Maytag: The Alpine '87 529i

[vinceg101]

This is going to be fun barrelling down through the Cascades.
I can't wait to start putting her through the paces next week.

[tig]

Long pole is still upholstery, but they have the material now (was delivered yesterday).

Done today, so far:

- Fixed pedal buzz! It *WAS* the stainless clutch slave line. Installed a rubber hose and the buzz went away.

- Fixed ABS. Started by swapping out computer because the failure started after re-assembling interior. No joy. Disconnected all sensors, drove: no light. Connected left front: no light (!). Disconnected left front, connected right front: light. Pulled left front wheel and tested sensor with DVM on AC. Tiny voltage (-0.003V). Swapped in another old sensor and saw ~0.400V. Re-assembled and test drove. ABS now works.


- Gear shift knob started popping off. Found this in a box of shifter parts. I think it was from my '95 540 MSport. Tee-hee.


- BBS RS005/006:





Loving the feel of the staggered setup on this car!

Now, before Vince gets here:
- Replace burnt out bulb in HVAC console
- Finish power install for front/rear dashcam and V1 install
- Install glove box
- Install A pillar trim
- Install kick panel
- Clean inside windshield/rear glass
- Install seats (crossing fingers)

[tuffode]

So I love my E28, it's my only drivable car right now. They are amazing cars, but I just wanted to know what exactly you love so much about them that results in you owning multiple nice examples of them as appose to maybe owning a E23, or an E30. I haven't driven an E23 but I have an E30 and I love it just as much as my E28. I'm genuinely curious about your view on them.

[tig]

So I love my E28, it's my only drivable car right now. They are amazing cars, but I just wanted to know what exactly you love so much about them that results in you owning multiple nice examples of them as appose to maybe owning a E23, or an E30. I haven't driven an E23 but I have an E30 and I love it just as much as my E28. I'm genuinely curious about your view on them.

E30s are a dime a dozen. Meh. Although, I wouldn't kick an ix Touring out of bed.

E23s are like fat chicks. Moo.

Plus, I have tunnel vision.

[tuffode]

E30s are a dime a dozen. Meh. Although, I wouldn't kick an ix Touring out of bed.

E23s are like fat chicks. Moo.

Plus, I have tunnel vision.

I see what you mean, I need to drive an E23 to see what they feel like

[tig]

I parked the car outside the other night and came out in the morning to a very light mist of dew on the car. Wow.





I'd say that Gtechniq stuff works pretty well.

[tig]

Progress today.

- Replace burnt out bulb in HVAC console - DONE
- Install A pillar trim - DONE
- Refurbish & Install glove box - DONE
- Refurb cig lighter - DONE
- Refurb ashtray - DONE
- Replace backup switch - DONE
- Finish power install for front/rear dashcam and V1 install
- Install kick panel
- Clean inside windshield/rear glass
- Install seats and door cards (crossing fingers)

Turns out I don't have a glovebox lock that fits the keys for this car. The old interior bits had all been replaced by a PO at some point (all bits have junkyard paint pen on them indicating they came from an 87 535is). Oh well, who locks their glovebox anyway?


Forgot e-brake hair thing/seat switch holder is at upholsterer.


SEM Trim Black made grungy plastic look passable.


Blech. I never really noticed how bad this was, which is a testament to how I much I hated the old interior: it was all crap.



Much better:


Pretty sure the old one was new when I did the 5-speed swap. Happened to have this good one (used but tested) on hand.


It's hot:

[Motronic]

I'd be sweating too if I was wearing a long sleeve shirt while working on the car in mid July

Coming along well it looks like CEK

[tig]

I'd be sweating too if I was wearing a long sleeve shirt while working on the car in mid July

Coming along well it looks like CEK

Long sleeve my ass.



Thanks.

[tig]

[BDKawey]

fishbowl looking real good

[tig]

Anyone know whether this car, as is would pass emissions in Utah. Just learned they test back to 1967 (da fuq?). In WA it's exempt.

Recall: M20B27, .0.040' over, 9.5:1 compression, 325i tune, ETA exhaust.

[Kyle in NO]

It appears that, under a recent law change, vehicles over 30 years old can qualify for Utah Vintage Vehicle plates, exempting them from emissions testing. Maytag would just qualify for this, so that may be an option for you. Either way, the conversion you’ve done shouldn’t really affect the emissions numbers, since you’re using matching components.

