Hi, I live in Phoenix, Arizona. I just bought my first E9 3.0CS. It sat for 20 years in a neighbor's back yard. I tried buying it for about 15 years from the previous owner and I finally got it Christmas 2019. I'd like to meet other E9 owner's in Arizona.
New E9 owner and new member
- Thread starter Lenoxx
- Start date
Welcome. I presume that is your car in your avatar. Is that golf yellow? An unusual color on a coupe. Do you have any more pics of it?
Hi @Lenoxx,
Welcome! We like lots of details here. When you get a moment, post more pictures of the car and let us know what you are in for from a refresh perspective. AZ is easy on metal and very abusive to interior components.
Feel free to share the original color and the VIN. Register your car on the registry link found on the home page. If you need details about the production date, color, and destination, BMW can provide that.
Welcome! We like lots of details here. When you get a moment, post more pictures of the car and let us know what you are in for from a refresh perspective. AZ is easy on metal and very abusive to interior components.
Feel free to share the original color and the VIN. Register your car on the registry link found on the home page. If you need details about the production date, color, and destination, BMW can provide that.
Yes, Golf Yellow. The color is still a bit of a mystery to me. The VIN, color code and BMW archives show that it should be Polaris silver. But the paint appears to be of 1970's vintage and professionally painted -factory quality in my somewhat experienced opinion. I think it was done when the car was new or fairly new. Its not modern paint. Perhaps a special order paint job by the dealership or manufacturer just before delivery? I don't know, but the car is Golf yellow everywhere, meaning it was painted/repainted before it was built or it was completely disassembled.
The previous owner (3rd owner, I'm #4) had the car since the mid 90's and said it was always yellow. I sent an email to the 2nd owner asking if he had it painted, but I'm waiting to hear back. Nevertheless, I plan to paint it Polaris silver, unless I discover a reason to keep it Golf yellow. Any thoughts about what I should do?
The previous owner (3rd owner, I'm #4) had the car since the mid 90's and said it was always yellow. I sent an email to the 2nd owner asking if he had it painted, but I'm waiting to hear back. Nevertheless, I plan to paint it Polaris silver, unless I discover a reason to keep it Golf yellow. Any thoughts about what I should do?
welcome to the forum and congrats on your purchase. sitting outside for a long period is generally a really bad thing for these cars ... unless you live in AZ, so i guess you dodged that bullet.
IMHO polaris makes sense if you were doing a full on ORIGINAL restoration for a concours car as you would have to go all the way down to metal to get that level of detail. if you want a great car to drive and modify ... paint it whatever color you want (preferably an original / period e9 color). color changes require motor out with everything removed - read more expensive ...
IMHO polaris makes sense if you were doing a full on ORIGINAL restoration for a concours car as you would have to go all the way down to metal to get that level of detail. if you want a great car to drive and modify ... paint it whatever color you want (preferably an original / period e9 color). color changes require motor out with everything removed - read more expensive ...
Welcome, and congrats on finally closing the deal on the car. As for color, Golf seems pretty highly sought after. I'm not sure I could pull it off, but if it appeals to you, then you'd be the envy of the group. Looking forward to seeing more pics.
Will do. The car runs and drives. Not a drop of fluid underneath, even after sitting for 20 years. Everything is original and the car is about 99.9% complete. So far I'm only missing one rear rubber bumper and one chrome accent on the passenger door panel. The interior is excellent overall, in my opinion. But the Marine blue leather upholstery needs to be replaced ~$2,700 from World Uph. The front seats are only stiff with some cracks, the back seats and arm rests are toast. Door panels, headliner, wood trim, chrome etc look good - great. The trunk upholstery/wood is totally destroyed, but that's an easy fix. It has some rust, but so far it seems minimal and caused mainly by rain water leaking in to the trunk. Although the rockers, driver side floor pan and a few spots at the lower rear quarter panels also need to be replaced. It came with all the tools, two original (1970's German vintage) radios and some service records showing that it has 134,000 original miles.
My plan is to take the car apart and then clean, polish or replace everything. I'm also attempting to sew the upholstery myself and I just purchased a 1950's vintage Necchi sewing machine. I'll probably screw up the upholstery and end up buying the kit from somewhere, but I figure why not give it a try and learn something new. I plan to keep it original. But maybe a new suspension is in order. I might also add some (somewhat hidden) modern tech like GPS, infotainment and engine performance readouts by interfacing with the analog data port, but who knows. So far iv'e only had the time to degrease and polish it.
So far I have purchased new gaskets and seals for the engine (intake,exhaust,water,etc). New NGK and BOSH spark plugs (Accidentally bought both brands. Both sets of plugs are the type without resistors), new cap and rotor and Weber rebuild kits. None of these parts were needed, The car ran great, but I want to start fresh. I'm pulling the head this weekend to have it cleaned and tested.
