1973 BMW Other

Sedan

3.0L

Manual

3134003

Clear

Gasoline

Some back story: Where to begin, I believe that I am the third owner of this 1973 3.0S. I bought this car from the second owners in Southern California early 2010. The engine had blown the head gasket from 1987 I'm guessing (last time it was registered). So they previous owners toted this car around from one garage to the next for 23 years! The good news is that there was virtually no rust -- just a bit in the gas tank (tank was replaced with used rebuilt one). I had it shipped home and I began the slow resurrection of this somewhat rare E3 sedan. The original engine literally rusted from the inside out because of the 23 year old failed head gasket situation -- So it had to be replaced. As luck would have it, a good friend of mine had a spare 3.0 liter M30 engine sitting around in his garage. I removed the rotten motor and automatic transmission together, and let the local metal scavenger guy take them away (talk about convenient). Engine: 3.0L rebuilt sometime in the mid 80's Removed the carbs and installed L-jet fuel system i.e. electric fuel pump from E12 Installed electronic ignition from E12 with new cap, rotor, plugs and wires Newer fan and fan clutch from e32 M30 New thermostat hoses and belts New water pump Brakes/Axles: Rebuilt brake booster (A1-Cardone -- better than nothing) New front vented E9 brake rotors, pads w/E12 calipers New rear rotors, pads, E-brake shoes and rebuilt calipers ATE super blue fluid New OEM fluid reservoir New Hoses all the way around New front wheel bearings Suspension: Added on front and rear sway bars from a donor E12 Replaced all of the end link bushings New front lower control arms with ball joints New center link and tie rod ends New idler arm bushing New tension bar bushings Gold BBS pimp wheels 15" wheels with brand new Falken tires (maybe put 600 miles on them) Alignment after the struts and tie rods were replaced Early E23 front springs with new spring pads Brand new KYB struts cartridges Rear original springs with a pair of yellow Bilstiens Exterior: Painted inside and out i.e. door jams, under hood and decklid -- All the trim along with front and rear windows removed. Brand new BMW mobile tradition window seals were used along with a NOS front windshield. Brand new BMW mobile tradition tail light lenses Brand new BMW mobile tradition front European side marker lights Hella H4 low beam housings Interior: Seats rebuilt and recovered in a very nice vinyl material which if sprayed leather smell onto, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Look at seats, are they not amazing? A new grey velour carpet kit installed by upholstery shop. New OEM material headliner from ACE in Los Angeles installed by upholstery shop. I installed E3Li walnut wood trim all around the doors and dash. The door panels along with the b-pillars were cleaned up and look fantastic as well. Rust: There was very little rust on this car, which was limited to surface rust in the spare tire well and the gas tank seam. I replaced the tank with a boiled and tested used tank, wire brushed the surface rust off of the tank mounting area and treated it with Por15. The spare tire well photo was taken before Por15 was applied. That's it - really, no rust in the front fenders, or under the windshield.