850-40 ers~

Hey I just bought a 91 850i ebay (137k miles). Been in love with this car since childhood. I finally got one and am excited to finally drive and own one of my own. I haven't gotten it shipped here yet. I just would like to know what precautions I should take before I go gung-ho on restoring this beast. What are the major repairs that await, or need to be addressed before they get there? What are the precautions I should take to keep this thing on golden rails? I appreciate any member that helps me with these questions. I do as much research as I can, but the net is NOT flooded with a lot of E31 info. I will post pictures when my car gets in town. thanks a million.

850EYE

Actually there IS a lot of info around about the E31. The search button is your friend here, Roadfly, e31faq.com,and clube31.net. From those sources alone you can find answers and DIYs on nearly every aspect of these cars. Welcome to 8er ownership, and register at 8coupe.com.

Go to wuffer.net. He has downloads that can be helpful, manuals. You probably should have done the majority of your research BEFORE you bought the car, may have saved you BIG in the long run. Welcome and congrats on your choice of addiction.

Have done research before I bought the car. Been to every site you stated. Just wanted actual drivers from this site to give tips. thanks for not being all that helpful.

Just email me and I will be more than happy to assist....


Have done research before I bought the car. Been to every site you stated. Just wanted actual drivers from this site to give tips. thanks for not being all that helpful.

I think 850EYE doesn't quite realize that those sites are maintained by "actual drivers"-
My response to the latest "comment" might something along the lines of "As you may imagine, every week there is somebody new who comes by and asks very similiar questions - frankly, there's not much that hasn't been said about these cars on this site as well as the others and if one had truly read through all the posts you might have just accepted the answers in the manner they were given. This is not a car that you want to go at on your own and the group is pretty tight-knit-not a good idea to alienate folks with your 2nd post here. Imagine if I went over to your house and start asking questions w/o really doing all my homework (I read every post on this and roadfly going back 2 years before purchasing my car and realized that they were "actual drivers" giving tips on a daily basis) - how patient would you be with me after I acted like you just did?"

Truth be told, if you want better answer then you just need to ask better questions. If you ask general questions (as you did) you're going to get very general answers (as you did). The specific answers to your generic questions ARE located on the sites mentioned -

That having been said - welcome aboard, batten down the hatches and enjoy your new car when it arrives!

850-40 ers~

Hey I just bought a 91 850i ebay (137k miles). Been in love with this car since childhood. I finally got one and am excited to finally drive and own one of my own. I haven't gotten it shipped here yet. I just would like to know what precautions I should take before I go gung-ho on restoring this beast. What are the major repairs that await, or need to be addressed before they get there? What are the precautions I should take to keep this thing on golden rails? I appreciate any member that helps me with these questions. I do as much research as I can, but the net is NOT flooded with a lot of E31 info. I will post pictures when my car gets in town. thanks a million.

850EYE

Well, where to start? You have asked some fairly vague questions. If you wanted a complete answer, I would be typing for the next several weeks. My car is currently being "restored" from an engine bay fire, so those tips probably won't apply to you. These cars definately need regular maintenence and until you get all the moving parts in a routine maintenence cycle and know when things have been replaced (that's where good records come in handy) you will be working on this car regularly.
Bottom line: maintenence, maintenence, maintenence and don't skimp on the quality of parts. If you can't hang financially, then this car is not for you.
Now, if you have specific questions, please ask them. A generalization like :"what should I do..." will get you a very general answer.
This forum, and the Roadfly forum have a wealth of info regarding the 8 series - search is your friend!!

Here is a list of websites that have E31 specific info:
www.wuffer.net (http://www.wuffer.net)
www.e31.de (http://www.e31.de)
www.e31faq.com (http://www.e31faq.com)
www.8coupe.com (http://www.8coupe.com)
http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/bmw/bmw-8-series-e31/
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/e31/
www.clube31.net (http://www.clube31.net)
lots of stuff here, go crazy!!

ALL Please don't turn this into the "other" boards. Ask any questions and I am more than happy to answer them no matter how many times I have in the past. it might just be easier to search and get a quicker response. BTW TX what the hellll happen to the 8? I just read that fire post :(

SSC is doing the "Fire Investigation" - prelim. report is the alternator lead shorted in the mounting tube along side the intake manifold. Copper wire arc-welded itself to the steel tube. Good preventative maintenence: Check the wire for chaffing. Car is already on the road to reassembly. Will have the hood and front end back by next weekend from the painter. Taking this opportunity to replace the driveshaft, engine, and clean everything up real pretty for the next 200,000 miles. Pictures look worse than the actual damage once everything was cleaned up. (More detailed assessment on RF)

is that the red one from FL? You got it really cheap, congrats.

is that the red one from FL? You got it really cheap, congrats.

???????????
What "red one" are you referring to?

???????????
What "red one" are you referring to?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-91-BMW-850-850i-coupe-Runs-Great-Looks-Great-Nice_W0QQitemZ120246662494QQcmdZViewItem

I am assuming the new owner will not mind..

850 Eye, Please contact me offline. I know two guy's in the twin cities area that you could hook up with. I'm also from up north. Enjoy your new car. Cheers. Carter

Whatever, Dude. Hope you didn't get a lemon. All I was saying to you was that you have to be careful, and should have checked out the car yourself physically before buying it so you could determine if you have a junker or not. Good luck, and 'sto the tude.

Tony

850-40 ers~

Hey I just bought a 91 850i ebay (137k miles). Been in love with this car since childhood. I finally got one and am excited to finally drive and own one of my own. I haven't gotten it shipped here yet. I just would like to know what precautions I should take before I go gung-ho on restoring this beast. What are the major repairs that await, or need to be addressed before they get there? What are the precautions I should take to keep this thing on golden rails? I appreciate any member that helps me with these questions. I do as much research as I can, but the net is NOT flooded with a lot of E31 info. I will post pictures when my car gets in town. thanks a million.

850EYE

To all who replied~

Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. Seems like people took it more serious than I have. Just thought the second post on the thread was kind of harsh for a new guy, and I responded how I felt.

I thank everyone for supplying the sites for me and advice. But your opinions based on me saying someone was not helpful is ultimatly useless to the question at hand. What tips can you give? Simple as that.

Moving on. I hope to build solid relationships with you all here, and am excited to get my new ride. To the future of 850 owners! A toast....

850EYE

I hope to build solid relationships with you all here, and am excited to get my new ride. To the future of 850 owners! A toast....
850EYE

Cheers to you sir, and keep that thick skin intact.

Welcome and enjoy!

When I bought my 92 850i I noticed some gunk in the coolant. Later to find out that there was a head bolt broken, and water got into the oil. Also while I had the valve covers off the banjo bolts on the oil rail were almost all loose, and oil could not go through them. I read that broken head bolts, and loose banjo bolts are real common. I don't know how you would check for it other than taking the valve covers off which was a pretty big job for me to do. A leak down test might let you know if you have broken head bolts, or a head gasket leak.

Moving on.

How would you describe your level of mechanical abilities... might be a good point to start from there.

Yo and welcome,
Rod

Welcome 850EYE, I don't understand why some people are so negative. I was in your same position when I bought my first 850. I wanted to know everything I could about the car through the internet and various dealerships. After talking to many all I heard were negative things, but I'm not one to listen, and I haven't been happier with not listening every since. We all have our own expriences and some only see the negative. I love both of my 850's.

Welcome! :D

Welcome bro.

Cheers,
Thomas

find a good mechanic who isnt gonna rip u a new one every time.