Spasso's Euro 635 #5546139

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:09 am

Since I picked up this car a few weeks ago I have been crash-coursing on E12/E24s, doing an inventory on the car to see what I need to bring all of the maintenance up to date..

I am aware that it is not an //M. The previous owner took the liberty.

Most of the items are little nickel and dime things like rear sway bar bushings, a couple nuts and bolts plus tune up items..

This is the introduction thread, viewtopic.php?t=14726 .

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:38 am

I have never understood how anyone that owns any kind of beautiful car would let the engine bay and chassis accumulate decades of dirt and grease.
Although the engine bay was pretty good on this car the back half of the chassis didn't look like it had been cleaned in 32 years.

As customary with every car I buy, I started prep for pressure washing.
I find no joy in working on a dirty car.

I know what you are thinking, what about the electronics? That's what zip-lock sandwich and freezer bags are for, plus aircraft grade duct tape and cable ties. I use a low pressure focused spray in the engine bay and turn it up for the chassis.

When finished I spend close to an hour blowing down the engine bay with compressed air.
I haven't had a failure or hiccup for 20 years or so.

The results are well worth it.
***************************************************

Friday I spent 4 hours bagging the delicate stuff in the engine bay and soaking it and the chassis down with Simple Green, full strength.

Saturday I spent 4 hours pressure washing and drying.

Sunday was domestic chores.

Monday I went back out to address the stubborn areas around the tailshaft of the transmission and especially the differential and rear suspension.

The grease on the differential was the consistency of tar which I shaved off with a stiff putty knife followed by an assortment of brass bristle brushes, stiff plastic pot scrubbers and a handy standard issue bristle type toilet brush.

I probably spent an hour on the Differential alone.
Same goes for the CV joints, at least an hour on those.

While inspecting the RR suspension I noticed a groove worn in the side of the fuel filter. Because the car is lowered it appears that the mounting stud for the rear sway bar was swing up and touching the filter when the suspension compressed further. Filter on order. Repositioning required.

All I need now is a free weekend next week and I can start fixing "stuff".

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:01 am

The suspension stud and damaged Fuel Filter. It was leaking too.

Note that the bushings that attached the sway bar to the frame were MISSING, allowing the sway bar to move laterally, probably allowing the stud to walk over to the fuel filter.

Brucey · Post by **Brucey** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:02 am

hey that looks to be in pretty good shape. Pressure washing is OK if done v. carefully like you say.

It looks like all that crud may have kept your engine bay plated parts in good condition, so maybe you should thank the POs for their lack of crud removal!

I suppose it is damp where you are and salty on the roads in the winter. In the UK where I am most E12 based models have bitten the dust through corrosion in our similarly damp climate....

Welcome aboard, and I hope it all goes OK.

cheers

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:03 am

I looked all over the differential for I.D. numbers and couldn't find any. All I found was an "S" stamped on the rear.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 2:12 am

Brucey wrote:hey that looks to be in pretty good shape. Pressure washing is OK if done v. carefully like you say.

It looks like all that crud may have kept your engine bay plated parts in good condition, so maybe you should thank the POs for their lack of crud removal!

I suppose it is damp where you are and salty on the roads in the winter. In the UK where I am most E12 based models have bitten the dust through corrosion in our similarly damp climate....

Welcome aboard, and I hope it all goes OK.

cheers

Hi Brucey,
I am in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Except for the incessant rain, the environment is usually pretty good to cars around here and I try to buy local because of that.
This car spent a lot of years sitting inside during the winters so the rockers and floor pan are still good..

They just started using brine on the roads during the winter here a few years ago so I am careful only to take my trusty 525 out in it.

The mid-west and east coast are murder on cars because of the winters and heavy salt.

The deep south is hot and humid, pretty tough on the rubber bits.

It's hard to find ANY car from the 70's that isn't falling apart. I used to own a number of 240Zs and replaced floor pans in three of them..What a job.

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:46 pm

It should be a 3.07 limited slip.
Take a look at your speeds on the highway. It should be something like 3000rpm at 70mph if I recall. I will have to check on that though.

