Driving a 1980 BMW E12 5 Series I Bought on BAT Sight Unseen Home Across the Country!
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Episode 3 is here of the E12 mini road trip series!! The day has come! After many hours of ensuring this thing is road worthy, it is time to hit the road and embark on this 2000+ mile trip home!! Los Angeles to Chicago. This should be fun!
This brings back memories.
I picked up my ‘87 E28 525i six years ago in Alicante, Spain and drove it 2000km to Belgium, without 2nd gear (shot synchros) and no heating.
Left Alicante in the evening, drove through Spain, crossed the Pyrenees (mountain range) at night, stopped for a short nap on the back seat in a small French village .
French croissant and coffee in the early morning, and back on the road to Belgium.
Arrived home in the late afternoon.
Started out in magnificent weather in Spain, and arrived in the miserable February drizzle and cold that is normal for Belgium..
I will never forget this road trip, it bonded me with the car.
It took me home , although it wasn’t flawless.
Enjoy the E12, nice find!
Man that sounds like a wild journey! Luckily weather was for the most part stable except for the snow storm in the rockies!
absolutely impressive! totally here for taking a car you love and driving it cross country. awesome video
Thanks man!!!
The most beautiful BMW I have ever seen. Color too!
Thanks man!!
Awesome video Josh, I really enjoyed it. Your content is so diverse. Nice time lapse camera work, taking in some gorgeous scenery with a cool soundtrack too. You have amazing roads in the USA and vast expanses of land, so open and free, a guy can breathe out there, not claustrophobic at all. You're totally right about the dog bones, my '84 pre-face lift e28 doesn't have them (nor a rear anti roll bar- unless someone previously removed them and never put them back) but my friends' '87 e28 does have them and there is certainly a difference in the way they drive. The dog bones were shot on my e34 and I recognise the 'shimmy' description, changing them along with the axle beam bushes on the e34 transformed it. Hey, that e12 has a strong and faithful heart, it got you home safely dude...respect! 👍😎
Thank you my friend!! I appreciate that! The dog bones and fresh subframe bushings make all the difference! The land out here is wide open! Ill be getting my first taste of Europe in a month!
bro went from sunny desert beach to literally snow-cold weather in 14 minutes
I have an 81 528i e12 so this was fun to watch! The car has been in my family since new and now stays garaged most of the time with occasional weekend drives. Not sure if you ever figured out the headrests but there is a button on the left-hand side of each seat that when pushed, allows you to adjust the headrests (though it sounds like you are swapping the seats out). Keep us posted on the e12 journey!
I actually didn’t know that haha. Thanks for the info! But yeah aftermarket seats are going in for now. Updates to come
Damn, props for you to have a trip by your own. I wouldn't be able to handle 2000 miles being alone, would need a company and some badass music to keep me moving. I just recently drove 500miles in a day, next day I was tired as hell. Guess I'm weako :D
Hahahah it takes a massive playlist and some podcasts!
Man, i just discovered your channel because i was looking for videos on the e12 m535i. I have to say that driving 2000 miles in such a classic car like this from California to Illinois sounds like a literal dream to me. Plus, all those empty roads!! I'm from europe and even highways are very busy. I own an Alfa Romeo Spider (2008 model year that you sadly didn't get in North America) and driving it through the States sounds like a dream to me. Keep up the videos you rule.
Thank you man!! And welcome to the channel!!! I hope you stick around! A cross country US roadtrip is an experience I recommend everyone does!!
I really like that e12 of yours and am glad your doing it justice.
Thanks man!
Hi, Josh - just found your videos when I went to look up heating controls on the E12 that *I* just bought in California and am also road-tripping home to Chicago. This is my third old-car fly-and-drive. Going up the PCH from SF to Washington and later across the plains home. Right on, brother! I remember that car on BaT.
That’s awesome!!!! What are the chances we both are bringing e12s to Chicago haha. Good luck on your journey!!
You could not have described the rear suspension issues more than I could have. I’m planning on swapping in an e28 rear differential and subframe not only to use a way more common medium case diff, but to have beefier parts and more options for upgrades. It’s a good thing you didn’t get screwed with TRX wheels
Also if you need parts, there are 2 530I e12s in junkyards within 100 miles of me, planning on taking the fenders soon, if you want me to scout parts, let me know
Dont worry my e24 screwed me with trx wheels hahahah. But thank you man! My e12 needs a tan leather back seat if either car has a nice one!
@@m3nameisjosh464 actually I may know where one is, next time I go to the junkyard, I’ll get some pictures. (IIRC the rest of the interior had some mold so take that with a grain of salt)
@@fourwheelsoffun555 awesome!
very impressive the car made it back with no issues whatsoever! i flew to denver to buy a sight unseen e46 wagon and drove it back to sacramento over the course of about 3 days with my wife. we folded the rear seats down and bought an air mattress made for sleeping in cars and parked the car at hospitals over night. honestly some of the best sleep i've ever gotten in my life. so much fun, i'll never forget it. in true e46 fashion i did have to add a ton of coolant lol but otherwise she was a beast
A wagon is perfect for roadtrips! I wish these cars had fold down seats because id sleep in the car then! Thats awesome!
Hi Josh. Hello from Argentina. I’m into a project to restore an E12 1981 automatic transmission . I dismantle all the interior and many parts of the exterior the rusty condition of the car was almost complete . After one and half year of work. I almost have the car restored. It is certainly a challenge for me because I have never even use a welder machine. But this learning process is fine I have learned many things about cars . I replaced the head of cylinders is a six in line M20 and I guess next December will be ready to rolling…
That is awesome!! Good luck on the rest of the restoration!!
