'72 Atlantik 3.0S

Mo Brighta

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High output bulbs on their way, Robert. I think you will be pleased; I know you are excited.

I have three lights (exactly like yours, only different) in the shop at the moment. Your lenses look PERFECT, mine are a bit less so... But mine came out of a junkyard. Wish I had better lenses to show what the new "Mirror-Bright" restoration does with a set of new high output bulbs. I have been using this restoration process on other cars - two E9 Coupes, a 2002 round tail and a 1972 Porsche 911! The P-car fell in my lap - it's local and should be quite nice when done. I am trying to get the owner to bring the lenses over so I can take some before and after pictures. Your aluminum tape looks like it is about as good, though I'd have to compare a sample. I will contact you off line with an idea I have.

Now that you have rekindled my interest in these lights, I am going to clean and re-silver a pair for purposes of illustration - in case there are other folks out there needing the kind of attention you have given yours; good work! I am also going to set up one or both with the dual brake lights, dual tail lights upgrade for larger and brighter lights for comparison. You have a working rear fog light, how about a picture of that one ON, with the tail lights ON as well, for comparison? This is a useful feature - US cars came without, but could sure use the help.

It's also a good place for another brake light if you like that sort of thing (just saying). ANYTHING to help idiot drivers see you well.
 

Gransin

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High output bulbs on their way, Robert. I think you will be pleased; I know you are excited.

I have three lights (exactly like yours, only different) in the shop at the moment. Your lenses look PERFECT, mine are a bit less so... But mine came out of a junkyard. Wish I had better lenses to show what the new "Mirror-Bright" restoration does with a set of new high output bulbs. I have been using this restoration process on other cars - two E9 Coupes, a 2002 round tail and a 1972 Porsche 911! The P-car fell in my lap - it's local and should be quite nice when done. I am trying to get the owner to bring the lenses over so I can take some before and after pictures. Your aluminum tape looks like it is about as good, though I'd have to compare a sample. I will contact you off line with an idea I have.

Now that you have rekindled my interest in these lights, I am going to clean and re-silver a pair for purposes of illustration - in case there are other folks out there needing the kind of attention you have given yours; good work! I am also going to set up one or both with the dual brake lights, dual tail lights upgrade for larger and brighter lights for comparison. You have a working rear fog light, how about a picture of that one ON, with the tail lights ON as well, for comparison? This is a useful feature - US cars came without, but could sure use the help.

It's also a good place for another brake light if you like that sort of thing (just saying). ANYTHING to help idiot drivers see you well.

Thanks Andy, here is a picture with tail lights ON and stock fog light ON:

Fog light ON.jpg


Talking about fog lights, I just got home a set of really nice Hella 139's to go on the car as soon as I have some time to make some brackets for them.

Hella 139.jpg


Hella 139 1.jpg


And today we got the Securon 254 belts installed in the rear seat, sweet!

IMG_20210417_105346.jpeg


IMG_20210417_105431.jpeg


Got rid of the gas smell in the garage, easy fix!

IMG_20210413_175055.jpeg


Someone has installed a 55mm rear end exhaust pipe, even if 60mm would be the correct size.. But to make the best out of the situation I bought a new chrome end.

IMG_20210413_175337_1.jpeg


IMG_20210413_175903.jpg


Out waiting for the last snow to melt and roads to dry up a little more, also booked for a much needed professional polish + wax session, the paint is oxidized and dry at the moment.

IMG_20210414_190638.jpeg
 

Gransin

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Absolutely stunning! Which rear stabiliser did you fit? Do you happen to know the part number and its size?

Thanks!

I installed a stock 16mm swaybar. Part # is 33551123944 and can be found from e3, e12 and early e24. The one I used came from an e24.
It's not a huge difference compared to driving without one, but you can feel that the rear end is a little more stable now.
 

GolfBavaria

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I don't know how I missed this thread over the last month? Great car! I had an Atlantik 2002 for a brief period of time. It had a salvage title so I sold it.

I agree, Atlantik looks good on any vintage BMW model. I LOVE that interior, I don't think I've seen that before. Interesting bubbling at bottom of gas tank..... looks like? Kind of unusual bubbles, maybe gas leaked and reacted to paint and primer over the years? First time seeing that. Amazing detail job, looks like a new car. Love the ownership history too! That's always cool.....keep up the great work! I realize it's automatic, but what are your initial thoughts driving this vs. the coupe? Biggest thing I notice is the ride height is higher.. Sitting lower in a coupe makes it seem like you are driving faster than the e3 where you sit higher.

I thought the rear sway bar made a big difference on my e3. I bought a set of the ST bars, rear is 7/8" diameter I believe. I found it really helpful at speed on the freeways especially, didn't "sway" around as much...LOL. Cornering noticeable too...there are a lot of E3's here in the states that don't have them, I've heard different stories as to why that is but they were obviously meant to have them from factory.
 

Gransin

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I don't know how I missed this thread over the last month? Great car! I had an Atlantik 2002 for a brief period of time. It had a salvage title so I sold it.

I agree, Atlantik looks good on any vintage BMW model. I LOVE that interior, I don't think I've seen that before. Interesting bubbling at bottom of gas tank..... looks like? Kind of unusual bubbles, maybe gas leaked and reacted to paint and primer over the years? First time seeing that. Amazing detail job, looks like a new car. Love the ownership history too! That's always cool.....keep up the great work! I realize it's automatic, but what are your initial thoughts driving this vs. the coupe? Biggest thing I notice is the ride height is higher.. Sitting lower in a coupe makes it seem like you are driving faster than the e3 where you sit higher.

