7 Series (E32) Forgotten E32

[sanpt7777]

I was doing some errands for my dad, and I had to go and pick a couple of parasols from the airport. I went to the place where trucks are loaded with goods from air freight, I'm guessing, and in the truck parking lot I found this:

I was told it was reported stolen and it was seized by the authorities... Fifteen years ago. And it's been sitting there since then. It should have been auctioned already.

The car is a 750i, it doesn't have leather interiors. That is very rare here in Mexico, BMWs are considered luxury cars here and thus they are always automatic and very well equipped. Manual and base BMWs are rare.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you my "find". E32s are very rare here, pretty much everything pre '90s.

What do you think?

BTW
I posted it on a Mexican BMW forum, just to share and said I could think of a thing it two I could do with it, but I wasn't serious.
Someone was quick to point out that I shouldn't take that car even for free, because getting it fixed would cost around €17,000.00, and I was quick to disagree.
Am I the only one here who thinks it can be done for €3,500.00? I'm not talking museum quality, of course. Just making it roadworthy.

Rust in peace, BMW.



Greetings!

Ricardo

 

[Giannis]

If BMW's are as rare as you say, there's no way in hell you can make it descent with €3500.

At least €1500 will go towards a descent paint job, and then you need new tyres, new hoses, a full service, and possibly the interior needs a refresh.

 

[picsoubmw]

I think it would be cheaper to find a nice e32 in Europe or USA and import it to Mexico than restore this one to a running condition...

And if I were to buy a e32 I would go for a 735i, less complicated, lighter, cheaper to run.

 

[SCOTT27]

It looks said this E32 has some fire damage...

 

[sanpt7777]

If BMW's are as rare as you say, there's no way in hell you can make it descent with €3500.

At least €1500 will go towards a descent paint job, and then you need new tyres, new hoses, a full service, and possibly the interior needs a refresh.

Only this vintage BMWs are rare, but parts are available at dealerships. I never considered a paint job or body work to be honest haha
My idea of roadworthy is mechanically fixed, aesthetics can wait xD

I only meant brakes, hoses, full service and tyres. Interior seemed solid actually.
Suspension can wait too

But I'll accept my mistake, maybe it is indeed too low of a budget. But I still think 17000 is excessive to just get it running and roadworthy.

I think it would be cheaper to find a nice e32 in Europe or USA and import it to Mexico than restore this one to a running condition...

And if I were to buy a e32 I would go for a 735i, less complicated, lighter, cheaper to run.

The 735i It's also manual : )
V12 BMWs don't interest me that much, TBH.

Well, as long as the engine runs after changing everything liquid and everything rubber, I don't think if it's that expensive. If I imported one (it can't be imported until it's 30 years old) I would still have to do a full service, pay taxes and still would need a cooling system overhaul, wouldn't it?
Anyway, I'm not considering buying it. It was just like saying "I wouldn't mind getting one for cheap" to do something like an engine swap or something.

It looks said this E32 has some fire damage...

Didn't looked like that when I was there, I think it's only damage made by 15 years of direct sunlight haha

 

[Giannis]

I never considered a paint job or body work to be honest haha

You did notice that half the car caught fire at some point, didn't you?

 

[sanpt7777]

You did notice that half the car caught fire at some point, didn't you?

I think it adds character to the car

But really, I meant I wouldn't repaint the car right away, I'd go Roadkill or Mad Max style.

 

[Busty]

Don't know where else to put it but I guess this might be an appropriate location.

Two friends and I are great youngtimer fanboys (focus on Porsche, Daimler, BMW) and started to work on modernized reincarnations of old 7 series, S-Klasse, and 928 a few years ago. Since we all come from different automotive backgrounds, we managed to create a small but very cool network of collaborators. A few key patents have been protected.
The past two days strengthened our hope that we might get the first of those projects on the streets in 1:1. Of course, not as commercial product but as a single concept.
I'm responsible for most design topics, so I wanted to ask the fanboy crowd in here. What do you consider the key elements of the 7 series (particularly in terms of styling)?

