I noticed that too, these old BMWs or any other car of that era all had rust already built inSadly, agree. Even the replacement top fender panels on the seat are rusting.
I noticed that too, these old BMWs or any other car of that era all had rust already built inSadly, agree. Even the replacement top fender panels on the seat are rusting.
Funny you should say about having lost its geometry, I didn't like how the back and the door windows line up. I'll keep the shift knob in mind when I decide to what to do with it.Others on this forum know that, 99% of the time, my answer is always "save". However, in this case I think this sweet car has passed that milestone unfortunately. There's just too much metal missing - stuff that is not available and challenging to fabricate. It has lost it's geometry and would need to be re-aligned (chassis) in addition to all of the metal work.
I'd love to purchase the shift knob from you if that helps your equation.
Thanks, you make a very good point on selling a partially disassembled carThat is a great story about thinking about that special CSi all these years, then finding it and buying it! I agree that unless you are independently wealthy AND this car is so special to you that you could care less how much the restoration costs, that the best options are 3 or 4.
Option 3 is going to take a lot of time and space to accomplish. Since this would be the first E9 you have disassembled, you will do a lot of learning during the process. A disassembled car takes up MUCH more room than one that is together. For the most part, the mechanical parts of an E9 are not very valuable. They were shared with the E3 and other BMW models. Then there is the marketing, packaging and shipping of the parts. In the end (not counting your time) you may not recoup as much money as you planned.
Moving the car on to a shop or hobbyist that has experience with an E9 and that knows what to salvage and what does not "pencil" to spend time on would be my choice. The worst choice would be to start the disassembly then realize it wasn't a good idea with the disassembly half done. The car then becomes worth less than if it was together.
In any case, congratulations on finding the exact car you fell in love with so many years ago. There is lots of satisfaction in that fact alone.
I just checked, they are 14"x7" wheels. What makes them CSL wheels?Those look like the last series Alpina CSL rims…7x14?
That would be my favourite option if only one could find a rust free ish shell......I'm not holding my breath on that idea thoughMaybe this is your parts car for another, dry coupe? Unless you can afford to buy a very well-sorted car, you'll always need parts, and this car could live on in another car for you.
That's just sad, this pile of sheet metal its what's left of one of the most beautiful cars BMW (Karman) ever designedI went through the same thing. Parting makes sense as absolutely nobody in America will restore this car. You also might consider offering the package to @KastelikClassicCar. They just restored on in similar condition.
Agree with @Keshav that the wheels appear to be CSL alpinas. Quite desirable.
You can part out a car quickly and ship later. That wasn’t my goal since I wanted to understand the car and document the process. I spent about two years. I only had a little over 400lbs of metal left over. Honestly I wish I have kept more.
Deconstruction Thread: How to part-out an E9
As much as I hate to part out an E9, I decided to harness the opportunity. I picked up a '73 CSI from WA this weekend. Original Listing: https://e9coupe.com/forum/threads/73-csi-in-wa-4-500.19855/ The run down: The BMW 3.0 CSi VIN 2263445 was manufactured on October 05th, 1972 and delivered...e9coupe.com
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You let me know if you stumble across a decent shell, I'd be all over that.Option 5, find a decent bare shell (is that even possible these days) and restore the mechanicals from this. A lot of usable and desirable parts on this, as keshav mentioned, those look like csl wheels
Even if you have a massive emotional attachment to the car, triggers broom comes to mind. Once you have restored it how much of it will be the original car
I don't know yet, haven't gotten to that point yet.How much would you sell the entire car for.?
That' the trick, finding a better body which I'm sure has a long line up of people like me. lolI like this concept a lot. Given the purchase of this coupe, it will make a great donor for one that has a better body. Regardless of what you purchase, you will never have all the bits you need. If you have the room…
Yes, the car is desireable, but those willing to pick up a project narrow when they consider time, cost and parts availability.That' the trick, finding a better body which I'm sure has a long line up of people like me. lol
I just checked, they are 14"x7" wheels. What makes them CSL wheels?
