Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

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Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

Long time since I updated again 8-[

My plan with my car is going to take a lot of time...

I hoped the car was having less rust, however, when you start digging, you always find a lot more.
I made up my mind and will completely go for it.

I'll remove all underseal, Then my buddy will take care of all the rust.

I stripped the interior completely and removed some sound deadening from inside.
Removed all interior and sound deadening
Removed all interior and sound deadening
Interior Out.jpg (367.31 KiB) Viewed 14999 times
Next up is the removal of the underseal.
Problem is, I do not have a nice lift so I have to crawl under my car
Car ''in the air''.jpg
Car ''in the air''.jpg (454.78 KiB) Viewed 14999 times
Under the car, all rust can be seen, especially if the underseal is removed.
The sills, jacking points, and rear wheel arches have to be repaired. :shock:

This is by far the worst spot :shock:
Rust Just in Front of Right Rear Wheel.jpg
Rust Just in Front of Right Rear Wheel.jpg (303.03 KiB) Viewed 14999 times
The floorpan itself looks pretty good except where the round plates were.
And even while you can not see it clearly on the following pic, the sill is not looking good. #-o
Underseal Removed.jpg
Underseal Removed.jpg (388.15 KiB) Viewed 14999 times
Last edited by Viktor D. on Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

Currently I'm in the process of removing the underseal of the wheel arches.
The fronts are done...
Front.jpg
Front.jpg (407.67 KiB) Viewed 14996 times
However, the progress is very slow and I'm working on the rear arches.
Rear Jacked up.jpg
Rear Jacked up.jpg (444.43 KiB) Viewed 14996 times
Rusty plate removed.jpg
Rusty plate removed.jpg (385.63 KiB) Viewed 14996 times
When all underseal is removed, I'll bring my car to my friend who has a lift.
There everything from underneath the car will be removed (Suspension, tank, rusty exhaust, etc).
The floorpan will be sandblasted and then my buddy will repair all the rust spots.

While waiting for my project to continue, I also ordered a huge pile of parts at Walloth&Nesch ready to go on the car. :mrgreen:
- Bilsteins
- H&R Springs
- All other parts of the suspension
- All rubber hoses for the cooling system
- Filters, belts, thermostat etc
W&N delivery.jpg
W&N delivery.jpg (385.59 KiB) Viewed 14996 times
________________________
Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

Well hello guys,

Some kind of a thread revival, i'm very bad at posting stuff on here on a regular basis.
However, during the last two years, there was continuous (slow) progress on the 635.

This summer, the 6 passed Belgian technical inspections and i've covered around 2000km since.
The car is now back at my grandmothers place for storage during the winter months.

Some of the milestone pictures:

- Finished underside of the car, with front and rear axle refurbishment
20180106 Rear Axle.jpg
20180106 Rear Axle.jpg (1.7 MiB) Viewed 14248 times
- Engine out
20180106 Engine out.jpg
20180106 Engine out.jpg (1.21 MiB) Viewed 14248 times
- Respray
20180409 Paint.jpg
20180409 Paint.jpg (1.84 MiB) Viewed 14248 times
- Engine ready to go in again
20180630 Engine.jpg
20180630 Engine.jpg (1.18 MiB) Viewed 14248 times
________________________
Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

- Fully assembled and washed
20180929 Ready to ride!.jpg
20180929 Ready to ride!.jpg (1.64 MiB) Viewed 14248 times

- Last autumn drive before winter storage
Last drive before winter storage.jpg
Last drive before winter storage.jpg (1.76 MiB) Viewed 14248 times
________________________
Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
baders
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by baders »

Nice work Victor ! Something about these cars makes for long restorations :)
1986 635csi LOCUTUS / Arktis Blau Metallic / Pearl Beige / S38B36/ Close ratio dogleg 5sp
2002 E46 M3 / Topaz Blau Metallic / Black Nappa / 6 speed SMG software tuned / Bilstein PSS10 Coilovers / CMP RACP reinforcement
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

The perfect time to work on the details is ofcourse during winter storage.

