My 1981 E23 735i 5-speed MANUAL! 1 owner since new!

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MalayCooper

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Enjoy...1 Owner since new, garaged all her life, 5speed MANUAL, original leather, factory electric reclining REAR seat, Factory sport steering wheel, automatic climate control...
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What do you think? :)
 
1. exterior looks very good. chrome bumpers are still intact. not much to complain. even the paintwork is still beautiful.
2. interior looks a bit weary but that is to be expected for a 30 years old car.
3. engine bay is a bit too dirty.

Is this your car since 1981? if yes then congratulations for keeping it as it is now. i believe that there is very few E23 of this condition sitting / driving around in Malaysia nowadays.

If you had just acquired this car then congratulations. you had just purchased a remarkable condition E23 that needed a wee bit of touch ups here and there.

my racun (listed accoring to priority):
1. replace wear and tear components / materials in engine bay / undercarriage. Budget: depends. can span from RM 50 to RM 10k according to the way this car was looked after before.
2. give the engine bay a thorough wash (waterproof the critical components first - AFM, distributor, spark plugs, etc etc). After that apply engine detailer / tire shine solutions onto the rubber materials and black colored components. trust me you'll love the results. Then apply some brasso / autosol onto metal colored components. Budget: < RM 30 for DIY job if you don't damage anything during the process.
3. new tires if the one you have is old enough. Budget: RM 800 - RM 2k according to your preference.
4. refurbish interior / reupholster seats, steering, etc. Budget: < RM 3k for a decent job.
5. refurbish the wheels. budget: < RM 600. Less than RM 300 if you don't mind sending them in directly to the refurbishing service providers.
6. New paintjob. Or at least some good polishing / waxing works. Maybe some touchups on the grille. Budget RM 300 - RM 3k.

IMHO this car looks best with its current setup. Does not need bodykits / sporty wheels etc etc. Congratulations again man. This is one fine example of an E23. Have fun with it!
 
As for me, i would not reupholster the seat and steering or repaint the whole car. Keep it as original as u can.

Since it is still in good shape and only a bit dirty, just give it a full detailing works will do. KC can make the car shinning again.
 
kombat_kanan;667775 said:
1. exterior looks very good. chrome bumpers are still intact. not much to complain. even the paintwork is still beautiful.
2. interior looks a bit weary but that is to be expected for a 30 years old car.
3. engine bay is a bit too dirty.

Is this your car since 1981? if yes then congratulations for keeping it as it is now. i believe that there is very few E23 of this condition sitting / driving around in Malaysia nowadays.

If you had just acquired this car then congratulations. you had just purchased a remarkable condition E23 that needed a wee bit of touch ups here and there.

my racun (listed accoring to priority):
1. replace wear and tear components / materials in engine bay / undercarriage. Budget: depends. can span from RM 50 to RM 10k according to the way this car was looked after before.
2. give the engine bay a thorough wash (waterproof the critical components first - AFM, distributor, spark plugs, etc etc). After that apply engine detailer / tire shine solutions onto the rubber materials and black colored components. trust me you'll love the results. Then apply some brasso / autosol onto metal colored components. Budget: < RM 30 for DIY job if you don't damage anything during the process.
3. new tires if the one you have is old enough. Budget: RM 800 - RM 2k according to your preference.
4. refurbish interior / reupholster seats, steering, etc. Budget: < RM 3k for a decent job.
5. refurbish the wheels. budget: < RM 600. Less than RM 300 if you don't mind sending them in directly to the refurbishing service providers.
6. New paintjob. Or at least some good polishing / waxing works. Maybe some touchups on the grille. Budget RM 300 - RM 3k.

IMHO this car looks best with its current setup. Does not need bodykits / sporty wheels etc etc. Congratulations again man. This is one fine example of an E23. Have fun with it!

Hi and thanks for the compliment :)

Car belongs to my mom, she bought new in 1981 and has kept her like it is now. Car currently sit in the garage in Ipoh and has not been on the road since 2003 (but sits in the garage). Shes 60+ now and cant drive manual.... so... Im taking over :)

Anyway, the only thing not original on the car is the aftermarket 15" wheels as mom got tired of finding the Michelin TRX wheels back in the 90s. Originally the car came with the metric wheels... 390mm i think? You know where I can find the original metric wheels in Msia? Im sure they're rare...
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On the "kotor" in the engine bay is because the coolant overflow tank burst before and splatters coolant all over the engine bay and sadly its been there since 2003...

I'll update you once I get the car to the workshop and start workin on her :)

Cheers and Slamat hari raya/merdeka ...

Syed
 
Keep it original bro...looking forward to see the results..all the best of luck to u
 
JFT63;667797 said:
Keep it original bro...looking forward to see the results..all the best of luck to u

I did 40k ++ in just over a year only...hahahaha proper garage queen this one...

Anyway, good luck with the restoration bro, bring back your childhood memories.
 
ck318ci;667792 said:
Wow.mileage only 30k plus.....

:)

Sorry to disappoint u bro, but the old Miles+Km speedo got kaput so we changed into this local KM speedo back in 2000 or 2001. True mileage is more like 80-90k kms (which is still admirable for a car 30 yrs old) hehe
 
Wow, that's a very handsome E23 bro.

Almost like a barn-find! :biggrin:

Hope to see the car up and running again too. Been seeing far too many E23s here in the Klang Valley with the newer sports rims. Looks too loud for such a classic actually.

All the best with your restoration project bro! Am gonna subscribe to this thread with bated breath!
 
very nice car MalayCooper. Keep it original. It's very rare with the manual gearbox. This is the prefacelift model with the
more pointy sharknose and early instrument panel with centre speedo, chrome sidemirror and non banana shaped inlet manifold.
Have you registered for classic status? With that status, you will pay only 20% roadtax from the original RM4200 per year.

More importantly, if the brake bomb is old, please replace it.
I suggest you find the turbine design oem 14inch wheels with 205/70 tyres.
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Eggie86;667882 said:
Wow, that's a very handsome E23 bro.

Almost like a barn-find! :biggrin:

Hope to see the car up and running again too. Been seeing far too many E23s here in the Klang Valley with the newer sports rims. Looks too loud for such a classic actually.

All the best with your restoration project bro! Am gonna subscribe to this thread with bated breath!

Notice even the small headlight wipers are still there :)
 
Hehe, true!

Try to heed the advice shared here by the sifus, and I believe your E23 will be one of the most impressive ones once you've fully restored her :top:
 
Eggie86;667929 said:
Hehe, true!

Try to heed the advice shared here by the sifus, and I believe your E23 will be one of the most impressive ones once you've fully restored her :top:

Also, aren't you glad that theres no 1JZ or 2JZ or RB20 inside? hahahhaa
 
Update: 1981 E23 aftera good wash :)

tried to pull her out with my Ranger Pickup but the brakes are seized... the car just drag itself on the cement. So i had to clean her in situ.

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Not bad eh? :)
 
Dude, can't help but notice the W123 Limo, and the one next to it, is it the S Class? Wow...
 
That's a very nice collection of classics your family got there. Haha, E23, W123, W116s... What else hidden gems are there? :biggrin:
 
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