Flintstone Car to Dream Ride: My 1982 BMW E28 Journey

Most people probably know me as that girl who loves working on Volvos, but here’s a little twist: my ultimate dream car has never been a Volvo at all. Nope. It’s always been the BMW E28. To me, this sharknose beauty is hands down the most stunning 5 Series ever built – pure charm on wheels.

I never really hunted one down, though. Project cars eat up money, and an E28 wasn’t exactly cheap to buy. Plus, I had promised myself I’d finish my Honda CRX restoration first. And with cars like these, you know you’re in for a mountain of work… unless you buy a fully restored one, which means paying a small fortune.

Then, out of nowhere, fate stepped in. Just weeks after finishing the CRX, a 1982 BMW 520i landed in my lap. Honestly, it felt like the car chose me.

Love at First Sight… Kind Of

From a distance, the E28 didn’t look too bad. Sure, the paint was peeling in places and there were a few visible rust spots, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Truth be told, I already wanted it before I even went to inspect it. It just felt so right.

The car had been sitting for years, so of course, it didn’t want to start. No surprise there. Still, I bought it, trailered it to my friend Leon’s place – since my own garage was full – and told myself I’d figure out the rest later.

But once I got the car up on Leon’s lift, reality hit me. Hard. Rotten sills, missing jack points, holes in the floor… my E28 was basically crumbling. People on my YouTube channel quickly nicknamed it the “Flintstone car.” And honestly? They weren’t wrong. It was going to be a serious welding project. Only one tiny problem: I had never welded a single thing in my life.

A Crash Course in Welding

Luckily, Leon isn’t just a friend – he’s also an incredible welder. He’d already saved my CRX from rust, and when I told him I wanted to learn, he was more than happy to teach me. Suddenly, my rusty E28 didn’t feel like a disaster anymore, but a blessing in disguise. I had been talking for years about learning to weld, and now I had the perfect (and very rusty) practice canvas.

So, we got to work. I welded my very first patch on the car, with Leon standing right next to me. And wow… welding looks so much easier than it actually is. I spent an entire weekend fixing just one tiny corner. It wasn’t pretty, but I started to love it. There’s something incredibly satisfying about bringing metal back to life with your own hands.

The “Quick Fix” That Got Out of Hand

My original plan? Just get the E28 running and enjoy it as a “driving project.” Weld a little on the weekends, but still take it out for spins. You know, nothing too crazy.

But of course, that plan lasted about five minutes.

To make the car roadworthy, I needed to replace the completely rotten fuel lines. When I pulled the old ones off, I thought: “Well, it’d be a waste to slap new lines on without cleaning up the rusty floor behind them.” So, I stripped away the underbody coating to check for rust. And once I started… well, you can guess how it went. Why stop there? Might as well strip the entire floor. And repaint it. And then, since the floor will look brand new, why not the rest of the car too?

And just like that, my “simple driving project” turned into a full-blown restoration.

Right now, the E28 is on a bit of a pause because my Volvo 850R project cut in line. But don’t worry – this sharknose beauty is not forgotten. I can’t wait to get back to it and finally see it back on the road where it belongs.

Because yes, Volvos will always have my heart… but my ultimate dream car will forever be the BMW E28.

Check out my BMW E28 project on YouTube!