Lovely Z8!! That's one heck of a car. If I had a collection of great BMW's I would have one myself.
Picked up a 2007 M6 as a Christmas present to myself. Loving the car so far. That V10 is just a lovely engine. Gobs, and gobs of power. Not much torque, so you have to stay above 4500 to have any fun. Pictures are from the day I bought it. Been snowing a lot lately, so the car is a mess. I need to give it a nice buff and coat of 22PLE one of these days... Only mods, so far anyway, are Meisterschaft mufflers, an Escort Redline, and I threw away the charcoal filters. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Nice M6 V10!! I enjoy the silence of my stock muffler but would like a little more "growl", asking for suggestions regarding a muffler that will not break the bank or be too loud under idle or low rpm's and be a "direct replacement"? I want to hear the engine note under throttle but do not want to wake up the neighbors. I have a new K&N direct replacement intake filter so accordingly a less restrictive muffler is in order.
Do a bit of research on that SMG transmission and hardware, just so your prepared. Also be sure the vanos update has been done. Put aside some money for those repairs, they are costly, and will come up.
Nice!!! First 507 owner I've ever had the pleasure of posting in the same thread with. One of my all time favorites.
I spent a couple days listening to youtube videos, but most of what I found was a bit over the top. Anyway, I managed to find the Meisterschaft GTS mufflers used on ebay for $1800 shipped, so I figured I'd try the them. I love them so far, and I highly recommend them. Install took me twenty minutes, and the fitment, once installed, is what I would consider OEM quality. It's a refined sound and very suiting to a GT car--in other words, they fit the character of the car. The best way I can describe them, is to say they're like opening up the stock mufflers. Mellow sound driving around town, but on WOT above 4k rpm, they let the S85 sing nicely. They're nothing like the Eisenmann race mufflers or Tubis. I must warn you that on cold start the thing shakes the house down. It reverberates through the entire house, so I always start it with the garage door closed in order to avoid an altercation with the neighbors. What that said, it is a rather glorious noise, but I'm glad it doesn't sound like that all the time. Two minutes in, when the secondary air pump shuts off, it's just a touch louder than stock. I wouldn't waste your time trying to find a youtube video, as the only cars I found had headers and center sections (and that's far too loud for street use IMO). If you haven't removed your charcoal filters, go do it right now. Drive the car around for a good fifteen minutes, so the plastics warm up in the engine bay. Once you do that, take off the top covers to both air boxes (use a flat-bladed screwdriver to do so), pry out the black filters that say "do not remove!" and pitch them in the trash. You'll love it. The most noticeable difference is how improved the car is at slow-speed maneuvering. No more jerky starts, shifting from second to first is much better, overall it's just a great 'mod'. But, it's not really a mod, as it's only the US M5/6 that have the charcoal filters. AFAIK, removal will not affect emissions inspections.
I have also spent quite a few hours watching YouTube video's and honestly I am undecided if I will do anything to the car.
I'd always wanted a 635 Euro since I went along with my dad for a test drive back in the early 80s. But every example I'd seen since the mid 90s (when I could buy one myself) were pretty beat. I drove a few M635s as well and they always seemed to have more noise than go! I've also recently been looking for a car that had nothing to do with carbon. Something I could just enjoy without thinking of the business side of things. At least for a few moments. Then a few weeks ago one turned up in the San Francisco Craigslist. The owner was a real enthusiast. He summarized its strong points but posted a long list of problems so he wouldn't have people complaining about it when they saw it. Most seemed pretty minor. When we checked it out, it was a solid, honest car. It has the BAR sticker - all important here in Cali. Miles were high (227K) but both the engine and suspension had been gone through already. Tires were brand new on nice Alpina replicas. There was no rust and the interior was perfect. It even has a big brake kit on it. All it looked to need is some paint. After having it for a week I think my main positive impression is how tight it is - even with that much mileage. There are no creaks or rattles. And I love just looking at that front end. On the negative side, the gearshift is extremely loose and its not very fast! Here's what I've been thinking of doing: 1) Install a short shift kit. 2) Lowering springs. The car looks like its a 4x4. It needs to come down a little lower. But not too low! I like a ride that is not bone jarring. 3) Performance - seeing if disconnecting the jury-rigged EGR valve and cat can make it a little more peppy. Thinking of having a test pipe fitted. If anything, just to preserve the cat. 4) Paint - this I'm not sure on. The paint has gone on the roof and the rear deck. There are lots of chips on the front. But its not like it needs a bare metal re-spray. Repainting and new stripes would transform it. So I'm excited to have the car. I've always wanted one and I think I found one that is just right for me. Maybe I'll do a thread for the project. Although I have a lot more interesting things to do some threads on! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very nice, congrats. I spotted one a few weeks back that could possibly be acquired for a song but sadly I am not in the position to even take up their time. Certainly there must be an aftermarket solution to the shifting issue and we all know the performance aspect just depends on search and funding. Just guessing but I assume it is a toy so maybe you could look into a used engine and have it rebuilt to handle boost?
That E24 is just lovely! Love stories like that one. The FerrariChat BMW's have blown me away. When I started this thread some years ago I guess I expected tons of nice daily drivers, not significant classics. Happy how it turned out. Z8, E24, E28 M5, 507, M1... I mean, come on!!
Lovely 635 John, there fabulous cars. Mine is on 198k now and still drives as tight as my 2010 5 series.
I do not want to cloud our/my appreciation of the classic's others are sharing so if I may. My vehicle goals (pipe dreams) are many but I think I may have a chance at a pristine E34 M5 one day after said 525i's title is in my hand. Going to keep mileage as low as possible and the condition as pristine (original) as it is now and all maintenance/service records (I had a 3inch folder from my Miata I presented to the sales manager). Impressions/thoughts about this goal.
Beautiful E24!!! I hope to repaint mine this year, yours looks beautiful. I love the Alpina wheels. Please keep us posted!
Thanks Guys. Test pipe goes in tomorrow and the lowering springs showed up today. The budget is not going to be spent on the engine. Our shop cars are an E55 (with 450HP) and the 996 with 300+, so no real need for something super fast. Just a fun cruiser I think.
Anyone else here receive the Bavarian Autosport catalog? Whenever I see a FREE catalog I order one so I have received 2-3 over the past 6-7 months and want to purchase a few of their products mainly their headlight and license plate LED upgrades. I would not mind a set of these either to replace my stock 16's but may see if I can find a new set on eBay and save a few dollars when I get to that point. Good thing about these rims is that they will fit any 5 series from '82 until new. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Glad to hear it's going to be better than before. By the way didn't you also have an ///M1 as part of your collection? =) Back in the early 90's I had a chance to buy a pearl white AC Schnitzer ///M1 from the Auto Toy Store in Ft Laud. for $75k. The only reason I didn't buy it was because the paint didn't look quite right & the big wing that was originally on the car mysteriously went missing when I went back to look at it with my father. My father said that the car had some under carriage damage and we simply walked away. I wonder what ever became of that car?
Here's a couple of crappy eyephone pix I had to take for my insurance co on my birthday when I was doing my renewal. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
According to my insurance agent my old Bimmers are in good company. I told my agent she hasn't seen the other half of the garage. lol =) Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have an M1 as well, yes. I don't know anything of the car to which you're referring but mine is a blue car and the 11th one made and served as BMW Motorsports press and display car for three years before going into a private collection for 30 years. It's a neat car.
