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Here's the story behind this project - I've daily driven a 1986 528e for about 3 years now. Earlier this year, I ended up buying an E12 528i that was destined for the scrapper. Considering it had 83,000 miles on it when I picked it up, this was not a destiny that I was going to let unfold. My plan was to daily it through the summer and pass it along to a friend when school time came around - which is exactly what ended up happening.
However, the monotony of daily life and the constant routine of schoolwork got to me. Life was empty, and somewhat miserable, as I went through the motions of getting on a train everyday by myself and going to a school about an hour away where I barely know anyone. My main reason for selling the E12 was to focus on school, but focusing on school was not fun. It was just making me sad. And you know what? Fuck that noise.
A good friend of mine offered me a BMW 2002, a dream car of mine. I gladly obliged because I knew it would be a fun project. The car was taken apart and needed work done to fix the rocker panels. The interior was incomplete, but the motor and all the drivetrain bits were there. Still, it was a car where some (okay, lots) of assembly was required. I put the deposit down on the car, but with the car sitting around and him making some small moves to get it ready for me, he kind of fell back in love with it. I was fine with this though, he returned the deposit and that was the end of that.
The same friend who owns the 2002 contacts me shortly thereafter showing me a 1973 BMW 3.0s that was listed on New York craigslist. I showed some friends the car, and they immediately loved it. I was starting to fall in love with it myself - even more so than the 2002 - there's just something about the design of a saloon that I truly enjoy. The car looked to be in okay condition, and the owner of the car was straight forward. He wanted the car to go to someone who was going to take care of it, and not part it out. The only problem was the car didn't run or drive, and was located in Killingsworth, CT.
I keep in contact with the owner, whilst talking to friends and seeing if anyone can help me out with a tow. My good friend Ben, who I sold the E12 to, comes through in the clutch. He gets his hands on a truck at the last minute, we make arrangements with a U-Haul place in CT, and I contact the owner with the cash in hand, ready to pick up another old BMW.
Hi Ben. Do you see the ice? Because we sure did.
Some CT sunshine definitely made this car look beautiful, but it shows the potential it has.
After a nice little trip, we get up there, and the thing was as described. It's surprisingly solid, but he wasn't kidding about it being a mice's home - the thing smelled awful. I also found out that it was last registered in Sept. 1980, well before my existence on this earth was even a thought. I tried to use this as a large part of my argument to talk the price down, but I had no luck. The price I got it for was more than fair though, and I knew what I was getting into. After a bit of inspection, it was time to get her on the trailer and get her home.
Now that the car has been home for a few weeks, I haven't made toooooo much progress. Like I said, school is (unfortunately) a priority, this is my distraction. There's nothing like an old BMW, and after selling the E12, it made me realize I needed something like it again, but this time I wouldn't be so foolish as to sell it. However, this old E3 needs a lot more elbow grease than the E12 ever did. Warning, this thread's about to get sorta graphic.
Found this little guy under the driver's seat, and the other one in the rain tray (which was mice shit central).
I hope Deadmau5 doesn't make any more appearances in the fixing up of this old Bav.
Got all of the headaches together for a family photo.
Rendering done by my good friend Blaise Freeman. This is the eventual plan for the car, bags and some sort of nice wheels. I'm also taking apart the entire interior, and cleaning literally every single tiny crevice, as well as getting the AC, heat, radio and just about every accessory bit of the interior to work. I'm also going to wet sand the paint and try to leave as much of the natural patina as possible. Perhaps one day the car will see a respray when I can afford those types of things, but for now what's left of the beautiful Malaga red will shine bright amongst the rust spots.
The most important thing about the car is getting it running and driving, though. I'd like to get the M30 to run, but it's been sitting for years upon years with the intake manifold off. My concern is that the motor is surely seized, it hasn't cranked by hand yet, but I am planning on using Marvel Mystery Oil in order to get it to crank. Anyone with some insight on these motors is more than willing to give their 2 cents. However, a friend of mine and I have been planning out a swap that will blow some minds, piss many off but most importantly - put a huge smile on my face.
