Hello! I've been a member here for many years and all of them without an E9. That has very recently changed. While some of you know me, most probably do not. I have had 5-series cars for years, primarily E28s and have been blessed to currently own a few pretty-okay BMWs. 1 E12, 4 E28s (was 6 until Saturday), 1 E34, 2 E39s, 1 E36/8 and 2 non-running, long-dormant, fuel-injected '02s. Add to that through some virtually-unfathomable turn of events, an E9!
This is a big deal for me, so there's a story. I hope you like reading. There are photos, but words first.
I'm never in the market for a car. A watched pot never boils. You never find anything when you're shopping for it. Maybe you do, but I don't. I've looked at a few E9s over the years, most all of them projects and have also used what I've learned to inspect a couple for other potential buyers. As time went on, I had gotten a couple of opportunities on interesting cars and I of course seized those. Meanwhile the window on acquiring a reasonable coupe project was shrinking. The ship was leaving the harbor. I would regularly get sent ads for cars and oftentimes they were depressing with considerable rust or acute rodent infestations (or both!). Occasionally I'd see something pretty decent but the money wasn't going to happen. There were a couple really good prospects, but those were like betting on an inside straight where it was up to someone else to pass. I had mostly written-off E9 ownership.
In late May of this year, after my former Golf '75 530i was on BaT, I was again feeling the emptiness having sold that one and was going through the photos of the car when I had it. Didn't help. Around this same time, a pretty-interesting (to me, at least) Golf E12 520i (tii motor) was available in Europe. I was seriously interested in the car and went back and forth a few times with the seller, scrutinizing videos frame by frame and asking for more detailed info. I was very close to making an offer on the car despite a few red flags.
It's early June. I had a Polaris/Navy '73 3.0 CS in my shop for about a month for a few projects, chief of which recommissioning the air conditioning. I receive a text from OcCoupe saying he has a question about car value. I'm expecting it to be something more in my wheelhouse, but he surprises me with a 1 owner 1970 2800 CS 4-speed that's Polaris/Navy (which is why I thought it was funny having a nearly identical E9 on the lift). He was told the car has about 150k miles, supposedly never driven in rain, supposedly no rust and supposedly shiny original paint (original Polaris? Inconceivable!). Sounds great of course, but the hitch is it's a non runner with a broken rocker and it's been laid up a while because of that. Naturally, in that time, it's had a few tenants under the hood, but they've been evicted. We went back and forth a bit mostly not believing claims about original paint or it would have to at least be a repaint early on, given the widespread clear-coat failures on these cars and that the rodent issues must be more widespread. He says he may go see it this week. I didn't ask many details of the circumstances surrounding the car, but simply said that this sounds like my ideal coupe (I have been blessed with lots of silver cars). He replied saying "looking more like your 520i." Hmm. I doubt I could afford it, but [looks at 3.0 CS] it would definitely be interesting!
Mike went to see the car and was tasked with inspecting the car to assess it's value. He took a number of photos of the important areas and went over the paint with an elcometer, photographing that as well. He was able to objectively look at what was there, which naturally differed somewhat to what he was told initially. He also got to meet the 96-year-old original owner of the car, Mr. Johnson.
He texts me to tell me "it's real" and we talked for awhile about the car and the situation. Turns out this car really has original paint and it's actually shiny. Original interior, beautiful dash and wood, nice seats, etc. No signs of rodents anywhere other than under the hood. The motor isn't the original. The block is from a '74 automatic Bavaria and it has a 1980 head, but the original owner "added a gear to the transmission." There was something lost in translation there but it's a 5-speed. I'm waiting to hear what this car is going to cost and I probably can't afford it. Of course, that's when I find out that once again, I'm not buying a coupe, as it was to be traded to the owner's airplane mechanic in part exchange for restoration work. Mike sent the photos anyway and the car was surprisingly nice. I simply was in disbelief over the dash and the paint. We occasionally talked about it in a roundabout way discussing his plan with his 2800 CS, but I was again disappointed. I had renewed interest in the E12, but I spent some time taking a really deep dive frame by frame in the videos and I tallied up enough red flags to decide I didn't need to spend the money and my money would probably be better spent redoing the EDC suspension on my E34 or spending $5000 on a turbocharger to make a 2002 run - basically improving cars I already own.
Fast-forward to the Monday following Monterey Car Week. I'm at lunch with a friend and I get a text from Mike, "please call." I'm thinking oh no, I was at his house a couple times when I was there, did I leave something? I tell him I can call him back soon and I do at the first opportunity. He tells me that he got a message from the owner of the 2800 CS, asking if he knew anyone that would be interested in the car as the deal fell through. We talk about the car a bit as it's been a few months and he goes back and forth with her and comes up with a price. I ask for 24 hours to see if it's doable. She was fine with that. We talk more the next day (Tuesday), I have a plan (and a polarizing 528e that just went live on Bring-A-Trailer, so there will hopefully be some cushion there). Mike also checked with a contact of his about transporting the car. Sounded like he was already coming this way. Mike puts me in contact with the seller.
