{"id":1816,"date":"2015-06-15T12:00:44","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T00:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesurgery.co.nz\/?p=1816"},"modified":"2018-02-11T12:13:49","modified_gmt":"2018-02-10T23:13:49","slug":"1986-bmw-m635-csi-majestic-m-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesurgery.co.nz\/services\/restoration\/1986-bmw-m635-csi-majestic-m-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"1986 BMW M635 CSi – Majestic M-Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
For many classic car enthusiasts, the catalyst for owning a car from a particular marque stems back to the first sighting of that model and the thought, \u2018one day I\u2019m going to own one of those\u2019<\/p>\n
Phil O\u2019Reilly, the owner of this glorious BMW M635CSi, clearly remembers ogling a blue example at Team McMillan in Remuera Road, Auckland, back in the mid-’80s \u2014 a time when red braces and big hair were in, and the world was our oyster. A time when little old New Zealand was destined to be a global financial powerhouse of the world, yes, Phil remembers those days well, he was a bright-eyed university student looking at it all in awe and thinking he had missed the boat and wasn\u2019t able to make his way as part of it.<\/p>\n
Expensive luxury European cars were becoming commonplace on our roads during the \u201980s, and one of the great status symbols then and now was a BMW. e E30 3 Series was current, and Phil remembers a mate who owned a red 325i coupe\u0301 followed by a dark grey M325i. e design, the driving experience, the quality \u2014 but as far as Phil was concerned, the 6 Series stood at the pinnacle. He always stopped when he saw one (still does, as a matter of fact). e sleek lines, shark-like nose, cool boot spoiler and the drop-dead Hofmeister kink were all features that ticked the right boxes. Gentleman Jim Richards\u2019 racing exploits in that stunning black JPS machine just added to the lustre of all things 6 Series.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You have to admire Phil for his dogged perseverance, as it was many years before he finally attained his dream car \u2014 and he\u2019s reasonably con dent that he was the same one he saw at McMillan that day, as his Cirrus Blue M635CSi was sold new there. Phil doubts there are more than one or two NZ-new examples the same in the country, so that student dream may well have worked out more precisely than he could\u2019ve imagined.<\/p>\n Chassis number 398 was one of the 20 or so M6s imported to New Zealand in the mid-to-late \u201980s. Legend has it that the NZ M6s were actually destined for Australia, but were rejected due to Australian Design Rules. The cars were then redirected here at short notice, and distributed amongst BMW dealers for sale domestically. However, Phil reckons the Aussies have got their own back, as he knows of several NZ cars that are now in Australian hands.<\/p>\n When Phil first came into contact with chassis No. 398 some 15 years ago, he was actually going to do the same thing. He had a big corporate job in Sydney and thought \u2018now\u2019s the day\u2019, and asked his brother to keep checking NZ Herald classifieds for an M635. Looking back, Phil concedes that it was a seriously stupid idea, even then, but he was a novice. Within a fortnight, Phil\u2019s brother came back with not one, but two examples.<\/p>\n Phil had carried out some initial research on M6s and knew that the timing chain needed to be changed at around 160,000km. One of the examples had that work done after a complete engine rebuild when the old chain gave way, and the other had not had the work done yet, but had done 148,000km and was, therefore, was due for a replacement.<\/p>\n Phil wasted no time in flying back across the ditch to Auckland one long weekend to look at the latter car. It was best described as an honest example \u2014 not particularly clean or tidy, but with a full-service history, and it was totally original. It was also within his price range. Phil was immediately smitten, and as they say, love does strange things. He bought the car and left it at McMillan to have the chain replaced. Five figures and several weeks later it emerged t for another 100,000km.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n According to Phil, there are a couple of lessons to be learned from all of this \u2014 \u201cDon\u2019t do what I did. It cost me!\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily he had the wherewithal to restore the car properly after purchase but says it\u2019s always best to do the right thing, join a local club and consult the experts. here are generally serious experts within classic car clubs who are only too willing to share their valuable knowledge, and if they don\u2019t know the car you want to buy \u2014 walk away.