M535i my new toy. It's a keeper.

[tig]

What's the sheet metal look like under the pedals?

Are you Iain's nephew? If so, I'm so sorry for you. If no, never mind. Regardless, carry on

[Tiit]

What's the sheet metal look like under the pedals?

I haven't checked yet. I'm scared.

[Tiit]

I received front outer window seals from eBay.
IMG_2128 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Well packaged, but the seals appear to have been sitting in storage a while. Seals are not completely straight.

IMG_2131 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2136 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2137 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I didn't want to install them until I have all of the window seals so I can do them all in one go, but I had to find out if the damaged seals straighten out once installed. When I started poking around I went down the rabbit hole and spent a whole day on the driver door. The driver door have been replaced at some point and whoever did it slapped it together in hurry.

IMG_2161 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2164 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Wiring was a huge birds nest and central locking parts were missing.

IMG_2173 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2174 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
Luckily I found all of the missing parts from my parts car. Its really handy to have a unmolested parts car where I can see clearly how things supposed to go together.

I pulled the wiring out and re wrapped in harness tape.

IMG_2175 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2177 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Outer seal seems to fit fine. I think I can give the seller positive feedback now.
Things done:
*Outer seal installed
*Central locking
*mirror adjuster
*door stopper
*sound proofing and moisture barrier
*replaced missing mouldings and covers
Once I will receive window guide seal I have to take all apart again.

At night I had some spare time and removed these stupid pedal covers finally and peek under the carpet.

IMG_2181 by Tiit Saul, on FlickrIMG_2182 by Tiit Saul, on
FlickrIMG_2183 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I assumed the fluid is from clutch, because what else can it be? Brakes are on the other side. But clutch appeared to be dry and then I noticed this.IMG_2184 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

A/C leak. Refrigerant seems to be a very effective paint remover too. Rust situation is not as bad as I had feared. I don't know what to do about it yet.

[Tiit]

Local BMW club event is coming up soon and I really want to fix the sloppy shifter by then. I have heard of someone replacing shifter bushing without removing exhaust and drive shaft so I decided to try it as well. It is very tight as expected, but it went pretty well and got most of it apart, exhaust and drive shaft still in place. Dropped exhaust and drive shaft after I could not get the selector rod pin out. Even with more access I can't get the pin out. I modified small C clamp to push the pin out but no budge. I then went full barbarian on it and carefully carved the bushing away from the selector rod. I now have all kinds of room to clamp Vise-Grips on the pin but still no luck . What the hell? I am running out of ideas. Do I really need to drop the tranny and drill it out? any ideas?

IMG_2268 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2354 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

.IMG_2355 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2356 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[dsmith]

Looks like someone jammed in a roll pin. I have only seen the solid dowel pin. Euro and US cars.

Maybe a 90 degree drill and a short drill bit?

[mescko]

At night I had some spare time and removed these stupid pedal covers finally and peek under the carpet.

IMG_2181 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr[url=https://flic.kr/p/23Y5cX7]


Looks like a Huntsman. http://www.spiders.com.au/huntsman-spider.html

[Tiit]

Looks like someone jammed in a roll pin. I have only seen the solid dowel pin. Euro and US cars.

Maybe a 90 degree drill and a short drill bit?

Dsmith you win. I ended up buying angle attachment for drill and it worked. That pin is hardened steel and not easy to drill. What a pain in the neck, but out it came. IMG_2616 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Also I managed to mess up one of the exhaust manifold stud. I tried various methods to remove the damaged stud, but ended up drilling it out.
Welded nut method didn't work.
IMG_2619 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

New stud in
IMG_2623 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

New copper nuts
IMG_2626 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Also while I was in there I discovered exhaust leak from catalytic converter. I removed the heat shields and there was a big crack in it.
IMG_2612 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2605 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
I decided to weld the crack up the best I could and keep it until I source a replacement.

