1983 635CSi

[euroshark]

I've been lurking for years on this board and have thoroughly enjoyed the Readers Rides section. Figured it was about time to introduce myself and some of my projects.

I sell restoration parts for Alfa Romeos for a living and I've owned my share of them. None at the moment though. At heart I've always been a Bimmer guy. There's just something that is irresistible about an inline six up front driving the rear wheels. I've had a variety of E24s, E28s, E30s and an E36. The one I miss the most is an E30 coupe that I put an M90 (early 3453cc M30) into and regrettably sold shortly after getting it running.

Currently I've got an '83 635CSi which has undergone a complete strip-down to be and epoxy coated and get a new color. It's waiting on paint but once that's done it'll fall back together pretty quickly. Ultimately it will be powered by an M30B35 with a low pressure turbo system. It will also be a nicer color and it will not have those terrible side marker lights.



It really didn't need to come apart to this extent, but once I started it proved to be a slippery slope.





I've also got an '87 535is that I just can't seem to get rid of. I have big dreams for it that include Alpina wheels and a set of euro bumpers that I've had stashed away for years.



And something that isn't really retro (though it is 12 years old now), my E46 M3. It's truly a fantastic machine. We've had fun at the race track and done some cross country touring.







My latest exercise in questionable judgment was buying my dad's M635. It was purchased a few years ago as a shell. The original engine and gearbox had been harvested and the rest just left to decay. He had it shipped across the country and I helped him put it together with parts that I had accumulated.

Sad story really. After all of the work we put into it to make it a nice driver it got rear-ended. Not once but three times. The final incident was bad enough that he had to pull it off the road and get something else. After fighting with the insurance company he found himself an E39 540i 6-speed, and that left this car up for grabs. Initially I thought I'd use it as a parts car since it's got a nice running B35, Getrag 265, fresh clutch, fresh Bilsteins and H&Rs, Ireland Engineering headers and a whole bunch of other good stuff. But when I really look closely at the damage, I think it can be fixed. 

So is it worth saving? As mentioned before, the original drivetrain is long gone but the shell is the real deal. The body is otherwise pretty clean with just a couple of small spots where rust is starting. Quarter panels and tail panels seem to be available from BMW and are relatively affordable.

Please advise / indulge / enable.

From a couple of years ago:





Today: You can see that the damage was left of center. It kinked the quarter panel and pushed the tail panel in. Damage to the trunk floor and inner structures (wheel house, etc) is actually pretty minimal. Removing the tail and quarter panel will be tedious but I am pretty confident that it will all go back together without much fuss. The top of the rear quarter / fender, the C-pillar and everything near the rear window is all straight. The door gap didn't change either.









Thanks for looking. I'll be sure to post updates as things progress. 

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

Keep the gold! I like it

[raymondmarble]

Yeah, whats wrong with the gold? Suits the car and would look great super clean!! Get a boot spoiler to complete and live your life happy
Also, your grey one looked fantastic before the bump. Hope you can get it fixed up!
Top job!

[little feat]

Good to see some more info on this car , I've been looking forward to an update on Bimmerforms, forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1162589-Gold

Interesting to note how many people are in favour of keeping the Kaschmir Metallic colour ( Add me to that list too.....) but whatever colour you choose I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.
I'm mid way through a restoration on mine and am trying not to go as deep as you have but each time I look at your photos more parts are removed...........
Great thread , great cars don't forget to keep the updates comming !

Bookmarked.

[euroshark]

Feb 9, 2014 5:47:59 GMT fr€$h&m1nt¥ said:

Keep the gold! I like it

Feb 9, 2014 9:52:00 GMT raymondmarble said:

Yeah, whats wrong with the gold? Suits the car and would look great super clean!! Get a boot spoiler to complete and live your life happy
Also, your grey one looked fantastic before the bump. Hope you can get it fixed up!
Top job!

The gold looks alright in the above photo but in person I thought it was awful. I've played around with the idea of repainting it that color but ultimately I'd like something a little different. Sepang Bronze from the newer palate is really attractive and is still sort of in the same part of the spectrum as the original color.

