Nearly Scrapped 20 years ago and now back to life!

Finally, after many years of neglect my 1974 BMW 520 E12 is now back to life and is running better than ever again!
New engine, many new parts and a new lead of life was given to this rare car.
Still a few jobs to do, but the hardest and most important bits are now done.
Here's what's been done in the last two years.
#bmw #bmwm5 #bmwlove #bmwlovers #bmwe12 #bmw5series
#barnfind #barnfinds
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[@tlake64]

Looking very solid Gentil. I am so pleased to see this car saved. My 1976 RHD 528 was the same, the original owner swapped the Blaupunkt Frankfurt for an '80s Phillips cassette player. I am using the single dashboard speaker, and it works surprisingly well. I have the same rims and trim rings, but with the 195/70 tire. Our cars look so similar, but mine is Fjord met blue. I have always liked the rear deck fuel flap e12s. I have also had the same e12 for decades!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you, lovely car you have. I like the rear filling on the early E12's it does stand out at the petrol station! Are you based in the Uk? I would love to gather a few early E12's. I know at least 3 from 73 to 75 that are on the road.

[@tlake64]

@@GentilsGarage I would love to join the group, but unfortunately I am in Perth, Western Australia! When I was in the UK in the '80s, 1970s BMWs were rare. My neighbour had a friend who visited with his T reg 520/6, metallic red and multi spoke alloys. In a country full of Granadas and Rover SD1s, the e12 5 series was something unusual.

[@R118GSiVVC]

Well done on the amount of time and effort you've put in m8!

[@GentilsGarage]

Cheers, I kinda feel relieved now

[@ChrisStirk]

Great car, commentary and explanations. Lovely to see. Congratulations on your channel. Subscribed!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you so much, very kind of you

[@OKuusava]

As I was 14 that summer, those were "the" cars which burned to brain as classic beautiful ones.

[@GentilsGarage]

Same with me. also, as a child these looked big and now feel so much smaller!

[@asm1]

Lovely Car and story, sympathetic "upgrade" - the 318i out the E30 is similar power wise to the original 520 perhaps slightly more. Would you consider putting a later 4 or 5 speed auto in it ? ZF4 or 5 ? OR are you dead set on manual conversion? Subscribed. Look forward to more instalments.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much! The power is a bit less at 105bhp, compared to the 115bho of the 2l twin carb. However, being EFI has a better power curve, smoother running, better start and more economical too. I would consider a better and more modern 4 speed auto (no 5 speed auto will fit without a converter plate) but the issue is that I would also have to replace the diff (currently 4.20) with a taller one. Also, the 4 speed autos from the E28 and E30 (need to be from a M10 or M30 engines car) do not have the mechanical speedo drive because those cars have electronic speedos and take the reading pulses from the diff. I would need a GPS speedo converter. With the extra spend involved with more modern autos, it would be better to get a few more bits and do the manual conversion. A 4 speed manual isn't hard to get. I would love a 5 speed manual, but the ones with mechanical speedo drive are hard to get and not cheap. Thank you for subscribing, more stuff coming soon

[@fhwolthuis]

You can be very proud of this process and the results, Gentil! 💪🏼😃 Although the car is not quite original, in this case I think it even enhances the bond you have with it. Really great and never sell it indeed! For not too much money, I think you can have mixed up a couple of cans of paint in the exact colour and have a go at correcting some spots by yourself. Since it's not metallic I think the results will be pretty good 👍 And for the chrome trim in the interior, I would suggest buying a roll of self adhesive chrome foil, you can do a lot with 1 roll and it will probably look better than paint. Anyway, I'm looking forward to more video's on this car, also driving video's if possible 😃

[@GrandThriftAuto]

I love this car and its ongoing story. Lovely production on the introduction sequence (especially) in this video too!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much Martin, it is indeed an eventful story. I initially wanted to have drone footage, but that will have to wait when the bank balance comes out of the red 😂

[@nswgb69]

Well done. My e28 M5 is stuck in it's garage because I don't trust supposed experts around it! I must have wasted nearly 30k having things redone.

[@GentilsGarage]

@@nswgb69 I know the feeling. I had a similar issue with an E28 I had 20 years ago and it was really messed up. This time, I got the right guy

[@TheHorsebox2]

Just discovered you. Love this car, my boss had one of these in the eighties, though it was the facelift model, and I did get to drive it. Lovely to see an original one, and an orange one at that. Love seeing survivor cars in loving hands. Best of luck going forward.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much, really appreciate it.