Car is now back together and I've done my test drive. Shifter feel ok and exhaust is quieter. Transmission shifts a bit slow. Not crunchy, but I can't slam gears in. It takes a second or two to engage. The real bummer is that I can not get the tranny filler plug loose. I can't even check the fluid level.

OEM BMW part has a sloppy fitment
IMG_2591 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

glad to see these shitty parts are gone from the car.
IMG_2615 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[Tiit]

Transmission fluid has been replaced finally.
Is this amount of steel shavings on the drain plug something to worry about?
Untitled by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

This peace, stuck on the magnet, worries me a little. About 2.5mm diameter and appeared to be hardened steel. Untitled by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Old fluid had lots of non magnetic shiny stuff in it. Syncros? Really beautiful actually when light shining the right angle.
IMG_2747 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Old fluid after 2 days.
IMG_2758 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I replaced it with ATF. Transmission now shifts better when cold and maybe a little improvement when warmed up, but not perfect. Still struggles to get in second gear some times. Also the box is leaking pretty bad.

[Tiit]

Sunday I had my first track experience with my car. A local BMW club event of driver training at the track and skid pad. A full day of awesomeness.
My goal was to have fun, push my car (and myself) close to limits, learn from trainers and get to know my car better while NOT crashing it. Accomplished all of it.
We started off at the Sutton track, which is not a raceway, but kind of a real world road simulation. The track is really cool with its long straight, sweeping bend, tight bends and elevation changes.
I missed out on the second session due the coolant light came on. It ended up being just a little low on coolant and nothing major. On the third session, primal instincts took over and I drove it like I stole it. It feels weirdly calm and relaxing when I'm driving like an animal. Perhaps having driven Toyota Camry's and Corollas for the past 10 years, has done something to my head.
29872827_10215980114363949_1777801707897160981_o by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

The skid pad was awesome! There was a learning curve, but in the end I started to get the feel of it. Power steering couldn't keep up with steering, so I had basically manual steering, which gave me a good workout Lack of LSD is challenging as well. It wanted to spin only one tire and sometimes felt like my clutch is slipping, but i smelled no clutch and carried on. Can hardly wait to get back on the skid pan.
IMG_0305 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

All and all a great day. Met some BMW fanatics and had great time on track. Highly recommend for enyone to check out your local motorsport events. And don't be discouraged by your lack of skills or your car not being ready for track. My car isn't "ready", far from it, but it doesn't stop me having a good time.
I made a video as well of the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LisUnJfMjeg&t=251s

While I was waiting for my turn, I snapped a few shots of others having fun.
IMG_1913 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_1895 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_1884 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_1831 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[Tiit]

My son and I made a video of installing hub caps.
Warning! Artistic approach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLk3gE4xbWo

[Tiit]

I was convinced that the radio is broken and requires some serious repair. I pulled it out and replacing the blown fuse made it work again. Left channel has some intermittent issue, which need to be addressed at some point. I love these old stereos.
IMG_2904 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Also done lots of little things not worth to mention really.
IMG_2956 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_0543 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2845 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2842 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2875 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_2876 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Another thing I've done is added more lights in the shed. I can't believe the difference. You can't have too many power outlets and lighting in a shed! 'Before and after' pictures below.

IMG_0538 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_0537 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[tig]

Did you install new lights or just turn them on?

Nice work.

[Tiit]

Did you install new lights or just turn them on?

I did both. Installed new lights and turned them on.

[Tiit]

It has been a while since my last update. The truth is, not a whole lot has happened to the car and have nothing major to report. But its been over a year now since i bought the car, so i should write something down.
I now have an additional member in my family and there is not much free time with two little kids around. Ive been to local car club cruise with my family, which was really nice.

