Preferred resto shops

X

x_atlas0

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,868
Reaction score
203
Location
Clarkston, MI
Howdy, everybody!

It's been a very long time since I was very active on my coupe and I have come to the uncomfortable realization that the only way it will get better is if I hand it off to be completed. The usual culprits of work, family, and life are not leaving me with the time to do the work required. To that end, I'd like some suggestions of full-service resto shops to go to for coupes. I'm ok with shipping if I must, but something in the Detroit area or even Michigan as a whole would be preferred.
 
I have had minor dealings with the Werkshoppe and I thought they were just ‘ok’

I have had more work done with VSR, and while not perfect and far from cheap I felt I got more for my $ and I had more transparency at VSR.

If you want to just write a check and get back a car with everything done right, I would go with VSR1 over WerkShoppe

If you want to stay deeply involved and have the knowledge to guide, then find a shop that has a long track record of doing good restorations on any German cars from the 1960-70’s and you should be ok. Depending on what it is you need done, and how much expert guidance/involvement you can provide the shop, you may not need an E9 specialist.

personally, I would avoid
(1) hot Rod shops, who specialize in customization unless you only need paint (eg you deliver a stripped car)

(2) shops that lack a record of getting work done in a timely fashion. Ask for references on projects similar to yours.

(3) shops that do not provide reasonably detailed, regular updates and billing info. Ask to see examples.

, get references and go see some cars that the shop has recently done.
 
Having seen their work, VSR is a solid choice.

But given your proximity, consider the Guild in Bradford Ontario, I've seen their excellent work as well. Hourly rates are probably close to the same.

Catalog every item in the planned and agreed scope of work, +1 to bfengs advice, and budget accordingly. Good luck!
 
I was at VSR this past week, and his shop is quite full. So, expect to wait before he can take you, although for mechanical work, it's probably much less wait. Also, I learned that BMW is out of front fenders, for example, so COVID has hit the supply chain just as demand has gone up.
 
Were I in your shoes, I would not limit myself geographically on my search for someone to do my work. While there are lots of excellent car people in your area, our cars were not big sellers in the midwest, and so your choices close to home of coupe experts are fairly limited.

I would place far more emphasis on evaluating the person who is going to be in charge of your work, and your ability to communicate and get along with them. In the end, good communication is far more important than proximity. By way of example, I know of a restoration guy who has the people working for him regularly take pictures of the work they are doing as a mechanism for him to eavluate their progress. He also regularly shares these pictures with clients so they can see this too. This can be done remotely.

You are also highly likely to run into issues that impact either cost or scheduling, and your ability to communicate with the shop on these things will have a huge impact on your satisfaction. You need to think about how you will deal with these issues in advance. The guys who are good at restoring coupes will not give you a fixed price in advance, because in the end they won't cut corners on certain issues because it will damage their reputation. (And they have so much work that they don't need to do this).

This is a question I would specifically ask others who have worked with the shop about.

I would also recommend that you interview the people you are considering, first on the phone and then face to face. This may seem like overkill, but the folks who are good at this have so much work they can be particular about who they work with. In other words, they are going to be evaluating you while you are deciding whether to work with them.
 
Last edited:
I'd like to provide some context to help drive the discussion.

The vehicle was sympathetically brought back about 15 years ago, which was not frame off. Major rust problems present in the wheel wells and rockers were fixed with metal, and the vehicle has been stable. No new rust bubbles have formed anywhere as far as I can tell. At the same time, the mechanical systems were revised with the updated M30, Motronic fuel injection, and a Getrag 265 with mech speedo. The vehicle has been running and driving since then, but not 'finished'. The interior is rough, and I have the replacement wood, but there's quite a few small things to resolve. The major item that has limited everything is making the car water tight, Right now, it leaks like a sieve though many places, and I want that resolved. Additionally the rear windows don't seem to go up and down correctly, and require a hand guide to fit in the proper channels. The vehicle suspension and brakes feel good, but the engine seems to lack all power and fun.

