BMW 635CSi? Why Not?

Recently saw one parked outside an auto repair shop. Sat too high in the front. Ahhh, no engine. That would have been a very good LSx swap candidate.

nice get

In reply to cwh:

That thought has crossed my mind.

Here's a couple of better pictures.

The car looks great, its a timeless design and the color is just right. I like how the rear windows go down as well.

Those are so cool. I have always liked that design, probably the best looking of all "modern" BMW's. I predict some day soon we will be saying: "I remember when E24's were cheap. Should have bought one then."

What shade of red is that? Cinnebar, Henna? It looks pretty good.

stuart in mn wrote: What shade of red is that? Cinnebar, Henna? It looks pretty good.

Not to answer for the owner, but in the engine compartment pic you can just see the sticker that says "Zinnoberrot" which is Cinnabar.

SEADave wrote: Not to answer for the owner, but in the engine compartment pic you can just see the sticker that says "Zinnoberrot" which is Cinnabar.

Now that I look back at the first page, I see that. One of my 325ix's is the same color, it looks very sharp when buffed and waxed.

SEADave wrote:

stuart in mn wrote: What shade of red is that? Cinnebar, Henna? It looks pretty good.

Not to answer for the owner, but in the engine compartment pic you can just see the sticker that says "Zinnoberrot" which is Cinnabar.

It's a good thing you answered because I don't have the foggiest idea.

The sticker in question.

Couple things:

1. The M30 is tough, but it will always idle like crap. Do whatever it takes to give yourself solace - replace vacuum lines, rebuild injectors and replace o-rings, clean or replace the iac. Then just accept that they idle like crap.

2. Don't follow the manual if the valves haven't been adjusted regularly. The eccentrics become more eccentric and you'll be chasing valve clearances forever. Google 'e28 cam side adjustment.' set clearances at the cam side of the rocker.

3. The top end oiling system sucks. Clean or replace that spray bar if it is funky in there.

4. 30 year old high pressure fuel lines, secured with worm drive hose clamps. Replace all that.

5. That's a great looking car.

you got yourself a great looking car there. i owned many of these cars and most years of them and most of the models of them. i would disconnect the rear window switches they are very hard to work on and they always quit working. heating and cooling controls is another very weak point. i happen to enjoy the autos in these cars and think they perform really well with it. everybody remarks on these cars when you drive them, when i stop for gas in one i always have people coming up to me and asking questions about it.

looking at the pictures i would chase that car. prices are just climbing on them

In reply to cutter67:

I've been impressed with how the automatic shifts so far, crisp and fast. It also doesn't seem to get confused the way the auto in my work van does. For general cruising I actually prefer an automatic.

Thanks for the pointers on the windows. That's the kind of stuff that I like to know.

Sorry to hear about your flooding problems. Hope all that works out for you.

In reply to Toyman01:

another thing is i would pull the front windows apart and regrease everything. i even pull the motors apart and get all the old grease out of them and repack them. the grease will get hard and you end up burning the motors out.

there should be a plastic bag like cover over the window motor make sure you reinstall that. a couple of hours work is well worth it. they are easy to remove and put back.

They are kind of sluggish so that's probably a good idea.

Thanks.

benzbaronDaryn wrote: I always loved the landsharks, only thing it needs is euro bumpers and allpenis sp? rims.

In reply to windsordeluxe:

Lol, I think he meant "Alpina" ... Something like this:

So, I've had it a little over a month.

I LOVE this car. It rides good, drives good, it's comfortable. It's a place you wouldn't mind spending a couple of hours a day.

It's gotten some TLC since I last posted here.

The A/C compressor was toast, so today it got a new compressor, receiver drier, a complete system flush and fresh oil and R134. It will run you out of the car now.

It also got a valve adjustment. They were all over the place. Some loose, some tight. I set them all on the cam side of the rocker. It helped the idle a good bit. I'm also reasonably certain the valve cover gasket was leaking vacuum. She's all sealed up and purrs like a kitten. It's still got some extraneous engine noises. I'm thinking it might have some piston slap when cold.

I picked up some leather restorer. Most of them seem to be snake oil, but this one actually worked. The seats went from hard, dry, cracked up, leather, to reasonably soft, cracked up leather. They should last a while longer. I'm actually considering getting the upholstery done.

Next on the list is going to be some body work. It has some rust spots on the roof and at the base of the back window. It's also pealing clear coat. I'm going to go ahead and fix the rust spots and get the car painted.

not particularly liking BMWs

This is the 1st BMW I've driven and so far I like it

So, I've had it a little over a month. I LOVE this car.

Any idea on what sort of mileage you're getting? I would love one as a summer dd.

Vigo wrote:

not particularly liking BMWs

This is the 1st BMW I've driven and so far I like it

So, I've had it a little over a month. I LOVE this car.

I went through this transition from 3 to 2 to 1 year ago myself.

And after reading this thread, now I want an e24 to add to my e30 and e21. Damn you, suburbs, for not giving me more parking/garage space!!!!!

arg....and there's an 88 635cis with MANUAL for $3k 2 miles from me

Whats the name of the leather restorer? I'd like to try it on the e30.

Vigo wrote:

not particularly liking BMWs

This is the 1st BMW I've driven and so far I like it

So, I've had it a little over a month. I LOVE this car.

Yeah, I know. I've been getting all that harassment from my BILs too. Both of them are German car lovers.

I will say my problem has always been the cost of ownership. That and the fact that the old ones around here are clapped out POSs, owned by people that won't fix them or maintain them. Parts for this one are surprisingly cheap. It also doesn't have all the electronic crap that fails.

In some ways, I like the Thunderbird SC better, but this one is growing on me fast.

Slippery wrote: Whats the name of the leather restorer? I'd like to try it on the e30.

I've been really impressed with how well it worked.

They don't look brand new, but that are substantially softer and more flexible and look much better than they did. I'm hoping they will last longer. Unfortunately I didn't take any before pictures.