MyE28.com

Me and my father have been in the on and off process converting a 535iS into M5 spec for the past two-three years now. I've been quite the lurker here, so I figured it was time to reveal what we've been doing for all that time.

Long story short, we had a customer who sold us his totaled M5 (hard driver's side T-bone impact; bent A-pillar, etc.) and dad had the idea of converting a 535i into an M5. I have to say, it's been quite the experience taking it apart and organizing the parts of about 2-3 cars to perform this conversion. It's unfortunate to say that VIN 2875201 is no longer on the road, but will definitely live on in spirit in 1716816.

The 535is itself is Delphin over Cardinal and has Dinan stage 3 suspension installed on it (shocks & springs, sway bars, front adjustable shock mount plates), as well as the latest revision pedal box reinforcement. The car itself used to belong to David Moyal (are they on this board?).

The battery wiring's been routed in the same way that the M5 was - The one thing we're still ironing out is the positive connection/junction for the ABS and interior wiring. All of the brackets that were unique to the M5 were taken off and welded/attached into the 535i's engine bay/trunk - This includes creating threaded holes for the exhaust head shield (the E39 540i oil filter housing mounts work great for this application), oil cooling pipe mounting bracket & oil cooler brackets, trunk carpet lining brackets, rear battery box, big case differential, etc.

I read that the front subframe for the M5 was slightly different compared to the 535i, including the addition of the head shield and different stopping points for the steering, so we've transferred that over with the quicker ratio steering box as well and refreshed steering linkage components.

Just yesterday I've been getting the oil cooler & its pipes mocked up/put in place, as well as putting the P/S lines back in. I learned that there's a cut on the radiator support that allows for more room for the lines, so I copied the cut from the M5's front support that we saved (for sale as well, if anyone needs it) and transferred the rubber lip that was there as well. I've been documenting a majority of the work, so photos will eventually be on the way to Eye Candy sometime this week. Too many things to write about.

I guess as we continue along with the project, if anyone can chime in on some firsthand knowledge, that would be much appreciated. Looking forward to getting this car on the road and to Legends of the Autobahn 2020.

That was my old car, I remember seeing it in the background of an image someone posted of Hamis' shop... Was a great car, I'm glad it's back on the road and am looking forward to seeing what you've done with it.

Hami is my father and it's been a great learning experience diving deeper into the workings of E28s (I certainly still have much to learn). I'm still finding it hard to believe that we've gone this far/deep into the car, but we're definitely looking forward to seeing it back on the road as well. A Euro conversion is on its way as well, though Ivo's been busy with negotiating with a shipper. It's going to be a lot longer down the road before this one sees any of the interior being put back together...

You're more than welcome to drop by and take a look at how far the progress is!

I didn't know that you were Hamis' son, I recently talked to him! I'll try to make it over there soon, I'd love to see the car again.

Sounds like quite a project - looking forward to the photos.

stuartinmn wrote:Sounds like quite a project - looking forward to the photos.

So am I!

Very cool. The power distribution thing under the dash is indeed different but these cars are like comparing the Santa Maria to the space shuttle. Those obstacles should be pretty easy to overcome with some creative wiring. The parts you need should be easy to transfer over from the parts car. The rear trailing arms on the M5 were reinforced but later 535s (and 535iS) had these same arms. I'm not aware of any other differences. Maybe a bracket for the self leveling sensor. I don't recall having any issues putting the M5 oil cooler setup on my 535 so I wouldn't stress too much about clearance for the lines. The cooler mount itself will pose a challenge but again, simple stuff. Good luck!

Mounting the oil cooler itself wasn't an issue after taking measurements from the M5 before cutting the tabs off and welding them onto the 535i - The one thing we did do was copy the cutout on the front radiator support from the M5. The same can be said for measuring where to put the pipe bracket as well. A keen eye would note that the auxiliary alarm is mounted where the battery would normally be on the 535i as well!

As fair as I can remember, it was the later ones that had the welded on tabs on the trailing arms (This one's an '87)




I think at this point, I'll be creating a thread in Eye Candy to post some of the photos that I've been taking while working on the car.