another donor question

Peter Coomaraswamy

Peter Coomaraswamy

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I located a 1981 euro 635 csi, has lots of spare parts and supposedly a rebuilt LSD and 5-speed trans (I am assuming G265). I know there are lots of parts that are of interest to the E-whatever you call this-crowd, including the thin bumpers. My question is, do the collective minds of the forum believe this may be worth picking up at a very low price?

Thanks, sorry to pollute the water.
 
I had been hunting for an e12 based e24 for a while. I think that it's definitely worth it if the price is right.

Perhaps some experts can chime in. Here is what I understand. The '81 Euro has the M90 L-Jet engine. The M90 is a pretty spectacular engine with lots of grunt. It should also have a dogleg G265, which sells for about $1,500 used. Mixed opinions on running that ratio on the street but the demand is high for the Trans. One could easily do a trade plus cash if you wanted a traditional G265.

Aside from the amazing power train, the car is e12 based. The front seats should bolt into a coupe, and the rears fit with minor fabrication. This has been my plan for temporary leather while my original seats sit in storage. The armrests should swap, as well as the door pockets. Some of the round push button switches are a match for our cars. The window switches as well. The chrome strips on the door panels should be a match but probably the wrong length. lots of coupe owners need that trim. I've researched this quite a bit and Don says that there are over 100 crossover parts. Sadly, I passed up on a $1,500 euro before I knew what I had. The engine didn't run so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. I have my own demons to battle in the garage now anyway. :)

The euro bumpers are in high demand, and may recoupe a decent portion of your purchase price. I believe that you can re-use the brake parts also.
 
Thanks Markos, I think I will pick it up (the price is right) and am I to understand that the Euro 635 from 1981 is substantially different from the same model from 1988?? Sorry for all the school-boy questions but...
 
Yes indeed, totally different motor. The block is the same as an M88, found in the M1 and the same platform as the S38. It has an early unibody, etc. If you can, read up on the M90. There should be an L painted on the block by the oil filter. There are some very informative threads bigcoupe.com and bimmerforum. Just google BMW M90. Several members on here are very familiar with the motor. Also check to see that it had the dogleg.
 
Specifics are everything.
Check the numbers on the diff.
Check the compression
Check the shift pattern
Take a pic of the drivers side of block
 
More questions

There is a lot of confusion on my part as to exactly what engine is in this car; the VIN is 5591552 and it says it has an M30 Engine on a VIN decoder (which does not say much more). It gives the region as Europe and a production date of Feb. 1981 and a manual transmission- the owner says it is not a dogleg and he says it's not the M90 engine but it is original to the car. Can anyone chime in before I drive 100 miles to check her out tomorrow? I still am interested in lots of other parts on the car like the rear diff. which the owner says is an LSD and the 5-speed since these are needed and either one would be worth the trouble of picking the car up.

Thanks
 
I think that the M90 is still considered an M30 if that makes sense. You probably won't find M90 on any decoders etc. You still get the 5 speed, and the LSD. Figure a five speed is at least $700 and a used LSD is at least $500. That's $1,000 in parts without hunting and shipping.

As mentioned I was hunting for an E24 parts car for some time. My goal for the CSI part-out is to capture every possible item, AND recover my investment. My goal for the E24 was to get what I need at a fair price and get rid of the car asap.

I'd say figure out what those parts are worth to you, and how much time you want to spend on the carcass before unloading it. Once you have your break-even point you will know what it will take in effort to deal with the leftovers while feeling comfortable about your purchase price.

BTW - I used the want ads of Big Coupe to determine the easy stuff to sell. Tail lights, trim, etc.
http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7
 
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