My Buddy Scored a Unicorn - One Owner and Rust Free

[vince]

A little while ago, a buddy of mine (who owns a beautiful e30 M3) from our local CCA chapter called me with questions on an e9 he was looking at buying. Long story kind of short, it was a good friends from High School Dad's car. The dad was the original owner, it was a California car all it's life, and it had some cool period mods like Recaros, Anteria wheels, and 80s sound system. While still in high school, my friend told the dad if he were to ever sell the car - please call him first. Sure enough, years and years later - the dad called my buddy.

Even though my friend and I see each other all the time at local BMW events, I haven't had a chance to see the car. Yesterday, a few of us went over to look at it. What a car! It's so cool to see a car that has never been apart and has all of it's original paint. It looks so solid. I looked at all of the critical areas and I couldn't find any rust. He's still fiquiring out his restoration plans but he couldn't picked a better car to start with.

How many one owner, rust free coupes are still out there? I'm confidently saying none.

 

[Gary Knox]

Per your last sentence - it sounds like ONE, and it is pictured in the post!!!

Great good fortune for your buddy - it pays to know the right people - ha.

Gary-

 

[Stan]

what a lucky find. Glad the dad took the offer seriously considering all the time that has passed!

 

[bmwm3owner]

Thanks Vince for the post. I forgot I had an E9coupe.com account.

I happen to be the owner of this car. It was a lucky find indeed. I first saw this car back in 1994. A friend of mine drove it every day to High School. The funny thing is that the car looked the same back then. I would always tell her that I wanted this car, even though I was into air cooled VW’s at that time (I drove a ‘69 bug and then a ‘56 bug in HS). She would always say no, because it was her fathers car and she would more than likely get the car after high school. Many years later I would stumble upon this car sitting at a BMW shop that I would sometimes frequent. I instantly knew which car this was. I ended up speaking with the mechanic and he confirmed that it was indeed the same car.

I got in touch with my friends father and he was reluctant to sell the car, but he knew how much I loved it. We agreed on a price but shortly before I was to purchase it, I blew the head gasket in my daily driver (1987 4-Runner). I ended up passing on the deal and purchased a new Tacoma. I always wondered what happened to the BMW since then. I was too afraid to ask my friend because I didn’t want to know if her father sold it.

Fast forward several years later, my friend from High School reached out to me and said her father was going to sell the car and that she wanted for me to purchase it. I reached out to him immediately and we picked up where we left off. We agreed on the same price as last time and I called Vince, who confirmed that I must get this car. Not doing so would be a big mistake. I told my wife about it and she was a little reluctant, but when I showed her what the car could look like, she immediately said it looks like a car that Jackie Kennedy would drive! The ironic thing about that is that Jackie Kennedy only owned one car and it was a 3.0s. Pretty sweet guess!

My friends father was very generous about the entire deal and he let me make payments on the E9. A true gentleman.

This year, I plan on getting started with the restoration. I am very much looking forward to meeting you all online and getting advice on the best way to proceed. I have some ideas on what I want to do.

Thank you Vince for the kind post. I really appreciate it.

Sash

 

[Stevehose]

This is awesome, congrats. Although Jackie O owned an E3 (probably needed the back seat for John John and Caroline), but close enough!

 

[aearch]

well done
now comes the fun of breaking all the seals and tension on all the bolts and screws.
you'll have a fantastic time lookin at all the nuances of the design and engineering
these are really wonderful cars to take apart and reassemble
congratulations
post if you need any help with the process as there is infinite knowledge and
experience here ok

 

[bmwm3owner]

This is awesome, congrats. Although Jackie O owned an E3 (probably needed the back seat for John John and Caroline), but close enough!

Good point! My mistake. I believe that car sold a few years ago. Thought I saw it on eBay.

 

[teahead]

Awesome seats too!

 

[eriknetherlands]

Nice find and a wise choice.

To help yourself, and to entertain us, take lots of pictures before and during taking the car apart. You'll be amazed at the questions you're going to have when you put it back together again in 10 months/years from now....
The chance to see (inside) a car that has never been (fully) restored is interesting. for sure it will have had a parking ding here and there, but your car will be very, very lose to a 'as it left the factory' condition.

 

[sandhu]

Great buy ...

I know of one E9, one owner with less than 20k miles and never been restored ... original as the day it left the fact!!!

 

[teahead]

Going to keep it Malaga? 3.5L? 5-speed?

I'd at least shave the side markers.

Great find!

 

[CSBM5]

Great find and great story! I recognize the Recaros immediately as they are from the mid-80s or so. The driver's seat is an LS and the passenger seat an LN. The LN had less aggressive bolstering, so it was a common idea to use it for the passenger side. I had the same setup in my E21 also. They've been recovered with a bead added along the outside.

Have you had a chance to go over the entire car and assess it's state and make a list of needs?

 

[milwaukeesk]

How exciting! I hope we can track your restoration... even if the immediate goal is to just turn into into a driver again to enjoy. Has it been stored outdoors as of late?

 

[autokunst]

Wow - wow - wow. I love this story, and wish you all the best with this beautiful find. When I was in high school, my first car was almost an e-type jag that our neighbors owned. Instead, I went for a ridiculously overbuilt american muscle/drag car. I often wonder how much different my life would have been if I bought that jaguar instead... Anyway, congrats!!!

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

OK, great story but I think secretly we are all very envious so I'll just come out and say it, why you and not me ? Now that I'm almost done being a total jerk, I think a very unique (and kind) thing to do would be to take a bunch of detailed pictures of the car in "stock" form so we could all have a reference; while we're all putting 3.5+ L. engines and 5-speeds bla, bla, bla in our cars we for some reason want them to look original (especially the interiors and engine compartments) so you could create the guide for us on how to make your e9 look stock and you'll be authoring an historic document!

BTW, Great Job recognizing the beauty of the e9 way back when!

 

[HB Chris]

Regarding originality, it would be great to have photos of all of the stickers in the engine bay and gas door, as well as pics of hose clamps, air cleaner clips, and other smaller items that don’t usually get noticed. Especially nice to know which clips and clamps are clear vs. yellow finish.

 

[Markos]

Regarding originality, it would be great to have photos of all of the stickers in the engine bay and gas door, as well as pics of hose clamps, air cleaner clips, and other smaller items that don’t usually get noticed. Especially nice to know which clips and clamps are clear vs. yellow finish.

Yes please!