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Sooooooo yeah. Ever since I've gotten into BMWs, I've liked the 6 series. I managed to get one of the first ones ever built (12/76 prod date) for the american market, and love it. It's too old and original to mess with, no matter how many times I want to. As I said, it's an American market car, so it has these awful diving board bumpers. Awful. I've lusted after a euro car for quite a while after driving one in '10. The euro cars are typically lighter, have more handsome bumpers, and usually have a more potent drivetrain. So, before I came on my extended business trip to sunny Afgh, I made a personal goal of finding a Euro sixer... slicktop (no sunroof). I'm rather tall, and I like my cars to perform a bit, so I like the extra headroom and weight savings. I've managed to find 3 slicktop cars in recent years.. 69 1600; white, 77 630CSi; red, and an 85 528i; white, so now I'm spoiled and won't accept a sunroof unless I can absolutely help it. American market cars usually came optioned to the hilt, so 99 out of 100 cars have sunroofs. Fast forward to the beginning of April, I see an ad pop up on my fave BMW forum for an 83 635CSi slicktop. In white. Hmmmm. It's a running car that has some rust issues, needs a new floor and some love, but it's all there, white, euro, and slicktop. Meant to be. I talk with the guy and we agree to a deal. He sells me the rolling shell, sweetens the deal with inside storage until I get home and come get it, AND some extra body panels, etc. Cool.
But wait, there's more story...
Yup, you read it right, rolling shell only. I'll need an engine, tranny, and driveshaft to make my dream car go...
Let's go back to this time last year. I pretty much have the monopoly of old BMWs in Yuma, so when I see another, I typically notice and log it away. I'm driving back and forth to work and notice this big bronzit bomber of a 7 series on really blingy wheels on my commute. Eh. Not interested. Too big. Then one day, I notice a for sale sign on it. Eh. Still not interested. About a week later, I'm daydreaming at work and an idea strikes. On my way home, I cruise by the 7 reaaaaallllyyyy slow to check out the trunk badge. 750i. Hmmmmmmm. I make contact with the guy, we put a battery in the car, and we crank it up. 12 cylinders of fury. yum. He had already sold the cats, so it was gloriously loud. Apparently the transmission was toast. Common. I offered him $750 for the 750, and he wanted more. Losing interest....
6 Months go by, I'm passing the car every day, HOPING that one day it will be gone and I can move on (anyone else ever have this weird emotion?) I notice a NEW sign on it. I guess the spousal unit got tired of the big bomber sitting on blocks in the front yard... For sale, as is.. $100. Done. I call the guy up and tell him that I'll have $100, a set of wheels, and a tow truck here TOMORROW. (I <3 AAA) So I go over that morning and get the wheels on it. I brought a couple guys with me to help get it in my storage unit with some of its' new brothers... Get it loaded up on the truck, to the storage unit, then we push it in. Ugh. Such a heavy car. So a couple days later, I go mess with the car (I just wanted to oogle and stroke the engine...) I start cleaning it, and she's looking pretty okay. I get to the passenger side of the engine and notice the Auto dipstick. I pull it... DRY. Bone dry. Hmmmmm.. wait... No. No way... I go to O'reillys and pick up $25 worth of tranny fluid. Dump one in, start the car, run the shifter through the gears, and I get the slightest of bumps in reverse... 2nd quart goes in, and now I'm getting bumps in all gears, and I can drive it back and forth in the unit. (Outside the unit is gravel, and I'm by myself today, so it's a risky proposition... ) Get the third quart in, and she feels great! I chance it and take it around the yard (open exhaust and all). She's in limp mode, but drives fine, otherwise. Amazing. $100 for an ENTIRE WORKING CAR WITH V12!!
I come back a couple days later with more tranny fluid, and pour another in. THEN, I look under the car.. $25 puddle of red. Crap. Then I had to leave for my business trip.
So, I have:
Car: 1200
5.0 V12 etc: 100
Coilovers/BBK: 2000
Engine: It's pretty tight even in the HUGE 7 series bay, it won't get any better in an older smaller car. I'll have to do some refreshing and 'tuning up' so that I don't have weird leaks, or have to take the engine out (for spark plugs) until I have a new one built up sometime in the next century.
Tranny: There are a couple options for transmission, but I don't want to break the bank. There is the v12 6 speed tranny, which is specific, and only about 1300 cars came with it. Probably about $3-5k... broken budget. There's the G265 5 speed transmission that lots of hot rodders like to bolt up to.. well lots of things. There's a whole bunch of adapter plates/bellhousings you can buy.. I haven't found one for the BMW v12 yet, but still looking. MUCH cheaper than the 6 speed, and I've been lugging one around for about 8 years, so I got that covered. Then, of course I could just fix the leak in the auto box and fab that up to work in the 6er. Of course, like any red-blooded BSer with working appendages, I want to row my own, so I'll probably go with option B for now until I can find the proper 6 speed. (and break the budget) But it's always nice to have a project that the spousal unit doesn't have to push from time to time.... yeah.
Driveshaft: Depends on tranny
Electronics: Are going to be a minor bear. I can pull all of the electronics out of the 7 and put it in the 6er, but that includes BOTH ECUs, and a bunch of other crap I don't need. I may try to MegaSquirt it, that could open me up for mods later. (later engine 5.4l hybrid motor)
Exhaust: custom, my welding skills put to the test.
Tranny/Engine Mounts: Custom. Some people have done this before, so I'll plaigarize.
