E34 525i engine rebuild

Dale Parish

Picked this up very recently.
Originally started out as a 520i and at some point in its life had a 1993 M50b25TU put in.

Doors and sills have all been opened, rust repaired and closed again.
I don't have a full spec sheet yet as a lot of features have been retrofitted..
such as automatic dimming mirrors, full eisenmann exhaust + headers, electric mirrors, electric bison (i've been told) leather with armrests, ski-package, HELLA lights with Crosshair + clear indicator, period M steering wheel, high/full OBD

Items to do in the immediate future
* pack the muffler - too loud
* engine out and full rebuild, new clutch etc. Valve job + skimming will depend on condition
* Brake caliper rebuild, new discs + pads all round, steel braided lines
* Gear link rebuild - way too loose
* Fuel door is broken, needs fixing

Phone screenshots are from the seller..

Dale Parish

Began work about a month ago.
The plan right now is to do the following (in this order):

Full engine overhaul
Brake system overhaul (steel braided cables all around, new discs pads and rebuild calipers)
Fix fuel tank door hinge
Repair crack in original bumper
Move battery to under seat (currently under bonnet)
Reapply rust-protection and clearly mark jacking points for the TÜV
Install blaupunkt bremen 46 sqr

Dale Parish

About 3 weeks ago...
Goal was to measure the crank main bearings and conrod shells, pistons, check head & block to see if they require machining.

Most parts arrived also.

The head gasket has failed and was letting coolant in, a bearing had spun and a previous "expert" had improperly mounted the rocker cover. The studs for the nuts are ruined and new ones will be machined in.
Amazing nothing was warped, out of tolerance etc, even the (slightly) spun bearing has done no damage. The only negative is some wear on the crankshaft and caps. This will be polished out by a machine shop and new material added.

Started cleaning parts but forgot to take pics - everything came up brand new.

Dale Parish

Got the crankshaft out and measured. Everything was good, close to the higher end of the tolerances, except the where the bearing had spun, but it was still well within what is allowed.
The head was cleaned.

Started head & porting today (before picture)
Valve seats will be lapped later


Some delay in getting the block out, had to get sandblasting gear as paint stripper wasn't doing the job on the old paint. Anyway its off now.
Should have it back in 2 weeks. Polishing and porting of the heads has begun. Should be done on Saturday when I will then start to rebuild the head and lapp the valves

Into the shop-wagon