Sad E3 on eBay - Do you feel lucky?

 

Its just a hobby, doen't seem like a proper weekend unless I get covered in oil.

I ma going to keep the E3 Goldfinger, it will be a slightly lighter colour as the original paint was.  Its also got a full length webasto roof which will be interesting to remove and repair.

I do have quite a few E9,E12 and E3 spares but at the moment they are all over the place so I don't know what I am keeping and what I am selling.  I will get round to sorting them out at some point.

 

Cheers

Dave

 

 

I've put a few pics of my restoration so far of the E3 on my website if you want to look.

 

Cheers

Dave

www.m535i.co.uk

 

I will definately be documenting the E3 resto.  I have started it earlier this year with most of the welding done  but the E12 cam up so I decided to do that first as it is less involved.

 

Cheers

Dave

The PGN is not too bad it would need some welding on the sills and repairs of doors and bonnet.  The wings on it are excellent which are what I need for my 3.0SI.  It is a shame to break it but the SI is a much rarer car so if I have to save one it has to be that.  Can't keep all the cars unfortunately as when I have done the E12 I will have to sell my E24.

DavesOldBMs wrote: The CSL for £9000 sounds a bergin as they usually fetch over that. Its funny you mention the E3 2500 PGN33L as I have got that, basically for spares as the engine is seized.

Not really. CSL's are very undervalued. I sold my
orange one for £8250 which was a very tidy and up
together example in Inca orange with all the correct
bits and matching numbers. Nigel Moseley sold his
for £15'000 which is absolutely perfect follwing a very
serious restoration. £9000 will buy a very decent
CSL - not concours but nice.

How bad is PGN 33L? I remember the ad on Ebay
and it didn't look a bad car. For the sake of dropping
an engine in (£50-100 from an old E28 525i) it would
be a pity to scrap another one. If you have the room
(a key factor!) it would be worth keeping it in once
piece. I wish now that I'd spent a month of evenings
properly rebuilding mine, ho hum.

Not sure if the pic came out

http://www.bmwcarclubireland.com/gallery/displayimage.php?al bum=133&pos=4

 

I agree that it is not the best CS in the country but I do feel they are underpriced compared to what some of the classic Jags and Mercs fetch.  The CSL for £9000 sounds a bergin as they usually fetch over that.

Its funny you mention the E3 2500 PGN33L as I have got that, basically for spares as the engine is seized.  The 3.3 would be a big restoration and would cost more to restore then you can buy one for (I know this with my E9).  However finding a 3.3LIA would be difficult.  Also you should restore a car as a hobby and for the enjoyment not to make money and at the end of the day you can have a car exactly as you want it.

 

Well my E3 3.0SI will start to be restored later this year when I have finished the E12 M535 I am working on at the moment.

 

Cheers

Dave

www.m535i.co.uk

I must admit, I subscribe to Drews point of view - older BMW's are much more desirable & interesting than the modern stuff.

Whilst without doubt an E90 3-series is much more user friendly than an E30 it just doesn't grab the heart like the older model.

Same with the E34/E39.

When people all over the country are sweating over saving common-as-muck MGB's it seems a travesty that fine old cars like E3's are viewed as landfill.

I keep promising myself I'll do a welding course at nightclass & save myself a CS coupe!

DavesOldBMs wrote:   I have a 3.0SI which I am currently restoring

You HERO!! I'm glad somebody is! I had a 3.0S
saloon about 6 years ago, in that lovely metallic
Tundra green that looks a bit like Boston or Oxford
green. I bought it for £100 from the estate of the one
and only owner, a Farmer from Oop North. The
registration was PGN 34L and there is another 2500
doing the rounds which is PGN33L - it turns out that
BMW UK in Brentwood registered a whole batch of
'PGN-L' cars together.
Condition wise mine was a bit grim although it
looked mint from 10 feet. The interior (dark tan
leather) was absolutely perfect because it had woolly
seat covers and floor mats from new. It also had a
complete new BMW exhaust and had been fitted with
new wings 2 years before. Sadly though the MOT
welding to which the poor thing had been subjected
was shocking - just welding over the rust. As a result
even the patches were rotting - I just *cough*cough*
fibreglassed over the worst bits, gave the underside
a good coating of underseal and scraped it through
an MOT. I also replaced the steel and flexy brake
pipes and freed off the calipers and thanks to free
road tax (the car was built in November 1972) I used
it through the summer of 2000 and went on holiday
in Newquay with it.

It had only done 60'000 miles so the engine and
running gear were perfect. It drove like a fast Mark 1
Granada but with vastly better build quality.

I sold it in 2000 for £350 to a bloke in Reading who
wanted the wings and interior for a structurally good
but scruffy example. Sadly it was too rotten
underneath to save. I still have the original rear
number plate!

If anyone here should own it, the plate is yours!

The 3.3LIA is a very nice drive as I nearly bought one last year but the owner decided not to sell.  They are quite a rare version of the E3 and definately worth saving.  I have a 3.0SI which I am currently restoring that was standing for the same amount of time as this car.

Its hard to say what they are worth as not many come up for sale.  It the advert it states that the engine turns which means it can easily be saved.  Also they are not Alpina wheels on the car although they do look similar.

Cheers

Dave