[GrumpyBimmerFan]

Hey guys,

A few months ago, I bought an E38 that has an S62 V8 (from the E39 M5) engine swap. I always loved the E38, but I was just out of time to buy one when it was cool. I also always loved the E39 M5, but also was always behind the curve to get one. When this showed up, it was a perfect match, the BMW body that I love second-most (I love the Euro E28 the most), with the drivetrain of my childhood hero.

For the last few months, I've been addressing all the car's issues, fixing what needed fixing, and working on getting it into top shape. It was repainted at some point last year (in its original color), but they did a so-so job with some overspray (I'd call it a 5 ft paint job). Also, one of the doors has rust on the bottom so I need to fix/replace that. But to repaint and blend it, I'm 1/3 of the way into the full repaint job so I decided to repaint the whole car, address all the paint issues, and go for a color change. I want to do the door jams and trunk but not under the hood. So, I want to get opinions on which color to do. I want the car to look classy and not like a clown car, so keep that in mind. In the future I'm thinking of some alpina wheels for it.

I have an M2 Comp in Hockenheim Silver, and I absolutely love that color. Usually, I like brighter colors. I had a few Corvettes in baby blue, and my 68 Charger is Bronze/Copper, but I think the E38 needs a more subtle color. But I'm still open to other colors. I really like Miami Blue, but not sure if it would look good on this car. Porsche has an interesting Chalk color that is also in the running, and McLaren has an interesting gray. As you can tell, I'm leaning towards grays, but I'd be curious to hear what you guys would recommend, or tell me if I'm on the right track with color choices. The Hockenheim Silver kind of even looks like under the hood color (primed paint), so the color change wouldn't be that noticeable.

The E38 forums have lots of info on these cars, but since I'm dealing with a color change, I figured I'd like a modern crowd/opinion.