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Thread: desertpir8's 535iM project thread *photos*

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    '92 535iM

    desertpir8's 535iM project thread *photos*

    Ich habe viele Fotos für sie.

    I went and picked up a new toy a month ago.. Thanks to bf.c, I found this nice '92 BMW 535iM in California from fellow forum member InfernoM3. After 14 hours of driving, we got it back home and I could start working on it. It needs a few more things done than I was hoping for, but its over all a pretty nice car and I would have had a hard time finding one this nice here in Arizona.

    Here's some photos of picking it up:

    The car as picked up:




    The owner of the car wanted a few last photos with his current car (an e39 540i/6):




    Once I got it home, it went in the new space in the garage to get a full exterior detail:


    In this pic, I had just started on the back. The rear quarter panel had just been clay bar'd and polished:


    Still a long way to go, but you can see the AC Schnitzer bumper here. I'll need to pull it off and do a couple repairs and repaint on it. The driver's fender will also need to be repaired to fix the ding in the fender lip.


    Passenger side treated to clay bar and paint cleaner/polish:


    M5 wheels & better look at the polished fender:


    Starting to cut the oxidation on the roof. Left side has been started:

    And after 2-3 passes of cutting compound, left side is ready for cleaner, polish, and wax:

    The roof done:


    Trunk lid shaping up:


    And backend is done:


    Camera wont focus well, but you get the idea:


    And there we go:






    All finished:







  2. #2
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    Here are some photos of the engine bay. Don't mind the dirty. It needs a good underhood cleaning:





    And the interior:

  3. #3
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    After the first tuneup, a friend and I took it for a cruise. Here area a few photos at the gas station:




  4. #4
    Join Date
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    '92 535iM
    Currently collecting parts for a wicked stereo in it. Have to see how it goes together.

    List of things I've done on it already:
    - Tuneup - Cap, rotor, plugs, air filter, fuel filter, belts, and a few hoses
    - HVAC microfilter & air ducting repair
    - Valve adjustment
    - New door handle seals
    - Correct bulbs for exterior turn signals
    - Replacement interior bulbs
    - Replacement tool kit tools (has everything now)
    - EAT performance chip.

    Parts on the way or have been received but not yet installed:
    - Billy Boat tri-flow exhaust
    - Euro smoked/blackout crosshair/smiley headlights with city lights.
    - Replacement oil cap (was cracked - vacuum leak)
    - Various intake and vacuum hoses (cracked or broken - vacuum leaks)
    - A full door lock cylinder rebuild and locking system repair parts
    - All links, balljoints, bushings, and components for a complete suspension rebuild front and rear
    - Alpine digital media stereo w/ color TFT display
    - Boston Acoustics component speakers

    To be done in the near future:
    - 5% rear and 15% tint all around
    - Prepping and painting the trim to make a full shadowline trim set.
    - H&R Sport/lowering springs
    - Koni adjustables
    - Full re-skin kit for the interior (seats, pillars, door trim, etc.)
    - Front/rear slotted brake rotors and pad set (if the current rotors cannot be turned & reused)

  5. #5
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    Here's the headlamps that are going on the car as soon as I get the euro plugs:


    Euro blackout/tinted crosshair/smiley headlamps. These are going to look pretty wicked on the car.

  6. #6
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    Speaker installation in the rear deck:


    Boston Acoustics SX50



    The speakers that came out. Notice the oddball. They didnt even match. 3 out of 4 were at least original.


    Made in W. Germany:


    Old head unit out:


    Electrical stuff under the back seat:


    Battery is back there too:


    Power cables and 3 RCA cables pulled throgh the car to the trunk.


    Even used the factory wire grommets. The trunks on these cars are sealed from the cabin.



    The amplifier wiring:


    Trunk is pretty clean:


    Fixing the HVAC controls. THe light bulb was burned out, so it got replaced.


    My friend Jesse helping me with a few details. He helped me wire the front mid ranges directly to the head unit, so I can tune the system around them.


    The 2" midranges in the dash:


    New stereo installed!

  7. #7
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    Had a bit of a scare last night. I had disconnected the battery to charge it after finding that it was close to dead after working on the car most of the weekend. I had been in and out of the car all day working on it..

    When I reconnected the battery once it was charged, I started smelling smoke. Apparently one of the power seat switches was flaky and got stuck one way and then went full melt-down on me as it heated up. Luckily, I was in the car when it happened and averted major disaster by disconnecting the battery quickly.

    Pulled apart the seat and the final damage looks like it was limited to the seat switch, which I then found a good used replacement for $10 on ebay. The electrical plug for the switch was damaged a little, but the contacts are all good and the wiring inside it was not hurt.

    The magic smoke they put in these parts smells pretty bad.

    Too much excitement for me.

    First off, here's the carnage from last night. If only a photo could convey the smell of it. The seat switch got tossed right after this photo was taken:


    The seat side where this occurred. This should hopefully clean up.


    Got the stereo setup dialed in.. The stereo sound great playing just about anything. Cant wait for the subwoofer enclosure to get here.



    Started working on redoing the fake shadowline trim. Peeled off all the vinyl sign tape that had been applied on the non-shadowline trim and started cleaning the trim up for some paint. This is what happens to vinyl shadowline in a few years.. it was an absolute b*tch to get off. I would not recommend using this stuff.

