September 9, 2020

Last week Carlos re-trimmed the spare front seats I acquired a while back for the CSi. (The original velour covered seats have been retained, should any future owners prefer the velour over hide.)

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I recently received shipments from Bela in Hungary, who did a fantastic job restoring the interior wood trim, and Walloth & Nesch in Germany, who sent me several replacement panels and a new tool tray.

Wood prior to restoration	Bela did a fantastic job restoring the interior wood with new Massacar Ebony veneer
The old tool tray was cracked so I obtained a new replacement from Walloth & Nesch	W&N also sent me some of the replacement panels the car needs

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Not much to report so far this month, although I did receive the rebuilt and recalibrated MPH speedo back from Nisonger instruments and I also received my Lokari inner wing liners from Germany.

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Time to remove the front wings and find out the true extent of the rust lurking within.

Exposing the welded seams at the front of the wings
Splitting the seam along the inner edge of the wing
Evidence of earlier repairs where the wing meets lower screen surround
Oscar lifting the first wing away from the body
	Removing the wing really is the only way to assess and repair rust that lies behind it
Decades of road grime trapped between the wing and the cowl panel has led to some nasty rust	More rust at the front of the LH inner wing
RH wing cut loose at the rear edge
Substantial pile of rubble hiding behind the wing!
Ron Davis could obviously sense that I needed cheering up, so he sent me a new radiator

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Interesting to note that lots of the trim and dash components we removed yesterday are date stamped.

Steel frame of gauge cluster dated February 1972	Rear wood dated April 13, 1973
Door cappings dated April 25, 1973	Speedo dated February 1973
Wooden frame of gauge cluster dated November 20, 1972	New floor panels from Walloth & Nesch dated February 2018

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Earlier today Carlos removed the dash and interior wood trim which will be sent to Hungary for restoration. I think I am going to go with a bold Zebrano veneer, rather than the more conservative French walnut that was originally installed. While removing the glove box, Carlos found an old insurance card in the name of Paul Baxter, a previous owner of the big coupe. Mr Baxter was a very well known professional ice hockey player who apparently holds the dubious honor of accruing more penalty minutes in a season than any other ice hockey player before or since!

We also removed the speedo and documented the odometer. We will be replacing the KM speedo with a MPH version and we will match the miles (39,861) to the 64,150 recorded kms, as we believe the odometer to be correct.

Carlos removing dash and interior wood trim	Previous owner, Paul Baxter, was a well known professional ice hockey player
Dash top and shelf vinyl are in perfect condition and will be cleaned and reused
Wood trim will be sent to Bela in Hungary to be restored with Massacar Ebony veneer
Speedo will be replaced with a MPH unit and the miles matched to 64,150 kms	We believe the car has only done 39,861 miles from new

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Unfortunately we have found significant rust in both outer rocker panels and both front floors. While we are dealing with this, I have decided to remove all the textured coating from the boot compartment and the spare wheel well, which will also be refinished. I have new floors and outer rocker panels on order from Walloth and Nesch in Germany.

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I was recently investigating why my headlamp stalk was so close to the rim of my recently installed Petri 380mm steering wheel. I had initially thought it was because I was using a 2002 hub, rather than an E9 hub, although the 6mm difference between the two didn't explain how close my headlamp stalk was to the wheel rim. Eventually someone at e9coupe.com recognized that my headlamp stalk was not an E9 component and most likely from some other BMW. Accordingly, the search is on for a correct (shorter) replacement headlamp stalk.

I mention this only because while I was sitting in the car contemplating the headlamp stalk mystery, I noticed an old repair to the carpet in the driver's footwell. Truth be told, the repair was effectively hidden beneath my Cocomats, but I knew it was there, and it bothered me. I removed the offending piece of carpet, then began tugging away at the surrounding carpets, wondering what I'd find beneath. As a professional car restorer for the last 25 years, you'd think I'd know better. Anyway, the net result of me investigating my incorrect headlamp stalk was the purchase of a new carpet set from GAHH.

Having received the new carpets, I decided it would be unwise to install them without thoroughly investigating the condition of the sheet metal beneath, so I removed the seats and center console, and began pulling up all the insulation and sound deadening material. Although the main floors and inner rockers are actually in much better shape than I expected, the front floors are bad enough that I am just going to replace them. New floor panels are ordered and on way from Walloth & Nesch in Germany.

