[tom @ eas]

Awesome build, we had a Cosmos Black 850 in for an engine and diff swap for the CSi versions (self-sourced) some time back, incredible car and was extremely lucky to have been a part of. Essentially, could've have been called an M8.

Keeping the Blaupunkt head unit or swapping over to the CD43 radio?

[SeG9n7Rf58pagQt3]

Originally Posted by JEllis

DD25B141-7EB8-4CFA-AC67-16F8E32A684C by JEllis, on Flickr

Wheels are being swapped out. The automatic is staying. I have only had 5spd/6spd cars but the auto suits this car very well.

Nice, 5 spokes (IMHO) are best wheels. Those are looking nice. About auto, it's nice, but i prefer stick or new double clutches.

[MalibuBimmer]

I always liked the 8 series but stupidly got into Mercedes Benz cars at the time. I look forward to reading about the build.

Forgive me for asking,but was the nose in an accident? The kidney grilles look askew.

[car_fan]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Agree with you about the Powerdyne unit. That being said, the one on this car is producing good boost (however I need a gauge) and has been working apparently great for the last decade. I would love to upgrade to a Vortech or Rotrex but the juice isn't worth the squeeze at this point.



These are going on soon

DD25B141-7EB8-4CFA-AC67-16F8E32A684C by JEllis, on Flickr



Wheels are being swapped out. The automatic is staying. I have only had 5spd/6spd cars but the auto suits this car very well.






About like the E92 but the 840 has a 22 gallon tank so it really can cross some distance!



Thanks all!

Those rims appear to be Racing Dynamics, if so you really are - dead center "on point" for period correctness

[JEllis]

Originally Posted by car_fan

Those rims appear to be Racing Dynamics, if so you really are - dead center "on point" for period correctness

Yep they are E31 spec Racing Dynamics wheels off of a K55

960x540_e31_0001 by JEllis, on Flickr

[Hass516]

just magnificent

[E90joee]

Love that color, enjoy!

[deemo319]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Quick update. Had this sitting in the house for months waiting for the 840. Finally got it in today. The interior is overall much nicer without the deteriorating steering wheel the previous owner installed in the car.

IMG_3968 by JEllis, on Flickr

You just happened to have an Alpina E31 steering wheel laying around?

You are the schizzle dude!!!!!!

The E31 8 Series is one of my all-time favorite BMW's, with the 850CSi and the E52 Z8 at the top of the list.

Enjoy that ride.

[car_fan]

Originally Posted by JEllis

Yep they are E31 spec Racing Dynamics wheels off of a K55

960x540_e31_0001 by JEllis, on Flickr

Greatness - subscribed!

[Rennsport3.2]

This car is coming together really well! I'm always glad to see older BMWs on Bimmerpost. Good on you for bringing it back to life...I love the color and I can't wait to see it with those wheels on it!

[John Tanglewood]

This brings a tear to my eye.

We used to live in a small townhome in PA, and my father worked his ass off during the week in Connecticut and made the 3hr trip to see my every weekend.

He mostly had company cars like a Ford Taurus, etc. When he finally saved up enough he bought a 325i convertible, white on beige. He said it was the nicest car he'd every owned and driven.

A couple years and several promotions later, he was able to purchase his dream car - a black on black (1994? not sure) 840ci. I remember the day he brought it home, I was in complete shock at how gorgeous it was. Long, black, and sleek, there was nothing else like it on the road. It didn't fit in at ALL in the parking lot of our cul-de-sac townhome, especially not next to my mother's red Acura Integra. We soon moved away to CT into a bigger house. But I'll never forget the feeling of seeing it for the first time!! Back then I even fit in the rear seats!!!

Anyway, that car does amazing things to my soul. A testament to hard work paid off. My dad frequently talks about how when he purchased that 840ci, all he could think was "what do I purchase now, I can't do any better!!!". He's since upgraded to exotics and such, but that car will always have a profound impact on him, me, and our life and relationship.

Thank you so much for putting your care into such a beauty!!

[tiltmode43]

Loving this build, can't wait to see where this goes!

[raysspl]

Quite the rare project! Looking forward to the build

[classyfast]

What a find, nice man

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Congrats for the great purchase and can't wait to see what's next with this beautiful car!

[Alpine F31]

This car ended up with the right buyer, that's for sure.

[exmowner]

Thanks...... now i want one too.


http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/...ationFlag=true

[JKAlltheWay]

Aaaaand subscribed. Looking forward to seeing more!

