AdiS
Well-known member
Sreten has certainly been a source of inspiration for sure!
-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Adi's 2001 BMW E39 M5 -- Silverstone Metallic
- Thread starter AdiS
- Start date
Sreten has certainly been a source of inspiration for sure!
AdiS
Well-known member
AdiS
Well-known member
Skip back to Chapter 4 here
Chapter 5: Cosmetics & Minor Maintenance, and Conclusion
Mileage: 103,335km
Minor Maintenance: Brakes
With the bulk of mechanical work on the car being completed in chapters 2 and 4, there was just one item that was bothering me which was the brakes. Because we replaced the brake lines next to the ABS module due to them being a known-fire risk, this unavoidably let air into the central part of the brake system. This is notoriously difficult to bleed out on E39s, requiring the use of diagnostic software to trigger the ABS module, and even then, itās still a pain - ask anyone whoās ever had to do it.
Anyway, I still wasnāt happy with the feel of the brakes, and the front discs and pads needed replacing. So I bit the bullet and ordered new Genuine BMW discs, pads, and sensor as well as a E65 master cylinder. The E65 master cylinder is a known āOEM+ā upgrade that one can do to improve the pedal response and feel. So, I decided to bundle this all together. After a lot of hard work from Colin at Garage808, the brakes are finally as they should be, and Iām really happy with the outcome.
Door Lock Actuators
I had previously replaced 2 door lock actuators, but seeing the inevitable and not wanting one to die in the locked position, I had the other two replaced. It was super satisfying having all 4 locks open properly in sync unlike before where they were all kind of on their own timetable.
New Door Lock Actuators
Cosmetics
With the mechanical work out of the way, we can finally move on to cosmetics.
Exterior & Bodywork
The car needed two (hellishly expensive) new front lower fender-liners (affectionately known as āpork chopsā), as well as a brand new bumper as the mounts for the āpork chopsā were damaged. It also needed the thin little trim below the headlight on the driverās side as the clip on the original was broken from age, and the caused a misaligned of this trim piece. The passenger side lower sill needed a repair as it had some minor area of damage on the underside.
Finally, I really wanted the rear bumper diffuser to be painted black as I believe the car looks far better that way. Iām not sure why BMW never did this from factory as both the E39 M-tech and E46 M-tech 2 have it this way from the factory, but the M5 pre-dates both of those options so maybe it was just an earlier, more dated design decision.
I got in touch with Stephen Wearne from Master Panelbeaters and had the following was completed:
To finish off the exterior, I replaced all the exterior black trim as well as the āM5ā badge. These little details really helped to make the exterior feel fresh and new. The work took some time, but the final result is really good, and the body of the car now looks great.
Dirt behind old Side Trim
No More
Otherside
Cleaned
Bumper Moulding Mounts cleaned
Delicious new Trim
Chapter 5: Cosmetics & Minor Maintenance, and Conclusion
Mileage: 103,335km
Minor Maintenance: Brakes
With the bulk of mechanical work on the car being completed in chapters 2 and 4, there was just one item that was bothering me which was the brakes. Because we replaced the brake lines next to the ABS module due to them being a known-fire risk, this unavoidably let air into the central part of the brake system. This is notoriously difficult to bleed out on E39s, requiring the use of diagnostic software to trigger the ABS module, and even then, itās still a pain - ask anyone whoās ever had to do it.
Anyway, I still wasnāt happy with the feel of the brakes, and the front discs and pads needed replacing. So I bit the bullet and ordered new Genuine BMW discs, pads, and sensor as well as a E65 master cylinder. The E65 master cylinder is a known āOEM+ā upgrade that one can do to improve the pedal response and feel. So, I decided to bundle this all together. After a lot of hard work from Colin at Garage808, the brakes are finally as they should be, and Iām really happy with the outcome.
- Installed new front brake discs
- Installed new front brake pads
- Installed new front brake wear sensor
- Installed E65 Brake Master Cylinder
- Extensively brake system bleed
Door Lock Actuators
I had previously replaced 2 door lock actuators, but seeing the inevitable and not wanting one to die in the locked position, I had the other two replaced. It was super satisfying having all 4 locks open properly in sync unlike before where they were all kind of on their own timetable.
