1973 BMW 3.0 CS E9 Coupe

5-Speed Manual with Ice Cold A/C

Original California Blue Plate Car

Stock #0534 VIN # 2250517

3000 Miles Since Sympathetic Restoration

150000 Chassis Miles Polaris Silver Metallic with Cardinal Red Interior (Original Factory Color Combination)

5-speed Manual Transmission

Clean and Clear California title

California “Blue” License plates from new

Very straight and excellent original chassis

As early Porsche 911s continue to grow in value we are beginning to see movement from classic BMWs. The 2002s have started to see a shift as have the E9 coupes. Many collectors and enthusiasts are beginning to see these big coupes as a great alternative to some of the other vintage sports cars. They are extremely comfortable and have quite a few standard “luxury” items like power windows a/c leather and power steering that are missing from their Stuttgart siblings. Plus they are not only easy to drive for long touring events but they still have that legendary BMW handling which makes them a blast in the twisties. These really are the best of both worlds and a good addition to anyone’s early German automotive collection.

Right now the values are very attractive. However with CSL prices inching towards the quarter-million dollar mark the supply may not be able to keep up with the demand. The most difficult challenge with finding one of these Karmann built coupes is locating a good dry straight and solid chassis. That’s what first attracted us to this particular example.

This 3.0 is an original California car. One of the primary owners was a BMW club member who lived in the San Diego county area. It looks like he purchased the car sometime in the 80’s. He owned the car until he passed away in the late 90’s. From there his wife kept the car but didn’t use it much. She gave it to her son about 8 or so years ago before she passed away. The son started a light restoration on the car but realized it was too much for him to take on especially since he didn’t drive it very much either. He sold it about 2-years ago to a local BMW enthusiast. His goal was to clean up the car and make sure it was safe to drive. He enlisted the help of Jeff Tighe with TP Motorsports. Jeff is a very well respected vintage BWM independent mechanic/restoration expert in the Southern California area.

Jeff performed the following:

Installed 5-speed gearbox

Installed good quality clutch

New pilot and throw-out bearing

Changed coolant hoses

New ignition

New A/C compressor dryer and lines

Sorted factory A/C and made sure it functioned properly (blows 42 degrees!)

New/rebuilt radiator

New fan/fan clutch (updated CS style)

New water pump

New thermostat

New carburetors (Zenith)

New ignition

New turn-signal stalk/wiper control

Good condition original exhaust system

New brass radiator overflow tank

Full service

Got original Blaupunkt radio and power antenna to work

Rebuilt speedometer.

Repaired heater

Rebuilt clock (runs a bit slow)

Made sure all the power windows and other electric items in the car functioned properly

Jeff did a compression and leakdown test which it passed. He also did countless other minor repairs to make sure the car was in good running order. The next step was to give the cosmetics some attention. The following items were refurbished or replaced:

Re-dyed interior

Installed freshly leather wrapped Euro 3.0 CSL steering wheel

New wood dash and wood on door panels

Original vintage wooden shift knob

Refurbished original dash center console and rear parcel shelf (by Juan Ortiz…one of the best local vintage upholstery shops)

Repainted body above the belt line

Belt line trim polished

Located and restored factory tool kit including all the tools

New 3.0 CS owner’s manual

New custom Coco Mats

New rocker panel deco trim

Correct engine decals and foam hood pad

New updated retractable 3-point seat belts for front seats

Fresh original/correct windshield

Furthermore one of our local SoCal E9 enthusiasts spent several weeks detailing the engine bay and trunk. He did an amazing job giving new life to many original items as well as installing new components.

The condition of this E9 is an excellent driver. Anywhere we could preserve original items we have. Much of the interior is original including parts of the leather (seat surfaces are leatherette) carpet door cards and headliner. The seat bottom surface of the driver seat is starting to separate at the seams but it is hardly noticeable. As you can imagine being 40-years old it does show some wear but it is very minor and has a great patina and feel to it (like an old comfortable arm chair). The exterior is equally as nice with no significant flaws and much of the trim and glass remaining original. It also wears its original alloy wheels with new tires.

The most remarkable aspect of this CS is the condition of the underside. It is original and unrestored. Sorry it doesn’t have that “pretty” just powdercoated/over restored look. Instead it looks pretty similar to what these chassis looked like new. There are no signs of major accident damage or rust/rust repair. Everything is very tidy and as Jeff Tighe said “ it is one of the better original un-restored coupes” he’s seen. The rocker panel deco trim was removed and inspected (a very common spot for serious rust) and it was found incredibly dry. Also the floors and frame rails appear to be original and undamaged.

All that being said my personal favorite aspect of this coupe is the way it drives. It is so smooth and effortless. It fires up with the first twist of the key and purrs. It accelerates with ease and shifts beautifully with no synchro issues. It cruises easily at 80mph with no hesitation and the A/C blowing ice cold. We have taken this car on several vintage tours over the past 12-months and it performed great. It cruised easily at 90 mph+ on the open road.

This E9 comes with a new owner’s manual extra keys spare jack original seat belts and a complete tool kit.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Paul at 714-335-4911 or paul@autokennel.com

For tons of photos go to: www.AutoKennel.com

This vehicle is sold “as-is” with no warranty written or implied. In some cases the vehicle does have the remaining factory warranty still in place and will be described above if that is the case. All taxes and fees are the responsibility of the buyer and are not included in the listed price. All vehicle sales will require a $65 document fee. The vehicle listed is described to the best of our ability. We are not responsible for errors in our description of options or any other details. The above-mentioned vehicle is used and can be expected to show some wear and tear. It is not a brand new vehicle. We do our best to accurately describe the vehicle. We do welcome all local pre-purchase inspections on vehicles in order to verify condition.