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What's up Stanceworks.
Been a long time lurker, and this is actually my 3rd project and 3rd BMW.
Here's a history, and my current project E39.
I took the dive into BMW's with a '91 318iS. Was such an awesome car. Billys/H&R Race, BBS RS003's, Euro pieces everywhere. I owned it until a little old lady thought it was nice to drive into it
After the wreck, I ended up picking up a lovely '06 TiAg/Imola E46 M3. TC Kline setup, Stoptech brake upgrade, Euro center console and ZCP goodies everywhere. Sold it in January of 2015. (Regretting this daily as I look at the current market of E46 M3's )
I needed something I could throw my work equipment in, and something automatic. I knew if I needed someone to move my car, or for whatever reason, I had to get something I can have anyone drive.
I needed something big - like an SUV. I looked at E53 X5’s for a long time. The more I searched, the more I found myself wanting to be back in a car with just as much feel and power as the M3. I found myself inquiring on E90 M3 sedans - wasn’t going to work. Then I thought the E39 M5 as I always loved the lines, but that still wasn’t going as there’s no auto tranny unless it was an M Sport.
Naturally, being super stubborn, I’ve managed to go months not deciding on a car until I found my first black/black M Sport Wagon in Michigan. The car needed work in every department, but I was getting desperate in my search. It’s funny how things work out, because once I made plans to purchase the car, it had got sold under me by a local buyer. This brought me down to an eBay spotting of a black/grey wagon in LA. I watched that one sell, which eventually was purchased by a forum member here. Weeks later, a grey/grey wagon showed up on the Los Angeles craigslist, and since my options seemed to be fading, I inquired on it too. The car was involved in an accident that I only found out after days of calls and emails. It felt as if it was time to stop the search and get the run of the mill 525i Wagons that were out there.
Getting desperate, I made a WTB listing here. After a couple PM’s I came across my preferred black/black choice, again in Los Angeles. I had a friend meet with the owner, and though the car needed some exterior work (expected), I made the purchase and arranged for it’s trip home.
The car arrived and upon arrival had an issue with the Auxiliary Water Pump. I took care of it and in typical Devin fashion, going crazy on new parts within the first couple days instead of months…
The car was rough in appearance, but made up for it mechanically. The previous owner spent most his time on maintaining the E39/M62 specific issues, like the valley pan, coils, and all electrical issues - minus the dead pixels in the center display - were replaced and perfect. This car has both SLS and PDC options and they function perfectly. I knew the car would need to be paint corrected like my E30, and the trim wrap needed to be ditched for my preferred OE+ (with OE parts) aesthetic.
I sent the car to Eumir of Deleon Detailing. Eumir is a local detail specialist, former BMW Tech, and actually owns both a E46 M3 and E39 touring. His work speaks for itself in the images below:
Next, was the interior trim. I ordered a full set of Technical Graphite from Europe from an eBay member. Upon arrival, I noticed a piece the center console broke during shipping. Took a bit of TLC to remove the actual wood from the center console skeleton, but I did, and just need to replace the Business CD cover, which I’ll do once I replace the radio display.
Before:
After:
This is how the car sits now. I have a ton of things planned and in the works. Going to try to space this out over a couple months so I don’t lose attention to everything else at hand (found myself talking to an owner of a slicktop E46 M3 that had the car for sale a couple days ago…)
And a mockup of what's in store.. Not sure if I should go the ARC-8 route (missed that group buy! ) or look into something else. Some square 18x10 AC Type 2's would be beautiful, but one can dream...
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