Benji
Well-known member
Life being what it is and me being who I am, I have somehow ended up with another project car through no fault of my own. Of course 
The sheer quantity of broken BMWs in the yard are getting harder and harder to explain to my significant other.
I found a clean enough E39 540i for a decent enough price during some idle browsing on Facebook Marketplace. Interest was quickly piqued by the 3 pedals visible in one of the pics! I naively thought that having a look at the car wouldn't hurt. I test drove the car and found it to be in surprisingly good condition and found myself driving the car home after the seller accepted my low ball offer, wondering what I've just gotten myself into and where I am going to find parking for the car. First world problems if ever there were any.
I am really impressed with the refinement and feeling of invincibility this car gives, notwithstanding the tired suspension etc... As I brought it home, a relatively well looked after 200k car in old man spec - my favorite! Car seemed to have been recently neglected which as you know, is the best kind of neglect. Issues include but are not limited to - difficulty in selecting gears, occasional misfire, death wobble, missing front spoiler, and the whole front had been poorly repainted but I could not find any signs of an accident. It seems the fan clutch failed which led to a fan explosion and much carnage. Said carnage was very poorly repaired. First order of business then was to sort that out and in typical fashion, get carried away and spend too much money while at it. Because that is the correct way of doing things.
An example of the carnage that was fixed with some silicone and an ice cream tub to seal a hole in the MAF?? How was this car even running?
Before:
After:
Yes, I did take it too far, but it is good to be thorough. At least, that's what she said.
I procured a OEM spoiler at a rather heinous price, even after the ABM discount. Will paint once the bank account recovers.
Now to do some general maintenance and sort out that misfiring which I suspected was due to leaking valve covers.
If only my wife was this dirty:
Looks like the previous owner kept the spark plug fluid topped up That was about 250ml of oil removed from just the one head Again, how was this car even running? I dare say we found the cause of the misfire... Otherwise there is very little varnish inside the motor and no broken timing chain guides from what I can see from the top of the motor now we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief...or maybe we should hold that breath for when I open up the sump...🧐
Seems I got carried away again. Figured while I was in there, I may as well do the valley pan gaskets and those silly coolant cross over pipes with new CCV and inlet manifold gaskets etc. Pity the wallet.
Anyway, it is all forgiven with a gratuitous pic of that rear end. It really is a good looking rear, no?
The sheer quantity of broken BMWs in the yard are getting harder and harder to explain to my significant other.I found a clean enough E39 540i for a decent enough price during some idle browsing on Facebook Marketplace. Interest was quickly piqued by the 3 pedals visible in one of the pics! I naively thought that having a look at the car wouldn't hurt. I test drove the car and found it to be in surprisingly good condition and found myself driving the car home after the seller accepted my low ball offer, wondering what I've just gotten myself into and where I am going to find parking for the car. First world problems if ever there were any.
I am really impressed with the refinement and feeling of invincibility this car gives, notwithstanding the tired suspension etc... As I brought it home, a relatively well looked after 200k car in old man spec - my favorite! Car seemed to have been recently neglected which as you know, is the best kind of neglect. Issues include but are not limited to - difficulty in selecting gears, occasional misfire, death wobble, missing front spoiler, and the whole front had been poorly repainted but I could not find any signs of an accident. It seems the fan clutch failed which led to a fan explosion and much carnage. Said carnage was very poorly repaired. First order of business then was to sort that out and in typical fashion, get carried away and spend too much money while at it. Because that is the correct way of doing things.
An example of the carnage that was fixed with some silicone and an ice cream tub to seal a hole in the MAF?? How was this car even running?
Before:
After:
Yes, I did take it too far, but it is good to be thorough. At least, that's what she said.
I procured a OEM spoiler at a rather heinous price, even after the ABM discount. Will paint once the bank account recovers.
Now to do some general maintenance and sort out that misfiring which I suspected was due to leaking valve covers.
If only my wife was this dirty:
Looks like the previous owner kept the spark plug fluid topped up
That was about 250ml of oil removed from just the one head Again, how was this car even running? I dare say we found the cause of the misfire... Otherwise there is very little varnish inside the motor and no broken timing chain guides from what I can see from the top of the motor now we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief...or maybe we should hold that breath for when I open up the sump...🧐Seems I got carried away again. Figured while I was in there, I may as well do the valley pan gaskets and those silly coolant cross over pipes with new CCV and inlet manifold gaskets etc. Pity the wallet.
Anyway, it is all forgiven with a gratuitous pic of that rear end. It really is a good looking rear, no?
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