My incorrect (but perfectly functional) headlamp stalk has turned into something of a Pandora's Box.

Headlamp stalk, AKA Pandora's Box	Old repair in driver's footwell carpet
While we are here, we might as well have a good poke around beneath all the carpets
Main floors and inner rockers look solid	Looking through B pillar panels into rocker area
Inner rocker sheet metal is reassuringly sound
Ancient sound deadening must be removed	New 20 piece carpet set
	Prior to installing new carpet set, I need to know all the sheet metal beneath is sound
	Area beneath the seats looks surprisingly solid
	Both inner rockers appear to be sound
Big rust hole in front corner of driver's footwell	Obviously a little disappointing, but it could have been much worse
I decided to strip every last bit of insulation, just to make sure we catch everything

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As I am keeping the original velour trimmed seats in case some future owner wants to return to that specification, I recently picked up some core seats that we will restore and trim in new hide covers. We will also be replacing or re-plating all of the seat trim and brightwork. The goal is to end up with seats looking as close to new as possible.

The following sequence of photographs shows the starting point of our front seat restoration project!

Seats obtained at a very reasonable price courtesy of an E9 enthusiast at e9coupe.com	Plastic hockey stick seat base trim was missing from the original velour seats
All chrome will be re-plated or replaced with new	One of the headrests required some fairly heavy persuasion before it could be removed
Headrest on left is correct early style. Headrest on the right has been modified and isn't serviceable	Early style E9 headrest had a nice chrome finisher across the entire width of the headrest frame
Plastic seat base trim will be restored and refinished

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Earlier today I adjusted the boot lid for a much improved fit, and one of my technicians kindly installed new front and rear speakers for me. My old rear speakers were a bit of a mess. One was missing its cover and the other cover popped off every time the boot lid was slammed - which was necessary for it to latch prior to adjusting the fit. I chose some Retro Sound speakers for the rear (Part # R-573N) and a Memphis Audio 15-SRX462 for the front speaker. I also received my Heritage Certificate from Classic BMW today.

	Adjusted boot lid now closes and latches easily
The gap is now consistent throughout	Retro Sound speakers have provided a nice improvement in sound and appearance
I wanted the speakers to be as plain and nondescript as possible	BMW Heritage certificate

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Earlier today I decided to remove the CSL style polished stainless steel wheel arch trim. As well as wanting to see what the car looked like without the trim, I also wanted to see what might be lurking behind the chrome trim! Thankfully the front arches are both excellent, although I did find some minor rust bubbles beneath the paint directly in front of both rear wheel arches. Regardless of whether or not I decide to reinstall the polished CSL wheel arch trim, I will not do so without first dealing with the rust bubbling beneath the surface.

Front right arch was very clean beneath the chrome trim	Front left arch also pretty clean beneath the chrome trim
	At first glance the LR wheel arch looked good
Lower leading edge of LR arch has some minor bubbling beneath the surface	Close up of bubbling beneath paint LR arch
Right rear arch also has similar bubbling beneath the surface of the paint	Close up of the bubbling at forward edge of RR arch
View upward, inside and up towards LH A pillar	Looking up towards the RH A pillar
View upward, inside and up towards RH A pillar	View downward towards inner rocker, inside RH A pillar - note gravel
View downward towards inner rocker, inside LH A pillar - even more gravel!	It's like a scene from James Cameron's Titanic behind the kick panels of an E9!

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Not much going on with the big coupe this week. Carlos removed several interior trim panels for some remedial work, which gave me an opportunity to have a good look at some of the inner structure of the monocoque. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how dry and corrosion free everything appears to be behind the front and rear wings and beneath the rear seats.

One of the jobs I have decided to do is to gradually remove all the exposed screws, most of which are tarnished or surface rusted, and replace them all with shiny new stainless steel fasteners. This includes all the interior trim screws, as well as the screws holding the CSL fender flares in place. While doing this I got a chance to see the coupe without its CSL wheel arch flares, which led to pondering the question, which looks better - with or without the wheel arch flares? In the end I decided to reinstall the flares for the time being, although I reserve the right to change my mind at some point in the future.

