New Lease on Life...

I've always admired the bold and aggresive lines of the 5series...it didn't really matter which model it was....i've always been a fan...but if i had to choose a least favourite it would have to be the e39....to me its nothing more than an obese e46 which incidentally i also own and must say is a dream to drive!

My favourite 5 of all time has to be the e28! I recall wanting one before i was even old enough to drive....i never actually got round to buying it when i started driving as i neither had the knowledge nor the experience required to maintain such a car....but few years down the line i succumbed to my long standing desire to own one and set out looking for one.

By the end of 2008 this car had become scarce, although that is putting it mildly...in fact the e28 is an endangered species that is on the brink of extinction. I didn't really even know where to start looking....i checked classifieds, car dealerships, and asked around....when i did come across one or two in dealerships i was intially very excited...i was almost certain that i would choose one of those even if i felt that they were a bit pricey....then i brought my mechanic with me and he found way too many flaws in the cars to make it a worth buy so i was back on the hunt....3-4 months had passed and i had almost given up all hope....

Then i found a few specialist bmw repair shops in pj....i thought it was worth a try to ask them if they knew any customers who were selling....most of them said no....then one shop had a car in relatively good condition parked outside....it was perfect...had ABS and even a sunroof....i asked the guy at the shop and he said it was his boss's car and he was considering selling it...however he wasn't around and so i had to wait until he returned to make a bid for the car....after a month of waiting i was really getting impatient....and to my disappointment, he said he did not want to sell it. I was crushed...and thought about scrapping my plans of buying an e28.

About 2days later, i received a call from that shop saying that they had a customer who wanted to sell an e28....i rushed there immediately.....i saw the car....the doors were rusted badly...so were the boot and bonnet....it was a 528i....interior was intact...all the electricals were working fine...engine was smooth and it was an auto(i would have preferred a manual)...it wasn't perfect or mint condition by any stretch...but i fell in love with it almost immediately. Despite its condition, something about it called out to me and i decided to take this shark home and give it a new lease on life! I paid cash and drove the car straight home....even the documents and transfer of ownership was taken care of in the weeks to come....but i was happy....i had found my car...i found Jaws!

My Instrument Cluster....

A pic of my instrument cluster after i painted the gauge needles a bright orange/red colour...which really doesnt look as good in the pic as it does in real life...anyways...got the idea from a pic i found on the internet of an e28 alpina instrument cluster.

Decisions...

Well i have this all important decision to make now that i've taken on restoring my car. What engine should i use? My regular 2.8 m30 sounds aggresive(in a good way) but just guzzles too much of fuel not to mention that it doesnt produce all that much power. To put it simply, its inefficient. This could be due to a number of factors...such as the fact that i have a 3speed auto gearbox...or that its a 2.8 beast with 300 000km on the clock.

To be honest i'm thinkin of doing away with it...and putting in something better...the common options are of course the 2.5 from an e34 or a 3.5 litre from a 7series...the latter being a little high maintainence as far as roadtax and fuel is concerned. The 2.5 litre looks like the best bet...if i go with bmw that is....

Japan seems to offer some high powered very effecient options it must be said. Namely the skyline(rb26) and supra(1jz) engines....the former is likely to cost a few times more than the value of the car so the logical choice would have to be the 1jz.

Now naturally, the purists would argue it would no longer be a bmw...some would even suggest that a move like that would defile the car and the very idea of what a beemer should be about. I wouldnt blame them and i am tempted to agree, however i can't seem to justify picking anything else due to the efficiency not to mention the mind blowing horsepower of the heart of a supra...the biggest factor of all has to be that it comes with a significantly lesser price tag.

So if i were to go down that road, i'd have a machine that looks like a beemer, handles like one but drives way better than any beemer of that era...well faster anyway....i guess that can't be all bad then.

I've actually had the opportunity to drive an e28 with a turbocharged nissan engine before and i have to say overall, the car felt pretty damn good.

So i really don't know which route to take....the logic says the jap engine is better...but the purist in me feels that i shouldnt mess with it....i guess like anything else...it comes down to cold hard cash...i'm sure that once i calculate the expenses of both options the choice will become more apparent.

Hmm decisions...

Introduction

Hey there people, thanks for visiting and welcome to my blog!

Purpose of this blog?

I guess i should say its to document the development and restoration of my car...

However, i'm not gonna say that as it's much too impersonal for my liking. To me this isn't merely a process but rather a journey.

Having said that, the reason for this blog is to share my journey with fellow enthusiasts and to introduce Jaws to all of you.

So who is Jaws ?

Jaws is my BMW E28 528i(A) and those of you who are familiar with this model will understand why i named him Jaws.

For those of you who don't know...well...the front of the car is shaped like a shark's nose!

Well maybe some of you may be be wondering why i named my car...the answer is simple enough....a project like this will take alot time, patience, attention to detail, and a significant amount of passion...so to me, it makes sense to keep things personal....besides its more convenient!

Well thats it for the introduction! Do check back for updates and more information in the near future.

Cheers!