New Door Lock Actuators
Cosmetics
With the mechanical work out of the way, we can finally move on to cosmetics.
Exterior & Bodywork
The car needed two (hellishly expensive) new front lower fender-liners (affectionately known as āpork chopsā), as well as a brand new bumper as the mounts for the āpork chopsā were damaged. It also needed the thin little trim below the headlight on the driverās side as the clip on the original was broken from age, and the caused a misaligned of this trim piece. The passenger side lower sill needed a repair as it had some minor area of damage on the underside.
Finally, I really wanted the rear bumper diffuser to be painted black as I believe the car looks far better that way. Iām not sure why BMW never did this from factory as both the E39 M-tech and E46 M-tech 2 have it this way from the factory, but the M5 pre-dates both of those options so maybe it was just an earlier, more dated design decision.
I got in touch with Stephen Wearne from Master Panelbeaters and had the following was completed:
- Paint and Install new Genuine BMW Front Bumper
- Install New Front lower fender liners
- Paint and Install left headlight trim
- Install new fog lights
- Repair and Paint Right Side Sill
- Paint Rear bumper diffuser satin black
To finish off the exterior, I replaced all the exterior black trim as well as the āM5ā badge. These little details really helped to make the exterior feel fresh and new. The work took some time, but the final result is really good, and the body of the car now looks great.
- Replaced 2x Front Bumper Mouldings (PDC variant)
- Replaced 2x Rear Bumper Mouldings (PDC variant)
- Replaced 6x āM5ā specific Side Trims
Dirt behind old Side Trim
No More
Otherside
Cleaned
Bumper Moulding Mounts cleaned
Delicious new Trim
Last edited:
AdiS
Well-known member
Wheels
As is often the case, the original chrome shadow finish on the Style 65 wheels had started to peel in certain places and needed to be refurbished. If you know anything about the chrome shadow finish, you will know that it is a notoriously difficult colour to get right. Few shops in the world know how to do it correctly and consistently, and even they still deliver variances in their output. This is due to the multi-step process and difficult technique required to get the colour right.
Roughly speaking, the wheel needs to be powder coated black, and then subsequently, multiple very light layers of hyper silver needed to applied. Too little hyper silver, and the wheel just looks grey or too dark. Too much silver and the wheel just starts to look like a normal hyper silver. To get that chromey look that has that high flick which changes at difference angles and lighting conditions is an exercise of art more than science. To get the colour right and get a good quality job is really hard.
Magmaster were willing to work with me on this, and we went through many, many iterations before getting the colour to a point where I felt it was a good approximation of the original chrome shadow finish.
I should point out that even wheels from the factory donāt always perfectly match each other in colour, and over the years the finish hasnāt been consistent. In the earlier cars, the wheels tended to have a darker finish, with later production runs having a slightly lighter finish. All this is to say that there isnāt really a āperfectā outcome that can be achieved, but I am very happy how these came out and I feel that only a very well trained eye would spot that they have been repainted.
Finally, I would also mention that the rear wide Style 65 wheels are NLA, so you really donāt have much choice these days other than to go down the refinishing route. This was another lengthy job, but I really wanted to get it right and I think we did! The job was finished off with brand new centre caps and M stickers.
Reasons why the Wheels had to be done
Interior
In the past few months, I have accumulated various plastic and interior trim pieces that are becoming NLA at a crazy rate. In earlier chapters, I already installed a few items that were āurgentā for my sanity, but the most notable parts in this exercise are the M5-specific door sills which basically just start to crumble from age if you so much as look at them in the wrong way. As far as I can tell, I got the last rear M5-specific door sill in the world - they are NLA globally - and there just happened to be 2 left in JHB warehouse. Lucky me. Hereās what was done:
Reasons Why the Door Sill Protectors had to be replaced
New Front Seat Cover
Steering Wheel & Gearknob
On every vehicle I own, I always order a new gearknob and if affordable, a new steering wheel. In the past, a brand new E46 M3 / E39 M5 steering wheel was somewhat reasonably priced, but not anymore. So I did the next best thing, I ordered a new airbag, steering wheel trim and buttons, and then had the steering wheel recovered by Leatherboyz in Pretoria.
