Ownership Verified: I've jumped the shark(nose)! 1986 BMW 735i

Adunaphel

Angrily shouting at Klauwds
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Well, here it is. Yes Eye-Q, you got it correct. It's a 735i, in E23 guise. Built in April 1985, but it was only registered in October 1986.
The car has seen better days, three doors are rusty, one of which has a fist-sized hole in it. I will receive a replacement door in the wrong colour for that later this week. The paint is tired, the roof is covered in primer and the sunroof panel is covered in scratches. On the inside, the vinyl dashboard is cracking, the wood's finish has seen better days, only half the windows work and the speedo isn't working. The front suspension feels completely out of alignment. BUT! The underside is good. The engine runs like an M30 should. And I basically got an E23 735i for E38 728i money, so it was never going to be a perfect car.
My intention is to do a rolling restauration on it. Taking care of important stuff first, like mechanicals and interior. Exterior will come at a later stage, not sure yet what I'm going to do, paint wise. Keep it stock, or perhaps do it in a modern brown metallic.
Anyhow. Enough talking, photos!

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Some of the bad:
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But at least it comes with a replacement sunroof panel.
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Proof pic:
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Is this the first E23 on the forum? About the fucking time!

Congrats again. Seems like this project has potential to keep you busy ;)
 
Really interesting! It feels like the E23 has been shadowed by nearly every BMW that came before or after it. The car doesn't look too shabby really, just take it easy and enjoy it!
 
I respect the headlight wipers.
 
Congrats! I've wanted a 745i Turbo, but they're nearly impossible to find in good condition over here.
 
:thumbsup:
 
Very good. The front suspension probably needs many new components, like bushings, maybe shocks.. It's a multilink recirculating ball setup after all :)
 
Well done, looks like it has potential. :cool:

I don't recall the last one I saw in the wild, a rare car now and should be saved!
 
:drool:

I could not express how much I really want one of these. Congrats.
 
Awesome! That?s cool!

While I am always for the originality of the car, that isn?t the coolest colour on a E23.
Then again I would guess it?s not the most common either and does make the car very interesting (with the brown interior).

Difficult to say...

I would probably keep it anyways because changing the colour is a huge hassle if done properly.
 
M5YCi.png


While bigger cars are not really my thing, E12 and E23 are really high on my want list.. And that is sort of perfect really, as it isn't in good enough condition to pamper and "save" it, which often happens with classics. So you're free to fully enjoy it as a great car that it is. :thumbsup:

Also
Congrats! I've wanted a 745i Turbo, but they're nearly impossible to find in good condition over here.
 
Please allow me to be honest: I?m not a fan of this generation of the 7 series and the exterior and interior colors don?t help yours.
[...]Built in April 1985, but it was only registered in October 1986.
It really took that very special someone to walk into the dealership and not run away ... even 30 years ago.

But - I?m curious to see what you?re going to do to or with it in terms of restoration.
 
Is this the first E23 on the forum? About the fucking time!

Congrats again. Seems like this project has potential to keep you busy ;)

I think this is indeed the first FG E23.

Really interesting! It feels like the E23 has been shadowed by nearly every BMW that came before or after it. The car doesn't look too shabby really, just take it easy and enjoy it!

Yeah, the E9, E24 and E28 are the most-loved sharknoses, with the E9, E12 and E23 left in the shadow.

I respect the headlight wipers.

RESPECT MAH WIPORZ!

Very good. The front suspension probably needs many new components, like bushings, maybe shocks.. It's a multilink recirculating ball setup after all :)

Well, it got its MOT in feb, has hardly moved since, but the seller said he changed a tierod. So I have good hope that it is merely the alignment that is out of whack.

You got your work cut out for you! Excited to see how this turns out.

Yeah, I wanted a hobby. Looks like I bought one.

Awesome! That?s cool!

While I am always for the originality of the car, that isn?t the coolest colour on a E23.
Then again I would guess it?s not the most common either and does make the car very interesting (with the brown interior).

Difficult to say...

I would probably keep it anyways because changing the colour is a huge hassle if done properly.

It needs a proper respray anyway. The roof needs doing, it needs at least 2 new doors, one of which I got with the car in a different colour anyway.

M5YCi.png


While bigger cars are not really my thing, E12 and E23 are really high on my want list.. And that is sort of perfect really, as it isn't in good enough condition to pamper and "save" it, which often happens with classics. So you're free to fully enjoy it as a great car that it is. :thumbsup:

It will definitely be enjoyed. The car is in a very sweet spot where it will waft when you take it easy, but still responds nicely when pushed.

I will be putting the car on a lift later this week and then we'll go over it in detail and look at what needs doing. From the looks of it, it needs some welding but not much, it mainly needs a lot of TLC. And a repray.
 
Very nice! I think a brown will look sharp on it. MINI makes on they call Hot Chocolate; lots of pearls in it.
 
While bigger cars are not really my thing (...)

This prompted me to go on the internet and look up some figures :lol:

Interestingly, while this is like 25cm longer, it's narrower and 45kg lighter than a 335i (F30)... a 3-series!

Compared to my 300 SEL: 30cm shorter, 2cm narrower, 50kg lighter. I believe in 1986, the 735i and 300 SEL would have been direct competitors, so it's an interesting comparison. They probably couldn't be more different to drive. :lol:

Cool car :)
 
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