GRNSHRK · Post by **GRNSHRK** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 3:41 pm

Dana, here's a shot off my diff that shows the location of the number stampings that identify the ratio

For mine, 38:11 = 3.45 ratio

Tschultz is right though, "should be" 3.07 gearing

Nice work, keep those cards and letters coming

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:03 pm

Thanks for the photo. I'll take a look tomorrow AM.

I'll start resizing my pictures so they are easier to look at too.

bpoliakoff · Post by **bpoliakoff** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:04 pm

Dana, your rear sway bars do not appear to be original to the car. The linkage on them appears to be cobbled up to make them work. That could be your clearence issue with the fuel filter??

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:25 pm

bpoliakoff wrote:Dana, your rear sway bars do not appear to be original to the car. The linkage on them appears to be cobbled up to make them work. That could be your clearence issue with the fuel filter??

I have the same thoughts.
It has Heim joints between the bar and the swing arm mount which I have not been able to find in any illustrations in RealOEM. (E12-535, E12-633, E12-635) I assume this is an eftermarket adaptation.

IIRC, the swing arm mounts are stock but I think the stud is too long that goes through the stack-up. I plan on shortening the stud and lowering the car to see what the clearance looks like before I install the new filter.

This car does not have a stock front sway bar either. It measures 28mm, also not found in Real OEM

bpoliakoff · Post by **bpoliakoff** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:30 pm

IIRC mine is a 19mm up front and a 25 in the back which I believe is stock for the pre 82 euros. Rear linkeage is just a straight bolt with various rubber "bumpers" and spacers setting the tension by allowing you to draw up on the bolt only so much. Makes me wonder if by cutting the spacers you could put more pre load on the bar and if that would cause problems??

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:31 pm

tschultz wrote:It should be a 3.07 limited slip.
Take a look at your speeds on the highway. It should be something like 3000rpm at 70mph if I recall. I will have to check on that though.

If and when the monsoons quit around here I'll take it out and record speed/RPMs.
Bringing the car home for the first time I asked my Dad what the average speed was and he quoted almost 10 MPH faster than indicated on the my speedo in the 635, (He was in the 530 Touring)

Not sure what that means exactly.
I have heard of Speedos being "re-faced" on other cars during Federalization with results not being quite accurate...............

I need to get a look at that Differential tomorrow.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:37 pm

bpoliakoff wrote:IIRC mine is a 19mm up front and a 25 in the back which I believe is stock for the pre 82 euros. Rear linkeage is just a straight bolt with various rubber "bumpers" and spacers setting the tension by allowing you to draw up on the bolt only so much. Makes me wonder if by cutting the spacers you could put more pre load on the bar and if that would cause problems??

This one is 18mm dia.
An 18mm is noted in REALOEM for my car #5546139 although the design differs. The E12-M535 has one the same dia as well..

I don't plan on shortening the spacers, just the exposed section of threaded stud that is sticking up from the swing arm mount. It won't change the stack-up length or bar loading.

IIRC the Heim joints are length adjustable as well. I have detailed photos at home and will take another look.

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:28 am

Very neat if it is an e12 M535i sway bar.. talk about score.

Ralph in Socal · Post by **Ralph in Socal** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:27 am

Extremely Clean ones are even better. Welcome to BC and very nice ride spasso.

I have some of the same sway bar links you show but I have seen the clamp ring around the bar in the vertical position. Mine do not have any spacers for the heim joint attachment to the A arm. The Hardy and Beck sway bar I have came with the adjustable clamp/link set-up like yours.

I don't think it's an M535 unit as I've never seen BMW offer adjustable sways or links for the early cars. I could, very easily, be wrong also. Look for the BMW logo or any part numbers stamped at one end for identification.

Ralph

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:47 am

tschultz wrote:Very neat if it is an e12 M535i sway bar.. talk about score.

It's hard to say. The illustrations in RealOEM look the same for both cars and neither look like the bar on mine.

I'll post some better pictures tomorrow.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:56 am

Ralph in Socal wrote:Extremely Clean ones are even better. Welcome to BC and very nice ride spasso.

I have some of the same sway bar links you show but I have seen the clamp ring around the bar in the vertical position. Mine do not have any spacers for the heim joint attachment to the A arm. The Hardy and Beck sway bar I have came with the adjustable clamp/link set-up like yours.

I don't think it's an M535 unit as I've never seen BMW offer adjustable sways or links for the early cars. I could, very easily, be wrong also. Look for the BMW logo or any part numbers stamped at one end for identification.

