[StradaRedlands]

The people have spoken and they want their daily update! It was a whirlwind of activity starting when I got home and finishing when it was too dark and cold to work! Pretty much all cosmetic work with a little bit of coding. I started by slapping some strut mount covers in place (can't live without them!), then added some LATCH covers I had laying about to the missing rear seat ones, updated some of the interior lighting to LED (ran out of bulbs on that job), swapped out the license plate bracket and put on a silicone plate holder, and finally coded/registered the battery in the dark.

Small shout out for the LEDs are Alopee 3000K and I absolutely love them! Same hue as incandescent, but brighter, cooler, and much less wattage. Recommended!

I can also happily recommend these silicone license plate holders. They have a nice thin border so look clean, definitely better than a plain plate, and maybe stop any rattling. Recommended!

The license plate bracket came from the local PYP and was sourced by Stradson today. Hopefully he will give the full story elsewhere!

Coding the battery is an interesting one and shows why having records is so important! As I was going through PO's files, I noticed the battery was just two years old... yay, that's a win! But then I saw that it was a replacement for a battery purchased just three years before that. Uh-oh, Spidey-senses were tingling. I checked with him, and nope, neither were registered. So I used Protool to code in an AGM battery, and registered it as new. Hopefully it's not too late and I can get some good years out of it. Be sure to code & register those batteries when doing this at home, kids!



These are the amazing strut covers MidWillamette335d designed:



Some mis-matched LATCH covers I had in a box... but still an improvement:



And that is it for today!

Stay tuned to this channel for tomorrow's exciting installment to find out what happens next!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Estero

I’m sorry about the previous totaled E9X but the 6/6 N52 is fantastic. I would have thought at least a couple of them would have been N51 since you are out in California

It's really a bummer they were crashed. I HATE the idea of a wagon being taken off the road :-(

The irst one was when I was still learning how to repair, and if it happened now I would probably be able to save it. Luckily I sold it for a couple $$$ and the buyer repaired it and it's still on the road!!!



The second one was truly fubared with some frame spar damage. It had 180k on it so really no good way to justify paying to repair it. Donated to NPR.



But as a palate cleanser, Jewel is still going strong!!! Here she is in camping mode:

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

How many are totaled is the pertinent question... :-(

5/6 RWD
2/6 Manual
6/6 N52
2/6 Crossed the Rainbow Bridge

1st AT AWD wagon lasted one week before a new driver in the household totaled it /sigh
2nd wagon was AT RWD and was going strong before a veteran driver in the house totaled it /sigh
3rd wagon is AT RWD and living it's best life in Santa Cruz. Literally being used as intended: Commutes/Travel/Camping/Cargo hauling.
4th wagon is MT RWD and getting a glow up in my driveway!
Then my MT RWD 330i and Stradson's MT RWD 328i sedans.

I'm a N52 lifer, and VERY much want to MT everything! I was kinda' looking at this X3 before the current E91 came into my life!

That’s a nice x3. I always was on the lookout for a 2011 n52 + 8 spd ZF. Same with the 2011 528i.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by tlow98

That’s a nice x3. I always was on the lookout for a 2011 n52 + 8 spd ZF. Same with the 2011 528i.

Yeah, it's a cool one! Low miles. I wonder what the story is with it? I'd like to find a higher mileage one for about half that price and turn it into a fire road cruiser and camper.

We have an '11 528i with the N52/ZF 8HP... really good car! I'd like to downsize the E70 X5 35i to an '11-12 X3 with the same N52/ZF 8HP, but I'm over-ruled on that so far!

I sort of think at some point trading in both for a G01 X3 would be a good move. This is a motivational read! But that is still far out in the future. The F10 is my wife's daily and she LOVES it, and the X5 really serves a purpose as the family station wagon and moving vehicle.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Yeah, it's a cool one! Low miles. I wonder what the story is with it? I'd like to find a higher mileage one for about half that price and turn it into a fire road cruiser and camper.

We have an '11 528i with the N52/ZF 8HP... really good car! I'd like to downsize the E70 X5 35i to an '11-12 X3 with the same N52/ZF 8HP, but I'm over-ruled on that so far!

I sort of think at some point trading in both for a G01 X3 would be a good move. This is a motivational read! But that is still far out in the future. The F10 is my wife's daily and she LOVES it, and the X5 really serves a purpose as the family station wagon and moving vehicle.

I bet that 528i is rad! Sweetheart of a power train there and they come with the heat exchanger which heats up the oil so much faster. Nice ride!

I like the G01 X3, as well, but can’t help but feel like they’re over priced second hand - at least with the b58. Especially, when cross-shopped against same-year x5s. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the b46 though as they seem very stout compared to N20 designs.

Now back to the e91. You’re really making me want to manual swap our e91…

[Poorhouse]

Wow! Congratulations on a great find!

Serious lack of photos to this point....

Slight tangent as your location is listed as "Socal". We were in the LA/Malibu area last week. I saw a bunch of BMW wagons including an E39 540i that was 6 speed swapped. It was parked up the street from where we stayed all week. Found some fun roads that had me wishing we were in our E91 instead of the rental Ford Escape.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by tlow98

I bet that 528i is rad! Sweetheart of a power train there and they come with the heat exchanger which heats up the oil so much faster. Nice ride!

