Those are 14” BMW Turbine style wheels very common on e12.
Hello, new E9-er from Encinitas CA
- Thread starter Eric V
- Start date
Eric
Welcome to the SoCal Vintage BMW community - the the e9coupe forums - and my dirty little secret is this is the only forum I spend any time on! I think you got a very fair deal on your car and looking forward to seeing it. We have a great group in SoCal and lot of E9 owners. Be patient with the restoration work, mine has now taken ten years and counting.....long lousy story we won't get into now. And there is more knowledge here than you'll ever need. Save Saturday June 6 as that will be when La Jolla Independent has their open house and we get a lot of vintage BMWs down there. Send your email and I'll put you on the mailing list.
Welcome to the SoCal Vintage BMW community - the the e9coupe forums - and my dirty little secret is this is the only forum I spend any time on! I think you got a very fair deal on your car and looking forward to seeing it. We have a great group in SoCal and lot of E9 owners. Be patient with the restoration work, mine has now taken ten years and counting.....long lousy story we won't get into now. And there is more knowledge here than you'll ever need. Save Saturday June 6 as that will be when La Jolla Independent has their open house and we get a lot of vintage BMWs down there. Send your email and I'll put you on the mailing list.
And don’t forget Sunday June 7th here in Huntington Beach for the HB Concours.
"Send your email and I'll put you on the mailing list."
Send via PM?
Send Jeff a PM/conversation for SoCalVintage. Our Concours is at hbconcours.org.
"Re: Automatic transmission. "
I like automatics and I generally prefer cruisers over muscle cars. My Cougar had the manual 4-speed top loader transmission. The clutch was so stiff that my knee still hurts even 12 years after driving it. But passing on the highway with an under powered engine and an automatic can give you white knuckles.
"To me the 3.0 CS is not a sports car,"
I see the CS as an elegant car reminiscent of the 1960's "jet set" lifestyle with sports car underneath. My CS is a 72 and its technology was superior to most American cars at the time. In 1972, the Ford 302 V8 had only approx 140 HP and most Fords were only outfitted with front disc brakes and a solid rear axle. The CS with its 6-cyl put out approx 170-189 HP and had 4 wheel disc brakes and 4-wheel independent suspension. And to my surprise my 72 CS has a sort of analog data port which is pretty damned cool. Maybe its unfair to compare base model Fords to the BMW CS, but the CS is definitely a sports car. And don't get me wrong about 60's 70's Fords, I love them like I love BMW. And after all, Ford did produce the GT-40, which killed Ferrari. I digress.
I think most Eurpoean cars from the 60s and early 70s look better with more sidewall, so when I changed I went to 15" wheels. Moreover, tires with a larger sidewall insulate the frames of our cars from road hazards, harshness and vibration, helping to preserve the structure and making the ride more comfortable.
Completely agree, the sidewall was a design component of the suspension. It's a treat to drive a car that still has stock suspension components and sidewalls (in good repair of course), the ride and steering feel make for a blast from the past.
i'm right there with you ... i have Stevehose's 15" OZ wheels, after he went to 14" alpinas. the OZ wheels look very similar to alpinas. the downside is that tires for both 14 + 15 wheels are limited. with the 14's you can get the Pirelli cn36 or the Michelin XWX - both are just expensive. you can get the cn-36 for the 15" wheel too, just 90 gbp more (each) than the 14"
Thanks for that. When I first got the Weds I bought a set of Yokohama tires that are ok, but not great, because I needed something to tide me over until I got my suspension to where I wanted it to be. I'm getting pretty close, so I am going to be looking to replace those soon. I did not know the Pirellis were an option.
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they are an option, but at 290 gbp / each ... that makes my 911 tires seem inexpensive. when i go to replace the michelin's on the wheels ... i will have to think long / hard about what to put on. i love the look of the cn-36 ... i had them on my car back in the day.
OK mechanically sorted out now, time to consider the interior. Looks like what I have is a Gobi interior and someone has painted over the seats and lower door card panels with an unfortunate shade of yellow tan.
My Q: should all the door card sections be the same color and should it match the armrests?
My Q: should all the door card sections be the same color and should it match the armrests?
Yes, is the short answer on 'should all of the panels match...armrests, etc'...Panels should all match each other. Armrests and junction piece at panel are a different vinyl and styrene (or similar) plastic, respectively, and all three fade or don't fade, via UV, at different rates. Fresh from the factory, panels, armrests, and plastic piece probably match pretty closely. Spray "dye", which is really just a flexible top coat, and not truly a dye. That said, SEM makes a good rattle-can product that can make these all match again. Order enough to do all pieces so that the "dye lot" will be consistent, can to can. If you can, match to the seats, as the vertical surfaces will see less flex/wear. See if there is a small snippet under you can steal for the SEM folks to match to...last I heard, they would do this.
Cant tell from pic if you are trying to show a pink tone to the arm rest innards, where the sun doesn't shine?
Ashtray is easy to take apart to change color, also.
Cant tell from pic if you are trying to show a pink tone to the arm rest innards, where the sun doesn't shine?
Ashtray is easy to take apart to change color, also.
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Hi Dave, that’s what I’ll do. Yes the under armrest rear center section and the front door armrests look like the “correct” color I should try to match. It’s another member posting about wanting 1974 Gobi backseats, mine are in good shape other than the unfortunate respray. I’ve been in contact with that member for info and images as well.
To my eye your seats look more like the original color which was a yellowy tan. Remember, Gobi is a name that GAHH and World use, it was not a name that BMW ever used.
Aha. Well since the car is already a non-standard color (my current best guess is Bahama 170) I may just choose an upholstery color that I like rather than try to replicate original.
Always a great option!
