Pretty Special 2500 E3 FS

Dick Steinkamp

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GolfBavaria

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Not every day you see Tundra Green Metallic on an E3. That sun setting first pic threw me for a loop, it looked more Malaga to me... It's bad enough I am color blind. I'm surprised owner is not on here. Pretty cool interior. Can't be that many UK RHD E3's running around the states. I hope this finds a good home.
 

Frederick

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Very nice. I do like the color. I believe my interior looked like that at some point.(long ago, in galaxy far away...)
Thanks Dick.
Lot of work done. Curious about the center line trim on a 2500. Was that standard on all e3's after 71?
Seems like BAT would be a better venue for this.
 

Markos

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It has 4 low beams. It's like it never ends.

Haha - It has always been this way. You are just paying attention to e3’s and e9’s now. ;)

  • Vehicles are 50yo with lots of NLA parts
  • Demographic is older, less inclined to post “look at my car” pics on social media (only to discover they have four low beams)
  • These cars have a decent of variance over their short run, and for those that ARE online discussing, a lot of mixed opinions on what is “correct”

FWIW - I do think this car is stunning. Not a huge fan of the RHD, especially if it doesn’t serve as a market discount to LHD drivers.

I joined this site in 2015. You could get a RHD CSL for $60K. :(
 

Dick Steinkamp

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It has 4 low beams. It's like it never ends.
It could be he had (or could only get) the yellow headlights and wanted the "look" more than the ability to do high speed highway night driving. If that is the case, I too would do what he did. I like the look!
 

wkohler

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It could be he had (or could only get) the yellow headlights and wanted the "look" more than the ability to do high speed highway night driving. If that is the case, I too would do what he did. I like the look!
It could be all of that but I mistakenly read the description. He provides links to the headlights which he says are LEDs (thankfully they're not as those LED replacements are horrible) and both links are for low beams.

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Haha - It has always been this way. You are just paying attention to e3’s and e9’s now. ;)

  • Vehicles are 50yo with lots of NLA parts
  • Demographic is older, less inclined to post “look at my car” pics on social media (only to discover they have four low beams)
  • These cars have a decent of variance over their short run, and for those that ARE online discussing, a lot of mixed opinions on what is “correct”

FWIW - I do think this car is stunning. Not a huge fan of the RHD, especially if it doesn’t serve as a market discount to LHD drivers.

I joined this site in 2015. You could get a RHD CSL for $60K. :(
I've been paying attention to stuff for a long time. Few want to deal with me because they think my standards are too high. For a while I started to believe them. The stock Euro lights had H1s in every position not H4s. Fluting on the glass is different between highs and lows. Obviously whatever lights this car had in it were illegal in LHD countries at least without the little things that change the cutoff so they had to be changed in the US.

The incorrect lights are an easy fix and an annoyance to me. I still like the car. I much prefer the 14" Mahle wheels to the Alpinas that were in the magazine article and it looks to be very well done otherwise. Like you, the RHD is more of a turn-off than anything else, but I'm not a mailman.
 

Dick Steinkamp

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FWIW - I do think this car is stunning. Not a huge fan of the RHD, especially if it doesn’t serve as a market discount to LHD drivers.
I think the RHD is only a possible plus if it is a British car. Then it seems to fit. Not so much for a German RHD car.

I loved my Daimler V8 250 and thought the RHD was not only no problem what-so-ever, but actually icing on the cake. :)

 

wkohler

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I thought it was one of those things where if the car was available in LHD, its RHD counterpart suffered in value. I would imagine that holds true only for LHD markets. You would think that if rarity alone were a factor, the RHD versions of cars like CSLs, M5s, E12 M535i would be worth more as there were fewer made, but the continental market is larger than the UK market. I guess a car like an E12 530 MLE only made for the South African market, therefore only RHD wouldn't suffer such an issue.
 

HB Chris

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I think the RHD is only a possible plus if it is a British car. Then it seems to fit. Not so much for a German RHD car.

I loved my Daimler V8 250 and thought the RHD was not only no problem what-so-ever, but actually icing on the cake. :)

That motor sounds pretty sweet. I grew up on XK-150s and the Mark II is a lovely sedan.
 

cicada

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I thought it was one of those things where if the car was available in LHD, its RHD counterpart suffered in value. I would imagine that holds true only for LHD markets. You would think that if rarity alone were a factor, the RHD versions of cars like CSLs, M5s, E12 M535i would be worth more as there were fewer made, but the continental market is larger than the UK market. I guess a car like an E12 530 MLE only made for the South African market, therefore only RHD wouldn't suffer such an issue.
Though it was at one time a sign of prestige to drive a LHD car in Japan, having a RHD over there today for uncommon classics is seen as a plus. Nonetheless, it's not like the side the wheel is on over there is any issue, as one tends to not drive in the cities anyway... and there aren't any drive-ins.
 

coupedegrace

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The Daimler V8 250 is just a badge engineered Mark II with Daimler's little hemi V8. A nice combo.
I consider it well worth my time when I read, do, or interact with things that allow me to say "I learned something new today." With this forum, on average, it's more like "I learned 3 1/2 new things today." Thanks for helping to keep the old brain from ossifying!
 