Some data: up to now, the design is an update of the E32 with E38 proportions. One of our main goals was to make the car a little more compact than current luxury cars, and ended up with it measuring 4,99m x 1,85m x 1,43m (l x w x h). Furthermore, we wanted to create a car body that did not require 19 to 21 inch wheels for a good stance. Our virtual prototypes carry 16 to 18 inch wheels and it feels right (on screen). I quoted styling elements of the VFL (side panels) and the Hommages 328 (front, interior) and 3.0. CSL (rear, interior) (partly because I had worked on similar styling solutions before ). There will be practically no alu or chrome on the outside, except for the kidneys. On the inside, there will be matte wood and black steel parts but, again, almost no alu.
For various reasons, but mainly because of our partnering situation, we decided for an electric drivetrain with one engine on each axle. We experimented with various possibilities of recuperation (e.g., damper- and suspension-based which f**king Audi is marketing these days ). Also, a gas turbine as a range extender seems likely.

Keep your fingers crossed for us to be able to keep that thing going.

 

[klier]

I'm responsible for most design topics, so I wanted to ask the fanboy crowd in here. What do you consider the key elements of the 7 series (particularly in terms of styling)?

Talking to me, son?
The E32 or E38?

Either way, it sounds very, very interesting.
I have a friend who's father has a business in taking the Jaguar Mrk II, and making it completely modern in terms of systems, tech, engines, suspension and the whole shebang. Pretty cool to see. Old from the outside yet fully modern.
The thing is though, nobody wants a Jaguar Mrk II anymore

So @sanpt7777....... is the car still there?

 

[KiwiRob]

Talking to me, son?
The E32 or E38?

Either way, it sounds very, very interesting.
I have a friend who's father has a business in taking the Jaguar Mrk II, and making it completely modern in terms of systems, tech, engines, suspension and the whole shebang. Pretty cool to see. Old from the outside yet fully modern.
The thing is though, nobody wants a Jaguar Mrk II anymore

So @sanpt7777....... is the car still there?

Does you friends dad do the V8 conversion as well? Resto modding the Mark II is pretty cool, look up the Cullum Mark II, it doesn't get much cooler than that.

 

[klier]

I believe so, yes. Even entirely new engines and gearboxes I think.

And yeah it's pretty awesome. The Mrk II is amazing.

 

[sanpt7777]

Did I read fanboys? I think I can provide some insight.

I guess the E32 proportions are already perfect, so are the E39's, which brings the question, why not just rebuild old E32's? But if you can build a modern car from scratch, I'm all for that. You can build a safer car. Besides, you get some freedom you wouldn't otherwise.

Anyway, I believe the key elements of the 7 Series are pretty much the same as any BMW. See the car's profile, it doesn't get more BMW (to me) than E32/E34/E36/E38/E39/E46. The kidneys have an ideal size in my opinion, that of the V8/V12 models, not the skinny ones.

Also, the style 5 wheels or similar, something with a modern touch. In fact, something like the wheels on the car I posted.

What does separate the 7 is it's proportions, and I'm not talking sheer size here. Even though an F30 is almost the size of an E34, put them side by side and you know the E34 is a 5er. Same with the 7. A modern 5er wouldn't pass as one. I believe the 7 looks wide and low, which can be accentuated with the design of the grills, headlights and bonnet. But most importantly, it looks loooong. I guess it should be as long as possible while still looking wide and low, otherwise it will look like a cigarette or an American limo.

Talking to me, son?
The E32 or E38?

Either way, it sounds very, very interesting.
I have a friend who's father has a business in taking the Jaguar Mrk II, and making it completely modern in terms of systems, tech, engines, suspension and the whole shebang. Pretty cool to see. Old from the outside yet fully modern.
The thing is though, nobody wants a Jaguar Mrk II anymore

So @sanpt7777....... is the car still there?

You mean like restomoding? Sounds very cool.

I didn't went back. I guess it's still there.

I know of a mint black E34 with a broken engine/transmission tho. Maybe some day haha
Would be a great candidate to repair, considering E34s are so rare around here. A new M60 and a manual would do it.

 

[sanpt7777]

@klier at some point back then I did come back, and the fire damage seemed to be deliberate. There were no parts inside the car with fire damage, not even the engine bay. Just wanted to say this, as I never posted about it. Seemed like something burned on the car, not in.