[tig]

It appears that, under a recent law change, vehicles over 30 years old can qualify for Utah Vintage Vehicle plates, exempting them from emissions testing. Maytag would just qualify for this, so that may be an option for you. Either way, the conversion you’ve done shouldn’t really affect the emissions numbers, since you’re using matching components.

This is the 2nd time I've heard this, but I couldn't find anything that confirms it. The official page makes no mention of it:

https://dmv.utah.gov/register/inspections

But I tried a different search using "vintage" and found this.

https://dmv.utah.gov/plates/vintagevehicle

Woot. Thanks Kyle!

[Kyle in NO]

Blam.

[tig]

Maytag is not going to Utah. Vlad is.

I am way behind in keeping this thread updated. Tons happened before and during 5erWest and not all of it had to do with E28s. So while some pics were taken as wrenches turned, not as many as normal. Here's what I got...

I was prepping parts for Minerva and noted the trunk cover and toolkit I had planned to use was not really good enough for that car. So I decided to remove pretty much the last remaining evidence that Maytag was ever an Eta (yes, I fudged the foam install up and didn't get it perfectly straight. Sue me.):



ML320 eBay cup-holders FTW. These aren't as nice as the variant the PO put on Vlad (more positive action, auto deploying the arms), but I still think this is the best E28 cup holder mod out there.




I didn't have time to do any work on my cars, due to more important things like getting ready to take a new job in Utah, so I removed the engine bay insulation and cleaned everything real good.


Instead of replacing these, as I did on Vlad, I repaired them with 3M black weather strip adhesive. Great stuff.



Ok, the REAL reason I decided to clean all this:

See the end of the throttle cable?


See this gash?



Things get really interesting when said end of throttle cable gets stuck in said gash. At first I was like "That's odd that this car is idling so high. Let me open the hood to see why it's doing that." And of course the high idle stops as soon as I pop the hood.

Then, over a week or so, it got more pronounced. But whenever I'd open the hood, the racing engine would go back to normal.

Eventually a very dim light went on and I noticed the gash.

The problem is the hood insulation absorbs oil. Over 30 years it gets soft and sags from all that oil.

The solution is to clean it. Well.

Which I did:


After it dried, it was firm again. For extra protection I put a piece of vinyl tape on each side of the gash. Woot.

I found out the week before 5erWest that my seats were not going to be done. I had taken too long getting the upholster the fabric (actually, I had taken too long to decide on a fabric). I was able to beg the upholster guy (Mike at All City Customs) to at least get the door cards done. He obliged. I picked up the cards and the rear seat so I'd have everything but a passenger seat for 5erWest (I subsequently dropped the rear seat off at the shop again, because I'm doing this fabric front and back...just on the center sections of the seats).

He did a really great job and I'm even more excited than before to see the seats!


[url=https:

The fabric is a '75-80 Porsche "Scottish Dress Tartan" in Blue/Green (2AC).


I purchased it from Lakewell Classic Car Interiors of Belgium. http://www.lakewell.com/en/general/fabr ... an-fabrics

Fun side story: I emailed Lakewell asking about the fabrics, here's the first reply I got back:

(He's referring to this: http://www.kindel.com/porsche/options/options.asp)

It was a pretty big risk choosing this fabric. I've never done a car interior before and my primary purpose was to get experience without doing something totally stupid. I wanted something unique, but not something super 'loud'. Folks who've seen the fabric in person in car seem to agree with me: It's nicely muted. Not overbearing or bright. Fun.

I drove Maytag to 5erWest and @vince101 drove Vlad (we swapped for the last half of the return trip). The roads and weather were epic and Maytag was a joy. The M5 steering box needs to be adjusted, and the alignment still isn't right. The car is no where near as 'tight' as Vlad, but it's getting there.

The motor is fantastic. I had no problem going as fast as I wanted on any of the roads we were on. It'll be nice once it's tuned, but for now, no complaints.





Really, really, good company:






We needed to order more fabric to finish the seats and it's due Sept 23. I'm guessing the seats will be done mid-October...

[Tiit]

Fabric looks good and suit eighties car well.

[e28Sean]

That looks excellent! I can't wait to see seats.

That said... It seems we have similar tastes...

[tig]

it seems we have similar tastes...

I'm not so sure. Did you happen to read the part above where mentioned my extremely deep hatred of pearl beige?

[e28Sean]

it seems we have similar tastes...

I'm not so sure. Did you happen to read the part above where mentioned my extremely deep hatred of pearl beige?

BOOOO! How can you hate on pearlbeige!?

[hugh1850]

Love the tartan!

[tig]

Let's start with what we know of the history of Maytag...

