bimmer for bad weather and just bike everywhere.

I realise this is a very ambiguous question by the way!

Edited December 22, 2014 by Auzeras

[jonesrp 63]

Um...Mac, you did get her for free which is possibly why you were `a bit lazy about not replacing` the belts, Maybe a free Toyota would be more forgiving....

On a lighter note, I`ve never received a free car in my life, I think you`ve done ok anyway...

[antil33t 90]

what big mechanical jobs does an M30 powered car even have?

unless you're wanting to rip the motor out nothing is gonna be over the top hard, just do a big ass pelican buy up for like 1k and replace it all with some friends, pay them beer.

[jonesrp 63]

Momentum is building here...one does the math, works out the original purchase price plus the cost of repairs...ooooh hang on a minute...

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

happy to give you a hand, only a phone call, a sunny arvo and a box of coronas away hahaha

[Auzeras 28]

Hahaha yeah I know - free and I'm saying it costs... well here's the story, NZ new E32 with two previous owners bought by a family member who had it serviced at the local euro shop. Loaned to another family member for two years.. over the period nothing is done on it and it's basically driven into the dirt. I got it with bald tyres, no WoF, no Reg. Family member knew I liked it and knew they'd get maybe $2k at a dealer and if I wanted one I'd buy it for at least $6k so decided it was better off just going to me to fix.

So far I have identified what seems to be about 5ish years of missed maintenance. Head gasket was done about 5 years ago.. yet some time between then and now the oil spray bar banjo bolt worked out and the cam got chewed up along with the rockers - with that and the few other missed items I dunno if I 100% trust the PO's shop. Not to say they were bad, but I'm not convinced they were good. When I asked about the valve tap (from the cam & rockers being extremely worn) they said it was normal. If you hear it, it ain't normal!

Here's a shortlist of what's to do:

Head Rebuild

Oil Pan Gasket & possibly Oil pump (requires engine to be lifted - weekend job)

Repair all wiring looms from rodent damage (most fixed now though)

Replace most wearable service parts (belts, FPR, ignition components)

Replace a lot of gaskets (done Valve cover, intake manifold)

Trans service - flush, gasket (yes it's leaking) & filter (already have one)

All suspension and steering components need to be checked, assuming it all needs replacing because most of it looks shot.

Timing chain & guides

What's been done:

New spark plugs

Valve cover gasket

DIY injector rebuild

4x new tyres

Throttle body gaskets

AFM adjusted

Intake manifold gaskets

There's actually a lot more that I forget about..

Personally I'd like to keep it, but i've priced it out to be approx $5k to put into it to get it going good with the $1k already spent on it and I'm not sure if I am wasting time/money making it good. Am I better saving my time and putting that money elsewhere. That and I don't have the time and money to do all the work at once. On top of that there's so much wrong with it I don't want to commit $800 to rebuilding the head only to find that the bottom end is a bit torn up due to all the metal particles that came off the cam got into the bearings etc

PS - cheers for the offers of help - I'll bring a stack of beers and leave a note on here next time I'm working on the car, plenty of space at my place so bring a bimmer & tools to make the most of a days shared knowledge and yarns!

Edited December 22, 2014 by Auzeras

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

and I'm not sure if I am wasting time/money making it good. Am I better saving my time and putting that money elsewhere.

Only you can answer that. as with any older car, it depends where you priorities in terms of finances and time are, family curcumstances if any, and also if you like the car etc.

Try thinking the way I do on for size and see what you think. I may be mad but hear me out

putting 2 or 3 or 5 grand into a car worth much less than that can make sence, you end up with nice tight vehicle that is unlikely to break down again, and owes you 6 or 7 grand. there is nothing else to fix when everything has been done.

Alternatively, spend 7 grand on some mid 2000's car that has unknown service history, parts in various states of wear, and when things do break they are always more expencive than thier 25 year old (735iL) equivelent. your 7 grand car turns into a 14 grand car, and then you decide to sell it because you think something else is going to break and that money disappears.

Ill keep my old cars thanks.

[Auzeras 28]

Yeah I'm happy to keep the e32 purely due to its age. Part of the worry is what will break next though.

Why aren't cars easy to let go of!

[jonesrp 63]

I think Andy`s nailed it..

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

Yeah I'm happy to keep the e32 purely due to its age. Part of the worry is what will break next though.

Why aren't cars easy to let go of!

on the cars i keep, i take it as a reason to over haul a particular area. engine seals leaking, ok replace all engine seals even the ones not yet leaking. front ball joint fail a wof ok overhaul front suspension all new parts. you dont need to do everything at once, but do it in 1k sized chunks.

Its just what I do, and i know others on here do it this way too. makes an old car more enjoyable to own.

