1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

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TYMHM
Posts: 21
Joined: Jun 17, 2019 7:32 AM
Location: Canada

1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by TYMHM »

1984 533i
Automatic
Bronzit on Mocha (I think)
Toronto, Canada

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I don’t remember when or why I thought buying a car was a good idea. From a practicality sense, it made no sense. The majority of my life is walkable, as I living in a large metropolitan city has it’s benefits - along with plenty of downsides which I touch on later - but I digress.

This is the first car I’ve owned, and much of my driving experience thus far has been care of a 2007 Dodge Caravan, with some rental cars here and there. In the past, I’d considered Audi A4’s (sedan and wagon), VW Vanagons, Subaru Legacy wagons, and I almost bough a Toyota Rav4 for $1200 including snow tires, which I really regret not purchasing to this day. Eventually I think I decided an e30 was the right car for me, as I think it’s one of the best styled cars created, and I have a think for cars that look like sharp geometric shapes. That was until I learned what an e28 was, and the shark-like features took over the top spot. Looks wise, I think it’s the best car BMW has produced, shortly followed by an e34 touring. If you couldn’t tell, I like wagons.

Lacking common sense and having a few to many cents, I decided I would buy on. In Canada, they’re far less common, but I got lucky and found one in pretty good shape considering we’re talking about 80’s car. I managed to find a 1984 533i, which has spent it’s life no further than 100km from where it was originally sold. It’s a 4 owner car, and I’m the 5th. It was owned by one family for much of it’s life, then eventually was sold a few times before I purchased it from a local classic BMW fan, who has an exceptional 2002, along with a e28 B7 Alpina and e24 respectively. I actually live less than 10km from the original dealership it was sold at way back in 1984.

I should mention - which is well known to many of you - that buying a 36 year old car will come with it’s share of problems, and mine is no exception. What makes it more interesting is when the most you’ve ever done on a car was change tires from winter to summer. To say I had any idea what I most engine components were called, let alone they did would be a lie. Thankfully my father has an encyclopedias worth of car knowledge from many years of working on his own cars, to working on race cars, and believe it or not working for a BMW dealership many years ago, when he’d get to drive the cars from the freight trains to the dealership. While never having worked on a BMW himself, the simplicity of the e28 and M30 engine make it fairly approachable. Part of the reason I wanted a car -and older car - is that I wanted to work on it. My day job finds me at a desk working on the computer, which I can’t complain, I like my job. But at the same time, I really enjoy the physical aspect of doing things. So I figured that itch would be scratched, and I’d also learn some life skills that will save me money down the road. Plus I get to hang out with my dad, drink some beers and learn a thing or two.

Overall, the car was in pretty decent shape considering its age and seems to have survived Canadian winters for the most part. The paint really shows it age, and there are plenty of cosmetic imperfections however that doesn’t bother me all that much. Engine was running pretty well, aside from a ticking noise. The interior is in great shape, with no tears or cracking the leather, and the dash had two very small cracks, but barely noticeable. My main goal to for the car to be mechanically healthy and as reliable as possible. So far so good I’d have to say. There were some issues - big and small - that we shortly discovered after owning the car for a few weeks, but I guess that comes with the territory.

In the following posts, I’ll go into more detail regarding what’s been done leading up to present day. While my car doesn’t provide much eye candy at the moment, I hope that in the near future it will begin to catch up to some of the cars posted here. Part of the reason for this post is to create a documented history of the car while in my possession, as well as hopefully giving back a little to this community.

I’m glad a place like this exists, and appreciate the wealth of knowledge that gets passed on, and the patience of people answering the same questions year after year.

The car, as advertised in the for sale posting:

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First long drive, providing support to my friends 1984 Porsche 944. About a 160km round trip. Although not sure how much support I could offer, as I think my car was only slightly more reliable at the time.

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Present day. Not much has changed externally from the original posting, but I can assure you that the insides have. More on that in another post.

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muleskinner
Posts: 1339
Joined: Sep 08, 2007 11:17 AM
Location: John Graham ATL

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by muleskinner »

Nice looking car. Bronzit used to take a beating on the board back in the day, but I've always liked it. My first e28 was bronzit.

Bring on the interior pics.
LeiseyJr
Posts: 1525
Joined: Dec 22, 2013 10:11 PM
Location: Houston,Tx

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by LeiseyJr »

Bronzit is the best. I have no bias.
cek
Posts: 9206
Joined: Mar 18, 2013 6:25 PM
Location: Durango
Contact:

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by cek »

Forgive me for assuming you are young based on the fact this is your first car, but I must say: you are going to be alright. Great choices, grammar, punctuation, and car.
TYMHM
Posts: 21
Joined: Jun 17, 2019 7:32 AM
Location: Canada

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by TYMHM »

muleskinner wrote:Nice looking car. Bronzit used to take a beating on the board back in the day, but I've always liked it. My first e28 was bronzit.