Old Steering Wheel
Windows
My nemesis with this car was the fact that it was speccāed with Protective Double Glazing windows which is a very cool option, but all 4 door window glass had some form of delamination. The driverās door in particular looked horrible. I have seen this issue manifest far worse on other examples, but this was a problem I couldnāt live with.
I spent months really grappling with how to solve this problem as the double glazing glass is NLA, and a fairly rare option globally. Retrofitting to single glazing was an option, but a complicated and expensive one as while the glass can easily be purchased (not especially cheaply), the window guide rubbers needs to be replaced with versions that support single glazing and those parts are of course NLA.
In the end, I decided to commit to keeping the car as-built, and set about trying to source used double glazing glass. At first, I managed to get 2 rears and front left from MD House locally. A seemingly lucky find, until I realised that the rears simply werenāt in good enough condition and couldnāt be saved with polishing. Then Peter@AEW agreed to sell me the rears from the his M5-touring donor car. Finally, I had to source the driverās side at great cost and risk from someone in Lithuania. Once I had all the glass, I had to get them professionally polished to remove fine scratches. This was a long, expensive, and difficult process that took months.
The next issue was fitment: I was really worried about a PG Glass type place just not understanding the intricacies of working on this car, or appreciating how rare the window glass is. I eventually decided to let Garage808 do the fitment at great cost, and Iām so glad I did.
They took the extra time to be super careful, and at the same time we replaced the driverās door window regulator with a genuine one. The passenger side regulator is NLA, and the aftermarket ones available locally are not great quality, and are unlikely to be fit for the job of the heavier double glazing window glass. In case youāre wondering, regardless of single or double glazing, the E39 uses the same window regulator. Luckily enough, the passenger and rear regulators are still working great, it was only the driverās side that was showing signs of needing replacement. I think Colin spent 3 days per door, just making sure to be extra careful not to damage anything get all the adjustment correct.
As part of this job, both front door lock actuators were replaced (so now all 4 are done and not at risk of getting stuck in the closed position), and the vapour barriers were resealed.
New Window Regulator
Passenger door with new window glass installed, and vapour barrier resealed.
Passenger Door with new Double Glazing glass installed
As is often the case, the original chrome shadow finish on the Style 65 wheels had started to peel in certain places and needed to be refurbished. If you know anything about the chrome shadow finish, you will know that it is a notoriously difficult colour to get right. Few shops in the world know how to do it correctly and consistently, and even they still deliver variances in their output. This is due to the multi-step process and difficult technique required to get the colour right.
Roughly speaking, the wheel needs to be powder coated black, and then subsequently, multiple very light layers of hyper silver needed to applied. Too little hyper silver, and the wheel just looks grey or too dark. Too much silver and the wheel just starts to look like a normal hyper silver. To get that chromey look that has that high flick which changes at difference angles and lighting conditions is an exercise of art more than science. To get the colour right and get a good quality job is really hard.
Magmaster were willing to work with me on this, and we went through many, many iterations before getting the colour to a point where I felt it was a good approximation of the original chrome shadow finish.
I should point out that even wheels from the factory donāt always perfectly match each other in colour, and over the years the finish hasnāt been consistent. In the earlier cars, the wheels tended to have a darker finish, with later production runs having a slightly lighter finish. All this is to say that there isnāt really a āperfectā outcome that can be achieved, but I am very happy how these came out and I feel that only a very well trained eye would spot that they have been repainted.
Finally, I would also mention that the rear wide Style 65 wheels are NLA, so you really donāt have much choice these days other than to go down the refinishing route. This was another lengthy job, but I really wanted to get it right and I think we did! The job was finished off with brand new centre caps and M stickers.