[Olaf 3339]

Only you can answer that. as with any older car, it depends where you priorities in terms of finances and time are, family curcumstances if any, and also if you like the car etc.

Try thinking the way I do on for size and see what you think. I may be mad but hear me out

putting 2 or 3 or 5 grand into a car worth much less than that can make sence, you end up with nice tight vehicle that is unlikely to break down again, and owes you 6 or 7 grand. there is nothing else to fix when everything has been done.

Alternatively, spend 7 grand on some mid 2000's car that has unknown service history, parts in various states of wear, and when things do break they are always more expencive than thier 25 year old (735iL) equivelent. your 7 grand car turns into a 14 grand car, and then you decide to sell it because you think something else is going to break and that money disappears.

Ill keep my old cars thanks.

on the cars i keep, i take it as a reason to over haul a particular area. engine seals leaking, ok replace all engine seals even the ones not yet leaking. front ball joint fail a wof ok overhaul front suspension all new parts. you dont need to do everything at once, but do it in 1k sized chunks.

Its just what I do, and i know others on here do it this way too. makes an old car more enjoyable to own.

I've been taking the same approach for years. Buying a car towards the end of its depreciation curve and maintaining it well leaves you with a manageable reliable *car*. not an asset. when people are saying "it's not worth it" when faced with a large repair bill against the notional value of their car, they're confusing it as 'putting money into an asset'. Cars - on the whole - are liabilities, not assets!

As with Andy's approach above, the $1000 chunks works for me. I've been spending about $1k/year on my 855-T5 for the past 8 years. I paid around $9k for it, it's worth about... well, whatever anyone would pay for it. It's reliable and fun to drive, and I've learned plenty working on it. Paid for some jobs, done others myself with my mate on his driveway. One year it's not mechanical but turns out to be a set of tyres and an alignment. It's a grand a year ongoing, basically.

You're lucky, the car has cost you nothing. As Andy illustrates above, you've got nothing to lose in catching up on that deferred maintenance - if it's a solid car to start with. Perhaps spending a case of beer with Andy looking it over and drawing up your battle plan will help you establish your budget. If you're importing parts yourself, I use FCPEuro.com as the prices and quality is good, along with the service. You might be able to carve up purchases into orders that squeeze in under the GST/Duty thresholds as well, with careful purchasing.

Do your basics, get the engine maintenance stuff addressed. Belts, filters, fluids (cooling, engine oil, diff oil, power steering fluid)... mounts, cooling (pump, hoses). all those gaskets you mentioned - with a mate, and taking your time, it's labour intensive though not rocket science. Do it with a mate, break down the jobs into 'work packages' so you're not overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, build your confidence as you go, enjoy a couple of beers with each job. Does the timing chain and guides need replacing - check against the specs. now the trans - the service is easy. Buy your ATF in a 20 litre pack; it's way cheaper that way. At this point you should have a car that's relatively sorted for reliability from the basics. (hopefully your heater core and valves are okay).

Next you're into stop and go. How are the brakes? How is she steering and handling?

You're probably sold on driving and owning a quality german engineered car over a japanese or korean beater. Do remember - nothing is free - if you play, you pay. you may be $1000 in (and $150 in beer tax) by the time you get to the end of the trans service... what else would you be driving for $1200?

As Andy says, it's not necessarily the *right* way to do it; it's one way of doing it that works for some of us. YMMV.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Olaf

[Auzeras 28]

Pretty sound advice Olaf - basically no matter what car I have I'm happy to pay what needs paying to maintain it, that's just looking after things really. Some days I have my plans squared out and everything fine, other days I just feel sick of perpetually thinking of the cost I think.

Body's straight and other than the head I'm pretty certain the rest of the engine is sound enough for a vehicle with 215k km's on it - plan to work through things over the new year once I get some time off work & as I start the uni year when I should have a few days off to get into it. Luckily my new job doesn't mean I have to drive and once I have the bike there won't be such a crush to get it back on the road within ~2 days

I can answer the stop & go now - suspension needs a rebuild as do most of the steering components (eg they're coming up to needing replacement, not dangerously out!) It wallows like a pig and it's got an interesting stance... kinda sits on its ass with the front in the air, apparently normal for an E32. Would like to address that by bringing the ride hight down a tad and putting stiffer suspension in. Brakes are good, rotors rub ever so slightly so suspect a *very* slight warp on them - will machine them down once the workshop is open. Steering will improve once the suspension is fixed, when making a tight turns (this would be on the track, not in any situation in "normal" driving) it beds down in the rear and tends to throw the car out of whatever line you were trying to take - again, I put that down to it rolling around on the 225/60's on it, big spongy tyres with old suspension means it absorbs all the energy from the turn and unloads it back at you as you come out.