	With one of the CSL wheel arch flares removed, I got to pondering....better with or without?
The flares don't appear to have damaged the paint, so I do have the option of removing them	Looking inside the A pillar section behind the driver's side front wing
I was a little nervous to find out what was lurking behind the plastic sheet on the passenger side	But I needn't have worried - it is thankfully all dry and rust free back there!
Equally dry and rust free beneath the rear seats	Nice and clean here, too. I think I'll stop poking around now and quit while I'm ahead...

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One of my next jobs will be to tidy up the boot compartment. When the car was restored back in the mid eighties, the restorer covered the spare wheel well and surrounding panels with a black, textured undercoating. At some point I will remove all the undercoating and refinish the boot compartment in Fjord Blue, as it would have been from the factory. The good news is that the spare wheel well appears to be very solid with no serious rust issues.

My car was previously missing the small divider from the left side of the boot floor, so a friend of mine gave me a divider from an E9 parts car he has stashed. I am frankly not sure of the purpose of this divider, but as it was missing, I am glad to have corrected another small issue with the car!

Finally, I have been persuaded by several people on the E9coupe.com forum to keep the European specification velour seats in case some future owner wants to revert back to original specs. To that end I have bought some replacement front and rear seats and Carlos (in the CJ trim room) is currently installing the new hide covers that I picked up from GAHH in North Hollywood, California.

Spare wheel well will be cleaned up
	Previously missing left hand boot divider panel
	Divider panel now installed
Rear seats are first to be trimmed	A good look at the fiberglass rear seat shells
After padding the side bolsters. starting to install the first cover	Carlos installing the first of the new hide covers
	It is dusty, but thankfully nice and dry, in the area beneath the rear seats!
	New hides are a little lighter than the door and  quarter panel trim

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Yesterday we installed the Petri steering wheel in the CSi. As our wheel came with a 2002 hub, it was necessary to convert the horn function from the 2002 style plunger to the E9 ring. This really couldn't have been easier to do and I think the wheel looks great in the big coupe. The beautiful Formel wood rim wheel that was previously in the BMW will now be relocated to Justine's Lancia Fulvia.

The 380mm Petri is in exceptionally good condition	Note the 2002 hub and horn plunger
We removed the plunger as it won't work on the E9
Applying double sided tape to the ring that had been on the Formel wood rim hub
	Petri steering wheel is a nice upgrade for the coupe

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January 15, 2018

The following sequence of photographs show the installation of the new Quick Silver exhaust, Bilstein shocks and Carl Nelson springs all round, and a set of uprated front and rear sway bars, also courtesy of Carl Nelson. The last couple of photos show a rather nice car color coordinated car cover made for me by the good folk at the Cover Company in Barcelona, Spain.

New Quick Silver exhaust was a fantastic upgrade	The exhaust is of extremely high quality and fit exceptionally well
New Bilstein shocks and Carl Nelson springs
Scrubbing the passenger side of the diff casing in order to identify the ratio	Barely visible thanks to surface rust on the diff case, but we have confirmed the ratio as 3.25
Carl Nelson sway bars are 28mm (f) and 22mm (r)
The Carl nelson sway bars were easy to install
	Color coordinated car cover made for me be my friends at the Cover Company in Barcelona

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I was cruising around in the BMW yesterday afternoon as the odometer clicked over 64,000 kms (39,768 miles). I mentioned on Twitter last night that I don't think I have ever owned a more photogenic car, and I really think that is true. The big coupe is an absolute rock star in the looks department, crying out to be photographed whenever the hand brake is applied.

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I picked up the big coupe from E9 guru Terry Sayther this morning, and it feels like a completely different car after Terry and his guys have worked their magic on it. They performed a major service, adjusted the valves, replaced engine and differential mounts, belts, converted to a modern BMW oil filter set-up, installed Carl Nelson springs and Bilsteins all round, got the windows and boot lid sealing properly, remounted and rewired the fuel pump, replaced fuel lines, adjusted the driver's door latch, installed a full stainless steel Quick Silver exhaust system, and on and on and on.

The drive back to CJ was absolutely fantastic! Great customer service and top notch marque specific expertise from Terry Sayther Automotive.

