Long distance test drive via our administrator, ed...

[Jr ///M5]

The other night I received a call from Denton, remember? He's the one that drove through a 6" snowfall from Oklahoma City to the Heart of Illinois to buy my '89 535iA a couple years ago.

Ever since he sold the 535, he's been kicking himself. Well, until a few nights ago....

"Hey, you'll never guess what I found", he exclaimed, as he proceeded to tell me about another mint condition Alpine white 535iA with gray leather interior. He had been pouring over the pictures the owner had sent and directed me to look at the website where the car was on display. Sure enough, it was a very nice looking car and exceptionally clean. The only problem was, he was 650 miles away. He was ready to pull the trigger anyway, but asked if someone might be able to take a look at it that didn't live too far away.

Immediately, I thought of our kind, generous, loving administrator....ed, who else is better qualified? He asked me if ed knew anything about E34's? Well, he might have seen one before...=) After gathering myself up off the floor laughing, I explained that ed was indeed very qualified to check out the 535, especially since he, runs our beloved board, owns a couple 535's, a couple beemers, and Sharon owns the Z car, isn't there a 7 in there somewhere??? With that said, a sigh of relief was heard across the 600 mile span...yes, you have the eyes and ears of a professional E34 bimmernut within miles of the pending purchase.

The only trouble is, we need to ask ed....=) A quick email and a speedy reply with the words..."I'd love to"....but it's a slushbox!!! lol....=)

Ed's generosity exceeds mere mortals comprehension, as he made arrangements to meet the seller and test drive the car for Denton. A phone call to Denton by ed confirmed he had made the catch of the day, and if he didn't reel it in, ed would.....=)

If you've ever met our wonderful administrator, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, and you ever find yourself in Chicago-land, do yourself a favor and take some time to meet him. He's one of the most stand up guys you'll ever find. If you don't believe me, take a good look at this BMW website and you might begin to scratch the surface of a bimmernut whose heart goes all the way to the bone.

This site just continues to help people, time after time. Thanks to the guys who hang around, and thanks to our administrator who asks nothing in return...it just doesn't seem fair.

Santa should be good to you this Christmas ed, what do you say guys?????

Thank-you ed,

Jr

[632 Regal]

The other night I received a call from Denton, remember? He's the one that drove through a 6" snowfall from Oklahoma City to the Heart of Illinois to buy my '89 535iA a couple years ago.

Ever since he sold the 535, he's been kicking himself. Well, until a few nights ago....

"Hey, you'll never guess what I found", he exclaimed, as he proceeded to tell me about another mint condition Alpine white 535iA with gray leather interior. He had been pouring over the pictures the owner had sent and directed me to look at the website where the car was on display. Sure enough, it was a very nice looking car and exceptionally clean. The only problem was, he was 650 miles away. He was ready to pull the trigger anyway, but asked if someone might be able to take a look at it that didn't live too far away.

Immediately, I thought of our kind, generous, loving administrator....ed, who else is better qualified? He asked me if ed knew anything about E34's? Well, he might have seen one before...=) After gathering myself up off the floor laughing, I explained that ed was indeed very qualified to check out the 535, especially since he, runs our beloved board, owns a couple 535's, a couple beemers, and Sharon owns the Z car, isn't there a 7 in there somewhere??? With that said, a sigh of relief was heard across the 600 mile span...yes, you have the eyes and ears of a professional E34 bimmernut within miles of the pending purchase.

The only trouble is, we need to ask ed....=) A quick email and a speedy reply with the words..."I'd love to"....but it's a slushbox!!! lol....=)

Ed's generosity exceeds mere mortals comprehension, as he made arrangements to meet the seller and test drive the car for Denton. A phone call to Denton by ed confirmed he had made the catch of the day, and if he didn't reel it in, ed would.....=)

If you've ever met our wonderful administrator, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, and you ever find yourself in Chicago-land, do yourself a favor and take some time to meet him. He's one of the most stand up guys you'll ever find. If you don't believe me, take a good look at this BMW website and you might begin to scratch the surface of a bimmernut whose heart goes all the way to the bone.

This site just continues to help people, time after time. Thanks to the guys who hang around, and thanks to our administrator who asks nothing in return...it just doesn't seem fair.

Santa should be good to you this Christmas ed, what do you say guys?????

Thank-you ed,

Jr

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

OMG, I feel so embarrassed. I didn’t do anything 90% of the people on the board wouldn’t do. Test drive a Bimmer, glad to. Test drive any other car, nah! That’s why we’re here, and not on some other board, isn’t it.

Yeah the car was real nice. For a 1989 with over 170k miles, actually unbelievable. I picked out a clean 1995 for a friend that was not as clean. Hope it’s to Denton’s standards when all is said and done, as if it is not, I’ll blame the nighttime, wet weather, and the case of beer I drank on it. J/K about the beer!