TL/DR - I'm keeping the E32, beer flows free and I'll resume working on things again in the new year.

[Olaf 3339]

you might find that simply getting it back to OEM in the suspension department will sort out the wallow-y-ness. Read back on the road tests from '87-'89 - ISTR the e32 was renowned for tidy handling, with excellent ride and comfort to boot. It was one of the cars the australian car comics that when a new falcodore would come out, would usually be compared with in the road test. Usually a large amount of license was employed - or a large line or two of white powder probably. One only had to drive the VP Commode on its release, it certainly wasn't anything near the 5er/e300/7er of the time, contrary to the encouraging reviews in the comics had you believe!

It's not too late mate - you could buy a hyundai accent!

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

when you do the suspension, go for all 750iL spec bushes, they are the most heavy duty and fit perfectly. there are three grades of bushes for both E32 and E34, not sure where M30 fits on the scale, but the improvement is there and cost is the same.

6 cylinder eg M20 M50 and maybe M30

8 cylinder M60 maybe M30

12 cylinder

[kiwi535 538]

for 5 series anyway there are m5 bushes too.I think they are all the same because a popular upgrade is to use 750 or M5 bbushes

[Auzeras 28]

Me and a friend had been considering buying a project car - chop top morris with blown small block 350.. we've decided the bimmer is a better project.

Between the two of us we'll split cost and the end will be a bit of a sleeper. An angry looking e32 with a fairly comfy ride but the power to eat Subarus for lunch at 120kph in 2nd gear

Final build will involve bringing the nose out of the sky, lower slightly all round (don't want it slammed though) fully rebuilt head + engine accessories + upgraded DME for injection/timing, 5spd manual conversion finishing with a turbo - nothing insane just a few pounds to give it a kick.

Project will run over a few years, will make a new thread to keep those interested updated. First up is suspension/steering rebuild + fluids.

Next rebuild head, if the cylinders look in good shape we'll swap in a getrag 260/6

Final touch ups will be getting a good tune with upgraded engine accessories, notably programmable ecu & injectors

Interior will be done along the way.

This is a very long term project which is ambitious and will be updated and adapted as time, finances and experience increase. We're starting slow and will tick off each milestone as we go before planning the next. Still a few months off starting as I need to get my class 6 first because the cars got to in the shed for most of the project.

The E32 is staying!

Ps, any crazy ideas for a stanced e32 will be considered

[Auzeras 28]

I also wrote out that reply on my phone and it makes no sense.. I can't edit it. Ignore the badly phrased sentences, incorrect info etc.

[Olaf 3339]

ooooh you guys gonna have fun. as with any partnership, be sure you are both in agreement what your exit strategy is - before you start!

bringing it down? H&R Sportsprings should do the trick:

Looks like OEM Sachs and Bilstein struts are around the same prices... one assumes you're not saddled with a self-levelling system in the rear to delete, or electronic controlled dampers?

cheers

[Auzeras 28]

Yeah we're all squared away on that - first thing I covered before we even started talking about the build. Typical us, we're still looking for something else to project at the same time! Since I got it for free the general idea is on sale we split money back towards our investment + extra to me for the base value of the car itself.

No need to worry about the LAD or dampers, my E32 package was pretty damn basic, cat-less, larger alternator... and that's the accessory list! No self levelling or anything.

The build won't be wild, there's no point in making the worlds fastest E32 as the Dinan ones are generally regarded as the best, also there's no point "restoring" because who the hell buys a 26 year old luxury car? The general idea is to make a very nice cruiser with power, interior mainly stock but any upgrades will be "nice" not performance rally ricer "bolt on and oil press sensor for teh horsepowers" style. . so although I want to bring the ride height down I don't want to go so low that I put new gouges in every speedbump across the CBD. How low do theH&R's go? As far as the new shocks go - I'm not too worried about price as much as avaliablility. The stock ones when functioning are apparently fairly good so any of the respected BMW aftermarkets should go in fine - just depends on availability.

Gotta buy oil today to change out, no much really happening other than planning & preparing the workshop until I get money together and get this bike (and free time) - Probably more done once I get back to uni and can take a weekend or two off instead of trying to get as many hours together as possible at work, right now they're paying me to drive to paraparaumu every day. Hours drive each way sucks for the early reports but I'm getting free petrol!

Too many coppers on the road this time of year, one moment of inattention to the speedo going down one of those hills and you'll go past a camera at 106 - I don't like the way they set up at places like that. I've seen a few good ones at the top of hills, fair enough if you're going over at the crest of a hill but at the bottom, that's just mean. Driving every day I'm pretty sure I've picked up at least two. Think my speedo is out though (reading faster than actual speed) so no idea if I was actually over.

[Olaf 3339]

GPS on your dashboard gives you a speedo in your line of sight #8 )