The 1970 2800 Project

[rblongboarder]

A hearty thank you to Lucas for posting this video:

A German Hot Rod.

A great story about an equally great car.

e9coupe.com

It's awesome to hear another car owner express their passion and motivation.. and to be honest about how long the build took.

Love that sound.

 

[rblongboarder]

While searching Craigslist, I found an '87 E24 for sale... the side profile photos illustrate something I've been thinking about..

IMHO, the body line looks much better with a rear spoiler.. my favorite is the spoiler that was on my '85 Euro E24... (the 3rd photo is not of my former vehicle)

 

[rblongboarder]

I found this little nugget on eBay.. a NOS Bellino JerryCan that fits in the spare tire. Hat tip to German eBay vendor kolder01 who sold this to me for 80 euros.

It's in my garage, filled with 2-cycle engine gas for my lawnmower...

 

[Stevehose]

I’ve always wanted one of these except I keep spare parts under my tire in the well where that would go. Nice find.

 

[rsporsche]

what i remember about these cans is they fit on the spare tire spindle (inside of the spare tire wheel) ... whether the tire is put on the spindle upside down and the can on top of it ... or reversed is what i don't remember

 

[rblongboarder]

I was very inspired by the attention to detail in this project:

Thread 'Sierrabeige 1977 3.0Si Restoration in the UK'

Jan 23, 2022

So after 10 years of ownership (and about 10k very happy miles) I have finally decided to commit to the full restoration that my E3 has really needed. When I bought it, I was immediately struck by the fact that it was in mechanically excellent condition, and that the bodyshell was pretty straight. The downside was that pretty much every panel had filler in it - a lot of filler, and that at some time in the car's past it had received some very poor quality welding. This isn't necessarily surprising; here in the UK, E3s spent so long being worth virtually nothing that most people didn't want...

• E3-3.0Si
• Replies: 112
• Forum: E3 Sedan Projects and Restorations

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The body re-work photos are very useful.

 

[rblongboarder]

There are some useful external body shot photos in this recent cars for sale post. The Blue 2800 is a Series I, like my vehicle:

Thread 'E 3 ‘s For Sale anyone ??'

May 3, 2025

Friendly Hello Everyone…..thomas from Westchester County NY here…literally just began new account here (with HUGE help from “cSteve, of Bucks County PA) ….i have 10 vintage bmws mostly of 70s/80s variety including 4 diff e3s, at least 2 of which I’m now just listing for sale here and perhaps in next few weeks on BaT…..1974 bavaria in GranotRot, original 53k, automatic, rather nice condition AND is nice spirited Driver. I bought in 2024 from very nice female (Artist / Educator) and had been listed for a while on CL Boston area. I bought and proceeded to mechanically fix quite a bit, bad...

• 70sRescueGuy
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Cars For Sale and Wanted

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[rblongboarder]

Hat tip to BinksE9 (Ed) for selling me some good stuff...

Front windshield & gasket, rear windshield, chrome trim and a new black carpet kit.

 

[rblongboarder]

I randomly stumbled onto this little nugget... the Bellino gas tank.

I use this as the JerryCan for my yard tools...

 

[Larry Louton]

Hello RBL, Are you going to sleep with that gasket and glass at night?
Just kidding
Larry Louton

 

[rblongboarder]

I continue to find awesome nuggets hidden here and there on this site.

I was very intrigued by this rear diff / brake setup and the 2800cs chassis:

Post in thread 'Never seen that before!'

Oct 9, 2018

Inboard rear brakes & operable side grills.
Shawn

• Shawn Essex

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Post in thread 'Never seen that before!'

Oct 10, 2018

Yes it is mine, 1970 2800cs
Finishing it up, should be on track end of year for sorting.
More details/pics to follow at completion.
Shawn

• Shawn Essex

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A search led me to some footage of Shawn Essex's 2800cs on the track:

Thread 'SVRA Laguna Seca 5/4/2025 - Essex BMW 2800cs - Group 6/12'

May 12, 2025

Couple laps at the start of Sunday's race. End up chasing a 68 Ford Mustang till end of the race.
Not sure why a modern Lamborghini race car came out in our group, but it was humbling for all us vintage guys.
Always good to be at the track.

Shawn

Also a link to the SVRA/Trans Am live broadcast (start at 2:10:30 for Group 6/12).
One of the announcers really liked the 2800cs (not a lot of screen time, but some memorable mentions)

Couple still pics by Chris Green

• Shawn Essex
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Videos

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Thread 'ALL GERMAN RACE - VARA OKTOBERFEST 2020 - ESSEX'

Nov 25, 2020

https://youtu.be/3nPGTjTxry4
1970 BMW 2800CS
#670 / Shawn Essex
VARA Oktoberfest 2020 - ALL GERMAN RACE

Spent most of the race a distant 3rd.
Great as always racing with VARA!