IMG_3828 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Also my car was displayed on a german car show. Ironically, when I was looking to buy my car, I made very clear to myself I didn't want a show car. I wanted a car I can drive often and not care about cosmetics. One year in and we have travelled a whopping 4000km (of which 1000km was taking it home from the seller) and displaying at car show
IMG_2764 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr


I am not a good writer, so I will express my thoughts in bullet points.
*When I bought the car, I wasn't sure if it was THE car. If it didn't click with me, I was prepared to get rid of it. Now, one year in, its clear it is a keeper. I have no regrets about buying it. It feels totally natural having it around. The car came home to daddy.
*In one year I've made FAR less progress on it then I had hoped.
*A lot of issues needs to be addressed on the car, but I was careful not to start on a task that would take me longer than couple of weekends. My strategy worked! I much rather have an imperfect car, that I can take out for a club cruise or a show, than having it stuck in the shed, pulled apart in million bits for months.
*It drives pretty horrible. Lowered suspension ruins the handling. Some clunking in front end. Steering pulls to left.
*Mye28.com is an awesome site. This forum have made my car ownership much more enjoyable. I really hope this place stays great for many years to come.

It's starting to get late. Time to go bed now. I add few more photos from german auto day.
IMG_2753 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2760 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2806 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2771 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[Bonsaibacker]

Great story and clean work! Glad you posted- I would not have found your thread if not at the top...
Keep going

[SeattleGuy]

Dude that's heroic stuff there with two kitlin's around especially, well-played. Love the two car seat situation you worked out. Your wife = Goddess.

[Tiit]

Thanks guys for kind words.

[LeiseyJr]

Cool Car! Good Read! That metal piece is concerning and 90% sure that is part of a bearing. I would take the trans apart or get a spare. I'm assuming yours doesn't have a lot of life yet. I've blown one up that was poorly maintained with similar amounts of metal. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if it starts rattling at idle don't ignore it like me and ruin a good trans that can be saved.

[Tiit]

Cool Car! Good Read! That metal piece is concerning and 90% sure that is part of a bearing. I would take the trans apart or get a spare. I'm assuming yours doesn't have a lot of life yet. I've blown one up that was poorly maintained with similar amounts of metal. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if it starts rattling at idle don't ignore it like me and ruin a good trans that can be saved.

Thanks for the heads up. Getting the transmission services is high on the priority list. I have been procrastinating because taking transmission apart (putting back together) is above my pay grade and paying someone to do it isn't cheap. Then again, trans overhaul is cheaper than its market value.

Last night, spur of the moment, I started full suspension overhaul. At first I planned to swap the lowered spring to stock springs, but we all know how this goes. While i was in there I discovered some worn ball joints, and I have e31 LCA sitting on the shelf ready to go in. Good time to install the moosehead UCA bearings and replace all parts that needs replacing. It felt like a black hole was sucking me in. I didn't want to start on a big project like this until I get my 535iA registered, but once parts started flying off, I couldn't stop.
BMW Club meet is in few weeks away, I haven't ordered any parts yet and time is limited. It may have been a mistake.
IMG_4480 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[Tiit]

I spent few hours every night for couple of weeks and here is what i got done.
*Springs swapped to stock (I believe pink paint mark is the right spring?)
*E31 lower control arms
*New brake hoses and guide bushings installed
*Moosehead UCAB installed
*New front stabiliser links
*Some cleaning and lots of other little things while I was in there.
Doesn't sound a lot, but working alone at night has its limitations.
IMG_4499 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_4494 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_4507 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_4510 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_4592 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_4648 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_4659 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_4660 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I almost ruined my moosehead bushings, but in the end, I managed to press them in with my little hydraulic press. Overall the car lifted about 70mm (almost 3 inches). It made massive difference how it looks, feels and drives. With lowered springs it was horrible thing to drive. Now, with stock springs and other upgrades, handling definitely improved.
IMG_4755 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_4762 by Tiit Saul, on FlickrIMG_4895 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Still lots to do. I really need to get AC sorted. And drone from muffler (lack of it) drives me crazy. I have to admit I don't enjoy driving it at the moment.