[@Ben-jq5oo]

What are your thoughts Gentil on refinishing/spraying the wiper arms in matt black? I know this wouldn’t be authentic on a ‘74 / ‘75 model but they would match the blades, which I don’t think are available in silver? Great to get your build summary 🎉

[@GentilsGarage]

When I had this car over 20 years ago, the blades were also polished stainless steel, but whoever got the car thrown them away. I might just get E28 arms and have all in black, not just for matching but because the E12 arms use a pin to secure the blades instead of the standard hook on type. I think the stainless steel ones I have now were another South African aftermarket and I don't see them in their cars either.

[@billweismann1318]

Great to see such an early 5 series restored! Dashboard…. There’s no easy solution. Well, there is but it’s incredibly expensive. There’s an outfit in America called “just dashes” that will make it like new. But I believe they charge every bit of $3,000 these days to do it. Plus shipping to and from the US. It will come back better than new and likely won’t ever crack again but it’s very very expensive. I’d caution against a used dash as they’re all now well over 40 years old and can crack, especially once you disturb them. Ask me how I know from an E28 upper dash swap. But that is a lovely car!

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much. Good point about a second have one and, honestly, I don't fancy taking everything out to replaced. Did that with an E30 and it was a lot of work. I am just going to fill the cracks with PU sealant and use plastic if or vinyl paint.

[@Lot76CARS]

Brilliant to see the orange beauty back on the road and total admiration for sticking with it! Looking forward to seeing it in person!

[@GentilsGarage]

Cheers Simon, I'll be at Rustival in September and if all goes well, German day at Goodwood.

[@aureliobrighton1871]

Living in Munich for almost 60 years your car must evoke all kinds of memories with me. Today its elegant simplicity to me is more striking than ever. The words 'design cue' now everywhere, well, here is one of its molds. Nose, backlights, exhaust position ... interior design .. exclusive 5er. And when we saw a 528i turning onto the 'Mittlerer Ring' finishing the Salzburger Autobahn on a warm winter day its grey skirt would tell about swift transportation. Cheers:)

[@GentilsGarage]

Lovely. Thank you very much for sharing your story.

[@RickAstroman]

Nice piece of engineering! Enjoying to watch these improvements 👌🚀

[@GentilsGarage]

Glad you like it!

[@markonmotoring]

The car is looking great Gentile. A good hinest car being sympathetically restored. Its certainly been a labour of kive but well worth it. Im very much looking fkrward to seing this car at some point.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thanks Mark, it is a labour of love indeed. It will be at Rustival in September!

[@markonmotoring]

@@GentilsGarage Sadly I'm not booked for the one in September.

[@GentilsGarage]

@@markonmotoring no worries. We'll meet again at some point

[@113036stat]

Keep up with the fine work! True though do things a bit at a time.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much. Yes, that's the plan

[@fhwolthuis]

Woah, I just penned a long comment and now it's gone 😢

[@GentilsGarage]

That's odd, I didn't see it published

[@mrcogginsgarage7062]

Great work my friend keep it up.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you very much, Cheers!

[@Carl-x8y3c]

Hi 👋 Greetings from New Zealand. I like these BMW's , they were sold in limited numbers in the 1970s.

[@GentilsGarage]

Thank you. I can imagine there aren't many left in there.

[@Carl-x8y3c]

@GentilsGarage I don't see any on the road anymore here in NZ. There are many of the latest models now. They were very expensive to buy back in the 1970s. BMW 's are cheaper today.

[@monk3yboy69]

I don’t think they are cheaper today. There are just better finance options available to the everyday person that would not have been the case in the 70s and 80s.

[@Carl-x8y3c]

@@monk3yboy69 Yes

[@peterstudley1804]

That's a very early 520.

[@GentilsGarage]

Indeed, but there are a couple of older ones in the Uk, from 1973

[@MillerCorner]

Great work, Gentil! Love this car and your story with it, we need to get the E12 together with my W123 :D

[@GentilsGarage]

cheers Joe, we do have to pencil in a date. I should have the servos fully rebuilt by the end of August, so it'll all be good at the beginning of September.

[@MillerCorner]

@@GentilsGarage German Car Festival at Goodwood is on 5th October - pencil it into your diary ;D

[@GentilsGarage]

@@MillerCorner ok, I'll check with my other half to see if we are free, then I'll book the tickets. Got Rustival the week before!

[@MillerCorner]

@@GentilsGarage Don't book tickets! I'll get you in ;)

[@GentilsGarage]

@@MillerCorner cheers!

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

wow its 4 wheel vehicle not 2 wheel vehicle sir

[@GentilsGarage]

I don't understand.

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

@@GentilsGarage wow its not a motorcycle is what i mean

[@GentilsGarage]

@@DimasFajar-ns4vb and where/when do I say it's a motorcycle?