- Refinished 4x Style 65 in Chrome Shadow
- 4x New Centre Caps
- 4x New āMā Stickers
Reasons why the Wheels had to be done
Interior
In the past few months, I have accumulated various plastic and interior trim pieces that are becoming NLA at a crazy rate. In earlier chapters, I already installed a few items that were āurgentā for my sanity, but the most notable parts in this exercise are the M5-specific door sills which basically just start to crumble from age if you so much as look at them in the wrong way. As far as I can tell, I got the last rear M5-specific door sill in the world - they are NLA globally - and there just happened to be 2 left in JHB warehouse. Lucky me. Hereās what was done:
- Replaced 4x Door Sill Protectors (rears are now NLA)
- Replaced Front Door Sill Inner Trims (left and right)
- Replaced Front Door Seat Mount plastic covers (left and right)
- Confirmed front cupholders still work
- Replaced the Front Seat side covers
Reasons Why the Door Sill Protectors had to be replaced
New Front Seat Cover
Steering Wheel & Gearknob
On every vehicle I own, I always order a new gearknob and if affordable, a new steering wheel. In the past, a brand new E46 M3 / E39 M5 steering wheel was somewhat reasonably priced, but not anymore. So I did the next best thing, I ordered a new airbag, steering wheel trim and buttons, and then had the steering wheel recovered by Leatherboyz in Pretoria.
Old Steering Wheel
Windows
My nemesis with this car was the fact that it was speccāed with Protective Double Glazing windows which is a very cool option, but all 4 door window glass had some form of delamination. The driverās door in particular looked horrible. I have seen this issue manifest far worse on other examples, but this was a problem I couldnāt live with.
I spent months really grappling with how to solve this problem as the double glazing glass is NLA, and a fairly rare option globally. Retrofitting to single glazing was an option, but a complicated and expensive one as while the glass can easily be purchased (not especially cheaply), the window guide rubbers needs to be replaced with versions that support single glazing and those parts are of course NLA.
In the end, I decided to commit to keeping the car as-built, and set about trying to source used double glazing glass. At first, I managed to get 2 rears and front left from MD House locally. A seemingly lucky find, until I realised that the rears simply werenāt in good enough condition and couldnāt be saved with polishing. Then Peter@AEW agreed to sell me the rears from the his M5-touring donor car. Finally, I had to source the driverās side at great cost and risk from someone in Lithuania. Once I had all the glass, I had to get them professionally polished to remove fine scratches. This was a long, expensive, and difficult process that took months.
The next issue was fitment: I was really worried about a PG Glass type place just not understanding the intricacies of working on this car, or appreciating how rare the window glass is. I eventually decided to let Garage808 do the fitment at great cost, and Iām so glad I did.
They took the extra time to be super careful, and at the same time we replaced the driverās door window regulator with a genuine one. The passenger side regulator is NLA, and the aftermarket ones available locally are not great quality, and are unlikely to be fit for the job of the heavier double glazing window glass. In case youāre wondering, regardless of single or double glazing, the E39 uses the same window regulator. Luckily enough, the passenger and rear regulators are still working great, it was only the driverās side that was showing signs of needing replacement. I think Colin spent 3 days per door, just making sure to be extra careful not to damage anything get all the adjustment correct.
As part of this job, both front door lock actuators were replaced (so now all 4 are done and not at risk of getting stuck in the closed position), and the vapour barriers were resealed.
- Sourced and Installed Replacement 4x Double Glazing Window Glass
- Replaced 2x Front door lock actuators
- Resealed 2x Front door vapour barriers
New Window Regulator
Passenger door with new window glass installed, and vapour barrier resealed.
Passenger Door with new Double Glazing glass installed
Last edited:
AdiS
Well-known member
Little Details
New Washer Tank
Left Rear Quarter Window Shade
These rear quarter window shades often fail and they cost R9500 to replace! Luckily, mine was still in a condition to be repaired, and now it works better than new and shouldnāt fail again.
Shade Repair
Headlights
As a final finishing detail, I replaced the headlight lenses and the headlight adjusters which are prone to failing. While you can always polish headlight lenses, nothing quite gets that factory-fresh look like brand new look on the front end like brand new lenses. With the OEM Hella headlights NLA, and genuine lenses not sold separately, the only option was to look to the aftermarket. After asking around, TYC was recommended as a high quality brand and Iām really happy with them.
Headlight disassembled
Why the lenses had to be replaced
The result
- Replaced Intensive Washer Reservoir and Pump
- Replaced Oil Filter Housing Mounts
- Replaced Power Steering Reservoir Mounts
New Washer Tank
Left Rear Quarter Window Shade
These rear quarter window shades often fail and they cost R9500 to replace! Luckily, mine was still in a condition to be repaired, and now it works better than new and shouldnāt fail again.
