1981 BMW 635CSi

BMW's large coupe, the 6 Series E24, was introduced in 1976 as a replacement for the CS & CSL Coupes. It continued that model's tradition of providing luxurious yet rapid transport in a sporting car. This example had suffered some rust damage over the years and the owner decided to rebuild it and incorporate some features from the M Sport model.

The shell had rusted in a number of areas and needed a fair amount of expert repair to make it sound again.

The interior was fairly tatty and was extensively refurbished. Here it has been stripped out ready for the rebuild to begin.

The factory electric sunroof still worked but there were tell tale rust bubbles in the roof panel, caused by corrosion trapped between the roof and the sunroof 'cassette'.

After a thorough repair, the roof was now ready for spraying.

Part of the M Sport upgrade work focused on the suspension. The owner specified uprated coil spring and damper units, uprated suspension bushes and larger alloy wheels and tyres. The suspension units allow the ride height to be adjusted.

After a first class respray and reassembly, the end result is very impressive. The owner specified the uprated front spoiler with built in driving lights.

The owner required that application of M Sport side stripe decals which were not available from BMW and so had to be created specially. They extend along the waist and also round the front spoiler.

The rear boot spoiler was a factory fitment for the faster models. Replacements were not available so we successfully restored and reused the original one.

This is a very elegant and practical sporting coupe.

The 3.5 litre 6 cylinder M30 engine produces 215bhp. With its improved ignition and air filter systems, this one produces a bit more!

It's the little things such as the correct bonnet lining panels that make the end result so satisfying.

The Recaro seats were another M Sport option that have been fitted to this car.