BMW E12 M535i Drive and Walkaround

This video is about my 1980 E12 M535i, its restoration history, and my ownership since 2003.
Here is a link to a video I did on the car over 13 years ago, poor quality camera, but fun to see now.
• 1980 BMW E12 M535i ret...
You can read more about the story of building this car on my website www.e12m535i.com.

[@yerrie1908]

My mum had it from new, few years later I was old enough to drive it while my brothers already did, we all drove that car like crazy for 12 years, specially early years we beat 911's and 308's, 80's it was no problem at all to drive extremely fast, crazy times. Some details that might be interesting, ours was 1 of 6 in the Netherlands, don't know the production number of ours, I know the striping was a option just as the dogleg gearbox and the car was delivered with the wing not mounted but in the trunk. Ours had also the typical rear subframe issues after years of abuse, that car went trough a lot. In those days nobody knew what it was and people who bought them where mostly in in car business themselves and really drove them hard, many have had good life haha. We had cops racing us and Dutch highway patrol drove 911 Targa's in those days and the M535i killed it 😉, we had later a Alfa e28 M5, Alfa 164Q4 and Volvo T5R and other M's but the E12 is everyone's favorite in our family. I consider it the true last Motorsport for petrol heads before it became with E28 for the bigger market. the strictly German guy was very wrong

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the great info on your history with the E12 M535i. Very good to know!

[@oldschoolracinggames5729]

the most legendary sedan of all time

[@felixvandiggelen8731]

I don't think I've ever seen a respectable car get an owner it deserves like this one.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thank you, that means a lot to hear that

[@Driver599]

What gem you have, simply stunning. I heard these were widow makers back in the day. Many happy miles.

[@andrewwardle-bu9yx]

nice , looks exactly same as my last e12 which was a ceda green m535i i had the m colours painted on the sides and front like yours , my rear spoiler did not have m colours on , same interior apart from green cord interior , i loved that dog leg gear box , gave it great pulling power , never let me down in the two years i owned , i stripped the engine down with my friend at about 110 ,000 miles and changed the valve stem oil seals .... at the time i owned very few cars could get the better of it... that was over 30 years ago , i owned e12 520 then e12 528 and last the m535i which was a rare care and not many made for the uk market .... at the time somone stole my m badge of the rear and went to bmw , there they get proof it is a proper m car and you get given the m badges for free. they did not allow anyone with a none m car to get them .. but in those days they did mot stick m badges on and bmw like today ... out of the 29 cars i have owned this was one of the ones i had most fun in as well as mk1 golf gti , think you call it the rabbit in usa ... first car ford capri mk1 1600 gt which i did not buy , my friend wanted a vcr player and i wanted a car ...

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the note. I do like that green and other rare colors on E12 M535i's

[@TiminNFL]

Congratulations on achieving such a beautiful and detailed restoration of this glorious e12. I saw it early on in your ownership journey. Thank you for sharing the story here. My favorite anecdote here was about the interior fabric. Kudos! I hope to catch up with you at a future 5er event. I really miss the old east coast 5erFests from the early 2000s. Fortunately, we still have The Vintage in May each year. Cheers, “Tim in N FL” on mye28

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks Tim, great to hear from you! Yes maybe I'll get this to Vintage sometime.

[@shinnyblack6964]

Stunning.......Give me 12 months and I’ll post my Saphire blue one!

[@Qxoyk665]

Hi Adam, you've down such an amazing job there. My Dad had one, white, with the 'M' stripes. I know from the UK registration plate at the time, that his car was probably one of the last imported from Germany to the UK, as most cars that have survived were registered in 1980 on a 'W' plate, where my Dad's car was on and 'X' plate. Again, an amazing job!! Enjoy. Cheers Andy

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks Andy, means a lot coming from your perspective and your Dad's history with one.

[@dutchcuda]

That thing is just pure beauty. To me, there`s no better engine sound. I`ve owned all kinds of vintage BMW`s over the years, but the e12 just fits me like a tailored suit, so a few weeks ago I purchased a `76 528 after being beemer-less for almost 15 years... That was too long.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks very much for the comment, I appreciate it. It is perfect affirmation having my 16 year old son drive the E12 and E28 back to back, and he tells me he would pick the E12 every day (and twice on Sundays)!

[@GentilsGarage]

Fabulous car, really nice. I have recently started to restore a 1974 E12, but a more sedate 520 4 cyl auto.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the note, any E12 is a beauty to me. Such great cars.

[@MA45TR03]

your ride here is abslutly awesome, i love the e12, and looking forward to deal this good as you with my e34 in the future ^^

[@emmanuelofori6521]

Beautiful interior.I say this car carries the spirit of BMW.Its the most comfortable Bimmer, unlike the e30 that feels a bit harsh.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thank you! I love E28's, E24's, and E32's as well as E34's and E30's of course. But the E12 just feels like a different era, before BMW sedans were the affluent person's car choice. Undiscovered and not apologetic for the tradeoff for performance versus comfort.