Suspension/Brakes: I also bought a set of eleventy billion way adjustable coilovers (so I can tune the ride height in JUST right...) and a pretty new Big Brake Kit (bolt on stuff from 750, it works awesome in my 5er.) Also, since the engine takes up so much room, I'll need to switch from Hydro boosted brakes (yuk) to vacuum boosted brakes. Basically a remote mounted vacuum booster from a newer 5 series BMW
Body: I'll have some rust cleanup to do, patch panels shouldn't be too expensive, and I'll do the welding, so I get to cheat there.
... and last but not least,
Wheels: I'll be looking for some 17" BBS RKs for this car. I've seen them on Mustangs before, so I know you know what they look like.
Soon as I figure out how to post pictures, I'll do so.
Well that wasn't too hard. There's the roller and an e24 with BBS RKs, and "coilover" ride height. Sexy, huh?
But wait, there's more story...
Yup, you read it right, rolling shell only. I'll need an engine, tranny, and driveshaft to make my dream car go...
Let's go back to this time last year. I pretty much have the monopoly of old BMWs in Yuma, so when I see another, I typically notice and log it away. I'm driving back and forth to work and notice this big bronzit bomber of a 7 series on really blingy wheels on my commute. Eh. Not interested. Too big. Then one day, I notice a for sale sign on it. Eh. Still not interested. About a week later, I'm daydreaming at work and an idea strikes. On my way home, I cruise by the 7 reaaaaallllyyyy slow to check out the trunk badge. 750i. Hmmmmmmm. I make contact with the guy, we put a battery in the car, and we crank it up. 12 cylinders of fury. yum. He had already sold the cats, so it was gloriously loud. Apparently the transmission was toast. Common. I offered him $750 for the 750, and he wanted more. Losing interest....
6 Months go by, I'm passing the car every day, HOPING that one day it will be gone and I can move on (anyone else ever have this weird emotion?) I notice a NEW sign on it. I guess the spousal unit got tired of the big bomber sitting on blocks in the front yard... For sale, as is.. $100. Done. I call the guy up and tell him that I'll have $100, a set of wheels, and a tow truck here TOMORROW. (I <3 AAA) So I go over that morning and get the wheels on it. I brought a couple guys with me to help get it in my storage unit with some of its' new brothers... Get it loaded up on the truck, to the storage unit, then we push it in. Ugh. Such a heavy car. So a couple days later, I go mess with the car (I just wanted to oogle and stroke the engine...) I start cleaning it, and she's looking pretty okay. I get to the passenger side of the engine and notice the Auto dipstick. I pull it... DRY. Bone dry. Hmmmmm.. wait... No. No way... I go to O'reillys and pick up $25 worth of tranny fluid. Dump one in, start the car, run the shifter through the gears, and I get the slightest of bumps in reverse... 2nd quart goes in, and now I'm getting bumps in all gears, and I can drive it back and forth in the unit. (Outside the unit is gravel, and I'm by myself today, so it's a risky proposition... ) Get the third quart in, and she feels great! I chance it and take it around the yard (open exhaust and all). She's in limp mode, but drives fine, otherwise. Amazing. $100 for an ENTIRE WORKING CAR WITH V12!!
I come back a couple days later with more tranny fluid, and pour another in. THEN, I look under the car.. $25 puddle of red. Crap. Then I had to leave for my business trip.
So, I have:
Car: 1200
5.0 V12 etc: 100
Coilovers/BBK: 2000
Engine: It's pretty tight even in the HUGE 7 series bay, it won't get any better in an older smaller car. I'll have to do some refreshing and 'tuning up' so that I don't have weird leaks, or have to take the engine out (for spark plugs) until I have a new one built up sometime in the next century.
Tranny: There are a couple options for transmission, but I don't want to break the bank. There is the v12 6 speed tranny, which is specific, and only about 1300 cars came with it. Probably about $3-5k... broken budget. There's the G265 5 speed transmission that lots of hot rodders like to bolt up to.. well lots of things. There's a whole bunch of adapter plates/bellhousings you can buy.. I haven't found one for the BMW v12 yet, but still looking. MUCH cheaper than the 6 speed, and I've been lugging one around for about 8 years, so I got that covered. Then, of course I could just fix the leak in the auto box and fab that up to work in the 6er. Of course, like any red-blooded BSer with working appendages, I want to row my own, so I'll probably go with option B for now until I can find the proper 6 speed. (and break the budget) But it's always nice to have a project that the spousal unit doesn't have to push from time to time.... yeah.
Driveshaft: Depends on tranny
Electronics: Are going to be a minor bear. I can pull all of the electronics out of the 7 and put it in the 6er, but that includes BOTH ECUs, and a bunch of other crap I don't need. I may try to MegaSquirt it, that could open me up for mods later. (later engine 5.4l hybrid motor)
Exhaust: custom, my welding skills put to the test.
Tranny/Engine Mounts: Custom. Some people have done this before, so I'll plaigarize.
Suspension/Brakes: I also bought a set of eleventy billion way adjustable coilovers (so I can tune the ride height in JUST right...) and a pretty new Big Brake Kit (bolt on stuff from 750, it works awesome in my 5er.) Also, since the engine takes up so much room, I'll need to switch from Hydro boosted brakes (yuk) to vacuum boosted brakes. Basically a remote mounted vacuum booster from a newer 5 series BMW
Body: I'll have some rust cleanup to do, patch panels shouldn't be too expensive, and I'll do the welding, so I get to cheat there.
... and last but not least,
Wheels: I'll be looking for some 17" BBS RKs for this car. I've seen them on Mustangs before, so I know you know what they look like.
Soon as I figure out how to post pictures, I'll do so.
Well that wasn't too hard. There's the roller and an e24 with BBS RKs, and "coilover" ride height. Sexy, huh?
Budget = blown This is ultimately what I want, the v12, 6 spd Sixer. Why settle? Why do fabrication twice?
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