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Sept 30, 2014 23:24:46 GMT
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Seriously, 152 cars and no working BMWs. The 520i E28 I had did work for about 3 days, but was soon disposed of. Having borrowed a tired, cheap old E39 528i Touring, though, I had to have it. So comfortable, such a nice autobox. So I finally got it.  It's got 101,000 on the clock when the clock works, most things seem to work apart from the dash and one window, and it's a bit ratty all over - the boot floor appears to have been welded near the battery, too. Despite that it'll belt up a twisty A-road very effectively, has lovely sharp brakes, the steering feels fundamentally nice. As always, nothing drastic will happen with it, but I'm thinking of polybushing it and doing a few other bits & bobs. One thing does interest me - those wheels. I saw a set like them on eBay and they seem to attract interesting prices; I have no love for splitrims and actually quite like the 16" Turbine wheels I see on a lot of E39s. So what are they? Are they a proper thing, or just an optional wheel that people are just a bit optimistic when selling? Jobs to do: Proper BMW CD-changer and cartridge. Fix the broken dash LCDs. Polybush/replace bushes on front suspension which rattles and creaks and clicks a lot. Fix viscous fan coupling (makes it sound like a jet engine right now). Clean/replace those headlights. Find the missing bits from the interior. Drive it. Fight the urge to put fake wood down the sides in an American station wagon style. Resist spending too much on it because the charm is that it's a banger. Perhaps use it as a guinea pig for Terraclean. |
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Sept 30, 2014 23:42:54 GMT
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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GT4ME
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,729
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Sept 30, 2014 23:46:43 GMT
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They are style 5's. Check if there 8.5 x 17 all round or the rears may be 9.5 x 17, if so there quite valuable.
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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Even in poor condition, you should see at least £400 for the wheels if not more, I would love a set for my E36, I have the narrow versions at the moment. I almost picked one of these up a while ago as an engine donor. They are so cheap for what you get, and lovely drive!
Correct name is BBS RC090's, have a look behind the centre cap, will give you the wheel references and sizes, but yes they are know as style 5's
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These ones, I can't tell the quality of them really but not too badly kerbed. In fact I have to admit I kerbed one slightly facing a choice between suicidal pedestrian or chancing being too close to a kerb. They look alright when clean, better than the wheels on my SLK.
All the issues with this are down to a window breaking, water getting in and subsequently all the electronics being damp. The heater controls are mangled too; not impressed with BMW build quality when it comes to interior/electrics, but can't fault the engineering as a car to drive. Making me think about an E36 Cabriolet instead of my SLK, in fact. The set I saw on eBay was £700 and ratty-looking, which surprised me as frankly, that's pretty much what the car cost (and IMO is worth based on what I could find for £1000-1500 - but I wanted the colour more than I wanted a sunroof).
Wonder what the proper term for the turbine wheels is. To Google! (Style 33, it turns out).
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I got some style 5's off markE21 on this very site for £300 not so long ago and they are in very good condition, wasn't too fussed on the wider rears as it made the tyres more expensive!
As for bushes I'd stick to standard ones, they are more than stiff enough and long lasting, no need to add the harshness of a polybush.
Terraclean??? one of the biggest snake oil cons in years.
If it hasn't been done yet get the box oil changed.
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Well, the front is a bit wandery - I drive quite aggressively so I'm thinking polybush, 16" and good tyres will suit me for road use more than lower-profile tyres - if I have to change the bushes anyway. You can get them for the rear subframe mounts, too.
Box oil looks good, but yes, changing it is on the list. (Nope, got my cars mixed up - must have been checking something else. This has no dipstick!)
I'm unsure about Terraclean; I've read a lot of conflicting info which is why I couldn't test it out on, say, the SLK or the A-class diesel (which can be very happy to cause problems if build up of mank is disturbed). It depends what it costs to investigate. I'll try it if it won't nuke my car, in essence, and then I'll report honestly on what, if any, difference it makes.
Bargains can be had always, but yeah, I thought £700 for a set seemed a bit insane. I'll see if I have staggered ones, but doubt it.
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Last Edit: Nov 9, 2014 23:25:53 GMT by Deleted
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Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
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my wandering was a fahoooked TCA balljoint, the classic E34 wibble was the steering box.
I don't think the 17" tyre is actually that low a profile as they're pretty wide! 105mm sidewall on mine!
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Last Edit: Oct 1, 2014 17:42:56 GMT by welshpug
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Ian - via that link, eBay also showed me a set of five with four winter tyres similarly local - very tempting, as this may prove to be my winter hack. They're not massively low profile, no. The steering feels mostly fine aside from a pull - it's the cacophony of creaks and clicks when turning at slow speeds. Not staggered - 235/45 17s at both ends of the car  |
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Last Edit: Oct 1, 2014 22:53:54 GMT by Deleted
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peddyp
Part of things
Posts: 710
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I'm breaking my E39 if you're interested in any bits n pieces, it's got the 6 disc changer etc and everything works electrically... Everything's going cheap as I've pretty much made my money back now. I'd love a touring by the way, it was the car I was hunting for but settled for the saloon instead as I'd ran out of time  |
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I'm breaking my E39 if you're interested in any bits n pieces, it's got the 6 disc changer etc and everything works electrically... Everything's going cheap as I've pretty much made my money back now. I'd love a touring by the way, it was the car I was hunting for but settled for the saloon instead as I'd ran out of time I missed this, damn! Everything gone now? My ratty beast has been treated to a wheel clean. Have done 4,000 since getting it (when I got it, it actually had 99,000 on it, it's now heading for 104,000 fast) and so far have only had time to give it a quick oil change.  Still not a fan of the wheels - but they do look better when not covered in brake dust.  Stonechipped, manky bonnet and worn out badge. I've found red and white BMW badges, but what I really want is an absolutely "as factory" red and white one with EMW on. Google BMW's history if you wanna know why   Next job - proper job - is to sort out the dashboard pixels. Got the bits, just need the motivation. And also need to do the gearbox ATF; hadn't realised it was such a PITA on these. |
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Dr.AK
Part of things
Posts: 411
Club RR Member Number: 62
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A fellow E39 Touring, nice!
Personally, I would keep those wheels on, they're one of the nicest factory choices available! Being a Touring thhey will be the same width all around, BMW only offered staggered setups on the sedan. 8x17 with an offset of 20. On the sedan you could order the rear wheels in 9x17 and they would come with 255/40s. They were available in 18" asw ell with the same widths and offsets, only the tire sizes would be a bit mire low profile (235/40 and 255/35).
These wheels are actually made by BBS. BMW calls them Style 5 (or in the original German term, Styling 5 Kreuzspeichenverbundrad, which just means mesh split wheel). The ones you have, the 8x17 ET20 ones are called BBS RC035 by BBS. The other sizes have a different number. On the E34 they came in the same sizes as on the E39, but have a different center bore and thus received a different number as well.
These are highly sought after in the BMW community, mainly because they are a nice choice for a classy yet aggressive set to put on the smaller 3 Series!
I can only tell you about the prices here in Germany, the 17s in good condition usually go for about 600-800 and the 18s usually for around 1000-1200!
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Last Edit: Nov 9, 2014 17:31:17 GMT by Dr.AK
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Lol at EMW idea, you could also go for Frazer-Nash I like the styling 5 alloys, gold/ bronze centre would look nice on bordeaux red. |
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I got my 300C for style - the 528 is purely a hack to work hard, so if I find a set of good, clean turbines, these will go - hell, if I find two sets, that's my winter and summer tyres sorted! Plus I actually like the turbines. Though I am liking that gold idea, it would match this colour well.
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