Gambler 500 BMW E39
 

Picked up a stupid cheap 1998 E39 540i with a 6spd trans. Anyone have any idea on a way to lift this car? I would like to be able to get around a 1.5 to 2" lift. The car currently has Bilstein shocks with unknown mileage. 7 series springs? Spacers? Taiwan Coilovers?

You might try asking this over on GRM... lots of RallyXrs there.

Spring rubbers. They will also increase the spring rate along with raising the ride height. they may require Top Hat removal and spring compressors to reassemble

I had to replace the rear subframe on my e39 m5. I think you could get a bit of a lift from longer springs, but you could also easily space the rear subframe for a body lift.

Not sure about about the front, it’s a lot more complicated, prob just some upper spring spacers.

I think the real challenge would be tire clearance.

Combo body and suspension lift is probably the best option.
Looking at both snow tires in stockish size and retread mud tires in bigger size. Probably gonna be determined by how much lift and what/how much can be clearanced. E39 has a stupid tall final drive so there's probably lots to be gained going with shorter especially with bigger tires.

Here is the video from the event. The BMW kicked ass. We found some blown KSport coil overs in the junkyard, gave it a 2.5" lift. The snow tires were great and hooked up all weekend. Added about $70 in amazon led lights, gave it a post apocalyptic paint job, deleted the mufflers, and gave it a turn down pipe. Oh and Paco Miata's are fun.

So badass! Fuck, I'm going next year. Was it as fun as it looks?

It was really cold! Like in the 20's at night, ice on the tent when we woke up in the morning. We made it to 19 of the 30 check points by 9pm Saturday when the Geo ventilated its block, and we were hauling ass. We started the offload park at 10am. At 11hrs in and a projected 1am finish everyone was done and wanted a beer by the campfire. The majority of the footage was from the morning run at the rally park Saturday and us skipping the Sunday checkpoints and playing at the off-road drift spot in Bastrop. We made our on Gambler Sunday and it was a blast. IMHO the organizers dropped the ball on the route. It was boring as fuck except for a little dirt road sliding at one point. All in all it was fun with our group of road race guys. Texas Overlanding Group put it on but I think some of us are a little more advanced in our offload driving skills than they planned. I would like to see more advanced trails to the waypoints. That way you either drive like a badass or spend the day stuck lol. The key to the Gambler is a reliable turd that has good tires, everything else is just cherries. The LED's were clutch for hauling ass on backroads at night, but not needed if pinching pennies. The Miata and the BMW drove from Houston and back, the rest of our group trailered. The Geo with silver flames was a legit $500 all in and he beat the shit out of it for a month before the event (hole in block 11hrs in). The 540i had about $460 purchase, $375 for five tires, $70 amazon led's, $400 junkyard parts, $20 bed frame rack, $ lots of welding rod, and $100 in fluids. The Silver Subi was $800-$1000 to copy if you count the parts he got for free like the racks and the E30 BBS wheels. The Maroon Subi was probably a Gambler $3500 build but he is going to use it as a daily after the event. The blue Miata you could copy for maybe cost of a Miata plus $200 Paco lift (super bitch to install), $300 retreads, $400 0 offset wheels, $$ hardtop, and $5 ratchet strapped rack.

Our group probably drove the hardest out of all the participants idk, so here is the damage report.

BMW- ripped off part of the rear bumper, clutch is smoked, lots of the suspension bushing are done, front shocks blown.
Silver Subi- bent and ripped off lots of suspension, the back drivers side was held together with ratchet straps all weekend, no rear bumper.
Geo- block haz hole
Blue Miata- blown a few shocks I think?
Maroon Subi- no damage

Most of the footage was shot on iPhone 6's.

Don't forget the BMW keeps clogging the oil filter with mud from when it was underwater.

Oh, yeah lol. The inside of the engine is a little dirty.