| 08-13-2023, 02:45 PM | #1 |
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What Would You Do?
As many long and foolish tales begin, I bought a cheap BMW. Specifically a 2011 E88 135i "M-suspension" in Alpine white (picture post-transplant before buttoning everything up), sold at auction with "mechanical issues." I thought somehow things would be different since the days of my E34 in the 90's that I kept through the early aughts, but I was reacquainted with my old friends such as the smell of melting crayons, plastics that were clearly not formulated for heat resistance used in the engine bay, plastics that were clearly not formulated for UV resistance directly exposed to the sun, and all the other nickel and dime cuts that sting all that much more because it feels like the engineers are disrespecting their customers. Anyhoo, the mechanical issue was that #1 rod had let loose - you know, the thing that happens to N55's that everyone says doesn't really happen to N55's, it's a one in a million thing, whatever. I even know when it happened - the PO was driving on the interstate when everything ended with a puff of smoke. She left the dash cam in the car, which has some frankly hilarious clips of a bunch of bewildered guys standing around looking under the hood, then on to a shop where they spend an unusual number of hours disassembling and diagnosing an engine with a hole the size of a dinner plate in the oil pan (with gravel-sized pieces of rod and piston falling out) and a view of the crank clearly visible through the #1 spark plug hole. Final clip was being pushed across the road to some kind of bone yard. Enter my 2012 E88 135i "M-sport package" parts car - 88k miles which is probably the useful life but provided life to the OG car. In spite of everything, the resulting car is so much fun as to make the frustration and busted knuckles worth it. Not to mention the oil spot on the garage floor in spite of a full set of gaskets  The dilemma is, what to do with said parts car. The only actual damage to a non-bolt-on part is the upper fender support is bent in a bit. Bumper reinforcement, frame rails, suspension, are all good to go, it was a high hit that mostly dented and broke stuff around the passenger headlight area. All the airbags are popped, I imagine because the sensor was right where the sheet metal dented and the SRS computer said "oh sh!t!" Most of what I 'stole' is the engine and trans. I reused the OG fuel setup, wiring, ECU, etc., so the 2012 stuff is in boxes. Most of the interior has been stored indoors, but the 2011 car did not have the M seats so those have been transplanted and the frankly trash non-M seats are probably dangerously infected with mold at this point from being stored in the car. I like the 18" wheels but I still have to decide how much I love them (i.e. considering I could actually sell them) vs the 17" style 142's on the white car. Being that I need to get this thing moved along, what would you do? The slow and painful process of parting it out is not appealing. But I also hate to see it go to the junk yard. Maybe there are some hard to find or desirable parts I should hold back. If nothing else it feels good to ramble to at least a few folks who might get it :-) Any advice is appreciated. |
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