Writing that title makes us hungry for a bavarian pretzel, but we’d settle for this ride in our corral. This one may add some fuel to the debate of what makes a hooptie, but we’d argue that a 40 year old non-running car of any make deserves to go on a Hooptie Joyride. Voice your opinions out loud and if we hear you we’ll respond.
On offer from Cape Coral, FL, via Craigslist (where people still post rides for sale apparently), is this second generation 5-series sedan. Asking price as of this moment is $3,500. Keep in mind this moment may not be the moment you are reading this, unless you are time traveling and then you’d be watching and that would be weird.
Description and other information
Seller states it has not run or even moved in 23 years, but it was tuned up when parked. Go figure. It has a clean title and only 85,000 miles. This car comes from the middle of the second generation production run which ran from 1981 to 1988, and produced over 700,000 cars. The BMW 5-series are considered the executive cars, and prioritized comfort and luxury over performance. However, this second generation, aka E28, did see the introduction of the high performance M5.
Exterior
The Alpine white paint appears to be in decent shape considering it’s been baking in the Florida sun for nearly a quarter century. A few scuffs and imperfections, but better than many rides we find. All of the trim and bumper skirts are in place as well. From 15 feet we bet the HOA would not even complain.
Interior
Clearly someone cared about this car. Not only is it sporting a reflective sun shade, but it has a vehicle specific carpeted dash pad and steering wheel cover. The seats seem to be in great shape, with perhaps a small tear on the drivers seat, and should respond to some leather restoration quite nicely. Heck, the floor mats are present and clean! There are a few noticeable downsides; the radio is missing, the leather on the shifter and boot is worn, and the carpet in the trunk is dirty. All so minor for a hooptie, that we feel weird mentioning them.
Drivetrain
There were eleven different engines, across 5 BMW engine platforms, in the second generation 5 series’ run. This particular car comes equipped with the 3.2L inline 6 cylinder engine, designated the M30B32 engine. Don’t ask us why it’s a 533i model despite the 3.2 liters of displacement. It has the Motronic engine management system which some of the BMW faithful prefer over the L-Jetronic used on other models. Power output was rated at 181 HP and 195 ft. lbs. of torque, passing through a 5-speed Gertrag manual transmission and onto the rear wheels. Everything looks to be there under the hood, and the low miles bode well for this motor running with a little effort and some fresh gas. Extra parts are included and are nicely organized in a bin, along with a Chilton manual to aide in the adventure. Speaking of spares (and we don’t mean Prince Harry), the spare tire is in the trunk as well. The rest of the tires are flat, and may or may not hold wind.
Making Plans
This one is really tempting. Even more so than the 1970 GMC Tow Truck. We’d keep the plans simple and use the remaining $1,500 from our fictional $5K budget to get it to RDS mode. Aside from the bin of parts included, FCP Euro and others have parts in stock.
Heck, this one is nice enough to see if the paint will come around. Might have to find the polisher since it never gets used.
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