These People Seem Nice

Hi Jay,

I work with Terry allot- I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you brought it by my place to go through it before taking it to There. He would likely appreciate someone who knew what he wanted to have done instead of leaving "everything" up to him.

Terry and his guys are awesome mechanics and know these things in and out but I think it would still help him quite a bit if his vintage customers had a good idea of what they wanted to have done as it eliminates some of the guesswork.
 
Hi Jay,

I work with Terry allot- I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you brought it by my place to go through it before taking it to There. He would likely appreciate someone who knew what he wanted to have done instead of leaving "everything" up to him.

Terry and his guys are awesome mechanics and know these things in and out but I think it would still help him quite a bit if his vintage customers had a good idea of what they wanted to have done as it eliminates some of the guesswork.

Thanks, Peter. I haven’t been on here long enough and didn’t know you had a shop. If I can fight off work, I’m taking extra time away in June to clear the cobwebs (me & car) and might take you up on it! Hopefully I’ll have cooling system redone and a few other things to narrow the target-rich enviro a bit.


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Hi Jay, I don't really have a shop, just a place where I work on my cars and try to help others with theirs.

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Hey Jay, you can make a pit stop on your way to Peter in Dallas!

Absolutely, unless I decide it needs to be hauled. I'm not comfortable hauling it 6 hours on I-35 with my Tacoma. I've hauled some silly stuff with that truck around town or short trips, but even with the tow package, it would be unwise at highway speeds.
 
It runs. Work’s intense right now and I have everything just need free time to put in new/rehabbed cooling bits: pump, thermo housing/cover, fan, belts, hoses, flush drive, refill etc. Essentially doing everything in DQ’s cooling thread w/o his knowledge, skill, & tools on a car with 20 years deferred maintenance.

Trying to clean, de-rust, paint, etc. everything that will be covered when I reinstall leads down rabbit trails slowing everything down. Example: power steering pump covered in 1/2” of sludge had to be pulled, scrubbed and repainted, and old brake fluid spill corroding some places. Car stuck in garage last month due to home construction project, so I can’t roll out and wash needed areas (& want to minimize AMAP what ends up in public drain).

Not sure how well it runs for an extended period, but gotta change the gas tank sender ring and reconnect NOS carbon evaporator - can’t drive too far smelling like gas station inside. Once back up need to check compression, replace some original fuel lines and ideally rebuild carbs. Old mechanic in hood confident he can rebuild carbs. He works mostly on period MBs and Ps. 3 blocks from home, so it’s tempting. Plus,I’d like to get to know him better b/c I want something in his lot of forgotten cars. Shhhh. ;).
 
Hi Jay, I don't really have a shop, just a place where I work on my cars and try to help others with theirs.

...read "understatement" Peter has been a big help to a lot of local car nuts. I'm just down the road from him and can also provide some support. Terry's guys are well-versed in the e9, so no worries if you go with them.

just saw your last post. Definitely get the carbs rebuilt and cooling system functioning properly. The oldskool MB mechanic will understand what your carbs need... very similar set ups. If he's close by, then certainly touch on him to get the car reliable. These cars are simple; get your Haynes manual, read it... for each project (brakes, cooling, etc..) read that chapter a couple times to familiarize yourself with what steps. Then dive in... everything is fixable.

Ed
 
...read "understatement" Peter has been a big help to a lot of local car nuts. I'm just down the road from him and can also provide some support. Terry's guys are well-versed in the e9, so no worries if you go with them.

just saw your last post. Definitely get the carbs rebuilt and cooling system functioning properly. The oldskool MB mechanic will understand what your carbs need... very similar set ups. If he's close by, then certainly touch on him to get the car reliable. These cars are simple; get your Haynes manual, read it... for each project (brakes, cooling, etc..) read that chapter a couple times to familiarize yourself with what steps. Then dive in... everything is fixable.

Ed

Thanks, Ed. Beautiful car in your pic. I’m a pure humanities guy without natural or learned mechanical instincts or skills, so I go really slowly and probably read too much before I do anything—e.g., to de-code SFDon’s posts I sometimes have to consult multiple sources to understand what he’s talking about. If I get frustrated, I move on to something else on the list or just clean, scrape or polish something—there’s always something else! I love learning outside my comfort zone & doing something with no ego or pressure to have all the answers.


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clean, scrape or polish something—there’s always something else!

Clean EVERYTHING. I think I keep the folks who make Foamy Engine Brite in business.... Working on a greasy car is no fun. Cleaning every inch of the car gives you the chance to examine each area in detail. Take the wheels off.. clean the brakes, suspension, subframes...everything you can get to. Examine the rubber bushings. If you see fresh oil/grease; ask why is that spot wet? What is leaking? Tranny? Diff? Check the fluid levels...How can I fix that leak? As you are cleaning, you will find some loose nut, bolt, or screw... tighten it now. Go around the entire car and check every fastener... tighten all of them and replace what is missing.

