'74 3.0 CSi in Vermont

BobG

Member
Messages
18
Reaction score
10
Location
Burlington, VT
http://www.rpmvt.com/1974-bmw-3csi

IMG_8999.jpg
 

Strato102

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
478
Reaction score
215
Probably a 73 , an obvious oversight. Really nice interior. It's a shame how many CSI velour interiors are lost forever due to a leather "upgrade". Looks like the engine compartment has some kind of preservative sprayed on it which gives everything kind of a matte finish. Nice Italian touches like the clear lamps, swing away license plate bracket and the books.....like to have those Italian books. Like to see underneath; I am sure it's nice, that's why I would like to see it. Great car and a value. You could spend less but chances are spending the residual on what you bought won't bring it to this level.
 

HB Chris

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
19,418
Reaction score
8,757
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Probably a 73 , an obvious oversight. Really nice interior. It's a shame how many CSI velour interiors are lost forever due to a leather "upgrade". Looks like the engine compartment has some kind of preservative sprayed on it which gives everything kind of a matte finish. Nice Italian touches like the clear lamps, swing away license plate bracket and the books.....like to have those Italian books. Like to see underneath; I am sure it's nice, that's why I would like to see it. Great car and a value. You could spend less but chances are spending the residual on what you bought won't bring it to this level.

Polaris engine bays all turn a bit gold as they age, it may be the clear coat failing. And yes, built in late 73 as 1,134 were built in 74/75 and this one is about 200 VINs earlier.
 

Strato102

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
478
Reaction score
215
You are right about the gold. I have a later Polaris car that had the engine bay repainted in Europe. Too bad because it looks like it was in good shape before but a difference in what you prefer. The PO didn't like the original patina. It seems that the coolant tank/wiper motor/runners/ air cleaner/ booster/etc. have some kind of waxy coating. I thought the fuse box knob was a chrome button on these? Beautiful car would be beautifuller with some XWXs!
 

JFENG

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
3,177
Reaction score
1,393
Location
Bahston (Boston)
Chris, Maybe I'm wrong...
Back then the traditional plant switch over to the new model year was done in August and early September. "Model Year" changes were implemented during these change over periods. SOP for the 1974 model would typically be late September. So if a car was built in the last quarter of 1973, it would be configured as a 1974 "model year" vehicle.
 

Keshav

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
2,760
Reaction score
2,773
Location
Germany
The window circuit breakers, the round plastic knob for the hood release door and the newer style window switches are definately part of the face lift. And as John states, as off Sept the cars are considered next years model, ie, last quarter 1973 model is considered a 1974, at least here.
Early 73 cars almost surely didn’t have the above mentioned parts as far as I know.
 

teahead

aka "Rob"
Site Donor $
Messages
6,383
Reaction score
1,844
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
Seat and door card patterns seems to suggest 1973???

Can't tell from the pics which side the turn signal stalk is on.

Nice car for sure, but a bit plain to me. I like Polaris w/black interior myself.
 

Strato102

Well-Known Member
Site Donor
Messages
478
Reaction score
215
I think it just boils down to this: Looking at an Italian PRA "Certificato Di Proprieta" of a vehicle recently bought and imported by me, you won't find the build date or model year anywhere. Just "data immatricolazione" which is first registration. A car imported by me from Germany even more recently has the "Datum derErtzulassung" on the 'Breif which , again, is date of first registration and not a build date anywhere. On that particular car just described, the build date was 25 years old but the registration date had a few months yet. When searching for a car online on one of the big European sites, you have to choose "year of first registration" when looking for a specific model year. I am sure Keshav knows that a lot of weight is put on the date of first registration. I believe this is simply a 1973 car that is called a 74 because of the above reasons and it all goes hand in hand with importing a European model car which, in this case, looks nicer the more you look at it.
 

Keshav

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
2,760
Reaction score
2,773
Location
Germany
I am sure Keshav knows that a lot of weight is put on the date of first registration

My thought is that this is a late 73 production car with some of the face lift/ 1974 features like the ones pointed out, regardless of the first date of registration.
 
Top