This car was advertised in summer 2020 by a Dutch dealer (not Oldenzaal, the other side of the country). Storage from 1983 to 2014 might well be correct, according to my notes. First registration was in June 1976, say the official Dutch. The service manual reads 1976-jul-19 in Osnabrück, northern Germany. As of today, the Dutch report says "not exported".
The exterior looks mostly nice, all panels and trim seem reasonably well aligned. They must have taken their time. I'd suspect the left front wing and the right rear side wall to have been replaced. All the hard work should have been done, some minor flaws can be fixed or left as they are. New front windscreen, usually an andvantage. The green filter is not original but nice.
The leather has probably been there since 1976, always good. Would be nice to know how the seats feel. I am a bit worried about the light stains on the instrument cluster (pic 137, are they really there?) in combination with the wood veneer around the fresh air lever (pic 143). Might be hints it was damp inside for quite some time, see also one of the door veneer panels. The radio has been replaced. All 3.3 models came with a good stereo radio and four speakers from either Blaupunkt (standard) or Becker (optional).
Good-looking late version toolbox. Where is the floormat for the boot? The airbox between firewall and windscreen should have sealings on all four sides. Only the front one is present.
Underneath it looks like a genuine LWB L-Jetronic exhaust. The rear stabiliser bar (pic 207) has been retrofitted at some time. Not for the better, if I may say so. Apart from that the underside looks very pretty especially for a long E3. What are the holes on the outside of the sills for (pics 235/241/242)? Looking at pic 235, I'd like to remove the long panel on top of the sill. In pic 241 it seems hard to decide whether the door is closed or open.
The light blue brochure is rare and valuable, only it does not describe the car we have here. It is for the 3.3 L, not 3.3 Li. The 3.3 L was the first long E3, carburetted, 3299cc. It was succeeded by the 3.3 Li, injected, 3210cc. Lots of small differences between the two. The all-silver wheels never went into production, the inner circle was always painted black.
I like best the comments of
@BMW Pete and
@Luis A. By the way, Luis, I still remember your beautiful E9 from Munich 2016. Pete is right, as usual, the 3.3 models were a class of their own. Everything you see in the pictures was standard equipment, except for the airco and the metallic paint.
The original engine had the longest stroke M30
No. Original to the 3.3 Li was the 3.2 litre, 89x86mm, 3210cc. You mean the engine of the 3.3 L, 89x88.4mm, 3299cc. The stroke was shortened in 1975 because of problematic behaviour. If they replaced the 3.2 by a 3.2 here everything is fine.
And please don't believe the production number 700. There were 702 LHD Automatic, that much is true. And 222 RHD Automatic. And 477 LHD 4-speed, the ones to want. Makes 1401 in total.
