History of My 1974 BMW 3.0CS

Matt Dusig

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I bought this car in the summer of 2018. I've talked to all the owners and I thought I'd post the history from speaking with the original owner who bought the car in 1974.

The original owner became inspired to buy a 3.0 while visiting LA. He was in a bike shop and saw actor Peter Fonda and his 3.0 coupe. That started his interest in finding one for himself. A google search turned up that Peter Fonda did have a silver 3.0CS. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-bmw-2002tii-4/ and https://bit.ly/2MdT0Mf.

On a trip to Palm Springs, CA, he knew a guy at the BMW/Mercedes/Rolls Royce dealership. He saw a 1973 3.0CS but didn’t want to buy it because in ’73 the wiper handle and the turn signal levers were reversed, and he felt he’d constantly be turning on the wipers every time he went to make a turn. On the 1974 model, the levers had been changed back.

He went to the 1974 LA Auto Expo and a silver/red 3.0CS was the podium car for BMW. He expressed interest in buying it and was told that the car was bought by Max Hoffman as his personal vehicle and it wasn’t for sale.

He told the Palm Springs dealer he specifically wanted a silver/red car and about a month after the LA Auto Expo, the dealer called and told him that he had the car. Whether it was the same car as the LA Auto Expo isn’t known.

He picked up the car and immediately drove it about 10,000 miles, crossing back and forth across the US on a road trip.

About the car:

The car originally had a Blaupunkt radio. When it stopped working, he replaced it with an Alpine radio. (That radio was replaced with the Kenwood). I've since added the Blaupunkt BMW radio back in the car.

He lost one of the car keys along the way. He had to send his key off to Germany to have it duplicated, which took a few weeks at the time. There are 2 duplicate keys right now. While on the phone with the original owner, he told me he was holding one of the original FC 247 keys and he said he’d mail it to me.

He never re-painted the car, never re-upholstered it, never replaced the carpet. None of the owners have either.

He upgraded the engine with an Alpina valve train, Alpina air box, and Hardy and Beck suspension based in Berkeley, CA. http://www.hbspecialists.com/. He confirmed that the car had at least 300hp at one point, but it was too aggressive for his wife to drive. It was downgraded. The Alpina air box would have been in the trunk when he sold the car, but it was apparently sold at some point.

He decided to sell the car because of new smog regulations that would make it difficult to get the car smog check approved in CA. If not for this, he’d still own the car today.

Since the original owner, there have been 4 other owners besides me. The car has resided in CA, AZ, MT, ID, WA. There's no visible rust anywhere on the car. A local LA mechanic told me it's the cleanest original 3.0 he's ever seen. It was recently written about in the Oct 2018 Driven World magazine: https://issuu.com/drivenworld/docs/dw_oct_2018/36

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Strato102

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Looks like a beautiful car. I like the bumpers (real watershed era in BMW's history and it's presence in the world's most important market), mirrors and CN36 tires. Looks like a real one!
 

Dohn

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Looks like a beautiful car. I like the bumpers (real watershed era in BMW's history and it's presence in the world's most important market), mirrors and CN36 tires. Looks like a real one!

Really, someone complimented the diving board bumpers? Thank you! Although I wish mine looked as even and shiny as these. The anodizing gives mine an uneven finish. I know you can strip it off and polish the aluminum, but I'm a bit hesitant to try, since if it didn't work I'd be in deeper doo-doo... Gorgeous car, by the way; a true survivor. Interesting to see one at the stock height.
 

CSteve

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Really, someone complimented the diving board bumpers? Thank you! Although I wish mine looked as even and shiny as these. The anodizing gives mine an uneven finish. I know you can strip it off and polish the aluminum, but I'm a bit hesitant to try, since if it didn't work I'd be in deeper doo-doo... Gorgeous car, by the way; a true survivor. Interesting to see one at the stock height.
Matt, this is an extraordinary coupe you now are responsible for. I tried to restrain myself the first three readings of your post/history. But, alas, I no longer can.
In spite of Strato's kind words about the bumpers, when I look at US post 73 coupes, that is all I see. Our coupes were conceived with such subtle, beautiful, chrome bumpers. And yes, it was a challenge for all the car companies to come up with something that looked in any way original or organic. None succeeded!

