1973 3.0 CS 3.5L 5 SPEED FOR SALE on Bring a Trailer

Markos

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I count at least three different versions of how much work was done on the floor panels. I honestly don't know that this takes away at all from the car. Rather, it seems that the seller simply doesn't know much about what restoration work was done on the car, nor restoration work in general and what is involved.?. He took it somewhere (reputable), they charged for some "floor panel" work, and the car is done well now. Could be pretty common of checkbook restorers, I'd think.

I think this is pretty common for non-tech folks that pay to have a car restored. The seller is the OP on this thread, so perhaps he can chime in. Regardless of the documentation, I believe that his final assessment of the work is accurate. None of the floor pans were actually replaced. They were cleaned up, and patched where needed. You can see visible weld seams on the driver's floorpan. You can see some work to recreate the look of the drain channel on the driver's rear pan. All four drain caps were replaced with currently available drain pugs, which do not match the originals.

The leading indicator that the pans were not replaced is the fact that the drain holes are still present. There are three floor pan vendors: W&N, Pelly, and Sklep. None of these vendors stamped replacement pans with drain holes cut. They all have a stamped reproduction drain plug. Sklep does offer the proper-looking drain plug, which has a square boss on it much like the cleanout on your plumbing stack. If the buyer was interested, they could swap out the late model drain plugs on the Polaris car with the period-looking plugs from Sklep. That doesn't seem like a good use of anyone's time however.

I don't think there is anything suspect about the floor work, the restoration activity was unclear, and has subsequently been addressed. One thing I will say is that none of the vendors above require that you buy all four pans at once. If I had to guess, the shop ordered the pans first, then decided not to go through the time and effort to fully replace them.
 

autokunst

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I guess my point was that it seemed the seller is getting beat up about the exact extent of work that may have been done - but the work itself seems quite nice. I know it is rare, but I was trying to exhibit some empathy for the poor guy or gal. ;)
 

Markos

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I guess my point was that it seemed the seller is getting beat up about the exact extent of work that may have been done - but the work itself seems quite nice. I know it is rare, but I was trying to exhibit some empathy for the poor guy or gal. ;)

Seems pretty civil to me...
 

HB Chris

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Drew, I have been driving the CSL and returned it to its owner today and I find the trap mirror at front of the door too small and too far away. Of course I have the seat all of the way back!
 

teahead

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Thought it'd go higher.

Probably would have if it had resto photos like the Superman CS a couple years ago.
 

73Polaris

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Let me introduce myself, I'm the buyer of Charles' E9 that sold today. My name is Larry and I live in the SF Bay Area. I'm thrilled with the purchase, as I've been a longtime fan of these cars. I will post a note on the new member forum, but just wanted to say thanks to Charles, Gary, Markos, SFDon and others that contributed commentary on the BaT auction site. The honest exchange of information and the sharing enabled (empowered?) me to exceed my budget to pick up the car. I'm looking forward to contributing to the discourse on this site.
 

teahead

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Let me introduce myself, I'm the buyer of Charles' E9 that sold today. My name is Larry and I live in the SF Bay Area. I'm thrilled with the purchase, as I've been a longtime fan of these cars. I will post a note on the new member forum, but just wanted to say thanks to Charles, Gary, Markos, SFDon and others that contributed commentary on the BaT auction site. The honest exchange of information and the sharing enabled (empowered?) me to exceed my budget to pick up the car. I'm looking forward to contributing to the discourse on this site.

Congrats Larry! It appears you may have bought yourself one of the nicest E9s I've seen for sale in quite awhile and with a good price me thinks!

Any plans for it or you going to leave it as-is?
 

autokunst

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Welcome Larry. I am continually amazed and thrilled at the information sharing and downright wonderful people on this forum. I look forward to learning more.
 

73Polaris

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Congrats Larry! It appears you may have bought yourself one of the nicest E9s I've seen for sale in quite awhile and with a good price me thinks!

Any plans for it or you going to leave it as-is?

Thanks Rob, I'm thrilled with the purchase. No plans yet, I need to take possession and drive it a few times before making any decisions. Although as others have noted, the ride height seems a little high (yet Charles measured it and the height is identical to the factory specs). I love the stock wheels, and will be keeping them. But I can also envision a set of CoupeKing Alpina style 16 inch wheels and some Carl Nelson springs as a potential mod.
 

teahead

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Stance vastly improves the looks.

Looky at this one sorta similar to your's. FAT 14 tires, but with the lower ride height, it looks bitchin!

 

73Polaris

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Stance vastly improves the looks.

Looky at this one sorta similar to your's. FAT 14 tires, but with the lower ride height, it looks bitchin!


Agree, love the look. Those are some fat 14 inch tires.
 

sfdon

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I don’t remember if I chipped that ecu- if not, it could really benefit from a chip.
Any questions on the build you are welcome to drop by for a visit.
I’m in Alameda.
 

73Polaris

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I don’t remember if I chipped that ecu- if not, it could really benefit from a chip.
Any questions on the build you are welcome to drop by for a visit.
I’m in Alameda.

Thanks Don. I was going to reach out to you once I get the car down here and registered. Definitely would like to get your opinion of what we might be able to do in addition to the fantastic work that's already been done. I'll reach out in a few weeks to schedule a time.
 

Drew Gregg

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I don’t remember if I chipped that ecu- if not, it could really benefit from a chip.
Any questions on the build you are welcome to drop by for a visit.
I’m in Alameda.
Don--What's the rear wheel HP on a Dyno with the 3.5L engine? Does the ECU chip make a difference?
 

sfdon

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HP isn’t everything...
Drivability is.
But never buy a fake chip.
 

Drew Gregg

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Agreed that drivability is everything,and that acceleration comes from the rear wheels. This engine was listed at 208HP. I was curious about what a Dyno test shows for HP and torque at the rear wheels,once the engine transplant was dialed in. And how that compares to the original engine.
 
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