Glad the car made it with no problems! I made a similar trip last year up to Washington State to buy a sight unseen E34 M5 with 235k on it and drove it straight through back to southern California. Super fun, one of the best road trips I've taken.
That sounds like a blast in an M car!
God bless you man, this was a special video
Thank you my friend!
OTR Josh on the open road FREEDOM in style
YESSSSSIRRRR
Congrats Josh! Thanks for taking us along.
Thank you!!
Great trip in a great car. I own a 528 e12 (visible in my channel), I am eager to follow your new videos on this car. Great channel!
For the moving needles, it could be a bad ground connection, I had that on mine and after a full cleaning of all grounds connections, they stopped doing it.
Bye!
YES! Been waiting for this one.
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
No joke, I was out filming cool and unique cars on the Vegas strip that day and got a quick video of your car. Had no idea you were filming at the same time!
DUDE NO WAY?!! I was overheating from a bad clutch fan hahahah
Awesome video
Thank you!
Stay classic my friend! Should have said hello when u were in Vegas. 5 series all day.
Just drivin through!
That's a beautiful car bro! I'm hoping to find an E24 in the near future, she's a beast!
Thanks man!!
Oh finally a new episode 🤙 So much fun watching these 😂
Thanks man!!
thats beautifull car
When talking about the rear end shifting when hitting bumps and stuff, I know the feeling. My 94 318is had the same issue. Definitely scary when your not used to it.
Dude my heart dropped when it first happened on the highway. I thought the car fell apart
20k ftwww, Congrats Josh 🫶🏼
Thank you bro!!!!!
Well Done ❤ 🇦🇺
Great fun…congrats.
Thanks!!
Your the man , I was the guy on bring a trailer (02fly) that stop bidding because of your statement about driving her home, which I'm second guessing now because I can find another one. lol
Hey man! I appreciate you allowing me to win this thing!! It honestly needed a ton of work and still does but the hard part is to find one.
@@m3nameisjosh464 I'll let you get it all sorted and when your ready to sell it' I'll drive it back to the west coast. LOL
@@user-fm6hd5mz3c sounds good🤝
Hi Josh, wat a beautiful video! Enjoyed the road-trip a lot! It was nice to ride along and see all the different landscapes. I was just wondering how warm was it in Vegas? I saw you many times on the left lane, so thumbs up for this old BMW! You have a very pleasant way of making videos! Appreciate your enthusiasm. Already a big fan of your channel. Your big smile at the end was priceless. I see you’ve already made a deep connection with this car. All the rights to be proud of this vehicle. Once again greetings from the Netherlands.
Thank you so much man!! Vegas was about 80 degrees, so cool for vegas standards. Im glad you enjoyed seeing some of the sights the US has to offer! I definitely have a great connection with the car!
@@m3nameisjosh464 Okay that’s almost 27 degrees centigrade converted to our system. Indeed doable. Last year I went to Slovakia. There was a heatwave. At some point temperatures reached 40 degrees centigrade. I drove with the heater on to give extra cooling to the engine. Happy my cooling fan worked properly 😅 remarkable fact: my sunglasses melted in the parked car. It is at those moments that you respect the old cars even more if they serve you under all these circumstances. Yes the US sight was super. So different compared to Holland.
@@MrSkoda105s dude that is INSANE!! sounds like an absolute nightmare hahaha
nice work brother
Thank you sir🤝
The rear of my drift car was doing that on transitions and I snapped 6 axels before just overhauling the subframe
😭😭😭😭😭omg
@@m3nameisjosh464 it be like that hahaha
What a beast! I plan to do the same with my E30,and i cant wait :D
Good luck man! Its well worth it!
E12 should have a 70L tank… 18.5gal. Range should be better than 250… just the gauge/sender being weird..
Sounds about right. I was getting well over 300 miles once i got more comfortable
I mean 180 is a relatively normal temperature with the thermostat working right, 150 seems low and maybe the thermostat is too open and it is not maintaining operating temp? My e36 usually runs at about that temperature cruising, then in traffic it hits 195 I think and the A/C electric fan kicks on aswell as the clutch fan which is new goes sicko mode hahah
I honestly have no idea if the gauge works in the slightest dude haha
Josh I think u should try e38 it will suit you
Maybe one day, for now they take up too much space! lol
@@m3nameisjosh464 indeed 😂
The temp gauge on my E12 did the same thing. The remedy for mine was to tighten the ground wire to the car (in front of the fuse box). Hth
There is a button on the side of the seat about shoulder high to raise/lower the headrest.
Thank you for this information!!!
😁🔥
goddamn, in europe the gas wouldve easily been double the total price...
Would have been half the price here 3 years ago:(
@@m3nameisjosh464 holy shit!
Does e34 540i have centrol locking looking to get a auto 540i
Every bmw since like the 70s has central locking…
@@m3nameisjosh464 thanks bru
do you have any contact?there are business inquiry for you!
2000 miles in a car you just bought sight unseen? Wow, that takes some courage. lol... why do you keep taking both hands off the steering wheel? You're going to do it at just the wrong time one day, and it's going to bite you.
These cars track so straight sometimes steering isn’t needed. Just kidding, its a bad habit I know
So you drive it through snow where there's probably salt on the road... good way to rust the car out
what is bro supposed to do in this situation ⁉️⁉️⁉️
He lives in an all season state dude
Colorado doesn’t use salt. 2 hours of snow will not rust the car, and as botte said what other option was there anyway?