She was built in July of 1986. VIN WBADK8307H9707185.

(Note, for Vlad I had found a site that gave me all of the options in addition to the build date. But I can't find it now. Tried searchy with no joy.)

She's a 528e automatic. White with tan (I think) interior.

According to the PO she was purchased in Dallas by a lady. The PO, an American Airlines 777ER pilot, purchased the car in 1994 with 87K on it and shipped it to Los Angeles.

It was in LA until August of last year when he drove it to Seattle where it has basically sat since.

My wife and I (more on her involvement later) picked her up today with 202,305 miles on her. I paid $2k after doing an exhaustive inspection and an extended test drive around Edmunds, WA.

The timing belt was replaced at 199,000 miles. The PO had said it had been done last year, but the tag the mechanic left inside the fuse box says 2009. This means I need to replace the timing belt asap. Fun.

The car is amazingly straight. The body is actually in better condition than Vlad, with fewer little dings. There is some evidence that the front passenger door has been repainted. The paint will polish up very nice.

There is no rust anywhere that I could find. There's some moisture in the trunk just under where the factory radio amplifier is mounted, and a bit of mold where a jacket has been sitting.

The interior is in fantastic shape. There are two tiny cracks in the dash, where all E28 dashes start cracking. The vinyl on the seats is in tip-top shape. The carpet is pretty dirty and the floor mats are shot.

The suspension feels great. The shocks are not worn and the rear-subframe bushings do not feel worn. The dog-bones are shot and need to be replaced.

The rear tires are shot; they are rotting. The fronts are basically new. The chrome bottle caps are pretty tired, but they'll clean up nicely.

It's got an idle issue (hunts high).

Everything electric except the headrests work. AC blows very cold. The heater fan makes some noise and will need to be taken out and cleaned up.

It has some ancient aftermarket alarm on it. There's only one key and no keyfob for the alarm, so it will need to be ripped out.

Julie (my wife) insisted on driving her home. It's about 30 miles from Edmunds to Bellevue. I followed her in Vlad taking pictures...





Here she is at home next to Vlad...














More to come...

It's been exactly 5 years and this car still makes no sense. But I've loved every minute and every turn of the wrench.

Supposedly the seats are almost done.

[tig]

Supposedly the seats will be done next Saturday.

[Adam W in MN]

I’m a fan of how far this car has come along. And great choice on the interior with the green pattern.

[1st 5er]

I’m a fan of how far this car has come along. And great choice on the interior with the green pattern.

Can hardlywait to see the install.

[Foonfer]

Wait just a sec - Wasn't Maytag labeled as "527i" just a few days ago? When and how did she get the bump to "529i"?

I've been thinking of your issues with Pearl Beige, and my conclusion -valid only to myself- is that white with Pearl Beige is about the worst combination, a serving of plain steamed potatoes without a speck of salt. On that topic, the move to dark upholstery is a definite improvement. Love the Black Watch tartan doorcards - Not sure if the intent is to propagate the pattern to the seats as well, hopefully it is.

Not a fan of the shiny BBSs though. What can I say. Kind of bittersweet to feel like we're approaching a season finale...

[tig]

Wait just a sec - Wasn't Maytag labeled as "527i" just a few days ago? When and how did she get the bump to "529i"?

I've been thinking of your issues with Pearl Beige, and my conclusion -valid only to myself- is that white with Pearl Beige is about the worst combination, a serving of plain steamed potatoes without a speck of salt. On that topic, the move to dark upholstery is a definite improvement. Love the Black Watch tartan doorcards - Not sure if the intent is to propagate the pattern to the seats as well, hopefully it is.

Not a fan of the shiny BBSs though. What can I say. Kind of bittersweet to feel like we're approaching a season finale...

I had failed to update my sig after the motor went in and I did the math on the displacement. 529i is more accurate. Both are silly.

The seats will be tartan in the middles and black leather on the outsides. Front and rear seats. That is what will supposedly be done next week. Then I need to re-assemble the seats onto the seat bases that I have so carefully restored and pray they are not all loosey goosey still.

I too feel like we're approaching a season finale. I've got some news brewing on this car that may leave us with a cliff hanger... Stay tuned.

[Bonsaibacker]

[Dale3783]

I've got some news brewing on this car that may leave us with a cliff hanger... Stay tuned.

Holy suspense!

[tig]

Son picked up the seats for me at the upholstery shop today. He was too lazy to take pics for me. "Just look at them with the security cameras, dad."

This is the best I could do with cropping...