RHD CSL Thoughts

roundel

Well-Known Member
Messages
220
Reaction score
144
As someone who worked for BMW in the CSL period so far as I recall a buyer only has one decision to make and that was the colour, even then sometimes they had to settle for their second choice. BMW had to make the cars quickly to satisfy the Homologation ( they only had to make the cars to satisfy the FIA, not sell them...) so there was no time to allow special requests. IIRC they all had power windows (except possibly some very early cars...) , Petri wheels, alloy panels, etc....
They were VERY expensive cars but not without their problems...it was not unusual for the camshaft / rockers to fail sometimes before they were out of warranty. BMW at the time just fitted a new engine...(so much for matching numbers....). As for stainless steel bumpers, I have never seen one.
When the `new` 633 arrived in 1976 a lot of CSL owners traded them in but before we could re-sell them it was normal to do repairs to the tops of the from wings to `hide` the rust bubbles !
 

m5toureg

Well-Known Member
Messages
109
Reaction score
68
Location
Gothenburg, Sweden
@roundel - thanks for your input, VERY interesting indeed n backing up a lot of the
historical facts on file.
Can you confirm that the readily assembled cars by Karmann (built to identical
specifications except for the colour) were outdoor stored in a Belgium seaport,
awaiting to be sold, before being shipped out to the U.K. ??
Are you sure the factory assembly included a Petri steering wheel (in accordance
with the LHD CSL series II) ?? The ,RHD City Package‘ sales brochure (see above)
-as well as info inputs from other sources- seem to indicate a different choice,
pointing towards a 380 mm Alpina wheel being used ??
-
How much does the ,sales brochure’ (very likely produced BEFORE the cars were
assembled and for the known reasons in a hurry with a short dead-line),
actually correspond with the cars that turned up at your shop ??
Do you remember ??
 
Last edited:

stcos85

Well-Known Member
Messages
148
Reaction score
63
Location
Melbourne
I owned a RHD S
@roundel - thanks for your input, VERY interesting indeed n backing up a lot of the
historical facts on file.
Can you confirm that the readily assembled cars by Karmann (built to identical
specifications except for the colour) were outdoor stored in a Belgium seaport,
awaiting to be sold, before being shipped out to the U.K. ??
Are you sure the factory assembly included a Petri steering wheel (in accordance
with the LHD CSL series II) ?? The ,RHD City Package‘ sales brochure (see above)
-as well as info inputs from other sources- seem to indicate a different choice,
pointing towards a 380 mm Alpina wheel being used ??
-
How much does the ,sales brochure’ (very likely produced BEFORE the cars were
assembled and for the known reasons in a hurry with a short dead-line),
actually correspond with the cars that turned up at your shop ??
Do you remember ??
I owned a RHD CSL in the 90's 2285236 and that car did not have a Petri wheel but a normal sports wheel.
 

roundel

Well-Known Member
Messages
220
Reaction score
144
@roundel - thanks for your input, VERY interesting indeed n backing up a lot of the
historical facts on file.
Can you confirm that the readily assembled cars by Karmann (built to identical
specifications except for the colour) were outdoor stored in a Belgium seaport,
awaiting to be sold, before being shipped out to the U.K. ??
Are you sure the factory assembly included a Petri steering wheel (in accordance
with the LHD CSL series II) ?? The ,RHD City Package‘ sales brochure (see above)
-as well as info inputs from other sources- seem to indicate a different choice,
pointing towards a 380 mm Alpina wheel being used ??
-
How much does the ,sales brochure’ (very likely produced BEFORE the cars were
assembled and for the known reasons in a hurry with a short dead-line),
actually correspond with the cars that turned up at your shop ??
Do you remember ??
I would say the `Belgium` story is probably correct as I doubt BMW GB had the capacity to store 500 cars at that time. I just remember cars with Petri wheels but never Alpina wheels....
 

Markos

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
13,369
Reaction score
7,502
Location
Seattle, WA
I just remember cars with Petri wheels but never Alpina wheels....

I personally don’t think that there is much debate here. I have spotted two RHD CSL’s with a 380mm Alpina. The first is in the funky factory leaflet posted earlier. The second is a car on lezebre.

@m5toureg mentioned the Alpina wheel. There is little evidence to suggest that RHD CSL’s all came with 380mm Alpinas. There is a preponderance of evidence that they came with leather Petri wheels.

Source: http://www.lezebre.eu/car/bmw 30 csl/photo gallery bmw 30 csl voiture 400.htm

Excludes non-CSL petri wheels. LHD cars shown are conversions.

The CSL Petri wheel is quite rare and poorly replicated by most who try. Unlike an easy to reproduce and highly available air dam, the CSL Petri is an unlikely upgrade for existing RHD CSL owners.

