'72 Atlantik 3.0S

HB Chris

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Same with 1600, early cars had mounts and no rear sway bar. Might have been Hoffman’s attempt to reduce the price in the US.
 

CSBM5

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I recall my 1972 Bavaria had a 19mm front bar and no rear bar as delivered. Later I changed those for 22/19 and then a couple years after that the 28/22 combo which was incredible. The 28mm front bar stressed the mounting tab so much that Ray Korman had some small aluminum blocks made that you'd slip in above the swaybar mount and secure to the frame...it took up the gap between them and stiffened up the mount so it wouldn't deform the tab.
 

E3-3.0Si

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This is a really interesting discussion and so far as I'm aware, the very early E3s had a rear bar and no front one, then that decision was reversed. I don't know when/why.

I've bought a 23mm front and 18mm rear bar for my '77 3.0Si which I'm hoping will tighten things up a little. It has the original 19mm front bar fitted but nothing on the rear. I'm also going to be replacing all the bushes, and fitting a set of Bilsteins all round as well as slightly stiffer 3.3Li rear springs and the front springs from an E12 M535i. So I'm curious how it'll feel then!
 

AustinOski

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I believe an 18 mm rear bar was another factory option as well.
I saw the 18mm bar (or maybe the 20mm) referred to as the “tropical” option on one parts list (Real OEM or Max). I get the tropical radiator, but tropical sway bar?

I have a stock rear in my attic, but put STs on and it handles so much better. When I got the stock sway, I thought the box was empty. STs are not only thicker, but clearly have much more metal in them.

@Gransin - Love that car, btw! Looks really nice.
 

E3-3.0Si

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I saw the 18mm bar (or maybe the 20mm) referred to as the “tropical” option on one parts list (Real OEM or Max). I get the tropical radiator, but tropical sway bar?

I have a stock rear in my attic, but put STs on and it handles so much better. When I got the stock sway, I thought the box was empty. STs are not only thicker, but clearly have much more metal in them.

@Gransin - Love that car, btw! Looks really nice.

Interestingly I spotted the 20mm rear bar too, under the 'sport suspension' parts category. Sadly they are long since NLA from BMW and I've tried (without any success) to find one.

The 3.3Li rear springs are listed as HD for other models, so a little bit stiffer than the standard part.

I have to say I'm curious about the ST bars now though. Not sure anybody in Europe stocks them?
 

Ulrich 3.0 CSA

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Hello Gransin
My 3.0 CSA automatic shifted also very hard when I got it.
After changing oil in the transmission twice (drove some kilometers) and cleaning the metal filter inside it shifts very smooth.
Also the oilpan was removed and cleaned from inside.
Regards Ulrich
 

Gransin

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Hello Gransin
My 3.0 CSA automatic shifted also very hard when I got it.
After changing oil in the transmission twice (drove some kilometers) and cleaning the metal filter inside it shifts very smooth.
Also the oilpan was removed and cleaned from inside.
Regards Ulrich

Thanks Ulrich, so there might actually be some hope to get it smoother! We had planned to change the oil anyways but as always when it's spring/early summer there's so much to do and so little time.

Do you remove the oilpan to access the metal filter?
 

Ulrich 3.0 CSA

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Thanks Ulrich, so there might actually be some hope to get it smoother! We had planned to change the oil anyways but as always when it's spring/early summer there's so much to do and so little time.

Do you remove the oilpan to access the metal filter?
Hello Gransin
Yes I removed the oilpan
Than you see the metal filter
I did this twice
In between I drove the car 6 month
Don‘t forget To flush the oilcooler also
My car has Borg Warner transmission. I even got the sealing for the oilpan direct from BMW.
You can find all Parts at realoem.
Now it shifts like a modern car...nearly
Ulrich
 

HB Chris

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I could use a set of brackets as well for my Marchals. I bought a euro driver side rear lens assembly with the bayonet mount for the rear fog but haven’t installed it.
 

Mot27cars

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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.
My e3 Bavaria (1972) had front and rear sway bars when I got it. 19/16mm. I am going to st bars 28/22mm. I may sell my original ones.
 

