I can haz E3

[wuvvum]

I've just got back from Weston Super Mare, where I picked up my new (old) Beemer. It needs some cosmetic loving, but structurally and mechanically seems pretty much spot on. More pics etc. tomorrow when it's light, but suffice it to say I've just driven 270 miles in an almost-40-year-old car and I barely know I've done it. I've never driven a tax-exempt motor that requires so little consideration of its age. The steering is somewhat over-assisted (as early '70s PAS systems tend to be), and crosswind stability isn't brilliant, but other than that it could quite easily be a mid-'80s car - once I got off the M4 and the wind died down a bit, I completely forgot I was in a classic and just kept up with the traffic - I cruised between 70 and 80 all the way home, and didn't need to think twice about pulling out to overtake slower stuff.

 

The E3 must have been a hell of a car when it was launched - and mine is the baby one with the 2.5 carb engine - a fuel injected 3.3 must be quite a beast. It even managed to do 30mpg, despite only having a 4-speed box. Brakes are superb, ride is comfortable and it turns on a sixpence. Seats are typically '70s German - big, flat and springy - so not as comfortable as some, but I drove non-stop from my one piss stop at Leigh Delamere on the M4 all the way back to Norwich, so they're not too bad.

 

Overall I'm pretty impressed so far. It's not quite as quick as the Scimitar (more power, but more weight and less torque) and it's not got quite as much character, but it's appreciably more economical. The main difference, though, is that even though the Scimitar is 13 years younger, when I'm driving it long distance I'm constantly monitoring the gauges for signs of misbehaviour, and keeping an ear out for odd noises and a nose out for strange smells. In the BMW I pay no more heed to that kind of thing than I would in the 106 or the Stagea. Ok, it wasn't particularly cheap, but I still think it's worth what I paid - any halfway decent tax-exempt classic with a full test has to be worth a reasonable amount. I've just got to decide whether I'm going to use it for a while and move it on, or go the whole hog and pay to have the bodywork sorted and resprayed.

[warren t claim]

Pickshurz pleze!

[tonedepear]

Pickshurz pleze!

 

+10000000000000

[trigger]

Dream mobile.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

They're beautiful cars. My uncle had a pale blue one in the mid 1970s, with IIRC the 3 litre engine. I loved the car and remember it well, despite being about seven at the time.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

This thread is worthless without pizzas.

[garethj]

Sounds like a result - well done!

 

With some cars you can tell they were just made better, old Volvos seem to shrug off the miles just like your Beemer does with the years, some Mercs are similar, they were just made better at the time.

 

Of course it's all for nothing if the car's had owners that don't care over the years, sounds like you've done well on that front too

[wuvvum]

The original owner was an RAF officer stationed in Germany. He bought it new over there and then had it shipped back to England when he came back in 1975, hence the "N" plate. He ended up owning it for over 30 years apparently, although it's changed hands a few times since then.

 

Anyway, I took it for a blast this afternoon to go and see a mate - my first go in it on Norfolk backroads, and it's brilliant. Very surefooted, at least on dry roads, comfortable ride, just the right amount of body roll and it soaks up bumpy corners beautifully - it's almost as good as the Solara in that regard. The gearshift is not particularly quick but it's wonderfully precise and has a nice mechanical feel to it, the engine revs happily to 5,000 and sounds gorgeous (it would probably sound better still at 6,500, but I have qualms about redlining a nearly-40-year-old engine), and while the seats don't have a great deal in the way of side support, the velour that covers them has enough of a "velcro" effect to keep one's posterior in place. I reckon it'd be substantially quicker point to point than the Scimitar, which is nominally a more sporting car but has a clunking great live axle thumping around at the back and tends to get a bit squirrely if driven enthusiastically round a bumpy corner.

 

So here's some pics.

 

 

 

I love the look of these things from the front. So much more elegant than later Beemers.

 

 

 

Arse end isn't too bad either - has hints of '70s Merc and possibly early Audi 100 to it I reckon.

 

It has a few cosmetic issues - NSF wing has had some mediocre paint repairs at some stage, and there are areas of bubbling on the doors and a couple on the wings - but nothing terminal.

 

 

 

Interior is a nice place to be - not opulent but comfortable and ergonomically much better than most cars of its age (although the 164 is just as good, but that was the first year of the new 240-style dash - older 164s were completely different).

 

 

All the information you need (Smiths oil pressure gauge is an afterthought but a useful one on a car this age). Somebody has etched km/h markings onto the instrument glass as the speedo doesn't have any - they've done it off centre so that the markings line up with the speedo in the driver's line of sight, which I was quite impressed by.

 

 

Nice wooden gearknob, and the Blaupunkt stereo sounds surprisingly good too, although I think it's a bit newer than the car.

 

 

Nice clean headlining - I only mention this because most of the cars this age that I've owned have horrible manky headlinings.

 

 

The first of the brilliant OHC straight sixes that went on to power generations of Beemers. Wonderful engine for its time - so completely different to the boat anchor in the Volvo, which has 500cc more yet makes 20bhp less.

 

 

Horns are mounted on the bonnet, which I think is a nice touch - not something I've seen on any other car.

 

 

Keys are surprisingly sophisticated for a car of this age - I think this style must have been unique to the E3 at the time, as my 1974 E12 525 didn't have them. I think the silver key must be a valet key, as it has all the same indentations bar one which is missing.

 

And that's it. So far I really do like the old girl. Next on the list is some black & silver number plates though as those modern aberrations really do spoil it...

[retrogeezer]

oh, now that is lovely...

 

How much was it if you don't mind me asking?

