SOLD
Location-Murfreesboro, TN
Email-benloveless1@gmail.com
1984 BMW 533i
Vin-WBADB7401E1194292
Carfax-No accidents, no brands on title, no funny business
I purchased this car in January of 2018 from a gentleman in Asheville, NC. It was exactly what I wanted-alpine white with red leather interior. I bought the car through wire transfer sight unseen and had the car delivered to my home in Murfreesboro, TN. The day it was backed off the transport truck it wasn’t seen on the road again for another 3 years because it underwent a mild restoration that lasted way longer than expected. The car was not in any way what I thought I was buying. The paint was crap, car had some rusty areas that weren’t mentioned, and the cabin harness had caught fire behind the dash. Needless to say this is where I start the breakdown of the 3 year long process of completely stripping the thing apart.
-Exterior-
The car received a complete glass out body and paint work refinish. I am a painter for living and everything was done in house using PPG envirobase products with a basecoat and clearcoat finish. I can discuss more in detail regarding the paint process if buyer wishes. The jambs and engine compartment are original paint. Before the paintwork, the car received a complete PDR treatment to ensure all the metal was free of dents then we tackled the rust repair in the windshield gasket cowl area, quarter panel, and lower rocker. The car wasn’t eat up with rust but did have some areas that were addressed and treated correctly. I opted for the euro bumpers as well as completely converting the rear tail panel to the euro one and the front euro valance. The car is also sporting an oem bmw M5 euro front chin spoiler, “is” rear spoiler, and color matched mirrors. Every gasket, weatherstrip, belt molding, and side door molding was replaced with a brand new oem bmw piece. Every bit of anodized aluminum was sent to East TN chrome plating to have the anodized stripped off and polished back to a bright aluminum finish. The entire car was assembled by me ensuring the fit and finish of every connector, gasket, weatherstrip and molding was of the highest detail I could put out.
-Interior-
Because of the electrical issue behind the dash I was forced to completely strip the car of the entire harness from headlight to taillight. The donor car was a 87 535is so the OBC is the late model version and all the wiring is that of the late model as well. The entire chassis harness was pulled with no cutting of any wires and transplanted back into the 533i. When the entire interior was out of the car, the whole inside received white POR15 treatment on the floor and trunk area for corrosion protection. After the POR15, the entire inside of the car received dynamat for a quiet and comfortable ride. In place of the factory comfort seats I used e30 manual sport seats with Massive Lee adapters. They are nearly identical to the e28 sport seats without all of the motors and gears. If you choose to ever replace them with e28 sport seats the plug is still under the seat if you wish. All of the Taurus red was replaced with Cardinal red leather and the door panels were stitched in a Motorsport “3” stripe as well for extra level of detail. The cracked dash was replaced with a crack free California dash as well as all the heat and ac boxes behind the dash were rebuilt with new foam ensuring a tight seal. Prior to the glass installation I had Stephens Brothers Upholstery in Nashville install a German suede headliner in the car as well. An issue with the headliner that I did not catch when I picked the car up was that they did not remove the dome lights prior to installing the headliner. I have the dome light switched in the “off” position currently so that the battery doesn’t drain. To fix the dome light situation the buyer would need to take it to a local upholstery shop to have them locate the dome light fixtures behind the headliner and make some incisions in it to then snap them back in place. I honestly prefer the look of the headliner with no dome lights as it is sleek looking. Car is also equipped with a new head unit, kicker speakers, clarion amplifier under the rear seat, and a kicker subwoofer in the back for modern sound. Included in the sale of the vehicle will be the black and red pepper coco mats that I did my best to tie into the colors of the seats and carpet as well as the Nardi steering wheel that provides the period correct look and feel to the car.
-Suspension/Steering-
During the 3 year period the car was undergoing multiple facets of small restoration bits throughout the car, I managed to finish all the suspension first. This e28 is sporting Bc coilovers that are welded to the spindle in the front and a full coilover in the rear. The ride is not like most coilover systems as this is quite pleasant as opposed to every bouncy off-the-shelf unit out there. They utilized camber plates for many degrees of camber adjustment for any wheels you could want to fit under the fender wells. All of the thrust arms, control arms, steering link, tie rods, and bushings are all brand new units purchased from FCP euro. The front control arms are equipped with Moosehead engineering’s spherical upper control arm bearings which are considered to be the top of the line. Every bushing in the rear concerning subframe and trailing arms have power flex bushings installed in them with new pitman arms. I will also note that the differential bushing is a HD unit as well. When the rear end was removed I had all the trailing arms and rear subframe sandblasted and powdercoated satin black for a nice oem finish. All wheel bearings and snap rings were replaced and even the steering box dowel was welded into the subframe for reinforcement. The sway bars are original to the car with new bushings and end links for factory stabilization.
