1972 e3 Restomod project

[Bwana]

Well, here goes nothing!

I bought this e3 from a guy in Phoenix for $900.

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/threads/e3-restoration.19334/

Obviousoly it wasn't running but it did look pretty "rust free" except for the surface stuff on the fenders. Satch even declaired the sills "intact" with a big whoop and a smile. A follow up from the previous thread is that there was a nest of violin spiders somewhere in the car and they hatched out after I parked it and left! My son stopped by to check on the house as usual and found them. Said the place looked like a B-movie set! He set out some bug bombs which wiped them out. Phew! So now I've begun to take it apart.

Seats out. Looks like somehow a previous owner got some blue front seats into the tan interior.

Rear seats out too. Is it better to drop off the whole seat to the upholster or take the old material off and just give him the frame and springs? Do these look OK? The stuffing looks nasty!

Some shots of the interior. I still need to scrape out the sound deadening off the floors but I don't expect much, if any, rust on the floors.

The dash is shot but I've already procured another one, reportedly with only a small crack in it.

Fender rust

So, in general, what should be the next steps? I'm assuming it should go something like:
1) Finish removing sound pads on floor
2) Remove windshield
3) Remove dashboard and check gauges (probably send to NH speedometer just because)
4) Remove door cards and prepare window drive to be electrified
5) Remove front subframe and engine? I've seen some cool dollies to mount the car to so I can push it around without the front and rear suspensions. Probably weld one of those up.
6) Remove real glass and all external lights like turn signals and wipers
7) Fix bodywork and sand smooth in prep for paint
8) Paint
Reassemble in reverse order

I've got some cunning plans for the engine I need to work out (no doubt including some calls to Don for sage advise), I haven't decided on the transmission yet either. I plan to flare the fenders in some way and put some fairly significant rubber under it.

I only get up here three or four times a year for any significant length of time so have patience with me.

Any and all comments are welcome!

 

[HB Chris]

Jeff,

I would love a pic or two of the B pillar with cover removed to see how the retractable belt mounts if possible. And if you're going to flare fenders I could use the chrome trim on left front arch but only if in VG condition. I would give the whole seat to the upholstery guy and let him decide what to do. You've got quite a project there!

 

[Bwana]

Shots of the shoulder strap mounting including the made-next-to-the-hen's-tooth-factory B-pillar clip. Oddly, it's only on the passenger side, not on the driver's sde. I wouder why?

Any idea what this used to be? Looks like some kind of mounting bracket that is indespencible but unobtainable.

An interesting find in the footwell. A big pad of sorts under the carpet and floor pad. Also, there appears to be an extremely hard final floor covering. There "doesn't" seem to be any rust in the floors, even when viewed from below, is it worth while to try and remove the hard padding?

Oh, and no chrome strip on the wheel wells, sorry!

Also, who would do the recovering of the interior parts like the B-pillar cover and parts under the dashboard? Someplace like Justdashes?

 

[GolfBavaria]

Interesting Black stock seats with Brown door cards, mats, carpeting, etc. I don't recall seeing that factory on an E3, anyone else seen that? Are you planning on full racing seats anyways and changing interior door cards? We had a 72' Chamonix with the blue interior that I liked a lot. But being a retro mod, black interior would look cool and easy to match racing seats. Just thinking out loud. But wondering mainly if anyone has seen that combo before on a stock E3.

 

[thestein1016]

If you plan on redoing the seats, just take the b pillars with you. I just finished redoing my entire interior (dash, center console, seats, carpet, mats, rear deck)
I'll be glad to answer whatever questions

 

[Bwana]

OK, I'm going to focus future posts in this thread so we can consolidate the work.

Crisis adverted with the VIN. Alert readers would have seen in the other thread that the VIN plate is missing from the firewall. I was able to clean off the flat spot behind the starter (thanks Stevehose!) and could see VIN #3103023. Hurrah!!! THis matches with the VIN decoder at Senior Six website for what I believe to be my car. I've also sent a note to BMW archives so we'll see what comes back. The next big step will be to convince the New Mexico DMV that it is the original engine that matches the car and is the correct VIN for the chassis. THe big problem is that the title from Arizona has that goofy AZ-251487 number which I think is an arbitrary number assigned by AZ when the PO couldn't come up with the VIN. We'll see. Stay tuned!

 

[HB Chris]

The vin is also on the firewall above the valve cover

 

[JimV]

"Any idea what this used to be? Looks like some kind of mounting bracket that is indespencible but unobtainable".

