I'm being given a manual (5 speed)1984 318i bmw with just a little over 200 km (124 miles), the previous owner maintained her ok.

Now the car hasnt been started for a year has been exposed to the elements in a driveway, and i'm getting her towed over to my friend's shop where I get to do anything i want by myself. I have access to a hoist.

Here's what I gather I should do for a car that hasnt been started in a year

1. Drain fuel system and put a gallon of high grade fuel with octane boost
2. Oil change, then remove spark plugs, lube cylinders and crank engine couple of time
3. Flush coolant.
4. New air filter.
5. Start the car while on hoist and let it run until fan kicks in.
6. Inspect brakes.
7. Inspect differential and tranny fluid.
8. Check hoses and all rubber parts
9. New tires
10. Test drive
11. Tranny flush
12. Differential flush.
13. Flush fuel injector and put in a new fuel filter.

Any suggestions or things I'm missing?

My current car sat for a good 3 years before we bought it, I think. I don't think we did anything fancy, but it's only a Pontiac. Albeit, only a 15 year old Pontiac.

I don't think that an '84 BMW is all that awesome really...

You don't need a dolly for towing a manual. The differential and gearbox lubricate themselves just fine even without engine power.

If it's been standing still for only a year, it'll start ok as long as there's juice in the battery. The air filter may have absorbed moisture, if the cartidge feels moist, just replace it.

Flushing the coolant is a good idea, an oil change is mandatory and replace the oil filter while you're at it. Using an injector cleaner in the first tank of gas is not bad idea. I'd be more concerned about the brakes seizing and rubber hoses becoming brittle (this happens with time with or without driving). You should focus on those instead of worrying about the engine.

Don't bother with transmission oil (a manual transmission does not have transmission fluid, it has only oil) or differential oil. Only flush them if either gives you trouble.

Score one for the good guys. The only thing I can suggest is that you make sure the family of raccoons in the trunk are removed before you do any work. They can be ornery.

A 26 year old car and it's been driven only 200 km?

My Dad has a 1990 ZX10. It sat in our garage for 10+ years. He opened it up, sprayed an old can of PowerTune (engine starter fluid) into the carbs. In less than two seconds of cranking it burst to life. He was revving it up wildly (obligatory disclaimer: after letting it oil itself for a moment, and not redlining it). Upstairs my mom was hosting a bible study. I can only imagine the expressions on their faces.

He bought that motorcycle used, and never replaced anything on it save for retuning the carbs. What you say may be true, but I certainly haven't experienced it.

He also has a 1972 Kawasaki H2 750 from college. A two-stroke three-cylinder bike. Fast. As. Balls; for the era. He never mentioned any problem with it, and obviously bought second Kawasaki afterward.

I've had poor reliability with Chrysler, Chrylser, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Volkswagen (but in less important ways), Subaru (half-and-half), Izuzu, Jeep (did I mention Chrysler?), and the writing on the walls is to avoid BMW and Landrovers. But I've never heard a lick of bad words about any motorcycle manufacturer (Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda). My 1972 Honda runs exceptionally well given that it was left out in the rain for thirty years.

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Oooohhhhh gosh.... something's wrong with my pants... oh...

I had a ZX81. Does that count?

I wouldn't waste my money. Just put in whatever the car calls for, and call it a day. Putting in higher grade fuel than you need to only wastes your money.

Why?

New fuel filter probably isn't necessary. On most cars I've seen, it's not a scheduled maintenance item either.

Yes, but it doesn't really matter how the previous owner treated it. There isn't any benefit to changing the filter out unless it's clogged or something and causing problems. Like I said, I've never seen a car that actually schedules maintenance on the filter, the schedule always just says 'replace as necessary.'

Well I suppose since he's given up I can stick my two cents in. Tires suffer from dry rot, supposedly ozone and ultraviolet attack the rubber. This takes several years to occur. Cracks can be seen when the sidewall flexes, otherwise I'd leave them alone. Flushing coolant and oil change is a good idea. Using distilled water instead of tap water for coolant is a plus. If you can easily see light through an air filter when holding it up to an artificial light it's generally good enough (carburated cars were very sensitive to plugged air filters, as if the choke were on). Idling it until the fan kicks in is probably a good idea in case there's corrosion or something that a fuel or other leak happens. Brakes should be ok if you can stand on them without the pedal going down, if the rotors have light rust it won't hurt the pads. Ten years ago (in US at least) gas would go stale and clog everything in the heat of a North Carolina summer, I haven't heard of this for awhile, and it probably wouldn't occur in Canada IMO. But the volatiles have evaporated, and you want to at least add fresh gas. If you can blow air through a fuel filter with your mouth enough to survive, it's probably good enough, but if you can barely blow anything through it, it's killing the fuel pump even if the engine runs fine (extra work since the pressure regulator is on the other side). Make sure you install a fuel filter with the arrow in the direction of flow, there's a screen inside that catches particles of paper filter that will mess stuff up, and if it's backwards the screen's on the wrong side.