Challenge project (collection of parts and rolling shell) that sat in my garage for a couple years, other priorities forced it out to the barn last year.
1986 BMW 635csi (no title), manual car – no interior, original drivetrain gone. No side glass or regulators. Firewall/forward trans tunnel has been cut (pieces saved) to move motor down and back. Bumpers gone. Fill panel welded in. Sunroof removed and sheet metal welded in. Fabricated panel for front bumper opening. (never happy with my effort here, bolt in so can easily be removed). door moldings removed and holes filled. Shell metal is in good condition, no significant rust. Some surface rust on the areas I modified. Needs more (or perhaps better) body work
Have original dash and modified gauge panel – original wire harness for car
Early 2000’s 5.3l Ls truck motor – supposedly 180k miles & running when pulled, wire harness and ecu
Corvette ls1 bat-wing oil pan and pickup
Super T10 4 speed, bellhousing, Hurst shifter, new flywheel to adapt clutch and T10 to engine
Junkyard drive shaft, bmw diff flange adapter (JTR) for conventional driveshaft, new rear half shafts installed
Have the original bmw hydroboost brake system and power steering pump
Kirkey race seat and cover
Other miscellaneous parts, scrounged bits and pieces, etc.
Prefer not to part out at this point if I can help it. I'd like to see someone finish it. Located near Richmond, VA
That's very tempting. Hope it finds a good home.
Stampie (FS) said:
That's very tempting. Hope it finds a good home.
You can say that again. I thought I was done with big BMWs. And v8 swapped BMWs. And the 6 series is just soooooo oddball (big reason to love and big reason to hate).
Oh man, way to much on my plate
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
LSD?
My memory at the moment suggests open. I'll need to check again to be certain.
dlmater said:
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
LSD?
My memory at the moment suggests open. I'll need to check again to be certain.
My memory was incorrect. Jacked up the rear, crawled under and snapped this pic. 3.46 ratio LSD. My understanding is the 'S' denotes LSD. Tire spin test, free spinning, suggests the same.
Is the lack of a title a "no chance, it's gone, that was 3 owners ago", or a "lost it in a move and can't be bothered" sort of scenario?
Looks like a great Challenge car, would be cool to drive it on the street too!
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
Stampie (FS) said:
That's very tempting. Hope it finds a good home.
You can say that again. I thought I was done with big BMWs. And v8 swapped BMWs. And the 6 series is just soooooo oddball (big reason to love and big reason to hate).
Buy it so I can buy it from you 4 years from now when I'm ready for it.
Flynlow (FS) said:
Is the lack of a title a "no chance, it's gone, that was 3 owners ago", or a "lost it in a move and can't be bothered" sort of scenario?
Looks like a great Challenge car, would be cool to drive it on the street too!
A family member of the seller had bought the car and never transferred the title to his own name, lost the title from that previous owner before giving it to the seller. So, a "3 owners ago" type scenario. Car hadn't run in years and the family member, then the seller could not get it running and gave up. I never attempted to pursue a title at the time I bought it.
VA DMV has a pretty decent title recovery process. Especially if you've been in possession of the car for years. Shouldn't cost you much and about 6 weeks wait.
I should not have looked at this.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:
Stampie (FS) said:
That's very tempting. Hope it finds a good home.
You can say that again. I thought I was done with big BMWs. And v8 swapped BMWs. And the 6 series is just soooooo oddball (big reason to love and big reason to hate).
If you buy it I'll send you the spare LS parts I don't need(fit) for the RX7.
chandler said:
Oh man, way to much on my plate
Ditto. So far I cannot conjure a reason for this in my life besides "I want all the things."
yupididit said:
VA DMV has a pretty decent title recovery process. Especially if you've been in possession of the car for years. Shouldn't cost you much and about 6 weeks wait.
Thanks for the suggesstion. Your comment motivated me to search my old email. I found additional information from the seller at that time regarding the title, dislodging a few more details from memory. I also searched the VIN today on a national database website. My memory was mostly correct.
Seller had two 6 series, both manual cars, the 86 635 (here) and an earlier model year 633 listed on C’list in Oct 2011. The 633 had a good title in the Seller’s name and the 635 did not. Neither were running. Seller claimed he bought the 635 from a friend whose brother had passed recently, both of which lived in MD. The friend’s brother had owned the car. The friend was unable to find the title in his deceased brother’s belongings, and given the complications of the situation, sold it to the seller without a title.
Seller had bought the 635 in hopes of getting one of the two 6’s running. Not being well versed in mechanical repair, he had both cars at his in-laws house in Front Royal, VA (seller also lived in MD). His father-in-law had worked unsuccessfully swapping parts back and forth between the two trying to get one running. Seller and father-in-law quickly lost interest. Longer story short, I bought the 635. The 633 when I got there was completely full of trash, old car parts from other cars, rust everywhere, and the inside smelled like a dumpster. I left it behind.
Side bar: I kept the 635 for a year or so, starting the challenge build, and then life happened. Sold the car in late 2012 to a fellow GRM'er. Through a serendipitous occurence, bought it back 3 or 4 years later from someone else and am now selling it again.
The VIN search, at least according to the returned records on the site I used today, shows the last title issued in MD, May 2011. The title shows clear. My search of the MD DMV site suggests title records are now private in MD, not divulging the owner’s name. If the original seller to me in 2011 was truthful, the last title issued (MD title) and current ownership records most likely reflects the deceased owner’s name, which was the brother of the seller's friend. That is where I am at the moment.
Price reduction to $1,000. If there isn't much interest here, I'll probably start to part it out locally over the holidays.
Damn it Jim. Does it need to be picked up soon or paid for soon or you just want a good home at some point in the next 9ish months?
Oh thank goodness you're buying it. I was considering it but since you're buying it that just means it'll be an hour away when it's up for sale next time :D
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
PM replied.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
I just dropped out to defer to you. I don't have the time for another project right now. Don't want to be like Angry and never finish stuff.
Just for clarification, the motor and trans are fully mated, and both are installed in the car? Is there a driveshaft?
Looks like the brake system is at least missing the master, the clutch master may be hanging there I can't quite tell.
Stampie (FS) said:
In reply to Tom Suddard :
I just dropped out to defer to you. I don't have the time for another project right now. Don't want to be like Angry and never finish stuff.
A little heavy on ethanol last night?
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
The motor and trans are mated, without the flywheel (new still in a box) or clutch (do not have) installed. There is a driveshaft installed, I pulled from a junkyard with an adaptor (I purchased) to mate to the BMW rear pinion plate. Motor and trans are in the car. The motor has temporary mounts welded in. I was still contemplating the permanent motor mount configuration, but was using the temporary solution to mock up the rest of the car. Trans tail is supported by a piece of angle iron at the moment
Brake master is what you see in the picture. These cars have a hydroboost system. I still have the original brake booster, hoses, and power steering pump.
