1986 BMW M535i
Chris has owned many classics but this BMW has a special place in his affections
‘Sixteen years have passed since I spotted my M535i for sale in the BMW Car Club magazine’s classifieds. I could tell that the previous owner of ten years had clearly cherished it as soon as I saw it. I was attracted to the lovely Zinnobar Red paintwork with black leather sports interior. It’s fitted with a five-speed gearbox with the ‘dog leg’ first gear as well as a limited-slip dierential. It has air conditioning that still blows ice cold and an electric tilt and slide steel sunroof. Even the headlamp wash/wipe system still works!
‘The car was built in January 1986 and 150,000 miles have passed beneath its period 16-inch Hartge alloy wheels to date.
‘After around five years of largely trouble-free enjoyment, evidence of corrosion appeared in the usual front jacking points and front wings. The jacking points were easily sorted and the opportunity was taken to remove the body kit for a thorough inspection underneath – all clear, thankfully!
‘The front wings were stripped back and the decision made to replace rather than repair. Various options were explored to avoid the challenge of matching the paint on dierent panels – particularly the well-known fading 1980s red paint – and so I bit the bullet, replaced both front wings with original BMW parts and had the car completely re-sprayed in 2009.
‘A number of trim pieces were also replaced at the same time, including the chrome window surrounds and gutter strips. Looking back I’m so glad I did that as now these types of parts are becoming impossible to find.
‘My ownership since then has been a journey of repair and improve as and when things have worn out. That’s also presented me with the opportunity to tweak and fettle components such as the brakes and exhaust. So when the car needed new discs and pads I replaced them with E34 540i components that bolted straight on yet still allowed me to retain the original master cylinder; that modification has provided a noticeable improvement to stopping performance, particularly since I combined the upgrade with braided hoses.
‘And when – as so often happens on the M30 engine – the exhaust manifold cracked between cylinders five and six I used the same repair and improve philosophy to replace it with a stainless-steel tubular version and a custom-made system.
‘The car also now has custom road springs – nothing too sti, just slightly lowered – and M5 specification anti-roll bars. Together with Bilstein dampers, it really has sharpened up the handling, giving a good compromise between road comfort and the occasional track day.
‘In this, the year following the E28’s 40th anniversary year – incredibly – I continue to drive my M535i all year round and in almost all weathers, but although it has been treated to a thorough underseal I draw the line at taking it out if there’s even a sni of salt out on the roads!
‘What does the car mean to me? It’s a car in which I can pursue all avenues of my motoring enthusiasm without having to be too precious about it. It’s not an M5 – one of those would probably just sit in my garage wrapped in cotton wool. I also appreciate the M535i’s dollop of torque lower down the rev range from the M30 engine.
‘The car gives me a great deal of pleasure in a variety of ways – I like showing it at classic car shows, taking it on track days, washing and waxing it and getting it dirty. But perhaps most of all I like hearing the ticking of the tubular manifold cooling down as I walk away from it after a spirited run. Naturally, I always turn around and take one final look at it, too…
CLUBS & SPECIALISTS
❚ BMW Car Club GB
bmwcarclubgb.uk
❚ Autobarn Northamptonshire. 01604 644266, autobarngarage.co.uk ❚ Munich Legends East Sussex. 01825 740456, munichlegends.co.uk
❚ Ernigrip Motors ernigrip.co.uk
❚ Jaymic Ltd jaymic.com
❚ Linwar Motors Ltd linwar.com