Someone linked this thread to the Senior Six Registry mailing list, and it awakened me from deep lurk mode...
My dear young man -- first, welcome to the madness that is old BMW ownership. You have taken the first step on a journey that will expose you to anguish, joy, fear, excitement, heartbreak, exaltation, and bankruptcy (sorry, no upside for the financial part). Think of it as an elixir of Don Quixote and Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters mixed with a portion of Click and Clack and a heaping spoonful of Grapes of Wrath. Hallucinogens optional but highly recommended.
And kudos to the koopers who have encouraged you. There is no higher and better use of the labor of man than probing the inner mysteries of a disused and abandoned e3. There are no disused and abandoned e9's; only "highly collectible project cars" and "rust free examples". And in case anyone has forgotten, let me quote from the Tao of Tony on the subject of rust -- "In the context of an old BMW of any kind, the term 'rust free' does not imply a lack of rust -- it merely confirms that all the rust present is included at no extra charge."
I engage you now because someone must impart the truth. As is often the way, it falls on the elders of the tribe. Speaking of which, where the hell is Murray? I saw Riblett chime in, but he's a mere plebe in comparison to Murray. And far too nice to tell you what I will.
I direct your attention to this picture:
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z246/gunmetalgreen/BMW Bavaria/cee30de4.jpg
And now allow me to ask a question -- are you proficient at metal fabrication? Do people regularly compliment your finesse at welding 20 gauge mild steel? How is your work on an English wheel?
If your answers to these questions are "very", "every day" and "better than Ron Fournier", I will resume my lurk and enjoy watching as you resurrect this Baikal jewel.
If your responses were more on the order of "I made a dustpan in shop class", "no", and "English what?", then I have a further question -- do you have $10,000 that you would happily pile in the middle of your driveway and set on fire?
If the answer to that question is "no", then you need to do the following -- STOP WORKING ON THE ENGINE. IMMEDIATELY.
Before I continue, let me provide some context. I started wrenching when I was in my early teens, working on tractors and other equipment on our family farm (contrary to rumors, I am not old enough to have driven a plow behind a stegosaurus). I successfully used an Italian car for a daily driver for the better part of a decade. I have owned at least one of every BMW variant built between 1969 and 1988 (and a smattering of newer ones), using most as regular transportation. When I left the US in late 2009, I cleaned out my garage and sold/donated/junked enough parts to build 3 complete M30 engines. I'm currently restoring a Land Rover Defender that lived in the Orkney Islands for the last 6 years. The pile of rust created when I cut the rot out the Land Rover frame was deep enough to bury a mature Labrador.
I say this to establish that I am not a nancy-boy checkbook mechanic who trembles at the sight of a rust bubble.
On an e3 (and even more so on an e9), rust is like a ****roach -- see one, you have 10,000. The condition of the front shock tower says all you need to know about the condition of the rest of that car. If the shock towers are gone, then rockers are certainly gone. There is no unit left in the unit body. I love e3's, so it pains me to say this, but that shell isn't worth saving. You'll invest another 100 hours getting the engine running, fixing the brakes, and dealing with myriad other mechanical issues. Then you'll set forth with a light heart on your inaugural drive, and innocently cross a set of railroad tracks at 19 mph. You will later wonder how it was possible that something which appeared so solid could disappear in a whirl of blue and orange dust, leaving you sitting in the middle of the road surrounded by a Dali-esque arrangement of BMW mechanicals draped in Tobacco vinyl.
Here's the good news -- you have what appears to be a relatively original and unmolested e3 parts car. Ignore the sheet metal. How are the front seats? The dash top? Look at those rear fender covers -- not a crack, not a hole! Do all you can to keep them intact. What I can see of the bumpers and brightwork looks good. All glass looks good. You don't have a gold mine, but you do have a pile of parts that someone will want. And you're on the east coast, where most e3's that are not in the hands of enthusiasts are in junkyards, stripped to the bones.
Alternately, if you want an e3 (and who wouldn't?!), you have all the parts to take a shoddy but less rusty example and make a nice car. And a shoddy running one can be had for a quite reasonable price -- a fraction of what you'd spend trying to save the one you have.
PM me and I'll give you the email address you need to join the S6R mailing list. You can bounce options off the members there and decide how to proceed.
Now, STOP WORKING ON THE ENGINE. IMMEDIATELY.
