Damn Dick you beat me to it. That is the first thing I saw. Actually the leaf stuck in the pass door window crank was the first thing as I was trying to figure out location.
If you were a true botanist, identifying that leaf would have gotten you within 50 miles of Kansas City.
Botany for $1200 Alex, "What kind of windshield is so clear it looks like it isn't there? Answer : a broken one! Looks like the windshield on this one is missing in the centre and laying in the dashboard. Hmmm
Mike Goble
Well-Known Member
I've never seen a windshield break like that. Almost like it is made out of plate glass.
I've never seen a windshield break like that. Almost like it is made out of plate glass.
Looks like he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt
I know Chris will have the answer to this one.
If the Bavaria was made for the American market, why is the antenna site variable, meaning why would they have the antenna placed by the US dealer and not at the factory? This car's antenna is in a different spot than mine. Mine is mounted with a side mount on the driver A-pillar.
If the Bavaria was made for the American market, why is the antenna site variable, meaning why would they have the antenna placed by the US dealer and not at the factory? This car's antenna is in a different spot than mine. Mine is mounted with a side mount on the driver A-pillar.
It’s much easier I think for the dealer to use the fender location but any location was up to the whim of the dealer. On a 2002 you had to use the A pillar and I’ve seen them on both sides. My coupe had a fender antenna on the passenger side when I got it.
Also the installation instructions were done by the radio manufacturers, not BMW so it likely varied that way also. My Becker instructions say driver side fender.
I just thought that since totally for the US market, the radio etc would have been standard and not an option since the Bavaria was supposed to be an entry level luxury car.
My E9 had an antenna run under the carpet and into the trunk by some P.O. with a rubber antenna just sitting there. No external antenna was installed. I actually liked that because I ran a small amplified antenna under the front dash. Great reception, no outside holes for water.
My E9 had an antenna run under the carpet and into the trunk by some P.O. with a rubber antenna just sitting there. No external antenna was installed. I actually liked that because I ran a small amplified antenna under the front dash. Great reception, no outside holes for water.
This is a few weeks old but interesting and a lot of people around here like to do things right. So:
BMW only ever put the aerial on the left front wing on the E3. Karmann probably did the same with the E9, too little knowledge about the E9 to be sure.
Most Italian E3 have an electric aerial on the left rear wing. The importer never ordered works radios but retrofitted them in Italy, reasons see below. Exceptions are the 3.3 models.
This is what a veteran radio & TV technician told me: We always put the aerials on the rear wing, as far away from the ignition coil as possible. You could not trust the interference suppression kits, then. Only on Diesel cars we happily placed them on the front wing because the wiring was much shorter that way.
That's it. Dealers could place aerials/antennas where they liked, on the E3 & E9. On the 02 there was the choice between A-pillar, centre of bootlid, and roof (mostly front or centre). On the 02 Cabriolet it was only centre of bootlid as the reinforced windshield frame served as rollbar. Never drill there.
Wrong. BMW gives detailed instructions on how to retrofit a radio, an aerial, an electric aerial, or a rear speaker, with exact measurements: Repair Manual, section 65. Whether workshops or owners followed the instructions is a different story.
BMW only ever put the aerial on the left front wing on the E3. Karmann probably did the same with the E9, too little knowledge about the E9 to be sure.
Most Italian E3 have an electric aerial on the left rear wing. The importer never ordered works radios but retrofitted them in Italy, reasons see below. Exceptions are the 3.3 models.
More than you'd guess, at least in Europe. Or they wanted one but not as expensive as BMW offered them. Lots of radios were retrofitted by the dealers prior to delivery, easy money for them and still a bargain for the customers.
Radio came as an option for the 3.0 S Bavaria, at least the early ones. It was standard (with 3 speakers) on the late 3.0 Si USA. Outside the US, only the 3.3 L & 3.3 Li came with a radio and always with the best there was. For some markets, importers may have ordered cars with radios only, that I don't know.
I like that, too. If you rebuild a car today, this is probably the way to go.
This is what a veteran radio & TV technician told me: We always put the aerials on the rear wing, as far away from the ignition coil as possible. You could not trust the interference suppression kits, then. Only on Diesel cars we happily placed them on the front wing because the wiring was much shorter that way.
In the US the radio was only added by the dealer on an e9 and I can only assume on the e3 post 1974 as well. We have Dealer window stickers in the Tech Info section of the Home page. The dealer would add a small addendum to the window sticker for items they added like radio, antenna, additional undercoating, passenger side mirror, etc. Anyone ever see a radio delete plate in an e9?
Here's the Becker instructions for E9, which was given to the dealers for install here.
Right. That was not what I meant. Surely Becker, Blaupunkt, Hirschmann etc. gave their own instructions. BMW, on the other hand, also explained in detail how to do it and the radio manufacturers probably copied what they needed. The aerial/antenna placement in your sheet differs max. 5 mm from the works positions, for E3 & E9.
The Becker speaker section is more elaborate than the BMW one mainly because your Becker came with four speakers whereas BMW initially offered but one centre rear speaker. Looking at the fader positioning, Becker only says "most suitable place". BMW gives "centre of under-dash panel, 190 mm from top".
Given the multitude of speaker models and positions (footwells, door panels, on parcel shelf, in parcel shelf) it seems clear everyone had their own instructions leading to lots of different results. For the basics, however, e.g. mounting & connecting radio and aerial, all could rely on what BMW said.
Then add the Italian example and the technician's quote who both cared little about manufacturer's instructions and our cars' age, well, here we are.
Like the Becker instruction a lot. Might check if the rear speaker placement on the 3.3 models is identical to the one Becker suggested.
And the Blue Book only shows e3 as do most of the sections and it is a non a/c equipped e3. Interesting that Becker show an a/c panel!