I like the G01 X3, as well, but can’t help but feel like they’re over priced second hand - at least with the b58. Especially, when cross-shopped against same-year x5s. I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the b46 though as they seem very stout compared to N20 designs.

Now back to the e91. You’re really making me want to manual swap our e91…

The F10 is currently fantastic, but we had to put $12k into it the first year or so. Literally every system went bad on it after we bought it :-(

I'm really thinking about pulling a MT from the PYP this weekend... you know, just to have on hand...

Originally Posted by Poorhouse

Wow! Congratulations on a great find!

Serious lack of photos to this point....

Slight tangent as your location is listed as "Socal". We were in the LA/Malibu area last week. I saw a bunch of BMW wagons including an E39 540i that was 6 speed swapped. It was parked up the street from where we stayed all week. Found some fun roads that had me wishing we were in our E91 instead of the rental Ford Escape.

A SoCal wagon-fest sounds fantastic... I can now participate in these things!!!

Photos will be forthcoming... it's not just up on jackstands in the driveway, so not terribly exciting! First round of FCP purchases coming in Friday for a Saturday wrench-a-thon. Hopefully on the road by Sunday!!!

[onebluemcm]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

I'm really thinking about pulling a MT from the PYP this weekend... you know, just to have on hand...

Similar sentiment here - it's not like these things are exactly the easiest to rebuild, and with xdrive here, finding good 6MT will only become more and more like finding hens teeth...

[oVeRdOsE.]

n52 6mt should not be an issue.

im thinking to source a 335xi 6mt one . I was missing the 2nd too many time for my taste. And it was impossible to fit between 4000-5000 WOT, even the clutch fully pressed.

Change oil for redline mtl, didn't really change anything. Maybe a little better.

Then added lucas oil stabilizer (around 200ml), and after few miles it got perfect, the 2nd fits no issue. interestingly the manual pump was hard to pump with redline oil, and when I've mixed the Lucas in, it magically became super smooth to pump.

So I do believe this actually made a difference.

[K9Leader]

Great find on this one! Glad to see it go to a longroof enthusiast. Is there a 3SIM coming in the near future?

My E91 has been gone a month now and I am still wistful about it. I wish I could have kept it but the garage and the driveway (and my wife's car tolerance level) were full and we are talking about downsizing sometime in the next couple of years so the wife has been giving the E82 the side eye lately.

This is the first time in 37 years I have not had a wagon or a pickup or both. The replacement Kia Stinger has good cargo capacity and has already done its share of hauling but had to solve the problem of really big/long stuff that I used to throw in the bed of a truck or strap to the rack on top of a wagon. Went ahead and got some Yakima cross bars and a Yakima cargo box for the Stinger (actually, still need to try the cross bars on the wife's 2013 Toyota Venza to see if they can do double duty). Now lumber and plywood can be strapped to the top of the Stinger when the need arises.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

I was missing the 2nd too many time for my taste. And it was impossible to fit between 4000-5000 WOT, even the clutch fully pressed.

Change oil for redline mtl, didn't really change anything. Maybe a little better.

Then added lucas oil stabilizer (around 200ml), and after few miles it got perfect, the 2nd fits no issue. interestingly the manual pump was hard to pump with redline oil, and when I've mixed the Lucas in, it magically became super smooth to pump.

So I do believe this actually made a difference.

What transmission was that? 1 to 2 on my 330 is tricky, I can't slam it in. Need to ease it in, not terrible but not as buttery smooth as the rest of the gears. Regular old Lucas oil stabilizer in the gearbox, eh? I may try that.

Back to the topic of wagons, nice find StradaRedlands! I guess that means you won't be looking as much at E93s now, or are you still going to get one when you find a deal too good to pass on? I wanted an E91 and was willing to settle for an automatic. I found one locally that was incredible and had everything I wanted except the manual transmission but I was too late as someone had beat me to it.. then soon after I got my 330 and gave up on the E91 dreams for now.

My wild idea is a M57 powered LCI E91 with 6MT.

[The Nightman]

Congrats on the unicorn - that combination is my dream car. Sucks that E91s are all xdrives in my region.

[The Nightman]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Coding the battery is an interesting one and shows why having records is so important! As I was going through PO's files, I noticed the battery was just two years old... yay, that's a win! But then I saw that it was a replacement for a battery purchased just three years before that. Uh-oh, Spidey-senses were tingling. I checked with him, and nope, neither were registered. So I used Protool to code in an AGM battery, and registered it as new. Hopefully it's not too late and I can get some good years out of it. Be sure to code & register those batteries when doing this at home, kids!

Good call. AGM batteries require a higher charging voltage to prevent sulfation and a shorter life as a result. Get the most out of that expensive battery!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

Back to the topic of wagons, nice find StradaRedlands! I guess that means you won't be looking as much at E93s now, or are you still going to get one when you find a deal too good to pass on?

