1973 Polaris CS

Roger S

Roger S

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Location
Queens, NY
Finally finished up one of the projects. Still some dialing in to do but finally one down. It only took 12 years, and the interiors and various parts occupying my house for 14 years but better late than never. Anyway, due to neurological concerns, easy and fun things became much harder or impossible. Basic tasks including going to a hardware store or the post office were no longer possible. I'm appreciative of everyone who posts on this forum (especially your pictures), and indebted to many friends on these builds, a few still active on this forum, who helped me get it done.

Anyway, better pictures and details to follow over the next few days as I empty my hard drive of anything of interest to others on the forum. Here are a few ...

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Mechanical
- Eric Kerman built engine; base is an m30 block from a 1990 7 series, Euro 6 head, triple Weber 40/40 carburetors
- Compression is 10:5.1, bored 40 over.
- Schrick 292 cam
- Stahl Headers and stock (BMW) exhaust.
- Close ratio 5 speed transmission
- Bilstein HD springs
- Carl Nelson/LaJolla springs in front/stock rear
- Ireland strut bar
- Alpina 16" staggered rims

Interior
- Madera Concepts woodwork
- Koenig seats w/Aardvarc Racing seat adaptors
- GAHH square weave carpet
- Nardi steering wheel
- Alcantara headliner, pillars, hat shelf, and accent in door panel
- E3 Bavaria accents on door panels
- Just Dashes on relevant pieces

Audio
- Head unit is a single DIN Pioneer with a CD and BT. It's all black (discreet) and features the ARC EQ app for sound control.
- Front: Infinity 1" directional tweeters, 3.5" component speakers.
- Rear: Infinity 6x9" coaxial speakers
- Trunk: Solobaric 8" subwoofers with a comparable Kicker Amplifier.

I am not a fan of seeing speaker grills in vintage cars unless it's OEM and tasteful. I do not like cutting metal on unmolested cars. The rears have baffles under the 6x9s as I did not want metal on metal transfer vibration. The front did not have enough room for baffles.

An audiophile would say putting tweeters below the kick panel is useless versus on top (stock location) or on the "A" pillar. The location worked on my 02 so I was fine with it here. The only downside was having to install an amp to increase the overall power of the system (for clean sound in the cabin when driving). Both the 02 and this e9 have hot engines, which sounds great by itself, but drowns out audio that is unamplified.

I deleted the speaker on top of the dash simply to do something different. I chose to leave it in my other coupe as sound quality is better in the speaker's OEM position. The only visible audio component inside the main compartment of the car is the head unit, which is monochromatic. I neither have the dexterity of the inclination to attempt to reach for the glovebox or under the seat for a functional head unit with another on display. My daily driver (VW) features an OEM positioned CD changer buried in a secret compartment of the glovebox - not practical.

The subwoofer box was placed in the trunk with the amp affixed to the back of it (out of sight) as I find it to be the cleanest install. Unfortunately, subwoofer grills on the speaker box were necessary to protect the speakers from my walker. Again, no cutting, drilling or additional screwing into the car but all bolts and screws must be periodically checked and tightened. I went with a 8" speakers and an accompanying small box so I do not lose access to my spare or take up unnecessary room. This install enables a quick reversal and removal of the box, if so desired.

The head unit powers the tweeters and 3.5s, the amplifier powers the 6x9s and the subs.
 
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Congrats! That car is beautiful!! Very tasteful upgrades, I love the alcantara inserts on the door panels.

I have the same front spoiler on my car, it's a bear to get it mounted correctly.

Please post some more photos when you get a chance.
 
Thank you Vince, Dan, and Markos... also to those who connected off line to congratulate or beat me up (Chuck) about the quality of the pictures (lol). It's cold and my balance sucks. When the Malaga is finally sorted, better pictures of both will be taken/shared.

I'm going through the phone and pulling off anything that's relevant versus the crappy reference photos taken toward reassembly. Those images can be posted in response to specific posts versus cluttering this thread as it doesn't detail the entire build.

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Where did you get the chrome trim piece around the door pulls, they look great.

Cheers. John
 
inovermyhead said:
Thanks Markos, so the armrests are the same as the ones on the e9 and would fit?
Click to expand...

You know I’m a bit hesitant to dish out advice after recently giving some misleading info. Do your research. Here is what I can tell you.

If you start with an e24 arm rest and look for backwards comparability you will hit a wall. Realoem is just wrong as it sees all arm rests traversing all e24 years. You likely know that the door panels changed significantly when they switched to the e28 platform.

If you look at e9 arm rest part numbers you will see that they cross over to the e3 fronts. Likewise if you look up those backing plates you will see that they fit e24’s and e3’s. All three cars shared the same arm rests up to 1982.
 
inovermyhead said:
Where did you get the chrome trim piece around the door pulls, they look great.

Cheers. John
Click to expand...
Hi John, the trim is from a Bavaria. I purchased them from someone on eBay so I'd assume the usual vendors. The chrome for the top of the arm pull does not fit. The wood must be cut to accommodate. As long as you have original armrests or the upholestry is fitted, it will fit (more than less) within the chrome trim. The oval ring for the center metal chrome support (machine screw) is a perfect fit. I can't speak to the early 5 series, I must defer to Markos.

TMason and FloridaBMX, thank you. I don't do social media beyond this forum so do not know protocol, i.e., hitting "like" in lieu of typing thank you.
 
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[QUOTE="Markos, post: 205792, member: ... I like the wood ashtrays![/QUOTE]

Thanks Markos, I had Jeff and Tony do a few custom pieces for me back in 2004, including the "wafer" for the vent window, seen in the pictures, and a few other complementary touches on shift surround similar to Cain's 3.8csi.

Tony has passed away but Madera was great and I still enjoy working with Jeff. Now there are other woodworking options on this board and enough insight to do it yourself but at the time, not as plentiful.
 
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you can buy the chrome trim from BMW or W+N. if i remember correctly, that's the only way you can get it now. if you want the long one, you have to look up a Bavaria as the coupe never had a piece there. there is also a chrome piece where the armrest hits the wood trim.
 
[QUOTE="rsporsche, post: 205877, member: 6623" ... there is also a chrome piece where the armrest hits the wood trim.[/QUOTE]

Scott, the chrome piece at the top does not fit without cutting the wood trim.

If anyone wants to go this route, I have two sets. I am in need of the passenger side rubber grommet from the same application that was stock to the e9.
 
Just catching up with this post. I've witnessed his painstakingly slow, detailed, persnickety process of which only a small aspect is visible with pics, that Roger S has undertaken with his e9's. Classic modernity comes to mind when seeing what he has accomplished, that compares favorably with some of the best looking coupes in the country. And, I've seen more than a few. It will be a pleasure for all in the e9 community to see the culmination of his work in person. Stay tuned for his 2018 Spring/Summer unveiling.....
 
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