I noticed that too, these old BMWs or any other car of that era all had rust already built in
Restore or Scrap
- Thread starter Hinemn
- Start date
Funny you should say about having lost its geometry, I didn't like how the back and the door windows line up. I'll keep the shift knob in mind when I decide to what to do with it.Others on this forum know that, 99% of the time, my answer is always "save". However, in this case I think this sweet car has passed that milestone unfortunately. There's just too much metal missing - stuff that is not available and challenging to fabricate. It has lost it's geometry and would need to be re-aligned (chassis) in addition to all of the metal work.
I'd love to purchase the shift knob from you if that helps your equation.
Thanks, you make a very good point on selling a partially disassembled car
I just checked, they are 14"x7" wheels. What makes them CSL wheels?
That would be my favourite option if only one could find a rust free ish shell......I'm not holding my breath on that idea though
Somewhere out there is a rust free shell waiting for me......
Sent you a PM/Conversation...
That's just sad, this pile of sheet metal its what's left of one of the most beautiful cars BMW (Karman) ever designedI went through the same thing. Parting makes sense as absolutely nobody in America will restore this car. You also might consider offering the package to @KastelikClassicCar. They just restored on in similar condition.
Agree with @Keshav that the wheels appear to be CSL alpinas. Quite desirable.
You can part out a car quickly and ship later. That wasn’t my goal since I wanted to understand the car and document the process. I spent about two years. I only had a little over 400lbs of metal left over. Honestly I wish I have kept more.
Deconstruction Thread: How to part-out an E9
As much as I hate to part out an E9, I decided to harness the opportunity. I picked up a '73 CSI from WA this weekend. Original Listing: https://e9coupe.com/forum/threads/73-csi-in-wa-4-500.19855/ The run down: The BMW 3.0 CSi VIN 2263445 was manufactured on October 05th, 1972 and delivered...e9coupe.com
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You let me know if you stumble across a decent shell, I'd be all over that.
If I had the skill, experience, space, time, money, patience, I'd love to do a resto-mod and attach the outer skin on a late model E46.........here I am dreaming again lol
I don't know yet, haven't gotten to that point yet.
That' the trick, finding a better body which I'm sure has a long line up of people like me. lol
Yes, the car is desireable, but those willing to pick up a project narrow when they consider time, cost and parts availability.
Several here have suggested that you get yourself a car you can drive and enjoy right away. The best advice is always to buy the best condition you can afford. Having a parts car makes some work affordable.
Looks like several here (me included) would be interested in parts if you decide to go down that path.
We will all look forward to hearing what you decide, and either way we hope you will stay engaged with the community here while you look for your drivable project.
I would say, take your time with this. Plenty of great advice here, as usual, but we don't know if you are related to Elon Musk and can, well, you know, get some help funding the 5 year, $100K restoration. But every time I see these photos, I cringe knowing that, yes, it is way worse the deeper you go. I vote for the find another but keep this. Could take a while, but use this as a parts car for yourself, and then a few for others. Stripping parts is an educational way to get to know the model of car. You must have space for this however, and many simply do not. Best of luck, and keep us posted. But really, take your time with this decision. BTW, Canada ia a big place, Ontario? Quebec? Mike
Only the CSLs got these Alpina 7x14” rims. They are infact valuable and even more so if they have matching date stamps which are on the back side.
First pic shows where Alpina is visable and second pic of the date stamp behind the rim. Well worth checking the dates. A matching set would be cool.
If I knew Elon I'd electrify this E9. There is nothing worse than not restoring a car properly, who hasn't hear horror stories of people getting their cars restored going after the cheapest quote only to pull them out of the shop for various reasons to take it to another shop only to find out the work done and paid for is sub par, now second shop does things marginally better then shop one, fast forward to shop number 5 they have to re-do half the work to get it done right at two or three times the original estimate.
Luckily I used to work in the body industry, still have connections and know what to look for but even with doing most of the work myself except the actual rust repair I'm super hesitant as $25k-$50K would hardly even make a dent in the colossal project.........but how amazing would it be to get this amazing car back on the road.
You're right, I'll take my time in deciding, the car has been sitting outside for over 18 years what another few month or year?
I'm located about an hour north east of Toronto Ontario in a small town just far enough away and close enough to the city.
You're a fountain of BMW information Keshav. I had to take the wheels off to make the car mobile and happen to have the wheels in my garage, I'll have to clean the inside of the wheels to see the date, I'll check tomorrow and report back what I find. This is like a treasure hunt.
Tell me, is it just me but I find that anything Alpina is still very special on a BMW and AMG on a Mercedes is oh so very common these days?
Is that a factory paint job? Don't recall seeing a lot of two tone E9s about.
