'93 AlpinweissII M5

[TGreene]

A few weeks ago I got an email from a BMW enthusiast whom I had met while parting out my old 535i 5-Speed. He came by years ago and bought a hood, fenders and trunk lid for a car that he was going through. I remember talking to him about a black on black '91 M5 that he had bought that was neglected and needed body work. He was prepared to restore it when he found a '93 M5 with a decent body for a sale at a steal. The '93 was Alpine White with a Dove interior. It had sat for a long time and the interior was a mess. He swapped over the black interior from the '91 into the '93 and got to work on bringing the '93 back while keeping the '91 as a parts car.

I told him that I would be interested in buying any spare parts that he had left over from the project. That must have been three years ago. I got an email from him last month asking if I were still dealing with old BMW parts. The E34 M5 no longer fit his needs and he wanted to sell everything he had as a lot. I told him that I would be home for Christmas and that I would come out and talk to him about what he had. I showed up last night and both the car and the parts were in much better condition than he had lead me to believe. The car was in the middle of his well-built detached garage up on ramps with a spare, 80k mile S38 from the '91 in the corner on an engine stand. He knew full well what he had but was generous enough to give me the chance to come out and look at it first. The price was heavily in my favor and there was no way I could say no.

I will list the specifics later on but to summarize his work on the car he made it a mechanically sound daily driver/track toy. He did all of the engine and cooling system maintenance short of adjusting the ITBs. He replaced all fluids in the drivetrain and brakes, replaced the brakes and brake lines, and installed new Bilstein shocks/struts and HR springs all around. He had an exhaust fabricated from the headers back, pulled up the carpet and most of the sound insulation and painted the floors black. He dyed the headliner and associated vinyl parts black. He replaced the dented hood, fenders and trunk lid with the pieces from my parts car. He painted the M-Sytems and had 255/40s mounted. You can hear every little whine from the transmission, tick from the valvetrain and rock that bounces up the hit the undercarriage but no squeeks or knocks from the steering or suspension components. The exhaust is a bit too loud for my taste but it is a blast to drive.

[Steve547i]

Wow. Great looking car. You've come a long way since the PA meet. Keep up the good work.

[E34nication]

Damn that's sweet Trev. Nice grab.

[Htay9500]

Clean ride.

[ShapeShifter]

Congrats Trevor!

[Sam Son]

congrats Trev

[SwissCheeseHead]

Very nice! I don't know how a car like that "doesn't fit your needs" lol

[Htay9500]

OP your posts indicate that you are in NoVA? I may have seen this at an event here in Rockville in that exact spec a few months back.

[Binjammin]

Very nice! I don't know how a car like that "doesn't fit your needs" lol

needs a minivan now i would wager. Nice score trev, price?

[mckchr67]

Nice pick up, I bet that thing is a riot to flat foot with comforts of a full interior. With the carpet pulled the main comfort missing is a dead pedal.

[Leonator134]

Awesome!!!

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Whatever happened to the blue one though?

[SwissCheeseHead]

needs a minivan now i would wager. Nice score trev, price?

Sell the kid. Keep the car. It'll be cheaper in the long run.

[SpecRaceM5]

Damn you Tev. Nice find! What are your plans for everything? You got the spare car and all parts as well correct?

[M540fella]

Nice score man!

[TGreene]

Very nice! I don't know how a car like that "doesn't fit your needs" lol

He has an E30 M3 that has appreciated too much to track. He was unhappy with his E46 M3. He loves the E34 but he is looking to get into more competitive racing series that require less weight and more power. He had plans to rebuild the spare S38 and keep putting effort into the car but reassessed and decided to get something that is more suitable out of the box.

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OP your posts indicate that you are in NoVA? I may have seen this at an event here in Rockville in that exact spec a few months back.

Yes, I bought it in Silver Spring but will
be taking it with me back to Texas on the 31st.

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Awesome!!!

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Whatever happened to the blue one though?

I still have it.

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Damn you Tev. Nice find! What are your plans for everything? You got the spare car and all parts as well correct?

He scrapped the spare chassis a whole ago, but has everything of value in his attic and garage. I am cleaning him out as part of the deal. A lot of it will be out up for sale. Space is going to be an issue for me. I will have to scrap a lot of stuff for lack of storage space. Storage units in my area are stupid expensive and I only have so much trunk space.

[AndrewH]

Congrats Trev, car looks great in the all white vs the two tone. If I were you I'd throw carpet back in and have a nice daily driver. Are you planning on selling the blue one?

[TGreene]

I really don't know what to do. I think it is clear to me that the Macao car is not worth all of the paint and bodywork needed to bring it back - not when Euro 3.8s in all kinds of good colors will start being attainable in the next few years. I do want to keep it on the road though so I don't mind maintaining it and working on it as long as everything I do can be moved over to another chassis down the line.

This one is also something I want to keep but it has cosmetic flaws as well. There is evidence of minor collisions both front and rear and the poor finishing work shows. It is too nice of a driver to part, though.

When he told me about it over the phone I got the impression that it would be a car that was ready to be a donor. I would scavenge parts, sell off things I don't need like bumpers and brakes, replace them all with stock parts and leave it as a driving car with a S38 ready to be transplanted whenever I wanted.

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Congrats Trev, car looks great in the all white vs the two tone.

First order of business is to paint the lowers =p

[Htay9500]

He has an E30 M3 that has appreciated too much to track. He was unhappy with his E46 M3. He loves the E34 but he is looking to get into more competitive racing series that require less weight and more power. He had plans to rebuild the spare S38 and keep putting effort into the car but reassessed and decided to get something that is more suitable out of the box.

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Yes, I bought it in Silver Spring but will
be taking it with me back to Texas on the 31st.

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He scrapped the spare chassis a whole ago, but has everything of value in his attic and garage. I am cleaning him out as part of the deal. A lot of it will be out up for sale. Space is going to be an issue for me. I will have to scrap a lot of stuff for lack of storage space. Storage units in my area are stupid expensive and I only have so much trunk space.

Yep, this was his car. The ACS exhaust gives it away. I couldn't remember his name. What is he about to sell aside the engine?

[kalevera]

Rare care, shame about the rear quarter

[TGreene]

Yep, this was his car. The ACS exhaust gives it away. I couldn't remember his name. What is he about to sell aside the engine?

He sold me his entire lot. Engine, diff, adjustable rear subframe, freshly painted black M-Systems, two sets of Throwing star covers, and lots of misc. pieces that we did not have time to go through. If you want to check the stuff out you can come by before I leave. I would love to sell some of it locally.

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Rare care, shame about the rear quarter

I agree, but at the same time I would not be able to afford it if it were a perfect car. I enjoy cars that are a 7/10s rather than 9.5/10s. More bang for the buck.

[Htay9500]

I may be interested in the m systems. I'll check out the rest too. Where are you located? I'm at Tysons Corner (near 7 and 267) this Saturday for work until 3.

[TGreene]

I may be interested in the m systems. I'll check out the rest too. Where are you located? I'm at Tysons Corner (near 7 and 267) this Saturday for work until 3.

That is 10 minutes from my parent's house. I will send you a PM and let you know.

[Binjammin]

So Trev, what did you pay for it?

[TGreene]

I paid $6,000 for the lot of it. No hesitation, not a single second thought.

[Binjammin]

Well, congratulations, I give up!