A Boy and His 6

[Ol'6erGuy]

Three years ago, I bought a '80 635csi,euro from a co-worker. I paid $2000 for it. The body is in very good shape. The problem, the engine is only running on 3 cylinders. I had planned on starting this project right then but two things happened. First, the busiest time of the year for me just started, no time. Second, we(myself, wife, son and a friend of his) went on a week's vacation to the mountains. In a freak accident, we rolled our Jeep almost 6 times down a hillside. This was on a trail we knew well. I ended up in the hospital for 3 days with a crushed right hand and a shattered left thumb. I lost 4 months work. My wife broke her right arm and had her head bashed a bit. She lost 6 months work. Thank God the boys were basically un hurt. I'm telling you this so you will know where my head is at. Between the physical and mental trauma. There is the monitary devastation. Doing mechanical work is very hard and frustrating and downright discouraging. Well, I decided to suck it up and tackle the job.
About a month ago, I found a wrecked '80 635, euro about 150 miles away. The head had just been redone and it had a 5 speed. Lots of good parts. I bought it for $1800.
The plan: Transfer engine and 5 speed first. Second, the interior, mine is in good shape but it is tan. I don't like tan and the other is black.
Where I am today: All I have managed to do is remove some of the wiring and accessories from the engine. I may have to cut part of the nose off to get the engine out.
I hope you all will bear with me. This is somewhat of a spiritual journey. Words of wisdom, and comments are welcome.

[CleanAzzE30z]

Good luck, dude. It should'nt be terribly difficult to do this swap in terms of surprises. Looks like you will have to cut out the cross member to get the engine out with no problems. Let me tell you that I am not mechanically minded at all. I very much respect people that can tackle large jobs and have the patience and the skill to do such things, I am not one of them and admit it. All you need to do is think of the final result and product and that should keep your spirits up. I have stopped drinking beer which is what I needed to do to lose weight (I was faking myself by getting low carb beer, but still drinking upwards of 6-10 a day), and Ive lost 10 lbs already in 4.5 weeks. Ive also stepped up the gym and watched my portions. This is the first time I have set a goal and kept to the routine, and its cuz I have been thinking of how damn happy Id be when I look at myself and see what I accomplished since it was so damn difficult. Now beer was an everyday thing for me so its a miracle Ive been able to stay off of it, but I was sick of looking at myself and feeling like shit and not doing anything about it. Ive come to realize its all mental. Take your time and dont be too frustrated, for that will just bring along more negativity, Ive realized. Take a minute and focus on the fact that you took the initiative to do this for yourself and that you have the discipline to accomplish it, unlike MANY people in this world who cannot control their impulses whatever they may be. Im not trying to talk solely about myself or brag or anything, Im only trying to help through my experiences. Ive been clean for 1 year and 5 months from powder so getting through an install should put things in perspective. Remember, its only you who can defeat yourself or succeed. We'd all prefer the latter, Id hope, so just think of how happy youll be when you can say "shit, I did this". The confidence youll have will be worth more than anything and youll notice it. I hope I have helped and I hope I havent rambled too much. Good luck and post pics of finished product. I cant wait to see it. 6ers rock!!!

[Ol'6erGuy]

I hope to keep posting to this thread as work continues with pictures along the way. You are not rambling, I understand where you are and where you have been. I've been around the block a few times and have way too many skeletons in my closet, some of them are quite ugly.
I hope to get the driveline and tranny out this weekend.

[Ol'6erGuy]

Welcome to Bill's toy box. I got quite a bit done today. The doner is up in the air. Exhaust, drive line, rear axles, differential and transmission removed. Most of the engine wiring was unhooked a week ago. Now all I have to do is pull the bell housing and try to get the engine out. It has been a good day.

[CleanAzzE30z]

WOw. Youve got some space to work with, eh? Very nice. That car looks so nice, too bad its in that condition. Its amazing what euro bumpers can do to a car. Keep up the good work, dude. Thanks for the update.

[motorsports_3]

Sorry to hear all that, and i am happy to seee you held through. Good luck with the car, 6ers are pure sex, and yours looks real clean.

[Ol'6erGuy]

Well, I didn't get a lot done on the 6 this weekend, with spring barrel tasting and all (I live in central Wa. wine country). I had to work on the 525, it needed to have the brake fluid changed. I bought a ss line kit, it was easier to put on and bleed out than I thought.
I did get the instrument cluster out and the diagnostic cluster. In light of my 'grey imports' post, how these two cars were federalized is interesting. Check out the pictures. The first is the diagnostic cover from the grey car. Second is the instrument cluster from the grey car. Third is the diagnostic cover from the bronze car. Notice how a seat belt warning light was hogged in, and the O-2 sensor (there is none). All for now. Bill

[Kaotiq]

Nice Workshop, look forward to reading about your journey wth the 6er.

Cheers,
Iain.

[Ol'6erGuy]

Well, I managed to get a few things done today. It rained (greatly needed). This kept me from the yard work and other things outside I need to do. All I managed to get done was clean up part of the shop so I could organize parts as I remove them from the wreck. I did manage to remove some of the wiring from the front end. Not much but it's going to be slow.

[CleanAzzE30z]

as long as "its going", its cool. Thanks for the update.

[Shockwave179]

Keep the updates a comin..

[ESP]

Great project!

Looking forward to more updates!

[Ol'6erGuy]

I got off work early today and decided that I HAD to do something. Well, in an hour and a half, I pulled the rear interior plus the pass. seat. It's amaizing what you can do if you put your mind to it. Not much to look at, but It's goung to take some time CLEANING!!!

[CleanAzzE30z]

Looks like theyre in decent shape! Keep the updates a-comin'.

[BigTymer]

is there any way to fab a turbo to fit a 633?