[radiofrequency]

I've always loved the 8 Series, the styling never seems to date and it's always a treat to see a well cared for vehicle of this vintage. It's hard to believe that this car was still running with the air filter in that condition! Great job on the steering wheel - and there is nothing like Leatherique to bring back leather from the dead. I second the suggestion to fit a period correct radio. Please keep posting your updates, it's a treat for all of us here.

[Dackelone]

Here are my 8 Series (two)stories...

We had Warren Brown from the Washington Post come speak to our car club back in 1990ish(in DC area). He told of how BMW AG flew him(and a bunch of other press guys) to Munich to test drive the new 850i. They got to drive some prototypes, but they had someone from BMW sitting shotgun. He drove the car on the Autobahn for an hour or so and was blown away at the car's performance. It was top in class. Then when they got back to HQ... the BMW engineer.... was so embarrassed that he forgot to show them the new sound system in the car! They apparently drove the whole hour or so with no tunes playing. THIS is what German cars are all about. Warren said he really did not see the point of having a radio in such a car. The Performance was why you were buying it!

Also soon at the 8er came out.... I was friend's with the guys over at AutoThority Performance(in Fairfax, Va).... one of the first companies to produce performance "chips" (software) for BMW's and Porsche. By that time they had already done the entire Porsche lineup and most of the BMW's. The 850i would be their crown. I remember the guys telling me a funny story how when they had the 8er on the dyno... plotting out the data... all of a sudden at 110 mph... ALL the windows started to "roll up" on their own! They had their data cables and a helper leaning inside the car when this happened! They told me it almost took his head off! lol Looking back now we all get a chuckle out of it. The 8er was the first BMW to use a CAS system where the car's wiring harness would send signals to the windows, the door locks, and other controls(etc)... all using the same wires. A ECU would prioritize the signals. Well... one of the things that ecu does is roll up all the windows at 110 mph! lol

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Awesome build, we had a Cosmos Black 850 in for an engine and diff swap for the CSi versions (self-sourced) some time back, incredible car and was extremely lucky to have been a part of. Essentially, could've have been called an M8.

Keeping the Blaupunkt head unit or swapping over to the CD43 radio?

I believe it was BMW intention to make/call the 850i project an M8. Thats why the 12 cylinder engine actually has a ///M embossed on it. And why the other 8 Series have ///M brake calipers. But at the final development BMW's board got cold feet. Hence no M8. They did build a one off M8 to compete with the F40, but it never happened either.

The BMW board killing off a model at the final stages has happened again in BMW history. I believe the 135i also had this fate(why the BMW Performance line was created out of some of the parts designed for the baby ///M project. Later the guys in Garching would tackle this project again on their own "free time". Also the "Z4 sDrive 35is" was another car meant to be a ///M but never was. This is also why the 1M ended up with the Z4's engine... bc it had already gone thru some tweaking by M over the basic N54 engine.

[canukgtp]

beautiful car...love the colour...enjoy that great 8 series!

[Dinan_Engineering]

Originally Posted by JEllis

A few months ago I purchased a full Stage 2/3 E31 840i OBD1. I was able to get what I believe was a tremendous deal for what has turned out to be an epic car.

The car drives amazing after fixing the brakes, removing the rear spacers and swapping out the MAF and dirty intake and parts. The car pulls hard! The SC has never been rebuilt and I have my doubts its making full boost but it pulls very well. I am in love with this car. More to come.

Congrats on an excellent find first off. The 8 series is a special breed of car. Finding one in the condition you did and restoring it back to its former glory is impressive and awesome. Hopefully you will enjoy the car for many years as its always a treat when you run across one on the road or at a show.

Originally Posted by Nitrousbird

Can't believe Dinan chose a freaking Powerdyne for their supercharger. There couldn't have been a worse choice than that. Charge top dollar for their stuff and use one of the cheapest superchargers available at the time.

The Powerdyne supercharger experiment lasted about a year across the various supercharger platforms. When they worked, they worked great. The problem was consistency and reliability. No Powerdyne SC made the same power it seemed and they were notorious for breaking down. So much so that I would be surprised there are more than 50 of the Powerdyne SC's out in the field. Most were replaced by Vortech systems and ultimately the Powerdyne program shifted to a Vortech program. That said, when they worked, the Powerdyne SC was actually a more powerful SC than the Vortech.