If I fall into a low price, high mileage, well maintained E93 MT, I won't pass it up! But I'm going to be focused on this E91 for a while, and figuring out what I'm going to do with my 330i. That 330i is SUCH a good car, but almost unsalable due to the high mileage. My daughter miiiight want it, but I'm not sure.

And I'm always on the lookout for E91s... All three kids are kind of obsessed with them which is a compliment to my awesome parenting skills! Presuming I find them some, they'd have to give up their current MT cars as I highly doubt I'll come across another two MT E91s. Manual swap might come into play if any of that ever happens LOL

Wifey loves her F10, but I'm working on her as well! She was down for E91 life until she drove that damn 528i... instantly smitten by it!

Originally Posted by The Nightman

Congrats on the unicorn - that combination is my dream car. Sucks that E91s are all xdrives in my region.

Originally Posted by The Nightman

Good call. AGM batteries require a higher charging voltage to prevent sulfation and a shorter life as a result. Get the most out of that expensive battery!

It's a great car... planning on it being the forever car. Can't see replacing it with anything, although maybe augmenting with a convertible at some point. I keep telling myself I need one of those for some strange reason...

[Missouri Guy]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

It's a great car... planning on it being the forever car. Can't see replacing it with anything, although maybe augmenting with a convertible at some point. I keep telling myself I need one of those for some strange reason...

Everyone needs a convertible at least once in their life.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by lowrydr310

What transmission was that? 1 to 2 on my 330 is tricky, I can't slam it in. Need to ease it in, not terrible but not as buttery smooth as the rest of the gears. Regular old Lucas oil stabilizer in the gearbox, eh? I may try that.

Back to the topic of wagons, nice find StradaRedlands! I guess that means you won't be looking as much at E93s now, or are you still going to get one when you find a deal too good to pass on? I wanted an E91 and was willing to settle for an automatic. I found one locally that was incredible and had everything I wanted except the manual transmission but I was too late as someone had beat me to it.. then soon after I got my 330 and gave up on the E91 dreams for now.

My wild idea is a M57 powered LCI E91 with 6MT.

yeah similar, I can't slam it in 2, or let say a quiet morning at 5h30 going out slowly of my neighborhood, and fit gently the 2nd, it will pop out and grind the gears.

some say it's only a thickener , project farm said it does really something and I experienced a smooth operation on the manual pump when the Lucas got in. I've used the classic one that looks like honey.

It's a fair bet before considering a rebuilt or replacement.

I also put a magnetic oil drain plug.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

The F10 is currently fantastic, but we had to put $12k into it the first year or so. Literally every system went bad on it after we bought it :-(

I'm really thinking about pulling a MT from the PYP this weekend... you know, just to have on hand...



A SoCal wagon-fest sounds fantastic... I can now participate in these things!!!

Photos will be forthcoming... it's not just up on jackstands in the driveway, so not terribly exciting! First round of FCP purchases coming in Friday for a Saturday wrench-a-thon. Hopefully on the road by Sunday!!!

Try and get the whole she-bang. Pedal box. Everything. I know a Bay Area guy you can always offload it on, wink wink.

[Bimmerfan_E36]

Fantastic buy @[StradaRedlands]! I have gone through 2 E91 myself - LCI Auto xDrive MSport double hump and now the ultra rare E91 RWD 6MT single hump. Kinda going through the same process you are on mine and also have a 330i 6MT RWD for daily duties. I consider myself to be lucky to be curating and saving these wonderful cars! Long live the N52!

Would love to see a thread of E91 RWD 6MTs with their current owners on the road!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Bimmerfan_E36

Fantastic buy @[StradaRedlands]! I have gone through 2 E91 myself - LCI Auto xDrive MSport double hump and now the ultra rare E91 RWD 6MT single hump. Kinda going through the same process you are on mine and also have a 330i 6MT RWD for daily duties. I consider myself to be lucky to be curating and saving these wonderful cars! Long live the N52!

Would love to see a thread of E91 RWD 6MTs with their current owners on the road!

My brother from another!

I had the talk with The Baby: She's down to inherit the 330i.

[jsunma]

Congrats! Love the aluminum trim, single hump, sports seats (and of course mt, rwd). Have you gone back to the thread, somewhere here on this site, to figure out just how rare this combo is in the US? It's kind of a silly thing, but it's the sort of thing we unicorn wranglers enjoy :-)

[StradaRedlands]

Oh yes, I was just talking about that with the fam... we not have two one of ones in the house!

One of 85 pre-LCI RWD sport E91s (not sure how that breaks down MT vs AT):



It's one of the 10 special order schwarz2 E91s, and one of one with Dakota grau:



Although my daughter's 09 LCI in Montegoblau (A51) with Dakota grau interior is so rarefied it doesn't exist!



Additionally, beyond looking up numbers, looks like I have some work ahead of me today:

[jsunma]

Yeah, that's me, one of 2 in the pre-LCI ZSP A35/LCB8 combination. I have no idea whether the other one had aluminum trim or not...so I may be 1 of 1.

All of this talk of rarity makes me guilty for having my unicorn at the moment totally encrusted with salt from a tri-state work trip/dash earlier in the week. But, it's about 11 degrees out right now.....

Enjoy!