Well, went to St. Louis this weekend and added another E34 Touring to the stable.

This '94 530iT has about 218k, runs ok (but not great), has some suspension and electrical issues, but has a fantastic body. (was in CA from new until last year).

So, what is a ne're-do-well like me doing with a V8 Touring, you ask?

That's a good question.

For now, I'll just be driving it because my wife's car died and I don't have time to go through the engine right now. Once I get dug out from other house projects and get my 535iT finished (and sold), hopefully I can begin on the long-term project plan for this car. It involves a V8, but not a BMW V8. :D

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8043/picture002mediumte7.jpg
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/8163/picture001mediumyw0.jpg

I pulled it home with the truck because I didn't want to risk it over 450 miles, but with a basic tune-up and some valve cover gaskets, it should run ok enough to be my work commuter through the winter.

:buttrock

Awesome color combo. Did it come with the Mille Miglias as well? Nice.

Do I smell LSx? :)

It did come with them, they are CURBED to heck and come with SWEET Wal-Mart tires on them.

Sweet man! Im excited. I have that very same project in mind for my car.

B, as you can see I upgraded the truck a little. :) The 3/4 ton 7.5l pulls that trailer much better. :)

I suspect by the time I can actually get to work on the project, there'll be several E34s running around with LS-type engines in them, so hopefully you guys can pave the way for me. :)

Definitely staying tuned for this one. Out of curiosity, what're you looking to get for the 535iTM?

B, as you can see I upgraded the truck a little. :) The 3/4 ton 7.5l pulls that trailer much better. :)

I suspect by the time I can actually get to work on the project, there'll be several E34s running around with LS-type engines in them, so hopefully you guys can pave the way for me. :)

I was wondering whose truck it was.. Looks sweet. A friend of mine has one of those with Headers on it.. Sounds amazing, but isn't very fast. :rofl

I still have to buy something fun to drive, and a DD until I really start on mine. I also have to have a garage to do it in as I don't anymore. Its on the list of things to do, but I honestly don't know when it will get done.

Yeah, I bought a 107-year-old house and have too many projects around here right now, so it'll be a year or two at least before I can really expect to dive into it.

Moroza, I don't really know, I have a little cosmetic work to do on it and hopefully next summer I'll put it up for sale. It's a very nice, very unusual car that's been completely gone through mechanically, so I think it'd be a bargain at any price, of course. :)

If the "cosmetic work" includes a black interior and exterior, I may encourage you to hurry up and put it up for sale sooner.

Haha. Oh f--- yes Mr. Project, excellent catch. That silver looks amazing on tourings, and the Miglias look really great on there, curb rash or not.

So uh....about that 535iT/5....can I call dibs after moroza? I at least want to touch it sometime in my life.

3rd in line on the 535iT. :)

I'm not calling dibs (at least not in that colour scheme). And in any case, you'd deserve it more - I've already experienced the beauty that is a manual M30 car.

Touché. ;)

And 5 speeds are awesome... + touring + M30

many congrats Armen

The cosmetic work I'll be doing on the 535iT won't be a color change...just needs paint on the roof, fender, and hood. I'm not crazy about the Iceland/Parchment scheme either, but color changes are too much work and often don't really come out that well.

Very cool deal. How does the transmission shift in it? When you do swap in an LSx (ugh...) LMK how much for the automatic. I want try and rebuild an auto sometime soon without having my car in pieces.

Keep it up :)

what do you mean swap in an LSx? Sorry I live in a state of noobness as my wife calls it lol:help

what do you mean swap in an LSx? Sorry I live in a state of noobness as my wife calls it lol:help

LS1 / Ls6

Chevy motors - very lightweight, great power, easy to mod

Hes talking about an LS motor. As in a Chevy (well GM I guess) V8. You might know of the LS1, and 2, and the LS7 in the new Corvettes, etc.

LSx just means an LS motor, just doesn't know which one yet, hence the mysterious x...

Gaaah can't wait to hear more about it, Mr Project.

The tranny seems to shift very well. It looks like (from the carfax) the trans might have been replaced/rebuilt at about 140k. It has 218k on it now.

Hopefully next year around this time I'll be parting the drivetrain out from this car. I'm really liking "Username In Use"'s idea of using the L33 version of the LS-series of GM motors....much more economical and maybe even advantageous for certain....types...of....unconventional....builds. :)

Isn't there an actual engine called LSX?