Shade Repair
Headlights
As a final finishing detail, I replaced the headlight lenses and the headlight adjusters which are prone to failing. While you can always polish headlight lenses, nothing quite gets that factory-fresh look like brand new look on the front end like brand new lenses. With the OEM Hella headlights NLA, and genuine lenses not sold separately, the only option was to look to the aftermarket. After asking around, TYC was recommended as a high quality brand and Iām really happy with them.
Headlight disassembled
Why the lenses had to be replaced
The result
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AdiS
Well-known member
It is however unfortunate that I must also announce that the car is sold.
As you can no doubt tell from this thread this was not my original plan, but I knew this could happen and accepted the risk of this outcome when I took the project on. I am extremely proud of how this car turned out, and the new owner is also extremely happy as I understand.
Unfortunately, with my obscenely high standards, I had to make a rational call and exit the project before things got too out of hand. I love the E39 M5, but itās an expensive and difficult car to own if you have impossibly high standards like I do. There was no profit made in this sale, but Iām happy with the outcome. I said from the beginning that this was an ambitious project, and knew it might not work out. Iām glad I gave it a shot and in the process, made a good example of an M5 great.
Final Summary of the Project
General
- New Bridgestone Potenza Sport Tyres
- New Boot Struts (Stabilus)
- New Bonnet Struts (Stabilus)
- Replaced Windscreen Wiper Blades
- Battery tested and confirmed good
- Airbag Recall Check
- Inspection 2 Service
- Oil Change (BMW 10w60)
- Air Filters
- Cabin Air Filters
- Fuel Filter
- 8x Spark Plugs
- Rear Differential Fluid
- Transmission Fluid
- Brake & Clutch Fluid Flush
- Replaced Oil Level Sensor
- Replaced 4x Camshaft Position Sensors
- Replaced Valve Cover Gaskets
- Replaced Viscous Fan Clutch and Fan Blade (these are a risk when they get old if the blade brakes due to age)
- Replaced 2x Engine Mounts
- Replaced Timing Chain Tensioner
- Replaced 4x Power Steering Hoses
- Power Steering Fluid Flush
- Replaced Power Steering Reservoir Cap + New āATF Onlyā sticker
- Replaced Thermostat & Coolant Temperature Sensor
- Cooling System Flushed and Pressure Tested
- Replaced Fuel Pump and Right Fuel Level Sender (correcting the common fuel gauge inaccuracy issue)
- Replaced Intensive Washer Bottle
- Replaced Intensive Washer Pump (aftermarket)
- Replaced Oil Filler cap with E46 M3 style (these ones donāt leak)
- New Power Steering Reservoir Mount Bushings (previously NLA)
- New Oil Filter Housing Mount Bushings
- Replaced 6x Brake Lines with Stainless Lines (The brake lines near the ABS module are a fire risk)
- Replaced Front Brake Discs, Pads, Wear Sensor
- Replaced Brake Master Cylinder
- Extensive Brake Bleed
- Replaced 2x Transmission Mounts
- Replaced Prop shaft Flex joint / Giubo
- Replaced Front and Rear Differential Mounts
- Replaced Rear Differential Side Seals (diff input seal done in 2021)
- Full gear shifter Mechanism Rebuild + BMW E60 545i Short Shifter
- Replaced 4x Shocks and Front Shock Mounts
- Replaced 2x Rear AntiRoll Bar Brackets
- Replaced 1x Rear Thrust Arm (other one was already done in 2021)
- Replaced 2x Front Thrust Arms and Bushes
- Replaced failed Oval Rear View Mirror Glass
- Repaired Instrument Cluster Dead Pixels
- Replaced 4x Door Lock Actuators (on lower mileage cars, they get sticky and can fail in the locked position)
- Resealed 4x Door Vapour Barriers (if left unaddressed, water ingress will ruin the door panels)
- Replaced 4x Double Glazing Window Glass (extremely difficult to find as they are NLA)
- Replaced Driverās Door Window Regulator (all other window regulators work perfectly)
- Replaced 4x āM5ā-specific Door Sill Protectors (rears are now NLA)
- Replaced 2x Front Door Sill Inner Trim
- Replaced 2x Rear Door Sill Inner Trim
- Recovered Steering Wheel in Nappa Leather (Leatherboyz)
- Replaced Center console storage bin
- Replaced Armrest Trim Tab