The specs are:
M30 engine with dual Weber carbs and no EGR (not sure if 1972 required EGR)
4 speed manual trans (manufacturer not yet known)
Marine blue leather interior with Polaris Silver paint (or maybe Golf yellow)
Stock 14" wheels with 20-year-old Michelins -almost zero road use and still hold air.
Nardi 3 spoke steering wheel in black with black leather
--and finally, an orange button at the bottom right dash that I have yet to figure out what it does -like a light switch that does nothing.
I'll share pictures asap. But where should I upload them to? To this thread or to my e9coupe account somewhere?
orange button on bottom right of dash is rear window defogger.
you might also want to look at GAHH for leather. their products are typically much better than world uph. a little more expensive though. get samples of both.
trunk pieces - check CS Werk for some of their pieces. https://www.cs-werk.de/
www.cs-werk.de
if you stay with golf, you might want to go to black interior - you can use SEM color coat (satin black) to repaint the door panels.
you might also want to look at GAHH for leather. their products are typically much better than world uph. a little more expensive though. get samples of both.
trunk pieces - check CS Werk for some of their pieces. https://www.cs-werk.de/
Nachfertigungen für BMW E9 Archive - CS Werk Bonn
Nachfertigung von diversen Gepäckraum – und Innenverkleidungen. Für BMW E9 Coupe – 2,5 CS bis 3,0 CSL Mehr Informationen zu den Artikeln erhält man durch einen Klick auf das Produktbild
www.cs-werk.de
if you stay with golf, you might want to go to black interior - you can use SEM color coat (satin black) to repaint the door panels.
I would love to paint the car whatever color I want, but it will be either Polaris silver or remain Golf yellow. I like silver anyway and the car will be painted after everything is removed, drive train, interior, etc. I'm a bit worried about removing the glass, but its got to be done. As far as cost goes, I'm not too worried. I'm doing everything myself because its fun. As far as mods go, I sometimes like to look at resto-mods but I prefer to own and drive originals. When I was about 19, I drove a partially complete 1964 VW bug from AZ to Mex and I made it back home in one piece -for me, driving a vintage car is an adventure, not a convenience. I have another car for that. But some resto-mods are sweet and someday I might build one.
orange button on bottom right of dash is rear window defogger.
you might also want to look at GAHH for leather. their products are typically much better than world uph. a little more expensive though. get samples of both.
trunk pieces - check CS Werk for some of their pieces. https://www.cs-werk.de/
Nachfertigungen für BMW E9 Archive - CS Werk Bonn
Nachfertigung von diversen Gepäckraum – und Innenverkleidungen. Für BMW E9 Coupe – 2,5 CS bis 3,0 CSL Mehr Informationen zu den Artikeln erhält man durch einen Klick auf das Produktbild
if you stay with golf, you might want to go to black interior - you can use SEM color coat (satin black) to repaint the door panels.
Thanks for the info. I'm still in the E9 learning stage, so all the advise and recommendations are great. I'll call GAHH this week and get some samples. Golf yellow and black would be cool. My family and friends think I should leave it yellow, but I'm on the fence about that still.
orange button on bottom right of dash is rear window defogger.
you might also want to look at GAHH for leather. their products are typically much better than world uph. a little more expensive though. get samples of both.
trunk pieces - check CS Werk for some of their pieces. https://www.cs-werk.de/
Nachfertigungen für BMW E9 Archive - CS Werk Bonn
Nachfertigung von diversen Gepäckraum – und Innenverkleidungen. Für BMW E9 Coupe – 2,5 CS bis 3,0 CSL Mehr Informationen zu den Artikeln erhält man durch einen Klick auf das Produktbild
if you stay with golf, you might want to go to black interior - you can use SEM color coat (satin black) to repaint the door panels.
Thanks for telling me what the orange button does.
I had a '67 bug when I was about that same age. While I didn't drive it to Mexico and back, it took me everywhere and was a blast - like a skateboard with an engine.
Yeah, there's definitely something about 60s-70s cars that makes driving fun. I remember we had to hold up the license plate in the back window when we spotted a police car. I don't know why we didn't just get a couple of screws to mount it, I guess the little things don't matter much when you're a kid with a homemade car. And yes, driving it was just like riding a skateboard.I had a '67 bug when I was about that same age. While I didn't drive it to Mexico and back, it took me everywhere and was a blast - like a skateboard with an engine.
jmackro
Well-Known Member
As you disassemble the car, you are likely to find more areas of rust, especially on a car that sat outdoors for 20 years (even in Phoenix).
And as you disassemble things - like the interior - you will gain more insight into its factory color. Hidden areas, like behind the dash, under the rear seats, inside the doors, above the tool box seldom get painted in a color change Doing an undetectable color change requires disassembling the car down to its shell - something someone was unlikely to do back in the 1970's when this car was almost new.
My own coupe is Polaris and I think that color suits coupes. But as others have written, there are a lot of Polaris coupes in the world, but few in Golf. So if you do find that Golf was its factory color, you might think long and hard about changing it. But at the end of the day, it's your car and you should do what pleases you.