This Petri 380mm steering wheel is the latest toy purchased for the CSi	Introducing the coupe to a distant relative!
	I really like the stance with Carl Nelson springs and Bilsteins all round
I found out recently that my 14 X 7 Alpina wheels are original CSL rims, which is cool

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December 30, 2017

Today is a red letter day because I can finally declare my tool kit complete! Having completed the tray, I decided to heed the advice I received over at E9coupe.com which was to store the heavier components of the tool kit in a separate roll, and thereby prevent the fragile plastic tool tray from cracking and breaking under the load of my now complete tool kit. I used one of the waxed cotton tool rolls that I have made for my restoration customers, which did the job very nicely. I also picked up a fire extinguisher that hopefully I will never need.

Now that I finally have the tool kit complete...	I removed the heavier tools in order to relieve the strain on the fragile tool tray
Heavier tools will be stored in a wax cotton tool roll
This represents a 4lb weight saving for the plastic tool tray
Job done!	New fire extinguisher will be installed in front of the front passenger seat

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December 28, 2017

I was not a huge fan of the factory retractable (barely) seat belts fitted to the CSi, so I decided to replace them with a set of Simpson clip-on lap belts. We left the original inertia belts in place, albeit hidden behind the rear side panels/seats. We installed new eye bolts in the factory anchor points either side of the seat bases, and simply clipped the new belts in place. I think they look pretty sporty - and the car definitely feels faster with the new belts

Simpson laps belts will add a sporty look to the coupe's interior
Driver's seat base has an annoying squeak that I will address when the new hide covers are installed	New eye bolts in the factory seat belt anchor points
	My other cars are feeling left out because I can't stop driving the CSi

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December 27, 2017

I received my new Coco Mats for the BMW today and I am really pleased with the fit and quality. They really are a sturdy, well made product. Good company to work with, too. Thoroughly recommended!

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December 24, 2017

I took the CSi cruising at dusk yesterday using the excuse that I was testing the function of all the lights. In fact I put 111 km (69 miles) on the car yesterday, as I gradually work my way through a few minor mechanical niggles. Replacing the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets (and thereby eliminating a major vacuum leak) improved performance greatly, although I am still trying to track down a slight hunting issue at idle. At a steady mid-range throttle I also have just a hint of a hesitation, so I still have a little work to do before I declare myself completely satisfied with the tune.

The steering, suspension and brakes all feel reassuring solid, so much so that I am actually rethinking installing the lowered/uprated springs and Bilstein shocks. I think the new Michelin XWX 205/70 tires are a perfect match for the 14 x 7 Alpinas. They look great and ride beautifully. I have also been pleasantly surprised with the original 4 speed transmission, which is as smooth as silk and super quiet through all gears.

I love the side profile of the E9 coupes	Somehow the elegant lines of the CSi are even more evident at dusk
	All the lights are working, which was the reason  for my early evening cruise!

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December 22, 2017

Earlier today we installed the vintage Blaupunkt that had previously been restored for me by vintageblau.com. I was pleasantly surprised how closely the radio's knobs matched the fore/aft balance knob to the left of the head unit. Turns out the Blaupunkt had received some Becker control knobs when it was restored, making it an even better match for the Coupe, which would have had a Becker radio when it was new. As I bought the Blaupunkt long before I even thought of buying the BMW, it is more by luck than judgment that it is such a great fit!

Vintage Blaupunkt unit looks and sounds great!	Blaupunkt control knobs are identical to BMW fore/aft balance knob - an unexpected bonus!

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We spent a couple of hours on the car yesterday in the hope of getting it back on the road. Unfortunately, we ran into a couple of issues which brought us to something of a grinding halt. The car has never idled properly since it arrived at CJ last month, and it was also really struggling to pull past about 3,000 rpm without a bunch of stumbling and hesitation. We smoke tested the intake and found a bad vacuum leak at the rearmost intake runner. Replacing the intake manifold gaskets should hopefully take care of the stumbling and hesitation.

We also discovered that the Bosch Auxiliary Air Slide (part # 280140036) on the left side of the engine block was inoperative - and the likely cause of our idle issues. We confirmed this by taking the air slide out of the loop by capping the outlet on the intake manifold (which connects to the air slide beneath it). Doing so immediately resulted in a steady, smooth idle. Unfortunately the auxiliary air slides are rare as hen's teeth, and nobody in the states appears to have one. I spoke to Carl Nelson who told me he had just got one in from Germany, but that it was already spoken for. Carl said that he typically gets them in at a rate of about one a month, so I put my name on the next one to land in California. In the meantime, Carl confirmed that the car will run fine (once warmed through) with the fitting at the manifold capped the way we currently have it. As well as the intake manifold gasket set, I also placed an order with Carl for a new air filter and new vacuum lines.

