1991 BMW 8-Series

850i Other

5.0L 12 Cylinder Gasoline Fuel

Automatic

WBAEG2314MCB73140

Rear Wheel Drive

Gasoline

Power Windows

*** Custom 1991 BMW 850i with 5.7ltr CSI Engine and Unique mods AMAZING Classic! Ahhh, so you like the classic look of the rare BMW 850. Arguably one of the most beautiful cars BMW ever produced, you probably also know the history: Low volume, high priced early 90s car that was introduced just when the economy started to slide. A huge 2+2, it was a luxury land yacht that screamed I have arrived. I marvel how even today you’ll see them used in videos and are becoming a cult car. I love this car. I have a 2012 GTR and a 2005 E55 modified to 600hp. And you know what? It breaks my heart to sell this car. I’ve been driving it for the last week and I’m sorry, but it gets as many looks if not more than my others. If I had a larger garage, I’d keep it…. My son would love it when he grows up. *** Important: All of the mods on this car have been done within the last 4000 miles... so the mileage on the car does not reflect the mileage on what is important: engine, tranny, interior, suspension, etc *** I’ve had this car since 1998, purchased used with low mileage. I have all the service records from the original owner, as well as 2 inches of my own… all the repairs of course, but also all of my extensive modifications. The problem with the 850i was it was under powered… not necessarily for the time (we are spoiled today with much more efficient and powerful engines), but for its price and its look. It looks fast. I should be fast. It wasn’t. In 93-94 BMW introduced the CSI version which took hp from 296 to 375 via a larger engine (5.7 from 5.0ltrs). Much better. It should have been the 850 they produced to begin with… more power, better suspension and handling, better body kit, etc. There’s a purple one on eBay right now, and you can see they are coveted (asking $59k, BIN $67k). “Regular” 850s come much cheaper (both i and Ci) versions. The problem again is they are underpowered. I was originally going to go the Dinan twin turbo route with mine. My plan was always to make this an 850 that lived up to its sleek / elegant look while ALSO being a “driving machine”. It had to have more power. Dinan ended its twin turbo kit program for the 8 series, and I started looking at other options. I went to NOS systems and eventually installed a kit on the car and the results were amazing. The car deserves the speed it was denied, and this setup LASTED and WORKED for 3 years. I could flip on the bottle and trounce most anything around. The bulletproof V12 had lower compression and handled it fine. But the problem with NOS is its brutality… you’ll definitely wear things out quicker and God forbid should anything go wrong and you’re in hot water. And that’s exactly what happened. A stuck injector cut off fuel to one cylinder while racing and bam, engine gone. This was in 2000. Rather than give up, I doubled down. I decided I was going to make this Charcoal beauty into a CSI… but better. $40k in mods later, and the engine was rebuilt to 5.7 liters with more aggressive cams, everything ported polished and matched. CSI crank, CSI pistons straight from BMW. The head work was extensive and the rebuild ended with a custom stroker tune from Dinan after adding Racing Dynamics headers (another impossible find today). I had retrofitted a 1991 with a CSI motor that bested the original CSI version. To make sure the power was utilized, I sought out Level Ten and they rebuilt the tranny from the ground up with a monster torque converter and super strong internals. I then took a LSD off a 1991 BMW M5 (amazing how it was a perfect match) and the gear ratio changed from 3.65 to 3.91. Shifts are hard and determined… nothing lazy here when you’re in “sport” mode. Add an expensive Super Sprint exhaust and racing cats, and I had completed the rebuild with flying colors. It took two years. What an amazing difference. On the Dyno we had 349 at the wheels. This speaks volumes about the output, definitely more than a stock CSI. Add the 3.91 rear and things really woke up. Mind you, this thing is 100% street legal, smog legal and all BMW (except for the cams). This isn’t some kit car. We were adhering to a known high end BMW configuration for the engine… one that worked. We just made it better. From the //M valve cover and very very rare MK Motorsports strut tower brace, to the real Zeemax body kit, I didn’t stop there. Real Euro CSI headlights (those of you with regular US 850s know the headlights are a mess, break, aren’t bright and generally remind you of a 60s beetle). The lights alone cost $1500… but boy are they worth it. The fog lights were also imported, lightly blacked out on Euro CSIs… they look amazing on the car. You’re not going to find these parts on any eBay 850s, just like you won’t find the Euro CSI //M door jam / chrome plates that run up the side of the doors, look at the pictures. (stock were 2 foot pieces of lame plastic). And mind you, all of this is BMW made, imported from European spec 850CSi parts importers (Bekkers). All new. New headliner and a complete sunroof rebuild, it looks better than original. I opted for very nice MKII wheels as well, as they definitely updated the look of the stock 16” wheels (ugh). I’ve considered finding larger, but I like how the MKs make it modern, but not trying too hard… which is what the 8 Series is about. I added beautiful Alpina floor mats and a shifter with subtle blue / green stitching as well. Two brand new Blue Top batteries in the rear with cut off switches as well... I replaced most interior trim with new ones. Then there’s the suspension. Dinan stage 3 with camber plate adjustments… the land yacht changed overnight. No M3, but as far as 850s are concerned this was night and day. Still smooth and comfortable, you definitely are more in touch with the road. Oh, yes, let’s not forget the Brembo big brake upgrade. THAT was definitely worth the money! Today I fire up the 850 and it calmly reminds me it’s different than those aging, wobbly headlight siblings it once