87 535is. "The Colonel"

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Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

boomvader wrote:Beautiful car. Well done. What part of CT are you in? I was born in Stamford. Small world!
Nice! I’m in Fairfield.
AdamCosmos
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Joined: May 23, 2018 6:25 PM
Location: Jersey City

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by AdamCosmos »

That is a beautiful build. Love the color scheme too; very understated, but sporty. More pics please!
Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

AdamCosmos wrote:That is a beautiful build. Love the color scheme too; very understated, but sporty. More pics please!

Thanks! I've had a busy month or so so I haven't gone on many photo shoots lately. Did take this one of my car parked next to my wife's car on the way to a car show last weekend..

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Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Took the family truckster to the Great Smoky Mountains for a week for thanksgiving. What an amazing area. Also finally got to drive the Tail of the Dragon. Amazing driving road and as good as advertised. Really wished I had the e28 for that part of the trip but the wagon actually impressed me quite a bit when pushed like that.



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Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Just looking at some pictures from this summer/fall now that its all packed away for the winter.

So here's just some eye candy for the eye candy of it.

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Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Just playing around with a photo editing app. Seemed like appropriate eye candy.



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MattyCV
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by MattyCV »

Beautiful car and photos!
Dale3783
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Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

MattyCV wrote:Beautiful car and photos!
Thanks!
Dale3783
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Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Cool pic from my cruise on Sunday afternoon. Taken in Southport, CT.


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Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

So the move from Connecticut to Miami is complete. It's going to be a TOTAL change in lifestyle but my wife got a job offer that we couldn't refuse. In fact, we did refuse it twice before accepting when they kept sweetening the deal. The Colonel arrived safely after 3 days on a transporter.

I can now finally jump on a lot of little projects that I've been wanting to do to the car due to the fact that I finally have a garage. The car had be stored in a friends warehouse, which was great but having to travel 15 mins away to go work on the car was never quite as convenient as I thought it was going to be.

Looking forward to posting much more frequently as I tackle these jobs. Thanks for looking!

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cek
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by cek »

Congrats on your wife's new gig. Looking forward to updates.
Bonsaibacker
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Joined: Oct 26, 2017 3:36 PM
Location: Palatka FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Bonsaibacker »

Dale3783 wrote: Dec 07, 2020 11:36 AM Looking forward to posting much more frequently as I tackle these jobs. Thanks for looking!
Beautiful car- wondering what jobs need to be tackled. We would all agree that they are an endless source of possibilities but this look close to the finish line...
Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Bonsaibacker wrote: Dec 09, 2020 7:38 AM
Dale3783 wrote: Dec 07, 2020 11:36 AM Looking forward to posting much more frequently as I tackle these jobs. Thanks for looking!
Beautiful car- wondering what jobs need to be tackled. We would all agree that they are an endless source of possibilities but this look close to the finish line...
Oof. I appreciate the assumption of finished-ness but the list is long my friend. Not in order of importance.

1) A/C is in-op. (unacceptable in Miami, altho the weather since we got here last week has been PERFECT. 75 and breezy with no humidity)

2) Euro fogs. I have all the parts but never got around to installing them after the paint job.

3) Wiring the city lights

4) Engine compartment minor disassembly, clean, scrub, paint, detail. I plan on pulling the motor in a year or two to do a full restoration on the motor and engine compartment, but with the move, 10 month old baby, talks of baby 2, on top of a million other projects, I'm having too much fun enjoying the car and know I can't tackle the full project at this time.

5) Full new exhaust. I have a set of ECS stainless headers that I got really cheap from another member that I haven't decided if I'm going to install.

6) Disassembly and restoration of the style 5 wheels that are currently on it. They looked good when I first got them but now that the exterior of the car is so nice, they don't cut it. Also have to decide on whether to paint or polish the dish. I think polished will look great on a silver car but I don't want them to look blingy.

I think thats all the big stuff for now, but as you said, these lists are always endless.
GoNoles
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Joined: Aug 19, 2014 9:30 PM
Location: CT

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by GoNoles »

Bummed that I didn’t get a chance to see the car in person while you were in the area. Congrats on your move. Hope you can park her indoors down there in sunny FL.
Bonsaibacker
Posts: 929
Joined: Oct 26, 2017 3:36 PM
Location: Palatka FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Bonsaibacker »

Dale3783 wrote: Dec 09, 2020 3:04 PM Oof. I appreciate the assumption of finished-ness but the list is long my friend. Not in order of importance.

1) A/C is in-op. (unacceptable in Miami, altho the weather since we got here last week has been PERFECT. 75 and breezy with no humidity)

2) Euro fogs. I have all the parts but never got around to installing them after the paint job.