Feb 9, 2014 11:16:25 GMT little feat said:

Good to see some more info on this car , I've been looking forward to an update on Bimmerforms.

Interesting to note how many people are in favour of keeping the Kaschmir Metallic colour ( Add me to that list too.....) but whatever colour you choose I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.
I'm mid way through a restoration on mine and am trying not to go as deep as you have but each time I look at your photos more parts are removed...........
Great thread , great cars don't forget to keep the updates comming !

Bookmarked.

Thank you! It's difficult to find a balance between adequate and perfect once you dig in, isn't it? Once my garage situation is rectified this summer there will be much more progress on the 635. Currently it's wrapped in layers of plastic under a car cover beside my parents house. As you can imagine it's difficult to make any progress with it.

Since the M635 is mobile and still basically complete, is quite a bit easier to work on at this point, so I'll be focusing on it in the meantime. I ran the VIN through a decoder this morning and came up with this. The car was originally spec'd with buffalo leather! It's a shame that it all went missing along with the original drivetrain.



Once the back end is straightened back into shape I'll weld up the antenna holes in the roof (who decided to do that??) and the right side quarter panel, fix the rust in the left front fender and then we should be on track for a some new paint.

[raymondmarble]

"The gold looks alright in the above photo but in person I thought it was awful. I've played around with the idea of repainting it that color but ultimately I'd like something a little different. Sepang Bronze from the newer palate is really attractive and is still sort of in the same part of the spectrum as the original color."

Sepang Bronze, ooooh now you're talking! Ok, you've convinced me. I can't wait to see how that turns out!

[bmwv8capri]

if we're voting for a colour -- i always thought the original shade of silver was pretty hot!

love these old 3.5L beemers & always wanted one

definitely worth saving

[euroshark]

Long time no update, but it's because I haven't really gotten anything done on either of the E24s. Having no garage again means that the cars are wrapped up behind my parents house temporarily.

However, the M3 is about to get some new shoes and I'm questioning my motivation to finish TWO 6ers simultaneously. As luck would have it a very clean black '89 5 speed 635CSi is for sale at the moment for a reasonable price. It's nearly perfect aside from needing a drop and some wheels. Oh, it's turbocharged too. My brain is telling me to scrap the M635 project and pick up the '89 to play with while I finish the "gold" car. I guess we'll see which bid comes out on top when the dust settles tomorrow.

Anyway, the new shoes. Genuine 19" staggered LMs freshly redone:

[yorkebar]

Beautiful set of wheels. envy doesn't begin to describe it.

[nmretro]

Kind of sad to see that one of the Centerline? Guys is really into Bimmmers instead of Alfas... Ah just kidding, I've always hankered after a 535 myself, just never pulled the trigger. The resto on the 635 looks very thorough, looking forward to seeing the end result.

[euroshark]

I've enjoyed my fair share of Alfas but I'll probably keep playing with BMWs and such until the perfect GTV project presents itself.

On that note, when I bought my M3 last October I believe I told my girlfriend "This is it, this will be the last car I buy for a long time." Well, since then I picked up a broken '02 Focus Zetec (a week after the M3 came home), the M635, a '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport, and an '04 Kawasaki ZRX1200R. The Focus has since been fixed and sold and the Jeep has been freshened up for use as my daily driver. To be fair, the ZRX was a straight across trade for my GSXR.







Then a couple of weeks ago I saw an ad for an exceptionally cheap E39 540i sport and I knew it had to be mine. I've lusted after a 4.4 liter 6 speed car since I first drove my Dads.





The seller claimed that he had no idea why it wouldn't start but after a quick examination it was obvious that this engine suffered a timing chain guide failure. These failures aren't always catastrophic but in this case it was bad enough that the chain jumped off of the crankshaft sprocket. With a jump the starter spins the crank over but the cams don't move... Definitely some bent valves! While that doesn't necessarily mean that the engine is a throw away I decided to find a replacement to minimize down time.



