BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 9, 2019 Picked up a project for cheap that i’ll be building in to a hopefully reliable and presentable daily driver. 2001 Jap Import 530i Touring with 279,000kms What was really appealing is that it’s been fitted with a gen M5 front bumper but the factory xenons have been replaced with halogen headlights. That’s going to be sorted soon. It’s in pretty average condition but the paint and body panels are good which makes this an ideal project for me. The engine is a beaut too. The list of to do’s go something like... -Front Suspension o’haul including msport shocks and 25mm lowering springs -18 Staggered wheels -a slight drop in the rear (factory self leveling suspension) -Fit a business rds radio to get nz stations and fit a bluetooth adapter that integrates with the factory setup -Replace the povo interior with Leather seats and door cards, fit the technical graphite/cubic finisher strips -Fit the correct Msport parts behind and under the front bumper -Cooling system overhaul, fuel filter, mictofilters. Give the paint a polish and wax and a heap of misc bits n pieces to bring it back to its glory. 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 definitely a bit of a project but should be good fun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 Looks like fun! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 Best $10 spent ever. Found this hiding in the boot of a wreck at Zebra. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 :0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3320 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 29 minutes ago, BreakMyWindow said: Best $10 spent ever. Found this hiding in the boot of a wreck at Zebra. SCORE! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Young Thrash Driver 1020 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 Nice, have fun! Is that a prefacelift bonnet? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Allanw 1071 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said: Nice, have fun! Is that a prefacelift bonnet? Bonnets are the same... the grilles are different and interchangable I thought you were an E39 "anorak" (or "rivet-counter") 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Young Thrash Driver said: Nice, have fun! Is that a prefacelift bonnet? Yep, on the ever growing list to sort Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 11, 2019 New shoes for the new suspension setup. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hqstu 780 Report post Posted July 13, 2019 On 7/12/2019 at 7:39 AM, BreakMyWindow said: New shoes for the new suspension setup ..oh Stop it... ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 15, 2019 Obtained some leather door cards from pickapart. Had to get a bit feral on the wreck as the doors were all deadlocked. No key for it and even hooking a battery up to unlock the doors didn't work so i had to resort to using a holesaw and a large crowbar. I got the idea after watching a YouTube clip of someone opening a deadlocked door using a crow bar by peeling off the outer doorskin to reveal the locking mechanism. The doors opened minutes later. Picked up an msport steering wheel and started replacing the woodgrain trims. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 23, 2019 Had a pretty successful few days on the project. Got the rest of the cubic/tech graphite finisher strips installed in the interior. Fitted rear leather seats but need a lhs or rhs leather headrest. To complete the interior o’haul i just need some front black leather sport seats. The door entrance covers are all crumbling and really let the car down looks wise. Near impossible to find good used ones so I basically chipped off all the crumbly rubber remains then cut the cerated edges the rubber sticks to off with some scissors followed by a quick scuff with sandpaper. I’m happy with the result. Cheap and cheerful ? Had a look in to why the aircon wasn’t working. Fault code for E-fan showed up on the scanner, couldn’t activate it so pulled the F bumper of to see this. Wiring loom to the E-Fan/Aux fan had been squashed in behind the bumper shock absorber. The hot and ground cables are constantly reading 12v.. learned that when cutting the loom to attach a replacement. Suprisingly no fuses were blown in the making. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hqstu 780 Report post Posted July 24, 2019 That's a good win with the air con... your package is on the way... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 25, 2019 The next focus is on exterior lighting. As mentioned the car was optioned for xenons but what i got was halogens, and only one low beam light worked. The bulb holders were stuffed and missing tabs so would wiggle around while driving, only the o-rings were keeping them from falling out. I bought some xenon headlights that needed a bit of a refurb, namely adjusters and the lenses need a wet sanding/polishing session. Below are a few pics i took for reference if anyone is planning on replacing the adjusters in facelift e39 xenon headlights without removing the lenses. It’s really not too difficult, but patience is definitely needed. Feel free to PM me for more details on this repair ? 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 26, 2019 Got 99% of the exterior lighting sorted. Just need some clear side markers and orange bulbs for the rear tails and the transformation is done. Big thanks to @hqstu for the gen fog lights. The aftermarket ones were really sh*t. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted July 26, 2019 On 7/23/2019 at 7:04 PM, BreakMyWindow said: The door entrance covers are all crumbling and really let the car down looks wise. Near impossible to find good used ones so I basically chipped off all the crumbly rubber remains then cut the cerated edges the rubber sticks to off with some scissors followed by a quick scuff with sandpaper. I’m happy with the result. Cheap and cheerful ? Haha same as what i did with my M covers when i swapped them. I forgot i even did it until i was cleaning one day. 22 hours ago, BreakMyWindow said: Below are a few pics i took for reference if anyone is planning on replacing the adjusters in facelift e39 xenon headlights without removing the lenses. It’s really not too difficult, but patience is definitely needed. Feel free to PM me for more details on this repair ? I agree but having done least half a dozen sets using that method i still say f**k you Hella every time i do them. I wish the Xenons worked as well as they looked. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted July 26, 2019 54 minutes ago, Eagle said: i still say f**k you Hella every time i do them. It’s like playing a prize vending machine for a couple of hours but using swearing mind powers to be able to win. Got lucky and ended up only needing to do one HL as the other one had metal adjusters in it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted August 6, 2019 Picked up a pretty mint passenger seat and installed it. Given up on finding sport seats so the standard ones will do. Just need a drivers one now... 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted August 6, 2019 Mmmmm clean carpet! Those seats will be fine, hopefully you can get a mint drivers one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted August 9, 2019 Facelift grilles and some LED angel eyes. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balancerider 758 Report post Posted August 9, 2019 looking much better! hard to go past a nice E39 touring. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 Well at 280,000kms every suspension component in the front is f**ked including the rack ends. Will be renewing the entire front axle over the next week or 3. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1662 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 Probably gone awhile ago but you know one mans stuffed is another man drives well. n saying that it costs 1000's to properly overhaul the suspension and steering on these so can't really blame people. How the rear end? because in my experience its usually worse in regards to stuffed joints. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1874 Report post Posted August 15, 2019 9 hours ago, Eagle said: Probably gone awhile ago but you know one mans stuffed is another man drives well. n saying that it costs 1000's to properly overhaul the suspension and steering on these so can't really blame people. How the rear end? because in my experience its usually worse in regards to stuffed joints. Haven’t looked yet. Are Meyle suspension parts any good? Pretty well priced through one of our sponsors on here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