    Here's whats being cleaned off. residue from the tape:


    In the process of cleaning:



    Here is the same side cleaned and ready for sanding. You can also see the upper trim on this side is actual shadowline trim.


    And the other side done. Now just need to sand the trim with 600 grit, prime and paint.


    Here is the trim from the driver's side. Too much chrome. Its at least cleaned up in this photo. Took about an hour of scrubbing and cleaning.


  8. #8
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    Is this the one that was featured on Nice Price or Crack Pipe on Jalopnik?
    I own mostly junk. Except the Porsche, that's kind of cool.
    All the motorcycles are trash which you can read about at
    http://oneguytwowheels.blogspot.com/

    I'll update it eventually

    Thansk

  9. #9
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    Yep this is the NPOCP car.. one and the same. She's now sitting in my garage. Overall, its a pretty nice car and was worth the price, IMO. I couldn't find one this nice here in AZ. They are all sunburned and interiors are trashed.

    This one needed a bit more work than I wanted, but it has given me the opportunity to freshen up everything and do it right with a nice base for the build.

  10. #10
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    Wow. Great looking car and lots of good work going into it.

    That switch melt-down is scary stuff

    N2Deep "Back to the hotel"

    Keep up the good work.

  11. #11
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    I voted Nice Price FWIW.
    I own mostly junk. Except the Porsche, that's kind of cool.
    All the motorcycles are trash which you can read about at
    http://oneguytwowheels.blogspot.com/

    I'll update it eventually

    Thansk

  12. #12
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    Ok. Im gonna say it.

    535iM ...?
    Error 404

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    M= manual.
    I own mostly junk. Except the Porsche, that's kind of cool.
    All the motorcycles are trash which you can read about at
    http://oneguytwowheels.blogspot.com/

    I'll update it eventually

    Thansk

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    '92 535iM
    I had been looking for either a 535i/5 or a 540i/6 when that Jalopnik feature came up. It turned out to be perfect timing as I had cash in hand. The car is in good hands now. Its going to be getting about $4-5k in upgrades over the next few months.

    Should have a Billy Boat Tri-Flow on my doorstep next week to install.

    After that, its getting a full re-skin on the leather seats with a little custom work included.

    Regarding the switch meltdown, it looks like the switch was worn or not moving freely and got stuck in one position when the battery was disconnected. When power was reapplied, the switch overheated. Just hoping there is no damage to the motors, but if there is, it'll all get fixed up good as new. Scared the hell out of me to see smoke billowing out from under the seat on my new ride.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by LouieD View Post
    Wow. Great looking car and lots of good work going into it.

    That switch melt-down is scary stuff

    N2Deep "Back to the hotel"

    Keep up the good work.
    Thanks man!

    Yeah, I roll old school.
    Last edited by desertpir8; 03-29-2011 at 01:08 PM.

  16. #16
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    damn nice work I cant wait to redo my stereo too.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by bblazen View Post
    damn nice work I cant wait to redo my stereo too.
    Thanks man!

    The stereo is a HUGE improvement. It absolutely rocks now. I didn't get a photo of the temporary amp install yet, but I'm powering the tweets and woofers with a Kicker 600.4 (600w 4 channel) into a set of passive crossovers and Boston Acoustics speakers. Had a lot of the parts laying around, so only had to buy the speakers and head unit.

    I also ordered one of the stealth sub boxes from M20E34, so it should really sound nice in a couple weeks once that goes in.
    Last edited by desertpir8; 03-29-2011 at 01:24 PM.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by GarrettSR5 View Post
    M= manual.
    Thx for the precision.

    It looks like a nice car OP. Good to see your taking care of it too

    And to shadowline it put some more tape. You will have tons of overspray otherwise.
    Error 404

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meeve View Post
    Thx for the precision.

    It looks like a nice car OP. Good to see your taking care of it too

    And to shadowline it put some more tape. You will have tons of overspray otherwise.
    Oh i know. This tape is just for the sanding prep work. it'll get fully masked off when I paint. The mirrors will also be removed so I can do it right.

  20. #20
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    nice man car looks amazing, i voted nice price as well

    how does the pandora work on the headunit?

  21. #21
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    I believe it interfaces with Pandora running on your mobile phone via bluetooth or the iphone connection. Requires an iPhone, which I don't have. I bought the headunit for the USB functionality & nice TFT screen.

    Here's an online demonstration of how it works:
    http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/ida-x305s/

  22. #22
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    That car had ACS mirrors at one point, what happened to them?

    Go ahead and bite. Plenty for everyone.

  23. #23
    Join Date
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    that's one hell of a start!

    welcome!
    e30 84 340i m6x powered.
    e34 89 535i 5speed - current DD
    e24 89 635csi - maybe a DD?

    e34 93 525i (m50tu) - gone
    e39 540i 6spd m-sport - gone
    e53 x5 4.4l - gone
    e30 89 325i (m20) - gone

  24. #24
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    Welcome aboard. She looked good already, I can only imagine how amazing it's going to look finished.

    And holy shit on that switch.

  25. #25
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    Very nice! Have you been in an E34 before? It looks like you've definitely taken some nice steps early on. Keep up the good work.

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