While I was in the engine bay yesterday I checked the engine number and confirmed that it matched the chassis number. Armed with this information, I applied for a heritage certificate from BMW Classic in Germany.

I recently ordered some Coco Mats for the BMW and the good folk at Cocomats.com mailed me some paper templates to cut out and trial fit before making my mats. Apparently there are a couple of different options for the driver's footwell, and I was able to establish the correct pattern for my particular car. I like the fact that the Coco Mats people go the extra mile to make sure you get the correct mats for your car.

Hopefully my intake manifold gaskets will come in today and I will finally be able to get the CSi on the road!

Bosch Auxiliary Air Slide is kaput	Capping the valve at the intake manifold to take the auxiliary air slide out of the loop
Time for some Origami, courtesy of CocoMats.com	I chose blue/natural (#4)
Pattern B7 (A2) is not quite right...	Pattern B7 (A1) appears to be a winner
Some new Alpina caps	Water pump pliers sourced and added to the tool tray
Pleased to see the engine and chassis nos match	Introducing the BMW to one of its siblings

I recently picked up this lovely old Z-Series Blaupunkt radio from Ingo Prangenberg of Vintageblau.com in New York.

Restored vintage Blaupunkt will soon take up residence in the BMW's dash	A great source for restored vintage radios

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December 1, 2017

I am delighted to report that the BMW was collected on Wednesday and will be stateside by the weekend. In the meantime, the influx of shiny new parts continues! The latest deliveries have been a set of Bilstein shocks and a great looking stainless steel exhaust made for me by my friends at Quick Silver in the UK.

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November 27, 2017

Earlier today I received the restored Formel steering wheel from Vintage Volante in Holland. I really could not be more pleased with the wheel, which is absolutely beautiful.

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November 9, 2017

I am delighted to have recently added this low mileage European spec BMW CSi to the CJ fleet. Purchased out of long term (30 year) ownership in Calgary, it will be several weeks before the car lands in Austin. Nonetheless, I have already started gathering some of the things I will need to bring the car up to the next condition level, and make it a little more to my taste. For example, although the interior was restored several years ago and remains in excellent condition, I really don't care for the velour seat trim which was common to the Euro spec cars. Accordingly, I have already bought new navy blue hide seat covers that will be installed shortly after the car arrives in Austin.

I have also picked up a beautiful vintage (1966) Formel 380mm wood rim steering wheel that I think will compliment the interior very nicely. I found the wheel at Vintage Volante in Holland. Vintage Volante is run by hobbyists Bouke and his friend Hans, both of whom clearly see classic steering wheels as an art form. I had planned on installing a 380mm Petri wheel, which is de rigueur for any well dressed BMW E9, but in the end I fell for the charms of the Formel wood rim when I saw it on the Vintage Volante website.

Other items already in the expense column include a Quick Silver stainless steel exhaust system, a set of Carl Nelson road springs, some Bilstein performance shock absorbers, a pair of new grilles for the front wings, a new German loop carpet mat for the boot and some new rubber for the Alpina wheels. This beautiful E9 coupe has only done approximately 40,000 miles (65,000 kms) from new and reportedly runs and drives like a new car. I am looking forward to putting that claim to the test!

A set of Carl Nelson roads springs will lower the ride height a little
Very high quality paintwork done in 1986 is still holding up very well	Chrome and bright work appears to be in excellent shape
Very clean boot compartment, new German loop boot mat on order	Virtually complete tool kit
	Car has been cherished and kept in a heated garage for the last 30 years
	Interior in very good condition, but will be treated to some new Navy hide seat covers soon
	Engine bay is clean and presentable
Fuel injected 6 cyl in the CSi was first BMW with more than 200HP
	Iconic boot lid badge
Factory electric sunroof is a nice option	Original headliner is in good condition, should clean up very nicely
New Bilstein shocks and Carl Nelson springs will be installed very soon
New Navy Blue hide seat covers already in hand	Beautiful Formel 380mm wood rim steering wheel sourced from Vintage Volante in Holland