davintosh

Well, I’ve lived with my newly acquired old car for about a week now, and feel like I know it pretty well. It’s got its quirks and its issues, but I’m pretty well convinced that those quirks and issues can either be dealt with or lived with, and even more convinced that I got a killer deal on it.

I don’t have any photos of it yet (they’re coming…), but thought I’d enumerate the good and the bad here, for posterity if nothing else:

The Good:

• There is no body rust. Period. I’ve seen nothing on the rockers, the fenders, the trunk, the underbody, or anywhere else. Clean, clean, clean.
• The engine pulls strong and the transmission stays in gear (once you get it there).
• The car tracks straight as an arrow going down the street or highway; doesn’t pull or wander.
• It rides solidly on rough roads; I drove down a gravel road the other day at 70mph, and it felt like a highway. Going 60 in this car feels like 35 in my Suzuki (that could get me in trouble!)
• The clutch is good, and feels like it has lots of life left in it.
• All the glass is intact, as is the trim.
• All but one of the power windows work, as does the sunroof.
• The local self-serve junkyard has an ’84 528e on the lot, and it has many of the parts I need.
• The tires are nearly new, and should last a good, long time. And the previous owner spent a little extra to get the speed-rated tires. Sweet!
• It has a full-size spare tire in the trunk, and it’s mounted on the same style wheel as is used elsewhere on the car. Look for a feature like that on a US-made car. The tire and wheel appear to be used, but it holds air and won’t look dorky if it’s pressed into duty.
• No fluid leaks underneath.

The Bad:

• The driver’s seat is shot. I was climbing in at lunchtime the other day and heard something rip. At first I assumed it was the seat, since it already has tears in it, but it turned out to be the rear pocket on my jeans. I think it’s trying to get at my wallet.
• Although the body is rust-free, the paint is in rough shape. The previous owner said that it had been painted prior to him buying it, but it did not get a clear coat. He had been trying to keep it buffed and shining, but he’s been dealing with cancer the last few years and hasn’t been able to keep up with it. The paint is oxidized and stained, but may only need a good buffing to shine again. I’ll give it a go when it warms up.
• The shifter is floppy. Something is broken/worn in there and keeps it from shifting as crisply as I’d like. And when it’s cold, it does not like to go into 2nd gear. Even when its warm it takes some extra care to get it into 2nd.
• The left turn signal doesn’t work when the running lights are on. When the running lights are on the left turn signal indicator on the dash glows dimly; there must be some crosstalk on a wire somewhere.
• The front bumper is bent and has a goofy nose-up look to it. Looking under the bumper, one of the three bolts holding the bumper shock in place on the left side is loose, so the bumper moves up & down a little on that side, making a thumping noise at times. I’d love to find a set of European bumpers for it and ditch the diving boards, but this shouldn’t be too difficult to fix, and will get me by until I can find the Euros.
• The muffler is gone. I stopped by my once favorite muffler shop last week, and was quoted $400 for a replacement. Ouch! I assumed that they’d be able to splice in a piece of pipe and weld up a standard non-OEM replacement, but the guy at the shop wouldn’t even consider it. My next option is to look for another shop, or bite the bullet and buy a replacement that I can bolt in for about $150. Ouch. Confirmation that it’s trying to get at my wallet.
• The heater controls are missing knobs.
• The antenna is broken, so the radio doesn’t work.
• The armrest on the driver’s door is broken.
• There are tears in the headliner, and what isn’t torn is pretty brittle. I may have to learn some upholstery skills.
• The BMW badge is missing from the hood, as is the ‘528e’ badge from the trunk lid. I found a place online that has them marked down, so I might have to place an order…
• The doors all need adjusting, and some of the door seals need replacing. The window channels are also a bit worn and leak air & water.
• The carpet is dirty and worn, and the original BMW carpet floor mats look like crap. The carpet may be able to be spiffed up, but it’s replacement time for the mats.
• The leather on the other seats is dry and brittle.
• The cover for the access hole between the windshield and the sunroof for the sunroof motor is missing.
• One of the door lock knobs is missing, and another is broken.
• The odometer isn’t working.
• The parking/emergency brake handle needs some work; the release button is recessed in the hole, and takes some dexterity to press. My finger hurts from that.

While those two lists look a bit unbalanced, I think the good outweighs the bad by a lot. And taking into consideration the $800 entry price… I can put a lot into it and still not exceed what I’m hoping to get out of the Suzuki.

And some of the issues are pretty easy fixes; like the e-brake issue I mentioned… I read a post on mye28.com this afternoon, and it turned out that the lever has a plastic cover on it, and it’s just a matter of twisting/pulling on the thing to get it back to where it ought to be! Draw a line through that baby!

And some of the others might be almost as easy to deal with; a local junkyard has an ’84 e28 in the self-serve yard, and it has the same color interior as mine, so some of the missing/broken interior parts may be only a short drive and a few dollars away. The same night I bought the car I found the mye28.com forum, and saw a post from one of the members in the Twin Cities area who has a wrecked ’88 that he’s parting out, and I’ve got dibs on the seats for a cool $150. Powered and heated sport seats, no less. If things work out, I’ll drive up there on Thursday and pick them up. He’s also got some of the other miscellaneous parts I’m needing, so here’s hoping that works out.