The 1987 L6

Document your Sixer project here.

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Let's see a show of opinion on the best next step.

Accept the ridiculous cost of the project and piece the car back together.
10
100%
TRACK CAR. Cut this baby up and fit it with a cage. Mount my M106 turbo parts and have fun!
0
No votes
Nothing. Leave it in my driveway and wait for the right buyer to give me the best moneys for it.
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 10

Lucas_Roehr

The 1987 L6

Post by Lucas_Roehr »

Oh.
The time is really coming to make a decision with my L6 shark. I have been sitting on the car for nearly 5 years at this point. When I got it, there were about $1000 in back fees with the DMV, so I let it sit until I got that resolved. I spoke to the right person who works with vehicle titles last year and got the fees reduced to a reasonable amount, at which time I SMOGged it and registered it. It is now CA street legal. I manual swapped it with the discarded G260/6 parts from my 86 535i (which received the G265), and threw the dogomatic 4HP22eh in the dumpster where it belongs. I installed a full set of e34 540i brakes and installed Bilstien sports with the (dreaded) LaDue DINAN copy springs that I had laying around. I have gathered the electronics from several different BMWs to make the M1.3 engine management run on the car (with an 88/89 E24 harness). I have several sets of wheels laying around, but it currently has e39 style 32s. I should have tracked down a dashboard for it when I first obtained the car, because they are VERY difficult and expensive just to find crap now.

The LachSilber paint is OK on the sides, but has completely fallen off of the top (hood, roof, and trunk). There is a fixable dent on the nose near the Roundel, and a LARGE dent in the RR quarter which appears to be fixable. The interior would be a 7 or 7.5 out of 10 except for the leather wrapped dash that is SO atrocious is makes the rest of the interior FEEL worse because of the horrible eye sore of a dashboard. It's an L6, so it has all of the (rare-ish) leather goodies, and the rear A/C. I have gathered all of the parts to make the A/C blow cold, but only have 90% of them installed.

It's a California car and is rust free. The ABS needs rear sensors to work properly, but aside from all of that runs excellent and passes SMOG with flying colors (when there is a catalyst attached to the exhaust system). It will need ALL of the baseline suspension parts at some point, but tracks down the street/ freeway in an acceptable fashion.

So, the point of this post is to get some other opinions about the best way to move forward on this project. Tallying up the costs of what it would take to put the car together EXACTLY how I want it, it will cost the same (or maybe a bit more) as a car that's already pretty nice and MOST of the way that I want it. Plus factor in all of the time, energy, and the favors I have to ask/ pull to get the body/ paint refinished properly, and to find a regular vinyl dash or have the current dash re-wrapped, and I'm just not sure what the hell to do anymore.

In one hand, its a currently registered and pretty well driving rust free shark, and in the other its a bottomless money pit that could I just potentially buy one close to what I want and fit my last finishing touches (big brakes, Billy sports/ Eibachs, M1.3, 3.73 LSD, etc.) On another side of the table, I've always wanted a 24 Hours of Lemons car that I could potentially graduate to an SCCA/ NASA car... I also know the e28's are a bit better for that, being more available, slightly lighter, and having less value/ collector value.

Now what?

Edit:
OK, so here's one image and a link to the album.

Image

http://s896.photobucket.com/user/Lucas_ ... /1987%20L6
Last edited by Lucas_Roehr on Sun Jan 31, 2016 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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olympia57
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by olympia57 »

Better the devil you know . :wink:
1981 635 series 1
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Ralph in Socal
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Ralph in Socal »

Since you're in California I can provide some practical advice.

You need to determine the cost of repairs to make your shark exterior good again. A LARGE dent repair may be more than the car is or will be worth when finished. Prices have started to go up but until last year you could easily find a somewhat clean shark for less than $1000. One that would require some mechanical work but needs little in the way of aesthetics.

From my perspective, it is unfortunate but the necessary exterior work is what makes the car less valuable due to the high cost of repairs. My 83 euro drives sweet, has all kinds of suspension goodies, clean Recaro interior, is getting a 5-speed swap, but needs some metal work and paint. For now I can't bring myself to spend the $4k (probably more) for a decent paint job. I could easily part the car out and make decent money but I can't convince myself to break it for profit. I'm letting the car sit and waiting to see if economics change for the better. Economics will probably get better, but is the initial investment that I made years ago economically sound. Probably not but I didn't want to see the car get scrapped even though I would have benefitted from the process.