[Tiit]

I took my cars to a track day. I mostly drove my E36 328i but I did do one session in my E28.
My E28 isn't ready for track a track day, yet I wanted to have a fey laps in it just to get a feel of it and to compare it to E36.
Shifting from E36 to E28 was a dramatic experience. Difference was bigger than i would have thought. Lets compare the two just for fun

Power:
E36: not much at lower revs, but above 5K it pulls smooth and slightly more power than my E28.
E28: decent mid range, but from 4,5K power starts dropping.

suspension:
E36: Rear axle bushings are worn, which greatly reduces stability/handling. has some body roll. Other than that it handles pretty decent.
E28: compared to E36 it feels softer, clumsy and a lot more body roll

Steering:
E36: feels fine. (purple tag 3 turns lock to lock steering rack)
E28: surprisingly not worse than E36.

gearbox:
E36: arm rest was in the way for quick shifting. Due to 2.93 rear end gearing is not ideal on track.
E28: Shifter is in comfortable place, but I had crazy hard time down shifting. It did not want to shift to third or second while braking. Gearing is a lot better suited for track.

Diff:
E36: 2.93 open. Not ideal.
E28: 3.46 open. ratio is ok, but need for LSD is desperate.

Seating:
E36: seat is barely ok. Doesn't provide enough side support. No head space at all with helmet. Helmet is hard against the roof.
E28: On street I prefer E28 seats over E36, but on track E28 is worse. Not enough side support and maybe some flexing. I was afraid to brake it during heavy cornering. Head room is ok

Brakes:
E36: adequate, but better pads should improve a lot.
E28: Barely held up a lap. After that the pedal went down really deep and felt like crap. Which is confusing, because I just changed brake hoses, pads, fluid and guide bushes. Im pretty confident there is no air in lines.

over all:
E36 is a decent base for a track car. After few fixes and mods it will be a nice car to through around the track.
E28 My M535i will never be a track car. The only reason I took it out was to find out how it behaves at limits. I learned a lot. The experience was pathetic and hilarious at the same time. Brakes are crap, gears don't go in, motor is sluggish and the body roll was huge. It felt like It was going to tip over. Perhaps really good tires contributed to excessive body roll
IMG_2740 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2552 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2826 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2717 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2843 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr
IMG_2477 by

[Bonsaibacker]

Great pictures!
Sounds like fun and frustration. Curious if you are going to make any adjustments to the M535 after getting to know it better?

[Adam W in MN]

Great pictures and thanks for the assessment

[LeiseyJr]

Your box needs a rebuild or your rev matching needs work. My dogleg is fantastic under track conditions. Its not as crisp as the newer transmission but it always shifts. E36 is a a much better platform then an E28. It’s what I shouldve built, but E28 is still a blast, a lot more entertaining to drive.

[Tiit]

Your box needs a rebuild or your rev matching needs work. My dogleg is fantastic under track conditions. Its not as crisp as the newer transmission but it always shifts. E36 is a a much better platform then an E28. It’s what I shouldve built, but E28 is still a blast, a lot more entertaining to drive.

My rev matching is far from perfect, but there is something more to it. I am pretty sure there is something wrong internally with the transmission. I really have to pull my finger out and get the transmission rebuilt.

Great pictures!
Sounds like fun and frustration. Curious if you are going to make any adjustments to the M535 after getting to know it better?

I have not decided yet. One part of me wants to keep it stock, the way it was engineered back in the eighties. But I might add stiffer springs and stronger sway bars one day.

[Tiit]

Small update. This year I have driven this car for at least ten times. Each time couple of meters in my back yard to make space in my shed so I can work on some other cars. Lack of air con, noisy exhaust and transmission troubles removed all desire to drive it.
I did get something done though. I purchased set of ford injectors off a forum member.
IMG_5446 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Just to be sure I gobbled together quick and dirty flow bench. I tested old injectors first and result was shocking Flow difference was around 50%.
IMG_5449 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

M30B34 injector spray pattern.
IMG_5448 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr



This might explain the flow difference. interestingly, O rings were still very soft and rubbery, but what is that rusty looking crumbly shit?
IMG_5524 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Same test was repeated with ford injectors. Spray pattern was much finer as expected.