The rarity of model and associated options is also a consideration. RHD CSi's are very rare and I suspect somebody may consider a heroic restoration like this. If it were a CSL (either RHD or LHD) somebody would restore it. A LHD CSi is quite desirable but not as rare as the RHD. If it was a LHD CS just walk away.
As I see it you have to balance sentimentality with budget and your level of experience. If it's all about THIS car then work through that. You now own the car so have time to make a plan. Metal work is going to be a big issue here. Are you competent with a MIG Welder? If yes, move forward one step. If not, you better enrol in a course now. Being able to undertake as much work as possible will save you thousands. The rust you can see is probably only half of it. Another consideration is to find a captive retired fabricator, or a tech school that can help. You can pay them to do the big jobs, possibly at your place, to break things up. You want somebody with the skills/experience to weld up some structural supports and get it on a rotisserie as this car looks to have lost its alignment.
Your other issue is that some of the metal you need isn't fabricated anymore. You will need a donor, or get it made, (again a captive fabricator). The inner fenders are a big problem. Nobody makes them, and they always rust out.
If you are prepared to up-skill and have the space, time and work to a budget to cash flow the project, what does it matter if it takes 10 years to save the car - if it's about THIS car. You will have the satisfaction of having achieved something that few of us would even contemplate, but you need to be prepared for the long haul and setbacks along the way.
On the other hand, if you just want an E9 @sfdon is right. Buy one in better condition, or a body and use this as the donor. It will then live on and you honour the memory - plus have a great set of CSL wheels.
My personal view id I think the car is probably too far gone. I say that not in a technical sense but on investment vs return. However, if this was say my grandparent's car I'd be throwing the kitchen sink at saving it. Whatever your decision, it needs to be the right one for you, and there are lots of great people there that will help you.
The rarity of model and associated options is also a consideration. RHD CSi's are very rare and I suspect somebody may consider a heroic restoration like this. If it were a CSL (either RHD or LHD) somebody would restore it. A LHD CSi is quite desirable but not as rare as the RHD. If it was a LHD CS just walk away.
As I see it you have to balance sentimentality with budget and your level of experience. If it's all about THIS car then work through that. You now own the car so have time to make a plan. Metal work is going to be a big issue here. Are you competent with a MIG Welder? If yes, move forward one step. If not, you better enrol in a course now. Being able to undertake as much work as possible will save you thousands. The rust you can see is probably only half of it. Another consideration is to find a captive retired fabricator, or a tech school that can help. You can pay them to do the big jobs, possibly at your place, to break things up. You want somebody with the skills/experience to weld up some structural supports and get it on a rotisserie as this car looks to have lost its alignment.
Your other issue is that some of the metal you need isn't fabricated anymore. You will need a donor, or get it made, (again a captive fabricator). The inner fenders are a big problem. Nobody makes them, and they always rust out.
If you are prepared to up-skill and have the space, time and work to a budget to cash flow the project, what does it matter if it takes 10 years to save the car - if it's about THIS car. You will have the satisfaction of having achieved something that few of us would even contemplate, but you need to be prepared for the long haul and setbacks along the way.
On the other hand, if you just want an E9 @sfdon is right. Buy one in better condition, or a body and use this as the donor. It will then live on and you honour the memory - plus have a great set of CSL wheels.
My personal view id I think the car is probably too far gone. I say that not in a technical sense but on investment vs return. However, if this was say my grandparent's car I'd be throwing the kitchen sink at saving it. Whatever your decision, it needs to be the right one for you, and there are lots of great people there that will help you.
this is a part car you can not fix this there is many parts that is hard to fined or no way to fined it or sale it as is 3-4K to get out of your yard
jmackro
Well-Known Member
"Working on cars" and "building an entire e9 body from expensive replacement parts, hand-fabricated sheetmetal and a few scraps from a rough donor car" are two different things.
I'd advise a variation on nosmonkey's suggestion in post #15: find a decent CS in need of restoration, and build up a nice car with bits from that + your parts car. Whether the second e9 you acquire is just a shell, or a complete car isn't the point; just find one that isn't too badly rusted or accident damaged. A few things on your existing car may be salvageable (such as the wheels) but even the mechanical parts look pretty badly rusted.
In my case someone cut off the chassis vin. I only had the import tag and matching block left. Even if a competent metal shop got it back together, the car still had a scarlet letter.
Wladek
Well-Known Member
Wheels + complete working D-Jetronic hardware will be worth 3-4K EUR/USD, even without the engine block. D-jetronic air filter box now cost 300-500$
This car have a lot of desirable parts, even in that shape as whole car i think it is worth at least 10K.
In parts selling separately (ebay or another local ...) i think it will be worth 20K or more
If you will decide to find a better body, it will be cheaper for you in future if you keep all the parts (every single one), but don't let the car stay outside any longer, because otherwise most of valuable interior and mechanical parts soon will be useless.
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