"Doing an undetectable color change requires disassembling the car down to its shell - something someone was unlikely to do back in the 1970's when this car was almost new."
I agree, and that has been my opinion since I brought then car home -that is, why would somebody disassemble and repaint it back in the 70's or even 80's-90's? It looks like 70's vintage single stage paint with yellow behind the driver side door panel, under the rear seats and behind the tool box, even the entire trunk, including the top and all sides of the rear shock towers. Chips in the paint show primer underneath. I'll check behind the dash when I get to disassembly. But, even with that level of detail put in to the paint job, I think its still a repaint because the color code and BMW archives say so. If it was a special order and repainted in 72 by the dealership then I'll keep it yellow, otherwise I think it should go back to Polaris. But I don't know how common that was for a dealership to repaint a new car back then. Its a tough decision for me given that I probably won't find out when/why it was painted yellow. Thanks for all the input on this paint job. Its been bugging me since I got the car home.
I agree, and that has been my opinion since I brought then car home -that is, why would somebody disassemble and repaint it back in the 70's or even 80's-90's? It looks like 70's vintage single stage paint with yellow behind the driver side door panel, under the rear seats and behind the tool box, even the entire trunk, including the top and all sides of the rear shock towers. Chips in the paint show primer underneath. I'll check behind the dash when I get to disassembly. But, even with that level of detail put in to the paint job, I think its still a repaint because the color code and BMW archives say so. If it was a special order and repainted in 72 by the dealership then I'll keep it yellow, otherwise I think it should go back to Polaris. But I don't know how common that was for a dealership to repaint a new car back then. Its a tough decision for me given that I probably won't find out when/why it was painted yellow. Thanks for all the input on this paint job. Its been bugging me since I got the car home.
Go for a five speed, especially with long western miles in front of you. I have one in my Polaris coupe and couldn't live without it. As for colors, for every Golf Coupe there are 20 Polaris clones. I love my Polaris but if you can nod at Golf, nod away.
Steev
Yes. The car in the avatar is mine. I uploaded some pics to the gallery.
With respect to the paint color, my VIN is 2240166 and the coupe with the sequential VIN 2240167 is in the e9 registry. It's Polaris silver. I think even back in 72 car manufacturers painted cars in batches, which is another factor leading me to think it's been repainted post manufacture.
I'm always torn when it comes to modifying my cars. I do want to put in a 5 or 6 speed transmission, but I guess I'll decide that after I get it apart. The paint color too, Golf is cool and silver with red interior is my favorite BMW color combo. I do want to leave it Golf, but probably not if it was repainted in, say 1981 by "Joe's paint shop". I do appreciate the feedback, it'll help me decide which color to choose.
dj_efk
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the addiction. I can see you have it bad already!!
You have plenty of time to decide on the colour (this decision then dictates the interior colour choices too), plus any other upgrades you wish to do - although start looking out for the Getrag 265/6 5 speed gearbox, bell-housing, clutch components and mounting hardware now, as you will almost certainly want to go down this route (the basic mechanical design of these cars was finalised well before the 1973 fuel crisis and like all German 6 cylinder cars of the time, the engine was designed to rev hard at 5000rpm cruising the autobahns at 100mph hour after hour when new so 75-80 mph = 3750 - 3900rpm with the 4 speed gearbox depending on the diff fitted: the 5 speed drops the revs down by just under 20% to around 3000 which makes a big difference to the cruising experience and fuel economy, but due to demand they are getting harder to find and more expensive all the time!
In the meantime, it sounds like your car needs a complete strip and assessment for corrosion - You won’t know how advanced it is until you rip into it. Has the car always lived in the desert or has it ever spent time in wetter areas? Hopefully you won’t be too surprised once the true extent of the needed metalwork becomes clear.
You will lose days in this forum once you start searching - It really is a library of information here. I for one would love to see a build thread introducing your car properly.
You have plenty of time to decide on the colour (this decision then dictates the interior colour choices too), plus any other upgrades you wish to do - although start looking out for the Getrag 265/6 5 speed gearbox, bell-housing, clutch components and mounting hardware now, as you will almost certainly want to go down this route (the basic mechanical design of these cars was finalised well before the 1973 fuel crisis and like all German 6 cylinder cars of the time, the engine was designed to rev hard at 5000rpm cruising the autobahns at 100mph hour after hour when new so 75-80 mph = 3750 - 3900rpm with the 4 speed gearbox depending on the diff fitted: the 5 speed drops the revs down by just under 20% to around 3000 which makes a big difference to the cruising experience and fuel economy, but due to demand they are getting harder to find and more expensive all the time!
In the meantime, it sounds like your car needs a complete strip and assessment for corrosion - You won’t know how advanced it is until you rip into it. Has the car always lived in the desert or has it ever spent time in wetter areas? Hopefully you won’t be too surprised once the true extent of the needed metalwork becomes clear.
You will lose days in this forum once you start searching - It really is a library of information here. I for one would love to see a build thread introducing your car properly.
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