3.0cs being kept all original or modified for looks + performance. What do you think?

[execmalibu]

3.0CS KEEP IT ALL ORIGINAL or MODIFY FOR LOOKS+PERFORMANCE... What do you guys think?

I need some of the expert BMW guys opinion about a 1974/5 3.0CSA I bought...

I am new to BMW being a Porsche 356 and early 911S and Vintage Ferrari, Cobra collector for 30 years...
1957 Speedster(Rudge Wheels)
1962 Twin Grille Roadster (Rudge Wheels)
1973 911S Targa
1973 911E Sunroof (Original Paint)
1974 Dino Spyder (Original Paint)...
1965 427 Cobra (CSX 3127) Yes it is original.....

But have always liked the 3.0CS.

I know that the 1974/5 with the Parade Bumpers is not the hot ticket and here is what I have...

The car is a very late, 9th from the last 3.0CSA #4335442 (12/74 Production Date)a US car first sold May 1975 in Beverly Hills Ca. and it is still in So. Cal. Based upon my experience with vintage Porsches this car appears ultra original. The car has absolutely no rust or accident damage. The car has been repainted one time in the original color (Silver) and the front seats have been recovered (Blue Leather). The car has every option including Sunroof, Auto, Air, Left Electric Mirror etc. The car even still has all of the Smog Equipment in place and working!... I know that Smog stuff is total Sh!t

I have always liked original unrestored/modified cars but have also done heavy Mods to many vintage cars that I raced...

Here is my dilema...

Should I modify the car to look like a 1973 (Bumpers, Steering Wheel, 5 Speed etc) or leave it 100% original and a time capsule?

Do you expert BMW guys say SCREW original make the car the way you like it or should I keep it all original?

Thanks...

FLAME AWAY!

 

[HB Chris]

Doing tasteful mods like tucking the bumpers and changing the steering wheel are fine, and doing the 5 speed is highly encouraged, you won't believe the difference it will make. Keeping it totally original is also great but it's your coupe so do what makes you happy. If it were me I would do all three. What is the VIN, BMW can provide the build date for you.

I will bet that your Porsches are highly original, so you probably won't go crazy with modding the coupe. Hope this helps. Oh, and bring it down to Cars & Coffee in Irvine some Saturday.

 

[jmackro]

Do you expert BMW guys say SCREW original make the car the way you like it or should I keep it all original?

Well I vote: "Screw original, make the car the way you like it"

Certainly remove those awful bumpers - after all, the factory was building them that way in '75 for the non-US market. So, that's not really a modification. Steering wheel and transmission changes? Heck, they're minor - it's not as if you are chopping out the wheelwells or installing a smallblock Chevy.

I think you'll find that the folks on this board are OK with modifications, especially those that encourage the owner to get out and drive the car. And I'd like to think that you need to work pretty hard to get flamed here - though some have accomplished it.

Post some photos of your new baby. Add it to the register. And yea, bring it down to Irvine some Saturday morning.

 

[craterface]

Very nice coupe. May not be clear from last 2 posts, but you can either modify the rubber bumpers by pulling them in close to the car, or get chrome ones. "Tucking" the rubber bumpers in closer to the body looks really good, you would be surprised. I don't have a link to a photo of acar with that configuration right off hand, but I have seen it.

Modify away! My car is a 4 speed 73, and I wish it had an extra gear. One day.

Scott

 

[alanmcg]

agree with jmackro - screw original if that's what you want. i have a very sim car as yours (74 us cs), but has been substantially modified, it's my daily driver and is a glorious car to drive. my mods are: coupeking body and interior restoration, carl nelson springs and bilsteins, 3.5 with motronic, 5 speed, 16in alpinas, euro bumpers, 9 speaker stereo (ipod), dynapad soundproofing, concealed radar detector, etc. wouldnt trade it straight across for any new bmw made.

pm me if you want any more specific info or war stories.

also like you, i'm a 356 fan and have a completely orig 356b cabriolet.

pics of both:

 

[alanmcg]

tucked bumper pic

just happen to have a pic of my car with orig bumers 'tucked' - very easy mod (drill out shocks, collapse and re-weld). def looks better than orig imo, but not nearly as good as euro bumpers.

 

[mpgandco]

Looks like a very nice original car,but I have to agree with the other guy"Screw Original".A 74 CS with a Slushbox is a dog!!Let the mods begin!!! I also own a very late 74 #{4335449},produced on Dec 18th 1974. I have owned my 74 for over 30 years and it is pretty heavily modded out.If you wanted to keep the big bumpers,it could look something like this......Pictures Attached at bottom.I do also have a couple other cars that are all original and would never Modify them.

Some of the Mods:

1.....Euro Spec 3.5 Litre Motor with L Jetronic Injection... Was done in the early 1980's

2.... 5 Speed O/D Transmission Also done in the Early 80's

3.....Recaro Front Seats

4.....Alpina Staggered 16 Inch Wheels

5.....Full Connolly Saddle Leather Interior

6..... One of only a couple Cs's originally produced in # 078 Jade Green Color

7.... CSL Leather Wrapped Sport Steering Wheel 380 MM

8.... Front and Rear Bumpers Shortened up

9.... Pretty Nice sound system

 

[Ed G]

Mod away to whatever you like. It's not an investment imo. I'd love to see what Foose could do with an e9.
Hmmmm......

Air shocks, chop top 2"+, trim delete, shaved door handles, frenched single headlights, LS7 or V12.........could easily outshine many resto attempts made on US rides.

