Gixxer's 540i/6 Msport build

Hi all!
I am not new to BMWs... I have owned at least 16 of them over the years beginning with an e28 528e... since then, some of the most interesting I have owned were an e24 Euro spec Alpina 635csi, an e30 M3, an e53 X5 4.6is... Some of which are certainly more valuable today than when I owned them. Oh how I wish I had kept them! Fast forward to 2013 and my current passion and most favorite of them all; an e34 540i/6 M-sport!!!

I aquired this vehicle in Dec 2011. It was intact, but needed a bit of attention and updating.

First day at home;






How I received it;
174,xxx miles
Nikasil block replaced by BMW recall at 87k? (roughly 87k on alusil block)
Original paint; no body damage
Interior in good condition (7 out of 10)
some rust appearing on the bottoms of the doors
Dinan exhaust
Overall excellent cosmetic condition considering mileage on chassis
Front bumper needed attention

What I have done;
I loved the old throwing stars wheels, but 2 of them were cracked (air leaking out of the tires as evidence) and all of them had bubbling paint...


...so I ditched them in favor of Brand New Staggared 18" Mpars!


The EDC suspension was shot. I was torn between restoring it or going with a conventional coil over setup. After months of gathering as much information as possible about the EDC and getting frustrated with the lack of knowlege of local "BMW experts"... I decided to remove the corners and leave the rest of the EDC intact (sans relay to eliminate the EDC inactive light) in the event that I would like to return to it someday...

The immediate/temporary replacement was std e34 front hub assemblies with Boge inserts and M-Sport springs while the SLS rear remained... It was far better than the blown out EDC struts that I drove home with, but not optimal.

With new wheels, the front bumper and rusty door bottoms were looking pretty sad...


Fortunately the rust was only minor and we were able to save the doors, but the bumper supports were damaged, so I sourced a brand new M-Sport bumper!



I was pleased with the new wheels and paint. It was handling much better. I could have easily stopped here, but I wanted more low, so I started shopping for a new setup.
.....I finally settled with a Koni adjustable/Vogtland setup that I am very pleased with.




....Of course, LuLu is in charge of quality control. She had to inspect everything before it went on the car;


The ride is soft and compliant until you toss it into a turn, then the progressive rate springs firm up and it tracks like it is on rails...

While the suspension was getting done, the engine was also getting all new seals, gaskets, O-rings, plugs, filters, belts and a general cleaning. A few cosmetic improvements were in order;

Rear Headrests!


Aluminum pedals;


New door handle gaskets


New Mirror inserts;


and Racing Dynamic strut bar.


New cf trim and black floormats to kill some of the "Tan" and to make it look a little more sporty;


To make it feel faster and even more solid, I installed a JB Racing 13lb LTW flywheel along with a new OEM/Sachs clutch,



a DSSR and short shift kit!


new poly engine mounts and tranny mounts,


ditched the Dinan exhaust in favor of a SuperSprint exhaust!


About this time a 3.15 LSD showed up and was installed


...And the very last set of Racing Dynamics Sway Bars in the Country!


...And this is what my car was beginning to look like after about 6 months of ownership;


...Heading out to Bimmerfest EAST 2012






Then to a VIR trackday (DE) the following Monday after driving 1100 miles to Aberdeen, MD then back through Pennsylvania to visit Frank Loyd Wright's Fallingwater on our way home....


Come on... you didn't think it was just for show, did you?


Meanwhile, back to the shop.... I wanted to try some new wheels ;
BLING! BLING!


Thought about these;


and really wanted these ASC Schnitzers (but I didn't act fast enough and they got away)


...ended up buying a set of Alpinas from a guy in Latvia


but ended up liking the Mpars better, so I promptly sold the Alpinas...
Then, all of a sudden, my dream wheels of all time (Hartge Design C) showed up in a for sale ad from my friend in Latvia. I learned my lesson from missing the ACS wheels, so I snagged them before anyone else could get their dirty paws on them!


Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed my story and the pics so far. I hope to see you out there in the real world sometime!

Nice , very nice !:beer::beer:

Sent from my Desire HD using Bimmer App

Thanks for the great write up Tim. I thought you dropped a supercharger on her didn't you? You can bet that I will be giving you a call sometime in the near future to come see that beautiful beast.

Oh, and I promise to wear a bib so I don't drool all over your car

You are correct! I did drop in an ESS Supercharger and and have continued to dial it in. I have accomplished other modifications since Bimmerfest that I will detail a little later! The first post was getting really long and I had reached my limit of 35 pictures in a single post, so I cut it off there there.

...Meanwhile, here is an exhaust teaser video

What a sweet ride- you have great taste... makes me wish I had made it to B-fest East last year. Maybe this year!

Outstanding work !!!

your car shows why this car is timeless when done right.....you scared me with that pic of the bling wheels

Looks freakn sweet!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by cutter67

your car shows why this car is timeless when done right.....you scared me with that pic of the bling wheels

Hahahaha...
Yeah, it was a joke that I thought I would share. My friend Rodney (who owns a BMW repair shop) swapped the wheels and snapped the picture... He got a kick out of it.