745i Photo Dump

"offroadkarter" (04RauderDTR) 01/13/2014 at 16:27 • Filed to: bmw, e23, 745i, project mafia sentinel

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That was a fun one day of driving...

So its been almost a solid 48 hours. As of right now I have the following on order for my 85 745i

6 36mm SMD LED's

2 new license plate light housings

4 poly alternator bushings

1 goodyear alternator belt

The alt bushings have been shot for a while and its finally chewing the belt up again and its chirping under load. I don't want to drive the car on this because I know it'll shuck a belt and I'll be screwed so I want to fix the alt (which is sitting crooked) once and for all.

Also, I managed to pick up a leak in the pass front tire, so I have to get that plugged up after I fix the alt.

I managed to replace the old blaupunkt headunit with an alpine 9856 thats been kicking around since 2006, so now I have ipod compatibility. A small victory so far.

I also fixed the fog light that was out, the connector simply fell off. Eventually I need to find 2 lenses, and I need to make all the bulbs on the car match. The drivers side fog, and the pass side high beam are brighter white than the rest.

But here are some updated shots, I'll have more when I get to work on it later.

City lights + fog lights

Low beams + fog lights

All together

Alpine headunit - the locking bezel is a bit bent up from being yanked out of my brothers truck so some of it is exposed, I'll probably color it black so you can't see it behind the trim.

Some shots after cleaning it yesterday

More to come when I get it road worthy again...

BrtStlnd > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:34

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Soooooo.... I gotta ask, you going to get rid of the faux ///M badge?

Dunnik > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:34

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Looks like you're off to a good start. Now that you've buffed it up a bit, that original paint still looks good after almost 3 decades. Amazing.

I hope you will, at some point, do something about those wheels, though. They're nice - most factory BMW wheels are - but they don't suit the car, imo: too modern (what are they off of, anyway?). Also seem to be too big for the car too, to the point where handling may be affected.

offroadkarter > Dunnik 01/13/2014 at 16:37

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The only paint on this car thats original is actually in the engine bay, this isn't even the factory color. The factory color is cosmos blue metallic, this is closer to dolphin grey. Going from the trunk to the hood, the paint doesn't match well either. I want to get the front 3/4 of the car repainted to match the rear.

I am going to change the wheels but I am going to go with style 37's, which were around in the very early 90's so its not THAT new compared to the car. The 18's make the car handle awesome, it has 235's up front and 265's in the rear.

Once_upon_a_pvt > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:39

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I <3 you for bringing this thing back to life. I know everyone hates hids, but amazon has sets of 2 for pretty cheap. They are easy to color match and properly adjusted (like mine, lol) they aren't a nuisance.

offroadkarter > BrtStlnd 01/13/2014 at 16:40

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I'm undecided. I have a euro grille w/o the badge if I so please, but this grille was apparently made like this (its molded into the slats) for the euro market back in the 80's, so its not like someone slapped a badge on it last year. I've only seen a couple other e23's with this ///M badge grille.

Not that I've confirmed this, but apparently these cars did have a "M sport" suspension option. 745i's came with the beefy swaybars, it would be neat if this car does have that suspension setup, I'd have as much reason to have anything ///M related on the car as a M sport 5 or 7 series of later years.

Dunnik > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:42

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The two-spoke five-stars?

Yea, those would look nice. Still think 18's are too big, aesthetically at least. And you probably would not notice a difference running on 17's. Handling may even be improved.

offroadkarter > Once_upon_a_pvt 01/13/2014 at 16:43

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Eventually I am going to do a projector retrofit like I did on my other two cars, but for now this actually has really good light output with the euro spec ECE housings. I plan on taking my spare set of euro spec housings and sanding out the glass in the middle, and putting a projector behind it. It will look like a e32 or e34 housing, and most people will think its OEM.

And I can't take credit for putting it back on the road, my friend who I bought it off of did. I'm just making it cooler.

offroadkarter > Dunnik 01/13/2014 at 16:45

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I'd have to get all new tires, this car has near brand new Pirelli Pzero's and they are not cheap.

But yes, those are the wheels. They came on cars as early as the E34 and E31

 > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:46

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Needs moar headlight wipers.

Fookin' Prawns > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:47

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Looks good! Gorgeous car.

Dunnik > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:48

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So nevermind then, for now at least. No point trashing such good tires if they're almost new.

You good luck - so far ( crosses fingers ) - is encouraging, because I'm thinking of starting the hunt for a solid E34.

offroadkarter > Fookin' Prawns 01/13/2014 at 16:50

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thanks!

offroadkarter >  01/13/2014 at 16:50

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finding the rest of the parts would be a nightmare, I'm taking the wiper rings off so it'll look like it never had them. I can't imagine how hard it is to find wiper blades either.

offroadkarter > Dunnik 01/13/2014 at 16:51

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I think the e34 is probably the most forgotten about 5 series, and I'm not sure why since they look so cool.

04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 16:58

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HHHHNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG.

wanttttttttttt.

Battery Tender Unnecessary > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 17:07

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Friend in high school got a 745i when he got his license, his dad was an anesthesiologist and passed it down to him. I want to say he eventually had to get rid of it because the adjustable shocks started to go and were crazy expensive to replace. His was a dark green over brown leather.

Keep the updates rolling, looking forward to hearing more about it.

offroadkarter > Battery Tender Unnecessary 01/13/2014 at 17:18

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Yeah I don't know if all of them had it but the 745i's had an option at least for adjustable rear suspension. This car was converted to 733i rear struts with bilstein HD's so I don't have to worry about that anymore

Battery Tender Unnecessary > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 17:24

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I think one adjustable was more than a whole set of conventional. One less thing to worry about then.

offroadkarter > Battery Tender Unnecessary 01/13/2014 at 17:27

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yeah they are cost more to fix that what most e23's cost nowadays

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 17:34

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So, I'm actually digging the modern wheels on this old girl.

The Millennial Falcon > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 20:08

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don't know if anyone beat me to it yet, but is the M badge stock? If not, please consider removing it.

Once_upon_a_pvt > offroadkarter 01/13/2014 at 23:34

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Projectors would be a cool way to go for sure.

And hell at least someone got it going lol.

offroadkarter > The Millennial Falcon 01/14/2014 at 00:54

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But.... but.... mein schwag!

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/soooooo-i-gott…

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

offroadkarter > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/14/2014 at 03:20

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I like having 18's on here (except when i hit potholes, OW), but I'm going to change them up for another set. Looks aside I really think I should get forged wheels since modern BMW wheels bend like cheese.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > offroadkarter 01/14/2014 at 10:53

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My modern BMW wheels are forged.

offroadkarter > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/14/2014 at 11:04

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the 118's on the car right now are cast

Sunray09 > offroadkarter 01/14/2014 at 15:21

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Wheels just look wrong. I had a 1976 530i and a 1978 633csi great cars..I bet the 745 is a great highway car. I drove my 530i across Canada twice..it was perfect.