Many years ago when I purchased my second coupe, knowing nothing about the diving boards, I by chance and good luck, ended up with a Euro 74 CS, Italian delivery coupe.
Hence, chrome. When a coupe buddy and I found a true, rusty-beyond-saving 75 CSi Barn find he swapped the injection into his 74 US coupe and then the bumpers.
Transformed!!

My coupe is Polaris, and I swapped the black hood and fender grills for chrome. They look so elegant compared, in my eyes, to the black plastic. I can send photos if you want.

Again, an extraordinary coupe.

Steve [email protected]
 

autokunst

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It is so wonderful to be able to trace the history of your car back to the original owner. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that with mine, and instead create my own backstories. At least this allows me some artistic license. :D
Beautiful car.
 

arnie

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Looks like a nice example of a true survivor. Congrats to that find. I'm really struggling with the mentioned HP. Just a change of the Valve Train and the Alpina Airbox (sittin on Webers ???) doesn't give a regular 3 Liter engine extra 50 % power.
I also would dare to doubt, that the car never got a repaint. 5 POs and more than 40 years of regular usage normally show a different condition and wear of the car, than presented here in the pictures.

BTW. I've never seen such a weird position for the antenna. How is this gonna work out, since there's normally no access to that area at the A-pillar to screw it on. Might be glued ?!? (just kidding ...) It looks like, that the backward seal of the sunroof seems to be glued at the car body, while it's supposed to be attached to the sunroof lid.
I like the steering. Is this a 35 cm petri wheel ? I was considering this size for my car, but wasn't quite sure if I'd like the look.

Would be nice to have some shoots from the engine bay ...

Greets

Ingo
 

m_thompson

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BTW. I've never seen such a weird position for the antenna. How is this gonna work out, since there's normally no access to that area at the A-pillar to screw it on. Might be glued ?!? (just kidding ...)
Ingo

My '73 2002 had the same antenna.
 

Ohmess

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Great car. I agree with Macha -- keep it as is (although I would be tempted to swap in a set of Cocomats in place of that aftermarket floor mat you have).
 

CSteve

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My '71 1600 had the antenna mounted in the same place. Easy for the factory, not so much for future owners. Matt, yours is the first coupe I have seen with that antenna location. I have never been a big fan of Cocomats. They call too much attention to themselves, so I have a carpet set with" BMW" and a roundel on the driver's mat that came out of a '73 Bavaria parts car I inherited. Dealer option? Who knows.

Steve
 

Stevehose

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That's one of my favorite color combos, if it were mine I'd do the bumper swap and lower it. Killer.
 

rsporsche

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its a beautiful coupe ... i wouldn't change anything either. having the period correct cn-36 pirellis is a wonderful addition along with the petri. keep the beautiful original car - ORIGINAL ... you will never be sorry.
 

JayWltrs

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"Save the diving boards!" Or not, whatever you like. The tuck option maintains originality and resurrects alot of the natural body lines. If you can get them back within or near the overhang of the nose and close down the space between the bumper & body, while not as aesthetically pleasing as the earlier bumpers, you might embrace flying your '74 flag. To retrofit correctly to earlier bumpers, you're doing body work where the accordion is that is better reserved for a full repaint. Sadly not my car, but @mpgandco's tucked bumpers compare nicely with its skinny-bumper brethren in these pics:

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Matt Dusig

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My '71 1600 had the antenna mounted in the same place. Easy for the factory, not so much for future owners. Matt, yours is the first coupe I have seen with that antenna location. I have never been a big fan of Cocomats. They call too much attention to themselves, so I have a carpet set with" BMW" and a roundel on the driver's mat that came out of a '73 Bavaria parts car I inherited. Dealer option? Who knows.

Steve
I'd love to see a photo of your mats!
 

Matt Dusig

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"Save the diving boards!" Or not, whatever you like. The tuck option maintains originality and resurrects alot of the natural body lines. If you can get them back within or near the overhang of the nose and close down the space between the bumper & body, while not as aesthetically pleasing as the earlier bumpers, you might embrace flying your '74 flag. To retrofit correctly to earlier bumpers, you're doing body work where the accordion is that is better reserved for a full repaint. Sadly not my car, but @mpgandco's tucked bumpers compare nicely with its skinny-bumper brethren in these pics:

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Yes... my bumpers are massive. But that's the way BMW designed them and that's the way I think they should be kept. Even though I agree they'd look better tucked in more.
 
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