Basically that is the option I would vote for but it's not a choice in your poll. Fix what you can, look for a suitable shell to transfer your good parts to, or sell to a deserving new owner. Painting a car in California is not an economical alternative unless you can DIY or find someone good for cheap.

Any pics of the car with the large dent to help determine course of action?


Ralph
There is a very fine line between "Hobby" and Mental Illness.

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dwcains
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by dwcains »

There is one advantage you California guys have that many of us don't and that's shops south of the border. It seems you can find some very high quality work in Tijuana and surrounding areas, with silly-low prices compared to here in the US, and many classic car owners are taking advantage of this. I wish I could be more specific, but I hear stories thru the grapevine from Alfa and Porsche guys about these shops.
Dean
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Ralph in Socal
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Ralph in Socal »

dwcains wrote:There is one advantage you California guys have that many of us don't and that's shops south of the border. It seems you can find some very high quality work in Tijuana and surrounding areas, with silly-low prices compared to here in the US, and many classic car owners are taking advantage of this. I wish I could be more specific, but I hear stories thru the grapevine from Alfa and Porsche guys about these shops.
Agreed and I have investigated but I for one would not want to leave a car with a shop without full knowledge that I'll get it back at all. Then there is the quality issue. I used to go with a friend to have his cars painted and we would always have to take several trips just to get the prep/paint right. TJ is directly across the border but it's still a trip to get there and going back through customs is always a toss-up on how much time you get to spend with the always thoughtful and considerate Federal employees. And BTW, Mexico is currently enjoying a wonderful increase in their murder rates due to the local population not having any guns to kill with (oops). So - No thanks.


Ralph
There is a very fine line between "Hobby" and Mental Illness.

85 635csi Zinno Auto
84 528i Euro
83 635 Euro Arktik
81 528i Kastanien 5-speed
88 528e Bronzit (Granpa Car)
86 535i Auto (For Sale)
81 633 csi (retired)
Lucas_Roehr

Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Lucas_Roehr »

I guess I'll have to get some good pictures to post on a nicer/ sunnier day... I do know a guy who is PRETTY darn good at painting, and pretty darn good at dent repair. The quarter is one clean large dent (not horribly mangled with multiple crease lines), so someone good can give it one skilled/ good pull and get it pretty close for the rest of the quarter repair. We've been talking, and paint material will cost me about $1000 (for two stage paint + clear coat), plus we've discussed the timing chain job in his V8 Audi Allroad :roll: (I am a European [mostly BMW] auto technician), which is a VERY miserable job, in exchange. I assume a wrapped dash will be another $1200- $1400 based on the $1000 quote I got on wrapping the dashboard alone. By the time you throw a heater core in there and a few random plastic trim replacements, etc., violla! Even with good deals (on pretty decent quality work) I'll be in this thing $6k! Not a terrible price for fresh paint, fresh dash, rust free, clean title, mechanically sound car, but A LOT of headache, blood, sweat, and tears to get there... ... ...
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Da_Hose
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Da_Hose »

If it is a factory L6 and it is the car you WANT, then I think even being into it up to $9K would be acceptable. However, that is only IF you are keeping it for the long haul. A well put together L6 will just keep on increasing in value. Give it 10 years and the rebuild price tag will certainly look better and better.

Jose
1987 M6 - My dream car
Lucas_Roehr

Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Lucas_Roehr »

OK, so here's one image and a link to the album.

Image

http://s896.photobucket.com/user/Lucas_ ... /1987%20L6
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sansouci
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by sansouci »

The quote is " blood, sweat and beer"
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Re: The 1987 L6

Post by Spasso »

olympia57 wrote:Better the devil you know . :wink:
The statement above has it's merits.
If you start with a needy car it WILL cost more in the long run to get it to the level you want.
The return on that investment can only be realized IF this is the very model you want and you plan to keep it for the long haul.
An additional realization is that you will know exactly how well your car is put together and there won't be any surprises.
" It's better to deal with the Devil you know".

This is the approach I have taken with my '84 Euro.
I picked it up for more than I wanted to pay but it was worth it to me because it was an E28 based Euro with no rust.
I have invested serious money in a new engine rebuild but I know this engine was done to a high standard and will last decades.
I have the 5-speed conversion parts ready to go... and the dream goes on.

ON THE OTHER HAND!
I have learned over the years that the best car to buy is very best one you can afford, with all of the hard stuff already done.
Your purchase price is almost always less than what has been invested dollar-wise and time-wise.

SO!
If your heart is not set on owning fully restored L6 then maybe you need to look elsewhere for a different car, or one that could benefit from the parts and work you have invested on this one.
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