Questions from a potential owner

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Copasetic222

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I understand there will be a wide variance from car to car depending on previous ownership, restoration history, etc., but what can a novice owner of, let's say, a "good example" expect in terms of fun to drive (acceleration handling, etc.), dependability (how long of a trip would you take it on without worrying about a breakdown), what are the weak points (in addition to rust), etc.
Thanks in advance.
 
Copasetic222 said:
I understand there will be a wide variance from car to car depending on previous ownership, restoration history, etc., but what can a novice owner of, let's say, a "good example" expect in terms of fun to drive (acceleration handling, etc.), dependability (how long of a trip would you take it on without worrying about a breakdown), what are the weak points (in addition to rust), etc.
Thanks in advance.
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If it is a "good example" it should be completely sound, in terms of driving, so you could take it however far you wanted to go. All the mechanical parts are used in other, later cars, often with 300k+ miles on them without much work. (excluding the horrible auto trans, of course)

Most of the driving stats are in the Car & Driver period review, which is located in our technical archives section of the site.

The main weak spots would be:
Fuel mileage (should be in the low 20s on regular for a stock example, unless you are driving like a banshee)
Cooling system
radio (one in-dash speaker isn't exactly a quality listening experience)
AC (think wheezing mouse with a cough)
Electric windows (they will be slow, but should work)
Interior wood sections (de-laminate due to moisture)

Rust is, without a doubt, the biggest problem. If you can fix the rust, everything else is cake. The thing is, this car represented the upper-most crust of european design and manufacturing at the time, so it drives much like a modern car, as most of the primary component setup has been carried over, even today. It was 5 times the cost of a 2002 at the time.
 
And twice the price of a Jaguar E-type !!!

Once you have a good body with a tidy interior, the rest is very, very simple as stated above. The FI 3,0 L engines consume less than 10L/100 km (roughly more than 25MPG) at highway speed but this is not a major issue for a collector car. It is still impressive for a 35+ year old high performance car.

The driveline should be 100% or more. By this I mean all moving and attachment parts should be new, as well as brakes; final drive, engine and gearbox overhauled. The silemblocs or stiff rubber mounting parts with metal inside are crucial to the overall experience. All of these are avaiable new at very reasonable prices (probably much cheaper than for contemporary BMWs).

You now have a spectacularly beautiful BMW coupe, which is easy to drive and very reliable in modern traffic. It will keep up with and outperform 90% of modern cars out there if you like that sort of driving. It may only have around 200 HP but bear in mind that it weighs about 2/3 of most modern cars in this category.

I have several and use them extensively. You will want to be careful when parking it, so as to avoid an adjacent car from damaging the doors when they open theirs. The E9 lack rubber protection along the sides of the car.

Good luck with your project, and welcome to this most useful forum.
 
I second everyone else. I carry a spare water pump. I have had more water pumps fail than any other part. Driveshaft bearings and joints are also a weak point.

I take my coupe to driver's schools. I have done suspension, exhaust, and engine mods but the engine is basically a 3.3 liter injected motor. And the car looks original in every way.

I have driven over 200 miles to Watkins Glen, done two days of drivers school(a total of 6 + hours on the track tossing and turning and going over 100mph) and driven home. The car did not hiccup.

I am leaving for a school tomorrow night and will be on the track for three hours. Although I have AAA+ with 100 miles of free flat bedding I don't expect to ever use it.

Steve ONeill
 
A weak point is the original cooling system with the red 5 blade fan...replace it with a newer fan (9 blade, I think) and a new fan clutch. Also, and Steve can attest, a new radiator, or a re-cored one, is a good idea. An electronic points system such as Crane or Pertronics is very worthwhile if you have carburetors.

Steve: on the track, keep those RPMs down, OK? She is, what, 37 years old!
 
I have heard about problems with the water pump but I think mine still has the original. I know I have not replaced it since I bought the car in 1980 and it has about 220,000 miles on it now. It is making a little noise now that I think is the bearings in the water pump and I plan to replace it soon.

The AC on mine does not work well right now because it needs to be charged but it does does blow cold air when it is fully charged. I do find when it cycles on an off, it tends to blow not-so-cold air for a little too long before it kicks in and blows cold air again.

I normally get around 25 mpg if I keep it below 80 mph. I don't mind taking the engine to red-line and it happily does it for me but that does not do much for good gas mileage. I don't hesitate to take it on long trips (in excess of 300 miles) but have not done it in a while.

I have not had any problems with the u-joints in the drive-shaft but I have replaced the center support donut a couple times. I finally learned not to power shift to second or third gear and it has been holding up very well since. I don't think these cars were designed for drag racing but it is still fun to try.
 
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