m539restorations

How Much Work Can a Neglected BMW Need? - E39 530i Touring - Project Rottweil: P2

Direct link - https://youtu.be/ec9jVXD-uto

Part 2 of project Rottweil!

Making great progress with the E39 Touring and making the trusty M54 engine run perfectly again. We got a lot done in this episode and finished a thorough service of the engine. We are now left to deal with the suspension, brakes, interior, paint and lots of other small issues. 

It feels awesome completing smaller jobs, fixing stu...

Behold project Chicago in all its glory!

Yup. I can't believe this is the same car that came to me a year and a half ago!

I am genuinely in awe at how stunningly gorgeous Alpina sits now. I was literally just standing in front of it and smiling from ear to ear in disbelief.

The boys from Gyeon absolutely perfected the paint. Yves, the fella from the pictures, is their main detailer, and the man is a walking vault filled with detailing knowledge. I thought I knew a lot about washing a car and paint correction, but I l...

I Bought a Heavily Neglected Executive BMW & Immediately Started Restoring it - Project Rottweil: P1

Direct link - https://youtu.be/bc7btJx98ko

The first episode of project Rottweil! We are instantly starting the rejuvenation process of this once beautiful 5 series Touring.

The goal is to make the E39 Touring mechanically perfect and then slap Infinitas supercharger on it! Should make for a perfect daily, all-around car.

In other news, I was just in Cologne with project Chicago at Gyeon experience cent...

Is the End in Sight? - V8 Supercharged Alpina B7: Project Chicago: Part 16

Direct link - https://youtu.be/ZCiWWwiTEcg

Here we go! Project Chicago is now sporting beautiful Azurite black paint!

Boys from Poland did a fantastic job transforming the paint on Alpina. It looks so good I can't stop looking at it.

Alpina also came through big time with a new supercharger and other goodies.

We are close to the end of this project which I think will be the next episode

V12 Piston Plantation - BMW E31 850i - Project Marseille: Part 7

Direct link - https://youtu.be/LCZi0CmGJKg

Part 7 of project Marseille!

We are going to have a lot of episodes such as this one, that are like pieces of a big puzzle. Part by part, bolt by bolt, and the E31 will be restored!

Hope you find it enjoyable. Wrenching on this old beast is incredibly rewarding and fun as everything was engineered with service in mind.

I think the next episode will be on proj...

Introducing project Rottweil!

Say Hallo to a complete mess - 2003 E39 530i Touring finished in Toledo blue over gray leather interior! Yup, another classic, trusty and affordable M54 is back on the channel!

Ever since driving Timo's E39 528i Touring, it hit me back how much I love the E39 platform with an Inline-6 engine. How stable, quiet and overall much more comfortable it is compared to my current daily, project Cologne, E46 325i.
Btw, Timo's old Touring is still with Patreon Luis. He's done 18.000 km with it...

Prototype Hydrogen BMW V12 Engine Teardown - E31 850i - Project Marseille: Part 6

Direct Link - https://youtu.be/mw-0stRHaQ8

V12 escapades continues!

I picked up this M73B54 V12 engine from a prototype E38 750hL a long time ago as a donor engine for E31. In this episode, we find out if it's any good and then take it apart.

I included some short clips in the beginning from BMW Group Archives about E38 750hL prototype as I personally find it rather fascinating and interesting. I'm not...

BMW V12 M70 Engine & Drivetrain Removal - E31 850i - Project Marseille: Part 5

Direct link - https://youtu.be/6_J267TC878

Happy New Year, folks!

We are starting 2023 with project Marseille series. So much time has passed since we last worked on it, but the time has finally come to restore it to its former glory.

The theme of this project is OEM+! We are going to hot-dog the engine, up its power output while maintaining its essence. 

The first step is to drop the massive ...

How Much Did it Cost to Restore a Broken V8 SUV BMW E70 X5? - Project X5: Part 5

Direct link - https://youtu.be/hEseFmTjW_A

The final episode of project X5 has landed! 

From a neglected turd to a fantastic-looking and driving X5.
In this episode, we finally hit the Autobahn and I gotta say, I'm amazed at how well this giant, heavy box actually handles. Now that it's all cleaned up and sorted, it's a genuinely clean and beautiful example. Love the color combo.

The project did ...

Project Chicago is sporting new paint!

Oh yes! The supercharged turd is no longer a turd and is on its way to becoming a museum piece! 

Say Hallo to the new paint - Azurite Black S34!

As you know, I sent the car to Poland to Artur and Dawid to sort out the paint and upon receiving the car, Artur said the whole car needs to be repainted in order to achieve perfect results.

The car from the factory had that weird mismatched Schwarz 2 paint which to me is the most boring and dull BMW paint. Non-metallic, un...