Done so far:
- Install a working radio
- Make a beige shift boot
- Put stickers in the engine bay
- Understand every last detail about (non-working) doorlocks and understand some parts are missing


To do:
- Finish door lock repairs
- Continue to finish interior swap to peirlbeige. Still need drivers side door panel (the one i have now is in bad shape)
- Search for two perlbeige speaker pods on parcel shelf
- Put on the BBS RC 035 038 wheels with new tires
- Solve rough idle
- Wait for spring to arrive!! :mrgreen:
Last edited by Viktor D. on Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
________________________
Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

The radio install:

I found a 1991 Blaupunkt Freiburg SQR 39 in Germany. Complete with code, instruction manuals and even the original bill (349 Deutsche Mark in 1991) :shock:
Even though it is 7 years younger than my car, it looks as it could have been installed in 1984.

1991 Blaupunkt SQR 39.jpg
1991 Blaupunkt SQR 39.jpg (758.52 KiB) Viewed 14148 times

Then started the real challenge!
All electrics in the car have luckily been left alone, except for the radio wiring. I have been ignoring it for three years, and now was the moment to dive in. Multimeter in hand, lots of patience and a cold saturday afternoon lead to this.

All of these were unnecessary :shock:

An absolute mess.jpg
An absolute mess.jpg (546.03 KiB) Viewed 14148 times

After staring for one hour at the '84 ETM and working with my multimeter, I found all necessary wires to make the radio light up!
Speakers work, casette player works and the antenna goes up automatically as well! Success!

It works!.jpg
It works!.jpg (802.12 KiB) Viewed 14148 times

Re-fitting the center console was a joy while listening to some old cassettes my grandmother gave me! :mrgreen:
The center console certainly looks better without the large gaping hole in it!

Radio installed.jpg
Radio installed.jpg (774.79 KiB) Viewed 14148 times
________________________
Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

New Perlbeige Shift boot:

I changed from a Pacific blue cloth interior to a perlbeige leather one. I still needed a shift boot.
With material left from the new alcantara headliner, i decided to make a shift boot.

Always start with a paper template, i helps you not wasting any fabric! Ask me how I know!

Paper Templates.jpg
Paper Templates.jpg (715.3 KiB) Viewed 14148 times

After cutting out a shape way too large, and some stitching, i got the very basic shape. This obviously still needed to be trimmed down.

Stitched.jpg
Stitched.jpg (571.1 KiB) Viewed 14148 times
Trimming down.jpg
Trimming down.jpg (570.47 KiB) Viewed 14148 times

The triangular cutouts are for the corners of the plastic shape within the shift boot, the rectangular cutouts for the clips holding the shift boot in the center console.

Ready to glue.jpg
Ready to glue.jpg (711.47 KiB) Viewed 14148 times
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

After glueing the plastic inside the shift boot, it was finally ready to fit!
Very happy with the result as well! \:D/

Glued and ready to fit.jpg
Glued and ready to fit.jpg (869.64 KiB) Viewed 14148 times
a lot better!.jpg
a lot better!.jpg (614.72 KiB) Viewed 14148 times
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
GRNSHRK
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by GRNSHRK »

Impressive work on that shifter boot Viktor =D>

In fact, I'd love to hear more about that headliner :shock:

Perhaps you covered that in your thread, I'll go back and look :roll:

Hope spring is not too far away for you [-o<
:mrgreen:
Bobbo
1980 633 CSi Cypress Green/Pearl Beige
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2005 330 Ci ZHP Cabrio Imola Red/Bone/Black
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Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

I didn't cover the headliner before, as there is a slight two-year gap in my project thread.
I'm not good at updating on a regular basis. :oops:

Headliner:
Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the old, dirty headliner before I removed it completely.
I have a sunroof car, which means there is only one metal bar to hold the headliner in the back, the rest is glued on the sides and the sunroof opening. You can see the headliner is hanging in the metal bar on the first picture.

I started with taking old headliner out without ripping it. I was used as a template for the new one.
All old glue residue and crumbly fill behind the headliner was removed.

Remove old headliner.jpg
Remove old headliner.jpg (690.32 KiB) Viewed 14118 times
Clean all old glue residue.jpg
Clean all old glue residue.jpg (639.38 KiB) Viewed 14118 times

For the new headliner, I paid a guy who does interior reupholstery stuff as a hobby. Luckily he is good at what he does! :mrgreen:
He made up the large shape of the headliner at home using the old one as a template.

