E3 Tail Panel Changes over time

JMinPDX

JMinPDX

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Moderator Edit: Moved all post related to e3 tail panel to a stand-alone thread. FS listing was hijacked and this valuable information will get buried over time.

...painted aluminum trim between the tail lights...
 
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JMinNJ said:
...painted aluminum trim between the tail lights...
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This was stock for early 72s. My car is that way. Also as shown in the showroom brochure.


IMG_4217.jpeg


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HB Chris said:
Dick, I’m sure you are correct, I would love to know when they changed to painted and back to brushed alu.
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Me too... o_O

...along with various other trim details. And their thinking behind the changes? (Probably too much to ask for, and maybe it's good to have a few mysteries)
 
HB Chris said:
Dick, I’m sure you are correct, I would love to know when they changed to painted and back to brushed alu.
Click to expand...

Back in the day, the first time I ever saw the brushed aluminum panel was on a "3.0 S" which I recall appearing as a 1973 model. I seem to recall the 3.0S had all the luxury options, similar to the 2800, as standard. It's been a little while however, so...
 
John, since 2800 in 70 was brushed and I think 2.8 Bav in 71 was also brushed, hence why painted in 72? Hoffman money saver?
 
I have seen 71 and 72 Bavs with both brushed and painted. Here's a supposedly all original 1971 50,000 mile Bav with painted...

ls0917-295480_4@2x-1.jpg


https://www.mecum.com/lots/LS0917-295480/1971-bmw-bavaria-30-s/

Here's an exceptional 72 with brushed...

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My OPINION is that generally, the early Bavarias (2800's and early 3.0's) were 2500's but with the "big" motor. Hubcaps, roll up your own windows, no leather, standard suspension, etc. It would make sense that these early Bavs would have painted rear panels. But, here's Fredomatic's beautiful 2500 with a brushed panel...

IMG_3758.jpg


I'll contact the E3 Limousine Club and see if they can solve this mystery.

While I'm at it, I'll see if I can find out why my July 1971 production Bav has a brushed heater control/glove box fascia and not wood grain like every other Bavaria I have seen.

IMG_4257.jpeg
 
I've written my contact at the E3 Limousine Club (Christoph Scheim) and asked him for the E3 models and the years/months that the painted rear panel was used.

Btw, in an earlier correspondence with him (I had sent him pictures of my Bav under construction) he had this to say..."And it has the correctly painted trim between the rear lights, a detail I love on early Series 2 cars. They only did that for about one year."
 
When Hoffman brought the 2800 here in 69/70 they had leather and brushed rear panels. As we know he deleted leather to make the Bav more affordable.
 
Dick Steinkamp said:
I've written my contact at the E3 Limousine Club (Christoph Scheim) and asked him for the E3 models and the years/months that the painted rear panel was used.

Btw, in an earlier correspondence with him (I had sent him pictures of my Bav under construction) he had this to say..."And it has the correctly painted trim between the rear lights, a detail I love on early Series 2 cars. They only did that for about one year."
Click to expand...

Thanks, that makes sense why I was thinking it "started" in 1973 with a 3.0S...that was simply the first E3 I saw (after my father bought a 1972 Bavaria new in April 1972, which I purchased from him in 1980 and had for 14 more years) with the brushed panel. These cars were extremely rare at the time, so seeing another one on the road was an "event", and I was tuned into most nuances of them once we had one...like the other thing I recall looking over the 1973 3.0 S was that the front bumper guards were "upside down" which I thought was a mistake or something at the time. :)
 
Dick Steinkamp said:
I've written my contact at the E3 Limousine Club (Christoph Scheim) and asked him for the E3 models and the years/months that the painted rear panel was used.

Btw, in an earlier correspondence with him (I had sent him pictures of my Bav under construction) he had this to say..."And it has the correctly painted trim between the rear lights, a detail I love on early Series 2 cars. They only did that for about one year."
Click to expand...

I have not heard back from Christoph yet, but I found this on their website

https://bmw-e3-club.de/historie/

2500 first introduced September of 1968

2800 introduced January 1969 (wooden steering wheel, LSD, level control suspension)

2nd series introduced with the 3 liter April 1971 (black headlight grills, changed air outlets in the C pillar, small tail lights...I assume that at this time the rear panel was changed from brushed to painted)

Late summer 1971 3.0Si introduced (D Jet). Also 2500 and 2800 revised to look like 3 liter models.

Late summer 1973 Series 3 (last changes) introduced. (four-spoke steering wheel, height-adjustable driver's seat and electrically adjustable exterior mirrors. The three-liter models also received rear seat heating and rear headrests. Black kidney grill, different wheel trim rings)

No indication of when the painted panel was changed back to brushed (although as Christoph indicated, "they only did that for about one year". Bearmw's post (#12) shows his January of 1972 car still with the painted panel) . No indication of changes unique to the US market (smog, safety)
 
Thanks, Tom

Now we know the change back to brushed was sometime between April 1971 and June 1972.
 
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