Not many updates on the M5. I was traveling with the car over the weekend so I took it to a shop for an alignment and brake fluid flush.
They found what appears to be minimal play in the front left wheel, at first they thought it was the tie rod but that's been already replaced and after a second look it seems it's coming from the drag link. Apart from struts which I ordered that's the only thing that hasn't been replaced on the front suspension so I got new parts coming to sort that along with new struts/shocks. I didn't think of replacing the drag link initially but I should have.
Anyway, time for another unexpected mini car buying road trip!
I was doing my usual thing and browsing car classifieds all over Europe for interesting bimmers when I stumbled across one intriguing 1991 E31 850i slicktop with a 6 speed manual in France.
The car was located nearby city of Nancy just across the border with France and 3 hours away from Frankfurt. Perfect excuse for a field trip and first longer drive in the M5.
The 8er was a bit of surprise in a good way. Black on black, build date is late 1990 with the first registration in 1991, 3 owners in total. 2nd owner from 1994 to 2006 and the current owner from 2006 until last Saturday. The last owner drove the car for an amazing 1.200 miles! The odometer shows original 82k miles.
I didn't fix the camera on my phone until the next day so the pictures are still crap, sorry for that, guys.
The car was sitting for roughly 5 years. It used to be parked in the garage but the guy is in the business with coffee machines and he pushed it out of the garage in the backyard and now there's like shit ton of coffee machines in the way between this cars freedom.
The mighty 12 banger does fire up and the car moves back and forth under its own power. The engine is idling rough but no scary noises present, it slots into all of the gears and brakes, even though rusty seem to stop the car. The car will obviously need a serious amount of mechanical work but everything is there and doesn't look like it has rust. It has been badly repainted at some point and will need a new lick of paint. The good thing about it is that paint thickness gauge didn't show any use of bondo expect a very small layer on the front right fender so I would say it's accident-free.
What I liked about the car is extremely clean and preserved interior and of course sunroof delete! All of the electronics work - seats, windows, the electric steering column... But the best thing about the car are the service records. There's a full binder of invoices dating back all the way to the early '90s and even has the original purchase invoice from the 2nd owner - he paid 297.000 French Francs back in 1994.
Overall, I think that this E31 is worth saving and I got a pretty good deal on it so it was a no-brainer - took me like 3 seconds to say that I want it. The owner was absolutely awesome and English with the French accent is best English! It instantly reminded me of a scene from Top Gear with Peugeots.
I don't think I'll be undertaking its restoration due to having a full-time job and I got my hands full with the M5. My free time is limited as it is, but we'll see how it goes. I'll be going with a tow truck later in the week to pick it up and bring it to Germany. More updates to come.
Now, few potato pictures of dazzling Nancy.
The big square Place Stanislas in the city center is simply an outstanding landmark.
Can't go to France and not try their delicious pastries.
Had to come back for more.
Awesome city with good people and good food. Would definitely come back.
On the way back I did get to know the M5 a bit better. The ride still doesn't feel alright to me, it's very vague at the front and doesn't give me the confidence to really push it so it was definitely a good call to get the new struts and drag link. I think it'll need a new thermostat as well, it wasn't particularly cold and the temp scale was all over the place. OEM headlights are like candles and it's simply scary driving at night with them.
Retrofitting headlights with new projectors was in the plan and I acquired all of the necessary parts even before buying this M5.
I had some free time on Sunday and finished overhauling the left headlight, but first I replaced the camera on my phone as it was insufferable.
Removed the patient's eye.
Stripping down the headlight.
Lens cover and inner plastic shroud with angel eyes removed.
Projector assembly removed.
Remnants of plastic adjusters.
Old projector vs new Hella G4 Bi-xenon projector.
New projector mounted and putting back everything togehter.
The old lens cover certainly wasn't too bad but it was a bit fuzzy and I'm a sucker for the look of brand new headlights so I got new lens covers too.
Fresh butyl all around for a good seal against moisture and dust.
End product and I finished it off with some fresh bulbs - Osram CBI D2S xenon bulbs, Osram H7 Night Breakers for the high beam and white LEDs for angel eyes.
The difference in output light against old projectors is astonishing.
That's all for now.
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Originally Posted by san
