New owner 1976 3.0Si Arctic Blue

[GolfBavaria]

Learn something new everyday here. I didn't realize that they had injection in 73 on an E3, obviously not in US market. US Market injection for E3 started in 75 I believe. End of 73' the 3.3L was introduced but I can't find anywhere when the 3.0Si was introduced on the E3. Does anyone know if the E3 3.0SI was introduced on models earlier than 73', if so what was the first year and in what markets were those sold? Wiki is not very specific in that regard.

 

[HB Chris]

Si debuted in Europe in 9/71, the Li 1/74, US 9/74.


http://www.bmw-e3-club.de/e3bmw/fahrgestellnummer.html

 

[E3_kiwi]

Didn't mention it before, but my car's serial number is 3271264, build date 10-Nov-1976, with the later Bosch L-Jetronic injection.
For what it's worth, she is the 415th RHD L-Jet equipped 3.0Si, of 631 RHD L-Jet examples produced.
I wonder how many of them still survive?

 

[E3_kiwi]

Latest update - the car has been cleaned in preparation for shipping.
She scrubs up pretty well, even without those waist line moldings.

 

[GolfBavaria]

Si debuted in Europe in 9/71, the Li 1/74, US 9/74.


http://www.bmw-e3-club.de/e3bmw/fahrgestellnummer.html

TY Chris.......!!!!!!

 

[GolfBavaria]

Latest update - the car has been cleaned in preparation for shipping.
She scrubs up pretty well, even without those waist line moldings.

Kiwi..........looks great....welcome to the club (again?). I love the sheepskins, getting some myself soon. I grew up in the back seat in one of these E3's as a kid. We had sheepskins on the fronts because the vinyl would stick to my Mom on hot days. So, as soon as I was old enough to sit in the front it was like heaven in the sheepskins. Spent 16 years in that car and took my Jr. Prom date in it to Prom. Last pictures I have of it before it was sold. It was wrecked a week later by New Owner. And it was pristine, too bad, sadly not an unusual story. Good luck with the belt trim hunt. It's not impossible to find with cracked rubber and dings in aluminum but the NOS rarely pops up.

 

[E3_kiwi]

That's a great E3 story...albeit with a sad ending for the car.

Here in NZ we rarely saw a BMW of any kind back in the 70's, but a lasting impression of the E3 was instilled in my memory by my shift boss at the time, who was both a car nut and a wise mentor in my chosen profession of aviation engineering.
I can still hear him waxing lyrical - for several days - about the virtues of the 2500 which he had just taken for a test drive, particularly the braking and handling aspects of the car. That impression has always stayed with me and somehow I knew that I'd eventually own an E3 some day.

 

[E3_kiwi]

Well, the car arrived at my house earlier this week, after customs and border inspections, including a full fumigation treatment due to evidence of 'spiders' found in her inner crevices.
My first job was to re-attach the driver's door window to the glass carrier....someone had been over zealous with the crank handle and, as a result, the carrier was found sitting, detached from the glass, in the bottom of the door. I set to work and 45 minutes later, the window was fully functional and the door reassembled.
Other than that, I'm very impressed with the car's overall condition, and am looking forward to getting better acquainted in the coming weeks.
This weekend will be spent dismantling, cleaning and inspecting various areas and components (e.g. brakes, exhaust, suspension, steering) in preparation for compliance checks to be done before she can be VIN'ed and registered here.
I also need some additional documentation from Australia before booking her into my chosen vehicle compliance centre.
Will update further in a few days.

 

[E3_kiwi]

Here's what the windscreen looked like when I received the car last week.

 

[E3_kiwi]

And here she is after a weekend of cleaning and sorting a few items.

 

[E3_kiwi]

A few more pics.
The chrome door entry sill plates are removed for body structural inspection, and I'll probably also remove the long chrome sill/rocker trims - if nothing else than to satisfy myself that she's all good under there.

 

[phead82]

Looks super clean!

 

[GolfBavaria]

Car is looking good.

 

[E3_kiwi]

Thanks for the comments, gents.
I feel lucky to have found such a nice example and, whilst I admit it was a bold/risky decision to buy her sight-unseen from another country 3,000 kms/2,000 miles away, thankfully on this occasion my gut instinct was proved to be correct!

 

[Simufly]

Si

Really nice looking car, not sure if I would replace the waist trim. IMO the slim look is good with this body colour.

 

[E3_kiwi]

Really nice looking car, not sure if I would replace the waist trim. IMO the slim look is good with this body colour.

Thanks - I did think about leaving the trims off but, as clean as she looks, I just prefer the original chrome trims on the E3, so have now decided to restore them - if I can find some.

Speaking of which, does anyone have the template for locating the "3.0 Si" emblem on the trunk lid?
I have the emblem, which is a one-piece part, not two as shown in the attached figure. It has a number of locating pins, which penetrate the bodywork via small rubber grommets (item 2 in the figure).
So if anyone can enlighten me as to the dimensions and procedure for locating this emblem, I'd be most grateful.

 

[bavbob]

The trim is impossible to find. I bought a complete new set about 3 years ago, most parts were the last available in Germany and the US. Sadly 2 pieces arrived bent so I had to restore my old ones. Perhaps the scarcity of such parts will catapult the E3 into E9 status but I won't hold my breath.

 

[E3_kiwi]

Perhaps the scarcity of such parts will catapult the E3 into E9 status but I won't hold my breath.

:lol:

 

[E3_kiwi]

Just one of the small details I like about this car - the original hood emblem, complete with worn paint and grime: serves as a reminder of the car's 40 year history.....priceless.

 

[E3_kiwi]

While cleaning and checking over the hood on my car, I found that, although the hood is new, the torsion spring assembly is more likely to be the original, as it has a broken weld at the attachment for the torque shaft and the right side arm (see pic).
These parts are NLA from BMW, so I'll have to remove/dismantle the spring assembly and either repair the broken weld or find a good used assembly, repaint it in Artisblau, reassemble and install the mechanism again.

Not looking forward to this job, as I've heard it's a real mission.