FS - '72 csi on ebay

I was paid to check this CSI in Montecito California about a year ago when it was F/S then. The owner had about a $30 million estate with a 5-7 car garages and left the CSI out in the side yard for 3 years. As always the first photo below shows what I found in 5 minutes and where I always first look, you could put your finger right through it.

The fuel delivery system did not work so I prime it with gas and it did start and ran for a few seconds, not a bad sound but these motors are always strong. There are a lot of parts although the body is gone.
The photos on ebay are taken at the Montecito house where the parts are shown is one of the garages the car could have been kept in.
 

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D-Ace Well, that is not a good start to the photo shoot. How typical is this of neglected Cali cars?
I'd imagine it is semi localized and a lot of the metal sound.
 
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I've met this car...

D-Ace is correct. The old girl was left outside for at least several years - I saw her in summer 2008. If I remember correctly the car was partial payment to the estate owner for something or other. Jim N. (former owner) was actually quite the car guy and also amongst the more personable really wealthy people I have ever met. His property and car holdings were remarkable, even for that well heeled corner of Cali. He clearly had no financial incentive to bilk anyone and I found him trustworthy overall. Unfortunately, the E9 just wasn't his thing, and the car was treated as such. I do not know the current owner, but have already reached out to him. I will let the group know what he says.

I did not purchase it because the car sort of fell between "parts only" and $$$+time= (maybe) reasonable driver project. I was also put off by the "too easy to find" rust. As D-ace said - the FI was shot (but it did run briefly with starting fluid).

Only someone who has seen the car/collection of pieces should reasonably pull the trigger here, if the purchase would be intended for restoration. As a storehouse of CSi parts, OTOH, it's probably an easier sell.

Cheers, everyone.
 
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“Nicad”
I'd imagine it is semi localized and a lot of the metal sound.

One the problems with the CSI it was only released in Europe and only gray car ones made it to the USA. With the heavy weather in Europe snow and ice plus salted roads it did a real rust number on the Euro coupes fast in their lower sections. This one was repainted although there was no time spent on the real problem the rusted structure.
As shown in the attachment below the complete rocker panel section plus front lower fender and back quarter panel is gone. I have cut up enough to know the rust came from the inside out. Inter rocker panels; sub-frame and outer rocker panel would fall apart just trying to remove them, once the rugs were removed the floor is rusted too. With no available OEM BMW parts the car is done.

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Baikal
“Jim N. (former owner) was actually quite the car guy and also amongst the more personable really wealthy people I have ever met. His property and car holdings were remarkable, even for that well heeled corner of Cali.”

I lived in Montecito for 10 years in the 1980’s. I have a friend there where I kept my CSI he let us use his shop too until the big fire a few years ago burnt it down.

“Jim N. (former owner)” was about what I expected big $$$ going into a divorce and the wife got the estate. I thought he was a real jerk for leaving a CSI outside with so many garages it could have been parked in. The car was one of the dirtiest CSI I have ever seen.
He played the name game on me about who he knew in Montecito. When he got to having
x-mas dinner with Michael Douglas x-wife I told him “O you know the ice-lady too”.

A question: Were you the one that took the return-line off back to the gas tank? It was a dead give-away someone was checking the fuel delivery system when I first saw it?
 

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D-Ace,

Perhaps I have lightly gilded my memory of interaction with Jim - we connected on a few things, and stayed in touch a bit. I also experienced the name-dropping, but leaning more to the architecture/construction side of things. High-end residential is a bit of a boy's club, and I have come to expect a bit of that nonsense with feeling no ill will towards the perpetrator (within reason). Car-wise I was appalled with respect to treatment of the CSi, but Jim had great knowledge of several true enthusiast cars, in addition to having restored several as well (i do not know the degree to which they were restored by his own hand).

Regarding the body - your eyes are sharper than mine. I remember seeing the rust (how could you not), but additionally wondering why the rear wheel well didn't seem quite right. Now, I know why. Sharp eyes indeed.

As tempting as it may be to 'further dissuade' the next potential purchaser by leaving things unhooked (like the fuel line), I always leave a candidate in at least the condition I have found it. Interestingly, I too have encountered more than a few examples of recently pulled hoses/lines/connectors etc. that come from the poking and prodding of potential purchasers. More than once, I have reconnected enough this or that to improve the running of the car. Once I did so much that the long-time non-runner sprang to life (w/ the associated immediate price increase, of course). Good times.

Cheers, all.
 
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