Needs a New Six: 1973 BMW 3.0S Bavaria

The E9 3.0CS is perhaps the better known of BMW’s late 60’s to early 70’s shark nose New Six designs, however, these days the ‘C’ stands for costly as they are rapidly shooting out of the realm of affordability. Worry not, there remains some refuge from market valuation in the E3 sedan, or Bavaria.  Find this 1973 BMW 3.0S Bavaria here for sale in Cumming, GA for only $1,500 via craigslist.

Perhaps it’s a little too low, there’s a collection of off-brand coolant bottles from different gas stations in the front seat, and it has stickers on it but it’s a Bavaria for a likely very negotiable $1,500. The seller specifically says that it’s a project and not a daily driver, citing the need for an engine rebuild. It seems inconceivable to be able to pay so little for a car with so much style and reliability that ‘only’ needs a new $400 M30.

The motor is the dual carbed version of BMW’s New Six, however, it now wears twin Webers 32/38’s instead of the original pair of Solex mixers. It could be anyone’s guess as to why this motor needs to be refreshed, however, Mt. Prestone in the front seat may give some clues. The seller recommends swapping to the M30B35 but I’m going to advise going on craigslist and buying the first running big six BMW you find for under $800, take everything you need, and scrap the rest.

We shall call the interior collapsed but redeemable. The leather on the seats looks decent enough to throw in some new foam and spend an afternoon pinching your fingers with pliers while trying to clamp hog rings. Is that a genuine Nardi steering wheel I spy? In general, this thing needs to be parked next to a dumpster and shaken by the hand of god for about 15 minutes, followed by a good scrubbing.

See a better way to 3.0Something ownership? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Matt, a self-proclaimed bottom-feeder of the classic car market, spends half of his time buying cars, half of his time retrieving them, and the remaining third on keeping them on the road.