Christoph

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Hello all,
@Gransin: Congratulations to your fantastic car. It looks outstanding, and its history makes it almost unique. Is it true the 3.0 S went to Portugal first only to be shipped to Finland afterwards? Very few cars went to both countries, anyway, but one that has a history of both is unbelievable. And that rustproofing sheet, wow.
The upholstery seems to be great, too. Hardly any fading to yellow visible which is quite common with the silver-grey cloth. Never mind the Series 3 trim rings on the steel wheels. Caps & rings look great on any E3, and more so against an upscale colour like Atlantik. Please take very good care of your front wheelarch trim. They get torn very easily, especially with the 7x14 wheels and wide tyres.
@dang: Most likely, there were three different wheelcaps. The oldest ones are more like cones and have a black ring around the roundel. The later versions are flat and differ only slightly. You need to see both to notice the difference, at least I do.
Sway bars: This is what the German options lists say.
Series 1 - 2500 F/R optional, 2800 F optional, R standard
Series 2 - all models F standard, R optional
Series 3 - all models F standard, R optional until early 1974
It seems the people at BMW realised the front bar did help the roadholding whereas the rear one had an effect, too, but not a good one. Instead, with the rear bar the inner rear wheel tends to lift off and slip on hard cornering or wet surfaces. As the E3 evolved from sporty to comfortable during its lifespan, and more so after the oil crisis, there may have been no need for the rear bar anymore.
Please do not take it as an offense but instabilities from the rear axle usually come from tired shock absorbers and/or old bushings. If the rear suspension is sound, it is possible to go much faster than any speed limit allows even on winding motorways.
Cheers, Christoph
 

Dick Steinkamp

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@Christoph. Very good point that more bar is not always better. If it was the case we would all be running around with NO suspension ;)

My sons relatively stock E36 M3 turned faster laps with the rear bar disconnected.
 

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Sway bars: This is what the German options lists say.
Series 1 - 2500 F/R optional, 2800 F optional, R standard
Series 2 - all models F standard, R optional
Series 3 - all models F standard, R optional until early 1974
It seems the people at BMW realised the front bar did help the roadholding whereas the rear one had an effect, too, but not a good one. Instead, with the rear bar the inner rear wheel tends to lift off and slip on hard cornering or wet surfaces. As the E3 evolved from sporty to comfortable during its lifespan, and more so after the oil crisis, there may have been no need for the rear bar anymore.
Please do not take it as an offense but instabilities from the rear axle usually come from tired shock absorbers and/or old bushings. If the rear suspension is sound, it is possible to go much faster than any speed limit allows even on winding motorways.
Cheers, Christoph
Sorry, I'm going to break this forum trying to quote. Christoph- thanks for sharing this. Also, lean is retro cool.
 

Gransin

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My car has Borg Warner transmission. I even got the sealing for the oilpan direct from BMW.
You can find all Parts at realoem.
Now it shifts like a modern car...nearly
Ulrich

Ulrich,
We had of course planned on flushing the ATF fluid anyway, but reading about your success we started the process straight away. What came out of our BW was nasty!
It wasn't burnt, but it had been there for ages I suppose, no particles in the filter. We flushed the gearbox a total of 4 times (oilpan down each time to change as much as possible). Got a new gasket from BMW which was not great, I guess the original one was cork, and the available one was not, so it did leak as the new gasket wasn't soft enough. Had to put some sealant on both sides of the gasket and then it worked as it should..
Anyway, the gearbox shifts much, much smoother now! Thanks for the advice :)

@Gransin - So, about those fog light brackets…I have 139s I need to mount, too.

I'd like to get the Hellas installed, but how professionally I do it, is another question. I don't have the tools available to fabricate/replicate the original ones if I recall correctly what they are supposed to look like. I must say I haven't had time to look into it at all, we've been so busy with just getting the most important things done, and still will be for some time.

Hello all,
@Gransin: Congratulations to your fantastic car. It looks outstanding, and its history makes it almost unique. Is it true the 3.0 S went to Portugal first only to be shipped to Finland afterwards? Very few cars went to both countries, anyway, but one that has a history of both is unbelievable. And that rustproofing sheet, wow.
The upholstery seems to be great, too. Hardly any fading to yellow visible which is quite common with the silver-grey cloth. Never mind the Series 3 trim rings on the steel wheels. Caps & rings look great on any E3, and more so against an upscale colour like Atlantik. Please take very good care of your front wheelarch trim. They get torn very easily, especially with the 7x14 wheels and wide tyres.

Hi Christoph,
Yes the car was bought by the regime in Portugal, the car was delivered on December 27th, 1971 to Portugal and was then sent to Finland in early 1972 to be used as a diplomatic car in Helsinki. The story as a diplomatic car ended when the Carnation revolution took place in Portugal on April 25, 1974.
What happened to the car around this time isn't very clear, but somehow the doctor got his hands on it 1975 and owned it up until 2017.
 

Gransin

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Otherwise we've just been enjoying the car as much as possible when time allows, between maintenance and upgrades.

We've installed new Bilsteins, refreshed most of the brake system, replaced some steering linkage, installed a pertonix, played around with the Zeniths, replaced some gaskets here and there, then the MC had leaked into the brake booster, resulting in a leaking brake booster from the brake fluid built up inside of it.
Fortunately @Keshav helped us (as always :love:) find a really nice booster so we bought a new MC and installed the 'new' brake booster with it.

Now the car runs, but the Zeniths are acting up and it's simply time to refresh them from the ground up, we've bought a pair of Royze ZE28K kits + big ultrasonic cleaner and will start that journey as soon as the weather changes to the colder side.

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