- Replaced Rear air vent Cubby
- Repainted Center trim below cupholders (because part is NLA)
- Confirmed that cupholders still work
- Replaced Navigation Volume Knobs
- Replaced Steering wheel Button Cluster
- Replaced Steering wheel Lower trim
- Replaced Airbag
- Replaced Gearknob
- Upgraded Navigation from Mark III to Mark IV with latest V32 Software
- DSP Amplifier Bench tested and confirmed good by Carphonics UK
- Upgraded from BM24 to latest BM54 Radio Module with Carphonics 50W RMS Upgrade and preventatively repaired as they are known to fail
- Installed BlueBus Bluetooth System for Factory-like Bluetooth Integration
- Replaced Windscreen Rubber Moulding
- Replaced 2x Fog lights (TYC)
- Replaced 2x Headlight lenses (TYC) and Headlight Adjusters
- Replaced (Genuine BMW) and painted Front Bumper
- Replaced and painted Left Headlight Trim
- Replaced 2x Lower Front Fender Liner āPork chopsā
- Repainted Left Side Sill
- Rear Bumper Diffuser painted Satin Black
- Replaced 1x Missing Jack Pad
- Replaced 6x Door Side Trim Mouldings
- Replaced 4x Bumper Corner Trim Mouldings
- Wheels refinished in Chrome Shadow
- New Centre Caps
- New M Stickers
- Replaced 6x Exhaust Mounts
- Replaced all Exhaust Mounting Nuts and Bolts
Special Thanks
Garage808
As previously mentioned, my primary partner with this project has been Garage808 and they have continued to work on the car with a very high level of care, with the understanding that this car is special and rare. Once again, they have spent more time in reality than was billed for to solve tricky problems. I owe them a debt of gratitude, and anyone in Cape Town who has a special car where they want someone knowledgable to go the extra mile should consider using them.
Master PanelBeaters
Stephen Wearne understood the assignment and only cared about me being happy which is a breath of fresh air compared to most bodyshops whoād rather just gaslight you into thinking that their shitty work is acceptable. I think the body work came out great with Silverstone Metallic being a tricky colour to work with.
Magmaster
As I described above, Chrome Shadow is a tough colour to get right, and Jono was very keen to work with me until we got the right result. It was a lengthy project, but we got it right in the end and Iām very happy with the outcome.
Peter@AEW
Thank you to Peter who was forthcoming with knowledge and advice, and was also willing to sell ultra-rare double glazing window glass to help me solve what at times felt like an unsolvable problem.
AdiS
Well-known member
That's an amusing comment
But I don't have a workshop, and although I documented it quite well, I didn't do most of the work myself. I've got nothing on M539 Restorations
Benji
Well-known member
Oh look, a brand new E39 M5! Next level stimulation followed by a sword through the heart...
Well done to building and "saving" an awesome example, but mostly, well done for keeping your eye on the ball and not letting things get out of hand when it comes to a project car. That can sometimes be the hardest thing to determine on a project - when is good, good enough...
Well done to building and "saving" an awesome example, but mostly, well done for keeping your eye on the ball and not letting things get out of hand when it comes to a project car. That can sometimes be the hardest thing to determine on a project - when is good, good enough...
AdiS
Well-known member
Well, in my case, "good" is never good enough. I could probably make an expensive restoration project out of a brand new car
So in order to protect myself from myself, the car had to go. I made the same decision with my M3.
TBP88
Well-known member
Congrats on getting it to this point and moving on. I can say having seen your old E46 that there probably aren't many nicer E39M5s on earth than this one, and I'm fairly confident it's in the top 2 or 3 nicest in this country. Sad you had to shift it on but glad you got out what you put in!
AdiS
Well-known member
Thanks for the kind words!
You'd be surprised but there are nicer ones around. They are just quietly owned and not written about, and certainly never reach the open market if they trade.