For you hardcore "originals" just think, for every e9 that goes to the dark side, your's get even more rare.....

Then again, I could be all wet........

 

[alanmcg]

nice seats

beautiful car mpgandco - and love the recaros - can you share some details: what model? what mounting hardware? how seat height compare to orig? where seat upholstery done?
thnks,
alanmcg

 

[pamp]

To cool...

+2 for Mr. mpg I never cease to be amazed at the level of love we adorn upon an inanimate object...well not really inanimate... they seem to love us back when treated right...
does your coupe have a soul? Pretty convinced they all do...mine at least...do we all name our machines? I do...hence..."Seina" Part of the bonding...
Happy Holidays to all!!!

 

[pamp]

Mods

I would take a gander at my own "pamp" then "david" also "vince" and "alanmcg" for some ideas. We all worked hard to improve our cars... Innumerable other cars by forum members...bluemax, bert3.5csi, we all have modified our coupes to taste, as it were. So many cars done well, more than can be mentioned. Patience is key. Most of us have many years under the belt for the love of the coupe. New owners not to be discouraged. The "proof is in the pudding" as my friend the "orangener" would say.
It kind of depends on the pocketbook, as well as how much work one can do on their own.
Myself, and I will be redundant here, my coupe is far from original, so I feel free to do as I please.

 

[execmalibu]

How do you drill out the shocks?

I am liking the idea of tucking the original 74 bumpers back... It looks much better and is very easy to do or undo...

How or where exactly do you drill the shocks? Do they need to be removed?

Does the Rubber behind the bumper stay or is that removed also?

 

[pamp]

Rubber

Cut and shortened. Yes the shocks need to be pulled to drill and relieved. Not to be "undone"
without new shocks. I like "chromies" myself. Quite a bit of work to do...

 

[mpgandco]

I am liking the idea of tucking the original 74 bumpers back... It looks much better and is very easy to do or undo...

How or where exactly do you drill the shocks? Do they need to be removed?

Does the Rubber behind the bumper stay or is that removed also?

It was years ago that I did mine but I think it was pretty easy.You have to remove the bumpers and then I drilled holes in the bottom of shocks to allow fluid to drain out.Once the fluid is drained you can push them in.I then pop riveted them shut.I guess you can weld them as well but mine have been riveted many years with no problems.

The rear Rubber filler piece did not need any modification but I think I may have had to trim a little off on the front rubber pieces,but not sure.You do have to use these Front and Rear rubber filler pieces

The hardest part for me was removing 2 inchs on the Rubber Bumper Accordian pieces and molding them back together so you can't tell that I even cut them.I spent way too much time doing this but you would have to look real hard to see where I spliced them back together.

I think if you did a search on this Site ,there are some posts about this subject.Because your Coupe is so original,you might want to pick up an extra set of Bumper Shocks and Accordian pieces to modify and put your originals away in case someone just has to have it "All" original.You can find the parts ,cheap.Just a thought.I did this,but don't ask me why.

 

[mpgandco]

beautiful car mpgandco - and love the recaros - can you share some details: what model? what mounting hardware? how seat height compare to orig? where seat upholstery done?
thnks,
alanmcg

Thanks for the props!!. 30 years of love and money.Almost owned as long as Murray,but he still has a few years on me.I did the seats years ago,as well.I think they were just some Cloth Recaro RS's that I had redone in Connolly Leather when I re-did the whole interior.The trick is not to use the Wedge mounting brackets and just use some flat pieces of steel.The Wedge brackets make the seats sit too high in the car.You fabricate the pieces of steel and use your stock sliders and levers.I then had some Polished Stainless covers made to cover the 4 pieces of steel,just to make it look finished.

Another really cool seat for the Coupes is a set of Scheel 400 Series.I recently just bought a set of these and might have them redone in Leather to match.

 

[David]

My car started life like yours. '74, big bumpers, automatic. The auto tranny is absolutely worthless, and I went through two of them. No power, loud, unreliable, just crap. I hated it. I let the car sit for about 2 years after I bought it. With the 5 speed its a different car. Smooth, powerful, quiet....fun.

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7490

I had the big bumpers tucked in too at first, and as you have seen from others, it certainly helps. But based on your stable, Id say its only a matter of time before you switch to euro bumpers. There's no getting around the body work you'll need, but CoupeKing has a new part which will help get the cost down quite a bit.

http://www.e9coupe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7489

I dont really think of mine as a resto-mod. I think of it as putting it back to the way it left Germany before the US DOT got ahold of it.

After the rain clears, Im happy to let you drive mine to compare auto vs 5 speed.

 

[decoupe]

Bumper Shorts

Here's a link to the DIY for tucking the bumpers on a '02 - same procedure for the e9. Protective eyewear!!!!!

http://www.my02.com/pages/2002.htm

Doug

 

[pamp]

Bumper pull

Far easier to remove the two bolts that retain the shocks to the frame to pull the bumper complete vs removing just the bumper and leaving the shocks in place...2 cents

 

[alanmcg]

mpg - am sending you a pm now.

 

[Stan]

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii6/ClassicCoupe/BestInterior.jpg

If you want to keep the car as a museum piece or show car, keep it stock
If you want to drive and enjoy the coupe in its natural element, then I would modify;
3.5L
5 speed
Euro style bumpers

whatever you like to make the car comfortable and as fast as you would like.