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E38 740i Restoration

5K views 8 replies 1 participant last post by  CRIBBYRHYMES 
#1 ·
I thought it was about time I posted up some details of the partial restoration of my 1998 E38 740i. I bought it in August 2017 doing a straight swap for my mint condition 330ci. The guy thought I was crazy but I have always wanted a V8 E38, I was bored of the 330 and whilst the 740 was rough around the edges i could see the potential.......

I drove it until December 2017 then started doing a few mechanical bits and pieces to it. Within weeks I had decided to take it off the road and carry out a partial restoration on it........

It was off the road for 11 months whilst I worked on it in my driveway and garage. I stripped out the interior and the front wings, doors, bonnet and boot were all off at some point during the restoration. All panel rust was repaired or the part replaced where necessary. Bilthamber was my best friend for a number of months whilst doing the bodywork - electrox, deox c, deox gel, epoxy mastic, dynax s50, dynax UB etc etc.

I done all the work myself and learnt a lot of things in the process. It was a real labour of love, I nearly called it quits a couple of times but I got there in the end. It was difficult finding the time with a young family. Most of the work was done late at night from about 11pm to 2am in the garage almost every night for 11 months with the noisy stuff reserved for the weekends or days booked off work.

I haven't been the best at taking photos during or after the process but I will post up here all that I have. More than happy to chat about it on here or answer any questions anybody has. The finished car may not be everybodys cup of tea but it turned out exactly how I had envisioned.

Summary of work done:

New bonnet and boot badges
New 740i boot badge
Motorola V50 with BMW software & new battery (New housing sourced from Russia and fitted to phone)
Oil & filter service
2015 sat nav maps disc
New LED Number plate lights
New matte black kidney grills
New cabin filters
Endless numbers of new clips, screws, bolts, fasteners etc from BMW!
New Brake discs all round
New pads all round
New callipers all round
New coolant expansion tank
New coolant level sensor
New air con & serpentine belts
New coolant temp sensor
New coolant hoses
New fan & fan clutch
New Thermostat
New water pump
New radiator
New valve cover gaskets
Brake fluid and coolant change
New wiper blades
New clip on trim covers for the bottom of three of the doors
New spark plugs
New bonnet release cable
New wheel speed sensors all round
New tie rods
New front wheel bearings
New shocks, bump stops and top mounts all round
New front track control arms
New front drop links
New front ABS bracket holders
New brake hoses all round
New bonnet struts
New handbrake accessories
New rear protection plates
New rear track control arms
Xtrons dvd headrest monitors
Alpine digital tv receiver
New drivers side front wing
New jack pads
New rubber buttons and batteries for the keys
New H&R stage 2 springs for the front (stage 1's already fitted to rear)
Interior dyed deep purple
Car liquid wrapped in Fulldip gun metal grey including door jams, bonnet, boot etc
New 20" MK motorsport alloys and tyres
Powerflow exhaust (straight pipe from the cats back ending in quad tails)
New PCV diaphragm
New MAF sensor

and probably a hundred other miscellaneous bits and bobs that i have forgotten about, it was a long 11 months!! View attachment 252497
 
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