I’ve bought an E28

"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish) 02/16/2020 at 19:56 • Filed to: E28

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I’ve been missing having an E28 around since I sold my 533i and my friend sold his 535i. They’ve almost totally dried up locally, I came dangerously close to buying one with some gnarly rust. The two we sold have come up for sale a couple times each, in worse condition each time. This is the best one that’s been for sale locally, for not too much money in years. There was a better one, for a reasonable price, but it sold within the day, before I could get to it.

I’m the third owner, the guy I bought it from had it for 24 years, and a friend of his bought it new. It’s had seat covers on the front since new, it’s been maintained religiously and the engine is a testament to that, it’s happy and powerful despite having 389,000kms on it. The 5 speed shifts nicely, there’s no smoke, the dash works perfectly, the OBC works, the sunroof works, the AC works....it’s a good one. The first things that need dealt with are a sloppy driveshaft, probably needs a guibo, and a dead front right turn signal, that isn’t the bulb. Oh and the rust beside the shock towers will be dealt with sooner rather than later. It may look horrifying to those of you in dry climates, but you’d be hard pressed to find an E28 up here without rust by the shock towers. Oh and there’s some rocker rust, despite this thing being under coated every year. But man this thing is fun. This might not have been the smartest choice, but I’ve really been itching for an old BMW again.

AestheticsInMotion > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 20:03

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Please tell me you'll be removing those seat covers

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 20:07

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gmctavish needs more space > AestheticsInMotion 02/16/2020 at 20:08

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Oh y eah, I don’t want seat covers in my car that are older than me

gmctavish needs more space > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/16/2020 at 20:10

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I know a couple welders, it’ll be dealt with. I’m just glad it’s barely into the tower itself. 

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 20:20

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I love that era BMW.  Congrats!

fintail > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 20:21

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Was this a west coast car from new?  Didn’t winter even in Kamloops or something?

Surprising upholstery.  I assumed these would have leather standard, maybe on USDM models?  

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 20:52

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Nice looking car over all. Love the cloth seats.

In Wisconsin we call rust like that “minor”

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 21:22

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I love a good shark nose. That strut tower looks iffy but overall it seems solid. Makes me want to get around to getting my E24 running and on the road.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 21:48

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I think it would be more correct to say that you are now owned by an E28....

HoustonRunner > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 22:05

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Looks good, love the bottle cap wheels. What year?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 22:31

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Eeesh, that strut tower rust. I have a pretty relaxed relationship with rust, but rust on something that important scares me. Keep in mind- the rust is probably not limited to what you can see. I’ve walked away from old VWs with rust in that spot. It’s a bitch to fix properly. I hope you got a screaming deal on this, because apart from that, it seems to have good bones.

Neelm3 > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 22:35

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That fuse cover though.. and the air filter box.. I miss my e28, but I don't know if I'd get rid of my e34 535 for one.

HoustonRunner > HoustonRunner 02/16/2020 at 22:48

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Also, looking at your pictures I noticed I don’t have the black cover above the area between the kidney grills and the radiator. Tried looking on RealOEM, but not sure I can find the part number.

Can you take a look and see if there is a part number?

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > gmctavish needs more space 02/16/2020 at 23:34

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OMG SO MUCH WANT. I did manage to get one of my boyhood dream cars with the 85 Jaguar I’ve had about two years now.  And I love it but probably not as much as Id love a manual e28. Doubt I’ll ever be able to afford a nice one.

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 02:40

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Oh yeah it’s an 86. I don’t love the bottlecaps, but they’re in shockingly good shape since they’ve been refinished. They’re only 14s, I want 15s. 

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 02:40

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I shall look into that tomorrow!

gmctavish needs more space > fintail 02/17/2020 at 02:43

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It was indeed. West Van, and then Tsawassen. Lots of travel into the interior and down the west coast apparently. Always a daily, so always winter driven, and never in a garage. he stopped power washing and undercoating the underside about 5 years ago, that’s when the rocker rust reared up. The rust by the shock towers is standard on E28 unless they live in the desert.

