Time to come clean, I bought an E28 M5.

[adawil2002]

Paid next to nothing for car number 8, or Rodney as he's been named. The 6th BMW in our current line up. Presently at Vintage Sports and Restoration in Bow NH, Where he awaits rust abatement, dash replacement, paint and upholstery. He should be done by October/November 2016 when Vern gets dropped off for his restoration. Rodney will most likely make his debut at The Vintage 2017.

 

So far he has had the engine gone through, replaced the defunct neglected 280 gearbox with a good 280 from an '88 M6 and installed the exhaust from the same M6. Has a new clutch, guibo, & CSB. Next on the schedule are brakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2016 by adawil2002

[M3M3]

nice acquistion!
 

ok, now lets here the story of how you found it, why it was next to nothing, and what the history is!

[jgerock]

Sweet!  Love those early M5's!

[adawil2002]

The long story:

 

It began live in NJ somewhere and owned by a guy who drove it, yet didn't maintain it well. He sold it to a guy in Eastern PA. Who did some work on it and drove it for a few years until the transmission seized.

 

Mike Miller found it a few years ago in Eastern PA and let Mario Langston at Vintage Sports and Restoration know about it. Mario bought it, it  was decent enough to save but bought it as a parts car for his E28 M5. Parked it in the yard and put a cover over it.

 

VSR has been working on Athena, my '73 3.0 CSi every winter since 2013. Taking her from a decent driver to almost concours level over the winter 2015/2016. Most people thought she was already restored but VSR uncovered short cuts done in the past and fixed them the right way.

 

I'm always shopping for cars to see what's available in the 2002 & E9 markets. Winter of 2014 I found myself drawn to the E28s when I expanded my searches to 1989 from 1976. So they started to hit my radar, friends advised be to get a 535is but finding a Red/Tan 5-speed in good condition is next to impossible. So I stuck with my search. 

 

One day I posted on Facebook an awesome E28 M5 that was for sale with Style 32 17" wheels and said I'd love to have one just like it or looking for number 8. Mario sent me a PM that he had one that needed some work. It piqued my interest and asked for some pictures. Now keep in mind the Winter of 2014/2015, snow fall records were set in Boston MA to Bangor ME. So there was no way to get pictures and the talk of the car wained.

 

Then in September of 2015 at Lime Rock Mario and I started talking of Athena's to do list for 2015/2016 and restoring Vern in 2017/2018. We made plans for me to drive to VSR with Vern so he could be evaluated. While there I asked about the M5. We walked out and uncovered the car. Mario listed all sorts of issues with it. It needed to have the transmission rebuilt or another one sourced, some rust taken care of and a list of the usual maintenance needs of a car that's been sitting for a few years.

 

Fast forward to the end of November, Mario finally put together some numbers for the scope of work on the M5. I reviewed the paperwork over Thanksgiving and liked what I saw, out the door for under $20K, unless I wanted a show car. So at the end of November I sent a check to cover the price of the car and a NOS crack free dash it was a no brainer. 

As of last week I have spent less than $10K for a complete running car. It still needs a lot of work and I still need to register it which will happen in the next week or two. 

[M3M3]

ah...the rest of the story.  cool.  thanks for sharing!

[Kidasters]

Very nice.  I love "opportunity" cars.  The ones that pop up, and you know if you don't pull the trigger, you'll never see it again.

 

If an M525 ever shows up at my doorstep, I'm not turning it away.

[ray_]

Cool!

 

Cheers,

[Chamonix72]

I darn near traded my VW camper for an E28 M5. Too bad it had 286k on the clock and engine rebuilds for the S38 aren't cheap. My BMW mechanic told me not to dare buy any M car with 286k on it.

Your purchase is much nicer. I am quite green with envy.

[adawil2002]

I darn near traded my VW camper for an E28 M5. Too bad it had 286k on the clock and engine rebuilds for the S38 aren't cheap. My BMW mechanic told me not to dare buy any M car with 286k on it.

Your purchase is much nicer. I am quite green with envy.

 

Then the odometer reading will make your head explode, 57+K. Not sure when the odo broke though.

 

[Jim_75Sahara]

A very collectible and certain to be enjoyable BMW to own and to drive. Thumbs, fingers and toes up on your purchase!

[adawil2002]

The latest update, the calipers have been sent out for rebuilding and cad plating. Athena took precedence in the project order. Now they'll start working on Rodney over the summer. 

[adawil2002]

Rodney is finally in the body shop getting rust remediation done. I'll be visiting VSR on Monday, Oct 24th to take some pics. Progress has been rather slow to this point. Excited to have the project moving along again.

[jgerock]

Andrew - what are you going to do about those front seats?  Isn't the entire interior leather?

[adawil2002]

52 minutes ago, jgerock said:

Andrew - what are you going to do about those front seats?  Isn't the entire interior leather?

 

Yes it's leather. Plan to buy new front covers, the driver's outer bolster is pretty bad. All the leather needs a good cleaning and conditioning.

[adawil2002]

Visited the M5 today. Rust hole is all fixed up.