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Background:
Two years ago during an ice storm, I walked down to my neighbors house to inquire whether or not he had lost power. I noticed there was a car in his third garage bay - I'd never seen this car before. At the time, there was a lot of rubbish surrounding the car, so I couldn't really make out what I was looking at; felt that I new the guy well enough to ask without appearing overly nosy. He told me "it's an old BMW that I've had for a while but never got around to getting it back on the road". Without thinking twice, I blurted out "well, if you ever want to sell it, I'll buy it no questions asked."
Two years later, I'm walking my dog around the block and he stops me in my tracks. He says "hey, I've done some thinking, I'm ready to part ways with that car". Immediately, I knew I was opening a can of worms. I knew nothing about this car, nor had I ever seen more than the tail lights. Smooth. That said, I never back out on a promise. I told him I'd like to see the car a bit more before I bite the bullet. He obliged my request and told me if I didn't want to buy it, he understood.
After further inspection, the car is a 1977 e12 530i. My neighbor bought it in 1981 from a doctor in the area. The car was on and off the road between 1984 and 1987 due to issues with the thermal reactors. My neighbor said that he didn't want to spend the money at the dealer to fix the issues with the thermal reactors, so he simply parked it and let it sit. After learning all of this information, I was still rather apprehensive about taking on a project of this nature. Even if the car has been sitting in the garage since 1987, what problems could I face? Rust, rot, wiring issues, etc. Against my better judgement, we agreed to a price that I couldn't pass up, so I bought the car.
This car has ZERO rust on it. Towers, fine. Spare tire well, fine. Frame rails, fine. Pinch welds, perfect. It's truly unbelievable. The last time the car was inspected was 4/87. It's been sitting in his garage since 1987 and the last time he had it out (not driving) was when his daughter was married in 2009. Odometer reads 61,172 and it was purchased new from the BMW dealer in town. Hell, the tool kit and spare are still in tact.
The plan is simple: create a resto-mod weekend car for my father who just retired. He's always been into classic German cars, and this platform is perfect. Thinking of going the S50/S52 route with some simple bolt ons. Interior will be redone by Kip @ Love's trim shop. Paint will stay original. Wheels / Tires are undecided. Reliability is the goal.
This will not be a fast moving project, but it should be fun once it's all together!
Cheers,
Andrew
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