BMW 535is. Stunning Show Car Quality. Black on Cardinal. New Leather. E28

1988 BMW 5-Series IS Description

This 1988 BMW 535is is the most beautiful E28 you will ever see. It’s looks great inside and out, it’s lowered on a coilover suspension and it has significantly more power than original.

I have had it for 6yrs and ~1000miles. In that time the car with great potential was restored inside and out.

The car was meticulously prepped and repainted in the original Schwarz. Then it was wet-sanded, compounded and polished in order to remove the inevitable orange-peel surface imperfections. Look closely at the pictures and admire the perfect clarity of the reflections.

The original black leather seats were recovered in cardinal leather. The structure and drivetrain of the driver’s seat was entirely rebuilt. Close inspection of the pictures will show that the seats are indeed flawless. See the seat video for confirmation of seat drivetrain function.

The show quality appearance resulted in the car being requested as a display by the local BMW dealer upon the opening of their new facility. See gallery.

Power is from a 3.4 liter inline-six paired with a 5spd manual transmission and factory limited slip differential. At approx. 161k miles a previous owner had the engine’s head ported/polished and installed a sport camshaft and a Turner Performance chip. This is detailed in the records. At approx. 190k miles the previous owner put the car on a Mustang Dyno and it achieved 194hp/182ft-lbs (see pics). That’s 217hp/204ft-lbs on a DynoJet Dyno, assuming a 12% conversion.

The transmission was replaced within the last 1000mi with one refurbished by DriveGear Racing. In order to remove all play in the shifter linkage, a short shift kit and dual shear shift rod were installed, as well as new bushings in the shift linkage and carrier. The shifter snicks from one gear to the next with the precision of a Swiss watch.

The suspension is a Ground Control coilover kit with adjustable ride height. A skid plate protects the oil pan. The beautiful 17” wheels are shod in Hankook Ventus V12EVO in 225/45ZR17. A photo showing tread depth is among the pics.

The air conditioning system was replaced within the last 1000mi. That included compressor, receiver/dryer, condenser, and hoses/pipes. During the peak of the Summer heat the AC unit blows at an incredible 45deg. In the years since I had the E28's AC done, I asked shops to get my other cars to blow as cold as the E28 did. They did the best they could, but it really wasn't very close. Nothing I've ever owned blows air as cold as the E28. See video.

The road-manners of the car are perfect. It tracks straight, has no untoward vibrations, nor odd handling moves that one might associate with worn bushings. The steering is precise and sure.

The factory stereo has been upgraded to a Kenwood Bluetooth/USB head unit. There is a subwoofer under the rear seat. All speakers have been upgraded.

Other significant maintenance. Within the last 1000mi, which is to say, while I owed it, the car received a new radiator, muffler, starter, and brake booster/accumulator. Within the last 20k mi all front suspension bushings, windshield, and the alternator were replaced.

In 2011 the car took some hailstorm hits in Dallas TX. You will see in the CarFax that the insurance company at the time called the car a total loss on 15Jun. If you Google Dallas hailstorm June 2011, you’ll get numerous hits for the 13Jun storm. The car was insured, by the previous owner, at only KBB value, call it $1500 for a 23yr old car, and the insurance company called it a loss. That owner retained the car, replacing the windshield and hood, and sold it to me the next year. I had a dent wizard spend a couple hours fixing few dings on the roof and trunk, prior to the 2012 repaint. Inspect the roof and hood photos in the gallery carefully to confirm that all surfaces are flawless. So yes, the car at one time was called a “total loss”, but it was just a few dings which were long since taken care of. It’s the prettiest E28 you will ever see.

The six-digit odometer shows 217,900 miles.

Electrical/mechanical flaws. The backlight for the trip computer is out. A new backlight is included in the sale. The left side rear window motor isn’t operating. If the car hasn’t been driven in months, the ground for the gauge cluster becomes imperfect for an hour or two. The symptom is occasional erratic motion of the temp gauge needle.

The dash is good but not perfect. A small crack, near the center vent, is visible in a photo in the gallery.

A word on safety. At around 3100lbs, by today's standards it's a very light car, and it's on big sticky tires. Some years ago there was a night when I was bringing our boys home from soccer practice. We were doing 50mph when the car right in front of us suddenly came to a halt for no obvious reason. Maybe they were thinking that, after the inevitable collision, my insurance company was going to set them up for life, I dunno.
I went to brakes hard. The ABS kicked in, and those big sticky tires grabbed with claws. The car stopped incredibly fast, and we ended up 12" short of the other guy's rear bumper. The distance traveled, 50mph to zero, was very short short. A heck of a lot shorter than some modern 4000lb sedan on more conventional thinner and harder tires would have been able to manage.
The combination of light weight and sticky tires will allow you to bring the car in a great big hurry.

Photobucket seems to be struggling so I put photos at GoogleImages too. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPtJ0USOBsHKeOG_Ub6Ch674MmnX-12de_WY-VCwLMKv89tc_CveLwmHqnDsopcMw?fbclid=IwAR3BvQQ5YLBxgc2S1l9dgjM7wMCIp3vY2gRWwpbErmHOx1KTbp9ZDjInG7k&key=VHNaa2Mta1RXU2F2LUltaFN2QVhFVWZtOU4yOTlB