How do you spot a fake?

K

Knickerbocker

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What are the telltale signs of a fake CSL -- Batmobile or otherwise? With values on the rise, surely this kind of fraud is on the rise.
 
And if possible that the engine number matches the plate and the bulkhead number, not a total "no no" but to be considered

also...

Look for bulkhead number replacement IE near by welding, panels cut and shut.
look for bonnet (hood) with a prop rather than the hinged arrangement.

Alloy doors, bootlid (trunk lid) and bonnet
Lack of engine bay sound proofing
plastic bumper at the rear
black sills (rocker panels)


Some CSL's especially in the UK came with "City packs", basically all the stuff on the Csi in an attempt to sell them.

If it's an ex-race car lots of them started life as 2800's, basically because they were cheaper to start with before being prepped for racing.
Malc
 
best way is to see how flexible the roof skin is as the csl had thinner gauge steel all round so it flexs very easily indeed as opposed to a standard cs.
 
I just looked at the parts catalog and noticed that the numbers are the same for the roof for both the CSL and CSi, the reason that I looked is that I feel a lot of flex when I am waxing my car. This is probably where they didn't want to lighten up the metal. By the way did you know that the Mini weighs in heavier than a standard coupe?
 
The front wings are also lighter gauge steel, and I beilve most of the other pannels are as well.

marc
 
If it's an ex-race car lots of them started life as 2800's, basically because they were cheaper to start with before being prepped for racing.
Malc
Click to expand...

That is one of the ironies of the highly successful E9 CSL race program was that many if not most of the privateer E9 race cars were not even factory CSL's! Also Even the BMW Motorsport CSL's had to have their factory trunk lids replaced with the steel trunk lids because the downforce of the wings were destroying the aluminum trunk lids.

And I doubt if many of the racers would have preferred a "lightened" body paneled car over the stronger steel car as this would provide far less protection in a crash.
 
tripower said:
And I doubt if many of the racers would have preferred a "lightened" body paneled car over the stronger steel car as this would provide far less protection in a crash.
Click to expand...

Given the substantial re-welding of the racing CSLs and the cages and reinforcement BMW Motorsport put in, I'm skeptical that the thinner gauge steel would be an issue in a crash.
 
Just wanna mention that TBL started life as a 'mere' 2800 (but look at her now!). And the fenders (wings) are, I believe, original BMW factory race parts and are fiber glass (glass fibre).
 
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