Photos from Jo Cajita
Filipino-American car enthusiast Jo Cajita has aptly named his beloved ride “Arnold” – the 1999 Supercharged Widebody BMW E39 540iT. And boy, what an impressive ride this is! It has even been featured in the 2008 and 2009 SEMA Show, and even in Hot Import Nights!
The current mods list showing its current state in the top picture reads like a book!
Well, without further ado, allow me to take you through the buildup of this awesome ride…
Ok, well, according to Jo of the ///MFest Community (mfestforum.com), Arnold really isn’t a 528i, just badged as a 528i, but is really a 540iT in disguise.
A proper introduction has to be done with how Arnold came to existence. It started with Jo being involved in a horrible accident during last year’s Thanksgiving weekend… The casualty involved Jo’s former ride – Willis. Here’s how Willis looked like before the accident.
And here’s after the accident. To cut the long story short, the lady driving the Ford Taurus caught gravel with her rear right tire and ended up drifting towards Jo from the opposite lane in a blind corner. Wham! Willis smashes into the Taurus head-first. Ouch!
Anyways, soon after, Jo started looking for another 5-series touring and found Arnold on Ebay.
So after having Arnold checked out, he finally brought it home. Here’s Arnold sitting in Jo’s garage for the first time.
And as the months rolled by, the inevitable happened… The modding has begun! Check out the boxes of goodies!
This collage shows the old Willis above, and now Arnold at the bottom.
Then the Carbon Fiber hood came, thanks to Carbon8.
Plus the Dinan intake and SuperSprint Dual Tip exhaust. Here’s Jo rolling by. Sick sound!
More to come… For now, let’s watch how Arnold appreciates what Cali has to offer.
Projected Modifications List
Engine
Dinan Intake (installed)
Dinan Tranny Software (installed)
Powerchip or Styx
Custom Dual Exhaust (bought the first one, will be getting the second one later, hehehe)
VF Supercharger (thinking twice, or go TC, hihihi)
Zionsville Radiator
Suspension
KW Variant 2 Coilovers (installed)
Eibach Front/Rear Sway Bars (waiting to be installed)
Brakes
StopTech BBK
Zimmerman Drilled Rotors (installed)
Stainless Steel Lines (installed)
Exterior
Euro Plate (installed)
Gominigo No Drill License Plate Bracket (installed)
P39 or Hella Headlights (installed Depos)
Smoked Sidemarker Lights (installed)
8000k HID Lows (installed)
3000k HID Fogs (installed)
M5 Bumpers (only front so far)
M Style Mirrors with Autofold Module (installed)
AA Brake Vent Grille (installed)
E6 Design Eyelids (to be painted)
OEM Rear Spoiler (on order)
19 Staggered Miro Type 368 (installed, but sold)
20 Staggered DPE ST-10 with Matte Black Centers and Double Step Lip on the car (Show Wheels)
19 Staggered Linea Corse Lemans (Left side with gold centers, Right side with black centers, Daily Driver Wheels)
20 Staggered Kumho Ecsta (went with General Exclaim UHP, but sold with the Miros, Show Tires)
19 Staggered Conti Sport 2 (Daily Driver Tires)
Black Kidneys (installed)
AC Schnitzer Flippers (installed)
AC Schnitzer Rear Diffuser
Smoked Tailights (went with Depo clears)
Xenon Plate Lights (installed)
Xenon Bulb Backup Light (installed)
Interior/Ice
SMG Wheel with Paddles (not installed)
Pioneer Avic-F900BT (on order)
Pioneer Sirius Tuner with NavTraffic (bought, not installed)
Pioneer Bluetooth
Kicker Amp
Kicker Solobaric
BSW Ipod Integration and Dock
Cobra 9940 Radar Detector (not installed, will be going with V1 Radar Detector soon)
Euro Dyne CF Fabric Trimming (installed)
MRTM T6061 Pedal Set (installed)
Recaro Car Seat (installed)
Steering Wheel Interface (bought, not installed)
Xenon Interior Lights
Stay tuned for part 2 of the buildup soon! Right here at CustomPinoyRides.com.
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