I have a great conversation with the seller. She tells me about Mr. Johnson (her father-in-law) and how he was excited about the 2800 CS from the Road & Track road test. He went to Hoffman's LA office and drove the same car they used in the magazine and tried to buy it, but they weren't allowed to sell it, so he ordered one through H&E German Car Sales in Palo Alto. He picked the car up at the dock in Oakland in July, 1970. She gave some other details that were inaccurate but also inconsequential. We agreed on a price and I sent a deposit then set about sending the rest of the funds in the manner she requested.
The car was picked up Friday, August 26th, which was a stress-filled day as FedEx absolutely positively delivered the funds to the wrong house, three streets away. Fortunately, just as I was walking into the first of two banks to hurriedly stop payment on checks and send wire transfers, her neighbor delivered the package to her and crisis averted. Safely, in the trailer, the E9 arrived at my house Saturday morning. Had this not come up and played out like this, I'd have been on my way while it was still dark to HBChris' house in Huntington Beach to prepare for the San Marino Motor Classic on the 28th, but I had to wait for a "delivery." The car showed up and I was stunned. I spent a little time looking at the car before pushing it in the garage and hitting the road.
I think it's time for a few photos of the delivery.
I couldn't believe what this looked like inside the trailer!
Needless to say I was shocked at the overall condition of the car. 52-year-old original paint and interior. The gaps are really nice, the doors shut well. It's very clean and dry underneath. It even still has the fiberboard pan under the nose (it has seen better days, but it's there!). It's not a perfect car. It has clearly been used but cared for. My plan is to preserve what's here as much as I possibly can. I still have a decent-sized project ahead with the mechanicals after sitting so long but I'll gladly take that given the state of the rest of it. I have quite a bit of thinking to do about the engine. The rocker is not broken, but there's a lot of movement, so I'm interested to see what's actually going on. I have lots of different M30 ideas I've been playing with for years but I'd love to get the motor in the car running in the meantime. I'll pull the head sometime soon and will go from there.
I have the owners manual, the original purchase order for the car along with a couple copies of the Road & Track with the 2800 CS road test (most expensive car tested at $8107 - more than the 911E - $7995) an issue of Sports Car Graphic with another test and even a CSL brochure along with the RHD CSL equipment leaflet that was such a topic of discussion earlier this year. Seemed odd, but I'm not complaining.
Hopefully soon I'll get to meet Mr. Johnson, the original owner, myself as I still have to collect a good amount of parts for the car.
I'm beyond thrilled to have this car and want to thank Mike (OcCoupe) for all of his help in getting my hopes up, then crushing my dreams
and helping to make this a reality despite the challenges. I walk out into the garage and am excited to see the car and am very much looking forward to getting this back on the road and sharing it at events. I guess you're all stuck with me now.
Stick around for great updates like removing ~30 lbs of rodents nest from the nose.
This is a big deal for me, so there's a story. I hope you like reading. There are photos, but words first.
I'm never in the market for a car. A watched pot never boils. You never find anything when you're shopping for it. Maybe you do, but I don't. I've looked at a few E9s over the years, most all of them projects and have also used what I've learned to inspect a couple for other potential buyers. As time went on, I had gotten a couple of opportunities on interesting cars and I of course seized those. Meanwhile the window on acquiring a reasonable coupe project was shrinking. The ship was leaving the harbor. I would regularly get sent ads for cars and oftentimes they were depressing with considerable rust or acute rodent infestations (or both!). Occasionally I'd see something pretty decent but the money wasn't going to happen. There were a couple really good prospects, but those were like betting on an inside straight where it was up to someone else to pass. I had mostly written-off E9 ownership.
In late May of this year, after my former Golf '75 530i was on BaT, I was again feeling the emptiness having sold that one and was going through the photos of the car when I had it. Didn't help. Around this same time, a pretty-interesting (to me, at least) Golf E12 520i (tii motor) was available in Europe. I was seriously interested in the car and went back and forth a few times with the seller, scrutinizing videos frame by frame and asking for more detailed info. I was very close to making an offer on the car despite a few red flags.
It's early June. I had a Polaris/Navy '73 3.0 CS in my shop for about a month for a few projects, chief of which recommissioning the air conditioning. I receive a text from OcCoupe saying he has a question about car value. I'm expecting it to be something more in my wheelhouse, but he surprises me with a 1 owner 1970 2800 CS 4-speed that's Polaris/Navy (which is why I thought it was funny having a nearly identical E9 on the lift). He was told the car has about 150k miles, supposedly never driven in rain, supposedly no rust and supposedly shiny original paint (original Polaris? Inconceivable!). Sounds great of course, but the hitch is it's a non runner with a broken rocker and it's been laid up a while because of that. Naturally, in that time, it's had a few tenants under the hood, but they've been evicted. We went back and forth a bit mostly not believing claims about original paint or it would have to at least be a repaint early on, given the widespread clear-coat failures on these cars and that the rodent issues must be more widespread. He says he may go see it this week. I didn't ask many details of the circumstances surrounding the car, but simply said that this sounds like my ideal coupe (I have been blessed with lots of silver cars). He replied saying "looking more like your 520i." Hmm. I doubt I could afford it, but [looks at 3.0 CS] it would definitely be interesting!