So like I said, the car works, but it needs attention to get it from ~75% to 100% done. That's the service I want. In terms of the mechanical problems, I have some local shops with expertise in early Bosch systems that can help, but the body fitting and interior problems are where I would appreciate some help.
 

Attachments

  • 20190803_155054[1].jpg
    20190803_155054[1].jpg
    308 KB · Views: 162
  • 20190803_155853[1].jpg
    20190803_155853[1].jpg
    278.4 KB · Views: 170
X--My car was worked on by a restoration shop that has won 1st place awards at Pebble Beach. Most of the cars in the place are worth 6 and 7 figure fortunes. But they are not BMW CS coupes!! The type of work you need must be done by shops that know how our cars were put together at the factory. I was able to find a person that worked at The Werke Shop for many years and moved to South Florida. He corrected the shut lines in my trunk, windows , doors and sunroof. Your car is worth having a Coupe Specialty shop like those mentioned fix your issues correctly.
 
A lot of the results , in my opinion, depend on what you have discussed with whomever you have entrusted with making the repairs. And after that, who has that person delegated the specific cut and weld work to and so on. Certainly helps to choose a shop you trust, but also helps to have obsessively covered off just what you are expecting, and agreeing to a standard of work. Once you are in, helps to be a regular/involved (for lack of a better word) customer. They want you to be happy, then outta there. There are many other customers not as involved, and you just may get the attention you believe, is needed, for a correct repair on your very special E9.
Relationships, communication, is there anything more relevant to getting to where you want to be?
 
Put together an itemized list of how you want your CSi to be when completed. Send it to the shops you are interviewing for completing the work so they are each dealing with the same "To Do List."

VSR is the place to go. 603-228-2888 call & talk to Chris or Mario Langsten. They are worth the lead time wait. In my opinion, no one does Coupes better.

I took a lot of grief putting Athena through an automated car wash in Monterey, August, 2016. She stayed dry inside. I am not afraid to get her wet, photo by Doug Park.

Athena Car Wash 1.JPG
Athena Car Wash 2.JPG
Doug Park Athena Water Crossing.jpg
 
I can say after redoing my coupe myself and changing every gasket possible, that the design just does not warrant the car being water tight. It may seem so but only if you put a scope down in to the doors and below the rear windows, will I be satisfied that there are no leaks. I don't doubt some are, but I just feel that is the minority. BMW supplied a lot of drain holes for a reason. Then lets add a sunroof to the mix.
 
Last edited:
Andrew, that level of 'not getting wet' is exactly what I'm looking for. I can't imagine someone who paid 10k for this car in the 70s would accept a water leak, so why should I accept it now?
 
X-Back in the 1972 I bought my '72 2002 that's still in my garage. The CS on the showroom floor then was $12K. The tech that worked on my CS told me that almost all restorations they did at the Werke Shop were not water tight unless they had never had any work done on them since new. And most new owners had warranty work done in the first 12Kmile/12Kmonth period. And then they sold their cars after the warranty. Be prepared to spend lots of money if you think any shop can get this hardtop design water tight,or even close to wind tight at 50+ MPH.
 
I admire Andrew making his car wateright -- a tribute to his willingness to take his car anywhere, under any conditions. I am not so brave! After I brought my car back from Germany in 2018, I took it through an automated car wash and promptly got soaked (and my car is pretty tight).

I have to second all of the comments about VSR. Mario, Chris and their team do great work. They have the detailed knowledge and lengthy experience that's so critical to getting these cars right. They've always been honest with me and I've been very happy with all the work they've done.
 
I'm surprised nobody's talked about Coupeking, do they not do customer restos anymore? I remember looking at them as an option about 10 years ago.
 
Wow, you call that a "rough" interior? What exactly do you want changed in there besides the wood? You want leather now?

I'm not so sure you need to cart your car around the country just to replace the wood, windows working, weather tightness, and a tuneup on your engine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top