Isn't there an actual engine called LSX?

No, the X is a variable for whatever model it is...

can you please post a pic of the car on the ground...i have the same color touring and want to see how nice these wheels look...thank you

I want to take some pictures with my 2 Tourings, but they're never both at home when the sun is up....I'll try this weekend if I don't have the new one under the knife.

The ony thing better than two e34 tourings... would have to be owning both an e34 and an e30 touring...

The ony thing better than two e34 tourings... would have to be owning both an e34 and an e30 touring...

1 January 2013

Like Chuck Norris, I wait.

1 January 2013

Like Chuck Norris, I wait.

:alright

Wow, you do love these things. If it were me I would have hunted for a sunroof delete car. Armen, you really called it when you warned me over email 9 months ago before my 535iT project that these things are not structural rigidity champs. It took me forever just to find one with a black interior color combo I liked, let alone looking for sunroof delete. But I hear they are out there, but rare of course.

If it were me, I'd still stick with a 4.0 liter BMW V8 and do something like a supercharger. But that's me. I don't want to start a debate about Chevy motors, but I don't think they belong in BMW's. But I still admire the work involved to get a project car sorted with any engine transplant in there.

Sorry to steal some thunder from you Armen, but I might put my E34 535i Touring 5spd up for sale at some point soon as well. I like a lot of things about the car and it's fun, but I yearn for a more modern car. If BMW brings over the 335i Touring with a 6spd, I will definitely sell the car. So if anyone is in need of a 535iT, keep my car in mind as well. Also it doesn't hurt that it has an Alpina cam in a nearly new engine (same pistons and main bearings, everything else was freshened or changed), H&R's with self-leveling, big brake upgrade front and rear, Schnitzer chip, Hella smoked euro lights with HIDs, etc. :buttrock

Dressed for winter now with Hakka RSi snow tires on E38 16x8 wheels below:

http://e12m535i.com/E34_Touring/images/snow_tires/_DSC02814.JPG

Nice pickup. That thing has been for sale for a while. I remember seeing it on craigslist over the summer. :thumbup:

Wow, you do love these things. If it were me I would have hunted for a sunroof delete car. Armen, you really called it when you warned me over email 9 months ago before my 535iT project that these things are not structural rigidity champs. It took me forever just to find one with a black interior color combo I liked, let alone looking for sunroof delete. But I hear they are out there, but rare of course.

If it were me, I'd still stick with a 4.0 liter BMW V8 and do something like a supercharger. But that's me. I don't want to start a debate about Chevy motors, but I don't think they belong in BMW's. But I still admire the work involved to get a project car sorted with any engine transplant in there.


You know, I've contemplated the 'easy' route of an M60B40 and supercharging it. I just think I can build a NA GM engine with the same, or more, power for the same, or less, money. And I prefer the NA power delivery, plus the option for even more power down the road if I get tired of it. And I'll admit I just like the challenge of the harder project, the road less traveled. An M60B40-S car would be a lot easier to sell down the road, though.

I might very well go the hard way on the sunroof too. I never expected to find a sunroof delete car (and didn't), but I do have a welder and decent sheetmetal fab skills. The real 'problem' is that the sunroof(s) on this car works GREAT. It'd be a shame to get rid of it when it works so well.

Ha no, I think you should definitely keep the ol' double panel. If it craps out, well it has had a good life, and then you could delete it, but it's just so classy.

I like the idea of keeping it NA too, consistent and easier to setup. Hehe, you should hunt down a 572ci and cram that in there. Then go crazy with a pro-charger and air-liquid IC. BTW, weight wise, do you think the balance will be messed up too much with a V8? I mean the modern ones are lighter than the iron-block sixes right?

Oh, Armen and Adam (if I can use first names, that is) - I'll definitely be looking into 535iTs, so give me a holler anytime. Got anymore pics of the ride Adam? I've already witnessed the greatness of Armen's creation, not to say that there isn't more to discover, of course.

I like the idea of keeping it NA too, consistent and easier to setup. Hehe, you should hunt down a 572ci and cram that in there. Then go crazy with a pro-charger and air-liquid IC. BTW, weight wise, do you think the balance will be messed up too much with a V8? I mean the modern ones are lighter than the iron-block sixes right?