Denton sounds like a great guy on the phone. Very interesting that he’s going back to an E34 after having moved from one to an E39. That re-enforces why I drive the E34 instead of my E38, the E34 is just so much more fun. Although I do have to admit, some of that fun comes along in the form of a manual tranny! Long live the E34, I can’t see ever replacing it! Specially since I can replace so many of the parts on it, literally in my sleep, now.

[Bill R.]

site. I know what you mean about the e34 since i can't convince myself to part with mine either...





OMG, I feel so embarrassed. I didn’t do anything 90% of the people on the board wouldn’t do. Test drive a Bimmer, glad to. Test drive any other car, nah! That’s why we’re here, and not on some other board, isn’t it.

Yeah the car was real nice. For a 1989 with over 170k miles, actually unbelievable. I picked out a clean 1995 for a friend that was not as clean. Hope it’s to Denton’s standards when all is said and done, as if it is not, I’ll blame the nighttime, wet weather, and the case of beer I drank on it. J/K about the beer!

Denton sounds like a great guy on the phone. Very interesting that he’s going back to an E34 after having moved from one to an E39. That re-enforces why I drive the E34 instead of my E38, the E34 is just so much more fun. Although I do have to admit, some of that fun comes along in the form of a manual tranny! Long live the E34, I can’t see ever replacing it! Specially since I can replace so many of the parts on it, literally in my sleep, now.

[bimmerd00d]

i love you ed :D

[tim s]

i have learned so much & look forward to much more.
thanks!
tim s.

[Paul in NZ]

Santa should be good to you this Christmas ed, what do you say guys?????

I am with you JR...any ideas???

[George M]

Jr....I thought you were going to say that Ed called Denton back and told him the car was sold and then Ed bought it for himself....or maybe it was your original E-34.
Hey Jr...how is your daughter's MB holding up?
George

[callen]

Ed/Bill R 2008!

After many years of going to college part time I'm finally getting my degree...told myself as a reward that I'd get an E39 540i 6spd. Well have the money (most of it anyway) but my 91 535im with 248K miles runs soooo good....plus it's almost an M5......hand built.

Callen

[JonE]

Thanks Ed, I probably wouldn't have even bought my E34 if it wasn't for this forum. And, don't think I ever would've figured out or tried some of the fixes that are available without you guys and your wonderful help and input!
Thanks again,
JonE

[Hector]

this forum. With all the problems the car was giving me and my lack of understanding of all its little idiosyncracies, I would've been up **** creek and would've spent large amounts of cake in labor charges on the vehicle.

Ed I salute you and thanks for your drive in keeping this board running.

[Robin-535im]

Well, it should!

I myself have been the recipient of expert car-choosing advice from Jeff N. and Martin, both way up in WA.

Whenever my wife talks about moving somewhere, I tell her, "I think I know someone out there. I'll call them and ask what they think."

Thanks Ed. If this board wasn't here... well... I'd get more done at work... but would be driving a jeep or some sort of thing.

- Robin

[Jr ///M5]

Jr....I thought you were going to say
that Ed called Denton back and told him the car was sold and then Ed bought it for himself....or maybe it was your original E-34.
Hey Jr...how is your daughter's MB holding up?
George


It sure looked like the ol' 535, except for the grey interior.

Part of the fun of this board is looking at cars, isn't it George? I remember when you were checking out the convertible for Natalie. I think I still owe you a few cold ones for that. I was hoping that it checked out and would afford the chance to get to meet you. Cars aside, I think that is the best part, getting to meet some of the greatest people around the country. I did get to meet David Ernst, when he checked out the MB for me. That was cool....While out West a few years ago, I missed the chance to meet the Legendary Bill R., (time restraints) but next time I'm out there.....

It's one of my most favorite parts of the board. By the way, the MB is doing fine. Are you doing any "winter-time sanity" programs this winter?

Jr

[Brian C.]

Ed/Bill R 2008!
:D

[Brian C.]

And NEVER let it be said that he doesn't know how to run ONE CRAPPIE WEBSITE! (http://www.crappie.com/) :D

I know I've strayed from E34 ownership, for the moment, but I'm thinking that someday I'll be back.