3) Wiring the city lights

4) Engine compartment minor disassembly, clean, scrub, paint, detail. I plan on pulling the motor in a year or two to do a full restoration on the motor and engine compartment, but with the move, 10 month old baby, talks of baby 2, on top of a million other projects, I'm having too much fun enjoying the car and know I can't tackle the full project at this time.

5) Full new exhaust. I have a set of ECS stainless headers that I got really cheap from another member that I haven't decided if I'm going to install.

6) Disassembly and restoration of the style 5 wheels that are currently on it. They looked good when I first got them but now that the exterior of the car is so nice, they don't cut it. Also have to decide on whether to paint or polish the dish. I think polished will look great on a silver car but I don't want them to look blingy.

I think thats all the big stuff for now, but as you said, these lists are always endless.
I love lists like this because it won't be sitting for 6 months while you push to get something accomplished. You can drive it and enjoy it between tasks.
Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Bonsaibacker wrote: Dec 10, 2020 9:28 AM
I love lists like this because it won't be sitting for 6 months while you push to get something accomplished. You can drive it and enjoy it between tasks.
That's the idea!
Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Time for new tires so I decided now was my chance to blow the wheels part. Started with some chemical stripper on the barrels to remove the clear coat, then sanded out all the imperfections with 220, then 400, 600, 800, 1000 wet, 1500 wet and then 2000 wet grit sandpaper. Then I got a Meguiar's PowerBall 2 to attach to my drill for a once-over with compound and then finally Meguiar's Mag and Aluminum polish. Pretty impressed with myself and the result. They aren't 100% flawless but they really really nice. Next up is getting the centers media blasted and painted. Stay tuned.

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Dale3783
Posts: 439
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Forgot to add a pic of how strange (and ugly) the car looks on her original wheels. These came with the car when I bought it (on style 42s) and I saved these and took them with us in the move from CT to Florida just for this project. (My wife thought I was insane for bringing them, who's laughing now!?)

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Nebraska_e28
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Nebraska_e28 »

Congrats on the move & looking good!
Dale3783
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Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

So here we are after powder coating and reassembly. The wheel with the tire still mounted in the first pic is where I started. Really happy with the results of the wheels.

I went with Kumho Ecsta PS31s. I really wanted to get the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s but just couldn't justify the cost. The Kumhos were slightly less than half the price and had some really great reviews on a few comparison tests for summer performance tires. Haven't driven on them yet because I'm going to tackle subframe bushings, diff mount, and dog bones this weekend and I want to have a total clean slate of a drive.


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tschultz
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by tschultz »

You car makes me want a Pfeba front airdam again!


Looks great, nice work on the wheels! Sometimes I feel the polished style 5's are a bit more "bling" than I prefer. A nice set of 16" style 29's or M5 wheels would make it a bit more understated. But great work :up:
Dale3783
Posts: 439
Joined: Oct 26, 2016 10:01 PM
Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

tschultz wrote: Feb 12, 2021 4:13 PM Sometimes I feel the polished style 5's are a bit more "bling" than I prefer. A nice set of 16" style 29's or M5 wheels would make it a bit more understated. But great work :up:
Agree 100%. But I think because of the very monotone-like look of my car, they kinda fit. Everything is silver and chrome and black and I think it works. I self-debated this in my head for a long time. I don't usually like the polished lip style 5.
Foonfer
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Foonfer »

Oh how time flies. I got to meet the Amster guy from Redline Restorations at a gathering in Brooklyn in mid-2019. I mentioned you to him and he told me the story of the terms of the transaction... he said "yeah if that had been a conventional job, that car would have been out the door in 2 weeks" :laugh:
Dale3783
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Location: Miami, FL

Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Dale3783 »

Foonfer wrote: Feb 12, 2021 7:39 PM Oh how time flies. I got to meet the Amster guy from Redline Restorations at a gathering in Brooklyn in mid-2019. I mentioned you to him and he told me the story of the terms of the transaction... he said "yeah if that had been a conventional job, that car would have been out the door in 2 weeks" :laugh:
Not sure what that means exactly but Bruce is kinda known for saying crazy things (among a lot of other things). General feeling about that place is they do world class work but most of the customers, all of which have WAY more money and important cars than I do are never very happy with how long they take. I'm pretty sure it worked out for both of us.
Nebraska_e28
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Re: 87 535is. "The Colonel"

Post by Nebraska_e28 »

Did you leave the lips raw after polishing or coat them somehow to protect?
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