Reader Ride: 1973 BMW 3.0CS
Time for another edition of DT’s Reader Ride feature, which — like an episode of toenail fungus — comes free with purchase of your latest pair of used shoes. This next feature comes from reader Ken whose E9 generation BMW 3.0CS is an absolute gem.
Ken’s 3.0CS looks like a beauty in the pictures and is described in his words here:
Herewith, my Reader Ride..
1973 3.0cs. We have owned this car since 1995, having bought it out of a
collection of cars stored in the basement of an independent MB repair
shop.
At that time all the bits were present, there were no bondo zones
or obvious rust-pockets. The paint was peeling off, and all the rubber
was tatty, apparently it had been stored for 7 years. We did the deal,
found a restoration shop.
Nine months later, after a bare-metal repaint,
lots of small bits and pieces (shopping was fun), new rubber
everywhere, a five-speed swap, and Weber installation with Pertonix ingition we got it back.
Its been inexpensive fun ever since. We have
seen some great track time, and usually do a couple of Vintage TSD
rallies every year. We average about 7 to 10k miles per year of trouble
free motoring. It will only be sold when they take my license away.
Ed- What a peach!.
Got your own ride and want to share? Send us some pics. You can just free form your words,
or follow this questionnaire.
Year / Make / Model / Trim ?
How long have you owned it?
Why did you buy it?
What do you use it for (commute, fun, racing…etc)?
Is it stock or modified? If modified, please list some modifications.
What was the most memorable day in your car (proposed to wife, 3rd child born in back seat…etc)?
What was the most catastrophic failure of parts/components?
What makes you want to keep owning this car?
Will you ever sell it?
Send your submissions to tips@dailyturismo.com
I had a tatty one of these back in the early '90's when they were cheap. Got from company owner as annual performance bonus with agreement that I'd sell within a year. Could barely shift it for $7K. Sigh. This is a beautiful example appreciating every day. (I would comment as other than anonymous, but am too technologically challenged to be able to figure out any of the identification options.)
Ned Nash
Absolutely beautiful. My favorite BMW, hands down.
What a looker! I have always wanted one. I may have missed the boat on them. Seems like prices crept up.
One wonders if this is the nicest/most blue chip DT reader ride seen to date. Hot damn.
Awesome car! The great thing about restoring one, instead of buying it turn-key, is getting to know the car through the rebuild process, which doesn't just provide a huge sense of satisfaction, but also inspires confidence when taking a long trip (on hopefully twisty roads) in a 40+ yr old car.
~ Beautiful E9, Ken!
. But fantastic photography, also!
We had one of these when I was a kid, my dad had brought it over from Germany. Fast forward to the early 2000s and my father-in-law buys a really nice, rotisserie restored e9 for his wife's 50th birthday. Drove it every time we visited, and had the requisite standing offer to buy it if the time ever came. Until one time we visit a couple of years ago and I ask about the car and he had recently sold it for 15K. I am still not over it.
Beautiful!
Thank you all for your nice comments. One of the nice things about car culture is that all types are respected and appreciated, mongrels and pure-breds alike. Like everything else, what you get out is equal to what you put in. Freude am Fahren to you all. KO