[Pete-M]

S'lovely, that. My dad had one almost identical (his was silver) in the late '70s.

 

If you get bored of it, gimme a shout. I'm looking for a 3.3 Li, but that'd do nicely...

[barrett]

This looks even better than I was expecting, I think you've got yourself a bargain here (regardless of how much you actually paid for it) given these things propensity for rotting. These really are a brilliant looking thing, a perfect mix of 'timeless' design and lovely 1970s detailing.

 

Please, PLEASE don't put black and silver 'plates on it though! I agree those modern placca jobbies look awful, but some nice pressed steel yellow/white ones would set it off a treat - preferably with the correct reg. number

 

Anyway, 24/10 car buying skills for this I reckon. Congratulations on being just the sort of thrusting 1970s executive businessman I aspire to be!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

mmmm this is extremely tasty.

[trigger]

I think you've done well there for the money, It is certainly tidier then my old 1602 was as well, What is it like on fuel so far?.

[wuvvum]

What is it like on fuel so far?.

Well it did almost 30mpg on the run back from Somerset, which isn't bad, but I haven't really done any town driving in it yet - I can't see it faring quite so well there.

[trigger]

I guess it's not much of a problem with what you've saved on the car, christ, you could keep it a year, spend a £1000 on fuel and still get your money back I would have thought when you sell it.

[wuvvum]

That's true enough - I was seriously tempted the first time it was on eBay, and when it went up to £1600 I almost bid £1650 - the £450 I saved by not doing that will pay for quite a lot of pez.

[CreepingJesus]

I would think the money saved would be well spent on an appropriately brown suit, and massive kipper tie.

Top buy, sir; lovely old things those BM's.

[Spottedlaurel]

Excellent stuff! Looks like a proper old thing, great that it's so useable. Look forward to seeing at The Angel or somewhere soon?

[retrogeezer]

I literally drool over this one every time I see it at local shows...

 

[hennabm]

I had one of these in the early 90s. MAS 9R - bought with only 33k from a fella on the Isle of Skye.

 

It was a dark grey with beige interior. It did go well but at a price - I could only manage about 20mpg

Sold it after a couple of years to a guy in Houston (nr Glasgow) who then used it as a wedding car.

 

 

I do miss it as it was fun and the filler cap was in a funny place - behind the rear number plate

[garethj]

If you're going to hoon it around the lanes remember that they were criticized at the time for their tail happy handling. This from a time when almost everything handled badly

[michiel]

Sehr schön Herr Wuvvum - and I thought I only liked BMWs up to the 'Neue Klasse' 1500/1800...

[HillmanImp]

That is really nice. Even a good colour. Well jealous.

[wuvvum]

If you're going to hoon it around the lanes remember that they were criticized at the time for their tail happy handling. This from a time when almost everything handled badly

To be fair, on the run back from Somerset I hit several patches of rain, and on wet roundabouts it did feel like the back end would slide with relatively little provocation (although I wasn't really pushing it at the time), but in the dry it feels fine. Put it this way, if I'd tackled the same section of road at the same speed in the 164 it would have understeered into the ditch...

[cort16]

The problem with the handling on these old beemers if my old e21's are anthing to go by is they seem to let go when you least expect it, which can lead to some sudden 2p discoveries in your underpants in the wet. My old 320 never let go on roundabouts or any other of their normal antics then one day I was going into Morrisons car park at about 20mph and it let go leading to me furiously battling major oversteer while wide eyed old women tried to pull their tartan shopping trolleys out of my way before I hit them causing a large crumpet explosion. I alwaytreated it with a bit more rezpezct after that.

 

The cars well class and sounds like a bit of a bargain too.

[mattblack]

BMW in 'almost as good as a Solara' shock...

 

Seriously, that's a nice piece of kit, from the days when you couldn't mistake a BMW for a Hyundia/Daewoo/whatever... (See also: Mercedes

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Here's my '72 3.0S which I had about 10-15 years ago.

 

 

It was Tundra green metallic, black vinyl roof and tan leather. It was a one family owner car that had new front wings and a complete BMW exhaust fitted a year before I bought it for £100. It was very rusty underneath, and I got mate to do a 'last supper' welding job to get it's last MOT. Looking back, it could have been saved and really I should have done as it had onloy done 80'000 from new and drove really well. It was a manual (3.0S cars were autos after the 3.0Si arrived) and I replaced all the brake hoses and the clutch hose as they were all healing up inside. But it was really rotten - sills, floor, inner wings, inner arch tubs, front valance and crossmember - it was pretty well fucked to be honest.

 

I sold it to a bloke who was going to put the trim into another car. This never happened, and it ended up at a BMW breakers around 5-6 years ago - I think it's only recently beed cubed after being pretty comprehensively stripped.

 

In this pic it's parked next to a Mark 2 Slag 3.4 m/od I had at the time which despite being in vastly better condition, was not as nice to drive yet worth about 3 million times more.

[ChinaTom]

Excellent stuff! Looks like a proper old thing, great that it's so useable. Look forward to seeing at The Angel or somewhere soon?

 

If the Angel, let me know - I'd love to have a look at it, and I'm only a few minutes away from there.

[Rusty Pelican]

The problem with the handling on these old beemers if my old e21's are anthing to go by is they seem to let go when you least expect it,

.

Beautiful Beemer im jealous , on the handling front they have a mind of their own , my E30 will let go in the wet but as its only on certain bends i recon its a combo of tyres and road surface ( or my eager driving )

Top buy

[Pete-M]

Can I 'Bagsy' this when you come to sell it? Just in case you decide to get rid when I've actually got some cash? Ta.