This thread will no doubt bring on some serious flaming but before you scroll down and take a look bear in mind that we're all supposed to be here because we are car enthusiasts and if the owner of this car isn't a prime example of a hardened enthusiast I don't know what is.
I posted up another car he built (the E36 with an E46 M3 conversion, custom coilovers, exhaust, redrilled merc rims and) at the same time this daily driver of his was going through change after change and the guy is only 21 which makes it all the more impressive in my eyes. Anyway bring on the hate....
I posted up another car he built (the E36 with an E46 M3 conversion, custom coilovers, exhaust, redrilled merc rims and) at the same time this daily driver of his was going through change after change and the guy is only 21 which makes it all the more impressive in my eyes. Anyway bring on the hate....
Mike bought this E28 in November of 2007- and went quite out of the way to do so. From Nashville, TN, Mike set out to South Carolina to trade his ‘89 325i for the 535i you see before you.
No pictures exist of it as it was when he got it home, but the following morning he had her cleaned up and sitting on some Borbet Type As:
The start of the adventure.
It wasn’t long before the car was sitting on Ground Control Coil-overs:
… and that’s where the “normal” mods stopped. Mike soon followed up his drop with a complete re-design of the car.
Rust is not a Crime
Between a rusted hood, some WIDE HRE 504s (17×9.5 et-9 and 17×10.5 et+5), green bumpers and a custom made roof-rack, the car took on a totally new attitude. Of course, the same day the car was posted online, Performance BMW magazine hopped on the chance to do a feature.
Rust still isn't a crime.
Of course Mike wanted to keep it “fresh”, so he swapped back to his black hood, removed the rack, and picked up some gold RS198s.
Black Gold
And then of course some highlighter-yellow RZs-
RC-car, anyone?
And lastly, back to the HREs with a cleaned-up look:
Sleek.
And then, while on loan to someone else, the car met it’s demise
The End...
Or did it?
Well, I don't want to be "that" guy... the one who is too attached to a car for his own good. The one who actually cares about his car, and in a sense more than "I don't want to curb a wheel", or "don't nick my paint".... but honestly, I am that guy.
We all have cars that we consider "our baby"... and for me, that has always been my e36. I bought the e28 as a replacement for a daily driver.
I didn't know getting in to it that this e28 was going to become such a part of who I am. I changed the way I look at cars. It changed the way that people look at me. To many it was just another car on the bandwagon... and that's cool with me... but I never expected my car to become a conversation piece.... something to be argued over for pages and pages, month after month across the web. A magazine feature? Two? I had ever in my wildest dreams thought it would happen... after all, it was just a car.
Most of you know that about a year ago, I lent the car to a friend.... Back then, it was a solidly clean car, with no real flaws... until it was abruptly stopped by a semi truck, resulting in not only the A-pillar damage that you still see today, but a crushed front end that I put back together using a parts car I had at the time.
That accident was the rebirth of my car. I marked a moment in time where it went from an asset to a canvas. I had no excuse not to go "all the way" with it... and so I did. Okay, yeah, cool, I rusted a car. A lot of other people have too, and we all know that.
Rusty was more than just a hipstermobile to me though. Rusty honestly led me to some of the greatest friendships I have today... scratch that.. ALL of the friendships I maintain today have some rooting involved with this stupid car. It's done more than drive me coast-to-coast, it has never let me down during any of it. This car is a champ- and I beat the hell out of it too.
Honestly, if it wasn't for Rusty, this site wouldn't be here. It simply wouldn't exist.
I'm going on and on about stuff and haven't really given any info yet, so I'll explain it the best I can.
Ever since the accident a year ago, the front driver's side tire has worn a bit differently than the others. The clearance to the fender was a little different than before, but nothing to alarm me. After all, this car was deemed "totaled".
It wasn't until last week that I took the car to a friend's shop, and while there, and inspecting the car for the first time, we realized that the frame up there is tweaked. Hard.
I brushed it off as if it were nothing. Honestly, I didn't care in the least...
but after close inspection, the body has been cracking a bit, and its starting to separate.
I wanted to ignore it.
I really, really wanted to ignore it.
Bad.
I said to myself "it's been fine all along, It'l be fine. I'll drive it until it falls apart".
A few days ago, my best friend slipped through my hands, so to speak. Gracefully sliding my way over a speed bump, s**t went to hell.
I don't really know what else to say right now. I towed her home one last time. The motor comes out tomorrow- it's going to Nic and Steph for the Bavaria build. Webb is taking the suspension for his car. The wheels will go into storage until another day, down the road when I feel like a car is worthy of following up Rusty's footsteps.
I'm depressed over this. Best car I've ever owned. Hand down.
There's a constant joke going on among friends that I owe this car for everything its done for me... and its true.
I made a video today. It's lame, but I wanted to do one last "shoot".
So here it is- Rusty, this one's for you.
http://vimeo.com/9245342
Hopefully it'll make interesting reading for those who've not simply scrolled to the pics seen rust and responded with "shed" or similar.You can't keep me down.
There's something to be said about this community... When I made the previous post about Rusty, I never expected to hear the responses I did... and I certainly didn't expect it to go viral... but it goes to show that a car can be more than a car.
I started by saying I didn't want to be "that guy", but here I am... and I couldn't be more pleased.
"Redefining" Rusty once again hit me like a ton of bricks... ideas starting flying through my head, and I knew I wanted to pull off more than just "a new paint job".
Six weeks ago I pulled Rusty's M30 and gave it to my buddy Webb, knowing Rusty's heart would go to another car that would push the limits of what we expect....
I dont know where the idea came from (coughjerrycough) but once upon a time, Rusty and I hung out in California, and the thought of tossing a Toyota 1JZ-GTE (that's a twin-turbo straight six for those who don't know_ motor in it was bounced around but quickly dismissed... Oh how funny the past can be.
Jerry, aka Handsome.Garage here on the forums is the one who really made this happen. I called him up and said "hey, remember when we said "lets put a 1JZ in Rusty?"... I'm sure that sums up the next few weeks. (I'll make a build thread, I documented it all, worry not!)
Jerry flew out here to TN and not only built a wiring harness that mated E28 to 1JZ, but this thing started up the first try, immediately.
So I know what you're asking... what about the damage? To keep things simple, let's just say there's some serious bracing between the frame rails now. Some floor pan welding has gone down too.
In short, without Jerry, this wouldn't have happened. He helped make this go from concept to driving out of state in 6 weeks....
But if a twin-turbo supra motor isn't enough to bring rusty back to life, Andrew at Open Road Tuning as well as Eddie at BagYard brought their A-Game to the table. I wanted to get lower and after talking to Andrew, he was beyond excited to get involved with StanceWorks and my rebuild of Rusty.
They put together a custom setup for the e28... and all I can say is "wow". We've gotta make a few tweaks to get the frame on the ground, but from nothing to a working one-off set of e28 bags is insane if you ask me.
I'm stoked to get to work on getting the body sub-terrainian.
I wanted new wheels, and Brian at Rotiform had these insane ACS Type 1s... Brian, thanks for the deal and making them happen so quickly.
I guess a build thread is what comes next... but I figured it was time to unveil... time to let the world know that Rusty is back, and this time, we're not joking around.
Thanks to everone for the support you gave me throughout this car's life, and Im stoked to have it back on the road once again...
