e39 bmw "build" if you even wanna call it that

[Gorgerunner]

I bought this car back in the fall of 2009. Super clean, one owner, fairly low miles. Topaz blue metallic. Sadly its a 525 automatic. The only reason I have kept the car for as long as I have is the simple fact that it is so incredibly clean, and the chump change I would get for it would just be so disappointing. Anyhow..
Here it is the day I got it


Then came the BCR coilovers


Rocked it like this for a minute until I could afford different wheels


Then I found some style 118's 18x8s from a 6 series






Well, as I was (and actually am), still poor, I gave them a vintage gold paint job with a matte clear to hold me over for a bit until new wheels were an option




Then I found my kinda dream wheels on craigslist. Some clown had them on an e46 smashing up his fenders with the crazy offset and his stock blown struts. 18x10 and 18x8.5 rondell 21s I traded my stock 16s for them. He had no idea the value of these wheels so I win right?




Wrong. Turns out all 4 were bent pretty badly, and one had been welded. I didnt notice until I removed the tires after I got them. The tire shop said they were not worth using. So one became a hose reel and 2 became a very nice end table.





My computer is being crazy slow, so the story stops for tonight. At this point it is around 2014 so I have some more to add. Until tomorrow... Thanks for looking.

[Gorgerunner]

Ok. computer is still being horribly slow.

Next up, I was still too poor for wheels, so you guessed it. Color change again. Hey, at least I dont rattle can them.





So I was content with this for that summer. Then I saved up some money for new wheels.I had so many thoughts on what wheels to get. But as I pulled in my driveway one day I saw my hose reel rondell 21 on the wall and remembered how much I enjoy that wheel. So the wheel money went towards having the rondells straightened and stripped.
So when I got them back I procceded to repair any rash, polish the face of the lips, paint the barrels black and the faces white.







So while that was happening I ordered a few other things. 25mm front spacer, 10mm rear spacers, new center caps, an replica alpina front lip, exhaust tips, new low dust pads to compliment the white wheels, and I had the front bumper and lip painted. I had to cut the rear bumper for the new exhaust tips as stock has no tips and its always bothered me.






Lip low


Adjusted the suspension a bit and this is how she sits for now. I may go a bit lower soon. Im dreaming of air, but its just not in the budget.








Im pretty happy with my decision to use the rondell's. I have a few things to do to it over the winter, but not anything exciting. The red style 118s went on the daily/winter ride.


Thanks for looking, and i'm open to any feedback, posotive or negative. Ill update as needed, but probably not much anytime soon. Thanks!

[C2_mad]

glad you went with the rondells, they look sweet on there. cant wait to see more...

[Kinghorn]

color choice for the rondells was on point! Now you just need more lows! haha

[EricT93]

I was so disappointed when I read that they we're damaged, but I'm glad you gave them a second chance and the result is astonishing. The idea to polish the outer section despite not having a defined lip was genious and definitely paid off!

[becausephilchow]

E39 looks great!

To be honest, getting a wheel straightened isn't a huge deal.

You gotta get some proper sized tires on your X3, those tires are definitely way too small!

[Gorgerunner]

Thanks for all the kind words! The x3 is back on stock wheels. Maybe someday that will get coils. Thanks again.

[Gorgerunner]

Not much of an update at all. Just outlined the "ALPINA" lettering and kind of mimicked the striping from a real alpina.

[IMG][/IMG]

[C2_mad]

i like it....

[Mehowski]

damn this worked out sweet man, the alpina details are lovely, always been a massive fan of alpina goodies.

also +1 on the polished outer section of the rim comment. pure genius!

[Gorgerunner]

Hello all. Small winter updates;

Ditched the plasti dip shadowline trim and went back to stock chrome


Ditched the plasti dip kidneys and went to gloss black


Upgraded the head unit with the e39 specific eonon unit with android running gear. Also added the eonon back up cam with it. Not bad for the price so far.


Mid bass speakers front and rear got a mild upgrade as well in the form of some low end kenwood units.



And that's pretty much all that got "upgraded" over the winter. Looooong term goals are a full respray with molded front lip, air ride, and maybe some day a 5 speed swap. Thanks for looking!