Hi folks,
Figured I may as well do a thread on this as I get so many messages about it!
Its a 1987 E28 Bimmer, started life as a 528i. Sometime in the distant past, a previous keeper saw fit to rip out the asthmatic 2.8 M30 lump and replace it with a firebreathing 3.5 M88/3 powerplant. This is a derivative of the engine that was in the late '70s M1 and in the early '80s Hans and Fritz decided it would be a laugh to drop it into their premium sports coupe (the E24 Six, known as the M635CSi) and even more amusingly the E28 Five, thus creating the original M5. The engine was continually refined and uprated in its 20 odd year life, finishing up in its ultimate incarnation in the late E34 M5 as a 3.8, making around 340bhp.
As BMW only built 187 RHD E28 M5's, the chances of my owning a genuine one were fairly slim. However, when I heard that Bryn was prepared to sell this particular converted car, I had to buy it.
The car was converted by Fritz's Bits down in Somerset around 5 years ago. Given that M88/3 engines are fairly rare and worth a fair bit, its easy to work out that the conversion must have been fairly pricey. Someone obviously went to town on it, because it also has a stainless exhaust system and custom manifold. The standard manifolds are around £800 from BMW, so God only knows what this guy spent on the system.
Whilst I've owned the car, there have been some issues I've needed to work through. Firstly, there was some extensive repairs to the sills needed for the MOT, which were not much fun! Also the car was wearing the wrong rear diff, a 3.15 item from a 524TD. This made the gearing very long, great for cruising but not much else. I had this changed for a shorter 3.73 LSD equipped item, which would have been original to a genuine M5.
Other things I've had to do have been minor electrical issues, most of which I've taken care of now and replacing the fuel tank due to the infamous E28 rust trap at the filler neck!
Suspension is Bilstein shocks and springs all round, which makes the ride firm, but not too crashy luckily. Braking is taken care of by a combination of E38 740i & E39 540i stuff.
The car has also been fitted with an LPG system, which makes long distance cruising a cheap affair!
Pics -
As a lot of you have no doubt noticed, I've recently put the car up for sale. My girlfriend is a bit annoyed at this, bearing in mind the time and money I've invested in the car over the last few months, but such is life and I fancy a compete change in car ownership. I've owned Pug 205s and E28s for around 7 or 8 years, so its time to move on. However, I won't be too gutted if it doesn't sell.
Hope I haven't gone on too much and that this is of some interest to you guys!
Marc
Figured I may as well do a thread on this as I get so many messages about it!
Its a 1987 E28 Bimmer, started life as a 528i. Sometime in the distant past, a previous keeper saw fit to rip out the asthmatic 2.8 M30 lump and replace it with a firebreathing 3.5 M88/3 powerplant. This is a derivative of the engine that was in the late '70s M1 and in the early '80s Hans and Fritz decided it would be a laugh to drop it into their premium sports coupe (the E24 Six, known as the M635CSi) and even more amusingly the E28 Five, thus creating the original M5. The engine was continually refined and uprated in its 20 odd year life, finishing up in its ultimate incarnation in the late E34 M5 as a 3.8, making around 340bhp.
As BMW only built 187 RHD E28 M5's, the chances of my owning a genuine one were fairly slim. However, when I heard that Bryn was prepared to sell this particular converted car, I had to buy it.
The car was converted by Fritz's Bits down in Somerset around 5 years ago. Given that M88/3 engines are fairly rare and worth a fair bit, its easy to work out that the conversion must have been fairly pricey. Someone obviously went to town on it, because it also has a stainless exhaust system and custom manifold. The standard manifolds are around £800 from BMW, so God only knows what this guy spent on the system.
Whilst I've owned the car, there have been some issues I've needed to work through. Firstly, there was some extensive repairs to the sills needed for the MOT, which were not much fun! Also the car was wearing the wrong rear diff, a 3.15 item from a 524TD. This made the gearing very long, great for cruising but not much else. I had this changed for a shorter 3.73 LSD equipped item, which would have been original to a genuine M5.
Other things I've had to do have been minor electrical issues, most of which I've taken care of now and replacing the fuel tank due to the infamous E28 rust trap at the filler neck!
Suspension is Bilstein shocks and springs all round, which makes the ride firm, but not too crashy luckily. Braking is taken care of by a combination of E38 740i & E39 540i stuff.
The car has also been fitted with an LPG system, which makes long distance cruising a cheap affair!
Pics -
As a lot of you have no doubt noticed, I've recently put the car up for sale. My girlfriend is a bit annoyed at this, bearing in mind the time and money I've invested in the car over the last few months, but such is life and I fancy a compete change in car ownership. I've owned Pug 205s and E28s for around 7 or 8 years, so its time to move on. However, I won't be too gutted if it doesn't sell.
Hope I haven't gone on too much and that this is of some interest to you guys!
Marc