Mike went to see the car and was tasked with inspecting the car to assess it's value. He took a number of photos of the important areas and went over the paint with an elcometer, photographing that as well. He was able to objectively look at what was there, which naturally differed somewhat to what he was told initially. He also got to meet the 96-year-old original owner of the car, Mr. Johnson.
He texts me to tell me "it's real" and we talked for awhile about the car and the situation. Turns out this car really has original paint and it's actually shiny. Original interior, beautiful dash and wood, nice seats, etc. No signs of rodents anywhere other than under the hood. The motor isn't the original. The block is from a '74 automatic Bavaria and it has a 1980 head, but the original owner "added a gear to the transmission." There was something lost in translation there but it's a 5-speed. I'm waiting to hear what this car is going to cost and I probably can't afford it. Of course, that's when I find out that once again, I'm not buying a coupe, as it was to be traded to the owner's airplane mechanic in part exchange for restoration work. Mike sent the photos anyway and the car was surprisingly nice. I simply was in disbelief over the dash and the paint. We occasionally talked about it in a roundabout way discussing his plan with his 2800 CS, but I was again disappointed. I had renewed interest in the E12, but I spent some time taking a really deep dive frame by frame in the videos and I tallied up enough red flags to decide I didn't need to spend the money and my money would probably be better spent redoing the EDC suspension on my E34 or spending $5000 on a turbocharger to make a 2002 run - basically improving cars I already own.
Fast-forward to the Monday following Monterey Car Week. I'm at lunch with a friend and I get a text from Mike, "please call." I'm thinking oh no, I was at his house a couple times when I was there, did I leave something? I tell him I can call him back soon and I do at the first opportunity. He tells me that he got a message from the owner of the 2800 CS, asking if he knew anyone that would be interested in the car as the deal fell through. We talk about the car a bit as it's been a few months and he goes back and forth with her and comes up with a price. I ask for 24 hours to see if it's doable. She was fine with that. We talk more the next day (Tuesday), I have a plan (and a polarizing 528e that just went live on Bring-A-Trailer, so there will hopefully be some cushion there). Mike also checked with a contact of his about transporting the car. Sounded like he was already coming this way. Mike puts me in contact with the seller.
I have a great conversation with the seller. She tells me about Mr. Johnson (her father-in-law) and how he was excited about the 2800 CS from the Road & Track road test. He went to Hoffman's LA office and drove the same car they used in the magazine and tried to buy it, but they weren't allowed to sell it, so he ordered one through H&E German Car Sales in Palo Alto. He picked the car up at the dock in Oakland in July, 1970. She gave some other details that were inaccurate but also inconsequential. We agreed on a price and I sent a deposit then set about sending the rest of the funds in the manner she requested.
The car was picked up Friday, August 26th, which was a stress-filled day as FedEx absolutely positively delivered the funds to the wrong house, three streets away. Fortunately, just as I was walking into the first of two banks to hurriedly stop payment on checks and send wire transfers, her neighbor delivered the package to her and crisis averted. Safely, in the trailer, the E9 arrived at my house Saturday morning. Had this not come up and played out like this, I'd have been on my way while it was still dark to HBChris' house in Huntington Beach to prepare for the San Marino Motor Classic on the 28th, but I had to wait for a "delivery." The car showed up and I was stunned. I spent a little time looking at the car before pushing it in the garage and hitting the road.
I think it's time for a few photos of the delivery.
I couldn't believe what this looked like inside the trailer!
Needless to say I was shocked at the overall condition of the car. 52-year-old original paint and interior. The gaps are really nice, the doors shut well. It's very clean and dry underneath. It even still has the fiberboard pan under the nose (it has seen better days, but it's there!). It's not a perfect car. It has clearly been used but cared for. My plan is to preserve what's here as much as I possibly can. I still have a decent-sized project ahead with the mechanicals after sitting so long but I'll gladly take that given the state of the rest of it. I have quite a bit of thinking to do about the engine. The rocker is not broken, but there's a lot of movement, so I'm interested to see what's actually going on. I have lots of different M30 ideas I've been playing with for years but I'd love to get the motor in the car running in the meantime. I'll pull the head sometime soon and will go from there.
I have the owners manual, the original purchase order for the car along with a couple copies of the Road & Track with the 2800 CS road test (most expensive car tested at $8107 - more than the 911E - $7995) an issue of Sports Car Graphic with another test and even a CSL brochure along with the RHD CSL equipment leaflet that was such a topic of discussion earlier this year. Seemed odd, but I'm not complaining.
Hopefully soon I'll get to meet Mr. Johnson, the original owner, myself as I still have to collect a good amount of parts for the car.
I'm beyond thrilled to have this car and want to thank Mike (OcCoupe) for all of his help in getting my hopes up, then crushing my dreams
and helping to make this a reality despite the challenges. I walk out into the garage and am excited to see the car and am very much looking forward to getting this back on the road and sharing it at events. I guess you're all stuck with me now.Stick around for great updates like removing ~30 lbs of rodents nest from the nose.
