Dream car of my youth

On my way to the supermarket today a shiny silver 1980's BMW 535i pulled in front of me on a roundabout (note that the picture on the right is just something I picked off the Web). It was beautiful, almost mint condition. I checked around and found that some of these beauties are selling for less than $10,000. But the one I saw today looks like it's had at least that much on top of that in repairs and improvements.

Why this car? I guess it was the hot BMW of the 1980's. Well the 635CSi was hotter, but then the 5-series had character. If I'm not mistaken, the police patrol cars giving chase in one scene in For Your Eyes Only were BMW 5's. Tom Hanks's character's car in Splash too. Then there is that brilliant chase scene in The Peacemakers. George Clooney and Nicole Kidman in a Merc S-class being chased and shot at by baddies in black 1980's vintage BMW 5's. Priceless.

I could buy one, but it'll probably be rusted through in many places and in bad need of an engine overhaul and re-upholstering. Can't really say I'll be up to that task in terms of time and energy. But see, I'm being negative here because it'll help me feel better about not getting around to actually doing this. I do have a friend who lives in the U.S. who's re-built most of his 1980's vintage BMW 3 series from scratch by hand. He had the time of his life doing it -- perhaps because the whole journey had its share of headaches. Indeed, what journey that doesn't have potential for lots of surprises is worth taking anyway?

Amazingly between the prospect of someday owning a late-model BMW and this car of my teenage fantasies, it is still the latter that gives me that warm fuzzy feeling all over.