(Like when Jr wants to sell his creampuff for a couple grand!) :p

Brian C.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Ed/Bill R 2008!
:D

LMAOROF

[George M]

Hey Jr,
Glad Natalie's MB is running right. Getting ready to head out of town shortly for the holiday. Actually, haven't done a single thing to my Bimmer since early in the year when I installed the CD43 Blaupunkt from a late model Z3...love that radio incidently.
Just changed all the fluids and took it on a nice road trip up north this summer...ran flawlessly...what a car.
Like your coveted M5, my car doesn't need much...and won't be wrenching on it this winter at all...may recover both rear C-pillars and the sunroof panel...fellow enthusiast sent me some fabric from his home in Japan that he purchased in Germany...fabric is a dead ringer color and texture wise. I also need an exhaust and will likely pick one up in the spring from Jack...the heroic war vet whom I admire so much and wrote about in another thread. Jr...may be organizing a nice Bimmer get together in Ohio at Joe Couture's house in the spring...perhaps middle ground between Detroit and Chicago and maybe you and Scott could cruise over. Am going to try and get the famous Jens to attend as well....brilliant BMW wrench with one of the nicest E-23's (blown) in the world...would be a good race for your car :-) I rolled the big Bimmer out for a last run just the other day...fill up with gas stabilzer...wash...condition everything etc....still a beautiful machine.
Would like to find a nice Porsche stablemate..but really should save some money for retirement :-) Am restoring a classic Schwinn road bike...12 speed...frame is arriving any day....only doing in door wrenching this winter Jr :-) building the bike from pieces...some old, many new...will be a very nice road bike when done.
Hope the holidays treat everyone kind....I need some sun.
George

[Bill R.]

nicks on the steel blue yet? the new car has one nick on the door handle that i need to touch up and am looking for pointers..:)





It sure looked like the ol' 535, except for the grey interior.

Part of the fun of this board is looking at cars, isn't it George? I remember when you were checking out the convertible for Natalie. I think I still owe you a few cold ones for that. I was hoping that it checked out and would afford the chance to get to meet you. Cars aside, I think that is the best part, getting to meet some of the greatest people around the country. I did get to meet David Ernst, when he checked out the MB for me. That was cool....While out West a few years ago, I missed the chance to meet the Legendary Bill R., (time restraints) but next time I'm out there.....

It's one of my most favorite parts of the board. By the way, the MB is doing fine. Are you doing any "winter-time sanity" programs this winter?

Jr

[Bill R.]

car? I've been reading up on them a bit now for obvious reasons:) and was wondering how the kbus worked with your car? The cd53 seems to be a lot more trouble to install on aanything older...I was wondering if the cd43 was the samehttp://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/c53radio.jpg






























Hey Jr,
Glad Natalie's MB is running right. Getting ready to head out of town shortly for the holiday. Actually, haven't done a single thing to my Bimmer since early in the year when I installed the CD43 Blaupunkt from a late model Z3...love that radio incidently.
Just changed all the fluids and took it on a nice road trip up north this summer...ran flawlessly...what a car.
Like your coveted M5, my car doesn't need much...and won't be wrenching on it this winter at all...may recover both rear C-pillars and the sunroof panel...fellow enthusiast sent me some fabric from his home in Japan that he purchased in Germany...fabric is a dead ringer color and texture wise. I also need an exhaust and will likely pick one up in the spring from Jack...the heroic war vet whom I admire so much and wrote about in another thread. Jr...may be organizing a nice Bimmer get together in Ohio at Joe Couture's house in the spring...perhaps middle ground between Detroit and Chicago and maybe you and Scott could cruise over. Am going to try and get the famous Jens to attend as well....brilliant BMW wrench with one of the nicest E-23's (blown) in the world...would be a good race for your car :-) I rolled the big Bimmer out for a last run just the other day...fill up with gas stabilzer...wash...condition everything etc....still a beautiful machine.
Would like to find a nice Porsche stablemate..but really should save some money for retirement :-) Am restoring a classic Schwinn road bike...12 speed...frame is arriving any day....only doing in door wrenching this winter Jr :-) building the bike from pieces...some old, many new...will be a very nice road bike when done.
Hope the holidays treat everyone kind....I need some sun.
George

[George M]

Hi Bill,
A couple tips for my car savy friend...
When touching up your new buggy....purchase the factory touch up paint...likely a lacquer... which I presume you have....
- Unscrew the cap which is integrated to the brush. Wipe all the paint off the brush and take a sharp pair of scissors and cut literally half the bristles off the brush right at the base of the bristles thereby cutting the amount of bristles/brush width in half.
- Reinsert the cap in the bottle and shake and shake.
- Always clean the repair area with a denatured alcohol prior to touch up.
- What I always do on a critical touch up area is...is I touch it up in increments.
The best way is take a magnifying glass in left hand with a bright light on the spot...get your focus...then open the bottle after thorough shaking and wipe most of the paint off the brush...a critical step as you don't want to smear or dab any paint over and above the scratch. You can use a piece of typing paper to figure out how much paint is on the brush. If the car has any other scratchs lower on the body practice there first. Wait about 10-15 minutes between light coats...don't have to fill the scratch in one fell swoop. Always err on the minimal side.