I helped him installing it. It is a two-men job, and we worked on it the entire afternoon.
We started from the little metal bar holding up the headliner in the back, and worked or way to the front.
Starting.jpg
Starting.jpg (488.31 KiB) Viewed 14118 times
Large shape to start with.jpg
Large shape to start with.jpg (673.87 KiB) Viewed 14118 times
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

We then carefully made an opening for the sunroof. C-pillars were done last.
The sunroof panel was the easiest part!

Glueing around sunroof.jpg
Glueing around sunroof.jpg (441.59 KiB) Viewed 14117 times
Sunroof panel.jpg
Sunroof panel.jpg (515.5 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

On this last pic, we see the (almost) finished headliner.
I still needed to make a cutout for the sunroof motor, and refit the black sunroof visor panel.

Also spot the two brothers behind my 6! a 325i and a 745i :mrgreen: A shame they aren't mine :(

Done!.jpg
Done!.jpg (691.51 KiB) Viewed 14117 times
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
baders
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by baders »

Upholstery. There's yet another skill I do not have. Fantastic work Victor and friend !
1986 635csi LOCUTUS / Arktis Blau Metallic / Pearl Beige / S38B36/ Close ratio dogleg 5sp
2002 E46 M3 / Topaz Blau Metallic / Black Nappa / 6 speed SMG software tuned / Bilstein PSS10 Coilovers / CMP RACP reinforcement
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by GRNSHRK »

Outstanding :shock:

I didn't think the front windshield needed to come out to replace the headliner, thought that the front header panel was where it ended :-k

Viktor, can you please advise [-o<

I realize that as you did a full repaint, the front windscreen was removed, but just want to verify :lol:
:mrgreen:
Bobbo
1980 633 CSi Cypress Green/Pearl Beige
2017 X5 M Sport Xdrive 35i Carbon Black/Ivory White
2005 330 Ci ZHP Cabrio Imola Red/Bone/Black
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Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

Both front and rear windshield definitely need to come out.

The headliner is glued over the edges of the windshields. Then the windshield rubbers go over it.
You can see it on the last picture.
As i did a full respray with glass out, it was THE moment to replace the headliner.
I obviously did not want to take the windshields out again at a later point in time.
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
val_c
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by val_c »

Very impressive work, Victor, especially knowing that this is your first car.
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randall977
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by randall977 »

Really nice work - well done - good photos!

I'm just doing my headliner too - found some VW material which is pretty close in colour and pattern to the original BMW stuff. I did the sunroof panel but I'm getting a pro to do the main bit...maybe I will help them like you do.

Headlining.jpg
Headlining.jpg (341.96 KiB) Viewed 14000 times
Sunroof-Material.jpg
Sunroof-Material.jpg (635.19 KiB) Viewed 14000 times
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

Nice Find on the VW material!
It actually really looks like the original fabric!
Well done on the sunroof panel!

Doing the large part yourself is almost impossible if you have no experience with upholstery.
If there is a pro you can assist, it makes the job a lot easier! :D
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
Viktor D.
Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:55 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by Viktor D. »

ROADTRIP ! :D =D>

In June, Together with two friends, I took it on a 12day and 4000km roadtrip across Europe.
It was the most epic trip i've ever done!

We went through Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Monaco and France.
The car didn't miss a beat.
We were stopped by police three times, took a ferry boat, went up to a heigth of 2800m in the Austrian alps, slept in a different hotel every night, and had the most awesome time of our lives!

We also saw (only) one other 635 on the road. It was a lovely burgundrot example.
I overtook him on the highway in Southern France, some hand gestures and 5 minutes later, we took the same exit and talked for more than an hour about cars, and the sixer in particular.

A few pics of the epic places we passed through:
Bodensee - Switzerland.jpg
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Kaunertaler Gletscher - Austria.jpg
Kaunertaler Gletscher - Austria.jpg (636.15 KiB) Viewed 12827 times
Lago Di Como - Italy.jpg
Lago Di Como - Italy.jpg (714.88 KiB) Viewed 12827 times
Sibling in the South of France.jpg
Sibling in the South of France.jpg (663.57 KiB) Viewed 12827 times
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Viktor
Belgium

1984 BMW 635CSi 5spd
mopar
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2015 8:45 am
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Re: Bringing a Belgian 635 CSi 1984 back on the road

Post by mopar »

Hope to meet you somewhere next year when mine is on the road again, I am doing also a full restoration of my 1980 type 1 =D>

Ben nog volop aan het lassen maar het einde is nabij [-o<
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