I thought the rear sway bar made a big difference on my e3. I bought a set of the ST bars, rear is 7/8" diameter I believe. I found it really helpful at speed on the freeways especially, didn't "sway" around as much...LOL. Cornering noticeable too...there are a lot of E3's here in the states that don't have them, I've heard different stories as to why that is but they were obviously meant to have them from factory.

Thanks!

The bubbles on the underside of the car + tank is the Tectyl rust preventive coating that the car has gotten several treatments of, so it's quite thick at places and looks like bubbles. It's a nightmare when you need to do any kind of maintenance on the car, as it's very soft, sticky and oily = quickly becomes a mess but at the same time that's what kept the car from rusting all these years.

It's difficult to compare, my coupe sits on basically brand new suspension with stiffer shocks, springs. Then you have the manual vs automatic gearbox as well.
My coupe feels much sportier than the e3, but I'm sure new bushings, shocks and springs + rebuilt carburetors + a manual gearbox would make the e3 feel pretty similar to the coupe.
While new Bilsteins and a carb rebuild kit are on the way for the e3, we do not intend to make it much more sportier in any way, it's a really nice cruiser and will stay that way.

The automatic gearbox is undoubtedly a bit of an anchor, don't know if it's a little tired (probably after all these years) since the gearshifts are ..ehm.. not very smooth going first gear to second gear, it's more like getting a horse kick to the back if you step on it, but it's okay as long as you don't stress. Maybe they always were that way? I don't know. Looking into swapping for a 4hp22 but that's just an idea for now.

Regarding the swaybars, I'm not sure if ST bars are solid or hollow, but 16mm vs 22,2mm (7/8") is worlds apart when it comes to stiffness, the ST bar is probably 3-4 times stiffer than the original 16mm bar (without doing any calculations). So I understand that the ST bars made a big difference. We considered going to aftermarket bars both front and rear, but that's not the point of this car for us, at least at this moment ;)
 

GolfBavaria

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Thanks!

The bubbles on the underside of the car + tank is the Tectyl rust preventive coating that the car has gotten several treatments of, so it's quite thick at places and looks like bubbles. It's a nightmare when you need to do any kind of maintenance on the car, as it's very soft, sticky and oily = quickly becomes a mess but at the same time that's what kept the car from rusting all these years.

It's difficult to compare, my coupe sits on basically brand new suspension with stiffer shocks, springs. Then you have the manual vs automatic gearbox as well.
My coupe feels much sportier than the e3, but I'm sure new bushings, shocks and springs + rebuilt carburetors + a manual gearbox would make the e3 feel pretty similar to the coupe.
While new Bilsteins and a carb rebuild kit are on the way for the e3, we do not intend to make it much more sportier in any way, it's a really nice cruiser and will stay that way.

The automatic gearbox is undoubtedly a bit of an anchor, don't know if it's a little tired (probably after all these years) since the gearshifts are ..ehm.. not very smooth going first gear to second gear, it's more like getting a horse kick to the back if you step on it, but it's okay as long as you don't stress. Maybe they always were that way? I don't know. Looking into swapping for a 4hp22 but that's just an idea for now.

Regarding the swaybars, I'm not sure if ST bars are solid or hollow, but 16mm vs 22,2mm (7/8") is worlds apart when it comes to stiffness, the ST bar is probably 3-4 times stiffer than the original 16mm bar (without doing any calculations). So I understand that the ST bars made a big difference. We considered going to aftermarket bars both front and rear, but that's not the point of this car for us, at least at this moment ;)
Thanks for the detailed response. The ST sway bars are solid, I also have the 1-1/8" up front. So yes, big difference. Might want to consider but for a cruiser and what you are doing, maybe not. They aren't too expensive though. Curious, what is "Looking into swapping for a 4hp22 but that's just an idea for now?" Another kind of auto trans? Yes, most of the auto trans I've driven in have that "horse kick" you are talking about. But amazingly, especially if you have injection 3.0S they can "get up and go!" But you have to say, "Yah Mule" first! Then kick it in the side with your spurs! :p
 

Gransin

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Thanks for the detailed response. The ST sway bars are solid, I also have the 1-1/8" up front. So yes, big difference. Might want to consider but for a cruiser and what you are doing, maybe not. They aren't too expensive though. Curious, what is "Looking into swapping for a 4hp22 but that's just an idea for now?" Another kind of auto trans? Yes, most of the auto trans I've driven in have that "horse kick" you are talking about. But amazingly, especially if you have injection 3.0S they can "get up and go!" But you have to say, "Yah Mule" first! Then kick it in the side with your spurs! :p

I guess it's easy to get spoiled by driving and knowing how good modern automatic gearboxes shifts :)

Yes, the 4HP22 is a 4 speed automatic that came in newer BMWs like e23, late e24, e28, e32, e34.
But to work in an e3 it needs to be from an M30 powered car, and have a kick-down cable, the newer ones were controlled electronically.
So my understanding is that it needs to come from an e23, late e24 or e28, but I would like to drive one of them before actually considering it.
If anybody knows, or have experience - how much of an upgrade is the newer 4 speed automatic compared to the older 3 speed?

The rear windscreen sticker says "Stets wie ein Traum - seit 1972" or translated "Always like a dream - since 1972"
 

HB Chris

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The US 2800 had a rear bar and no front bar, Bavs got a front bar but no rear bar. Always wondered what BMW’s thinking was on this.

The 3HP-22 in my e12 shifts effortlessly and as long as you keep the pedal to the floor it accelerates nicely as well.
 

GolfBavaria

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Chris one theory was they had to take them off during shipping for some strange reason to strap them down but they CLEARLY were designed to have them as all the mounts and holes are there for an easy install (like the sway bar was originally there then taken off). I wonder if 3.0S owners have them on and not missing? Anyone care to elaborate? Or ANY non-imported e3's to US, e3 2800's etc.
 
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