{"id":2076299,"date":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2076299"},"modified":"2026-08-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:00:00","slug":"rebuilding-a-classic-bmw-m635-csi-keep-it-original-or-make-it-a-track-monster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2076299","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding a classic BMW M635 CSI: keep it original, or make it a track monster?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Don\u2019t be afraid of buying the \u00a310k project car. That \u00a330k will be the best \u00a350k you\u2019ve ever spent. As internet memes go, this latest one cuts painfully deep and may as well be embossed in my E24\u2019s door sills as a permanent reminder.<\/p>\n

However, on a more positive note, I now have a complete BMW M6 back in my unit for the first time in over seven years. The only slight issue is the fact it requires some assembly to get it back on the road… \u2018some\u2019 meaning several thousand pieces in 30+ boxes all scattered around it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reassembly \u2013 in theory \u2013 shouldn\u2019t be too tricky if it wasn\u2019t for a couple of additional hurdles. Firstly, I\u2019ve never taken apart any car to the extent of the E24, let alone this particular model, and finding a stage by stage guide online which isn\u2019t in German for someone with zero mechanical ability is proving quite tricky. But the bigger issue here is the state of what\u2019s in those boxes versus what\u2019s on the car currently.<\/p>\n

Bodywork? That\u2019s all good. The same can be said for the engine, the engine bay, all the underside and everything which holds it together. Every bit has been restored, replaced or rebuilt. The rest? Well, that\u2019s where it goes downhill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u2018All original\u2019 makes it sound quite honest. But there was a reason this particular car was cheap back in 2018: it didn\u2019t run and it was in dire need of some TLC. Obviously, this was less of an issue when the plan was to ditch all of the interior for a stripped back, track-orientated setup. Think centrelocks, rollcage, bucket seats and naff all else \u2013 all of which has been built or paid for already.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I made the rookie error of seeing what E24 M635CSIs are now worth upon rescuing all the original pieces,\u00a0and now I\u2019m wondering whether to change path altogether and simply reassemble it back to stock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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People love originality and decent restorations of cool classics will always have appeal, not to mention the peace of mind that a car will actually work and not fall apart every time it\u2019s taken for a drive. A sensible approach, but it does sound a bit boring. I mean, who wants a bone stock and lovely E24 when you could have an unnecessarily restored, track spec version with Group A bits which will make it appealing to perhaps three people worldwide?<\/p>\n

Yes, bolting everything stock back on would be infinitely simpler but it would also need everything else restoring to match the rest of the car. Putting ripped leather seats back in is a bit like getting fresh teeth from Turkey and then optimising your diet with soft drinks and bags of Haribo. Both options being a fantastic waste of money.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve never taken apart any car to the extent of the E24<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The other option \u2013 and the real reason for this update \u2013 is to serve as a reminder to stick with the original plan. Stop trying to be sensible, accept this car is the epitome of that internet meme and actually try and finish it. Get the roll cage welded in, the centrelocks built up and make it a track car which has now cost so much money the prospect of bashing it off kerbs while being harassed by Sparco-wearing M2 drivers now sounds even more terrifying than finding the cash needed to reassemble it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past few years, I have made many promises in these Top Gear updates, almost all of which I\u2019ve inevitably ignored. But there is one I can categorically state as now being fact; for as long as I remain an adult obsessed by cars, I will never ever start a full scale project rebuild ever again. And that is a promise… for now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t be afraid of buying the \u00a310k project car. That \u00a330k will be the best \u00a350k you\u2019ve ever spent. As internet memes go, this latest one cuts painfully deep and may as well be embossed in my E24\u2019s door sills as a permanent reminder. However, on a more positive note, I now have a complete […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2076299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2076299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2076299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2076299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2076299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}