Happy Thanksgiving from brothers ESSEX - Shawn, Shanon and Shad

• Shawn Essex
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Videos

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Nice mini-documentary on the Luigi BMW. Thank you Steve for letting my son sit in the driver's seat during Laguna Seca Historics 2024.

Post in thread 'Waiting for the Racing to Begin'

Apr 21, 2020

....the waiting is the hardest part.
oh the shame, parked and unused in the front garage where the suburban usually goes...surrounded by "stuff".
Hopefully back out there this summer down here in SoCal.

Hey Shawn come on up north a bit. We'd love to have you at some races up here. In the meantime here's a little something to fill the empty hours:

• lafngrvy

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[rblongboarder]

I remember bookmarking the Koogleworks shop on my browser. I definitely want one of these aluminum air dams:

Post in thread 'Kooglewerks is making beautiful H&B wheels'

Jun 4, 2025

most of the stuff that i see on their website is for the 2002 and a little e30 ... but there is some nice stuff. they are also making a bavaria air dam

• rsporsche

 

[rblongboarder]

Two build threads that inspire me:

Post in thread '2800 Restoration Thread'

May 14, 2025

After talking to Dan @dang, Paul @paul cain and Jean-Paul @rblongboarder, they encouraged me to update this thread that I started ten years ago. The 2800 had been with Mike @OCCoupe for the last five years and he installed a new a/c system and drove it down in March. The only thing that still needed doing was the paint which is now complete. I think the Polaris looks stunning. It now has only 65K miles as it was stored for 34 years from 1981 until 2015 when we bought it. I will drive up to Legends this August where it was first shown eight long years ago. And...

• HB Chris

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Thread 'My Granada red 2800'

Jun 8, 2025

99% finished after 7 years of restoration.
All of the work done by me in my own garage.

A before picture:

Now

• E3AV
• Replies: 11
• Forum: E3 Photos

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[rblongboarder]

I'm a fan of the Hagerty video channel and I continue to discover specialty shops that are doing impressive work with vehicles. Here are a few that inspired me...


MZR Motorsports, and their 240Z:

MZR Roadsports

Prodrive and their P25:

Prodrive P25 - Prodrive

The Prodrive P25 is a modern interpretation of the WRC97. An icon reimagined, redefined and recreated as the ultimate world rally car for the road.

www.prodrive.com

Workshop 5001:

Home - Workshop 5001

Workshop 5001™ is a Los Angeles-based automotive company with unparalleled expertise in modern & vintage sports cars.

workshop5001.com

IDING Power, a Japanese Tuner with an incredible history of high-end projects:

IDINGPOWER

idingpower.jp

Garage Yoshida (for Nissan GTR):

GARAGE YOSHIDA ガレージヨシダ

ガレージヨシダではGT-R(GTR)を復活させ、お取扱しております。その他、貿易、板金塗装、修理、新車・中古車販売、車検等、車のことはご相談ください。

www.garage-yoshida.net

Built by Legends:

https://builtbylegends.jp/

RWB Porsche (japanese mods to 911s):

RWB USA | Official RWB | Rauh Welt Begriff Website

Welcome to RWB official partners. RWB USA is one region, and we would love to hear from you if you would like to become an RWB owner.

rwbuk.com

 

[rblongboarder]

Some of you might've noticed I post a lot of bits in the cars & parts for sale area... what can I say? I love hunting for parts...

Here's some stuff I've acquired over the last 8 months... first up, 4 door shells from a polaris 1970 2800.. hat tip to GermanOnly on eBay up in the Sacramento, CA area. Recommendation: skip eBay. Go for a cash deal. Significant discount if you pickup items in person.

 

[rblongboarder]

Next... a new boot and bonnet.. also from the same 1970 2800... Hat tip to GermanOnly on eBay.

 

[rblongboarder]

Replacement bumpers.. Hat tip to GK-E30M3 on this site. (These were purchased almost a year ago. Finally got around to posting their photos..)

The new chrome middle front bumper piece is from e-boigh on eBay.

 

[rblongboarder]

Finally... some semi-Alpina style front seats in black & blue from Euroshark66 here on the site. The headrests are in the previous posts with my bumper parts.

Thanks to HBChris (message below) for reminding me.. OCCoupe brought the E3 seats to me from Northern Cal. A superb example of the teamwork that's available on this site. OCCoupe, I do hope I paid you enough gas money for the trek...

 

[HB Chris]

Ah, the seats delivered by @OCCoupe! I still have a couple small bits for you.