Bennyz Rod Shop Restoration

scottevest said:
In my humble, ill-informed opinion, it is in the best interest of coupe to ensure that there are multiple options to get old coupes looking great and by helping to educate shops like Bennyz and others to do the best they can will ultimately put more good looking coupes on the road and increase the value of all our coupes. Just my perspective. Having only a few shops that can do this work is not optimal imho. Just saying.
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Not sure I agree. VSR and other shops "got good" in part from what they learned on each resto but also their commitment to excellence, doing it right at any cost. They build their "E9 intellectual capital" with each resto and/or repair that they do and they pay for that in unbilled hours. Same goes with motor building - I'm sure SFDon has his motor building secrets, again built over time through trial and error, which he shares with no one. These guys built that knowledge up over time and that's their edge. Why should they be expected to share all of that knowledge with every new E9 resto wannabe? They've built that knowledge along with a reputation for quality. The latter only comes with time in the market. You're as good as your last resto or motor build. I go to the expert because I know what I'm going to get and at what quality and not pay for learning curve. Do I a pay a premium for it? Maybe, but that's my choice just as you choose to give your business to the local guy.
 
TodB said:
Not sure I agree. VSR and other shops "got good" in part from what they learned on each resto but also their commitment to excellence, doing it right at any cost. They build their "E9 intellectual capital" with each resto and/or repair that they do and they pay for that in unbilled hours. Same goes with motor building - I'm sure SFDon has his motor building secrets, again built over time through trial and error, which he shares with no one. These guys built that knowledge up over time and that's their edge. Why should they be expected to share all of that knowledge with every new E9 resto wannabe? They've built that knowledge along with a reputation for quality. The latter only comes with time in the market. You're as good as your last resto or motor build. I go to the expert because I know what I'm going to get and at what quality and not pay for learning curve. Do I a pay a premium for it? Maybe, but that's my choice just as you choose to give your business to the local guy.
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To be clear, I don't expect VSR etc. to share ANYTHING with other shops, but these other shops can learn from this forum with the help of their owners. That is what I loved about this forum, and when asked by Dan to contribute to the forum to help offset some of the expenses, I did gladly and immediately. @TodB, while I truly appreciate a good discussion, not sure you and I will ever see eye to eye on this, so I'm happy to just accept that.

But I firmly believe that in my personal experience this forum was helpful to those that didn't have the means, time, or inclination for whatever reason to go to one of those experts.

Enough said on my part. Feel free to discuss or disagree as you see fit. I have said my thoughts here, and look forward to simply helping Bennyz as much as he wants and sharing his experience and not suggesting to him to send the car to someone else to restore.

Thanks.

Scott
 
scottevest said:
To be clear, I don't expect VSR etc. to share ANYTHING with other shops, but these other shops can learn from this forum with the help of their owners. That is what I loved about this forum, and when asked by Dan to contribute to the forum to help offset some of the expenses, I did gladly and immediately. @TodB, while I truly appreciate a good discussion, not sure you and I will ever see eye to eye on this, so I'm happy to just accept that.
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Agree to disagree. Let the resto begin!
 
Scott,

I might have disagreed with you on some things during your restoration but; thank you, thank you, thank you for trying to convince them not to fill in the C Pillar Roundel. Somebody needs to make sure that doesn't happen. Same for the inset for the front grills.
 
vince said:
Scott,

I might have disagreed with you on some things during your restoration but; thank you, thank you, thank you for trying to convince them not to fill in the C Pillar Roundel. Somebody needs to make sure that doesn't happen. Same for the inset for the front grills.
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Not my car, not my money. I actually think it will look sort of cool filled in, but I would NEVER do it myself.
 
vince said:
Scott,

I might have disagreed with you on some things during your restoration but; thank you, thank you, thank you for trying to convince them not to fill in the C Pillar Roundel. Somebody needs to make sure that doesn't happen. Same for the inset for the front grills.
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Gah WTF! You will not come out ahead on a $100K restoration if you remove the roundels and fill the front vents. You will have a “custom” e9 that nobody would want to own.

Also, there is a lot going on behind the roundels, including an air vent and a drain to the rocker.

0E052E1F-79A2-4156-9293-C49F57E9600F.jpeg
 
HB Chris said:
They have no clue what they are doing to this coupe, what’s next, shave the door handles? Custom center console? Remove all badges? They are used to hot rods and customs, they will ruin this coupe forever. In my opinion of course.
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I don’t want to disparage Benny & team. I think they will do a good job but they should be steered in the correct direction on timeless euro-friendly modifications. Restomod tricks that work well on domestic muscle cars don’t translate well to Bavarian iron. In fact, I would argue that most of the ghastly creations/modifications that we have seen in the last couple of years were the combination of german car plus american flare. The Wincer V8 and the downgrades to Mike B’s old e9 come to mind.

