There are two main references, plus the parts books, and owner's manual, see
below.

First, Haynes Publications (a British outfit) publishes a series of manuals
"each based on a complete teardown and rebuild" or some such.  The text and
photos are adequate, but there's a catch:  the manual we'll use is actually
written for the E3, that's right, the Bavaria.  Still, the cars are mechanically
nearly identical for most purposes.  Obviously, the body, interior, and rear
suspension are different.  There's not much that isn't adequately covered for
the purposes of most of us.  The Bav reference is out of print, but sold for
about 12 USD when available; I wouldn't pay much more for it, in good condition. 
It comes up from time to time on Ebay or in this list.

Then there are the factory Blue Books, two volumes, with 4-ring euro-style
binders, again mostly written to the 4-doors, but with coverage of the coupes as
required, including the CSL models.  These are the ultimate source, and of
course are out of print.  They too come up from time to time; I have a set from
a former 3.0S owner and they are worth their weight in precious metal.  The
photo quality is excellent as is organization.  Their one drawback is reference
to shop supplies, lubricants, etc., that are european and 25 or 30 years old. 
Certainly modern, and perhaps better, substitutions exist, but it's tough
sometimes to know just what the factory intended to be used, and thus to make
correct substitution.

The parts books, again two volumes, with orange soft covers, referred to as the
Orange Books.  These have every part listed in six languages, with 11-digit part
numbers.  They are useful to see the exploded diagrams of assemblies.  They are,
of course, out of print and seldom come up for resale.  However, CNPR has
reproduced them for something like $57, check their website at justbmws.com

The owner's manual is NLA, and so rare I've never seen one.  They are advertised
so seldom that there is no going rate for them.  Possibly a list member will
photocopy one for you, if information rather than originality is a concern.

"Tim O'Connor" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I would appreciate any advice on obtaining technical books for the service
> of my CSL and also availability of owners handbook if still available /
> obtainable.
> Rgds
> Tim
--
Charlie
BMW CCHawaii