Ralph

Hi Ralph,
Thanks for the welcome.
The chassis pictures are not very flattering but at least there is no cancer or holes. Just minor surface stuff.

I'm guessing that who ever set this car up was an enthusiast.

The car has Bilsteins all around and the upon inspection the springs look like proper lowering springs, they still have tension with the suspension fully extended and no gaps at the top of the struts.

I am thinking the rear bar is aftermarket.
The front one too because of the 28mm diameter.
The largest OEM I could find so far (for a different car) in RealOEM is 26mm.

MrE · Post by **MrE** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 10:21 am

Spasso

Welcome to bigcoupe. The car looks really good. Its got a tough, impressive stance and your setup really works well with those shaved side mouldings.

Photos are excellent too.

You mentioned in your other thread that you are after info on springs for pre-82 cars. If you're not having any luck locally check out these threads for some info on springs which Serco here in Australia has made up. His son has fabricated them to fit E12-based 6ers, so may be able to help you out.

http://www.bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopi ... vell#91151

Shipper, another Australian member here, has them running on his car too.

http://www.bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopi ... ings#90018

I'm sure either of these guys would be happy to give you more info on them if you're interested, just send them a PM.

Regards,
Ellis.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:32 pm

MrE wrote:Spasso

Welcome to bigcoupe. The car looks really good. Its got a tough, impressive stance and your setup really works well with those shaved side mouldings.

Photos are excellent too.

You mentioned in your other thread that you are after info on springs for pre-82 cars. If you're not having any luck locally check out these threads for some info on springs which Serco here in Australia has made up. His son has fabricated them to fit E12-based 6ers, so may be able to help you out.

http://www.bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopi ... vell#91151

Shipper, another Australian member here, has them running on his car too.

http://www.bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopi ... ings#90018

I'm sure either of these guys would be happy to give you more info on them if you're interested, just send them a PM.

Regards,
Ellis.

Thanks for the kind words and great info Ellis.
This will be good for the reference book that I am building (aren't we all).

My original question about springs was to address the possibility that I had cut springs on this car.

After cleaning it up and playing around with the struts a bit it doesn't look to be the case.

With the exception of driving the car home I have only had it out once so the jury is still out on whether the spring rates are what I like.

The front is really tight but the rear is a bit softer. I may want to address this.
****************************************************
Question:
Can anyone tell me the best way to alleviate some of the negative camber in the rear.?

I see that camber plates up top won't do it because of design but I did find eccentric bushings for the lower swing arm attach points though there isn't going to be much gained there.

Thanks

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:42 pm

Here are some shots of the rear sway bar drag link set-up.
It all needs to be scrubbed so more.

Hidden by the E-Brake cable there are two jam nuts above the lower Heim joint so it looks like the links are adjustable. Cool!

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:11 pm

GRNSHRK wrote:Dana, here's a shot off my diff that shows the location of the number stampings that identify the ratio

For mine, 38:11 = 3.45 ratio

Tschultz is right though, "should be" 3.07 gearing

Nice work, keep those cards and letters coming

There are no numbers stamped on my differential in the area shown on yours.

There are three random numbers stamped below and forward of the RH axle flange '12', '3' and '8'. They are not aligned or connected.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:34 pm

Just for fun I divided 38 by 12 = 3.1666666666
38 by 13= 2.92
39 by 13= 3.00

tschultz · Post by **tschultz** » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:36 pm

I see Bilstein's.. Niiiice.

Spasso · Post by **Spasso** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 2:56 am

Spasso wrote: ****************************************************
Question:
Can anyone tell me the best way to alleviate some of the negative camber in the rear.?

I see that camber plates up top won't do it because of design but I did find eccentric bushings for the lower swing arm attach points though there isn't going to be much gained there.

Thanks

Well, thanks to the great info on this site I have found the answers to my question.

The camber/toe swing arm kits from Ireland E will do the trick but the mod will have to wait for a later day.

I need to get this thing out and driving pretty soon

bigcoupe.com

Spasso's Euro 635 #5546139

Spasso's Euro 635 #5546139

Diff ratio number stampings . . .

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Re: I Love Red Sharks

Re: Diff ratio number stampings . . .