With a careful approach and deft hand...support the heal of your painting hand on the car's body as a rest for steadiness...you will do a professional quality job. Some actually finish with a clear coat touch up dab but I rarely do...as scratches and nicks generally look best with just lacquer touch up. After a week or two of drying and hardening you can rub out the the area to further refine your repair. If you get good at it...since the touch up lacquer is self leveling you can get a nice smooth fill of the scratch without overshooting the scratch...a no no. If you mess up...don't dispair...keep a cotton cloth and opened alcohol bottle nearby to wipe off your mistake and start over.

As to the installation of my CD43....since I put a fair amount of effort into figuring out how to wire this later radio to my E-32, I wanted to share my write up with the board which I did some time ago. Don't know what car you are considering an upgrade for but BMW as you well know did evolve their wiring scheme throughout the nineties and therefore model year is important. My sense is with your excellent judgement and electrical savy, there isn't a BMW you can't mount that radio to.
Here is my write up which should help this pursuit:
http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=4998&highlight=cd43

Best Regards,
George

[Jr ///M5]

nicks on the steel blue yet? the new car has one nick on the door handle that i need to touch up and am looking for pointers..:)


I'll let you know how the color matches and the ease of application. There are a couple of chips on the lower front spoiler area that need touched up. I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet, but I will soon. They advertised that it was factory urethane paint, not lacquer.

I've been looking into Colgan Bras and even had my neighbor bring back samples of the 3M clear bra at the SEMA show in Vegas. At 120 miles a day, the mileage racks up quick and so does road rash.

Jr

[Jr ///M5]

By the way Bill, how'd the truck fender turn out? Did you end up having to repaint it?

Jr

[Bill R.]

color sanding all the bad spots in the clear coat and then buffing it out with the rotary buffer on high to finally bring back the gloss like it should be.. Once i compounded it the color match seemed a lot closer and since I decided to keep the truck anyway i just said screw it, its good enough for a work truck..
The clear bra and pieces are available through bmw, Patrick can get them for you like so...http://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images/Jrclearbra.jpg






By the way Bill, how'd the truck fender turn out? Did you end up having to repaint it?

Jr

[philbyil]

Hi Guys.....
Hope you are all keeping safe and well.....Ed's a gem and he deserves a brand new BMW R1200GS under the tree :p And, if you are all feeling full of the Xmas spirit....so do I :D :D

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Now I really cant' wait till Christmas! Nice hearing from you Phil.

That new GS is mighty appealing. Lighter and more powerfull than the old. Hmm, the new K, rocket is also a winner. eh, I've enough fun with the bike I got.

http://www.bimmer.info/ed/ednbike1.JPG

[George M]

This is unbelieveable...Ed and I have the same exact bike.
http://members.roadfly.com/georgemann/Ed and me.jpg

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

LOL George, and the same ugly "everything else".

[Incantation]

what's a slushbox?

[Jr ///M5]

what's a slushbox?


It's what referred to as an automatic transmission.

[George M]

....thought you may get a chuckle out of that Ed....I just need a bit more tan on my arms :-) I "wish" I had a bike like yours....looks like a blast.
Have a great Holiday Ed...and as others have stated...Thank you for offering us this board. An Ohio meeting is brewing at Joe Couture's house right off I-75 in the spring...hope you can join us.
George

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Ohio, hmmm, got some Crappie.com buddies that way maybe I could meet too. Kill two birds with one stone, or would that be two fish in this case.

Yeah, the bike is fun. I've really grown to love riding it. Took me about a year to get used to riding between all the concrete and iron, as opposed to the dirt and tree's I grew up riding between! I was always able to bounce right back up, when I fell down offroad. Onroad the trick is not to fall! Just a tad different!

[George M]

Agree....few driving experiences offer the exhilaration of winding on a high performance motorcycle on the open road or through the twisties...a definite high hard to achieve even with a high performance car. I have only had the pleasure of driving different friend's bikes...including some big displacement bikes...my preference is a bike like you have. Have never owned a motorcycle...never made the transition from mini bikes and go karts for fear of getting wacked....lost two young friends on motorcycles growing up and as I mentioned the other day...a fellow co-worker is just now recovering from a bad accident. I am sure you have a healthy view of your mortality Ed as most of us do as we age. The thought...."nobody gets out of life alive"...comes to mind and kind of beckons me to consider getting a nice bike like yours as I really do like motorcycles....what gearhead doesn't?
Be safe brother...will anounce when the Ohio gathering will be held...should have a pretty good turn out and all different types of Bimmers will be there...you could even cruise over on your bike.
Cheers,
George