I have always loved these cars. Not that I have anything against the original, but I never understood why so many of these straight bodies are lying around in junkyards while there are so many great BMW motors you could transplant in.
Most of the Six series chassies were manufactured at less advanced facilities than other Beemers, which means that the anti-corrosion treatments were far from sufficient.
Result: rust everywhere. Thirsty, smoky M30 engines with rattly camshafts doesn't help in preserving the cars, either. Of course any hardcore Beemer enthusiast would have me shot for saying that, since BMW is the best car in the world and it simply cannot rust...
I'll tell yo what, though. It would be awesome to go back in time to mid-1980s and have a long test drive - back when before they were cheap bangers.
Weren't these one of the hotter cars of their day? I've always thought the reason we don't see more of them (or the reason we see them for sale dirt cheap) are because they've all been driven hard and put away wet, and no one can afford to keep them maintained.
One of those cars I'm always psyched to get a good photo of, because who knows how long they'll be around.
6-series (or E24 as the factory calls it) was built by Karmann and unfortunately Karmann (as a factory) was interested in high quality when new, not longevity.
Shows in all their products as far as I know, from VWs in 50s to BWMs in 80s.
That's the price you pay to get a hand-built, good-looking coupe. ;)
(I should know, I've two Karmann products and it's painfully obvious that longevity wasn't a goal at all. Example: Inside the roof is not painted. Not at all. Some overflow from pillars can be seen but no paint, bare steel.)
@Anonymous - I own a '79 - pretty much this one but in silver - but definitely in better condition. The Karmann's were only the first few years of production - '76-'77. Then they pulled out of there. It was the same reason the 3.0CS were rustbuckets. I would really rather have one of those but they're twice the cost.
But it took me about 6 (6!) years to find the one I wanted. Had to have the Euro 'cause the NA bumpers are just too ugly. Mine is a blast to drive - highway cruising with a bit of hi-speed country cornering is where it shines. I think the standard maintenance costs in the 70's may have been the reason so many were neglected. I'm lucky to have a really good Bimmer mechanic nearby so the pain has been manageable.
My dad picked up two of this back in the 90s as junk cars. He swapped the motors and gave the best one to me as my first car. I felt like the coolest kid in the world in this car. It was a dream to drive. Mine was the same year, coral color, pinstripe, spoilers, and wheels. Even though it turned into a rust bucket and spend a lot of time riding on dads ramp truck, I still want another one.
Best of OPC. 
6 comments:
I have always loved these cars. Not that I have anything against the original, but I never understood why so many of these straight bodies are lying around in junkyards while there are so many great BMW motors you could transplant in.
Most of the Six series chassies were manufactured at less advanced facilities than other Beemers, which means that the anti-corrosion treatments were far from sufficient.
Result: rust everywhere. Thirsty, smoky M30 engines with rattly camshafts doesn't help in preserving the cars, either. Of course any hardcore Beemer enthusiast would have me shot for saying that, since BMW is the best car in the world and it simply cannot rust...
I'll tell yo what, though. It would be awesome to go back in time to mid-1980s and have a long test drive - back when before they were cheap bangers.
Weren't these one of the hotter cars of their day? I've always thought the reason we don't see more of them (or the reason we see them for sale dirt cheap) are because they've all been driven hard and put away wet, and no one can afford to keep them maintained.
One of those cars I'm always psyched to get a good photo of, because who knows how long they'll be around.
6-series (or E24 as the factory calls it) was built by Karmann and unfortunately Karmann (as a factory) was interested in high quality when new, not longevity.
Shows in all their products as far as I know, from VWs in 50s to BWMs in 80s.
That's the price you pay to get a hand-built, good-looking coupe. ;)
(I should know, I've two Karmann products and it's painfully obvious that longevity wasn't a goal at all. Example: Inside the roof is not painted. Not at all. Some overflow from pillars can be seen but no paint, bare steel.)
@Anonymous - I own a '79 - pretty much this one but in silver - but definitely in better condition. The Karmann's were only the first few years of production - '76-'77. Then they pulled out of there. It was the same reason the 3.0CS were rustbuckets. I would really rather have one of those but they're twice the cost.
But it took me about 6 (6!) years to find the one I wanted. Had to have the Euro 'cause the NA bumpers are just too ugly. Mine is a blast to drive - highway cruising with a bit of hi-speed country cornering is where it shines. I think the standard maintenance costs in the 70's may have been the reason so many were neglected. I'm lucky to have a really good Bimmer mechanic nearby so the pain has been manageable.
My dad picked up two of this back in the 90s as junk cars. He swapped the motors and gave the best one to me as my first car. I felt like the coolest kid in the world in this car. It was a dream to drive. Mine was the same year, coral color, pinstripe, spoilers, and wheels. Even though it turned into a rust bucket and spend a lot of time riding on dads ramp truck, I still want another one.
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