Rebuilding My BMW M6 E24 Project Car

Don’t let the prospect of a £10k project car put you off. That £30k will turn out to be the finest £50k you have ever spent. For an internet meme, this recent one hits uncomfortably close to home; it might as well be stamped into my E24’s door sills as a lasting warning.

On the brighter side, though, a complete BMW M6 is finally back in my workshop for the first time in more than seven years. There is just the minor matter of putting it together before it can return to the road – and by ‘some’ assembly, I mean several thousand components spread between more than 30 boxes surrounding the car.

Rebuilding the BMW M6

In principle, reassembly ought not to be especially difficult, were it not for two extra complications. For a start, I have never dismantled a car as comprehensively as this E24, never mind this specific version. Tracking down a step-by-step online guide in English that suits someone with absolutely no mechanical talent has proved rather difficult. The larger problem, however, is the contrast between the contents of those boxes and the state of the car itself.

The bodywork is sorted, as are the engine, engine bay, underside and every component that keeps it all together. Each part has been restored, renewed or rebuilt. Everything else, though? That is where matters start to unravel.

Originality versus a track-focused E24

‘All original’ sounds reassuringly straightforward. Yet there was a reason this car was inexpensive in 2018: it would not run and it desperately needed attention. That was clearly less troublesome when the intention was to remove the entire interior and build a pared-back, track-focused machine. Picture centre-lock wheels, a roll cage, bucket seats and naff all else – with all of it already made or paid for.

Sadly, after recovering every original part, I made the beginner’s mistake of checking what E24 M635CSIs are worth today. Now I am considering a complete change of direction and putting it back together in standard form.

Buyers value originality, while well-restored desirable classics will always find an audience. There is also the reassurance of owning a car that works properly rather than seeming likely to shed bits whenever it goes out for a drive. It is the sensible route, but it sounds slightly dull. After all, why have a pristine, entirely standard E24 when you could own an excessively restored track-spec version with Group A parts, desirable to perhaps three people on the planet?

Choosing the E24’s final form

Refitting all the standard parts would certainly be far easier, but the remaining pieces would then need restoration to the same standard as the rest of the car. Reinstalling torn leather seats would be like getting new teeth in Turkey before improving your diet with fizzy drinks and bags of Haribo. Either route is an excellent way to waste money.

I’ve never taken apart any car to the extent of the E24

The alternative – and the actual purpose of this update – is a reminder to follow the original plan. I need to stop attempting to be sensible, acknowledge that this car perfectly embodies the internet meme, and make a genuine effort to complete it. Have the roll cage welded in, finish the centre-lock wheels and create a track car that has swallowed so much cash that smashing it over kerbs while Sparco-clad M2 drivers harass me sounds even more frightening than finding the money to finish rebuilding it.

During the past few years, I have made plenty of promises in these Top Gear updates, and have predictably ignored nearly all of them. One promise can now be stated as an absolute fact, however: for as long as I am an adult obsessed with cars, I will never, ever begin another full-scale project rebuild. That is a promise... for now.