Wrenching on a Leaky BMW E46 M3 With a Live Audience & JasonCammisa - Project Salt Lake: Part 3​

Direct link - https://youtu.be/Zc183NUlsdo

The final episode of the US road trip vacation with the E46 M3!

It took me over a week to sift through all of the footage as there was so much of it. In this episode we go from LA to Santa Barbara, then we take the breathtaking Pacific Coast Highway all the way up to San Francisco and meet up the legend, Jason Cammisa!

I don't want to spoil the video, but the man ...

Mechanical Overhaul - Tired V8 SUV BMW E70 X5 - Project X5: Part 4

Direct link - https://youtu.be/PCVTcdROjuY

Part 4 of project X5 which comes to you fresh from a new camera! Say Hallo to 4k60p videos from now on!

After I dropped my old, trusty Sony AX53 camcorder (which still works), I decided it was time for an upgrade. After much research, I went with another camcorder from Panasonic HC-X20. I needed something that's simple to use, point & shot, no messing with lenses a...

US Special: Vacation with a Broken BMW E46 M3 - Project Salt Lake: Part 2

Direct link - https://youtu.be/hh_6g04SeRA

Part 2 of the US Special! 

We are driving from Salt Lake City to Los Angels with an overnight stop in Las Vegas.

Now, I'm a bit unsure how this video will be received as it's traveling/vlogy style with a bit of wrenching, totally different than what we do in the Dojo normally. Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts and impressions. 

Hope you find...

Buying & Fixing Broken BMW E46 M3 5200 Miles Away From Home - Project Salt Lake City: Part 1

Direct link - https://youtu.be/_a9rCI2zfPM

One doesn't simply go on vacation and get a reliable rental car. No, no. One needs oil leaks and check engine lights to feel comfortable! 

This is part 1 of the US special and it includes an inspection of the car and a full day of wrenching to get it roadworthy.

Huge thank you to J.R. and his friends from Salt Lake for their vital help with the car!

P.S...

US road trip recap and pictures!

After 23 days on the road, I'm back home in Frankfurt!

I wanted to share a few lovely pictures from this trip. It was absolutely epic.
First, we went to the East coast: Boston, Cape Cod, New York and Pittsburgh.

Then flew into Salt Lake City and picked up the E46 M3, which turned out to be a lot rougher than I thought. Incredibly nice Patreon, J.R. and his friends helped me wrench on it until 1 am and we got it ready to drive to Vegas and Los Angeles the next day. Over there I ...

Meet & greet in San Francisco, CA

Coming up! Spontaneous get-together in San Francisco area! Project Salt Lake City, E46 M3 and I will be this Thursday, 3rd of November at 81 Joseph Court, San Rafael CA 94903 between 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Come say Hallo, we'll hang out and talk about oil leaks!
Local idiot resident, Jason Cammisa will be there orchestrating this blowout extravaganza and Hagerty is bringing pizza! If you haven't, you can follow my US road trip with this car on my Instagram @m539_restorations.
This entire a...

F1 Sound in a 4-Door Super Sedan - BMW E60 M5 + New 2-Post Lift

Hello from LA, California!

In this episode we make the mighty S85 V10 engine sound even better. I'm completely in love with this car! We also install the 2-post lift which took place this past summer.

I'm currently in LA, heading for SB tomorrow with the E46 M3. It's been an adventure! The car is in a lot rougher shape than I expected so I'm doing a lot repairs on the road. So far I did 700 miles with it! Should be around 1500 in the end. Of course, I'm filming all of this and ...

V8 SUV Engine & Transmission Rejuvenation - BMW E70 X5 - Project X5: Part 3

UPDATE: I had to re-upload this video as some viewers experienced audio/video sync issues. This means comments from the previous one are gone so feel free to post them again! I apologize for the inconvenience.

Hello for the East Coast of the US!

Part 3 of project X5 has landed! A long, all wrenching episode. Making great progress with this project.

Have a lovely Sunday evening!

USA Road Trip

US special with E46 M3 coming up!

My better half and I are setting sails for the US tomorrow. We'll be there for about 3 weeks traveling and exploring. The first stop is Boston, then Cape Cod and NY. I've never been to the East coast so I'm really excited to see NYC!

After that, we are going to Pittsburgh, where my girlfriend's sister lives. This is primarily a vacation, but I had to make it spicy and interesting. A long time ago a nice subscriber from Utah offered me a cheap 20...

Making a V8 SUV to Stop Smoking - BMW E70 X5 - Project X5: Part 2

Direct link - https://youtu.be/F3TMxKntt4E

Part 2 of project X5 is here!