The replacement engine is coming from an '03 540i M-Sport that was a dealer demo car and then exclusively maintained by Dinan until it was rear ended and written off. The service records indicate lots of new parts and lots of money spent by the previous owner. The best part is that the engine comes with a Dinan tuned DME, EWS, keys and all of the other magical pieces that are necessary for it to work. The seller was also nice enough to include a 3.15 differential in the sale which should wake the car up quite nicely. I have sourced a non-Vanos intake manifold since they show a proven gain in power over 3500rpm. The Dinan tuning raises the limiter to 6500 and shows big gains above 5800 where the M62 typically falls off so I want to be able to take advantage of that.

I got to work immediately removing the broken engine. I'll dig into it later and see what's salvageable.









While I wait for the new engine to arrive I've been working on freshening things up a bit. The headlights were severely pitted and hazed so they got wet-sanded and polished. My girlfriend was less than pleased with me running the big orbital buffer in the middle of the night.





The interior isn't in terrible shape but it was pretty dirty. The seats got four days of Leatherique treatment while baking in the sun and they came out pretty well. They need a re-dye to look their best but it's an improvement. The steering wheel came up very nice as well.











That's about it for now. There's a whole load of parts inbound for preventative maintenance and freshening up the body. Something will have to be done about the wheels too...

[breadvan]

some awesome machines on this page love it

[recarouk]

love the 540i excellent work and progress, thanks for sharing, keep the updates coming

[HmmDK]

I'm glad you introduced yourself 8)

That golden german junk looks so sweet !

[euroshark]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

Work on the old sharks will resume soon. I've got some paint for the engine bay and jambs as well as undercoating so that I can get the suspension and brakes back together and maybe even drop the engine back in.

Did a little more work on the 540i after work today. When I started I only intended to remove the ugly gold pin stripes but once I started buffing it was hard to stop.

Started with a 3M Trizact 3000 grit pad on a 3" orbital



The 3000 grit disc removed the stripe with ease but left a trail of haziness that needed to be polished up



After Menzerna PF2500 and SF4500 this was the result









And a bonus shot for you Alfa fans

[thechadzone]

Nice cars, you're girlfriend is quite patient! The Sharks are so cool, few designs have aged so well. However, I'm an Alfa owner/enthusiast. Since you've driven both the BMW e28, and the Alfa Milano/75, would you mind comparing the two? I drive an '87 Milano Platnium almost daily, but I do love the similarly aged 528i down the street.

Btw, if Centerline has a turn signal/headlight stalk for my Milano I sure need one!

[euroshark]

She's got a soft spot for these Bimmers so I get away with quite a bit!

The Milano/75 to the E28 is a sort of an apples to oranges comparison but I'll give it a shot.

Dimensions and ergonomics:
The Milano feels like it's about 80% of the size of an E28. For me (I'm 6'3") I feel a bit cramped in a Milano but I still happily drove one for over four years. Without a sunroof there is adequate headroom, but in typical Italian fashion the pedals are a bit too close compared to the steering wheel. I find that my knees are always bent quite a bit and my arms are stretched out a little more than I'd expect. The E28 fits me like a glove. It's easy to adjust the steering wheel and seat to find a position that is comfortable for driving around town or longer trips. Interior space is greater and there is more head room, even with a sunroof. The dash layout is a bit more attractive and useful. The whole thing just feels like it was thought out a whole lot better.

Ride, handling and braking:
The Milano rides very well in stock form and with minor upgrades. My first Milano had lowering springs out back and Koni yellows on all four corners. It handled extremely well and was still pretty comfortable for every day driving. The chassis does feel a little less solid than other cars of the era and there's a good bit of body roll, but the DeDion rear end makes it all work. The E28 feels like it's made from a slab of granite in comparison. It's not quite as light and flickable but it doesn't feel heavy either. Just more planted and more solid over bumps and broken road surfaces. With Bilsteins and H&R springs the E28 is quite competent and well balanced. It's got more of a tenancy to oversteer than the Milano. Part of that is the rear suspension design but it's also got to do with the fact that the E28, especially M30 powered cars, had a bunch of torque. Braking is similar between the two cars but I think that the E28 has a slight edge in feel and overall power. The Milano had those cool alloy Brembos up front but the inboard rears suffer when they start to get hot. As far as upgrades go, the Milano has virtually no affordable upgrades while the E28 can be upgraded with parts from the E31, E32 or E34 for cheap. My 535is has front discs and calipers from an E32 750il along with braided lines and it'll try to put your face through the steering wheel if you're not careful!