I thought leather was standard too, but I guess that was in the US. It has a limited slip, power windows, power sunroof, cruise, AC, but no leather.

gmctavish needs more space > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 02/17/2020 at 02:47

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Oh yeah it was good deal, too good to pass up. Otherwise I wouldn’t have accepted the rust issues. I know a couple guys who can weld it up for not too much. Also full inner and outer fender assemblies are still available I believe, worst case scenario. I know it’s an anecdote, but my friend daily drove an E28 with worse shock tower rust on all four towers, for a long time. They’re quite overbuilt. That said, I’ll be getting it fixed. 

gmctavish needs more space > MiniGTI - now with XJ6 02/17/2020 at 02:48

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I can’t afford a properly nice one either, but I could afford this one, and it’s good enough for me

fintail > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 02:50

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Nice. I guess it can happen to a non-garaged car here after 30+ years. This is maybe an 86-87? Doesn’t look terminal by far, I am sure you can save it. I really liked these when I was a kid back in the day, some BMWs didn’t start turning me off until the turn of the century or so. I had the Pirelli poster of an E28 M5 on my wall when I was around 12.

MB has often had different spec cars for Canada vs USA, I’d expect similar for BMW.

gmctavish needs more space > fintail 02/17/2020 at 02:53

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Oh yeah, especially these. Shock towers and rockers on E28s rust like battery trays on E30s and doglegs and fender lips on W123s. It just happens. yeah, 86. It’ll get saved, I luckily have enough welding and bodywork contacts it’l get dealt with eventually for a reasonable amount. In the meantime, I’ll get a new guibo and just enjoy it. 

duurtlang > fintail 02/17/2020 at 03:09

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What surprises me (European) is not the cloth, but the non-sports seats in a 535i. Had this been a 518i, sure, but i n one with the big six?

duurtlang > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 03:11

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Looks like a great car! Please tell me you will get rid of those hideous USDM bumpers though. The original German ones look so much better.

HoustonRunner > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 09:22

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I get that, the 14s do leave a lot of sidewall.

I've been putting off fixing the power steering leak since it is about a tablespoon every two weeks.  It is making a mess of all the components under it, so I know I need to get it done.  More pressing is the rear end whine that I'm pretty sure is the diff.  Doubt it will fail on me, but it is annoying.

HoustonRunner > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 09:25

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Cant find a picture right now, but my shock towers have only surface rust.  Always a Texas car, though the first half was in Amarillo (Texas panhandle up by Oklahoma).

Longtime Lurker > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 12:56

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Nice.

gmctavish needs more space > duurtlang 02/17/2020 at 13:16

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Most E28s in north america had comfort seats, it’s quite rare to find sport seats. They were only standard in M5s and 535is’s. Pl us the only engine options here were the eta, the big six, or the S38.

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 13:16

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Still, the fact it’s been able to rust at all in Texas makes me feel better

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 13:17

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This one has a small power steering leak as well, but my main concerns are driveline backlash, and the rust.

gmctavish needs more space > duurtlang 02/17/2020 at 13:18

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I’ll be getting euro bumpers as soon as I can justify the 2 grand or so it’ll cost. Unless I can magically find everything I need locally, and inexpensively. 

HoustonRunner > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 13:22

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Yeah, those are higher priorities.  The ATF leaking from the PS lines may actually help coat and abate some of the rust progress...

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 13:43

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I also won’t be driving it in the winter, which should help

Burundi > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 18:09

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I have a rusty one, an ‘87, in worse shape w/160k, and an automatic that slips & shudders that I intended to make a manual.  After putting in some money, a health downturn and a lifechange, I've decided to get rid of it, as well as an assorted hoopty fleet.  Due to the shortage of these cars as well as my starting a non profit, I wouldn't let it g for less than 1500 USD.

gmctavish needs more space > HoustonRunner 02/17/2020 at 19:09

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fintail > duurtlang 02/17/2020 at 19:34

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Must be an odd Canadian thing, maybe a perceived market aversion to leather, or maybe a credit or no charge option.  Just as at the same time, on US spec S-class, the Euro velour interior could be specified as a no-charge option, but almost nobody did it.

All E28 sold in the US anyway, and I assume Canada, were 6cyl models. I think all US spec models got leather too.

fintail > gmctavish needs more space 02/17/2020 at 19:35

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“Guibo” still makes me laugh a little.

HoustonRunner > gmctavish needs more space 02/18/2020 at 09:37

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Thanks. Of course looking for the part online it is no longer available, but it will make finding it in the parts wanted section of mye28 easier. Here is what mine looks like:

And here is the shock tower.