Bring on the interior pics.
Yeah, I've noticed that most seem to consider Bronzit the worst colour choice. I don't mind it, I do think it's a period correct colour of the 80's. My perception might be influenced by 80's action movies though. I'll aim to get some interior photos up in the next couple days, since the weather will be nice and I'm hopefully picking up some new speakers.

LeiseyJr wrote:Bronzit is the best. I have no bias.
Definitely not biased. I'm a big fan of the work you've done with your car, and the way you write about it all. It gave me a good read over a couple of days. I attribute it as part of the influence for my post.

cek wrote:Forgive me for assuming you are young based on the fact this is your first car, but I must say: you are going to be alright. Great choices, grammar, punctuation, and car.
I appreciate the kind words! There were some restless nights at the beginning - which I'll get to in future posts - but I'm currently quite happy with my choice. I'd like to think I'm young, but at 31 I'm slowly slipping out of that category, although in the grand scheme of things I'm still young. Based on the title, I can understand why you got that impression. I'm probably a little old for "first time car owner", but up until this point in my life, it hadn't been practical to own one, and probably still isn't, but I'd like to think the life choices I've made up to this point have allowed me the opportunity to own something I don't need. And throw some money around. It's been fun so far.
PowerSax
Posts: 15
Joined: Mar 29, 2019 10:55 PM
Location: Hawaii

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by PowerSax »

TYMHM wrote:... but I'd like to think the life choices I've made up to this point have allowed me the opportunity to own something I don't need. And throw some money around. It's been fun so far.
Good looking ride, and a great reading experience.
That last line deserves multiple likes.
We all deserve to have some fun with things we don't need. Although, some of us need cars, not just to motor around, but as a support tool. Emotionally, physically, etc. I think you discovered that need! It is not throwing money around if it keeps us sane.
Talk about being presumptive, allow me to apologize, I know nothing of you, but won't change my words. The bro-mance continues.
Keep writing, I'm sure more than a few of us are reading.
Mahalo
TYMHM
Posts: 21
Joined: Jun 17, 2019 7:32 AM
Location: Canada

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by TYMHM »

PowerSax wrote:
TYMHM wrote:... but I'd like to think the life choices I've made up to this point have allowed me the opportunity to own something I don't need. And throw some money around. It's been fun so far.
Good looking ride, and a great reading experience.
That last line deserves multiple likes.
We all deserve to have some fun with things we don't need. Although, some of us need cars, not just to motor around, but as a support tool. Emotionally, physically, etc. I think you discovered that need! It is not throwing money around if it keeps us sane.
Talk about being presumptive, allow me to apologize, I know nothing of you, but won't change my words. The bro-mance continues.
Keep writing, I'm sure more than a few of us are reading.
Mahalo
Well said, and I appreciate the kind words. Nothing wrong with a little bromance from time to time.

As requested earlier, here are a few interior photos. While I wouldn't say they accurately represent the colour as they look almost black here, opposed the dark brown they truly are. However it does highlight somewhat the lack of tears, rips, scuffs, fading and overall damage. I'd be lying if I said there weren't the odd scrape here and there, it's definitely holding up well. The driver and passenger seats could use new lower foam, as they're quite soft, but so far haven't been to uncomfortable on longer journeys, but that will likely become a winter project. I really do wish I had the sport seats with added bolstering and support - I have long legs and a bad back - and I miss having an arm rest.

I've treated the leather so far twice with Autoglym Leather Care Balm, which has given it a nice shine and I hope will keep it soft and crack free for years to come. So far, it seems like a pretty quality product.

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I'm a big fan of this steering wheel, everything about it just feels right size wise. The horn buttons are a nice touch as well.
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The dashboard tray is a welcome addition as well. Usually it's full of my pocket contents. I am tempted to add a clear grippy (non-permanent) layer of something that might help keep things from sliding out though.
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Dashboard has two minor cracks a couple centimetres in length, but I store the car indoors so I'm not to concerned about them getting worse. I have considered sourcing a sunsheild to prevent from any further damage, as I know I'm lucky it's done this well so far.
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Ordnator
Posts: 550
Joined: Aug 31, 2015 7:34 PM
Location: Halifax NS

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by Ordnator »

You may be able to retrofit armrests to your front seats if the have the mounting hole for the fitting bolt.

I think the front arm rests may have been an accessory which could be added by the dealership.

Have a feel around the inside face of the upper seat cushion about 1/3 of the way up the side and you should be able to make out the seat fitting for the armrest fixing bolt.

Best regards,

Mick
muleskinner
Posts: 1339
Joined: Sep 08, 2007 11:17 AM
Location: John Graham ATL

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by muleskinner »

Very nice. I'm guessing that's nutria interior? My bronzit had lama interior.
Chimi-Changa
Posts: 1601
Joined: Nov 08, 2011 11:02 PM
Location: West Bro, MA

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by Chimi-Changa »

Looks dark for Nutr. interior.

