I met this guy Jeff during orientation week, back in August. I was an orientation guide and he’s an RA in my students’ dorm. We had some time to chat during the week, and it came up in conversation that he had a BMW. Of course, this set off my car interests, and we established that it was a 1995 525iA.
Nothing more was said, and Jeff and I didn’t see each other except a quick “hey” in passing, if we ever saw each other around campus. I ran into him right before Thanksgiving break, and he mentioned that the car was running poorly and “some gasket” was the problem. I thought about it, and figured it could be a cool project for myself, as well as MM, to tackle.
My worry was that the “some gasket” would be the head gasket. On an old 525, the cost of repair isn’t worth it. Fortunately, he told me more of the story later, and it was the valve cover gasket. Easy. So… upon our arrival back at JMU for the spring semester, I took the key and his Orient Blue Bimmer back to my townhouse.
It needed more work than just the valve cover gasket. A quick hour-long drive revealed that. With close to 200,000 miles on the odometer, things had been going south for a while, and the car needed some upkeep. Jeff’s goal is to keep the car for another two years – at that point, he’ll be done with school and in a position to buy something newer.
My goal is to make the car last that two years.
I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. The motorsport community is one of the most giving, willing, and able groups of people. Madison Motorsports is a great example of the camaraderie that I mention. Myself, plus four other MMers, got together this past Saturday and tackled the majority of the engine work. The work would not have been completed had I been working solo.
We aren’t done with the car yet. As Joey so eloquently put it when I picked it up, “it’s kind of a busted pile.” Well, yeah, it is. For now, it’s less busted and less of a pile. We are waiting on window regulators to come in at this point. The motor still idles and revs a bit rough, but it’s significantly smoother than my first drive. I’m wondering if it’s a vacuum leak or some other issue with coil packs, wires, etc.
More updates to come as we make progress and eventually finish the car. It’s great to have something on which to tinker. For me, it’s something about keeping an old car on the road – there’s a drive there, when you know the motor and transmission are good, it just needs a few parts to be reliable again. C’mon, you can’t scrap it just yet.
And if, at the end of this project, I know that one car was saved from the junkyard, and one owner could continue making memories with “their baby,” then it’s worth it for me.
If you want more to read until my next update on the E34, check out this Jalopnik comment thread. In short: car guys donated money to someone who was too broke to repair his beloved Honda. $1,200 later (for a $700 repair) and he’s back in business.
Tags: 525iA, BMW, E34, Madison Motorsports, MM