BMW E3 2500 restoration from Argentina

[Lean181]

Hello everyone! It's a pleasure to officially greet you all. First of all, I want to congratulate you because together you've built a wonderful forum full of valuable information, and above all, you're all people who love their cars and are very willing to help.

Now, let me introduce myself. I'm Leandro, I'm 26 years old, and I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I'm passionate about mechanics and rare vehicles, full of rust and with many problems to solve!

I came across this forum some time ago, looking for answers about my other project, a 1980 BMW E23 with US specs, about which there's little information and even less local knowledge. But thanks to this forum, I was able to solve several problems, mostly related to the M30 engine. However, I'm not here to talk about that car, although it definitely influenced my interest in the E3.

I know this thread will probably be long because I like to go into a lot of detail, so for your convenience, I'll title the different stages of my decision to acquire an E3.

How I discovered the E3:

Thanks to my E23 and the years I’ve spent working on it, I built connections with many knowledgeable people—especially spare parts sellers. Among them was someone who had listed a rare car on Facebook Marketplace, a listing that had been up since the end of the pandemic (2021). It was a car I had never seen before and didn't recognize at all; the only familiar element was the blue-and-white circular logo on the hood and trunk. That car turned out to be none other than an E3 2500.

One night, while researching online and looking for E23 parts, I stumbled upon that listing again. I decided to dig a little deeper into the E3 model and discovered that it was, in many ways, the "father" of the E23 and a pioneer of luxury cars within the BMW lineup. The E3 was listed at a very attractive price, but the photos weren't particularly inspiring and didn't reveal much about the car (plus, I didn't have the money or the storage space for it). It remained nothing more than a night of research—and little else.

A few years later (in 2025), I came across some posts from the same seller showing the car again, and a key factor came into play: he showed the car's interior in detail, and it was simply beautiful. I should mention that the interiors of these cars have always appealed to me—ever since experiencing the E3's predecessor, the E23, with its wood trim and leather everywhere; I could practically smell the interior of that E3. This sparked an interest in the E3, leading to another night of research and fascination with a car I had never seen in person at classic car meets or even heard of before. At that point, it was still for sale at a slightly higher—though still attractive—price, even though I still couldn't afford it or store it. A few months later, I was able to move to a house with much more space, making it more comfortable to work on the E23 (my daily driver) and continue the project I’d started at age 16: a 1946 Chevrolet pickup.

Later on, after wrapping up a year of work on the E23, my girlfriend and I decided to attend an all-makes car event in neighboring Uruguay. The trip had a few hiccups on the way there, but it was a fantastic event to cap off a year of progress and once again demonstrate the E23’s reliability as we drove across the country—practically from end to end.

The trouble started on the return leg. While we were waiting at the terminal to catch the ferry back to Argentina, I had the "bright idea" of checking Instagram and looking at the seller's stories, where the car was listed again—this time at a lower price. My mistake (or stroke of luck) was messaging him to ask about the car and mentioning that it was a shame I didn't have the funds to buy it. That prompted him to reply that I could pay a portion upfront and the rest in installments.

That clearly spelled trouble, because within days I was already traveling to see the car. In my defense, the plan was to see it and face the reality that it would be a difficult project—realizing the car had been sitting idle since before the pandemic and that there was no way I could take it on.

But as you might imagine, the exact opposite happened. It was love at first sight for both me and my girlfriend (a crucial factor, as you know). Although the car had been abandoned and was showing signs of neglect, it had excellent lines and was largely complete—save for a few cosmetic modifications I’ll tell you about later. Its strongest point was clearly the interior: it was complete (albeit disassembled) and featured seats that had been reupholstered and were in excellent condition.

Sadly, after seeing the car, the whole trip was spent discussing how we could afford it; a week later, we went to hand over part of the payment, and a week after that, we went to pick it up (on January 3rd of this year, 2026).

The car in question:

As I mentioned earlier, the car is a European-spec E3 2500. It was initially listed as a 1968 model, but I was later able to all but confirm it is a 1971 model (I’d love to hear your thoughts on this—whether you agree or disagree).
The car is a rare find in this country, as it was never officially sold in Argentina. Only about 5 or 6 were imported, and the whereabouts of only 3 are known—mine and two others—though the fate of the rest is a mystery (though I’m certain they aren't running). My specific unit is rare enough as it is, but it’s even more unique because it served as a vehicle for the German Embassy in Argentina for about three years and was owned by wealthy individuals for practically its entire life; consequently, it received excellent maintenance and care. It even appeared in a local movie back in the day!
It remained in running condition until roughly 2016, when the automatic transmission failed and a manual transmission swap was started. From then on, it passed through various workshops and owners before ending up in my hands—non-functional, with the manual gearbox installed but fitted with the wrong flywheel and clutch (I believe they were from an M20 engine).

Anyway, I don't want to drag out this introduction. Some of you might recognize me, as I’ve been asking around about various parts since the beginning of the year—though I didn't finalize most purchases because shipping costs make importing parts difficult.

Without further ado, here are some photos: first, from the day we went to see it (1-8); then, from the day we brought it home (9-16); and finally, its current state (17-22). I’ll likely post updates as things progress. If you want to see more details, I also have a YouTube channel where I’m uploading weekly progress updates. (https://www.youtube.com/@lean181)
In case you want a spoiler: the car is actually running now with its 5-speed manual transmission! Although I’m currently fixing some rust on the subframe, I plan to have it back on the track this month.

Oh yes, we'll talk about the exterior modifications that make it almost unrecognizable, but believe me—it’s an E3! .

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I hope you all have a great week—long live the E3s!

P.S. My English isn't very good, so I'm using a translator. There are likely some incorrect phrases or words. In any case, please point them out to me and I'll translate them again.

Thanks, Lean.