1987 BMW 535i Euro Conversion

When buying an E28, there’s an amazing breadth of options when it comes to style, approach, and history. Some go with the M5, an epic and significant performance sedan that comes with steep prices and even steeper maintenance costs. Some look to the affordable and classy daily drivers out there, highlighting the simple sportiness of this great mid-size generation. Somewhere in between, there are some fantastic modified examples, whether they’ve been turbo’d, Euro’d, or all of the above. Today’s E28 wears the sharp exterior of a Euro M5 with its slight bumpers, clean foglight setup and 80s-tastic trunk spoiler. The seller, a strong member of the MyE28 forum and owner of both an E28 M5 and Hartge H5S, has spared few expenses. Beyond the full Euro conversion, the all-black interior is redone including a leather dash, undergone a nice repaint, the M30 was rebuilt just over 30k miles ago, and much more. Despite the beautiful looks, excellent attention to detail, and a very reasonable price, he’s had a surprisingly tough time finding a new home for it.

Click for details: 1987 BMW 535i on eBay

Year: 1987
Model: 535i
Engine: 3.5 liter inline-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 31,843 mi on rebuild
Price: Reserve auction, reported $12,500 OBO

I am selling my very nice 1987 Euro M5 converted 535i due to having one too many E28s. I am currently restoring my E28 M5 and I also recently acquired an E28 Hartge H5S which has also demanded my attention and will be my next restoration project.

Here is some info on the car:

Information about the Engine with approximately 32K on the rebuild by the previous original owner of the car who is a BMW Master Tech:

Complete head work with valve springs, valve retainers, and Schrick Cam. The engine block has new piston rings, rods and crank bearings, new head gasket, engine seals, new alternator, and converted to the new Mass Air Flow Meter from Miller Motorsports including their reprogrammable WAR Chip with USB Plug and a dial with 4 different tunes.

Additional Information about the car:

Super Sprint exhaust system with headers, new clutch and flywheel, new radiator and fan clutch, new drive shaft, tune up recently performed including new fuel pump, fuel regulator, fuel filter, cap rotor, ignition wires and spark plugs. Front brake job including new rotors, brake pads and calipers.

Whole new front end…Upper and lower control arms, sway bar links, and steering stabilizer links…zero shimmy or shakes. The car is sitting on H&R performance springs and Bilstein performance shocks.

Info on the body:

Recent quality paint job with all new rubber seals on the doors and windshield have been replaced. It has new M5 shadowline trim around the doors, M5 rear tail lights, new Euro front headlights and grilles, new Euro fog lights and new turn signals with clear lenses. The satin black front and rear Euro bumpers finish off the M5 Euro look.

E38 BMW Style 5s 16X8 square set with staggered tires. The fronts are 215/55/16 Continental ContiPro Contacts and rears are 225/50/16 Michelin Pilots.

Interior:

Euro M5 leather dash board, new reupholstered front and rear leather seats, and new Alcantara headliner. A very nice leather M-Technic steering wheel from my M5 and a new leather shift boot for the M5 shift knob. A rebuilt M5 dash cluster finishes off the interior. Included but not pictured is a new badge and M-Technic emblem that I ordered for the steering wheel. It has a new Kenwood stereo with Bluetooth setup, and new speakers front and back.

In all, this is a very nicely executed E28. Over $25K in parts and labor went into this car. It is not a show car or garage queen, but an extremely great driver with the Euro looks to spare. This car puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. It gets a lot of attention when I attend BMWCCA events and shows.

I have 4 different steering wheels and knobs (Alpina, Nardi, BBS, and Raid) along with 4 sets of wheels (BMW Black Style 32s 17″ staggered, BMW M System Throwing Stars forged 17″ square set, Hartge 17″ Type As square set, Hartge 16″ Type As staggered, and BBS 17″ RZ 412s square set). If the winning bidder is interested in negotiating for a different combo of steering wheel/knob and/or wheels after the auction, we can discuss price and I will install those items prior to shipping or pick up. In my Flickr account you can see some of the items installed on the car.

Here is the link to the pictures:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/93345860@N02/dcLp1y

Thanks, for your interest.

Alex

This is as nice as non-M5 E28s come, and the next owner will get a lot of thumbs up on the road and props at car shows and meetups. Maybe the subtle M5 looks are just a little too under the radar for a 535i, but that’s exactly what the E28 does best. Perhaps the next step is to reinforce the great looks with a little more go, as some kind of swap could make this a $30k car. Maybe Alex is experiencing the type of problem often associated with mid-level wine – he’s just asking too little! Perhaps a $20k asking price would get some more looks and elicit a little more desire. That’s exactly what I don’t want to promote in this market, however, so someone go snag this great deal on a sweet E28 already!

-NR