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Thought I may as well start a build thread on here seeing how i have kind of finally started building the damn thing.
Picked up an original E28 520i a couple of years ago. Was searching for something old in the BMW stable that wasn't an E30 (sorry, unless its an M3, I didn't want it). Stumbled across a for sale ad for a stock E28 520i, went and had a look, and put down a deposit. Instantly fell in love with it.
5 speed manual, manual sunroof, blue cloth trim, slightly dented rear bumper, missing A/C compressor and wasn't licenced, but was just what I was looking for. A clean slate.
Couple of days later, tow truck was organised and off it went to its current resting place.
Had a few plans/things that I wanted before i purchased the 520i. I knew I wanted a set of BBS RS's (even if they are fitted to most E28's), wanted original Recaro bucket seats and to fix the cracked dash.
Managed to find a set of 17" BBS's on the local for sale ads. Guy was selling a heap of stuff, and these albeit in not the greatest condition were good enough for what i had planned.
Wanted polished, new lips and new hardware. Wasn't the perfect stud pattern (5x114.3) but new i could make them fit.
Handed over some cash and away I went with my first purchase. Been nearly 2 years, and the wheels have been on the car once
How I picked them up
And once I got them to work and spent the day pulling them apart between helping the workshop.
I then hit a snag, trying to find someone willing to polish the faces for me. The main places that we have over here are not interested unless the face is flat. In the end, took it upon myself to hand polish them What a nightmare, but very satisfying at the same time. Haven't been in a rush to get them done, but have a few shots of where i was up to.
Ordered a set of adapters off forum sponsor Adaptec, and test fitted one of the rims loosely built on the front. Stood back and thought this is going to be good, One Day.
Fast forward over a year and finally getting back into it. Things slowed down with the birth of my son, but he's now of an age were he likes to help haha.
Was keen to get a set of original recaro's to keep the interior looking pretty stock. Boy what a nightmare they are to find. the one or two sets of front seats, they wanted blood money and most were not willing to ship internationally.
Enter an eBay post, that a guy listed a whole car interior in separate ads. Sent him a message asking what he wants for the lot, came to an agreement, and with the help of my works freight account. $600 bucks worth of trim were heading my way.
Ended up scoring a full beige leather/vinyl interior. Seats, door trims, centre console, lower dash & glove box, speaker grilles. Pretty much everything except the dash and carpet. Even got some of the exterior parts like bumper moulds.
Started working on test fitting the seats, mainly to get some space around the car. Will be removed once I can eventually source some new/good used carpet in the right colour.
Pretty much up to current now, managed to find a crack free dash on eBay with the seller willing to ship internationally. Spent $400 odd bucks to get the thing to Australia, but well worth it. And at the first chance, got stuck into fitting it. Was expecting a hell of a mission after reading a few guides, but old one out and new one in within about 2 hours. Just need to do a few things up and she's good to go.
Damage on the original dash.
And the point of No Return.
That's about all for now, just a few random photos I've taken of the car.
Working on getting some more money together to get the carpet sorted, then take it down and get some plates put on so I can start driving it with the family.
Thanks Carl
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