However, the monotony of daily life and the constant routine of schoolwork got to me. Life was empty, and somewhat miserable, as I went through the motions of getting on a train everyday by myself and going to a school about an hour away where I barely know anyone. My main reason for selling the E12 was to focus on school, but focusing on school was not fun. It was just making me sad. And you know what? Fuck that noise.
A good friend of mine offered me a BMW 2002, a dream car of mine. I gladly obliged because I knew it would be a fun project. The car was taken apart and needed work done to fix the rocker panels. The interior was incomplete, but the motor and all the drivetrain bits were there. Still, it was a car where some (okay, lots) of assembly was required. I put the deposit down on the car, but with the car sitting around and him making some small moves to get it ready for me, he kind of fell back in love with it. I was fine with this though, he returned the deposit and that was the end of that.
The same friend who owns the 2002 contacts me shortly thereafter showing me a 1973 BMW 3.0s that was listed on New York craigslist. I showed some friends the car, and they immediately loved it. I was starting to fall in love with it myself - even more so than the 2002 - there's just something about the design of a saloon that I truly enjoy. The car looked to be in okay condition, and the owner of the car was straight forward. He wanted the car to go to someone who was going to take care of it, and not part it out. The only problem was the car didn't run or drive, and was located in Killingsworth, CT.
I keep in contact with the owner, whilst talking to friends and seeing if anyone can help me out with a tow. My good friend Ben, who I sold the E12 to, comes through in the clutch. He gets his hands on a truck at the last minute, we make arrangements with a U-Haul place in CT, and I contact the owner with the cash in hand, ready to pick up another old BMW.
Hi Ben. Do you see the ice? Because we sure did.
Some CT sunshine definitely made this car look beautiful, but it shows the potential it has.
After a nice little trip, we get up there, and the thing was as described. It's surprisingly solid, but he wasn't kidding about it being a mice's home - the thing smelled awful. I also found out that it was last registered in Sept. 1980, well before my existence on this earth was even a thought. I tried to use this as a large part of my argument to talk the price down, but I had no luck. The price I got it for was more than fair though, and I knew what I was getting into. After a bit of inspection, it was time to get her on the trailer and get her home.
Now that the car has been home for a few weeks, I haven't made toooooo much progress. Like I said, school is (unfortunately) a priority, this is my distraction. There's nothing like an old BMW, and after selling the E12, it made me realize I needed something like it again, but this time I wouldn't be so foolish as to sell it. However, this old E3 needs a lot more elbow grease than the E12 ever did. Warning, this thread's about to get sorta graphic.
Found this little guy under the driver's seat, and the other one in the rain tray (which was mice shit central).
I hope Deadmau5 doesn't make any more appearances in the fixing up of this old Bav.
Got all of the headaches together for a family photo.
Rendering done by my good friend Blaise Freeman. This is the eventual plan for the car, bags and some sort of nice wheels. I'm also taking apart the entire interior, and cleaning literally every single tiny crevice, as well as getting the AC, heat, radio and just about every accessory bit of the interior to work. I'm also going to wet sand the paint and try to leave as much of the natural patina as possible. Perhaps one day the car will see a respray when I can afford those types of things, but for now what's left of the beautiful Malaga red will shine bright amongst the rust spots.
The most important thing about the car is getting it running and driving, though. I'd like to get the M30 to run, but it's been sitting for years upon years with the intake manifold off. My concern is that the motor is surely seized, it hasn't cranked by hand yet, but I am planning on using Marvel Mystery Oil in order to get it to crank. Anyone with some insight on these motors is more than willing to give their 2 cents. However, a friend of mine and I have been planning out a swap that will blow some minds, piss many off but most importantly - put a huge smile on my face.
can't wait to see progress!
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