IMG_5450 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

But flow rate difference was disappointing.
IMG_5451 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

By this point I realised the battery voltage was low. With fully recharged battery the test was repeated. This time I was happy with results. Flow rate difference was indistinguishable.
IMG_5452 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I now wish I had repeated the test with old injectors with fully charged battery. It is bugging me not knowing if the old injectors are cactus, or flow difference was caused by low battery.

Ford injectors are a smidgen shorter. Fuel rail mounting holes were filed oval to compensate.
IMG_5469 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

This tool was used to clean injector holes in the intake.
IMG_5471 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_5470 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

And long overdue fuel hoses were replaced.
IMG_5473 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr


Car idles better and ticking is much quieter. I would call it a success.

[stuartinmn]

Building your own injector test rig is pretty impressive.

[Tiit]

Its been over a year since last update. Unfortunately I have done almost nothing with my M535i It doesn't mean i have done nothing lately. It has been actually a busy year working on several cars.

bit of this.
IMG_3603 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

And this.
IMG_7624 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

And this.
IMG_8604 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

And much more. I have gotten really familiar with E36 last year. How about E28? My M535i sits under cover behind Land Cruiser and Corona trampoline.
IMG_9982 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I was secretly hoping for Corona virus to lock me home for a month or so and I could start working on M535i, but instead I've been busier than usual. While my M535i been siting under cover, there is another E28 Ive been driving daily. To explain this, let's go back in time a few years in 2015, before I had M535i.
That time I didn't have any E28 in my life, but Ive had a few in the past and wanted one since. I was walking my dog in my neighbourhood and discovered this.
IMG_6310 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

It had been sitting there a while and looked a bit rough. I ended up buying this for a $300. Not a bad deal for running 535iA. Drove her home and did quick inspection. It looked like pretty well maintained car until youngster got their hands on it. Water has been leaking to interior and carpet was soaking wet.

IMG_9411 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Luckily, body is almost rust free.
IMG_7578 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_7215 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_7634 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_9404 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

Once the water leak was fixed and interior tidied up, it sat for a while in my back yard. I couldn't really make up my mind of what to do with it. It seemed, it required a lot of money and work to bring it up to a nice standard. That's when I started to look for M535i.
M535i is nice, but honestly I never really fell in love with it. For several reasons I just don't enjoy driving it that much. If it wasn't my all time favourite car, I would have sold it a year ago (I know it's weird not to love my own favourite car )
Meanwhile the blue 535i continued to sit in my back yard. Suddenly I got motivated, fixed a few mechanical issues to pass mechanical inspection. Registered it and started daily driving it.

IMG_8446 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_8416 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr



Good old broken steering box mount repair was easier than expected.
IMG_9988 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_9992 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_0010 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_0011 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

IMG_0028 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

I have been driving this on and off for last 6 months and absolutely love it. Yes it's not a perfect driver and has plenty of flaws, but it still an E28 and does the job. I also learned to love automatic. Automatic is a better match for lazy b34 than CR dogleg. Handling is absolutely ridiculous! It leans scary amount in corners. It's an effort trying to drive fast and that is a good thing.
What are the long term plans with the "Bluey" I don't know. Part of me wants to preserve this time capsule and the same time I'm itching to "improve" a few things on it.

How about the plans with "Whitey"? Well I haven't given up on it yet. I'll push it in to garage very soon and tear it apart. Goal is to get it finished by december. What exactly will be done, not sure. Motor and gearbox will come out for sure. Gearbox need to be sorted out (notchy shifting). Motor will receive refresh (I've sourced B35 just in case) and whatever else I decide to do while it's apart. I'm really hoping to do regular updates, once the works start. I'm a little nervous and excited the same time.

IMG_5107 by Tiit Saul, on Flickr

[tig]

Land Cruiser
\

Love.

[Tiit]

Trampoline
\

Love.

Haha. I knew you have a soft spot for trampolines