So, I’ve got a spare car. It’s an '85 BMW 735i. It’s got 104K miles and is in pretty good shape. Its leather and wood interior still looks and feels new, the dash isn’t cracked anywhere and the sound system is fine. The engine is strong (compression even and good, just passed an emissions test by a wide margin), the front end is newly rebuilt and the brakes (pads, calipers, master cylinder, slave cylinders and rotors) are new.
It’s got some minor problems, both mechanical and cosmetic. While there’s no body damage, the cosmetic fixes would be a new paint job (fun in the sun), most likely a Maaco redo of the factory metallic dark grey, a couple of new BMW insignia for the hood and trunk and some kind of replacement or fix for the split leather on the steering wheel.
If the play with it scenario goes forward, the cosmetic fixes will get done.
Mechanically, to be a righteous '85 735i, it needs an A/C fan (A/C blows cold, but the fan works sporadically), it’s got a short somewhere in the electrical system (everything works, but if it’s not run everyday, its 3 month old Die Hard battery goes dead) and, although a dose of power steering fluid with some stop-leak in it has cured the problem for now, eventually it will need a new or rebuilt power steering pump.
And a recent rebuild of the front end didn’t come quite soon enough for one front tire (and only Michelin makes the correct $200 size).
This is a car with a $3500-4000 market value. Great, comfy car. And just owning it as a superfluous vehicle has caused me some problems.
Just for fun, today I mused to a buddy the thought of swapping in a 454 Chevy rat motor. Mating the Chevy mill to a Beemer 5-speed auto is out of the question, so a GM 5-speed manual would be called for, as would a custom driveshaft. I’d like the 454 to be mainly stock (custom exhaust probably demanded), thus easily maintained and operated, and supporting GM A/C. One possible performance addition would be a nitrous system.
Other than that, heavy duty shocks and stiff roll bars.
What do y’all think? Sell it and pocket a couple of grand or splurge $5-7K for a rare BMW 735i sleeper hot rod? Is that even a realistic cost estimate?