knew. How fast is it? Its plenty fast. It pulls like a train and keeps up with my Jeep SRT8. It’s not overwhelming… it’s just right. It’s the way it should have been. Which is why I have never ran NOS again since all these massive improvements. To make it clear, the engine has not seen a drop of NOS. I have left the kit in there, but amazingly have not had the desire to use it. It is there and ready to go… and God knows how well this strong overbuilt engine will respond. But I’m leaving that up to you. It has additional injectors which are activated along with the NOS via the regular accelerator pedal. It has a tank open switch as well as a line purger. It’s very clean, and you can have the two NOS bottles I have as well. With how well it runs now, I’d leave her alone… you basically have a CSI with even better mods than the original. If anything I’d consider a twin turbo solution. One thing I do know: This engine is super strong and ready for anything you throw at it! All of these repairs happened between 105 and 112 thousand miles. Engine, tranny and diff are essentially new, with under 4k miles on them. I have done so much work on this car over the last decade its mind boggling. With that said, I’m not trying to just dump it and get the going rate on this car. I’m trying to find an 850 lover that wants to pick up where I have left off… preserve it or enhance it further, this car needs to go to a serious connoisseur… not some kid lazily browsing eBay for a cheap 8 series he can act gangster in. This is one of a kind. This one is special. On my to-do list for the car, which I’m leaving to the next owner: 1) Driver side front window tint at the very beginning stages of pealing. I’d do a quick visit to the tint shop, but some people (and states) frown upon front window tint… so I’ll leave that up to them. 2) AC works, but loses refrigerant over time (a couple of months). The entire AC system was upgraded to a newer standard, and obviously there’s some super small leak I have not found. Then again, I haven’t looked hard… Should be an easy fix once located. 3) Door windows / handles work (windows pull down momentarily so you can open), but at different release points (the driver’s door is quick, the passenger door slower to activate). This just needs adjusting and I don’t know how. For those of you who don’t know, the windows seal into the top of the car. When you open them they move down a half an inch so you can open the door. You see this a lot on newer cars (my GTR for example). Them not coming down or coming down too late is a common problem on all 8 series, which I believe was the first car to ever do this (and better than my GTR at it I might add). These work fine… they just need adjusting if you want them the same. Yes I’m a perfectionist. 4) 2 or 3 small dots out in the LED display (another common problem) on the radio. You wouldn’t even notice. 5) When looking at interior pics, realize the only things I have not addressed are the seats and steering wheel. They are original and still in great shape. But yes, the rest of the interior is in like new shape as you can see. Oh, I have a spare passenger seat in better condition than what’s in the car… just never put it in. You can have that too. 6) Gear shift indicator needs to be changed (I have a new one ready to go). The gear position is just fine on the center console readout, but if you’re looking at the gear shift itself, the orange slider doesn’t move. Again, I have the new one ready to be popped on. I may just do it myself this weekend. 7) Paint. I’m dying to repaint. Most paint is original, and in decent shape given its almost 21 year age. But yes, I’d repaint factory charcoal and keep the unique look. 8) Tires have low miles on them, but they’ve been sitting for a few years. They are in good shape with almost no tread wear. But if you’re a date code freak the fronts are older than the rears. Which reminds me… whoever inherits this awesome and soon to be classic car will also drive away with a boat load of parts. From the original dual exhaust with CATS to the spare power and heated seat (huge, with seat belt assembly built in), to all the minor trim and misc items I’ve packed away. I have a spare headlight metal body panel for the pop up lights. I have spare air flow meters. I have a spare original 16” wheel… the list goes on! Feel free to ask away… but try and see if your question was already answered in the above. Obviously, this car is my baby and it will be hard to part with her. But she deserves a new owner ready to continue to improve and take care of her. That’s why I’m not taking pictures in front of a fancy house or pretty trees. This is in my front yard after a brief wash. Never an accident. She’s not made up, and not posing… not armoralled to death. This is the real deal and yes, she looks better in person. Major upgrades: 5.7 liter engine rebuild (exact CSI specs) with additional tweaks: Schrick cams, CSI crank and pistons, custom Dinan stroker chips, ported polished intake / head / exhaust, larger fuel pressure regulators and a ton of other stuff. Rear wheel hp / torque as of 2/05: 349/346 Racing Dynamics Headers Brembo floating rotor front / rear brakes, Pagid pads ($5200) Twin NOS, custom, Nitrous Oxide Systems, Pomona (two 100 hp jets, 200hp) ($3500) Zeemax complete body kit ($6000) Level 10 hydro system tranny / high stall torque converter ($3962) Dinan tranny chip ($900) 3.91 M5 LS diff change (up from 3.65) ($1200) Supersprint free-flow exhaust ($1400) MK Strut tower brace ($600) //M door jam / Euro CSI upgrade ($900, both sides) Dinan Stage 3 suspension w/ camber plates (certified Dinan 8) ($5500) MK Motorsports II 18x10/18x9 on 285 / 245s (wheels, ea, $975, total $3900) Blacked out "illuminated tapes" imported from Germany ($600) Euro Ellipsoid CSI headlights imported from Germany ($1500/pair) Blacked out tail lights ($250) Alpina shifter and floor mats ($600) M/// valve cover ($400) I will assist in shipping this car any way I can… but it will be at your expense of course. Payment by cashier’s check, and I welcome in person inspections!