Tell me about: BMW 525e (e28)

well the bottom end will make £250 if you sell it on to an e30 owner. basically it uses a long stroke crank and rods to acheive 2.7l out of a 2.5l block. uses an e21 style head with tiny ports and valves, for economy, as it was an economy model. uses super tall gearing and redlines at 4.5k rpm. also 520i sized inlet manifolding.
now for the fun part ;D use a 325i head, inlet manifold, iTB and wiring (inc. ecu and airflow), that will open it up dramatically. modified ITB, replica alpina chip, all that lot will give you a dyno proven 180+bhp and gob-loads of torque. its not the "best " way, but is the cheapest manual 'box from a 325i is a shrewd move too. final drive gearing is adaptable too, the 525e uses the e30 325i diff, but with different ratios, if they weren't being hunted in packs at the mo, I'd recomend an LSD. rear axle isn't as good as the 528i, suffers from too much camber change in aggressive cornering, but springs and maybe some camber adjusters would sort some of that out. m535i brakes go on too, for uprated stoppers.
watch out for the external brake linkage seizing up, its a PITA if it does. rear axle bushes are favourites (like bryn says), not exactly a diy job unless you drop the axle and burn the old ones out! we used to do this at work, but we have had a special tool for some years now, makes life much easier
and the "e" stands for ETA, not sure what that is tho. never really cared either. great and hugely underated cars, mainly because of the economy stigma I reckon.

I am slightly put off by the fact its an automatic, only seen it from a distance. Oh well it might still be worth a look!

I know what you mean about the auto part, I guess it depends on the intended use but I found it a pleasant change and like I say the performance was still good. Plus any E28 on a set of decent rims looks fast enough.

Just noticed you're fairly local to me, I was in Paignton all weekend as it happens... Anyway, I use Fritz's Bitz near Wellington and they've got loads of E28 bits and put the M5 motor in my E28, so are more than capable of good advice.

'Metty' who joined here the other day and posted pics of his Mitsi motored Corrola works there.

True on the right set of wheels and a good hard lowering will make it look like nice a fast n mean motor.

The car is in Paignton as a matter of fact wierd that... I guess?

Gonna have a proper poke around it this weekend see if its a good as it look from a far!!!!!

I looked at one a while ago. Should have bought it instead of the Chrysler...

The 525e is a different animal to the regular 520, 525 or 528. I looked into them via someone I came across who knew his e28s. It actually only makes about the same power as a 520 - something like 115 BHP IIRC. Designed as a cruiser not a bruiser. Big MPG meter on the dash should be the clue what this car is all about.

Could well be nice if thats what you want.