-Wheels/Tires/Brakes-
I’m not sure what is better than a set of BBS RS’s, the pinnacle of German wheelsets in nearly perfect E28 fitment—16x8 et11 wrapped in some meaty 245/45R16 Bridgestone Potenza’s. These 3-piece wheels were split for the lips to be high speed polished, the centers to be powdercoated and the hardware to be replaced to make for a nearly brand new looking set. The tires themselves have approximately 1000 miles on them with manufacture dates being the 5th week of 2022. All of the leaking original hydraulic braking system and brake bomb was removed in place of a vacuum braking system and booster from a 528e. This was a bolt on affair with the exception of tapping the intake manifold for a vacuum source which was quite easy. A brand new 25mm master cylinder from an E32 was used to accommodate the upgraded e34 540i front brake upgrade and the E32 740i rear brake upgrade. For those that aren’t familiar, this is a direct bolt on upgrade over the stock brakes to gain thicker and vented rotors. All the braking system was flushed and new stainless brake lines were installed at the calipers.
-Engine-
The powerplant of this E28 has remained the same since ‘84. It is the original VIN matching M30 with what I suspect to be close to 280k miles. The odometer stopped at 228,00. Given that’s an average of 7600 miles a year til 2013, one can assume if driven regularly it tacked on another 30-40k miles until I purchased it. Since my ownership in 2018, I have only put on about 6k miles driving mostly to local cars n coffee shows and large BMW vintage car shows. The engine itself has underwent extensive maintenance including nearly every gasket was replaced, timing chains, oil pan gasket, rear main seal, front cover gaskets, front main seal, valve cover gasket etc. The power steering pump is new with brand new replacement hoses as well. All of the ignition system is new from the coil, plugs, cap, rotor, and wire set. This car has no problem starting up every time. I will also note that the engine mounts were replaced at the time of the gasket refresh with oem bmw green ones, all work was performed by Bell Buckle Motorworks.
-Transmission/Drivetrain-
Matted to the original M30 is a replacement 5 speed gear gearbox from another 533i. When I purchased the vehicle it presented a grind in 3rd gear so I supplied a transmission, clutch kit and lightweight flywheel to Bell Buckle Motorworks at the time of the gasket refresh to be installed. The clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, and clutch line was also replaced at the time of the transmission install. The clutch pedal return spring was replaced with an HD unit engineered by BenGerman on mye28 forums and the pedal box was also reinforced as well to prevent the prone to cracking issues they are known for. All of the shifter bushings, cup, and related shifter components were rebuilt with oem bmw parts at the time of the transmission replacement. A replacement low mileage driveshaft was sourced as the new one showed worn out u-joints. The driveshaft serviced consisted of new centering sleeve, guibo, and a center support bearing. Out back is a 3.64 LSD that has been inspected, cleaned up, and painted.
-Coolinng/Heat/AC-
The cooling system has been overhauled as well boasting a new Nissens radiator, radiator hoses, water pump, thermostat, expansion tank, and coolant level sensor. At the time of the dash replacement all of the HVAC duct boxes were rebuilt as said above in the listing. A new evap core was installed at the time with all new green R134a o-rings. All of the AC lines were measured, cut, and crimped for replacement R134a Freon usage as well as a brand new parallel flow condenser was installed. The AC system is efficient and effective with the help of the Sanden compressor upgrade to complete the AC system overhaul. The heating system is working properly as well with replacement heater hoses throughout, a new heater control valve, and working slider actuator flaps.
-Areas that need Attention-
Because of the age of the car and electronics the window motors are operational but are very slow. The front windows work slow and the back windows are slower. The rear parcel shelf was upholstered to match the headliner however they poked holes in it for rear headrest that weren’t equipped with this model so there’s holes for nothing. The b-post trim panels are made of cardboard essentially and are starting to come off. They are there but not fastened as the screw holes are split for the hardware to pass straight through not allowing it to be held down.
This is what I have now and as I think of more things I will add them to the listing. Let me know if you have any questions.
Attached is the Google photo album.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EARENQNUufG7QzBdA
https://youtu.be/IhFaIX-D42E?si=aCJN17FK2lq76FdN
SOLD—-1984 BMW 533i Alpine White
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- Posts: 232
- Joined: Jul 08, 2015 12:14 AM
- Location: Murfreesboro, TN
SOLD—-1984 BMW 533i Alpine White
Last edited by benloveless1 on Jan 05, 2024 3:39 PM, edited 2 times in total.
Re: 1984 BMW 533i Alpine White
Well done sir! Alpine white on Cardinal?!? OEM M5 chin? Refinished Sport Seats? Fresh glass out paint? Holy moly! Refinished BBS? From a quick look through your pics, this car is a standout This will sell super fast...
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- Posts: 232
- Joined: Jul 08, 2015 12:14 AM
- Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Re: 1984 BMW 533i Alpine White
Thank you! I tried to represent the car well while being honest and up front about some things that still need addressing.
Nosis wrote: Jan 01, 2024 2:24 PM Well done sir! Alpine white on Cardinal?!? OEM M5 chin? Refinished Sport Seats? Fresh glass out paint? Holy moly! Refinished BBS? From a quick look through your pics, this car is a standout This will sell super fast...
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- Posts: 11
- Joined: Oct 15, 2014 11:28 PM
- Location: DFW, TX
Re: 1984 BMW 533i Alpine White
Sent you an email
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- Posts: 232
- Joined: Jul 08, 2015 12:14 AM
- Location: Murfreesboro, TN