E28 m52b28

[E36Sean]

Hello! So I owned my E36 for a little over 4 years, it was my first BMW and started my love for them. Soon after buying that I started to discover this world of older BMW’s and decided that at some point in the future an E28 would be the one for me!

Fast forward 4 years and I decided it was time for the 36 to go, the plan was to sell up and go travelling then buy a new project when I got back (most likely an e28). So in June I’m at Players at what I’ve decided will be the verts last show. I bump into a local friend who tells me a friend of his has found an e28 on a driveway in Southampton that he’s left a note on asking to buy it. My friend Dan shows me the only photo he has of it and I instantly want it based on the colour alone. So Dan tells me his friends name and I set about pestering him to buy it on Instagram. After a week or so I give up, he’s pretty adermant on keeping it.
A month later I get a message asking if I’m still interested. He’s not collected it from the seller but I can come have a look when he does in a couple days. He lives less than a mile from my house so I pop round one evening, a price is agreed and I drive it home without it ever being in his name.

So that’s the background and here’s what I ended up with!







So it’s a 1985 1.8 with 47k on the clock and 1 previous owner! As you can see it’s very basic, no central locking, no electric windows, not even a radio! The only extra I think it has is the sunroof.

I’ve had it a couple months now so I’ll try and update this more this week to update you on the bits and bobs that have been done so far and parts collected for the swap

[E36Sean]

Looks like I have some spare time on my hands at work today so I’ll try and get this up to date!









So as far as issues with the car goes the wing has taken a bit of a hit at some point, the chrome bumpers have some bumps and bends in them and there are a lot of car park dings over the whole car.
The bumpers have been to a friend of mine who has managed to get them incredibly straight without damaging the chrome which was a relief! A dent man spent a morning with the car to remove all the dings (8 panels total).
I then found the rust in the bonnet which has irritated me, so I’ll be on the look out for a wing and bonnet then the front end will be sprayed. Lastly the speedo doesn’t work which is an on going headache!

[Steven_318ti]

Love the colour, looks in great nick bar a few wee spots but in a lot better shape than newer cars, cant wait to see the updates

[E36Sean]

Love the colour, looks in great nick bar a few wee spots but in a lot better shape than newer cars, cant wait to see the updates

Thanks! Same here, I’d never heard of it before it’s called Karminrot.

[E36Sean]

So, instead of having no project and concentrating on going away for winter I ended up with two cars. I put the vert on eBay and I wasn’t getting nearly enough interest in it so I decided to break it. Swapping the engine in the e28 was always going to happen just not so soon, and having a complete car to take all the parts off I need made sense.
So this was my e36 that became the doner car



The majority of parts went within 2 weeks and I got more money back than I ever would have from selling it whole plus I still had the engine and other small bits I needed



Engine out!



Shell being loaded for the scrap yard!

[E36Sean]

Engines now out the e28!




Old M10b18 next to the the m52b28 to go in

[83N]

I am gutted you broke the E36, but I am subscribed on this build!

[E36Sean]

I am gutted you broke the E36, but I am subscribed on this build!

Same here but you have to move on eventually! A part of it will live on anyway haha

[Steven_318ti]

The E36 was beautiful, Carlines are all time favourite wheel of mine, are you gonna debadge the 5 or fit a 528 badge on it, either way would be cool, have you decided on a wheel choice yet?

[E36Sean]

The E36 was beautiful, Carlines are all time favourite wheel of mine, are you gonna debadge the 5 or fit a 528 badge on it, either way would be cool, have you decided on a wheel choice yet?

Thank you! Mine as well. I had them on it for a long time but there was no wheel I’d rather have.
I’m very undecided on that, I’ll either debadge or leave the 518i. The vote from my friends seems to be leave the 518.
I’ve got a set of Gotti G1001 and BBS RF’s for it but I haven’t put the pictures up yet. RF’s were the dream wheel for this, I bought the Gotti first and should have test fit them as now I have I much prefer them and will be selling the BBS.
The bbs look very nice and have Radinox lips but I like the idea of building the Gotti’s exactly how I want them and not having to run adaptors. (16” BBS RF didn’t come in 5x120)

[E36Sean]

I’ve always had in my head that I want to run 16’s on this, this seems to divide people like 17’s and 18’s on e36’s but I think they sit a lot better. Mainly because I **** when people tuck the rear on e28’s.

I picked up a set of Gotti G1001’s fairly cheap, they need rebuilding as they only have 1” lips but it’s a wheel I really like! I found them in Birmingham and happened to be in the area so I collected them and put them in storage.

Then a set of BBS RF’s came up for sale, they had been rebuilt wider with radinox lips and had the faces powder coated. These were the dream wheels for the e28 originally

So the options were run the BBS as they are (not wanting to spend anymore money on them) or build the Gotti to fit the e28 perfectly. Once I test fit them both I knew it had to be the Gotti, I’ve got a vision of how I want them and the bbs are now for sale!

Not having to run an adaptor for the Gotti is a real advantage for me as I want to run the deepest lip I can get away with. This will give me an extra 13mm or so. The Gotti’s mounting face is rather thick so I’ll be able to machine that down too. After rebuilding the Gotti’s they still shouldn’t owe me what the BBS do which is also an advantage.

Test fit of both


Gotti’s on one side

[Quillhill36]

I’ve always had in my head that I want to run 16’s on this, this seems to divide people like 17’s and 18’s on e36’s but I think they sit a lot better. Mainly because I **** when people tuck the rear on e28’s.

I picked up a set of Gotti G1001’s fairly cheap, they need rebuilding as they only have 1” lips but it’s a wheel I really like! I found them in Birmingham and happened to be in the area so I collected them and put them in storage.

Then a set of BBS RF’s came up for sale, they had been rebuilt wider with radinox lips and had the faces powder coated. These were the dream wheels for the e28 originally

So the options were run the BBS as they are (not wanting to spend anymore money on them) or build the Gotti to fit the e28 perfectly. Once I test fit them both I knew it had to be the Gotti, I’ve got a vision of how I want them and the bbs are now for sale!

Not having to run an adaptor for the Gotti is a real advantage for me as I want to run the deepest lip I can get away with. This will give me an extra 13mm or so. The Gotti’s mounting face is rather thick so I’ll be able to machine that down too. After rebuilding the Gotti’s they still shouldn’t owe me what the BBS do which is also an advantage.

Test fit of both


Gotti’s on one side

Always loved those crazy expensive wheels.

[83N]

Those gotti's are the one....timeless!

[E36Sean]

Those gotti's are the one....timeless!

Thanks! I think the squared off spokes suit the car better!

[E36Sean]

I picked up a full Zender kit for the car a couple weeks ago which I could not be happier about! The front lip is something I’ve wanted for a while but never expected to find the whole lot. I’d seen this ad on Facebook a few times but it was over a year old so I’d assumed it had gone, one day I just decided to message him and couldn’t believe he still had it! So I went to London that night and collected it. He said he’d had loads of interest but no one ever actually turned up with the money.


All original, never painted

And will sit like this...




I love how aggressive the front is but matches the lines of the chrome bumper, unlike the BBS lip. Also that the rear bumper comes down to meet the level of the skirts!