Dick Steinkamp

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This E3 bid to $12,700


That seems quite low to me....but then I'm a prejudiced E3 owner ;) ). I think the RHD held it back some, but I have to believe most of the shortfall is due to the down market.

I'm a big C2 Corvette fan (I've never owned one). This 65 FI Coupe, Bloomington Gold, desirable colors and equipment, was a RNM at $80k


It sold for $104k last year at this time


I think it would have done $150 the year prior.

Yea, lousy pictures, non engaged seller, etc., but I really couldn't come up with enough good reasons for that kind of price except that buyers are laying low.

If you are thinking of selling a collector car, my advice would be to hold off. If you are a buyer, I think there are bargains to be had.
 

Markos

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It could be all of that but I mistakenly read the description. He provides links to the headlights which he says are LEDs (thankfully they're not as those LED replacements are horrible) and both links are for low beams.

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I've been paying attention to stuff for a long time. Few want to deal with me because they think my standards are too high. For a while I started to believe them.

I just meant that you are paying attention to e3’s and e9’s now. :D
It could be all of that but I mistakenly read the description. He provides links to the headlights which he says are LEDs (thankfully they're not as those LED replacements are horrible) and both links are for low beams.

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The stock Euro lights had H1s in every position not H4s. Fluting on the glass is different between highs and lows.

I’m a details nut also, and have read a lot of misinformation about H4’s. A lot of e9 owners associate them with low powered, low quality US lenses or DOT motorcycle lenses. However, for many cars a euro spec H4 lense is a major upgrade to factory sealed beams.

You said that this car has four low beams. The ad states it has H4’s with mention of lumens, and I believe I can see the H4 glass poking out past the trim ring. For those that aren’t aware, the H4 is a dual filament bulb. The lens is deeper for this reason. An H4 lens isn’t just a low beam. It is a dual beam. It is safe to assume that this owner installed dual H4’s with an emphasis on light output, given that you can handily put out 240w (4 x 60w) or 400w (4 x 100w) high beam power at the same time. Whether people like the look of H4’s, they have their advantages in a quad headlight setup. Even if you are running H4 outers, you can use the inner lights as pencil beams or high output driving lights.

Another thing I have read on here is that H4’s don’t have a city light. That is contingent on the reflector not the bulb. You can buy 5.75” euro spec H4’s with a city light socket.

A H7 is the single filament equivalent bulb with the same mounting configuration as an H4.

One thing I haven’t compared is the light pattern from a quality H1 lens to a quality H4 lens. I’ve had “small” H4’s in my Jeep, but a dual purpose lense in the 5.75” package seems less likely to out perform a dedicated low/high beam lense.

My car has H4 outers and they look stupid. If I were to mount H4’s permanently I would try to modify the housings and make a spacer to recess the light and have the lens sit flush.
 

wkohler

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The dual filament bulb only matters if the car is wired for it. E23s and E28s got H4 low beams but when the high beams were switched on, only one filament stayed illuminated in the low beam. On a US car, if you installed the retrofit lights like these, it will switch filaments to keep the lows on with the high beams. It never illuminates both filaments at the same time.

In the E3 they would work the same way. Putting H4s in the high beam position you’re just adding another low beam. On a 2002 or a car with a single 7” setup, when you
Put the high beams on, both filaments are illuminated increasing the output. The fluting on the glass is totally different on the H1 high beams.

I’d be shocked if this car had anything other than the stock 55w bulbs and stock wiring.
 

Markos

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The dual filament bulb only matters if the car is wired for it. E23s and E28s got H4 low beams but when the high beams were switched on, only one filament stayed illuminated in the low beam. On a US car, if you installed the retrofit lights like these, it will switch filaments to keep the lows on with the high beams. It never illuminates both filaments at the same time.

In the E3 they would work the same way. Putting H4s in the high beam position you’re just adding another low beam. On a 2002 or a car with a single 7” setup, when you
Put the high beams on, both filaments are illuminated increasing the output. The fluting on the glass is totally different on the H1 high beams.

I’d be shocked if this car had anything other than the stock 55w bulbs and stock wiring.

I got you. I wasn’t really factoring jow
things operate in an OEM setting. I’ve modified the lighting and associated wiring on every car I’ve owned (save for the minivan). Also, I have owned very few vehicles compared to most people. :D
 
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