Drivetrain:
The Milano V6 wins for best soundtrack, hands down. The BMW I6 wins for best drivability, reliability, durability, ease of maintenance and upgrade potential. That sounds a little biased but it's really not an insult to the Alfa as much as it is a compliment to BMW. Busso's V6 is a rugged little engine and it sounds fantastic when you rev it out. They are overbuilt in some ways but are plagued by a few annoying features. Most notably a cam belt tensioner that will gladly allow the belt to slip on the cam pulleys if the engine is turned backwards. The V6 also just barely fits in the engine bay and as a result they tend to run hot in our semi-arid climate. The 2.5 liter V6 loves to spin but is still torquey enough to be practical every day. BMWs inline 6 is very civilized and smooth and is definitely more focused on torque but it'll still gladly spin to it's red line. The howl of a 3.5 liter M30 at 6200rpm is pretty excellent. The Getrag transmissions and BMW differentials are smooth and virtually bulletproof even at high power levels. The Milano driveshaft with it's three giubos is a little finicky and can vibrate badly if the halves are split and rejoined incorrectly. The transaxle in the Alfa is somewhat fragile as well, but with good syncros they drive just fine. The shift linkage can be vague but it's generally not a problem. Overall the Alfa is more expensive to get parts for and the parts are harder to find. If everything is in good shape they drive like any other car other than needing a little pause between shifts to keep the syncros happy.

Relative ease of ownership:
Either car will go a long time without constant maintenance if it's right to begin with. The Milano V6 has a fairly short timing belt interval but otherwise it should be happy with the occasional valve adjustment and regular oil changes. There are a number of vacuum / breather hoses that are not readily available so you might need to get creative to keep vacuum leaks at bay. The M30 powered E28 is probably one of the most reliable cars ever built as long as it's not severely neglected. Probably the most common recurring issue with the E28 / E24 platform are the thrust arm bushings in the front suspension. When they go they will cause a wobble and eventually a nasty clunk. Luckily there are various upgrades to extend the time between bushing replacements. Working on the Milano can be very frustrating at times. The V6 cars seem to have a number of engineering afterthoughts that can cause lots of headaches. That said, they are not really that bad. The BMW has a couple of jobs that can be difficult but overall it's what you'd expect from an older German car - very straight forward and well thought out. Finding parts to keep the E28 on the road is easy and not terribly expensive whereas some things for the Milano can be nearly impossible to find. Luckily, most of the critical parts are still available.

To sum it up, I love the charm and quirkiness of the Italian cars. They are fun and they don't really take themselves too seriously. Milanos can make great daily drivers if you are able to get them right and keep them maintained. The Bimmers are fun too. There's something to them that you *get* while you're driving. They seem so serious and reserved until you start to push a little bit harder and the sporty side comes out to play.

[euroshark]

Finally got the LMs mounted up today after weeks of waiting. They look fantastic and the weight reduction was immediately noticeable. Compared to the iForged Sprints they are around 8 lbs lighter per front and almost 10 lbs each on the rear.

[thechadzone]

Thanks for the comparison between the e28 and the Milano/75. That's about what I would have thought. I don't think anyone ever bought an Italian car because it made sense, or because the German cars weren't good enough. I think the answer for me is to own both the M30 powered e28, as well as my Alfa. I've really got a lust for '80's Euro sedans these days.
Keep posting about the Sharks!

[euroshark]

You are exactly right. You don't buy an Italian car for the practicality, it's all about the fun! Having one of each is great. I had a 2.5 Milano and my 535is at the same time a few years back and I actually found myself picking the Milano most days just because it's so eager and light on its feet.

I'll be digging out the sharks pretty soon. The 540i should be back on its feet shortly and then it'll be time for some metal work on the M635!

This arrived yesterday. A little degreaser and a few new gaskets and she'll be ready to drop in.