34 PERFORMANCE BMWMS01 five-spoke option, Furuyama-san was
happy to see they turned out very close to
what he had envisioned, and he gets the
added privilege of knowing he’s the only
person in Japan with that exact set.
Having sorted the car’s stance and
braking, Furuyama-san added a Recaro
SPG seat for himself to spice up the
interior a touch, then turned to the more
serious task of upgrading the drivetrain.
From the very beginning, his plan to make
the car more ‘M5-like’ included swapping
the auto’ for a manual, but again, finding
the right part turned out to be harder than
he thought. “When I searched for manual
gearboxes, most were overseas, and
postage for such a heavy item would have
been prohibitive,” he says, so he limited
himself to combing through the very small
number of local offerings, hoping to find
one that matched his requirements. He
didn’t but, luckily enough, in January 2013
an E34 M5 saloon that he actually followed
the build page of came up at auction for
a very reasonable price (“I could get the
whole car for just the cost of a manual
gearbox shipped from overseas”), and that
allowed Furuyama-san to make the carmuch more than just ‘M5-like.’ Now he
could actually swap the coveted late-model
3.8 engine and six-speed manual wholesale
into his wagon and essentially get himself
a stanced M5 Touring without having
to pay the ludicrous prices good ones
command these days.
Unfortunately, as is often the case, the
swap itself wasn’t easy. As befitted its
auction price, the donor car had been well
abused, and many little engine-related
things, as well as a clutch, gearbox and
diff overhaul, needed to be taken care of
before the engine and drivetrain could
be fitted safely into the Touring’s body.
Due to the difference in body length,
workshop Elite Motors in Yokosuka, south
of Yokohama, also had to fit a custom
exhaust, and, just to ensure even better
sound, power and reliability, also added
a K&N pod filter and Okada Projects
Plasma Direct ignition coils. Of course,
all the remedial and custom work, plus
the small, but important upgrades, added
to the overall cost, but Furuyama-san
says it’s been worth it. “It’s great fun to
drive. It’s completely different [from the
previous set-up]. In terms of pure speed,
it’s probably not that much faster than
the old engine, given that was a torquey
V8, but the sound, and how the six revs
out, is almost like a bike motor. I suppose
you could call this car a very convenient
motorbike,” he laughs. And Furuyama-san
should know - he used to ride a modified
CBX400 back in the day, too.
One side benefit of buying the particular
M5 he did (aside from the LCI drivetrain)
was getting the rare Car Factory Uejima
carbon bonnet with it. “I actually chatted
to the shop about getting one, but then
this car came up for auction. So it was a
complete coincidence”. As you can see, the
glossy carbon number offsets the factory
silver paint perfectly, as well as tying in
with the other exterior changes Furuyama-
san has made over the course of the build,
such as the M Tech front bumper with
blacked-out grilles, Schnitzer rear bumper,
black M5-style mirrors, subtly stretched
wheel arches and Hella high beam covers.
Finished off with the Rennstall windscreen
banner, the silver and black theme looks
stunning under the lights of the Yokohama
car park location we used, the strong but
subtle lines and curves of the classic E34
exterior working brilliantly with the sharp,
angular building roofline.
Inside, Furuyama-san added more spice
after the engine swap with an upgraded
Recaro LX for his wife to sit in, a very
solid-looking Rennstall shifter, Renown
100 Motorsport suede wheel (which comesS38-swapped
E34 Touring
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
3.8-litre straight-six S38B38, Okada Projects
Plasma Direct ignition coils, K&N pod filter,
custom exhaust and OEM M5 ECU. Overhauled
Getrag 420G six-speed manual with overhauled
stock clutch and diffCHASSIS
9.5x18” (front) and 10.5x18” (rear) J-Wheels
MGM MS01 custom five-spoke wheels with
215/40 (front) and 245/35 (rear) Dunlop Direzza
ZII Star-spec tyres, custom Scream coilovers,
Racing Dynamics anti-roll bars, Spoon Rigid
Collars, E46 Brembo four-piston caliper kit with
two-piece drilled discs (front), Mitsubishi Lancer
Evolution twin-piston calipers and one-piece drilled
discs (rear)EXTERIOR
M-Tech front bumper with blacked-out grilles, AC
Schnitzer rear bumper, Car Factory Uejima carbon
bonnet, all-red rear lights, M5-style mirrors, Hella
high beam covers, Rennstall windscreen bannerINTERIOR
Re-covered Recaro SPG driver’s seat with
Schroth six-point harness, Recaro LX front
passenger seat, Renown 100 Motorsport suede
steering wheel, Rennstall gear knob, custom
Scream handbrake and gear gaiters, Mooneyes
dash cover, Carrozzeria head unitTHANKS
Thanks to Scream, J-Wheels, Miyaban Body
Works, Roncraft and Elite Motors for all their
assistance with this buildDATA FI
LE
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