[@emmanuelofori6521]

@@adamwilson2203 Unfortunately we hardly have the e12 here these days ,dont remember when i last saw one even with the e28 very few around but you are surprised occasionally with a good looking one and you feel good, it makes your day.A few good looking e12's i used to see have disappeared and i wonder where they are..

[@oldiesfm98.5stereolive8]

Long live E12,E21 ,E24 ,E30,E28,E30E9 3.0 !!!😍😍❤️❤️ OO=[][]=OO BMW 2002 Turbo ,BMW 320I

[@EnriqueLopez-hb5jn]

Those stripes look like the 2002 Turbo stripes quite rare,👍👍👍👍👍👌👌👌👌👌

[@1983dmd]

Absolutely incredible !!! What a piece of automotive history !! THE legendary e12 M535i ! And don't forget the M1 steering wheel....Simply wow...Superb restoration. I own a e24 M635CSi imported from Germany to Canada 21 years ago, so no DOT modifications, totally original. If by miracle you decide to sell it one day, let me know !

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the kind words! This car is part of the family, I couldn't sell it.

[@lexburen5932]

this is a real cool car. a 80s hero this car

[@richlee509]

Mechanics never get bothered by cars. They deal with cars everyday so are not bothered by cars.

[@mikehoh8328]

Add a pair of e12 chrome mirrors it'll be perfect!

[@adamwilson2203]

Actually on the E12 M535i the mirrors are always black so they are correct for the car now the way I have it.

[@richlee509]

Amazing how some folk are treating these cars like old bangers

[@adamwilson2203]

I would say that was the case in the early 2000's. The E12 M535i's (real ones) were so obscure, it was just another old 5 series! Now people who know......... THEY KNOW

[@dqwaszx]

Beautiful car!

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks, she is part of the family for sure! My son has claim to her in my will.

[@sjococo]

The yellow head lights are for the french market as you had to have that there then.

[@adamwilson2203]

Yep, I like the contrast with the white car and clear lights and then having those yellow highbeams. Like an early 80's Mercedes

[@АндрейПирог-б9и]

Очень достойно. Машины мечта.

[@alexandermathar7780]

With a Procar engine they could have shown Brabus the middle finger!!

[@adamwilson2203]

I totally agree. If they had even built an E12 M535i with the M1 street car's M88 it would have been a BMW M classic for sure

[@alexmartinez280]

The BMW rondel is made of enamel. The new ones are plastic along with many many other parts.

[@ДИМАПЛЯСУНОВ-ц4ф]

Вот этот авто правильно выглядит! Нет катафотов на крыльях и дебильных бамперов.

[@tonygarcia7805]

great info

[@pspiegel2]

Nice job! Mine (-5096) is a sleeper, without the trick air dam and spoiler, and with a Korman/BavPro rebuilt engine, Schrick cams, Stahl headers, Dinan suspension. They're great cars! Have you spoken to Maximillian Imports, the BMW Mobile Tradition dealer in Maryland, about hard-to-find parts? Also, Blaupunkt makes a classic-styled Bremen SQR 46 DAB radio with Bluetooth. It looks correct, but allows hands-free phone calls and modern inputs. Worth a look!

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the great comment! Please get yours added to the bmwmregistry.com E12 M535i area. I don't know if I knew about your car, chassis #96 but we need to have it listed! I haven't used Maximillian in years, I prefer going to Steve at Blunttech for all my parts.

[@tiitsaul9036]

Thanks for sharing. I’ve got e28 M535i, but in my opinion e12 M535 is the real deal. E28 M535 is mostly cosmetic marketing bs.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks! Yes they made a lot more of the E28 M535i but still a great car.

[@TheFelgeSchneider]

Great work Adam! Such a cool car. I recently bought a 528i E12 which has an M90 engine in it, as I found out. Now thinking about whether to build an M535i tribute car as I love the look.

[@projectv12bmw66]

Absolutely beautiful car, good on you for saving it and then some!

[@tlake64]

Amazing work Adam, it's a credit to you. Accurately described, it was the first Motorsport 5 series available in left and right hand drive from BMW Motorsport in Germany.

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks! Is this Mark Cranswick after all these years? I still have a copy of your E12 book! My car has come a long way hasn't it?!

[@armanopepe1]

Great video! Yes I owned a E12 m535 replica back in the early 90’s. I think it was a 528 from memory. It was metallic blue with the pinstripes & silver BBS wheels. It was a headturner back then in New Zealand and I often got stopped by cops because I was only 22 yrs at the time. Great memories!

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the info, great story!

