Yahoo Autos My $700 BMW 8-Series Already Broke Down and Left Me Stranded
This summer I bought a 1992 BMW 8-Series off Craigslist for $700. It hadn't been driven for years, and needed a whole bunch of work to get back on the road. Thinking it would be a good candidate to take ice racing this season, I decided to fix it up myself.
After getting it running, I replaced much of the braking system and gave the 5.0-liter V-12 some fresh oil. I test-drove it for the first time in November on 20-year-old tires, and despite some alarming exhaust smoke, it seemed to run great. At least, I thought so. Join me as, yet again, an unbelievably cheap, formerly glamorous BMW leaves me stranded.
A New Set of Wheels and Two New Sets of Tires
Because I don't have a truck and trailer to tow my car to each ice race, I needed two sets of winter tires for the 8-Series—one standard set for driving on the road, and a second, studded set for ice racing. The sanctioning body for the series requires a specific type of studded tire—Nokian Hakkapeliittas. We asked Nokian if they wanted to be a part of this ridiculous project, and for some unknown reason, they did, graciously providing me with a set of studded tires in the right size for the car. I then went ahead and bought a set of Pirelli Sottozero 3s off of Tire Rack for street driving duty, to be mounted on a set of OEM 8-Series turbine-style wheels I bought off eBay.
Unsurprisingly, the car drove a lot better on modern tires, even winter tires. I also got an alignment, which straightened out the steering wheel. The suspension is pretty trashed, but the car still rides worlds better than I expected it to. It's wonderfully floaty in a way modern luxury cars just aren't. The steering feels distant and vague, but that's not too big of a deal. What mattered was that the 8-Series was now a real, running, driving vehicle.
Other Miscellaneous Maintenance Items
I managed to get the two batteries in the trunk securely mounted with tie-downs, which took awhile because the batteries weren't OEM BMW sizes. I also replaced the rear license plate lights, because, even back in '92, BMW's ECU could sense a burned-out lightbulb and throw an error light.
I glued the rear-view back onto the windshield, once again experiencing the joy of rearward vision.
I found out the hard way that the windshield wipers don't work while driving in the rain on Saturday. I checked the fuses and they all seemed intact. That's something important I need to fix before I hit the ice.
