Firstfives.org

Hello FirstFivers!

I have just recently purchased a 1980 528i from an auto shop for $300, what choice did I have at that price? Did I take more than a glance at the vehicle, or inquire in depth about WHY it was in the shop to begin with? Of course not, I heard $300 and pulled out my wallet which was mostly empty at the time(I came back with cash!). I will be physically getting the car next week…

Prior to this, I had been researching and searching for an E28 so I am starting over in a lot of areas of my research(no complaints here).

Now onto the CAR….

Here’s what I know(Mostly I have photos)

The car was brought into the shop because it was not driving, the shop got as far as discovering it needed a new Ignition Control Module. The client never claimed the vehicle and it’s been sitting at the shop for months and I happened upon it by coincidence. The body is in great shape, no dents or scratches, only the one area where the paint is cracking and rust is coming through(see pics). The seats are in great condition, much better than I would have expected for a 40 year old vehicle; the dash and things in that area are pretty trashed(see pics). The car from what I can tell from my initial inspection is mostly rust free except for the areas in the trunk that I took photos of but even that all seems to be surface rust. Super cool, I found the original plates in the trunk!(see pics) Once I get vehicle registered the original plates will go back on it

Once the car is in my garage I will have the opportunity to really dig in and start on my “hit list”. This is going to be a slow build and I will try to post updates of my progress along the way. I am also very handy in most things but have very little mechanical experience, I am looking forward to learning as I go!


**I will post the rest of the photos in the comments, it’s only letting me post 3 at a time**


-Sunshine

Interior Photos:

Areas with rust:

The first photo is in the trunk

A few more trunk details:

I need some mirrors! Also a shot of one of the wheels:

You will need proof the blue plates were originally on your car, either a pink slip or registration card will do, don’t expect the DMV clerk to know how to do it, ask for a supervisor. And you need both plates.

Thanks for the response, I do have both plates fortunately. The pink slip or registration will be a challenge but there’s some paperwork in the trunk that I haven’t finished going through yet. I appreciate the tip!

It looks like it's in pretty decent shape to restore. I would focus on getting it running first before going too far with it. Nice find.

canada karl wrote: ↑Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:46 am It looks like it's in pretty decent shape to restore. I would focus on getting it running first before going too far with it. Nice find.

Thank you! I am ready to get it home so I can dig into and see what needs to be done to hit the road. I will try to keep this updated with my progress, or at least the road blocks I run into.

There will be a lot of things competing for your money, but because you got this car virtually for free you should buy an official blue service manual. They come up on eBay fairly often. I tried to limp along with the Haynes manual when I first bought my E12 and there's no comparison. The Chilton's, if you didn't already guess, is best bound with duct tape and used as a wheel chock.

528i-1981 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:22 am There will be a lot of things competing for your money, but because you got this car virtually for free you should buy an official blue service manual. They come up on eBay fairly often. I tried to limp along with the Haynes manual when I first bought my E12 and there's no comparison. The Chilton's, if you didn't already guess, is best bound with duct tape and used as a wheel chock.

Thanks for the tip, I’ve been watching a few on eBay. I ordered the Haynes manual and figured it was too good to be true to get away with only spending $15...I don’t mind dishing out cash for knowledge. Thanks again!

FINALLY after 2 months of waiting for the paperwork to go through I got to bring the girl home.

I am just getting into it, the tow truck driver was kind enough to let me give her a quick wash before it went into the garage. I created a small dust storm using the air compressor to get the layers and layers of dust in the engine bay so I can start to see whats going on.

First thing is changing out the fluids before I even try to start it. If you have recommended things to do with a "new" car I am all ears, as stated before I am not the most mechanically savvy so I am figuring this out as I go along. Right out the gate there are a couple of mysteries(to me) that I haven't done proper research on yet but will post them here so feel free to chime in.

Very excited to finally have the car in my garage so I can start tinkering.

I will update as much as possible, thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Sunshine

First two mysteries(so far)
It appears this has been rubbing some some time, the filter appears to be the correct size since the clasps closes properly and the box is mounted "properly". Once again, it's further down my list of priorities so I haven't looked into it yet.

For this mystery, I am not sure what's going on here so maybe someone could shed some light. This is higher on the list but I am not there yet. I found it just sitting like this

How long since this has been started? Here are some pointers from Dr. Siegal.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenan ... -dead-car/

In your second photo, think the snorkel just came off the airbox and the ignition wires spread into the gap. I can't quite make out what's happening with your rubbing situation, the photos are too close-up.

Enjoy your project!