The LS-series V8s are just a tiny bit lighter than an M60, I believe, and a fair bit lighter than an M30. Mostly, they are shorter than an M30, so the weight distribution should be better than the big-six.

I don't really intend to make a zillion horsepower or have huge displacement. I want to make a little over 400 HP, I want it to pull hard in the upper ranges (over 6k rpm) and I want it to be very streetable with decent gas mileage. It's a daily driver, after all. I just want to build something that will haul a water heater, and still be able to keep up with an E39 M5 on a track.

I think if I can do it correctly, the balance should be better than any of the BMW motors (CoG will be way lower than an M60).

I am trying to find out more of the history on my Touring. I called Hilton Head BMW and from what the GM can sumise my car must have been ordered without options as they would never have ordered a Touring that way for their inventory.

My car is a 1995 Touring with no sunroof, no ASC-T, no SLS, no leather, no alarm, no wood, no heated seats,no OBC- just a clock, no nothing... well the only option I can see I have is electric seats up front. My thoughts are to let the auto live thru its life (the car has 130k) and then swap it out for a ZF 5speed conversion (thanks for the good advice skatepark) down the road the car could see a turbo or supercharger.

Then start collecting parts now

the one in my car failed at 140k, and again at 187k


remember m50 525s with zfs were only produced prior to 7/92.
Anything after that will have the other tranny... (getrag 250??)
important because as a result the zf xmembers are pretty rare.

Is there a model number I should be searching out? ZFXXXXX?

Thanks

I am trying to find out more of the history on my Touring. I called Hilton Head BMW and from what the GM can sumise my car must have been ordered without options as they would never have ordered a Touring that way for their inventory.

My car is a 1995 Touring with no sunroof, no ASC-T, no SLS, no leather, no alarm, no wood, no heated seats, no nothing... well the only option I can see I have is electric seats up front. My thoughts are to let the auto live thru its life (the car has 130k) and then swap it out for a ZF 5speed conversion (thanks for the good advice skatepark) down the road the car could see a turbo or supercharger.

Wow, that's a real stripper. Zero options. Bottlecaps or basketweaves?

Born to be a track car. :)

EDIT: Mine was bought new from Hilton Head BMW as well! Sucks though, no heated seats. I do have Premium package though. :)

Bottle Caps on the car.

The Indy BMW shop near Boston I brought the car said they had never seen a touring without a sunroof. When I was searching for a touring I did find a two without roofs. One in IL and one in NYC both were well worn 1992 MY cars and they both had leather/wood/and a few other options.

Bottle Caps on the car.

The Indy BMW shop near Boston I brought the car said they had never seen a touring without a sunroof. When I was searching for a touring I did find a two without roofs. One in IL and one in NYC both were well worn 1992 MY cars and they both had leather/wood/and a few other options.

So that makes it a rare Value Edition car. Meaning you also have the 6-button OBC instead of the 18 button (I think that's what the other one is).

Interesting, I had only thought that was on sedans only. Cool! You have a VERY rare car. Definitely a track car.

Is there a model number I should be searching out? ZFXXXXX?

Thanks
310


but my suggestion is find a parts car and take it all, whether zf310 or the (getrag???) 250.

Important thing is to have the driveshaft, tranny, and x-member all match.

In case someone is looking. This one is a 1994 (No affliation)

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=24&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7CE-ALL%7CM-_5_%7CH-%7CD-_34_%7CN-N%7CR-10000%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CS-_7_%7CY-_1995-1994-1993-1992_%7CX-popular%7CZ-02338&aff=national&paId=248720796&recnum=0&leadExists=true

I just want to build something that will haul a water heater, and still be able to keep up with an E39 M5 on a track

:lol

Haha, the 5.7 is a great engine. Torque is much greater than the M60 which is tuned more for high-rev fun. I love burbling around in my LT1 powered Z28. Too bad the rest of the car is such a POS. :lol3

It will be interesting to get the gearing correct. Chevy gears these engines extremely tall. To the point where you can't even get into 6th until 75MPH or so. This is great for a 6-4 shift blast on the highway. On the track you'd want something shorter though.

I sense another great project thread from Mr. Project :)

Oh, Armen and Adam (if I can use first names, that is) - I'll definitely be looking into 535iTs, so give me a holler anytime. Got anymore pics of the ride Adam?

Go to my website, www.e12m535i.com and read about the conversion and mods I did to the car on the Touring page. There is also info about my 1980 M535i.