1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

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reedwa
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1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by reedwa »

I am a long time consumer and supporter of this forum but never posted anything. The path to getting my 6'er on the road is not at its end but I figured it was time to start sharing what I have learned to pay forward all the help the other members have contributed to getting my car where it is.

The backstory is that I bought my 1985 635CSi in March of 2013. My oldest child had a new drivers license and his brother was close behind. I wanted them to learn about working on cars like I had when I was their age. At least that is what I told my wife. The second not-so-secret reason was that I had longed to own a 635 since before I could drive.

Once we could afford to have a car to tinker with I went looking and after passing on a few in really rough shape I found this:
Original ad for my 6'er
Original ad for my 6'er
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After a test drive and some negotiation we drove our very own 6'er home.

I had never owned or worked on a BMW and didn't know much about German cars but had rebuilt a few American cars many years ago so I figured, "How much different could it be?" What resulted is the passage of six years with the car completely torn down to the chassis in our garage and the still distant goal of replacing or rebuilding everything possible on the car.

The second day of ownership I started poking around under the hood and noticed a bad fluid leak that had coated the bottom of the engine. I saw this during the inspection but didn't grasp how badly the engine and chassis were coated. Turns out the power steering system was leaking in multiple places and probably for a long time.
Bottom view of the power steering fluid mess
Bottom view of the power steering fluid mess
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It was my intention to pull the motor and rebuild it since the car had 166K on the clock. After more rooting around I decided that there were enough things that needed attention it would make more sense to move forward with pulling the engine right away to have a known good place to start from. After putting less than 40 miles on the car we started tear down.
Pulling the engine and transmission out of the '85.
Pulling the engine and transmission out of the '85.
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In retrospect, this was a mistake. We had not spent enough time learning about the car and there were so many other things wrong that what should have taken a few months ended up stretching into years. The kids lost interest and I decided that instead of just getting the car back on the road I would do a full restoration, by myself, in the garage, learning the skills I needed along the way...and then six year passed.

In that time many things on the car were finished including rust and body damage repair with respray, every loose metal part of the car stripped and painted or plated, rebuilt engine, upgraded suspension, rebuilt sub-frame, custom firewall, and so much more. Despite that, I will echo the gist of what I keep reading on the forum in almost every thread, "Every project turns into two."
Rebuild M30B34 with headers!
Rebuild M30B34 with headers!
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Going forward I will add to this post by winding back time to the beginning and documenting all the things that went right, and wrong, hoping to spare future restoration adventurers some of the hard lessons. I want to end my first real post by saying that this forum made so many things easier and saved loads of time. Many thanks to all the devoted E24 owners who have posted here. I am standing on the shoulders of giants with my future posts. More to come...
Kevin
1985 Cosmosblau 635CSi
1995 Schwarz 540i
2001 Arctissilber Z3 Coupe
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hornhospital
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by hornhospital »

Welcome, Kevin! You are already are neck deep in the madness that is restoring these icons of the 80s. I look forward to reading the whole story.
Last edited by hornhospital on Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ken Kanne
'84 633CSi "Sylvia"; '85 635CSi "Katja";'85 325e "Hazel Ann"; '95 M3 "Ashlyn"
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Sbeaud
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by Sbeaud »

Sounds like the beginning of a great story.
1988 M6
baders
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by baders »

A great story ! can't wait to read more.
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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TBM
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by TBM »

Welcome to the forum.
NIce first post.. Time does get in the way. Taking on a full restoration is quite a feat for one person in a garage.
'84 M635csi
'86 Lotus esprit Turbo (sold)
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zinnocoupe
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by zinnocoupe »

Hey welcome. Its amazing what you’ve done. Looking forward to seeing more pics. I hope you took lots. Six years is a long time to be working away by yourself. Dave
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1979 Euro 635ci no longer a basketcase, just a running rust bucket!
1977 530i Partially restored and running now!
1987 635csi 60K KM Garage Queen
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JCS
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Re: 1985 635CSi...The Long Way Round

Post by JCS »

Kevin,

Welcome,

Best,
Jay
'88 M6, Red/Tan
My NEW Website https://www.jaysbmwparts.com/
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