That is a piece from the front seat mounting hardware which controls the length of travel. A stopper...See #22

 

[Bwana]

Well spotted sir! Thanks!

An update: I got an e-mail back from BMW Classic about my car. Turns out it was Fjord Blue to begin with which may explain where the blue front seats came from. But why the PO converted the rest of the car interior to saddle then painted it white is still a mystery.

Nice folks at BMWGroup.


"Dear Mr. Haught,

Thank you for your email.

The BMW 3.0 S Bavaria VIN 3103023 was manufactured on May 12th, 1972 and delivered on May 17th, 1972 to the BMW importer Hoffman Motors Corp. in New York City. The original colour was Fjord metallic, paint code 037.

Unfortunately there are no details about interior and special options mentioned in the delivery books.

We hope this information is helpful for you.

Yours sincerely,

Julia Oberndörfer"

--
BMW Group

Julia Oberndörfer

Archiv, Sammlung, Classic Brand Management

AK-50

Historischer Informationsdienst

Moosacher Straße 66

80809 München


Postanschrift:

80788 München


Tel: +49-89-382-68281

Fax: +49-89-382-24765

Mail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.bmwgroup.com

 

[Bwana]

Well heck, I just went back and looked at some of my own pictures above. You can see the Fjord Blue color behind the back seat panel and in the drivers side foot well. Guess it must be true! I never noticed that before.

 

[Bwana]

Got some time this weekend to work on the Bav. I've been foolong around with removing the windshield but no success yet. The rubber seal is pretty much shot but none of the usual suspects have a new replacement. I've tried BMW and W&N but no luck. Any body have one or know where I can find one?

Meanwhile, I cleaned all the junk out of the trunk and holy $hit Batman. Crack City! The crack/tear on the left side of the cross member goes all the way from the bracket down into the wheel well. Must be 18" long or so.

You can see the tear on the right side of the crossmember right behind the gas tank

When I first saw the angle iron frame, I just thought is was the PO's feeble attempt at a structural brace of sorts or a battery bracket. Now it looks like he was attempting to hold the rear of the car together. I didn't get any shots from underneath, will do so in a couple of weeks.

Anybody ever seen this on an e3 before? What could he have possibly done to rip the floor like this? I'm assuming I can weld it back up unless the differential brackets are toast too. Ugh!

 

[GolfBavaria]

Got some time this weekend to work on the Bav. I've been foolong around with removing the windshield but no success yet. The rubber seal is pretty much shot but none of the usual suspects have a new replacement. I've tried BMW and W&N but no luck. Any body have one or know where I can find one?

If you have trouble finding parts like that in the usual places, just call Carl at La Jolla Independent. If he doesn't have it, he will know an equivalent or steer you in right direction.

 

[E911]

This brings up a side question; should the E3 chassis get the E9 diff mount treatment when increasing torque and horsepower?

 

[Bwana]

Do they both use the same differential? i.e., the same mounting points?

 

[E911]

Same diffs, not sure about the structure but this splitting/cracking is why it was developed and might be part of your repair solution. Check out Coupe Kings website for a description. Others here can provide more insight.

 

[Bwana]

If you have trouble finding parts like that in the usual places, just call Carl at La Jolla Independent. If he doesn't have it, he will know an equivalent or steer you in right direction.

On indefinite backorder. Carl even suggested not cutting my old, worn out seal strip, I may have to re-use it. Apparently one from an Si will work but you can't put the chrome trim back in. No suggestions or alternatives. Same with Coupe King. Not sure what to do now, probably have a local shop help me push out the windshield, hopefully without breaking it. Seems like it would be more likely to be able to get new glass but not a new seal strip.

 

[GolfBavaria]

On indefinite backorder. Carl even suggested not cutting my old, worn out seal strip, I may have to re-use it. Apparently one from an Si will work but you can't put the chrome trim back in. No suggestions or alternatives. Same with Coupe King. Not sure what to do now, probably have a local shop help me push out the windshield, hopefully without breaking it. Seems like it would be more likely to be able to get new glass but not a new seal strip.

Huh, well indefinite backorder is better than NLA I guess..... Can you hold out for a while? Check with Jim at Mesa Performance in Costa Mesa.

 

[Bwana]

Huh, well indefinite backorder is better than NLA I guess..... Can you hold out for a while? Check with Jim at Mesa Performance in Costa Mesa.

A well split hair there!

Good suggestion, I'll check with him today