Need Help and Such

<50miles

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Hello One and All

Well ... as the title indicates, I need help. The area I seek advice about is for my 1972 3.0CSA. It has a Polaris exterior with a red leather interior. Awhile ago I wrote about how I have not driven the car more than 50 miles since I bought it in 1996 for various reasons. This reasons have resulted in the car having been stored dry since that time. It has also resulted in the sills being removed, as well as the engine and transmission.

For the longest time I have been considering what to do. A couple of years ago a dutchman from the old country looked the entire car over, including using a boroscope to review the interior of the bulkhead, and declared that other than the aforementioned sills, and one area of the floor, it was a sound car. To me this was good news, but I have been disheartened for awhile about this car because the mechanic promised a lot, but didn't deliver (sound familiar) as much.

Around November 2013 (its sad when you have to note which year it is) a local ad said that somebody was looking for a E9 to restore. I contacted him and gave him my story. I also said it was best to contact the shop where the car was and have a look at it.

This person very shortly went there and looked it over. While he liked the idea that I had replacement floor pans, original BMW replacement sills, stainless steel exhaust, LSD, a wooden nardi steering wheel, original radio, AC and no sunroof (please note how cleverly I have mentioned some of the car's best features) he was upset that he could't drive it right away. I think he was looking for either a rolling restoration or didn't understand that to properly restore a rust prone car, especially one with as many cavities as a E9, requires all of the areas of concern to be exposed and shown to those who wish to either fix or purchase it.

Nevertheless, he said he liked the car, and although he knew the prices of the fully restored cars were very high, he said that with so much work needed to bring it up to that level he offered me 5K for the entire thing. Surprisingly enough I said no, and wished him the best of luck.

With this being said, I need help. In the state the car is in, I do not know how to value it. I have considered continuing with the restoration, but every time I think of the disappointment I have come to associate with it as well as the money, I lose the will ... to finish the restoration.

With the engine and transmission out one buyer might say that this is a problem, while another who is interested in adding a different power train, would appreciate it. Does that then mean that I should estimate a range of value and then take the average? Or should I just donate it, and perhaps myself, to the Kidney Foundation?

Thank you

Andrew
 
I would say that if you have not restored until now you will not restore it period.
You can keep the car and it will continue to appreciate with the rest of the E9 market, or you can find a reasonable buyer. If the body and interior are solid then it is and it will be worth even if it is not running.
If you decide to restore it you must give it a money injection and enjoy the result without pondering things too much. Not having a local mechanic is a problem, maybe California is the place to do this project instead.

Pictures would make our opinions better founded.
 
A question for you: When you say that the sills are removed do you simply mean the screwed-on sill covers or do you mean that portions (or all) of the metal along the sills have been cut out in preparation for rust repair? I'm thinking the later.

Rightly or wrongly a dismantled car is certainly worth less than a drivable but rusty car to a potential buyer. With the engine out a buyer is forced to assume that everything mechanical is potentially in need of repair unless there are receipts (ie. rebuild receipts) to show otherwise. This deficit is simply added to the body work that he knows he has to do and pay for resulting is a low valuation for the whole package.

If the car isn't too cut apart body-wise you might have more luck shifting the car with the engine back in . . . unfortunately that is a likely a fair bit of work and time in itself. If you did this work yourself it might make sense, if you had to pay someone to do it it might make less sense. Also, it would be unfortunate to go to the work of putting the engine back in without refreshing, resealing, repainting and rebuilding all the bits that require attention.

Without knowing too much more about the car my feeling is that the $5000 offered wasn't too far off the mark. If you have the original steering wheel and original exhaust in serviceable condition i might suggest selling those with the car. You might want to sell the Nardi and SS exhaust separately as i suspect they might actually be be losing some of their value being sold as a package.
 
Details

Hello Gentlemen

The car is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The VIN number is 2250114. Although I do have a garage, my wife does not want me to bring this car home. I would love to attempt the work myself, but I have not been able to find a workshop that is close to my house. To answer the question about the sills, both were completely removed, including any adjacent rust.

Andrew
 
a sad story, just sitting in the middle of nowhere

as it was said a running car is a running deal, a ripped car is a dead deal

i would call back the one that made you the offer ;-) and renegotiate from $ 5650 to close the deal at $ 5340

if you try to reassemble it you might probably get $ 10000, but you might need to invest more than $ 5000, noone knows what you might find
 
Andrew,

Persevere with the work, and keep the car. You will thank yourself when the car is done.

My E9 came off the road in 1993 and did not return until 2011.

Attached are some before and after pictures.

Cheers,

Rod
 

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Canmore, AB

Hi Andrew,

There is a member of the forum in Edmonton - Jeff Mohler - that did a very nice and extensive restoration about 5 years ago. If I can find his phone number I'll give him a shoot and see if he is still active in cars and willing to have a look at yours. Otherwise I'll be in Edmonton sometime in April if you can wait that long.

Like others have said, any pictures you post will help us to help you.

Doug
 
my hero !

ditto, have had mine for 27 years and off the road for last 14 years ( seized motor ,rust , kids , & whole catastrophe ) . May I suggest you just break down the work into "bite size " pieces that your budget ( and wife :( can stomach )even if it takes some years ...there's a lot to be said for the journey and there will always be that niggling feeling of " how could I have sold it for a "piddly " $5k ... my 2 cents ( or US$0). That said, don't know all the circumstances but a lot of support available .
Cheers, Simon
 
What to do??

Hello One and All

Thank you for the advice. Yes, keeping the car is a good idea. Being Scottish, it would pain me to lose so much on an appreciating asset, but I am so feedup with it. When I have built up the nerve, I will probably drive out to the garage and take some up to date pictures and then post them on this site.

Andrew
 
It seems to me the effort to get it running again is not too great?

If it is "just" sills and putting the engine and transmission back in it can be done without too much cost.

That and a big service changing all oils etc.

None of the above would require a mecahnic who is an E9 guru.

So why not do that, drive it a bit, and then decide?


You should easily get that money back in the resale value.
 
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Alittle (or alot) anal

Hello

Good question. Well . . . as the title of this response states, I am alittle anal. I can say this without fear of concern on this site because alot of my fellow members are this way. Actually, considering how well done so many of the posted cars are, I would estimate that my need for perfection is well below the average. Given this, I would do more than just put on the sills and patch the floor. To me, I would have to blast the entire body, rebuild the engine and transmission with appropriate upgrades ( fortunately I don't have to do the LSD because that is already done), have a properly done respray, and whatever else is needed including a new windshield and rechrome the cars jewlery. When I got the car in 1996 it was running, but not perfect. I could have driven it as it, but as we all know for such a beautiful car, half measures will not do.

Oh well ... I will have to sit down and ponder this some more.

Andrew
 
If sills and floor are out you are looking alot of money&work just to get it back running+a paint job so unless you can do this work you are better off finding a driver and using this as a parts car. Good luck with whatever direction you go.
PS My wife thinks its a waste of money too but she knows also that I like something to tinker with in the garage.
 
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