I’ll be in touch. I’m helping Benny source a few used parts.
 
The beauty of this Forum and the CS Register is we can track the car for years to come.
Taking a long term view I fail to see how this vehicle will appeal to 95% of people looking for an E9.
On the upside there might be some cheap roundel badges coming up for sale soon.

Just my opinion from the bottom of the world :)
 
HB Chris said:
They have no clue what they are doing to this coupe, what’s next, shave the door handles? Custom center console? Remove all badges? They are used to hot rods and customs, they will ruin this coupe forever. In my opinion of course.
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It’s their money. He is not trying to restore to in original condition but trying to make it better and his eyes as an artist. Although I prefer it one way I am open to another way and I’m curious to what it will look like.
 
scottevest said:
It’s their money. He is not trying to restore to in original condition but trying to make it better and his eyes as an artist. Although I prefer it one way I am open to another way and I’m curious to what it will look like.
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Fasten your seatbelts boys, we are in for a long and bumpy ride, again.
 
oneills said:
Fasten your seatbelts boys, we are in for a long and bumpy ride, again.
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You can get off anytime you’d like… In fact, I invite you to do so if you’re not enjoying the ride. That’s the beauty of it all. Just be respectful this time round.

If you don’t want to come along for the ride, just don’t click :)
 
Pleeeeaaase,

somebody should recrute a special force to rescue this survived beauty from this specialists.

They don't have a clue about the spirit of this car or any other classic I suppose.

Wow, I followed their first "restoration" and didn't know many times if I should better laugh about just the bumper conversion and how dump they act at this or to be sad for the car.

Simply the fact, that they consider to remove all the badges and of course especially the C-pillar ones and the side grills in the front fender, should send them directly to prison. :)

It will for sure come out as predicted as one of the best E9s, soooooo clean and easy to wash or polish.

Unbelievable !!!!
 
I fully agree regarding the removal of roundels and grilles. BUT - it is owned by someone who is not necessarily an e9 enthusiast, and wants the car the way he wants it. It's his money and Bennyz work.

I bought a car that was a restomod (US '74 with '72 bumpers, later FI injected 3.8+ engine, non OE 265/6 trans, and Koenig front seats, as well as other small things) Certainly not the way it left the showroom in '74. But, I liked everything except the seats (which another e9 forum member liked). I put in OE seats and used a non BMW color for all the leather replacement. Probably 75% of this forum members have e9's that are not totally original components.

I still wouldn't do what the owner is asking Benny to do, and I wouldn't buy the car when it is modified to the extent Benny indicated. But - his car and his money, so I hope he will enjoy it for a long time.
 
Ok, at first I was like ‘they cannot mess with the iconic bits of the coupe like the c pillar rounded and fender grills,’ it’ll look even more like the Bavaria minus a couple of doors (not necessarily a bad thing). However, the coupes body is what really make it such a beautiful classic: it’s low and long, the proportions are all right, it’s angular and muscular; so maybe, highlighting that by shaving all the extraneous stuff will enhance its looks? I’m willing to wait to pass judgment. I just hope he doesn’t add stuff like custom flares, air dams, etc. Whoever penned the coupe’s body created a master piece, that shouldn’t be messed; I can see the argument that badges and grills are distractions.
 
It is a sure bet for, if nothing else, solid entertainment with threads like this. Personally, I hate (hate is a strong word, how about dislike, or do not prefer) everything that is going in here - largely because this is a good, solid coupe that, in my opinion, deserves something more akin to its designers/makers. Bastardize a rusting, dilapidated coupe - sure. But save the good ones for their heritage. But its not my car, and if this guy wants to "customize" it, its his dime. Instead, I watch with the promise of the entertainment if nothing else. Just listening to Benny and his boyz - its worth the price of admission. And also the guarantee that this post will get a quick and certain response. Keep posting away. :D

EDIT: I just watched the video again and feel a bit sick.
 
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Kinda like an episode of Bitchin Rides.
There will be a lot of parts that many would want.
Might as well delete the front turn signal too and make them LED between the headlamps...
 
This is one of those times when you're witnessing something that you usually only see after the fact. There are modified coupes out there that get posted on the forum and some are "whoa, that's a shame" and others that are "it looks cool and they did a good job with it" but since it's always after the fact we just accept that it was done. When you see something happening real-time your instincts are to speak up and stop it. I think it's just something we have to do. Hopefully this car ends as one of those "looks cool and they did good job with it" cars.
 
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