<\/p>\n In this case, Phil shipped his dream car to Sydney and, as is the way with the truly nai\u0308ve, thought it would be a simple task to make it perfect. In some senses it was. For example, most Phil\u2019s not one to modify his cars, he certainly respects what the M engineers were trying to achieve, and wanted to recreate essentially the same car which came from the factory. He was helped by the fact that No. 398 was absolutely unmodified, just a bit tired, and set out with a vengeance to return it to factory fresh condition. Phil found a friend at BMW in Sydney who was more fussy about locating the correct parts than Phil \u2014 he helped out by sourcing exactly the right windscreen-washer bottle (the 635CSi also has headlamp washers), and the correct oil cloth for the toolkit. Find one of those guys to help and, to a large extent, most of your problems will go away \u2014 just bring a very hefty chequebook.<\/p>\n Phil once heard a joke about BMW parts prices \u2014 if it\u2019s a BMW part it\u2019s expensive if it\u2019s a 6 Series part double the price, and if it\u2019s an M6 part double it again. He can attest to this and admits that some of the M6\u2019s unique parts are eye-watering expensive.<\/p>\n This is where Phil learned lesson number three \u2014 don\u2019t buy the best car you can afford, just buy the best car! If you can\u2019t afford it, keep saving. You\u2019ll save yourself a fortune in the long run. Phil modestly admits that his car is now one of the best in the country, maybe the world, but it cost him a lot of money along the way \u2014 if he\u2019d bought better in firsts place that needn’t have been the case.<\/p>\n For example, some of the searches for parts became a real mission. e tyres are a famous example. e original M6s came with a 415mm rim. Remember, this was in the days when metric was going to take over the world, and Michelin was going to be at the forefront of it all. So, in what must have been a decision made over a couple of serious steins of ale, the Germans put metric tyres on the M6. Other well-known mainstream models that sported\u00a0metric rubber include the largely unloved Ferrari Mondiale. To call these tyres rare would be something of an\u00a0<\/span>understatement, and most owners have since given up and gone to imperial wheels and rubber. But for Phil, originality rules, and he searched the world for 415mm Michelin TRX GT tyres. He finally found them on sale for a bank-busting price in the USA, bit the bullet and bought eight of them, just in case Michelin ever stopped making them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of Phil\u2019s favourite searches, however, involved a stereo- cassette head unit. e unit in the car was cheap and nasty rubbish and, initially, Phil resigned himself to the fact that it would be di cult, if not impossible, to nd a genuine replacement. For once, BMW was unable to help, so he spent two years searching eBay Germany for the right unit \u2014 and it now sits in his car. Another fun search was for the original, and now exceedingly rare, red-handled (not left-handed) screwdrivers for the toolkit in the boot. Phil found them in the USA after years of searching and no, you certainly don\u2019t want to know the price. Even Phil\u2019s car-fanatic brother rolled his eyes at that one.<\/p>\n And yet another lesson Phil feels he should pass on \u2014 and a mechanic who loves your car as much as you do, and let them get on with it.<\/p>\n
\nIt completed assembly in Munich on December 29, 1986, and with typical German efficiency, was delivered to BMW NZ on February 5, 1987
\nLike all the other NZ-new examples, it was an earlier, chrome-bumper model, and as well as that Cirrus Blue paint scheme it boasted black buffalo-hide leather \u2014 a unique combination amongst the 524 RHD cars built. Back in 1987, the BMW came with a heavy price tag of $220,000. However, a quick sale was stymied by that year\u2019s stock market crash, and the 635CSi didn\u2019t and an owner until 1990.<\/p>\n
\nof the M6s he\u2019d seen needed serious detailing from top to toe for starters \u2014 not a problem for Phil, as he enjoyed spending literally hundreds of hours on the car restoring leather, cleaning and degreasing everything and polishing \u2014 all of which, he admits, made a real difference.<\/p>\n
\nis is where he learned his second lesson \u2014 if you want to restore a classic performance Beemer (of any variety), get to know some fanatics at your local dealer parts department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n