Some BMW E23 advice needed

[Mark]

Hey guys,

As some of you know I am now living in Australia. I'm already getting the itch to change my Falcon wagon, especially seeing as someone did a hit and run on it last week!

I've been doing a bit of shopping around from everything from W126 Mercs to MX-5's. Cars in Australia are painfully expensive compared to home - MX-5's start at $6k and any decent V8 Mercs are just crazy money. However, this has grabbed my attention:

www.ebay.com.au/itm/1985-BMW-735i-Exec-/200623927448

I've always wanted an E23 Beemer. They are so well balanced and only need wheel and stick treatment to look good.

It looks like it's been well cared for and looks like about as high a spec that you can get - power rear seats!!! The leather does look like it needs some love though. I think it's a 4 speed auto too which is good.

The catch is that the headgasket is blown. I've done a few engine rebuilds in my time and I'm not really afraid of them, my question is: What sort of money am I looking at to fix this myself?

From what I can see:
Cylinder head gasket - £40
Bolt set ?

Any recommendations on where to get parts?
Lastly, am I mental? Is them M30 headgasket hard to do?

Cheers

Mark

[Llewelyn_]

Mark - I had one of these and can't offer any advice other than it went like f**k for a barge. Great fun

Mine had power rear seats too, nice little feature!

You should buy it, I can't see it being too hard a job to do the hg on this.

[Mark]

Have some sexy black E23s as an advance thanks












Mark

[Mark]

Cheers funkula. I'm getting pretty over excited here and just need to take a reality check as all I have here is a cheap 3/8 ratchet set. I do have a double garage though

[rob0r]

Might the head need skimming is my first thought? What are BMW spares like down under? Just thinking worst case scenario and another head is needed...

I love E23s and I've really wanted one this year after having my E32s, and that one is black... Perfect!

[Mark]

Rob, I'm glad you replied!

BMW spares aren't great - i can get all of the recommisioning stuff from t'internet and engineering shops are plentiful as Aussie's don't throw stuff away when it gets old, they just fix it!

I guess if I need a need another head, I'll have to dig deeper within Australia to find one or ship from the UK. I've emailed him to arrange a viewing - he's about 3 hours from Melbourne but only 1 hour from me, so limited location appeal which is good

[Colonelk]

E23s are the sex. Buy it! I still want one :-(

[roundozo]

I’ve found with head gaskets always predict the worst in needing to financially price it up. You should probably get the head skimmed and while you’ve got it off check for other signs of damage. It depends on how badly the gasket has gone. Like you said it could be a simple gasket change but in my opinion if you’ve got the head off of it already you may as well check everything. You could have a cracked head you never know.

Lovely car though so I hope you arrange something.

[rob0r]

You've inspired me Mark, looks like I'm picking up an E23 728i tonight!

[Mark]

Ok, so I've been giving this some serious thought which I don't normally do and I still want an E23. With the car market over here, it presents an opportunity to have some European luxury along with a reasonable price tag. I missed the auction, but it didn't sell so I've contacted the seller to have a look at it!

Now, this has thrown a spanner in the works however:

melbourne.gumtree.com.au/c-Cars-Vehicles-Motorbikes-Parts-cars-BMW-735i-W0QQAdIdZ290974247

It's a lovely colour, unusual and it's just been resprayed, so if it's a good job then that's a plus. It's just had a whole heap of work done and looks superb. I'm not keen on the wheels but standard wheels were never going to stay...

I suppose the real question is, is it worth spending the extra over than the black one? I'm starting to persuade myself that it is, and it also means that I'd be able to focus on the all important stance... I'm also not massively kitted out over here tool-wise!

It's down in Melbourne and I'm conveniently heading there at the weekend

[stefan]

You should get one or the other they are great cars I love mine even if I have just crashed it