Welcome. You can run your VIN somewhere and see what codes come up for the interior color?
TYMHM
Posts: 21
Joined: Jun 17, 2019 7:32 AM
Location: Canada

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by TYMHM »

Ordnator wrote: May 23, 2020 11:03 PM You may be able to retrofit armrests to your front seats if the have the mounting hole for the fitting bolt.

I think the front arm rests may have been an accessory which could be added by the dealership.

Have a feel around the inside face of the upper seat cushion about 1/3 of the way up the side and you should be able to make out the seat fitting for the armrest fixing bolt.

Best regards,

Mick
Thanks for the info Mick. Unfortunately I had a look around, and it seems I'm missing the mounting holes.

muleskinner wrote: May 24, 2020 10:19 AM Very nice. I'm guessing that's nutria interior? My bronzit had lama interior.
Chimi-Changa wrote: May 25, 2020 6:42 PM Looks dark for Nutr. interior.

Welcome. You can run your VIN somewhere and see what codes come up for the interior color?
As mentioned, I don't think it's Nutria either. When googling, I noticed someone said it was rare for a North American car or something. Searching up my VIN didn't provide an interior colour despite multiple sites.
TYMHM
Posts: 21
Joined: Jun 17, 2019 7:32 AM
Location: Canada

Re: 1984 533i | The Story of my First Car

Post by TYMHM »

Now bare with me, as these posts happened last summer, and my memory is far from stellar. Hopefully I capture things in order and with accuracy.

The day the previous owner dropped the car off was exciting to say the least. I was pretty clueless with the whole car buying process, and he graciously walked me through it all. A couple trips to Service Ontario - the Canadian DMV equivalent, and likely a much better experience based on the things I’ve heard - I was on my way. Took it for a couple laps around the block, and enjoyed the unique sound that the horn creates. The previous owner did mention that the horn catches peoples attention in a special way, and I’ve witnessed it from passengers.

First things first, we - and by we, I mean my Father - started going over the car from top to bottom baselining things. This is where I started to learn what parts were, what they did, why they’re important and most importantly why I should spend money and fix it now.

There were a couple things that required immediate attention, and were involved in the first parts order:
- Rear brakes, callipers and pads
- Prepping for a full cooling system refresh (radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, etc.)
- Licence plate light and seal
- Rear window switch
- New alternator bushings
- Exhaust hangers
- Little washers and screws here and there
- Instrument panel gears


Super exciting brake change photo. I will point out my previous trusty Dodge Caravan in the background. And all the windows down in order to help reduce the old car smell. It didn’t help, I probably need to get one of those ozone machines in there.

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Pulled the instrument panel. Replaced the gears in the various meters. Also done - but not at this time - was getting a new SI Board from Ivo.

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Thermostat housing. You can see how corrosion has eaten away at the old one and made holes. This was consistent across all cooling items, hence the full refresh.

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There were also two other areas of concern. One was a ticking coming from the engine. The other was an oil leak somewhere near the front of the engine. The ticking we hoped would be solved with a valve adjustment, but after making the adjustment there was no change. So further into the engine we go, which is fine because we were chasing a leak Anyway. Off comes the expected items. Alternator, radiator, belts, so on and so forth. Pretty grimy.

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While looking around, we notice that the head gasket had a slight tear near the timing cover. Annoying, but not really something you can avoid fixing. So off we went ordering a full head gasket set. Shout out to my sponsor FCPEuro for throwing in an extra one for free, as it came in handy later on when I damaged a different seal by putting it on upside down.

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That’s all for now. One thing I have to mention is to anyone in the US and perhaps Europe, your part availability is something I hope you don’t take for granted. Countless posts, I’ve read about people making orders, only to have everything show up a couple days later. I wish I could say the same. I think our progress was doubled in length, not due to lack of time or effort but due to waiting. It would usually go something like this.

Saturday: Work on car. Realize I’m missing something, find another issue, etc.

Sunday: Look at a handful of sites for the best price/availability. Since I never qualify for free shipping (thanks Canada), try to find other parts to make paying more for shipping than the item I need worth it.

Wednesday: Finally get confirmation my order is ready and being shipped. Either glad that the order shipped with all items available, or pissed that I lost time and have to find the part somewhere else. Not to mention paying shipping again (thanks Canada)

1-2 weeks later: The parts will arrive, but never right before the weekend. Usually they'll show up on a Tuesday, rather than the past Friday when I when the forecast looked favourable. But now the outlook for the coming weekend is rain and cold.

I can't complain too much, as it could be worse and I'm glad that it's relatively easy to get parts for an almost forty year old car. But I just can't help think of the lost time.
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