If I knew Elon I'd electrify this E9. There is nothing worse than not restoring a car properly, who hasn't hear horror stories of people getting their cars restored going after the cheapest quote only to pull them out of the shop for various reasons to take it to another shop only to find out the work done and paid for is sub par, now second shop does things marginally better then shop one, fast forward to shop number 5 they have to re-do half the work to get it done right at two or three times the original estimate.I would say, take your time with this. Plenty of great advice here, as usual, but we don't know if you are related to Elon Musk and can, well, you know, get some help funding the 5 year, $100K restoration. But every time I see these photos, I cringe knowing that, yes, it is way worse the deeper you go. I vote for the find another but keep this. Could take a while, but use this as a parts car for yourself, and then a few for others. Stripping parts is an educational way to get to know the model of car. You must have space for this however, and many simply do not. Best of luck, and keep us posted. But really, take your time with this decision. BTW, Canada ia a big place, Ontario? Quebec? Mike
You're a fountain of BMW information Keshav. I had to take the wheels off to make the car mobile and happen to have the wheels in my garage, I'll have to clean the inside of the wheels to see the date, I'll check tomorrow and report back what I find. This is like a treasure hunt.Only the CSLs got these Alpina 7x14” rims. They are infact valuable and even more so if they have matching date stamps which are on the back side.
First pic shows where Alpina is visable and second pic of the date stamp behind the rim. Well worth checking the dates. A matching set would be cool. View attachment 139724View attachment 139725
this is a part car you can not fix this there is many parts that is hard to fined or no way to fined it or sale it as is 3-4K to get out of your yardHey There Fellow E9 Enthusiast
I think I know the answer to my question already but there is this voice inside my head that is telling me otherwise.
When I was in high school in Canada way back in the 80s I remember my sister's friend getting dropped off at school in this exact car. I always had a fond eye for the CSi way way back when I was little kid in Germany where I grew up until my parents decided to come to Canada. Over the years my parents had many different car including a few BMWs which is like owning a Chevrolet in North America.
Fast forward to 3 weeks ago when I messaged my sister's friend to see if her dad still had his beloved BMW CSi 3.0 and if he was willing to sell it.
She replied with, Yes he does and yes he's willing to sell it.
I went to see the car and this is what I found. Spoiler alert, I did buy the car and brought it home.
I wan to tell myself that the car is repairable but I have enough experience with old card that I'm kidding myself. There is rust rust everywhere which is to be expected for an old car after its been sitting outside for 18 years.
He imported the car from Germany in the early 80's so its a true Euro Spec CSi, not that it matters anymore but when he put the car away the engine only had 5K km on it.
I know, it's such a sad story for such a beautiful car.
Option 1, Restore
Option 2, Resto Mod
Option 3, Part out
Option 4, Sell complete AS IS
Option 5, ?????????
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"Working on cars" and "building an entire e9 body from expensive replacement parts, hand-fabricated sheetmetal and a few scraps from a rough donor car" are two different things.The only reason I'm even considering restoring is because of the value of these cars but even me doing most of the work myself it would still take numerous years and a countless amount of money. As much as I like working on cars I like driving them more.
Sadly, if only such owners knew what their cars would be worth someday if intact. Hindsight always 20/20. Love the two-tone and front spoiler.
Wheels + complete working D-Jetronic hardware will be worth 3-4K EUR/USD, even without the engine block. D-jetronic air filter box now cost 300-500$this is a part car you can not fix this there is many parts that is hard to fined or no way to fined it or sale it as is 3-4K to get out of your yard
If you will decide to find a better body, it will be cheaper for you in future if you keep all the parts (every single one), but don't let the car stay outside any longer, because otherwise most of valuable interior and mechanical parts soon will be useless.That' the trick, finding a better body which I'm sure has a long line up of people like me. lol