Magava

That is one good looking car. Great job!

Tims, I hear you are the go to guy for parts. How much does the sender go for? I was also thinking along the same lines. I guess I don't need the sender at this point. If I can get it going I could just fill it up and drive it home without knowing how much is left in the tank. Maybe carry some fuel in a jerrycan just in case though 350 Km should not be a problem even if the engine is inefficeint.

So its been a long time, but I have been able to make a little progress. First off, here are the details from the VIN Decoder Type Code 4132 E Series E28 () Series 5 Type LIM Model 525 I (EUR) Steering RL Doors 4 Engine M30 [Yay!] Displacement 2.50 Power 0 [Should be 150 HP] Drive HECK [Just means rear wheel drive] Transmission MECH [Manual - Didn't give details but I'm guessing its a 260] Colour PLATANENGRUEN METALLIC (188) [Don't get why you guys like this colour so much] Upholstery (0133) [More Gruen] Prod. Date 1986-01-14 L812A National version Great Britain S233 PISTENDAEMPFUNG [No Idea what this means] S295A BMW LA wheel, Exclusive styling [Guess mine are aftermarket coz they aren't BMW] S300A Central locking with anti theft system [Dead] S301A Alarm systems [None] S311 ELEKTRISCHER BEIFAHRERSPIEGEL [Electric Side Mirrors - Dead] S350A Therm. insulat. glass green [Gone] S411A Window lifts,electric,front/rear [Dead] S415A Sun-blind, rear [Gone] S498A Headrests, rear, mechanically adjustable S500A Headlight wipe/wash/Intensive cleaning [Gone] S510A Headlight aim control [Not sure but should be dead] S520A Fog lights [Missing] S530A Air conditioning S548A Kilometer-calibrated speedometer S551A On-board computer II with remote control [Dead] S570A Reinforced power supply [Ha!] S823A Hot-climate version [Good news being that we are on the Equator, hopefully this has helped preserve components] S845A Acoustic belt warning S850A Dummy-SALAPA [No Idea what this is] As you can see most of the electronics are dead. I hope its just corrosion in the fuse box so hopefully once we clean that out, put in all new fuses and relays, and spray it with electrical cleaner, things should start to work. Any suggestions on this? We took out the tank, it has a hole in it so there was no fuel. It was also quite dirty so we cleaned that out and welded the hole. Unfortunately, the Fuel sender / Fuel level and the fuel pump seem to be toast. I have already found a place to get the fuel pump but the fuel sender is proving to be difficult. But at least there was some great news..... It STARTED!! We put in the new Coil lead wire, changed the engine oil, put in a bit of oil into the piston chambers, pushed in some fuel directly into the lines and after just a little bit of searching, it roared to life!! So I'm ecstatic about that. At least I know it lives. Only ran it for like 30 seconds though because there was no fuel pump. The gears would not engage and the clutch is just dropping to the floor. On taking a further look, we suspect that the Clutch Slave Cylinder is shot. So from the early assessment, the things that I will be needing are: 1. Fuel Pump and Fuel Sender/ Fuel Level Gauge 2. Clutch Slave Cylinder 3. Fuses and Relays - Possibly some rewiring work 4. Cooling fan Clutch 5. Water Pump Gasket 6. Normal Service Parts (Oil, Air, Fuel Filters, MT Fluid, Spark Plugs) 7. Full Coolant flush and replacement 8. Belts 9. Brake Fluid The whole process is still challenging since we couldn't move the car with no pump and no gears therefore it is still upcountry. That means a 350Km journey every time we need to check/fix something. Once I am able to get it back to Nairobi (hopefully without having to hire a flatbed) things should get better and I can work on something every weekend.

Hi Everyone! As introduced under the I'm New thread, my name is Brian and I am from Nairobi, Kenya. I recently bought back my dads 1986 525i which has been sitting under a tree for the past 6 years. I figured i'd join a UK forum as 525i were only made for the European Market plus it would be easier for me to buy parts from the UK and ship them to Kenya as opposed to any other market. So yeah, happy to be here and I know this will be a long and slow project being that I do not have too much money to blow on the car but I look forward to working on it and all the advice I can get from you guys. The car was parked in an upcountry farm in 2012 due to a faulty ignition system.I think the owner just wasn't keen on fixing it up so it was just left there to gather dust and moss. It's not a terribly humid area so luckily there isn't too much rust on the car. However, nature has done its best to grow around it as so there is grass and leaves everywhere, even the fuel tank has some. There are lots of insects and rodents that have made their homes in there and the seats have a lot of stains on them. I expect there to be a lot of electrical damage as the wiring has most likely been eaten up by said animals or deteriorated due to rain and sun. The tires have good tread on them but since they have been in the sun so long, they will most likely blow once inflated. The fan is rusty, the front bumper is damaged, the interior and center console is in bad shape and the right rear tail light is broken. A lot of little stuff like handles, seams, levers etc are also missing. This is my first restoration job and I am not a grease monkey so I will need all the help/advice I can get. My plan is to restore the car to an Alpina look: Mechanical: Tires - just to get it running Engine fix to get it running first Engine rebuild, clean and polish Shocks and Springs Exhaust Aesthetics: Bumpers and Side Skirts Strip down and repaint to Astoril Blue Redo interior to a cream color (How hard is this given that some of the trimming has the green color to match the car?) Alpina Rims and low profile tires Let me know what you think and I will be updating the progress in the coming weeks/(years? haha).

Hi Everyone! My name is Brian and I am from Nairobi, Kenya. I recently bought back my dads 1985 525i which has been sitting under a tree for the past 6 years. I figured i'd join a UK forum as 525i were only made for the European Market plus it would be easier for me to buy parts from the UK and ship them to Kenya as opposed to any other market except maybe Dubai. So yeah, happy to be here and I know this will be a long and slow project being that I do not have too much money to blow on the car but I look forward to working on it and all the advice I can get from you guys. Thanks!