BCA0A261-17F9-4D77-921C-71DB0CD4916D.jpeg
F7A0E6D1-57C8-4701-8D91-09B4617D58E1.jpeg
7FADFD67-78B6-46BA-805E-13A636D5B692.jpeg
B3D7B333-124C-4C7C-A686-5A727D2A9DB5.png
BD611402-D0E2-4595-B67D-D4A0C9A7928B.jpeg
0A2AC24F-B340-4C51-AFAB-3105E1531802.jpeg
72589526-723D-4D40-8505-849BD4A36530.jpeg
66660A55-EE94-4C28-8AB4-CB2AD120FF5A.jpeg
5671DC21-6FD7-4FC3-90AA-9E62657B1194.jpeg
30338261-CE22-4BC7-AC34-5277EF5DF491.jpeg
AB62AE31-C16F-4559-96C9-0B336045EA08.jpeg
CE3BBC10-136E-4AC4-BAB4-8AA58C829B3C.jpeg
0E2099BA-3D0E-4852-8451-6583308406A0.jpeg
E4836EA2-7057-4F34-ACA4-2F514A0DC612.jpeg
8721AC44-903A-4E2A-8EB2-E4E0CD6498EB.jpeg
CE2808E5-7C53-40D9-9376-6D4F5B583430.jpeg
DC34CC34-4F1C-4F5F-9971-7AF7ECE24E63.jpeg


leather missing, note the smooth foam
8BFED5F8-78A7-4241-BD61-93778B75320A.jpeg
 

Wes

Moderator
Site Donor $
Messages
1,628
Reaction score
1,472
Location
Tasmania, Australia
Looks like @Markos has pics of most of the RHD production run:D My CSL has the petri and my research shows it having that wheel pre-1980. I'm also aware of several other RHD CSLs here in Aus with the configuration shown above. The only real variance I've seen is some RHD CSLs with a vin below 251 have manual front windows. This seems to be confined to what are known as the 'drive back cars' but I'm not aware of this being beyond doubt.
 

eriknetherlands

Moderator
Site Donor
Messages
2,697
Reaction score
1,928
Location
Netherlands, Eindhoven area
Wrt to CSL's and aluminium panels: CSL's delivered to Switzerland received steel door skins as that was legislation at the time.
Oh, and abit late, but I also think the pictured CSL is RHD, as big give away is the single exterior rear view mirror:

1647361227440.png
 
Last edited:

gazzol

Well-Known Member
Messages
466
Reaction score
113
Location
Preston, England
On my part I can not understand all the positive value comments in favour
of this car. A RHD UK CSL is more or less a ,normal‘ CSI with a CSL badge
and some aluminium parts. It still is an E9 and can be a nice car, but value ??
Just my own personal thoughts n there4 ,let me down easy’.;)
PS: note = the dash-board lower part in WOOD = RHD CSL specific !! picture below !!

Edit: This thread was split from the following RHD classified discussion:



View attachment 135359
I agree with your thinking as the RHD cars had most of the weight put back in however they were still only produced in the 100's and that is why they are so valuable. The irony of this is that there are now more CSL's in the UK than CS's or CSi's so the ordinary cars are now rarer but I doubt that will ever have any bearing on the values.
 

Sylvancs

New Member
Messages
8
Reaction score
8
Location
Cairns queensland australia
The main things with RHD BMW CSL that some on this thread are not considering are:

A) The RHD CSL has the same thin gauge steel shell as the LHD variant with thin gauge roof and panels, this is the main feature that makes the CSL so special as it is so expensive and complicated to reconstruct the body with thinner gauge, it is an unmodifiable feature much more considerable than suspension or a removable front bumper or some extra wood on the dash. This alone can answer the OP's question as to why RHD CSL are valued as they have a CSL thin gauge body (duh).
Also would expect anyone really into RHD CSL (or wanting to criticise) to at-least know that RHD did come with CSL 38mm Leather Petri as LHD cars did.
B) All RHD 2285xxx cars were ordered with the complete alloy door skins alloy rear boot panel and front bonnet although some were removed by the dealers (some LHD cars were missing these from factory spec).
C) Driveback cars (first 50) have more lightweight features alike some 2275xxx cars such as single mirror and manual front windows.
D) The RHD cars as with the LHD were part of the homologation run that allowed the 3.0 CSL race car to compete so share the historical importance and thats why 500 needed to be built.
E) There are LHD cars with many CS/ CSi features aswell similar to the City package RHD cars, some 2275xxx even missing the alloy panels which most RHD have.
F) More LHD CSL in multiple series were built vs RHD CSL produced only in 1 series.

These are the first ever RHD M power cars ever sold. Their place in BMW M history and significance should not be questioned.
What some don't realise is that RHD and LHD prices are very much linked and all should be extremely valued, they share same thin gauge body, engine and name: 3.0 CSL.

Just my 2c.

Syl
 
Last edited:

jvrenaudon

Well-Known Member
Messages
194
Reaction score
25
Location
Cheshire, UK
I never spotted it before but even the BMW blurb in the day omitted to tell us about the slippy diff on the CSL. Believe me, it makes a heck of a difference to the car and I was quick to install one on my CSi as soon as I could locate one. Best, John.
 

jvrenaudon

Well-Known Member
Messages
194
Reaction score
25
Location
Cheshire, UK
I am probably going over old ground here but, to me, having owned 2285295 since 1973, the essential difference between a Citypack and the rest of the range was and remains the fact that, with the lightweight, the slippy diff came as standard. It may have been an optional extra with the RHD CSi, my 4350022, for example, but I think that the LSD was fitted to the RHD CSL as a matter of course. Any advances on this, anyone? Merry Christmas to all. John
 

Markos

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
13,369
Reaction score
7,502
Location
Seattle, WA
the essential difference between a Citypack and the rest of the range was and remains the fact that, with the lightweight, the slippy diff came as standard.


I think that the LSD was fitted to the RHD CSL as a matter of course.

I’m not sure what you are saying. These statements appear to conflict with one another. Can you clarify?
 
Top