We are addressing the blue smoke issue and replacing valve stem seals in this episode.
I thought working on an SUV would be perhaps a bit easier cause it's a bigger car, but that's a big Nein. The space to work with is so tight my hands are still hurting and I dropped so many tools in the engine bay that completely disappeared.
2022-10-06 11:21:37 +0000 UTC View Post

More Problems - Supercharged BMW Alpina B7 - Project Chicago: Part 15

Part 15 of project Chicago! What was supposed to be a final episode, but it's not.

We are only left to deal with the paint which I thought shouldn't be that difficult since Schwarz 2 is easy to paint match. However, the car has some weird paint that looks like standard Schwarz 2, but it's not. Anyway, more on this in the video and Alpina is going to Poland to Artur and Dawid this week to be properly sorted out.

In other news, I got a phone call from Andy Bovensiepen, CEO of A...

Project Marbais, E30 320i & project Dubai, E38 750iL pictures

Here are the full-resolution professional pictures of the E30 and E38 with Frankfurt panorama in the background. I love these photos. Man, I miss project Dubai!

The last few pics are from Jason Cammisa and the stunning Alps in Switzerland. 

Redemption - BMW E30 320i - Project Marbais: Part 7

Direct link - https://youtu.be/pGunn6YvKfc

Project Marbais finale! This time around with a happy ending!

E30 is back and actually looking better than before. Guys from Poland have done an amazing job fixing the damage. This is actually the first time I got a properly high-quality paint job. Needless to say, E21 and E31 will be going to Poland for a full respray soon.

The E30 honestly turned out fantastic an...

Is the Engine Repairable? - BMW E92 M3 - Project Frankfurt: Part 2

Here's a quick video on project Frankfurt, the mighty E92 M3!

I wanted to confirm that the engine is indeed irreparable before I start looking for a new one and to make sure there are no surprises underneath.
I also got in touch with the original owner of the car from the US! Really nice guy, told me a lot more about it and shared all service records. 

You also get to see the new 2-post lift in action!

The next video will be on project Marbais, E30 320i and it'll b...

Update on projects and stuff

Hi folks! I didn't manage to finish the episode yet so I figured an update was in order.

The biggest development and news -- Bendpak 2-post lift finally arrived and it's up and running! Been waiting on this puppy for a year and a half now and I'm so happy that for the first time in my life I have my own 2-post lift! 

Luuk, Bendpak importer from the Netherlands, came again to help me install it and we had some mishaps along the way. He shipped the lift to Frankfurt two days ...

Complete Interior Rejuvenation - BMW Alpina B7 - Project Chicago: Part 14

Direct link - https://youtu.be/prkcgxospuA

About 5 weeks ago I started taking this interior apart, fixing and cleaning everything and this is the outcome! Absolutely thrilled!

A long episode, but a very satisfying one as it's start-to-finish sorting out the interior and all equipment that it has.

The next episode should be the grand finale! Thank you all for your kind support and to new Patreons, welcome!<...

Fixing Up All Broken Things on the Flagship BMW 7-series - Alpina B7 - Project Chicago: Part 13

Direct link - https://youtu.be/72Uldgy6WT8

Hola amigos! Here's the latest episode of project Chicago!

I know it's been a hot minute since I posted, but it's not because of a lack of not doing anything. I've been a busy bee!

I started fixing up all of the small things on the car and everything is just taking longer than I hoped. For example, sorting out soft-touch plastic pieces, I was expecting 1-day max......

I Bought My Dream Car in Very Broken Condition - Project Frankfurt: Part 1

I'm in love, boys and girls! 

This E92 M3 is so broken and yet it's not healthy how excited I am about it.

I'm so happy that project Frankfurt is my dream car! I was obsessed with this very car since high school. I remember going to school, listening to music and daydreaming about driving the M3. So to finally own one that's only "slightly" broken, is an incredible feeling!

Hope you like it cause we are going to have a ton of content on this beauty! 

Big hug...

Introducing project Frankfurt!

Boys, I've been dreaming and waiting on this one since 2007! My dream car! The beautiful E92 M3!

I was low-key searching for one for years, but they were always way out of my price range. Welp, last night while casually browsing this 2011 LCI Silverstone II metallic over Fox red interior popped up just 15 minutes away from me! 

I hightailed today at 18h over there after the seller finished work to see it and to my surprise (not), it's a turd of the highest caliber! So natura...

Can We Make Alpina B7 Roadworthy Again? - Project Chicago: Part 12

Direct link - https://youtu.be/jeanSib3nyk

A new episode of project Chicago is here!

We are getting near the end, boys & gals!
Does feel like forever since we started this project and it feels so good to have it officially approved for road use by TÜV.

Since this is the final stage of the project, I'm trying to sort out every single issue and imperfection on the car so it takes a while to make a...