Cleaning the engine bay typically takes several attempts.. 40-50 year old grime is not going to come off peacefully. Soak, scrape, brush, rinse...repeat...repeat...repeat. A clean engine is joy to work on, plus it will tell you when something is leaking... Go through the engine bay with a set of wrenches and snug every bolt on the engine you can get to. Check every single wire connection.. is it loose at all? Tighten it. Electric tape on any wire? Take it off and repair it properly with a crimp connection and shrink tube. Check every single ground connection... unscrew it, clean the contact areas and smear a dab of "light bulb grease" that they sell at the counter of every car parts store.

This simple act of meticulously cleaning the car will familiarize yourself with it's innards... making you more comfortable when you begin to tackle projects.

Ed
 
Finally got around to getting information from BMW. Date of manufacture and date of delivery to Hoffman in NYC the same? Is that common or even possible? Here is the message:

The BMW 3.0 CS US VIN 4310364 was manufactured on December 19th, 1974 and delivered on the same day to the BMW importer Hoffman Motors Corp. in New York City. The original colour was Jadegrün, paint code 078.
 
Delivery is date of title transfer to Hoffman in Germany not arrival in the US. And it doesn’t mean your coupe came to NYC either.
 
Sorry, Chris, you've explained that before. I should have looked before posting. Thanks for clarifying and being patient with us newbies.
Let me test that patience, it looks like it was in the last batches to come over, if Mike's was the second-to-last VIN and his was manufactured on Dec. 18?
 
Build dates are not sequential as one would assume. I have these build dates for these coupes:

Manuals:

4310374 12/6
4310381 12/12
4310391 12/20
4310392 12/18
4310393 12/27 (last VIN)

Automatics:

4335429 12/6
4335442 12/16
4335444 12/12
4335448 12/27
4335449 12/18
4335451 12/17 (last VIN)

The Archive won’t release multiple build dates anymore so I can only update my data when owners post theirs here.
 
Hi Jay - My car came from Austin four years ago. Peter did an inspection on my car before I came down to look at it, got the seller to be more realistic on pricing based on the car's condition, put me up at his ranch when I came down to buy the car and held the car after I bought it while I arranged to have it shipped to me. Peter has also completely disassembled and refurbished more than one coupe. He's a great guy and I recommend that you take him up on his offer to help.

Another comment I will make is that Peter can help with triage, which can be one of the most difficult things when bringing one of these cars back to life. I don't know Terry well (I have met him a couple of times and Terry did some work on my car for the seller before I bought it) and I don't mean to imply he would take advantage of you. I merely think you would better manage the financial aspects of your restoration if you had a specific list of things for Terry to address rather than just the notion that the car needs to be gone through.
 
Hi Jay - My car came from Austin four years ago. Peter did an inspection on my car before I came down to look at it, got the seller to be more realistic on pricing based on the car's condition, put me up at his ranch when I came down to buy the car and held the car after I bought it while I arranged to have it shipped to me. Peter has also completely disassembled and refurbished more than one coupe. He's a great guy and I recommend that you take him up on his offer to help.

Another comment I will make is that Peter can help with triage, which can be one of the most difficult things when bringing one of these cars back to life. I don't know Terry well (I have met him a couple of times and Terry did some work on my car for the seller before I bought it) and I don't mean to imply he would take advantage of you. I merely think you would better manage the financial aspects of your restoration if you had a specific list of things for Terry to address rather than just the notion that the car needs to be gone through.

This is the right thing to do, and I feel terrible for not making it happen already. Work has dashed my hopes of taking off the whole month. Funny, I saw your message at the same time I received an inquiry about a new client that would require immediate attention. I don't believe in signs, but I'll act like I do and pass the client along to a partner.
 
This is the right thing to do, and I feel terrible for not making it happen already. Work has dashed my hopes of taking off the whole month. Funny, I saw your message at the same time I received an inquiry about a new client that would require immediate attention. I don't believe in signs, but I'll act like I do and pass the client along to a partner.

The Car Gods act in mysterious ways... https://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/the-car-gods-have-smiled-on-me-today.16944/
 
Flushing the cooling system in 5 acts. And this is after replacing the radiator, water pump, thermostat housing, and all hoses.
16ee3cc2b7b5d85111062520bded5e2d.jpg




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In case
I’m a pure humanities guy without natural or learned mechanical instincts or skills, so I go really slowly and probably read too much before I do anything—e.g., to de-code SFDon’s posts I sometimes have to consult multiple sources to understand what he’s talking about. If I get frustrated, I move on to something else on the list or just clean, scrape or polish something—there’s always something else! I love learning outside my comfort zone & doing something with no ego or pressure to have all the answers.

This is why this thread exists:
https://e9coupe.com/forum/threads/tips-for-the-weekend-warrior-restorer.28077/
 
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