[@princewarior2554]

That's insane man! I'm so envy... 😭😭😭😭 😁😁😁😁 Good work Dude..👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@agc911]

Beautiful car, Adam - a credit to your hard work. Thanks for sharing it.

[@adamwilson2203]

Much appreciated! It has been a labor of love.

[@paulbuckles5353]

I thought that drive looked familiar, years ago I lived north of there, had clients in that area, and loved biking around MH

[@o2kala649]

An E12 like this M535 is a real unicorn. You were jumped on it early - Enjoy it.

[@ericbacker2116]

Your love and admiration for this car are obvious. Congratulations on the reward of your efforts and thank you for sharing!

[@alebigna]

Awesome restoration, gorgeous car. My dad owned a 520i e12 and it was great. This is the top of the top of this serie. Gorgeous. Ale

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks, I feel like having owned an E12 528i prior to this (a great car, but not the top of the series of course) and dreaming about a real E12 M535i I'm still in love with this car and appreciate that I get to be her steward through all these years.

[@rjd7697]

Awesome car and seems like a cool guy.....

[@johnforbey8454]

I love e12. Had '80 528i and 2.8, 3.0 and 3.2 engines.

[@rightminddrive]

Looks absolutely fantastic Adam! Thanks for sharing your cars with us!

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for the comment (sorry I'm so late in replying). I am happy to share about the car (I have an update video coming this year on what's happened since I shot this) and hope that the E12 M535i fever is infectious.

[@baihui7349]

Audi and Mercedes killer

[@FastTrack-1]

It's really good what you've done. I'm fussy about E12's and this is a good one. One point to clarify, the BMW bonnet badge in 1980 was smooth on the surface. I know this because I noticed this compared to the enambled/raised edge badge on a 1978 528 at the time. Just so you know..

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for that, it's been 20 years this month (May) that I've owned the car. Still love admiring it today (check out my instagram at flipwils11 for more pictures). Good to know on the Roundel, I guess I got my years wrong thinking all E12's would have the enameled raised badge. I still really like it though versus the plastic so I think I'll keep it on there.

[@FastTrack-1]

@@adamwilson2203 Yes. That year was a facelift year. Black remote plastic door mirrors both sides....Square column stalks....Digital central clock instead of analogue....fuel reserve warning light now built into fuel gauge...electronic ignition added... And another thing... Don't let anybody tell you this is just an any old Euro 5 series....It's very unique rare car...at least in Europe and your fortunate own it.

[@Freepalestine10723]

nice work im sure you put alot of time in it , does this car have a m30 or m90 engine ?

[@adamwilson2203]

Hi! It's the original M90 engine that all E12 M535i's came with.

[@jykayksin71]

Damn you have a nice job done to your E12! Bless you Sir!

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks! A labor of love

[@dlvad44]

Job Well Done Adam! Enjoyed the video as well.

[@adamwilson2203]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sitting through and watching it all.

[@Crusader1815]

I like the E12 so much more with the Euro bumpers. Either way, though, it's a wonderful little car.

[@timbell4961]

Props to you! I own an 87' 535IS That needs some of the same love ,,It can be done$$

[@puppygadget3189]

Awesome car-does it have A/C?

[@adamwilson2203]

As Sebi said, no a/c in my car.

[@EnriqueLopez-hb5jn]

That is an awesome car,👌👌👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@blaubeerprinz5291]

most boring vid i ever saw. just wanted to see rev it up 1 single time

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for your honest reply. Perhaps there are some drift videos you can watch that will be more exciting.

[@blaubeerprinz5291]

@@adamwilson2203 sry to disapoint you sir. its just my opinion a sportscar should be driven like its made for, not like a 524td

[@aslutnixessexintulsa]

Nice resto truly a labor of love. I had an early E12-based E24 635CSi euro . I always loved the big analog clock with the outer dial controlling the fan speed .BMW switched to the digital one like yours has at some point.. That would be a cool backdate to do if the analog one is out there in BMW unobtainia parts land

[@adamwilson2203]

Thanks for your comment, and it's funny I'm with you, I prefer the analog clock. Classy aesthetic. So I was on the fence when I did the resto of the car of what to put in. But I decided to go with original because back in 1980, digital was a big deal and original to the E12 M535i! So that's what I used.

[@mikescholz7824]

Wow...absolutely beautiful! One of my favorite cars growing up, still have a nice sales brochure/booklet from that model i picked up at Bellevue BMW 40 plus years ago.

[@adamwilson2203]

I appreciate the note, I'm obviously biased but I think she's beautiful as well. And others at car shows in the last year or so agree, because she's won 3 people's choice awards!

[@laurentroyer9511]

The first 5 series M before the M5

[@rjd7697]

I wonder what the 0-60 time is 🤔🤔

[@beyleveld132]

9.8 sec

[@tlake64]

The BMW factory time was 7.3 seconds, but magazines got faster than that.